Page 38 of House of Payne

“I understand.”

I sign the NDA under his watchful gaze. It’s scary to agree to anything regarding him, but I don’t have any options.

“I will warn you that Mercy is not an ordinary club,” he says as I make my way through the signatures. “You’re stepping into a sort of… darkness.”

I pause. I can tell that Mason’s idea of darkness is much worse than anything my mind could conjure up. His world is foreign to me.

I have no way to know what I’m getting into.

I look at the last page of the contract. Something within me warns me that I shouldn’t do this. I’m getting in way over my head, and I doubt it will be easy to back out.

Then, I think of my father and how much this has stressed him out. He needs a way out of this mess. I’m the only one who can give him that.

So, I resume signing.

Chapter Ten

Mason

I wait until London has finished signing the last line before I allow myself to believe it. After two weeks of pining away like a schoolboy, she’s finally mine. I wanted her. Now I’ll have her. Just like everything else.

I did worry that I only wanted her because I couldn’t have her. I worried that the thrill would dim once she was mine.

But the thrill of the chase wasn’t the only thing sustaining my fascination with London. Though I’m disappointed that money could tempt even a woman like her, I understand it. The stakes are high for her, and she’ll do anything to save what she cares about. I admire her ambition.

Hell, it makes me like her even.

It also makes me wonder about the woman lurking beneath the surface, the one I will draw out of her.

You have no idea what you just signed up for, little kitten. I’ve got all kinds of plans for you, and you are going to love them.

Now that the chase is over, there is plenty of room for ideas and excitement about what I’ll do next. I wonder how she’ll react to everything I want to do to her. I wonder how I’ll test her, and how she’ll respond.

As she puts down the pen, I walk over to her. She shirks my gaze, and it’s cute how she fears me. It’s even more compelling to watch her pretend she doesn’t fear me.

It makes me want her even more.

How she wound up with a child like her boyfriend is beyond me.

London deserves a man who can challenge her, who will drive her to the furthest reaches of ecstasy before drawing her back in. Someone who will show her just how alluring the darkness is.

I’m almost giddy at the prospect of being the one to show her.

“Stand,” I tell her.

She hesitates. Soon, she’ll learn to do as I say without hesitation. She’s new, though, so I’ll give her time.

Finally, she stands. I walk toward her, and she holds her ground. I move closer and take her chin in my hand.

She doesn’t protest, and it’s amazing to be this close to her. It’s thrilling. I can finally do all the things I’ve imagined.

I move closer. I need to taste her and see if it’s like what I imagined. I lower my lips onto hers, slow and sensual at first.

She tastes sweet. Her lips are plump and perfect. Her scent mixes with it, something smooth and compelling like vanilla mixed with strawberries.

It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to take her right there.

Because I want to savor it.