Mason

MASON BASTARDS OF BAINBRIDGE HALL LEILA JAMES CONTENTS Credits PLAYLIST A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN NINETEEN TWENTY TWENTY-ONE TWENTY-TWO TWENTY-THREE TWENTY-FOUR TWENTY-FIVE TWENTY-SIX TWENTY-SEVEN TWENTY-EIGHT TWENTY-NINE THIRTY THIRTY-ONE THIRTY-TWO THIRTY-THREE THIRTY-FOUR THIRTY-FIVE THIRTY-SIX THIRTY-SEVEN THIRTY-EIGHT Also by Leila James Acknowledgments About the Author Copyright © 2023 by LEILA JAMES All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum CREDITS Editing: Krista Dapkey www.kdproofreading.com Photography: Michelle Lancaster @lanefotograf Cover Design: Lori Jackson www.lorijacksondesign.com Model: Thomas James @revolutionary_badboy23 PLAYLIST “Fire Up the Night” New Medicine “RUNRUNRUN” Dutch Melrose “In the Air Tonight” Natalie Taylor “Talk Dirty” Daniel D’Angelo “Bastards” Kesha “Wicked” Miki Ratsula “Kryptonite” Jeris Johnson “Someone Else” Loveless & Kellin Quinn “Toxic” 2WEI “Fuck You” Silent Child “Where Are You?” (slowed) Elvis Drew & Avivian “My Bad” Shaker & Cobra “Breakfast” Dove Cameron “Middle of the Night” Dom Lives “Medicine” Syd “Get Out Alive” Andrea Russett “Meet You in Hell” Jade LeMac “Pieces” Muscadine Bloodline & Lainey Wilson A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR Mason is the first book in the Bastards of Bainbridge Hall trilogy, centering around three men and one woman. It’s MFMM for now. WARNING: This trilogy contains dark elements, graphic content, and situations that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. If you have triggers or are remotely unsure, please check out the Content Warnings on my website, available through the link below. Also, be warned that I don't always know how a series will end or all the underlying secrets until they reveal themselves in the writing process, so you may need to check content warnings for each book in the series as they come out. CONTENT WARNINGS ONE LENNON The vice-like hold Tristan Valentine has on the back of my neck leaves no room for argument. His fingers dig into my skin, but there’s no escape in sight from the hell he’s about to force me into. My eyes flick up toward the enormous two-story Georgian-style home before us. I’ll give him this much—it’s stunningly beautiful. From what I’ve been told, it was built during the years my stepfather attended Kingston University, but somehow, they’ve given it a certain Southern charm that makes it seem like it’s been standing here for ages, though it’s no more than thirty years old, tops. All the frats on campus are housed in buildings that are almost a century old. The alumni of Bainbridge Hall are a tight-knit bunch of bastards—and so are the current members of the brotherhood, which include my stepbrother, Duke. And Duke? He hates me. There’s no way in fuck I’m living here. I don’t even want to be at KU in the first place. I want a college education, but this is the last place I’d pick because he’s here. I can make something of myself on my own. That’s what I’ve been working so damn hard for, and I’m determined to see myself succeed whether out of sheer desperation or my keen instinct for survival. But then, as is inevitable when I ponder my future, doubt creeps in, delving deep into my fear that I'm more like my mother than I let myself believe. I hate to admit it to myself, but I’m concerned—no, terrified—that I’ll fail and end up marrying some prune-cocked old man like my mother, Nikki Bell, did. I shudder at the thought, but then adrenaline surges through me as Tristan shuffles me roughly toward the back end of his Escalade and manages to keep a tight hold on me as he wrangles my suitcase from the back. As if I’m going to take off like a shot and run down the expansive driveway and somehow get away? Where the hell would I go? My stepfather is one of the most powerful men in this town, and I’ve come to learn over the last few years, he’s not someone I want to anger. I’m stuck. There’s no way out from under his thumb because his reach is far and wide. This could be a way to distance myself, but will living here be worse? Maybe if I bide my time, I can find a way out. My stepfather steers me toward the flight of stairs and ushers me up them. My legs are long, but his are longer, and it feels like he’s dragging me by my neck. “That hurts,” I hiss through gritted teeth. He chuckles low, in a way that makes another shudder of distaste run down my spine. It gets worse the longer his hand is clamped down on me. Something prickles along my nerves in a way that is wholly uncomfortable. My mother’s husband is one of those men who manages to intimidate without saying a damn word. But then we reach the front door, and he pulls me to a stop, turning me to look at him, his blue eyes assessing. “Keep your mouth shut until you’re asked to speak. Got it, Lennon?” I suck in a breath and practically choke. The late August humidity is cruel, the heat oppressive. The sun beats down on us as we stand there, and sweat trickles down my back, sticking my tank top to my skin. It won’t help to argue. This man sees the worst in me, and honestly, I don’t give a fuck. He might make my mother happy, but he’s hardly given me the time of day—not that I want or need his attention—so I don’t know what’s crawled up his ass now. Doesn’t really matter. I give him a curt nod, tucking away my true feelings on the matter. “Yes, Tristan.” He hates that I won’t call him Dad. But … why would I? Shaking my head, my jaw