Still ignoring his phone, he emerged from his office and found Cruz measuring and marking a piece of maple.
“Ah, the beast,” his friend remarked. “He emerges from his cave.”
“Long night,” he explained.
Cruz grinned. “I figured as much. Should I assume it was Strawberry Shortcake?”
“Her name is Gabi, and yes.”
“Nice,” he said, landing an attaboy on his shoulder. “That only took you what, one hundred tries?”
“Fuck off,” he said. “How’s it going with Kylie?”
“Actually,” he said with a self-satisfied smirk, “Kylie and I have a date on Saturday.”
Mason laughed at the way his friend puffed out his chest as he said it. “Don’t tell me, pity date?”
“Probably,” he answered honestly, “but I’ll take it. I’ll make her fall for me, you’ll see.”
“I’m sure you will, man,” he told him. He actually had little doubt. When Cruz wanted to charm a woman, he pulled out all the stops. It was likely that Kylie wouldn’t even see it coming. “Where are you taking her?”
“Sullivan’s,” he answered.
“Jesus, how’d you get a reservation?”
“It was Veronica’s idea, actually. She called and pretended she was my secretary, dropped the name of that article that featured us from a few months back, and ended up sweet-talking them into a late reservation.”
“Veronica did that?”
“Yeah.” He was clearly just as amazed. “She’s incredible when she’s focused on something.”
“Wow, that’s awesome,” he said, giving his friend a pat on the back. He was happy for him, really happy, but something else too. Jealous? He shook it off. “I’ll cross my fingers for you.”
“Won’t need it,” he said confidently, and went back to work.
When he felt he couldn’t avoid it any longer, he went back to his office and fired his phone back up.
Something shifted in him when he saw Gabi’s name appear in his notifications.
GABI: Good, thank you. Maybe a little sore ;) How’s your day?
His heart thumped comically hard in his chest. She was flirting with him. Happily, he decided to go all in.
MASON: My day has been good. I’m sorry you’re sore. If you come over later, I’ll work out all those aches and pains for you.
GABI: Is that so?
That was fucking so.
MASON: Gorgeous, I’ll make sure you feel so good, you’ll never want to leave.
GABI: That’s a very tempting offer, Mr. Adams.
Fuck, she was making his dick hard.
MASON: I was hoping it would be.
GABI: Hypothetically, what time are your services available?
MASON: 10:00 pm - 8:00 am
GABI: That long, huh?
MASON: I’ll make it longer if you want.
Please just say yes. He held his breath.
GABI: I really should get some sleep.
MASON: That can be worked into the schedule.
It was a few moments before she responded. He felt like he could hear her hold her breath across town.
GABI: I’ll take your offer into consideration.
MASON: And I’ll see you at 10.
GABI: Maybe. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.
He put his phone down with a smile and kicked back in his chair. He was going to have that gorgeous woman in his arms again tonight. He would have bet a million dollars on it.
Now he just had to figure out a way to get through the rest of the day without his cock at attention.
Chapter 18
Gabi
Gabi’s hands shook as she put her phone back in her purse. She had never texted so boldly in her life. It felt naughty and powerful and wonderful all at the same time.
Mason was right, she would be there at ten. She had been breathless all day just thinking of him, and she wasn’t going to deny herself the opportunity to feel him inside her again. It was incredible. There was simply no other word for it.
She sang happily to herself for the rest of the day, trying not to focus on how happy it made her that he texted her at all. Half of her was convinced that she’d never hear from him again. A one and done. It had taken every ounce of strength she had not to text him first. She’d had her thumbs on the send button more than once, but she talked herself out of it every time, knowing it would only complicate things.
Just as she got back to her apartment after work, her phone buzzed again and she felt excitement zing through her stomach. Mason.
She dug through her purse crazily to get to her phone anticipating a hot text that would send her into another round of fantasies.
When she saw the screen, however, her happiness was instantly sapped.
UNKNOWN: I miss you. Please answer me, baby. You know I love you.
“Fuck,” she bit and threw the phone onto her couch. It was as if the asshole could sense her happiness from wherever he was and knew exactly how to take it away. He had always been a joy killer.
“Everything okay?” Kylie asked, coming through her door with a concerned look.
She waved toward the abandoned phone and kicked off her shoes. “Matt texted again.”
“Again?” Shaking her head, she grabbed for the phone. “I’m going to give this motherfucker a piece of my mind.”
“No, please don’t do that,” she urged. “That’s what he wants. The moment I respond, he’ll treat it like an open door and I’ll never be able to get him to stop.”
Groaning, Kylie grumped out a “fine” and blocked this latest number. She always drew immense pleasure from the process. “Take that, fucker,” she said as she hit the last button.
Gabi didn’t even want to think about how many times the two of them had blocked him or how many phone numbers she had had to replace. She was tired of it. She wasn’t going to keep changing her number, he would find it anyway.
“I hate that fuckhead,” Kylie bit out, dropping the phone back on the couch.
“Get in line,” Gabi answered, unhooking her bra under her shirt and sinking into the cushions. “It’s like he can sense when I have any bit of happiness and he just strikes. Like a viper.”
