by T. M. Cromer
“Uh, uh, uh.”
She seriously contemplated ripping off the finger he waved back and forth. Instead, she graced him with a black look and tried for the cup again. “When did you get coffee and how come you didn’t get me any?”
Mason held the drink back and up so she had to rub against him in her efforts to grab it. His grin spoke volumes. Because he was enjoying her pressed against him, probably more than she was, Shonda backed off.
“I had a friend drop it by.”
Friend. Code for a woman. “Friend, huh? That explains only one drink. Can’t have one of your scores of women thinking you aren’t the great lone wolf.”
She spun on her heel and stalked to the taxi.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
“Not that it’s your business, but I’m going to Erica’s surprise party.”
“Without your coffee? I mean, you are the chick I’m sleeping with who takes it with two creams, no sugar, right?”
Shonda paused and pivoted back around. That panty-melting smile was in place and in his other hand he now held a second to-go cup. He wiggled it back and forth, as if to tempt her. She narrowed her eyes as she ran through her options. One, she could go back for the coffee which was a very nice gesture on his part—though, she did need to remember a “friend” brought it. Two, she could get in the taxi, spend an hour or so with Zack and Erica, then go shopping for a new vehicle. Three, she could knee Mason in the nuts for driving her out of her ever-loving mind and for making her stand undecided in the middle of the parking lot, where at any damn time she could be flattened like a pancake by a speeding car. Number three was moving up the scale to take over the number one spot. She liked that idea more and more.
Because he seemed to recognize she was paralyzed with indecision, Mason came to her, handed her the coffee, dropped a sickeningly sweet kiss on her brow, and gently guided her back to the Lexus. He opened the passenger door for her, and held her coffee as she fastened her seatbelt.
“Toasty, huh?”
He referred to the warm leather seat, which was probably one thousand times more comfy than the back of the cab would have been.
She watched as he offered the driver his thanks and a bill of unknown denomination. Probably a twenty if she knew Mason. In that way, he was generous to a fault. She’d seen how he rewarded good service everywhere they’d gone, by kind word, deed, and monetary compensation. His thoughtfulness was one of her favorite things about him. Well, next to his unreal abs and well-defined glutes.
After he’d joined her in the vehicle, she was sure to stress, “For the record, we are not sleeping together. Not anymore.”
“If you say so,” he returned, his tone noncommittal.
The neutrality in his voice pissed her off. “I do!”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” She couldn’t not add, “Asshole.”
“Now you’re just begging to sniff me. No means no, Shonda.”
She looked out the window to hide her smile. As quickly as it appeared, she sobered. It wouldn’t do to be sucked back in by his charm, which for whatever reason, he was pouring on as thick as pancake syrup this morning. She wondered where he’d slept last night. Probably with her neighbor in 2B. Deirdre had a revolving door. More than once she’d propositioned men Shonda dated.
“Where did you sleep last night?” She blurted the question and wanted to smack herself in the head. Filter, Shonda! Filter!
“A nice redheaded woman offered to put me up.”
She ground her teeth and held back a throat-punch with his name on it. After all, he was driving her.
“I didn’t take her up on it. I stayed awake outside your door like I said I would.” He went on conversationally, “I’m really rather surprised you’d leave me out there to freeze to death after I saved you from a fiery death.”
Curious, she asked, “What did you do to stay warm?”
“At half hour intervals, I sat in my car with the heater on full blast.”
“So this morning’s coffee kindness was because you are reformed? You’ve decided to repent the error of your ways?”
“I did have a moment where I considered the possibility,” he grinned before sobering. “But I’m afraid what you see is what you get, love.”
And wasn’t that the problem? She wanted to get what she saw. Very badly.
Mason abandoned Shonda to girl talk and went out to find Zack daydreaming by the open flame on the grill.
“I thought I smelled something burning.”
He startled Zack from his musing. With a jolt, Zack surveyed the meat on the grill, then flipped him the bird. “Nice, asshat.”
