by J. L. White
“So fucking beautiful,” I breathe when she exposes herself, her bra dropping to the floor. Eager, we attack our pants together, stripping down until we’re both nude.
The sight of the soft triangle of hair, trimmed just above her soft folds, makes my dick surge so much it hurts. I quickly roll on a condom, her hands tracing impatiently over my shoulders and arms and chest, her body hovering right next to mine.
The task done, I bring her soft, naked body into my arms again. She wraps her legs around me and kisses me eagerly. I back her against the refrigerator again and we both rearrange hastily, lining things up. She moans and tightens her hold on me when I dive deep inside her hot folds. God, she is dripping.
Her head arches back and she pants rapidly. She’s gripping me tight everywhere: her arms, her legs, her tight channel. “Fuck yes. Oh my god.”
I’m taking her in a fit of passion, and she’s giving it right back to me, meeting my every thrust, clawing at my back. We’re a swirl of motion and grunts and hot kisses. It’s not long before I’m at the edge of cumming, and feel she is too. She’s clamping on me harder and harder. She’s so fucking tight, it’s like I’m having to open her up again and again.
She curls her forehead hard against my neck, her body seizing and going still. That’s it, baby. As she tightens and blooms around me, my body starts to stiffen too. She’s so close. I feel her. And I’m hanging on the edge, the pressure building, waiting for her to release.
She suddenly throws her head back, panting and thrashing against me. Her channel grips my cock, contracting and releasing powerfully in rhythm. Her orgasming around my cock is so fucking good I almost can’t believe it. Pleasure explodes on the tip of my dick as I erupt inside her. I’m shooting so hard I get light-headed and my knees soften slightly.
It’s sheer determination that keeps us both upright. I keep thrusting inside her until we’re both weakened and spent. Panting, I lean heavily on one elbow, forehead against the refrigerator, lips next to her ear, and hold her to me with the other arm.
“Mason,” she whispers, panting. “Keep this up and you’re going to own the fucking bucket list.”
Chapter 16
Mason
The rest of my stay flies by in a hurry. Since the first was on a Sunday, the shop is closed today, Monday, as well, so I don’t fly back until tonight. Thank god. It’s all gone by too fast as it is.
I did end up taking advantage of Lizzy’s expertise while I’m in town. She met us at the house this morning and agreed with most of what the realtor told me, with a couple exceptions. I decided on a few renovations, and Lizzy gave me the names of a couple companies I can trust to work here with minimal supervision.
She was warm and welcoming to me, as she’s always been, and kept smiling at me and Corrine, though we kept our physical interactions with one another pretty subdued. Lizzy’s fiancé Brett, and his son Little Max came along, too. Something about seeing that little boy running through the house with his dad not far away did me good. It made it a place where good can still happen.
It was a short meeting, though, and Corrine and I have spent the rest of our time exploring downtown Swan Pointe a bit and hanging out at the beach. Aside from her bed, that’s the place we’ve been most. I can’t get enough of that ocean. I wish I could pack it in my suitcase and take it home with me.
Along with a certain little sprite I happen to know.
I’m an hour away from needing to leave for the airport, and Corrine and I are having dinner at the Salty Snapper for the second time in two days. It’s a couple blocks away from Crab Cove, but it’s on a rise so we still have a pretty good view of the ocean. I keep looking out the window, wishing I had time to go back. Then I’ll look at Corrine, wishing I had more time with her too. One of the things we agreed to do tonight, though, is figure out when we can see each other again. So that helps.
When the waiter delivers our appetizer, what Corrine calls cauliflower crack, she straightens, eyeing it eagerly. I was skeptical about this dish at first. I mean, it has cauliflower and Brussels sprouts in it. How good could it be? But this is cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, lightly pan fried with some sort of oil, then tossed with bacon bits and Blue cheese crumbles, and served with a creamy dill dip. It’s shockingly addictive. When we were looking over the menu today, we gave a cursory glance at the other appetizers here. But really, it was no contest.
We dive in, scarfing it down shamelessly. “I still can’t believe I waited so long to try this,” she says, licking a stray bacon bit off her delicate finger before going back for more.
“Mmmm,” I nod, finishing my bite. “I can’t believe I have to leave it behind.”
“’Tis a pity,” she says, winking at me.
We each work on another bite, and I look out at the ocean again. “I’m leaving too much behind. The beach. This crazy warm winter weather.” I look back at her and sweep my arm over our nearly-empty appetizer dish. “Cauliflower crack.”
She licks her lips then gives me a knowing smile.
I cross my forearms and settle both elbows on the table, looking directly at her. “And you.”
She grins. “You didn’t even get to play at the resort. Then you’d really be sad.” She’s told me all about the activities they have there, from the zip line to the lazy river. Some stuff it’d be too cool to do anyway, but we wouldn’t have risked going back to the resort regardless. She needs to get things settled with Rayce first. She plans on talking to him soon.
I still don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do about my mom. The last thing I want to do is hurt her, especially about this.
