by Karen Deen
“No, your job was to rescue as many children and women as you could. You did that. You got them all out. It was a war zone. Nothing is normal or sticks to a plan. You said yourself the plans changed last minute. More people than just you were involved in the mission. Every person did their best to get them out. If you didn’t go in and try, they would all be dead. You did the best job you could. As a mother, don’t you think she would have happily given up her life knowing you saved her son? Have you ever thought of it that way?”
It’s like everything she’s saying slows down. My brain is trying to absorb it all… that woman giving up her life for another. I have never looked at it like that. There are people I know I would give my life for. My family, my guys, their families, and now this amazing woman in my lap. The one who, through everything I’ve just told her, still sees me. The real me. The man I buried deep down and only let part of out.
“No one has ever said that before. Not the counselors, my family, or friends. No one… until you. My beautiful girl.”
“That’s because they didn’t know what you needed to hear. You need to know that her life meant something. No matter what happened, her life mattered. To that little boy she was the world and that was her gift.”
“Why are you so smart? You totally get me. You understand me better than I understand myself, how?” She giggles. The sound of heaven after such a somber discussion.
“That’s a chat for another night.”
“Why not now?”
Slowly standing from my lap, her hands drop to the bottom of her dress. Pulling it up and over her head.
I can’t help the low groan she brings out of me.
“Because you promised to make me scream. You touched me, dressed me, and promised to fuck me hard.”
“Tiger, just like I pictured. So. Fucking. Sexy.” The vision takes away my fuzzy head. All I can think of is taking control. I need to be in control.
“You think you get to decide what happens tonight?” Pushing to the edge of the couch, my hands reach out and pull her by the hips closer.
“Just perfect.” I run my nose up her silk G-string covering her sweet mound.
There’s that shiver she gets when I touch her.
“Mmm, that sweet scent tells me you’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?” Her hands are in my hair and hanging on.
“Yes, all day,” she says, sounding tortured.
“Did you obey me? Did you touch what’s mine?” I look up to see her shaking her head madly. Words are becoming harder for her.
“Good girl, Paige, maybe I should reward you now.”
“Please,” she moans, her nails digging into my scalp.
My fingers now slip down the thin silk that has been hiding the promised land. Stepping out of them, she spreads her legs apart; she knows what she wants.
“Now your bra, Tiger, nice and slowly. I want to see those tits that taunt me all day.” I watch her slide the straps down her arms and drop it to the floor. Her sensual breasts sit there, calling me.
“Tell me, baby, what did you fantasize I’d do to you? Was it my fingers that you imagined, wiping through your folds just like this? Making you quiver and arch your back just like that. When I touch just right here, and you want more. Is this what you were thinking as the vibration of the plane drove you crazy?” She’s trying to stay upright, biting her bottom lip to hold in her moans.
“Or was it my tongue that will lick up all that cream that was weeping while you thought about me. Remembering how I touched you in your bedroom.”
Not waiting, I lean in and swipe up to her clit, taking my first taste. No longer can she hold her voice. She cries out loudly.
“Argh, so we have our answer. I told you I would feast tonight. Hold on tight, baby. Enjoy the ride.”
Through all my emotions of the night, the only thing that’s clear are my feelings for this woman. My tongue laps up her wet pussy as she moans and breathes through every sensation. Fucking her in and out with my tongue, I work her swollen clit with my thumb. I know that she is so close, the shortness of breath, her thrusting against my face, and the moaning of my name. No sound is more beautiful than that.
Ready to let her fall over the edge she has been hanging off all day, I drag my other thumb up to her beautiful puckered rose bud. The unexplored treasure. Slowly rimming it, her eyes widen. Her hands pull my hair harder and her body explodes with all she has been saving for me as I push my thumb into her ass for the first time.
“Fuck, fuck, oh god, fuck Mason.” Her legs wobble. I pull her into my lap, straddling my cock that is begging to be set free. Not giving her any reprieve from her high, I take one nipple into my mouth, sucking hard. Her breath is shortening again.