“He’s a disgusting joy thief,” she declared, plopping on the sofa next to her. “I think this calls for pizza and sci-fi.”
“I agree.” She sighed, stretching out her legs, marveling at the fact she was still sore from Mason’s skilled and energetic lovemaking. “But only until about 9:30, I have an appointment at 10:00.”
Kylie’s eyes flew open and she let out an excited combination of squealing and clapping. “Oh my God, please tell me you are going to go see Mason again tonight.”
She nodded, and her friend bounced up and down in excitement.
“Ahhhh, this makes me so happy. What are you going to wear?”
“I haven’t thought about it.”
Kylie froze. “What? Not a single thought?”
She shook her head.
“Not even lingerie?”
“I don’t have any,” she admitted. “Not anything really sexy anyway. I threw out everything I had when I was married and haven’t had a reason to buy more since then.”
“You have a reason now!” she shouted. “We have to go shopping. Right fucking now!”
“But I just took my bra off,” she complained.
“You can go braless, I don’t care, but WE ARE GOING.”
When she didn’t move, Kylie pulled on her hand. “Just picture Mason’s reaction.”
Gabi’s eyes widened. Oh, God. Kylie was right. She wanted that look of lust in his eyes more than she could ever explain. She wanted to make him want her so badly he’d beg. “Oh my God,” she groaned. “Fine, we’ll go.”
Kylie let out a whoop and threw her bra at her. “Lingerie first, then pizza.”
“Of course, classic Monday night.”
Mason
“Nice work,” Dom told Mason after he rattled off the
choices for the bachelor party later that night. The three brothers were sitting around a high-top slinging beers. “I’d be happy with any of those.”
“But which has the best music?” Seb asked.
“Who the fuck cares?” Mason said, drawing a laugh from Dom.
“Cool people,” Seb answered.
“Then you call around and find out; you can make the final choice,” Mason told him.
Seb considered it. “I can get behind that plan.”
The look of concern that crossed Dom’s face made him add, “But if you haven’t done your homework by the end of the week, I choose.”
Seb took a swig of beer. “What? Don’t trust me?”
“Nope,” Mason and Dom answered at the same time.
“Still can’t figure out how you managed to graduate from music school,” Dom added.
“All talent, man, that’s all I needed.”
Dom made a gagging sound and Seb told him to fuck himself.
“Well, boys, this has been lovely,” Mason interrupted, scooting his stool back, “but I have some pressing business to attend to.”
“He’s got a chick coming over,” Seb declared.
He didn’t deny it. He may have even smirked.
“Finally bag that chick you’ve been working on?”
Dom’s eyes flared with interest. “What’s this now? You’ve had to ‘work on’ getting a girl in bed? That doesn’t sound like you.”
He shrugged. He didn’t owe him an explanation. Also, he didn’t really have one.
Seb laughed. “Got his balls in a vice, just like you, Dom,” he said and took another drink.
He laughed even harder when they said “fuck you” at the same time.
“Good for you, Mace,” Dom said, patting his back. “It’s about time.”
“I’m not going to marry her,” he said. “I’m just going to fuck her until she gets tired of me.”
Dom let out a laugh. “Yeah, man. I said the same thing about Lu, and now look at me.”
“Balls. In. A. Vice,” Seb said, laughing into his beer.
“Anyway, I’m out,” he said and took off out of the bar.
He hadn’t left himself a whole lot of time if he wanted to shower before she got there. A smile spread as he unlocked his truck. Maybe she’d want to shower with him. Now that was an idea with merit.
Sadly he was home with enough time.
And was pacing in front of the door by ten.
At 10:05 she still wasn’t there, and even though he kept looking at his phone, a notification never presented itself. Did he text her?
By 10:10 he was worried. A thousand thoughts rolled through his mind. Car accidents, kidnapping, a tragic fall from the top of a staircase. He was just about to text Kylie to find out what hospital she was at when her knock finally came.
He had to grip onto the back of the couch to let the relief pass before he could even answer the door. He would sort out these emotions later, he told himself and tried to look as dashing as possible when he opened the door.
And he would have, if she hadn’t been standing there in a dangerously short sundress that looked like it could be removed by simply pulling the ties at her shoulders. She was heart-stoppingly gorgeous, with deep red lips and cascading hair and, really, all he could get out was a not-at-all-smooth, “Hi.”
She grinned at him. “Hi. Sorry I’m late.”
“Were you?” he asked playfully and stepped aside so she could enter. “I didn’t even notice you were exactly twelve minutes late.”
She giggled and brushed past him, deliberately close, making his cock spring to life in a blink. Before she got too far, she stopped and whispered, “I guess I better make up for it then.”
“You really should,” he agreed, dropping his voice.
She made her way toward the stairs with a seductive look and tossed him a, “What are you waiting for then?”
Jesus, this woman. It took him a minute to pick his tongue up off the floor, and the moment his brain started to work again, he followed her toward the stairs as if she was the pied piper. She could be leading him into hell for all he knew, but he was going to follow anyway.