“Oh, someone has it bad,” Mason taunted.
He gripped Zack’s neck and gave him a little shake.
“Shit, man! Have a care.”
“If you weren’t mooning over your pretty redhead…” Mason lost his train of thought as Shonda stood, prepared to leave.
A dark scowl formed on his features and provoked Zack’s next comment. “You should apologize.”
“The hell I will.” He already had, but his brother didn’t need to know that.
Zack huffed out an irritated breath. “Mason, don’t be an ass. You obviously have chemistry. Why not see where it leads?”
“Fuck off. Did I ask you?” Why he was getting mad when Zack was only trying to help was anyone’s guess. But the woman had him tied in knots, and Mason couldn’t understand it.
“The fuck I will. You are being stubborn.” Zack grabbed the dish of burgers from his hand. “Go ask her to stay for dinner. No one is saying you have to marry the woman. But you can get your feet wet again by dating a nice girl. And she is nice. I knew her in school, and Erica speaks highly of her.”
Mason was left with a gaping mouth while Zack moved inside to the warmth of the house. Perhaps Zack had a point. Maybe Mason could start slow, build trust over time. If he were being honest with himself, he’d have to admit his life had become damned lonely over the last few years. Shonda chased away that loneliness with her sassy smile and bright, happy eyes.
Slowly, he trailed his sibling’s wake. As Mason moved into position to intercept Shonda, he saw Zack freeze mid-stride, eyes glued on his phone. The arrested expression on his brother’s face was cause for concern. Apparently, Mason wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Zack? What is it?” Erica’s worry was evident.
Zack remained frozen in shock. That disturbed him.
“Hey, man. What’s going on?” Mason grabbed the smartphone and read the message for himself.
“Enjoying your little party? It will be your whore’s last.”
“Jesus Christ!” Mason swore.
All at once, everyone gathered around to see for themselves what had Zack paralyzed in place, fixated on Erica where she still sat on the sofa.
The worst tempered of the lot, Mason let loose an additional string of curses, setting everyone’s ears to burning. The reactions of family and friends was a little more varied.
“Oh, dear God!”
“What the hell!”
“This person needs to be stopped!”
“Daddy, is Erica going to be all right?” His nephew tentatively asked, the most confused of all.
Mason locked eyes with Shonda, who looked positively terrified. He was at a loss as to how to comfort her. What he truly wanted was to mimic Zack holding Erica and crush Shonda to him.
“Zack, you’re hurting me.”
“I have to hold you right now. I…” Zack told Erica hoarsely.
Mason understood and sympathized. He’d had the same reaction after yesterday’s explosion. Shonda had been kind enough to not remind him how clingy he’d become. The thought brought him up short. Comparing himself to his lovesick brother wasn’t good.
Without warning, Zack set Erica from him and flew into the kitchen in time to lose the contents of his stomach into the trash can.
&
nbsp; As Mason would have followed, his mother waved him off. “I’ve got this.”
The celebratory mood of the party had ended. Everyone sat or stood, unsure what to do next, until Zack charged out of the kitchen, as fierce as Mason had ever seen him. The rage vibrating off his brother held Mason in awe. While he’d never been one to walk away from a fight, Zack never started them either. He was as even-tempered as they came. However now, in this moment, he resembled nothing more than the mightiest of warriors out to protect his woman. Mason found himself relating to his younger sibling on the most basic of levels.
“No!” Erica shouted. “Somebody stop him.”
She’d guessed his intent. Spinning around, Zack threw up a hand to halt his brothers in their tracks. “Don’t you dare touch me. I’m ending this.”
“Whoever it is doing this is probably long gone, bro,” Dane said, always the calm, logical one.
“I don’t want you going out there, Zachary,” their mother stated in a way as to make it non-negotiable, as a mom was inclined to do.
“You don’t understand. None of you do.” Zack swore and drove his fist through the drywall by the entrance. “Goddammit!”
