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  She missed being in the university and training. Zoe was training to become a professional chef but everything had changed when she met John in her first year at university. John was in his second year and was studying to be a doctor in Afghanistan. They’d fallen in love and had gotten married less than a year later. Zoe had just applied for her third year when she fell pregnant with the twins.

  She’d only been twenty four at the time and it had come as a shock to both her and John. They managed to pull through together though and Zoe had to leave her studies to take care of Rebecca and Angelia while John continued his. They’d had a happy three years together before John had an accident in Afghanistan. Apparently he was in the back of the tank when it drove over a landmine. There were no survivors.

  That was three years ago. She’d not managed to get back out into the dating world since John died and instead focused everything she had on her daughters. It was the best thing she could do at the moment. She might return to her studies when the twins were grown, but not at the moment.

  ****

  “What do you mean that the deal has gone wrong?” someone, Mason couldn’t quite remember who, shouted across the road to him.

  “As in the cops are coming!” Mason ran his hands through his blonde hair and groaned. The deal fucked up because of him. He told someone else where the deal was being completed and it was his luck that said person had called the police on them.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Mason and the other guy ran to the closest alleyway and hid behind the dustbin. They waited until they saw the blue lights flash by before evacuating the disgusting hiding spot.

  Mason had just turned around to talk to the man when a punch landed in his cheek. He fell to the ground from the shock of the blow and looked up. Mason cringed as he saw more of his club file into the alleyway. This wasn’t going to end well.

  “You ratted us out, Mason.” Oliver, one of the club members, crouched down to speak in his face. Mason cringed away from the vodka scented breath and regretted it when a foot landed in his back, pushing him to the ground.

  “I didn’t rat you out.” Mason gasped as a boot slammed into his ribs. He fell to the ground and couldn’t move as the assault continued. He knew there was no point trying to tell them the truth. He somehow managed to stand up when the kicking stopped and stumbled his way from the alleyway.

  He wasn’t quite sure how he managed to hop a fence and land in a garden but he was glad that he had when he heard the bikes roar past the house he’d taken refuge in. He pulled his jacket off and covered his face with it before he passed out.

  “Mason. Wake up.”

  Mason jerked awake and moaned as pain splintered through his ribs. He frowned as he lifted his neck, pain travelling along his spine. He’d obviously slept in the wrong position for too long.

  Zoe was standing in front of him with a smile on her face and a bowl in her hands.

  “I know you need to sleep but I thought you might like something to eat.” Zoe placed the bowl on the table and Mason struggled to sit up without causing himself too much pain.

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s not a problem. I left the clothes beside you if you can manage to get dressed.” Zoe sat on the other side of the sofa and crossed her overly long legs, turning to stare at him. Mason avoided looking at her and instead took the bowl. It was a creamy tomato soup with a hint of basil.

  “This is lovely, thank you.”

  Zoe smiled but didn’t say anything. Her presence didn’t make him uncomfortable, he was aware of her staring but it didn’t make him uncomfortable. He finished his soup and replaced the bowl from where he picked it up and turned his body to face Zoe.

  “When did you get your tattoo?”

  “I was eighteen.”

  “How old are you?” Zoe tilted her head to the side slightly and frowned. Mason couldn’t help but notice that small lines that formed between her eyebrows when she frowned. It made him want to reach up and kiss them away, along with other parts of her delightful body.

  “I’m twenty four.”

  “Who beat you up?”

  “I can’t remember.” He could remember almost everything that had happened the previous night but he didn’t want to tell Zoe for fear that the club would find her and hurt her. He couldn’t have that over his head. He couldn’t allow this beautiful woman to have danger thrust upon her because of him.

  “I think you’re lying to me. I’m good at spotting liars.” As Zoe said the words Mason noted her lips kick up in a smile. Obviously the liars she had to spot couldn’t be that dangerous or harmful. Mason looked around the home with curiosity. It was pretty big for just her to be living here by herself.

  “Where is your husband?”

  “I don’t have one.” A flicker of sadness appeared on her face before she schooled it and replaced it with a heart-warming smile.

  “Why do you have such a large home?”

  “Well, my daughters and I couldn’t fit in a one bedroom flat.” Zoe shrugged and Mason felt his eyes widen. She had children. That would explain the jungle gym out the back but he was secretly hoping that she ran a day-care centre or something from her home.

  “Daughters?”

  “Yes, I’ve got two. Rebecca and Angelia both aged five.”

  “Where are they?” Mason felt panic rise in him. It was an unusual emotion for him but the thought of Zoe and her daughters in danger because of him cause an unwelcome emotion in him. He’d only know her for a few hours but he knew that he couldn’t let anyone hurt this caring woman and her daughters.

