Page 139 of House of Payne

“Yes,” London breathes huskily. “Yes.”

I press my lips to her ear and exhale again. “I can smell how much you want me. Do you have any idea how intoxicating that is?”

She makes another unintelligible sound as I use my other hand to press her breasts together.

Someone clears their throat, and I pause. “This had better be important.”

“Your brother is waiting for you in the study.” Carlisle’s voice cuts through the fog. Slowly, reluctantly, I release London and turn around to face him. He is staring at a blank spot on the wall. I run a hand through my hair and adjust my suit.

“I’ll be there shortly,” I tell him evenly before throwing London a look. “We’ll finish this later. Go to the guest room.”

London reaches for the tattered remains of her shirt and holds it over her chest. “I thought you wanted me to leave.”

“Guest room,” I repeat. “I won’t be long.”

I stride from the living room and into the hallway. Outside the study, I stop to take a deep breath and push the door open.

Mathew is waiting by the window with a drink in his hand as I kick the door shut and cross to my desk. Then, I unholster my gun and set it on the desk between us.

My brother raises an eyebrow and says nothing.

I level him with a look that would’ve made anyone else cower. “I see you’ve been helping yourself to my whiskey.”

Mathew takes a long pull but doesn’t turn to face me. “You have good taste.”

I pause to roll up my sleeves. “That’s not why you’re here.”

Mathew has always known how to get under my skin. Even when we were little, he knew which buttons to push to make me snap.

Being an adult has made it worse, and having him around makes things more complicated than they should be.

How much of the truth does he know?

“You need a better view.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You’re not here to discuss the view.”

Mathew takes another sip of his drink and turns to face me. “She’s hot. I can see why you want to keep fucking her.”

I scoff. “I keep her around because it’s convenient.”

Mathew barks out a laugh. “You’re a better liar than that, Mason. Come on, there’s something else going on here.”

“Being around Father has made you paranoid. I told him I’ve got things under control.”

The easy smile falls from Mathew’s face. His expression is now cooland calculating. “He expressed some concern, but to answer your question, I’m here of my own accord. Dad likes it when people take initiative, and I thought I’d make sure he knows you aren’t the only option.”

I let out a low, humorless laugh. “You really think coming out here will make him reconsider you as the head of the business?”

Our father didn’t just choose me because I was born first.

Even with me out of the picture, Mathew isn’t the next choice, and I wonder how long it will take him to figure that out. I feel the need to warn him he’s always going to chase our father’s approval, and that it will always be out of reach.

I also know he won’t listen to me.

Mathew, like our father, is too stubborn for his own good.

He’ll learn his lesson the hard way, like we all did.