Into the Dark Read online

  “There are just a few things I need you to sign, just to say that you have picked it up.” Sighing I reach for the pen sitting in a pot on the desk. I really need to get out of here, and quickly. I don’t know what has my mood so shitty today, but it’s unfair to take it out on this girl, but if she doesn't hurry up and do her job that’s what’s going to happen. Shit. I need to go home and sleep, or get drunk again, because apparently getting laid isn't on the cards if I'm turning down a beautiful woman who is doing everything to show her interest except rubbing herself up and down my leg.

  Signing the forms she hands me I grab the bag with my suit in it and give her a small polite smile before walking to the door.

  “I have written my number on the receipt, Mr McIntyre, just in case you need me for anything.” God if this woman can take a hint she isn't showing me now. I just nod my head and walk out the door making a note not to return to that shop.

  Chapter Twelve

  Niamh

  I have no idea why I'm here. Well, I do but I can't believe that I’m actually here. When Dr. Muir had asked if I was busy this evening, I thought he wanted me to do some overtime, but no, he wanted a date to this function. Once I had said I had nothing planned I really couldn't say no to his invite. I should’ve known better, he’s been asking me out for the last few months but I have always let him down gently, pretending to have other things on. He’s a nice guy, a doctor at the hospital where I work and not bad to look at. He has blonde hair and a nice build, not too muscly, but it is obvious that he looks after himself, he is also super sweet. He not only works in the hospital but he also volunteers his spare time at the children’s hospital, reading them stories when he can. He is the most perfect man you could ever imagine, handsome, sweet and going by this evening attentive. I really should be falling over myself to be with him, my head tells me to grab hold with both hands, but my heart and libido seems to have it’s sights set on a dark haired, blue eyed manwhore. Just the thought of him seems to make my body heat and my pulse race. I’m pulled out of my head as a glass of wine is held up to my face.

  “Penny for your thoughts.” I didn't realise I had been so far into thinking of Mason.

  “I’m sorry, Dr. Muir. I was a million miles away there. Thank you for the wine.” I take the glass from his hand and take a little sip.

  “I have told you Niamh, it’s Callen. We aren’t at the hospital, you are allowed to use my name. Even though at the hospital you can use my name as well.” He smiles at me, and I notice again just how handsome he is. I really should feel more attracted to him.

  “Thank you, Callen.” I didn’t think his smile could get bigger, but when I say his name it seems to grow.

  “I’m really glad you could make it tonight. You always seem to work so hard, I don't think I see any other nurse work the hours you do.” I’m pretty sure this is his nice way of telling me I'm boring, the all work and no play kind of thing.

  “I love my work, maybe one day I will feel the need to have a very busy social life, but at the moment I’m more than happy with my life.” Ok, that is a complete lie. There is always that little part of me that wished for something more, that someone special at home that would be there to hug me at the end of a bad shift, or to take me out for the evening and just make me forget. It would be easier if it wasn't for Mason filling all my waking thoughts, he is the one guy who my dream would never work with.

  “Oh, please don’t get me wrong. I admire your work ethic, I wish more people had it. I’m just glad I could finally convince you to come out with me this evening, I have wanted to spend time with you for a long time.” He really is such an amazing guy, there is just something missing. There is no spark, no ... chemistry. Before I can say anything back to him, he holds out his hand towards me.

  “Dance with me?” I take his hand as he leads me towards the large dance floor, taking my glass of wine and placing it on a table we pass on the way. I feel my muscles tighten slightly as he wraps one arm around my waist, holding me closer than I planned while his other hand still holds mine. It feels more intimate than friends should, and I try to relax, but it’s difficult to do when I don’t feel relaxed in the slightest.