  “They’re with their grandmother. Are you okay? You seem scared.”

  “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you because of me. I should get going.”

  “Listen here. You’re not leaving my home until I am one hundred percent sure that you’re going to be fine. You understand me?” Zoe placed her hand on his shoulder and glared at him. Mason couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face at the sound of her ‘mother’ voice.

  “I’ll be fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve been beaten up.”

  ****

  Zoe’s heart broke at the pain in Mason’s voice. It was obvious when she found him in her garden that he wasn’t even going to attempt to move and that he would probably have let himself die if she hadn’t forced him in her home.

  She wasn’t quite sure why she was so protective of the younger man but she knew that she didn’t want him to get hurt anymore. It may be her mothering instinct but everything in her body called out to this man and it wasn’t because she wanted to bake cookies for him.

  Cookies were the last thing on her mind when she looked at Mason. It may have been that she hadn’t been with a man in the three years since John had passed away, but she couldn’t stop imagining what this young man would be like between the sheets.

  Zoe was only four years older than Mason but it seemed like a very large age gap to her. Maybe her mind would get out of the gutter if she was able to get him to put some clothes on. She’d managed to clean him up and feed him; next step was to get him dressed.

  “Why don’t you put some clothes on?”

  “I can’t bend over to put them on. My ribs hurt too much.” Mason shrugged and sat up straighter on the sofa. Zoe nodded before kneeling in front of him, the boxers in her hand.

  “What are you doing?”

  “If you can’t get them on yourself then I’ll have to help you. I can’t have you strutting around my home in just a flimsy towel.”

  “I’m hardly strutting. I can barely walk.”

  “Mason, just let me put some clothes on you.” Zoe didn’t wait for him to cooperate and instead grabbed his right leg and forced it through the boxers. Even if she could get him to wear boxers then at least she wouldn’t be tempted to peek under the towel when he was sleeping.

  She got both legs in and had to get Mason to stand up so she could pull them up. He grumbled and groaned but stood up and allowed her to pull
his boxers up and over his backside. Her fingers grazed the sides of hips and she heard Mason curse.

  “Can you put jogging bottoms on?” Zoe cleared her throat and looked up at the man standing before her. She realised they were in a compromising position and Mason obviously did too when she saw the towel start to poke outwards.

  “These are a bit snug. I’m sure the bottoms will be worse.” Mason sat back down and traded the towel for a blanket. Zoe got off her knees and smiled at him. At least Mason saw something he liked. Or maybe he liked that someone was on his knees in front of him.

  “Can you climb the stairs because I have a spare bedroom you could use if you wanted?”

  “I’m afraid I’m unable to climb the stairs.”

  “Okay, if you move over to the arm chair I have some sheets and pillows that I can throw on the sofa. Sleep is your friend at the moment, Mason.” With that Zoe headed up the stairs and into the cupboard where she kept all the fresh bedding. Unfortunately for Mason the only covers she had available had princesses on them.

  When she returned downstairs Mason wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. She frowned but her worried disappeared as soon as she heard the toilet flush. Mason hadn’t left and was just using the bathroom. She didn’t want him leaving when he was so fragile.

  She shook away her worry and turned the sofa into a makeshift bed. Mason was standing by the door, his hand across his ribs and breathing heavily. She helped him to lie on the sofa and covered him with the covers.

  “I’m sorry; these are the only available clean sheets. Rebecca loves princesses.”

  “It’s fine. They feel great.” Mason’s eyes had already started to droop and within moments he was snoring. Obviously the man needed to sleep and she was going to let him sleep and stay here for as long as it took for him to recover.

  ****

  Mason had been in her home for nearly three days and he was able to walk without getting out of breath now. Her daughters were due to come home today and she wasn’t sure what her mother or her daughters would think of the mostly naked man on her sofa.

  She was cleaning up in the kitchen when something came flying through her kitchen window. She couldn’t hold back the scream that came out of her mouth as glass sprayed the kitchen. Mason was in the kitchen in a matter of moments, a stern expression on his handsome face.

  “What the hell?” she yelled when she saw the brick on her counter.

  “They’ve found me. I’ve got to go.”

  “Mason, what is going on?” Zoe grabbed Mason’s wrist and tugged when he tried to leave the kitchen. He turned and glared at her.

  “The people who are after me have found me. I’ve got to go. I can’t have them hurting you or your daughters.”

  “You can’t leave. You’re still injured. I’ll just call the police.”

  “No! Do not call the police. Listen to me, Zoe. These aren’t the kind of people who take too kindly to people ratting them out.”

  “You need to tell me what is going on here. You can’t leave but I cannot have my daughters living somewhere dangerous.”

