Mason: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 4) Page 2

  Mason shrugged. “I get that. But her go bag told us that there’s a danger in her life. She hasn’t volunteered any information to us, even though she knows we’d be able to help her. If we ask her, she could skip town. Who knows? We certainly don’t know her well enough.”

  Kye leaned forward. “If we don’t trust her, should we really be keeping her on as our doctor? As Fletcher’s doctor? I mean, she’s studying his DNA. If that got into the wrong hands…”

  Wyatt shook his head. “We need her. At least while Fletcher’s so young. The woman’s a genius, and she’s spent the last two years familiarizing herself with our DNA.”

  “And I don’t think she’d do anything to hurt us. Not intentionally.” Mason was almost certain of it. “She’s done nothing to make us think she’s our enemy.”

  Kye’s brows pulled together. “Still no idea on the location of her brother?”

  Mason’s expression didn’t change at the mention of Jason. He hadn’t told the guys about this evening’s messages between Sage and her twin. And he didn’t intend to. Not yet anyway.

  Wyatt shook his head, looking frustrated. “Nothing new. He graduated from MIT, top of his class in Pharmaceutical Science, then disappeared.”

  Except, people don’t just disappear.

  Kye ran his hands through his hair. “You said Jason did a stint in the military, didn’t you?”

  Wyatt nodded. “In the Army. From the reports of his superiors, he was good. But he left five years in, to go to college.”

  And right there was the biggest red flag of all. A man with a military background, trained in pharmaceutical science, would be an asset to an organization like Project Arma.

  And tonight, his message to Sage had all but confirmed he was connected in some way.

  Project Arma had been uncovered and raided two years ago. Since then, very little progress had been made in locating those who worked for the corrupt program. Mason and his brothers had been hunting, but the underground organization was good at remaining hidden.

  “I think she would have told us if she had a brother connected to Arma.” Wyatt directed his words at Mason. Knowing exactly what he was thinking.

  Mason wasn’t so sure about that. Secrets lurked behind Sage’s blue eyes. Secrets and fear. It was the fear that he wanted to extinguish and the secrets he wanted disclosure on.

  “We don’t even know if the person she’s messaging is in fact her brother,” Kye said. “You said yourself that the number changes regularly, all from untraceable burner phones. It could be anyone.”

  “It could,” Mason agreed. “But Sage thinks it’s him and she’s smart. He must have said something to convince her of his identity at some point.”

  Mason’s phone finally lit up from its place on the table. His gaze darted over the words.

  Ah hell.

  Sage had just asked Jason what he needed her to do. That had to mean she was considering doing as he asked.

  Scrubbing a hand over his face, Mason waited for Jason’s response.

  He didn’t need to wait long. Less than a minute later, the message came through.

  He wanted her to do something in the office. The office where they kept not just their Marble Protection files, but a lot of the information they had on Project Arma.

  Mason now blocked out the guys across from him completely. His sole focus was on the text exchange in front of him.

  Both relief and regret hit Mason when Sage confirmed she wasn’t going to do it. On one hand, it meant Mason wasn’t going to find out what Jason wanted in the office. Not tonight at least. But it also meant Sage had made the right decision.

  About to pocket the phone, he looked down when another text came through. This one had Mason pushing to his feet.

  Sage, I need you to do this for me.

  He couldn’t see her saying no to that. He’d read the previous messages she’d sent to her brother. There was a desperation in her words. A desperation to find him. Help him.

  “Sick of us already?” Kye asked.

  Mason opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Wyatt also jumping to his feet. “Someone just tripped the silent alarm at Marble Protection.”

  Kye visibly tensed. His smile dropping immediately.

  “I know who it is,” Mason said quickly. Both sets of eyes swung to him. “I’ll handle it.”

  Without offering any further explanation, he turned and left the bar.

  Climbing behind the wheel, he had just begun driving when the last message from Jason came through.

  I need you to gather any information on the child that was born.

  Chapter 2

  Five minutes had passed. Or maybe ten. Sage wasn’t sure. She’d spent all of those minutes just standing there. Letting the words Jason had written roll around in her mind. Sink in.

  He hadn’t told her why he needed the information. And it didn’t seem like he planned to.

  She’d asked. Once she’d gotten over the shock, her fingers had flown over her cell. She hadn’t been able to ask quick enough. But, so far, nothing. No message. No words of explanation. Sage was left standing there, in a place she wasn’t meant to be, reading a message asking her to do something she couldn’t.

  Dropping her head into her hand, Sage let out a long sigh. What the heck was she doing? She should have said no to Jason the moment his first text came through.

  If Jason needed her, she would help him, but next time, she would be drawing the line at anything that went against her ethics. Or any action that could land her in a jail cell.

  Her attention drew back to the shattered glass. Before she left, she needed to tidy the mess and pray that she could sneak out without leaving a trace. She would take the frame and have it fixed. Cross her fingers that no one noticed it missing in the meantime.

  Turning, Sage was about to search for a dustpan when her flashlight landed on shoes.

  Large shoes, connected to legs standing close.