  I’ve drunk more wine tonight than I have in a very long time. Every time my glass empties Callen turns up with a full one for me, I lost count at the fourth glass. I’m sitting at the bar while he is away talking to a group of guys, he had asked me to go but I felt it would be safer if I stayed here where I could sit for a while. The barman hands me another glass of wine and I can almost feel it making my head fuzzy. I wave my hand to try and call him back over to order a glass of water, but he is already serving someone else. I pick up the glass promising myself that I will just sip this one while I look around the room. I love people watching, it must be my favourite hobby, to imagine what their story may be, what their life holds day to day. I’m scanning the room, admiring all the ladies dresses, realising how good they all look in their dresses compared to me. I didn't have long to get ready for the evening, this wouldn’t normally be a problem but I have very few dresses in my wardrobe, and now as I look around I realise it shows. The dress I'm wearing is a knee length form fitting number in burgundy. Simple and classy, or so I thought up until now. I continue my musing on the people in the room, now having a closer look at the men. Is there anything more attractive than a man in a perfectly fitted suit? Every man in here seems to be wearing perfectly tailored suit’s, men that I wouldn't mind taking for a little spin around the block. I shock myself with those thoughts, turning to place the glass of wine on the bar, I’ve obviously had enough of it. Turning back around I get the strange feeling that someone is staring at me, tingles working their way over my skin. I turn and look in Callen’s direction, but he is still engrossed in a conversation with the group of men he’s with. I continue my perusal of the room, trying to discreetly see who is staring, knowing someone is, I know it sounds strange, but I can feel them. I have just about made a full circle around the room when my eyes land on him. Bright, intense eyes taking in every movement I make, and I can't look away no matter how hard I try. I don’t know if it’s the wine or just the reaction I have to this man, but my body temperature rises and I feel my heart trying to burst out of my chest. Mason. But not just the Mason that I’m used to, this Mason knocks that Mason out of the water a thousand times over. He’s wearing an amazing black suit that looks like it was made to show off his amazing body, with his slim waist and wide shoulders he looks like he has just walked from the pictures in a fashion magazine. When I finally look back up to his face, his eyes are still trained on me, but they look darker than they did before, the look of desire in them making me move in my seat to try and relieve the ache that is building in me. I’m so caught up in Mason’s eyes that I don't notice Callen until his arms wrap around my waist and he kisses my shoulder gently. He has been getting friendlier as the evening has gone on and more alcohol has been consumed. I haven't asked for it, but I haven't told him to stop either, finding that the drunker I fell the more I’m enjoying it. Now with Masons eyes on me, I feel very uneasy, like I can feel the anger vibrating over the dance floor towards me. The darkness in his eyes no longer has to do with lust, it’s now pure anger. I try to move away from Callen but before I can, Mason walks away, leaving me watching him as he leaves the room through the double doors leading to the rest of the hotel. I need to go after him, I need to make sure he is ok, but I don't know why and that scares me a little. All we have done is get angry at each other, but deep down I need to know he is all right. The night I left him at the nightclub I had been a bitch, but I refuse to be yet another one night stand to him, I deserve more than that.

  Telling Callen that I need to visit the ladies' room, I make my way out the door, watching for Mason as I walk down the hall. I have no idea where to find him, he could honestly be anywhere in this hotel, that’s even if he’s still here. I’m walking towards the end of the hall when I hear cursing coming from behind a door, walking tow
ards it as quietly as I can I hear a thump coming from the room, like someone punching something. I push the door open and look through the crack, I can see Mason pacing back and forth across the floor inside looking as pissed off as I have ever seen him. He has his hands gripping his hair and is muttering to himself. The smart part of my brain tells me to walk away, none of this is anything to do with me and we will just get into another fight, but the other part, the part I always seem to listen to tells me to go and talk to him, find out why he stormed off. Maybe it’s the wine, but the not so smart part of my brain wins out, and I push the door open to step inside. As the door closes behind me with a click, Masons turns giving me his full attention, and it’s then I realise the mistake I’ve just made. His eyes bore through me and I feel the ripples of tension between us.

  “Why didn’t you just say you had a boyfriend, Niamh, it would have saved me making an arse of myself so often. Or was that half the fun?” He growls through a clenched jaw. The timbre of his voice talks to the primal part of me and I can feel my stomach clenching with the pure manliness of it.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend, I’m here on a date. Only a date.” I don't know why I am explaining myself to him, all he is to me is an annoyance. Someone who slept with my roommate ... that’s it. But here I am trying to explain my situation with Callen.

