Mason Spin-off: Impulse

The silence was the worst part.

Not the cold. Not the way the headlights cut through the night.

Not the nausea crawling up her throat or the sting in her palm where the skin had split. The silence. Like the night had swallowed everything, every scream, every gasp, every sound that should echo through the night but didn’t.

Keelin stood in the middle of the road, cold water soaking through her heels, her dress clinging to her thighs. Her breath hitched like her lungs were giving out.

She blinked at the headlights, heart punching holes through her chest. Everything was too loud. Too bright. Too much.

The car sat crooked behind her, engine ticking, one headlight flickering like a dying star. The door was open, the keys still in the ignition.

Her legs were shaking. Her hands? Useless. Just limp things hanging at her sides, sticky with sweat and maybe blood.

A wall of sound hit her before she could move.

“Ma’am! Stay right there!”

She didn’t move. Couldn’t.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she flinched hard, head snapping to the side when a flashlight hit her eyes. Someone wrapped a blanket around her. Someone else started firing questions she couldn’t answer.

Her throat was raw. Her lips wouldn’t open.

There was something caught in her mouth, gravel or regret, she couldn’t tell. Her mind was spinning so fast, it felt like she’d left her body behind.

And then she heard him. Her dad.

“Keelin.”

He didn’t rush. He didn’t ask if she was okay. Just looked her up and down like he was calculating something.

He stepped between her and the paramedics like he had every right to. “You say nothing,” he murmured. “Do you hear me?”

She blinked.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t speak until I tell you to.”

Sirens. Radios. Flashlights.

Her stomach twisted. His voice came again.

“Everything will be fine. I will make this go away. I will fix it.”

The wind picked up. Her fingers curled under the blanket.

She looked down at them. Pale. Empty. Red.

She turned back to the road, but she didn’t see anything anymore.

Not the lights. Not the shape.

Not the body.

Sebastian Campbell trailed his fingers slowly down the creamy, bare back of his latest hookup, his touch featherlight. Just enough to tease, never enough to satisfy. He knew how she liked it. The denial, the torment of withheld pressure, only heightened her pleasure.

She was his favorite. Open to passion in all its forms, willing to indulge in every pleasure. That was why he sought her out.

Brushing her blonde hair aside, he pressed his lips to the curve of her neck, his fingers gliding down her arm. When she stirred, a small sound escaping her lips, he only grinned.

But he didn’t stop there. His hand slipped beneath the sheets, tracing down her stomach, over her legs, until she had no choice but to stop pretending she was asleep.

When her eyes finally opened, she smiled, not rushing, not reaching, just letting him explore.

Sebastian knew his way around a woman’s body like an artist knew their brushes. Women were his canvas. To worship. To handle with care.

He made them feel wanted, and in return, they made him feel like a god. Women had never been a problem for him. They fell at his feet, eager for a taste of Scotland’s most desirable man.

He knew many were using him just as much as he used them, but that didn’t bother him. It was an even exchange—pleasure for pleasure, no strings, no promises.

Hands gliding, fingers teasing, mouths devouring. They screamed his name like he was some kind of alien to them. And he basked in it.

This woman, his latest conquest, plucked from the gym, was a wildcat, one who knew exactly how to make him groan and growl like no one else.

When she straddled him, claiming his mouth in a slow, deep kiss, she laughed triumphantly when he groaned and flipped her onto her back.

His hand slid between her legs as he kissed her again, taking his time, making her cry out his name over and over. That was all this was. Passion. Excitement. Nothing more.

There were no whispered words of love. No false promises. Just two people indulging in what they did best.

Sebastian hated labels. Love and commitment? Sinful things, in his book. He enjoyed sinning, but those two? He steered clear.

At twenty-seven, life had little to offer him beyond pleasure.

The room echoed with moans and grunts until, finally, they collapsed, breathless, tangled together. A light chuckle rose from the woman beneath him, her flushed face framed by tousled blonde hair against his pillow.

He smirked, dipping his head to kiss her again…

The door to his bedroom flew open.

The woman beneath him startled, her big brown eyes going wide, and Sebastian groaned, immediately recognizing the scent of the perfume that flooded the room.

He dropped his forehead to hers before rolling onto his back, not bothering to cover himself. Modesty had never been his concern.

The blonde yanked the duvet over herself, while Sebastian propped himself up on one elbow, smiling lazily.

“Shocking,” his unwelcome guest drawled. “I didn’t expect to find you in bed with someone.”