Part of me wants to wait and see how things go with Corrine first. Sometimes relationships fizzle out. If this is going to be one of them, why put my mom through all that? But this doesn’t feel like the kind of thing that’s going to burn out quickly, and if I had to tell Mom down the line that I’ve been hiding this from her, it would only be worse.
We finish the last of the cauliflower and sit back in our seats. Corrine’s giving the empty plate a forlorn expression. “It’s gone again.”
I laugh.
She grins at me. Then our gazes hold, and our expressions grow more serious. “I’m pretending you’re not leaving so soon,” she says.
I reach across the table for her hand, and squeeze. “Let’s pick the date.”
“Okay.”
We pull out our phones and start going through the calendar. After a bit of discussion we decide on a weekend three weeks from now. It seems a long time, but it’s better than nothing. Given the distance between us, it’s not too long to wait, I guess. Either way, it’ll have to do.
“All right,” she says sighing and putting down her phone. “Three more weeks until I get to be your fuck buddy again.”
I laugh. “Is that all I am to you?”
She gives me a playful smile. “Yes, it’s all very base.”
We both lean back as the waiter brings our food: mango shrimp tacos for her and the crab stuffed mushrooms for me. “So,” she says hesitantly, eyeing me as she picks up a taco. “Who’s going where?”
I’m bringing my fork to my mouth, but drop it back down. I assumed I’d be coming here.
“Maybe I could go out there,” she says.
I get an image of her in Galesburg, and it’s both appealing and not. My mother’s there.
Her face falls a bit as she watches me chewing on the idea. “But I don’t have to.”
“It’s not that I wouldn’t love to have you.” I reach over and rub her elbow in reassurance, unable to take her hand since she’s currently using both to keep her taco together. “Let me just... see how things go with my mom first, okay?”
“Okay. But I’ll feel guilty if you have to come here again. You’ve done so much flying already.”
I’m not crazy about the idea of another long-ass flight, I admit. But if I have to... “Don’t worry about it,” I say. “You’re worth it.” And she is.
She smiles, l
ooking reassured.
“Besides, there’s no ocean in Galesburg. Just land as far as the eye can see.”
“You do love that ocean.”
I nod, taking a bite at last and chewing. After I swallow, I say, “The last time I came, I actually thought about moving here.”
Now it’s her turn to freeze on the way to taking a bite. “Really?”
“Well, yeah. It’s great here. What’s not to like? Besides, there’s more opportunity here.” I haven’t told her about the restoration shop I visited last time, and we didn’t go by it this time either. “But I can’t. My whole life’s in Galesburg. My mom and grandmother are there. I do a lot for them both, which is fine. I don’t mind helping out. Plus, how would my mom feel if I left there for here? This is where all the bad stuff happened.”
“I can understand that.” She looks a little disappointed. It’s disappointing to me too, if I’m honest about it.
Ever since my first trip, I’ve been trying not to think too much about how much I loved being here. I loved it in spite of the difficult reason for my visit. Even in spite of the confrontation at Thanksgiving. Underneath all that was this soothing presence that was, I think, the place itself.
As I said, I’ve tried to keep it out of my mind. I didn’t come back here for the city, or the house. It was for her.
But being here again, the city and the ocean and the air... it’s all been sinking down into me all weekend. It’s kind of a strange sensation, and I’m not sure what words to use to describe it to her. Or even if I should. Since regardless of what I’d call this feeling I have, moving here isn’t realistically something I could do, anyway. No sense getting anybody’s hopes up.
Leaving my food be, I look out at the water. Too, I’ll be flying away from all that gorgeous water and going to a place where it’s just land, land, land. Sitting here with Corrine, watching the waves, the word for what I’ve been feeling finally comes to me.
Home.
I look back to Corrine. She’s put down her taco, and is watching me carefully. “I do love it here,” I say quietly.
She chews her lip thoughtfully. “At the risk of sounding like I have ulterior motives, don’t you get to decide where you live?”
I nod. “I do.”
I put my fork down, not sure if I want to say what I’m thinking aloud, but going with it anyway.
“They really depend on me. And I’ve always kind of liked that. It’s nice to be needed.”
She puts down her taco and wipes her hands with her napkin. “But?”
“Not really a ‘but.’ I don’t mind helping.” I look at her with chagrin and say, “But.”
She smiles.
“When I’m out here and think about what it would be like to live here, my obligations back home feel a little bit more like…”
I hesitate, and when I don’t finish, she says, “a burden?”
“Maybe a little.” I rub my thumb over the end of my fork, sighing. “It would be nice to live here.”
Then, as I think it through to its logical conclusion, I come to the decision I’ve made before. The one I know I’ll always have to stick with. I pick up my fork and decisively spear a bite of my stuffed mushroom.
“But. I like living there too and my mom’s lost enough. She doesn’t need to lose her son, too.”
Corrine seems to know not to argue, because she doesn’t push. I tell myself to man up and let go of the fantasy of moving here.
But as I look into the eyes of the woman sitting across the table from me, I know she’s going to make my decision even more difficult to swallow.