“Zack, look at me.” Erica’s soft voice had the ability to bring his pacing to an end. “Right now she’s transfixed on me. Yet, I’m worried if you confront her—going on the assumption I’m right that it is a female—she might snap. In her mind she thinks you’re hers, but if you deny her, that puts a target on your back as well as mine.”
“What do you propose we do? I’m done with waiting for the police department to find a fucking clue,” he ranted and resumed pacing again. “What the hell are they even doing? Sitting on their asses eating donuts? Because they sure as shit aren’t working to find out who it is.”
“Please.”
One utterance by Erica, spoken low and infused with worry, was enough to bring Zack back to himself. To shake off the raw emotion that had him acting like a beast to the people he loved.
“Who has my cell? Give it to me, please,” Zack demanded, palm up, fingers gesturing in a quick back and forth motion to indicate his impatience.
Mason slapped the device into his hand with a warning of “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Fuck off,” Zack growled, then dialed his friend on the force to ream him out and demand results. “I don’t want excuses, Buck. Find her, or I will. I can promise you, if I do, it won’t be pretty.” He clicked the off key and flung the phone in one last fit of pique before storming off to be by himself.
Erica looked devastated. Yet, she didn’t cry, and Mason was impressed with how well she held it together. Once again, he locked gazes with Shonda, whose soulful eyes were glistening with sympathy and a large dose of frustration. They each took two steps toward one another, meeting in the middle to embrace. He didn’t want to think about how calming the act of holding her close was. A deep inhale helped by way of centering his emotions.
“Did you just sniff me?” she asked, voice pitched low for his ears alone.
The bubble of laughter wanting out was as inappropriate as could be.
“Come on, love. Let’s help clean up. I don’t expect anyone is in the partying mood anymore.” With one more quick, tight squeeze, he reluctantly released her.
Chapter Fourteen
“I feel awful shopping for a vehicle when Erica is going through all this. She helped me pick my last two cars. It’s our BFF thing. I let her pick what she loves, and then I pay for it.”
Mason stopped and stared. She continued walking a few steps until she realized he was no longer next to her.
“What?”
“You let Erica pick out your car?”
“Well, yeah. I hate car shopping, but with only one unreliable taxi service in this godforsaken town, I need one. Like STAT!”
“What about a rental until she’s back on her feet?” he suggested, peering in the window of the closest Nissan.
“No, I have to get this taken care of before Eva returns to town. Otherwise, she’ll try to convince me to get something flashy like a Porsche or Corvette. I don’t need that headache. When she doesn’t get her way, she makes my life a living hell.”
For the second time in as many minutes, Mason stopped and stared. He glanced around and wondered if he wasn’t dreaming. This had to be the most bizarre conversation they’d had to date.
“Shonda.”
She glanced up from the sticker she’d been studying.
“Not to sound indelicate or anything, but do you have the money for a Porsche or ‘Vette?”
The twinkle in her eye and the biting of her lip said she found his stunned disbelief amusing.
“Seriously? Then why the hell aren’t you getting a fully-loaded, new seven-eighteen Boxster?”
“It’s not practical for everyday life,” she said simply.
“How so? It’s not like you have kids.”
Until right that second, Mason would have said they were enjoying themselves. Which was odd, because he really hated vehicle shopping, too. However, the speed in which she shut down and put a blank mask in place, had his head spinning.
“What did I say?”
“Nothing,” Shonda said with a shrug. She gestured to a dark blue Maxima. “This one looks fine. I’ll get it.”
No, he’d definitely put his foot in his mouth. Her dull eyes were a dead giveaway. Christ, why couldn’t they go twenty-four hours without an argument? He dropped his chin to his chest and inhaled a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.” He had no clue what he was sorry for, but if they could go back to her happily kicking tires like she’d been ten minutes before, he’d say it again.
“Mason, you have nothing to be sorry for.”