The sarcasm was thick, and Sebastian let out an exasperated sigh as Olivia Campbell—his cousin and a professional pain in his ass—averted her gaze in disgust before grabbing his discarded shirt from the floor and tossing it at him.

“Cover yourself, please. The last thing I need is a mental image of my cousin’s dick haunting me for the rest of my life.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have barged in here if you knew I wasn’t alone,” he shot back.

Liv’s expression remained unimpressed as she turned to the blonde beside him.

“I hope you had a good night,” she said smoothly, but there was an unmistakable edge to her voice. “I’m sorry, but get dressed and leave. My cousin and I need to talk.”

Sebastian frowned, keeping the blonde close with one arm.

“I think the one who needs to leave is you, sweetheart. We can talk when I’m ready to talk.” He dismissed her with a look before turning back to the woman in his bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Liv, never one to back down, stalked over to the bed, ignoring the disbelief on Sebastian’s face.

Before he could react, she grabbed the blonde by the wrist and tugged her toward the edge of the mattress, indifferent to the duvet slipping and exposing bare skin.

Sebastian sat up, his expression darkening, but Liv only tilted the woman’s chin up, looking her straight in the eye.

“I’m saying this because I think you deserve better,” she said, her voice deceptively soft. “My cousin is a prat. You’re nothing more than a plaything to him until he gets bored. And when he meets his friends, he’ll tell them all about your fun night together. He’ll rate it. They’ll laugh over drinks. And before you know it, you’ve lost respect in their eyes.”

Silence.

The blonde’s expression shifted, anger, humiliation, then something else. Something like gratitude.

Sebastian knew it was over before she even moved.

Without a word, she slipped out of bed, naked, not sparing him a single glance as she snatched up her clothes and purse.

“You’re an arsehole,” she spat before storming out, leaving Sebastian staring after her, a reserved sigh escaping him.

“That wasn’t necessary, Liv,” he muttered, irritation flickering in his eyes.

Liv beamed, looking far too satisfied with herself as she tossed his shorts at his face.

“You can be a real bitch sometimes,” he grumbled, yanking them on. “And I’m about done with you.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She crossed her arms as he poured himself a drink at his minibar, watching as he leaned against the counter, sipping lazily.

“I need your help.”

Sebastian threw his head back with a laugh, walking over to the balcony doors. Sunlight streamed in as he exhaled deeply, glancing back at her.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. Maybe you should’ve thought twice before kicking out my guest. That was pretty rude.”

“If someone had answered my calls and texts last night, I wouldn’t be here,” she snapped.

Sebastian smirked, remembering the relentless assault his phone endured the night before.

“Liv, I was preoccupied. Answering your calls was the last thing on my mind.”

She fished something out of her bag and handed it to him. A blue card.

He took it with a furrowed brow, setting his drink down to inspect it. The moment he read the contents, laughter burst from his lips.

“It’s not funny!”

“What’s not funny about being invited to your ex’s engagement party? This is fucking brilliant. Are you going?”

“That son of a bitch did this on purpose!” she fumed. “He thinks I care that he’s moved on. As if I’d waste my time crying over him.”

She lifted her chin. “But if he expects me to stay home, he’s sorely mistaken.”

Sebastian’s smirk deepened. “You’re not about to ask me to pretend to be your boyfriend, are you?”

She shot him a sharp glare. “No, you idiot. You’ve met him, remember?”

He made a show of thinking. “Have I? My brain gets fuzzy when it comes to you.”

Liv huffed. “I just need a wingman. And if I had someone else to take, believe me, I would.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Why go at all? You don’t have to attend your ex-fiancé’s engagement party.”

“I want to show him I’m living my best life without him.”

“You sure? You do sound kinda upset about it.”

Liv’s eyes blazed, and Sebastian took a hasty step back, raising his hands in surrender.

“You’re coming with me,” she declared.

Sebastian sighed. “As much as I adore you, Liv, tomorrow won’t work. I have a meeting with clients from Hong Kong.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Do these clients have tits and p…”

He snorted. “Not sure.”

“I can’t believe you’re ditching me for meaningless sex. I thought I could count on you for anything, but I guess not.”

Olivia spun around to leave his room in anger, and Sebastian knew if he didn’t pacify her or try to meet with her demands, he was going to have a lousy week.

“Olivia.”

She whirled around and demanded, “What?”

“I really hate you.”

Her mouth spread into a wide grin. Every time Sebastian said he hated her, it meant he had agreed to do what she wanted.

“Thank you, darling. There’s a reason why you’re my favorite.” She puckered her red lips and blew him a kiss before she made for the door.

Sebastian groaned. It was going to be a long day.