On the way up, he could just see the barest hint of her ass as she climbed. Heaven.
She slipped inside his room and stopped short at the end of the bed. With smoldering eye-contact, she simply started loosening the ties at her shoulder. He made a move to touch her, but she shook her head and just grinned like a vixen as her dress fell to her feet.
He nearly passed out when he saw what was underneath that flimsy dress. The sheerest dark purple lace was pushing her delicious breasts together and up, just barely containing her perfect pink nipples. Add to that, the tiniest wisp of purple G-string, and his mind couldn’t properly work.
She was a goddess. A miracle. And she was standing right there, ready for him to feast on.
“Jesus, Gabi, you are going to give me a heart attack,” he breathed, wiping his hand down his face.
“You like it?” she asked cutely.
He laughed at the absurdity of her question. “Oh, I like it. I like it so fucking much I don’t want to take my eyes off of you.”
She grinned. This innocent woman, dressed as a vixen, drove him over the edge. In two steps, he was pulling her lovely face into his hands and kissing her until they were both shy of air.
Only when she was thoroughly, properly kissed, did he venture further with his hands, and he made sure she was good and befuddled before he pulled his own clothing off, rolled a condom on, sat on the bed, and lowered her delectable body onto his cock.
She moaned in pleasure and looked him right in the eye. “I’ve been thinking about this all day, Mason,” she whispered, rocking her hips against him.
“Me too,” he groaned, pushing into her as far as he could. “In fact, it was all I could think about. About how good your pussy feels when you come on my cock.”
Her head fell back in bliss and she quickened the pace. “I want to come again,” she whimpered.
“Oh, you will, baby,” he promised, pulling one of her nipples into his mouth and reveling at the mewl it drew from her. “You will.”
And she did, so many times they collapsed on each other hours later without an ounce of strength left between them.
Chapter 19
Gabi
Gabi curled up against Mason’s side hours later covered in sweat and so sated she felt as though she was floating. He was a mountain of a man, an incredible lover, and so in-tune with what her body wanted, that it seemed like magic. He couldn’t be real.
But yet there he was fast asleep, one leg wrapped around hers, one hand curved over her hip as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if it were a fact that she belonged by his side.
The intensity of her desire for that to be a fact, terrified her. She should leave. But, God, she couldn’t stomach the idea of getting up and leaving him in the bed alone. Driving home alone, getting into bed alone.
So she took a deep breath, snuggled further into his side, and fell to sleep hoping that her sense would return in the morning.
Sleep came easy, blissful.
When she woke up in the morning, she felt more rested than she ever had in her entire life. She turned over with a smile, hoping to catch Mason while he was still asleep, but found his side of the bed empty.
“Mason?” she asked and listened. She couldn’t hear anything.
An unreasonable panic gripped her, and her heart felt as if it was going to pound its way out of her chest. Had he tired of her already? Had she disappointed him in some way?
She blinked sudden, irrational tears from her eyes and tried to calm herself down. “Mason?” she said again. Still nothing.
Completely overwhelmed by a panicked shame, she crawled out of bed and started pulling her clothes on with frantic motions. “Dammit, Gabi,” she said out loud, chastising herself for getting into this situation. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. That Mason
would break her heart. That he would break her.
Dressed and fighting back tears, she scrambled down the steps and stopped short when she landed at the bottom to find Mason smiling up at her from the kitchen. He was standing at the oven, shirtless, his sweatpants slung low on his chiseled hips.
“Good morning, gorgeous. I’m making pancakes,” he said, nodding at the pan.
She stared at him, then the pan, then back at him.
“What? You don’t like pancakes? I can make something else.”
So many emotions passed through her she didn’t know which to choose. She was so relieved, she thought she might cry, so touched by his gesture, that she thought she might melt, and so embarrassed by her conclusion jumping that she thought she might just burn up. “Actually,” she finally managed to say, holding in a cry, “I love pancakes.”
He grinned and it made her stomach do a strange flip. “That’s a relief, because I think I made a hundred.”
She giggled and sat down when he motioned toward the table. He had set two places and poured giant glasses of orange juice. It was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen, and she felt like crying all over again. Jesus, she needed to get a hold of herself.
“Here we go,” he said a few minutes later, plopping far too many pancakes on her plate. “Dig in, there’s plenty more where that came from.”
She shook her head.
“What?” he asked, sitting down across from her.
“This is just so ...” She couldn’t think of the right words. “Thank you, this is very sweet.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered, grinning at her as he cut into his pancakes. “But to be fair, you should probably taste them before you thank me. I flunked middle school home ec.”
She giggled, poured syrup over the stack, and took a bite. They were delicious. Almost as delicious as the shirtless man who made them. “Wow,” she said, impressed. “These are really good.”
“Oh, thank God,” he breathed, actually looking relieved. “Because I was hoping ... that maybe they might make you finally say yes to a date with me.”
She laughed and shoved another bite in her mouth to cover her nerves. She wanted to say yes, Lord, did she ever, and he looked so adorably hopeful. But she had to keep some sort of separation if she was going to come out of this with her heart intact.
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