  “You looked awful cosy to be only on a date, I should have known there was a reason you were such a bitch to me.” What the hell? Ok, I know I have been a bitch, but he doesn't get to jump to conclusions about why. He isn’t about to put all this on me, he is the reason I'm a bitch.

  “Seriously? That’s what you’re putting this down to? Not anything to do with you, Mason, no? Couldn't be that you are a man whore and I refuse to be yet another notch on your bedposts?” I’m so angry with him, how dare he put all this on me.

  “You have been cold to me since we met at the garage, I still don't know what I’ve done to you.” The man seriously doesn't listen. He moves towards me and I take a step back, trying to keep a safe distance from him.

  “That wasn't the first time I met you, Mason. And the fact you think it was just shows how many women you have been with. Think back, try and remember when you met me.” I know I'm being petty, and I'm trying to keep my voice calm but it’s really hard with Mason. He just seems to get all my emotions running high, and the most obvious emotion is anger.

  “It was the garage, there is no way I would forget meeting you, Niamh. Not if you acted like this towards me, not that many women say no to me.” The smile he has on his face makes me want to slap him, or kiss him. I'm not sure which.

  “Did you seriously just say that? Could you have a bigger head, Mason.” My voice is starting to rise, but at least my head feels a bit clearer now. Nothing like a fight with a hot guy to sober you up quickly. I move towards him not, getting into his face.

  “I met you as you were sneaking out of my flat, you slept with my roommate. Think hard, Mason.” I watch his face carefully, and I can actually pinpoint the exact moment that the memory he is looking for makes itself known. He looks towards me and his cheeks flush a little. At least he has the decency to look a little ashamed.

  “Fuck.” One simple word, but it explains all his feelings at this moment.

  “Well, now you know why I won't sleep with you. I refuse to be Talia’s sloppy seconds. So the next time, you want to call me a bitch or get upset about who I’m with, just remember that.” I know I should walk away but now he finally knows I just can't seem to stop laying into him. He starts pacing the room again, his hands returning to his hair.

  “Even if you hadn't been with Talia, do you honestly think I would want to be with you, Mason? How many women have you been with? Or would it be quicker for you to think about how many women you haven't been with, that must be a smaller number.” I watch as he stops pacing, turning to glare at me. I feel the confidence I had a moment ago fade, he looks so powerful at this moment.

  “It’s time to walk away, Niamh.” He looks pissed off, and maybe if I didn't have so much wine in my body I would do the smart thing and walk away, but apparently tonight is not the night for smart choices.

  “What's wrong, Mason? Has no one ever told you the truth before? If you were a woman people would tell you at every opportunity what a slut you are, but no, because your a guy it seems to be ok. Just because you’re hot doesn’t mean you have the right to use women as you want and leave them crushed behind you.” He stalks closer to me and I take a step back, I can’t get my mouth to stop spewing out everything I have been thinking in the last few weeks, but at least my body still has its own safety in mind.

  “I said leave!” Mason's body is almost vibrating with anger, and I can't help but wonder how long it will be until he completely loses it.

  “No, Mason. I’m not one of your little…” All thoughts disappear from my mind as his lips collide with mine.

  Mason

  I didn’t mean to kiss her. I just needed her to get her to shut up.

  When I’d seen her sitting at the bar across the dance floor from me, I didn’t believe it at first, she was so beautiful that my breath had actually caught in my chest. I don’t know how long I stood there and stared at her, my pulse racing through my body. The dress that she wore making her stand out in the group of women in the function suite, it was simple and figure hugging, showing that she didn't need any of the fancy shit the others were wearing to stand out. She was stunning. Her hair tied back loosely with bit’s falling around her face, her make up simple with dark eyes and glossy lips, lips I just wanted to taste. When her eyes had connected with mine, I could almost feel the surge of lust from across the room. After weeks of thinking about her, the real thing was better than I remembered, and the look she is giving me was better than I could have ever imagined. Heat and lust. That's what she was showing me in those beautiful green eyes, and I’m sure those were the feelings reflected in my own eyes. Then that arsehole had come and put his arms around her, not only that but he put his lips on her, and I so desperately wanted those lips to be mine. I knew in that instant I needed to leave, if I didn’t I was going to walk across the room and punch the guy until he took his hands off her.