“Mason, I can’t, I can’t again.”
“You can and you will. Breathe, baby, you’ll be wanting more. See?” Taking the other breast in my mouth, I pinch the first breast. Biting and licking, she can’t decide if she wants the pain or the pleasure.
“I can’t, oh god more, yes more. Mason, I don’t know if I can…” She barrels through another big orgasm that’s still shuddering through her body.
Throwing my shirt across the room, I’m desperate to be naked with her.
“Now it’s my turn. Strip me, Paige. Get on your knees.” Fire in her eyes shows how she loves this. She needs me to take away her thoughts too. Tonight, she’s giving me what I need in a totally different way. Letting me be the man I need to find again. The protector, the one who keeps her safe mentally and physically.
“Like what you see, baby? That’s it, taste me too. Take me just how you know I like it.” Looking to the windows of her apartment facing the city of Chicago, the reflections of the candle flames flicker on the glass, offering a soft glow of Paige from behind. Naked on her knees in front of me. Showing me all the pleasure, she’s been waiting to release all day. Her beautiful ass and curved body shimmering in the candlelight.
I want more. I want her body.
“Baby, stand up. Come to me.” In tune with me, she reacts, and I pull her to me. Lifting her by her ass into my arms, her legs wrap around my waist, squeezing tight.
“Tell me you want me. That you need me.” I’m almost begging her to confirm her acceptance of me as her man.
“Make me yours, Mason, take me bare and claim me. For the rest of my life, I need you to keep me safe.”
Not stopping, I lay her down with me on her couch, taking one last look at her face to make sure she’s still with me.
“I want you so badly.”
With those words, I push all the way home. Being inside her with nothing in between us is just that, I’m home and don’t plan on moving ever again.
“Mason, you need to move. Please, make love to me, my Magic Man.” The last straw. Her words have me giving her exactly what she wants. Thrusting as deep as I can and then withdrawing until she’s moaning at the loss. Keeping her hanging on for release is the most beautiful sight. Her body chasing mine, full of lust and greed of taking what she wants to satisfy her needs. We are as desperate as each other to reach the pinnacle.
“Come with me, Paige, come now.” Pushing hard so she feels every part of me, I fill her full of my come. Branding her as mine. All mine.
Balancing above her so I don’t squash her, I can’t wait. I take her mouth and share every emotion I’m feeling. I need to tell her. I can’t hold it anymore.
Taking her face between my hands and looking deep into her soul. “I love you, Paige. I can’t wait a minute longer. You need to know. This is it for me. You’re my forever girl.” Her face gives me everything I need to know. I’m not on my own.
“I love you so much, Mason, every single piece of you, even the ones you hide. I’ve never loved before, but I know why now. It’s you, I’ve been waiting for you.”
Rolling to our sides our bodies entwining together, we continue to love each other for the rest of the night, right here in the candlelight, in the space where I’m finally letting go and starti
ng to live again.
~
“Daddy, I’m fine. I’ve been taking care of myself.” Watching her face as she talks to her dad on speaker phone is hilarious.
“Paige, you’ve been taking a lot of time off work since I was sick. Beth told me you were staying here and then visiting every day or couple of days. You cannot leave the business to look after itself.” Her father’s voice does sound elderly and like he’s still getting over his illness.
“I’m still working even though I’ve been looking after you. Now stop worrying about me and the business and just keep getting better, okay? Now I need to go because there’s another work call coming in. I’ll see you soon. Love you.” I can see the love in her eyes as she says it.
“Love you, Paige. Goodbye.”
“That man will be the death of me with his nagging one day.”
“Well, he is right about looking after yourself. Baby, you need to eat something. I know you’re anxious about seeing Franco, but food will give you the energy to get through the day.”
“What is it with you and eating, Mason?” She looks at me like I’m a weirdo.