  “Zoe—”

  “Mason, tell me now or I will phone the police.”

  “Sit down.” Mason gestured to the dining table and she took a seat across from him and crossed her arms, waiting for him to tell her what had happened.

  “Do you know who the Black Rose is?”

  “No, should I?”

  “It’s a good thing you don’t know. It’s a biker club that runs downtown. They’re the people who are after me.”

  “Why are they after you?”

  “I was in the club and a deal went wrong.”

  “So you were in this biker club? Then a deal went wrong and they want to beat you up now?” Zoe done that head tilting thing again and Mason smiled slightly.

  “No, they don’t want to beat me up again. They want me dead, Zoe.”

  “What could have gone so wrong that they would want you dead?”

  “We were doing a deal downtown and things were getting shady. I’d been in the Black Rose since I was sixteen and to be honest I couldn’t deal with it anymore. They don’t like people leaving without a good reason and they hate traitors.

  “The only way I could think of getting out of the Black Rose was to get the leader arrested. I called the police when I knew the deal was taking place but someone overheard me and I had to run with them or end up dying in the street.

  “I got beaten up and I ran. That’s when you found me. My biggest regret is ever joining the Black Rose in the first place.”

  “So, you joined this club when you were sixteen and now want out but you can’t leave the club without a good reason?”

  “That’s pretty much it.”

  “Then you became a traitor to them and now they want you dead?”

  “Yes, I can’t stay here any longer. I need you to promise me that you’re going to be safe.” Mason reached out and took Zoe’s hands between his and looked in her eyes. Zoe could see the pain swimming in Mason’s green eyes but couldn’t bring herself to make him that promise.

  “You can’t leave until I know you’re safe.”

  “Zoe, these aren’t playground games. These people are dangerous!” Mason stood up angrily and winced slightly. The pain wasn’t as bad in his ribs now but it still did hurt a lot. Zoe stood and rounded the table to stand in front of him. She hesitantly reached out and put her hand on his chest before looking up at him.

  “I know they’re dangerous but I can’t let you go out there knowing that I could have stopped you. Just wait until you’re better before leaving. Please?” Zoe put her hand over Mason’s chest and felt the strong beat beneath her fingertips.

  Mason wrapped his hand around hers and shook his head. Zoe opened her mouth to speak again but was surprised when Mason bent down and sealed his lips over hers. Zoe wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn’t been kissed in over three years, she wasn’t sure she was any good anymore.

  “I’m sorry.” Mason said as he pulled away from her. Obviously Zoe hadn’t been quick enough in responding and Mason had taken it as the hint that she didn’t want to kiss him.

  “No, I liked it. I just haven’t been kissed since John.”

  “Is John your ex-husband?”

  “John was my ex-husband. He died in Afghanistan three years ago. “Zoe moved her hand across Mason’s chest before looking back up at him.

  “You’ve not been kissed in three years?”

  “I haven’t been kissed in nearly four. John was out for nearly a year before he died.”

  “It’s all right.” Mason tugged her into his arms and Zoe wrapped her arms around the larger man. It was nice to be held in a man’s arms again. It had been so long she’d forgotten how much she loved being in a man’s arms.

  “I just can’t have you and your daughters in danger. You’ve done so much for me in the last three days than my family have done in the last six years.” Mason kissed the top of her head and Zoe nuzzled her face in Mason’s chest.

  “I can’t have you leaving if you’re still in pain. Just wait a few more days, please, Mason?”

  “I’ll wait three more days, but then I need to leave.”

  “My daughters are coming home tonight. I hope you are okay with children.”

  “I used to watch my baby brother all the time. I’m good with children.” Mason ran his hand down Zoe’s back and smiled when she shivered against him.

  “Baby brother?”

  “I was kicked out when I was sixteen which is why I joined the Black Rose. I had a drug problem and haven’t spoken to my family since.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. What drug problem?”

  “It’s not your fault. I was addicted to cocaine. I’m clean now though. The Black Rose forced me to get clean.” Mason bent down again and landed a kiss on her cheek. Zoe tilted her head slightly and transferred Mason’s lips from her cheek to her lips. She felt Mason smile against her own lips as he kissed her.

  Mason grasped
Zoe’s face in his large hands and pulled her close to him before pushing his lips against hers forcefully.

  Zoe gasped and Mason took that as invitation to shove him tongue inside. His hands left her face to pull her closer by the waist. Zoe hesitantly kissed him back, her body popping out in goose bumps at the way Mason was taking charge.

  “Fuck.” Mason muttered against Zoe’s lips before he swiped his tongue inside again. Zoe whimpered quietly and he chuckled before pushing Mason rubbed his groin against her stomach.