Page 122 of The Spare

She rolls her eyes at me. "Oh, come on."

I laugh. "I'm serious. I'm man enough to admit that it turns me on when you spend my money. That's what's got me through the last four years, knowing I was providing for you, even if you didn't know it."

She bites her lip, bringing her gaze back to me. "So all this time it really was you, huh?"

I nod. "Sí. That was the stipulation Hendrix and I agreed on."

"It seems kinda unfair, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," her eyes flick to my lips then back to mine. "You had to wait,andyou had to pay a bunch of money for my upkeep."

I smile, leaning forward and giving her a soft, slow kiss. "And every time I got that monthly bank statement, it was like Christmas morning while getting to riffle through and see what you treated yourself to that month." I pull back. "Lots of drug store purchases, though."

She blushes. "Well, a girl gets her period every month."

I nod. "Hmm."

"Mason," she draws a fingertip down my chest, biting her lip nervously. "Can I ask you something?"

I grin at her, relaxing into the bed and enjoying just being with her. "You can ask me anything."

Her eyes flick to mine and then narrow slightly. "What do you be getting up to?"

"When?" I frown, my mind immediately rolling through what I do during the day.

She blinks. "When you take those late night phone calls."

My heart rate picks up, not expecting her to ask that. I clear my throat and capture her hand with mine, bringing her fingers up to kiss them one by one. "Just work stuff, honey."

"At night, though?" She arches a brow.

Oh God. Here we go.

Laying on my back, I scrub a hand across my jaw before sitting up and draping my arm over my knee, looking down at her. "I'm involved in…"

I sigh, squeezing my eyes shut before averting my face.

"Yes?"

"I'm the financial advisor to the man who helped get Isobel back," I answer, bringing my gaze back to her.

Melody's eyes widen. "What?"

I nod. "Yep. That was the price our family had to pay."

I.The priceIhad to pay.

A little line appears in between her forehead."The mafia?"she sputters. An incredulous look crosses her face. "You're involved with a criminal organization, Mason?!"

The urgency in her voice gives me pause. Anxiety trickles up my spine and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. "Well… yes and no."

She sits up now, too, holding the sheet to her breasts. Her dark hair is a mess of waves cascading down her shoulders and arms, but I keep my hands to myself for now because she's looking a bit… wild. And not because I just fucked the shit out of her. She scrunches her face up in clear irritation.

"What theentire fuckdo you meanyes and no?"

Wetting my lips I turn a bit to face her head on, keeping my posture as loose and open as possible. "I'm technically not in the mafia, butterfly. I take charge of Luca-"