Corrine
I don’t have to be back to Hartman for classes until Wednesday, so I spend Tuesday distracting myself from already missing Mason by finally telling people about him. First I call my mother, who is supportive, and only comments that it’s strange how we meet people sometimes. I think about calling my dad next, but decide to save him for last. He is, after all, my uncle Grant’s brother. Plus Dad tends to not be a fan of guys I date under the best of circumstances. Rayce isn’t the only one who’s protective of me.
I tell Connor next. I hunt him down in his office. He was on his way to the resort’s golf course for something, so I ride with him in the cart and tell him there.
“I guess I can’t say I’m surprised,” he says. “You two were throwing sparks at each other even at Thanksgiving.”
“Do you think Rayce noticed?”
He nods. “It probably didn’t help matters.”
“But now that I can tell him what a good guy Mason is...” I let my sentence trail off as Connor gives me an uncharacteristically serious look.
“It will probably cross Rayce’s mind,” Connor says as he steers us over a rise in the path, “that you’re just being taken in by Mason’s good looks.” I open my mouth to protest, but before I can say anything, he says, “The thought has crossed my mind, too.”
My jaw drops.
“So tell me what makes him such a good guy and not someone out to seduce my cousin and cause discord in our family.”
I bristle, unprepared for this from Connor, of all people. “He’s not!”
He presses his hand on my knee. “I believe you. But tell me why I should.” He pulls the cart to the side of the little road and brings it to a stop. He turns to me with one arm on the back of the seat, an open, listening expression on his face.
This is enough to soften me. I realize there’s been nothing in his tone to suggest he actually believes Mason is out to get us. He just wants to know more and I guess that’s fair.
I start with the easy stuff, Mason’s interest and hobbies and the things we have in common. The way he makes me laugh, and the way I feel I can tell him anything.
Then I get to the heart of the matter. Without betraying Mason’s confidence, I tell Connor why I know he’s not holding a grudge against our family, even though he’s still hurt by the loss, and even though he’s worried about how his mother might take this.
When I’m done, Connor nudges my shoulder and says with a grin, “Then I give you my blessing.”
Relieved, I smile back. “I didn’t know I needed your blessing.”
“Oh, you do,” he says, starting up the cart again. “You’re my baby cousin.”
I roll my eyes. We’ve been having this argument for as long as I can remember. “You’re only a year older than me.”
“A year and four months.”
“That hardly counts.”
“It absolutely counts.”
“We’re practically the same age. We freaking had baths together when we were little.”
“Nope, nope. I’m your big cousin.”
Rayce is my big cousin, I think, with a sinking sensation in my stomach.
And he’s next.
Rather than wait for Connor to do whatever it is he needs to do at the golf course, I walk back to the resort’s main building, using the time to gather my thoughts. And my courage.
I know Rayce has no authority over me. I know it shouldn’t matter what he thinks. And to some degree, it doesn’t. I’m going forward with this whether Rayce is okay with it or not. But I want him to be okay with it, or at the very least, not upset.
When I get to his office, there are several papers spread near his keyboard, and he’s looking at his computer screen with intense concentration. He always looks so much older than he is in this setting. Often I forget to be impressed with what he knows how to do, running a massive operation like this, but sometimes I remember. This is one of those times.
His is the main, executive office, with Lizzy and Connor’s on either side. The corner windows behind him showcase the beautifully landscaped grounds on the front side of the west wing. He’s wearing a fine dark suit, red silk tie, and, I notice with a twinge, the cufflinks I gave him for Christmas.
He glances at me, his fingers pausing on the keyboard. He raises his eyebrows to say, Yes?
“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re busy.” I’m both relieved and d
isappointed.
“Did you need something?”
“I just wanted to talk to you, but it can wait.”
He keeps his eyes on me, narrowing them just slightly. “Everything okay?”
Sometimes I think Rayce is able to sniff out people’s emotions better than we give him credit for.
“Yes. I just need to talk to you, but if you’re busy—”
“Nope.” He gathers the papers into a stack and sets them aside. “What’s up?”
I bite my lip and shut the door. Here I go. I head to one of the chairs opposite his desk. Rather than staying where he is, he comes around and sits in the other one next to me.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
He straightens, a look of distress darkening his features. “Wait, are you all right?”
I instantly know what he’s talking about. “Yes, yes. I’m okay. It isn’t that.”
He sits back again, relieved.
“I’m just going to spit it out. But I want you to hear me out, okay?”
He tilts his head slightly. “What’s going on?”
“Um... well...” I take a deep breath and force myself to start talking. “Since Thanksgiving, Mason Reeves and I have been keeping in touch.”
His face instantly goes hard.
I rush to say the rest. “We’ve actually been talking a lot, and we really like each other. He came to see me and—”
Rayce springs to a stand, and I stand too.
“Just listen,” I say, putting my hand out. “It’s okay, I promise it is. He’s a really great guy....”
“Corrine—”
“And he’s not trying to hurt us—”
“Of course you don’t think so. Fuck, Corrine. Really? When did he come here?”
“He... came to the ball.”
His jaw hardens and gets that look that makes Whitney want to call him ‘sir’. “Am I the only one who didn’t know about this?”
“No one knew. He came to surprise me, and please stop looking so damned suspicious.”