“It’s my job to look after you when you aren’t doing it yourself. Now eat, woman!” Pretending to get all bossy with her, she just pokes her tongue out at me.
“Seriously, I’m the one in the relationship who’s supposed to act like a child.” I throw my napkin at her.
“Something you excel at.” I open my mouth to catch the grape she throws at me.
Taking a few more bites of her breakfast, she looks up at me a few times in between. There is something else going on with her. This is more than the talk we’re about to have with Franco. If she doesn’t know how to tell me, then I’ll take matters into my own hands.
Standing and shoving the chair back, I walk around to her side of the table, pulling her up out of her chair.
“What’s going on, Mason?” She squeals as I’m putting her over my shoulder, walking to the couch.
“This is the truth couch now. I’ve renamed it. Last night you had me here telling you everything. Now it’s your turn. You have something you’ve been trying to say to me all morning and just don’t know where to start.” Her eyes give her away, I know I’m right.
“No matter what it is, it can’t top mine.”
“It’ll be close. I want to tell you… it just never seems like the right time.”
I can’t work out the emotion in her voice. “Well, now it is. Take it from me, it will feel better out in the open. Last night was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Umm, it’s because you tired us both out. I’m sure you could describe it as being fucked within an inch of my life. Exhaustion usually brings solid sleep.”
“Shit, so that’s all I needed all these years then?”
Slapping my arm, she smiles. “No, because it wouldn’t have been with me.”
“Paige, stop with the diversion tactics. You are talking to the gold medal winner at changing topic to avoid hard discussions.”
Taking her face in my hands, I kiss her forehead then her lips. “I love you, nothing you say is going to change that. Now spill it, woman.”
I give her a few minutes to sort her thoughts, then pick her up and place her in my lap, just like last night. Finally, the words start coming.
“I’m not who you think I am.”
My heart stops. What the fuck does she mean? I’m trying not to freak out.
“Sorry, that came out all wrong. It’s nothing like you’re thinking,” she clarifies, obviously feeling my body tensing.
“What I need to tell you is… Daddy is not my real father. I have no idea who my real mother or father are. I was abandoned on his front doorstep with a note giving details of my date of birth and asking for a better life for me. He tried really hard to find my mother but had no luck. So, he adopted me, and I became Paige Ellen. I was just a few days old. He took me in and loved me with all his heart. Not many people know, but I wanted you to know…” As she pauses, I want to tell her it’s okay, but I know I need to let her mind process her thoughts and get it out. Me interrupting is not what she needs. Rubbing my hand on her back, I hope it lets her know it’s okay.
“I need you to know… I don’t really know who I am. The frightening thing is, I never will.”
I can’t let her go through this on her own. “Paige, I know exactly who you are. A strong, independent, kick-ass woman on the outside, and on the inside, a caring, loving and beautiful soul. Someone who loves her dad unconditionally. Just because he isn’t your blood doesn’t mean he isn’t your father. We all have family connections that are stronger than blood. Look at my guys who are my brothers. I would die for them. That’s family, baby.”
She nods slowly. “But I have no medical history, no idea of nationality, nothing.”
“Well, you better keep healthy then, eating properly will help.” I poke her in the side with my finger which brings a little smile. “The rest, well, has it made any difference in your thirty-nine years so far?”
“Not really,” she answers, looking out the window. Slowly, I pull her face back to me.
“Tiger, none of us know who we are when we’re born. Life molds who we become. No amount of background makes you a good or a bad person. You choose that. You are Paige Ellen, the woman you have chosen to be. Someone who I think’s pretty amazing, and I’m so damn happy I’ve found her. I love you just the way you are.” I slowly kiss her lips, her nose, her cheeks damp from the little tears escaping, and finally her forehead.
“Now I can really show you how much I love you, but I’m not sure you want to meet up with your uncle smelling like sex?”
Her gorgeous giggles escape. “Nope, you keep the magic stick away. Understand me?” Pulling out of my lap, she sits on the couch beside me. “Keep your distance.”
