**Mason''s POV**


    Ace and Deacon went to bed hours ago, I went too, but I haven''t slept a wink. Instead, I''ve been sitting at the small vanity table in the bedroom, staring at the blinking red dot on aptop screen.


    It''s been almost 12 hours since Archie was taken, and he has been moved twice. There was a brief stop in a disused church in Pnd, and then he was moved to an empty mallin Marnd, America. He has been there for over 9 hours now, but he still hasn''t sent the signal. I''m sure this has to be the ce. It fits the profile, but until we get the signal, we can''t risk going


    "You''re supposed to be sleeping," Josie says as she pushes open the bedroom door.


    "I can''t," I shake my head.


    "If anything happens, I''ll wake you up straight away," Josie says as shees up behind me, leaning down and wrapping her arms around my neck. She kisses my check and then rubs the stubble that I have let grow over thest week.


    "I kind of like you unshaven," she hums.


    "I don''t think Theo agrees, he said it makes me look older, I shake my head.


    "You are older," she teases, "How did we grow up so fast? It feels like just yesterday that we were newly bonded students trying to work out what everything meant."


    "It feels like yesterday that was fighting to find you and bring you home. Now I feel like I''m repeating it all over again with Harper."


    "You were fighting to bring Harper home then too, you just didn''t know it. We will bring her home. I have no doubt, no matter what it takes, or how long we have to fight for, we will bring her home," she says and I nod.


    "If this doesn''t work with Archie, then I think it might be time we consider going to the prison to talk with your sperm donor."


    "You might be right. I''m just struggling to wrap my head around his story about my mum. I want to believe his version of events because that means my mum wasn''t taken advantage of or forced into anything. I wasn''t the result of a horrible situation, and I didn''t cause her to be mentally unwell. If what he says is true, she was already mentally fragile before my gifts started waking up. I just can''t get passed what he did to you, or rather, what he didn''t do. He knew Cash had you, and was manipting your family, and he did nothing to stop it," she shakes her head.


    1 reach for her, pulling her into myp to straddle me.


    "He might not have known exactly what Cash was doing. I think everyone underestimated Cash''s depravity, so let''s forget that for now. What''s important is getting the answers you need, and finding out if he can find Harper. Okay?"


    "Okay," she nods, "Now you really should sleep."


    "I can''t, I can''t switch my mind off," I say with a sigh.


    Tiredness pulls at me, making me feel heavy, but every time I close my eyes my


    mind begins to run at a mile a minute and refuses to shut off.


    "Then let me help you," she says with a seductive smile.


    Chapter 0274:


    "I don''t think..." I start to protest but cut myself off with a roan as Josie''s hand palms my rapidly awakening dick through my shorts.


    Her other hand roams my chest as she brings her mouth to my neck, kissing and nipping me there. My hands go to her hips on instinct, trying to pull her closer to me, but the chair arms are in the way.


    I stand from the chair, lifting her with me and carrying her to the bed as she grinds her body against mine. She clings to me as I crawl onto the bed toy her head down softly on the pillow. I take a moment to look down at her, and I swear her beauty has only increased with time.


    Josie''s big blue eyes look back at me with admiration and lean down, bringing my lips to hers. Kissing her softly, she moans at the first swipe of my tongue against hers, and the noise turns me feral. I love the sounds she makes, and how responsive she still is to my every touch. I need more of her. With barely a thought, I turn our clothes into scraps of fabric that litter the bed like confetti around us, and then I work my way down her body with needing to hear her cry out for me as I devour her sweet pussy.


    "Mace, please," she breathes before I can even take my first taste of her.


    "So impatient,” I tut as I divert my path down to her inner thigh to drive her wild. my mouth,


    I kiss both of her thighs and nip her there gently until she is a squirming, needy mess on the bed, Then, unable to deny her any longer, I lick a path from her opening to her clit. She hisses and grips the back of my head, holding une to her whilst my mouth works her into a frenzy. I can tell by her breathing and small whimpers that she is close, so I rest my weight on one elbow and bring my hand up to join the party between her legs. I push two fingers into her warm heat, curling them up to hit the sweet spot that I know so well, and I moan against her clit as I imagine her warm pussy squeezing my cock the way it''s gripping my fingers.


    Josie loses it, screaming out her pleasure and I can''t wait a second longer. I need to be inside of her. I need to feel her and reconnect with her. Have been starved of her for too long. I crawl up her body and position my tip at her entrance before surging forward. Her body stretches around me beautifully, she was made for me, and even after all these years, I''m still blown away by how good she feels. Her pussy flutters around my cock as her orgasm seems to go on forever.


    "You feel so good, Angel," I praise her.


    Usually, Theo is the one to praise her whilst I degrade her. She loves it both ways, but this is not about fucking today. This is about loving each other and findingfort in each other''s bodies in the midst of an awful time. "I love you, Mason," she pants as my hips move, chasing the pleasure I know she will bring me.


    "I love you too, so fucking much," I say with a groan as I find my release.


    Once I''m utterly spent, I copse beside her, and she wraps her body around mine, her skin pressed to mine, bringing me a calming peace that I''ve not felt for what feels like so long and I feel like I''ve just learned a valuable lesson. That even in what seems like the worst of times, when things feel unbearable, it''s important to findfort in the small things, and the people we love. Small pleasures can offer us the lifeline and grounding that we need, giving us the power and strength to keep moving forward through the storm, knowing that love can still shine bright in the darkness.