  I found this empty room hoping to have time to calm down, to get the thoughts of strangling someone from my mind, but she just had to follow me. When she opened that door, I was torn, my body reacting immediately with my dick going hard, but my common sense told me I needed to get her to leave. Fighting with her hadn't been anywhere on the list of things to do, but yet here we are again, it seems to come naturally to us. All we seem to do is fight, but I know in my case it needs to be that or I would pin her to any surface while I show her exactly why I'm so popular with the opposite sex. She just seems to manage to push all my buttons, and I mean all of them. When she had dropped the bombshell of how we met, I nearly swallowed my tongue. I remember her. I remember even then she had an acidic tongue towards me, but now I know why, she must feel great knowing that I slept with her roommate before her. How can I tell her now, that if I had seen her first there would have been no competition at all. I had been trying to get my head around all these facts when she started shouting at me, I had just wanted her to leave, to let me think for one fucking minute but she wouldn't stop talking.

  So here I am, kissing the woman I have been thinking of kissing for weeks, and it’s a thousand times better than I imagined, even though it is the most innocent kiss I’ve had in a long time. With her pinned between my body and the wall, she has finally shut up. Using all the willpower I can gather I pull back from her lips, bracing myself for the punch that I have a sneaky suspicion may connect with my jaw. Looking down at her the only thing I want to do is to kiss her again, no matter the consequences. Her lips are parted slightly with her breathing and I can't think of anything but slipping my tongue between them. Niamh's eyes work their way up my face until they connect with mine, I can see the battle she has going on in her head, her lust trying to over run her comm
on sense. It’s making me wonder how painful the conclusion to this argument is going to be for me. But then it happens, the one thing I didn’t ever expect. She rises up on her toes until her lips brush against mine, gently at first but then with a little more pressure. I let her take the lead, let her move as slowly as she needs. I don't want to push too far and scare her off, even though my heart is beating so fast with desire that I’m sure it’s going to explode at any minute. The feel of her tongue tasting my lips destroys the last bit of restraint that I was holding onto. I work my hands into her hair, gripping it tightly in my fist, the small gasp she releases into my mouth makes my dick even harder, even though I didn't think that was possible. I push my tongue into her mouth, the need to taste her overpowering my common sense. Rubbing my tongue over hers I finally taste what I have been missing, the taste of white wine and something else that I think it just purely her. I increase the pressure in her hair, pulling her head back so she opens more to me, and I swear I hear her purr. Fuck, this woman is going to have me coming in my pants if I'm not careful. Pulling back from her mouth I work my way down her jaw and neck, when I find that spot where her neck joins her shoulder, I bite it gently. This seems to spur her into action, and before I know what's happening she has her hands in my hair pulling it ... hard. The harder she pulls, the more I feel it in my dick, which is now pulsing behind my trousers. I grind my dick into her, loving being able to finally feel her against my body, feel her rubbing against the areas I want inside her. She is so turned on, I swear I can feel her heat through my trousers, and it just makes me want to rip her dress of where we stand. I don’t know what does it, but I feel her suddenly tense in my arms. Maybe I have pushed her too far, but I can't feel bad about it. My dick feels like it’s about to explode like I'm a fourteen-year-old boy, and that makes me so fucking happy in this moment. I feel her lips moving away from mine and I cautiously look at her. She looks pissed, but I don't know if it’s at herself or if it’s at me, I know I was the one who kissed her first, but she kissed me back. Her hands move slowly to my chest and she pushes me back, making space between our bodies.