“You’re so mean.”
“No, I’m not, you just distract me, and the next thing I know I’m naked and moaning under your spell.” She holds her fingers up at me in the symbol of a cross. “Stay back, you are too powerful.”
“I don’t hear you complaining when I’m touching you. Just like I could do right now.” I put up my hands and lean towards her.
“Don’t you touch me.” She makes the fatal mistake of trying to get away from me and falling backwards onto the couch. Taking my chance, I’m on her, while she’s screaming.
“Now what’re you going to do, baby? You’re trapped and I’m horny. Bad combination for you, I would say.” Pretending to ravage her neck like a hungry animal, my hand tickles her side and she’s in a fit of laughter, her body finally relaxing.
“Stop, that’s unfair.”
Now that she’s relaxed a bit, I stop the tickling and wait for her to look at me. “Paige, we may have laughed it off, but I want you to know I understand how hard that was for you to tell me. Like I said, you are who you are. Be proud of that. Thank you for sharing something so personal. I will keep your secret safe in here.” I place her hand on my heart. “Promise.”
“Thank you, Mason. Everything you said means the world. My Uncle Franco and Beth know all about it because they were here at the time. But other than that, no one knows anything except I was raised by my father as a single parent. He is very protective of my privacy and paid for all the right paperwork to exist when he adopted me, so there are no questions in relation to my parents. I wanted you to know before we see Franco, but more importantly, I don’t want anything between us, no secrets. I feel we crossed that line last night, so it’s important for me to be as open as you were. I didn’t think I could love you anymore, but last night my heart exploded with love and pride. You were so brave. So open and raw. Now we both have no baggage to drag around.”
“See, this is why you’re so successful. You know all the right words. Now kiss me before I put you over my shoulder again and whisk you upstairs to have my way with you.” Before I have time to finish, her lips are on mine. Sharing all the emotion she had stor
ed up inside.
“Hmm, not sure that’s a good enough kiss to stop me. You might need more practice.” Before she protests, I lean in and kiss her again, making sure she knows all I care about is her, no matter her name, or where she came from.
I love Paige Ellen and that’s all she needs to know.
“Now, can you go and make yourself presentable to meet Uncle Franco? I don’t want him thinking I’ve deflowered his little girl. I’m a respectable pilot, you know, with a professional image to uphold. I can’t be walking around smelling like I’ve just been mauled by my girlfriend.”
“Wow, I’ve just realized your ego is as big as Tate’s and Grayson’s. Please tell me Lex missed out and at least one of you is normal.”
I roll off the couch and onto the floor, I’m laughing so hard. “Not a chance. You should see him in action in the courtroom. His ego is bigger than all ours combined.”
“Impossible. Absolutely impossible.”
“Aren’t you lucky our egos are as big as our…”
“Stop, Mason. Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I do not want to be thinking about your friends’ dicks. That’s wrong in so many ways.” She jumps off the couch and heads towards the stairs.
“You dirty little thing, I was going to say hearts.”
“Liar!” is all I hear from the top of the stairs along with her laughing as she heads to her room.
Today is going to be hard enough. She doesn’t need to be carrying any extra stress into it. The laughing and joking means mission accomplished.
Now on to the next war we must conquer.
This time, though, we are entering as a united strength.
Bring it on!
15
Paige
“THIS IS LIKE TAKING my first boyfriend home to meet my father, except Franco isn’t even my father. That day is going to be hell, just warning you.” Dropping my head onto Mason’s shoulder, I cuddle into his arm, his hand on my thigh. It’s not often that I’m in a car traveling around Chicago that’s not being driven by Bent. Mason was adamant there’s no need now. I have him to take me wherever I need when we aren’t working. I have to admit, I’m loving this feeling of being a girlfriend, him fussing and at times, bossy. Not that I’m telling him how much I love when he’s bossy and in control. Oh boy, do I love him in control.