Not a hint of guile could be found when he stepped close and tipped her chin up. Those beautiful moss-green eyes were clear and honest.
“Then what upset you? And before you tell me you weren’t, I’ll remind you, I don’t like liars.”
A wry smile twisted her lips. “I haven’t lied to you yet.”
He crowded her against the car and traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips. “Yeah, I’m going to have to call bullshit on that one.”
She gasped, and he could tell she was indignant at being called out.
“When did I lie?”
His ran his chilly fingers up under her coat and sweater. Her stomach contracted from the cold. “This morning, when you said we weren’t sleeping together anymore,” he whispered next to her ear, before capturing the lobe between his teeth for a light nip.
Her choked laughter made him smile. The sound brought lightness to his soul. Another sobering thought, but one he shoved away as fast as humanly possible, not wanting to mar this future memory for himself.
“Do you even like blue?” he asked. He occupied himself with nudging her head to the side and grazing his teeth along the column of her graceful neck.
“Hmm?”
He adored that she sounded distracted.
“Blue. Do you even like that color?” He’d noticed she had very little blue in her house or wardrobe.
“Depends on the shade,” she said on a groan. His hands had gotten to second base under her sweater.
“What shade do you prefer?” Damn, her skin was silky. He spared a thought for security cameras, and then decided he didn’t give a crap who might be observing them. For now, they were still fully clothed.
“I find I’m partial to icy blue.”
“What a coincidence,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ve been told my peepers match that description.”
Pretending to check, she pulled back and widened her eyes in faux surprise. “Why, so they are!”
He grinned and dipped his head to capture her mouth. The potential inferno didn’t get beyond a kindling before it was doused by a salesperson clearing her throat. With a hearty sigh of regret, he pulled back and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, hoping to hide his budding erection.
“Mason? I thought
that was you!” the perky blonde exclaimed. “Frank was up next on rotation, but when I saw it was you, I traded leads.”
He nodded politely and reached for Shonda as she tried to inch away to widen the gap between them.
“Good to see you again, uh…” He drew a blank. Not good. He was pretty sure he’d slept with her at some point. Carly? Candy? Brandy! That was it. “Uh, Brandy.”
“Mandy,” the woman whose name was in question ground out.
“Right. My bad.”
The gasp of outrage made him cringe. How the hell did he keep finding himself in these situations? He had to be quicker on his feet. Shonda’s amused snort brought an inappropriate desire to laugh in turn. He didn’t dare look her way.
“Mandy, I’m interested in this vehicle.” Shonda stepped between them and gestured toward the car they’d been making out against. “And while seeing Mason is always an experience,”—his injected “Hey” was ignored—“I would like to make this as fast and painless a purchase as possible. Can you help me with that, or should you see if Frank is available to make a sale?”
Mason had to give Shonda credit. She was brisk and no-nonsense when she wanted to be. Another admirable trait.
“Can you give us a second, Mandy?” When she didn’t move, he tugged Shonda a few feet away. “So you’re sold on that blue?”
“What do you have against the blue?” She asked, adorably confused.
“It’s just a bland blue. I think the red or black would suit you better.”
“Oh, how cute. Next you’ll be picking out china patterns together.” Mandy stated it sweetly, but Mason recognized snark when he heard it.
“You know what, I think I’ll take my business elsewhere. And you can rest assured, I will be calling Stuart and letting him know how catty his employee is.” Shonda said, clearly ticked off by the snide behavior.
Mandy dropped her folded arms. “You know Stuart?”
“Yes, we go way back. I had dinner with him and his wife, April, just two weeks ago. Lovely couple.”
Dropping the dealer’s name made Mandy blanch. If asked, Mason couldn’t say he was too upset. He appreciated that Shonda gave as good as she got. In fact, he was damned proud of her. Instead of letting the situation get ugly, she reined it in. With a few well-phrased sentences, she guaranteed the other woman would put professionalism above personal feelings.