  When her muddled brain caught up to the fact that there was a living, breathing human standing directly in front of her, she let out a loud gasp before taking a hurried step back. The crunch of glass beneath her shoes had her attempting to lift her feet too quickly and losing balance.

  The phone dropped from her fingers, throwing the room into darkness. She would have toppled over and fallen directly on the glass had she not been saved by hands on her upper arms.

  They immediately pulled her upright so that her body was pressed to his. The hands were firm and strong, but gentle.

  She held her breath, almost too scared to breathe for the way her breasts pressed against his big chest. Heat radiated off him. And he smelled good. Really good. Musky and woodsy.

  Slowly, big hands trailed from her upper arms to her waist. His hands were so large, they seemed to encompass her entire middle.

  She should be scared. But she didn’t feel any fear. She felt something else. Something she couldn’t quite define.

  Her hands went to his chest. But instead of pushing him away, like any normal person would do, Sage glided her fingers over muscular ridges.

  Like they had a mind of their own, her hands kept exploring. Rising to his shoulders, where she felt their thickness. He was hard all over.

  Slowly, her hands slid to his biceps. They were huge. But then, everything about the man felt huge.

  Just then, the hand on her waist tightened. At the same time, she felt a thumb shift to the underside of her shirt, touching her bare skin.

  That was enough to pull her out of the trance. He could be anyone. And he was touching her. His body was pressed firmly against hers.

  Fear replaced any desire that had begun to build. Her heart sped up.

  As if sensing her fear, the stranger immediately dropped his hands from her body. He took a step back, giving her the space she needed.

  Only, once she had that space, she didn’t know whether she felt relieved or bereft.

  Suddenly, the lights in the room flicked on, and for a moment
she was blinded by the brightness.

  Holy hell, it felt like she was looking directly at the sun.

  Scrunching her eyes shut, Sage had to blink a few times before she could make out the large blurry figure by the switch.

  He’d moved fast. One second he’d been touching her, the next he was across the room. And he hadn’t made a sound. Not that it should surprise her. She hadn’t heard the guy enter the building and walk right behind her.

  Slowly, the fuzziness began to fade, and she realized the man wasn’t a stranger at all. She’d recognize those piercing blue eyes anywhere.

  Mason. The man who sent hot flashes through her system and made her heart thunder whenever he was close.

  She said the first thing that popped into her head. “What are you doing here?”

  She’d spoken the words quietly, but in the silence of the night, they sounded loud. Deafeningly so.

  Mason took a step forward. “This is my business, Sage. Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here?”

  His voice was hard and carried an edge of danger.

  A shiver coursed down Sage’s spine.

  For the third time tonight, she found herself at a loss on what to do. She hadn’t told Mason about Jason. She hadn’t told anyone about her brother. Not only because Jason had asked her to keep their communication a secret, but also because she feared the day Mason or his team found out who her brother had worked for.

  Mason continued to watch her. Panic began to build in her chest.

  Think, Sage, think.

  She needed a plausible reason as to why she was here, and she needed it fast. Preferably, a reason that didn’t end with her being locked in a jail cell. Or worse.

  Mason took another step forward, shrinking the space between them. “I can see the wheels turning behind those pretty blue eyes. Just tell me the truth.”

  The truth? That she’d blindly followed a request from her long-lost twin before she’d come to her senses? That just for a moment she’d considered stealing?

  No. Sage would not be sharing that. She didn’t know Mason well enough to share any of it with him. And even if she did know him, she still wasn’t sure she’d tell him.

  “I wanted to read over some of the Project Arma files you have. I just got home from the labs. I was studying Fletcher’s bloodwork. It got me curious as to whether any of your info on Arma would tell me something I didn’t know.”

  Something flashed across Mason’s face. Disappointment maybe? Before she could question it, it was gone. “Is that the truth?”

  He took more steps forward. She had to tip her head back to look the big man in the eye. She was sure that if she stretched her arm out, she would be touching him.

  This close, his size was emphasized. His height, his width, everything about him was huge. And all hard muscle.

  “Yes.”

  As soon as she saw the flash of disappointment reappear on his face, a wave of remorse washed over her. She wanted to tell Mason the truth. Let him help Jason with her.

  But fear rendered her silent. She just couldn’t risk Jason’s life. Not for anyone.

  Mason stretched out his arm. Unsure of his intention, Sage held her breath. His finger brushed her skin as he pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”

  That was not what she had expected Mason to say. Although, she didn’t know the man well enough to presume to know anything he would say.

  And his touch was making her skin break out in goosebumps. It was not helping her already sluggish thought process.

  “They’re reading glasses. I only use them when I’m working.” The moment the statement left her lips, she realized her mistake. If she was here to look over files, she would have brought her glasses. “I mean, I forgot to grab them.”

  Jeez, the guy was going to have her cuffed and in a cell within the hour.

  Rather than appear angry, Mason trailed his fingers down her face, then her arm. “You must have been in a rush.”

  Swallowing, she tried to ignore the heat that began to build inside her at his touch. “I was.”

  Was it her, or was Mason closer to her again?

  “You strike me as a methodical person.” Mason’s hand touched her waist, just like before. Only now that she knew it was him, she felt ten times more turned on by it. Heat transferred from his hand right through her clothing to her skin. “How did you get in?”

  “I have a key.” The words slipped out of her mouth. Her brain was too muddled to censor them.

  “Who gave you a key?”

  No one. But Mason would already know that.

  Sage needed to get out. Before she said something she shouldn’t. She’d already said more than she’d wanted to.

  The ability to think was diminishing with every passing moment. With every touch. There was no way she could stand here and not let more secrets slip.

  Eyeing the door, Sage weighed her chances of escape.

  “No chance.”

  So, not only was the man sexy as hell, he was also a mind reader.

  His head lowered until his mouth hovered just over her left ear. “Who gave you the key, Sage?”

  Mason’s breath brushed against her sensitive skin. She opened her mouth to respond but it took a few goes before she produced words. “No one. I took it.”

  Sage expected some sort of backlash. Or at least for Mason to step away. Instead, his other hand lifted and pressed to Sage’s back.

  “You stole Lexie’s key.”

  It wasn’t a question, rather a statement. Yep, it was confirmed. The man was a mind reader.

  “How did you—”

  “She lost it not long ago.”

  Sage scrambled to come up with a plausible reason for taking the key. But there was none. At least none that she could think of with his hands on her. “I just saw it one day and took it.”

  Another truth in the long line that she was spewing.

  She lifted her hands to Mason’s chest. She had no idea where any of this would lead. She should have listened to her gut that told her—no, screamed at her—to stay home tonight. If she had, she wouldn’t currently be breathing in Mason’s intoxicating scent, wondering whether he was going to turn her over to the police or push her against the desk and kiss her.

  Thoughts of the latter made her heart speed up.

  “You don’t look like you feel very guilty about what you’ve done.”

  “I’m finding it hard to think about anything other than your body pressed up against mine right now.”

  A knowing smile pulled at his lips. He looked happy with her response. Then his head lowered. His mouth hovered over hers.

  Oh crap, if his lips touched hers, she was a goner.

  “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to taste you?”

  Taste her? “No.”

  “Too long.”

  Every limb of her body was oversensitive. She couldn’t remember when this conversation had shifted from being an interrogation to a seduction. Or at least feeling like a seduction.

  All she was sure of was that she didn’t want him to take his hands off her.

  Sage could count on one hand the number of men she’d kissed in her life. But somehow, she knew that none of those kisses would come close to one from Mason.

  A moment of courage hit Sage. Or maybe it was stupidity, she wasn’t sure. “Do it.”

  Holy jam on a cracker. Had she really just said that?

  Mason’s eyes immediately heated. He paused, and it was almost like he was giving her time to back out. Move away. But her body remained still. Waiting.

  Finally, his lips touched hers.

  The outside world faded, and the room went oddly quiet.

  At first the kiss was soft. Gentle. The lightest of touches. Mason was exploring Sage.

  Then his tongue slipped inside her mouth. It was intoxicating. A moan of pleasure released from her lips.

  Mason’s arms lifted her body against him. Immediately, her legs
wrapped around his waist. Her hands lifted to his head.

  She ran her fingers through his hair. It was cropped short and soft to the touch.

  As they continued to taste each other, a desperate yearning filled Sage. A yearning that she hadn’t felt before. That she didn’t know existed.

  Every inch of her front was pressed to his. Still, she tightened her legs, attempting to bring their bodies closer together.

  Suddenly, Mason began to withdraw. His lips pulled away from hers as his head lifted.

  A small gasp of protest escaped her lips. There was no part of her that wanted to separate from him.

  “Sage…” Mason ground out her name. His voice raw. Guttural. “We need to stop.”

  Breathing deeply, Sage gave her galloping heart a moment to slow.

  Nobody had ever kissed her like that before. Not a single person.

  She had been right. A kiss from him made all other kisses fade into insignificance.

  “I knew you’d taste sweet. Like strawberries,” Mason murmured.

  Her eyes reluctantly fluttered open and reality began to creep back in. Glancing down, she was reminded of the fact that she was currently wrapped up in Mason’s arms, his hands firmly on her backside.

  And she had just been kissing him. Kissing the heck out of him. Mason. A man she barely knew.

  Averting her eyes, Sage felt heat fill her cheeks. But this time for a different reason than earlier.

  She was mortified.

  “I need to go.”

  Sage attempted to push against his big chest. But the man didn’t let her go.

  Forcing her eyes up, she saw Mason studying her. Searching. For what exactly, she wasn’t sure. Did he see embarrassment in her expression? Because that was all she felt.

  Eventually, Mason lowered Sage to the floor. “Okay.”

  She almost thought she’d heard wrong. “Okay?”

  Already turning to the door, Mason spoke over his shoulder. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  He was just going to let her go? Just like that?

  Sage’s moment of confusion rendered her still. It wasn’t until Mason had disappeared into the hallway that her feet were moving. Chasing after him, it took her a moment to catch up to his long strides. “You’re just going to let me go? After I broke in?”