The Art of Sage (Cruz Brothers #2)

by Melanie Munton

  The answer shocked me.

  I wanted to know everything.

  When the hell did that happen?

  “Not that I blame you,” he said, breaking the monotony of the moment which I appreciated. “I am a fascinating person, so your reaction is only natural.”

  I rolled my eyes and relaxed back into the couch we both sat on in his office. “Well, I’ve certainly learned one thing about you. You’re definitely not lacking in self-confidence.” He laughed, his boyish grin not something I’d seen on him before. “Okay, fine. I don’t normally show my hand so soon, but I’m willing to try something different. But if we do this, we lay it all out and then we leave it. No going deeper with more questions. At least not yet. Deal?”

  “Counter offer,” he said. “One question allowance per admission and that’s it.”

  I sighed. “Alright. Agreed.”

  He adjusted himself, turning his body to face mine. “Okay. Lightning round. Go.” “You said you would go first.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I was in rehab.”

  The man knew how to deliver a verbal slap to the face. “Right out of the gate, huh?” He grinned and shrugged. “Was it just for alcohol?”

  His grinned faded a little. “No.”

  Hm. “What else?”

  The grin came back. “That’s more than one question. Your turn.”

  I hadn’t liked it at first, but now I was mad at myself for not demanding a different rule. Oh, what major shit of mine to start with that hopefully wouldn’t freak him out too much? “I was married.”

  Both of his eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. That surprised him. “Huh. Didn’t expect that one. Reason for break-up?”

  “Incompatibility.”

  I could tell he wanted to ask a hell of a lot more questions, but he knew the rule. His turn. “I never went to college.”

  “Do you regret it?” I asked, smiling at his response. “Not even a little.”

  “The first tattoo I ever got was for my mother. Something to remember her by.”

  His eyes softened. “What of?”

  “A bleeding rose. Her name was Rose.”

  He gave a small nod in understanding. His turn. “I get tattoos as a way to forget.”

  “Forget what?”

  His jaw hardened as his gaze smoldered my way. “Every other kind of pain.”

  That touched something deep inside me, so I decided to reciprocate. “I get them as a way to remember.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “Remember what?”

  “Why I’ll never allow myself to give up.”

  I saw admiration in his eyes and for some reason, that was harder to witness than the lust I’d seen before. His turn. “I fight temptation every day of my life.”

  The air felt thick as I fought to breathe in more oxygen. “From what?”

  He turned his gaze downward, staring at the floor. “Oblivion.”

  That answer was a bit more puzzling, though I suspected I knew what he meant. And because it was starting to go a little deeper than I wanted it to, I switched gears.

  “I shoplifted a pair of underwear when I was thirteen.”

  He stared for a second then howled in laughter. “Did you get caught?”

  “No, but I felt so bad that I went back and paid for them.”

  He smiled and shook his head at me. “Rebel.” I watched as he wracked his brain for his next confession. “I accidentally dropped my lighter on my older brother’s dining room rug when I was living with him and his wife. Burned a big hole into it. I blamed it on their babysitter.”

  A loud laugh burst from me, which I attempted to muffle behind my mouth. “That’s awful. Did they ever find out it was you?”

  Half of his mouth tipped up in a devilish grin. “Nope. And they never will.”

  I shook my head at him. “I’ve used my boobs to get out of a ticket before.”

  His gaze immediately dropped to my chest, which I had to admit didn’t really bother me. Because if I was being completely honest, that had sort of been the goal of that particular confession.

  “Did it work?” he asked, his voice taking on a smooth, husky quality.

  “Yep.” I thought I heard him say I can see why under his breath, but I wasn’t sure so I ignored it. “Although I had to come up with an excuse as to why I couldn’t go out with him a week later when he called me. Apparently, he’d written down my number when he ran my plates. So that’s the story behind one of the most awkward conversations of my life.”

  He didn’t respond to that and instead continued to stare at me, his eyes drifting down my body, slowing heating. We were still in our suits, so I didn’t know what he found so interesting. When he met my eyes again, he looked positively predatory.

  “Sometimes I get angry that you walked into my shop that day.”

  I frowned, unsure if I should have been hurt by the words he said, or turned on by the look in his eyes. “Why?”

  “Because now I know what it feels like.”

  My frown deepened. “What what feels—”

  “And time’s up.” He stood up and held out his hand for me, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. “It’s ready for the second coat.”

  I glared at him and his grin spread.

  Chapter Eight

  Sage

  The rest of the coat applications and short breaks in between consisted of less serious discussions and on more neutral ground. I got the distinct impression that Mason had backed off slightly with the whole “major shit” stuff and was making an effort to keep things light.

  That didn’t take away from the fact that the energy between us since that first conversation had shifted to something more…acute. That simmering attraction that had been there from the beginning had heightened to the point that the air around us was crackling with heat. The change was so sharp and dramatic that I was anticipating what would happen once we were finally done painting. If Mason would make a move, how I would react, how it would be between us.

  Electric. My mind screamed the word at me as if such a thing had been so obvious the whole time.

  I even tried to take my mind off of it as we were applying the last coat of clear paint. “Oh, I wanted to ask you something. Would you happen to need any extra help around here? Like an apprentice of sorts or someone to help with the paperwork or clean up?”

  “If you want to be around me more, you can just say so,” he said, tossing me a sly look. “You don’t have to ask for a job.”

  “Witty,” I muttered to myself. “No, it’s for one of my kids. He’s fifteen and he’s needing something to occupy his time after school so he stays out of trouble. He’s a good kid and very smart, but he’s just been making some stupid decisions lately. I think he needs something he can really focus on. Be productive, you know?”

  “And what made you think of sending him here?”

  “He’s interested in art,” I replied cautiously, wondering if I had overstepped my bounds. “He likes to draw and paint and I thought that maybe he could help a little around here with that. Maybe you could show him a few things with what your work involves. You wouldn’t have to pay him. But this would be a huge favor to me. I’d owe you big.”

  He placed the gun down and walked over to me, removing the mask covering most of his face. “What’s it worth to you?”

  I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. “You would bargain over something like that?”

  His eyes flicked down to my mouth before lifting back up to my eyes. “No. He can have the job, that shouldn’t be a problem. I was just curious.”

  The look in his eyes was doing crazy things to my insides. Our bodies hadn’t been so close all night. It felt like the string that we had both been pulling on in opposite directions had finally snapped and the reacting inertia yanked us back together.

  “Well, I suppose if you did this for me, then I would owe you the favor.”

  His teeth ran across his lower lip in a sensual move that I wa
tched with increasing desire. “And would there be any stipulations to this favor?”

  He brought his body closer to mine and out of the corner of my eye I noticed him removing his latex gloves. I had already taken off my mask and gloves but still had the suit covering the rest of my body.

  “Um. I guess it would depend on what you wanted,” I whispered.

  “Oh, there are so many things I want right now, Sage,” he breathed, his half-lidded gaze mirroring my own. “The question is whether or not you want them too.”

  Oh, damn. It was that moment. The one where I chose one of two paths to go down and changed our relationship for good. The consequences of each direction weren’t really registering with me in that moment. What little resistance I had when it came to Mason was weakening significantly. Those two paths were quickly merging into one, providing me with only one option in the end.

  “No,” I replied, my voice coming out husky. “I think the real question is whether or not you could handle what I wanted.”

  His nostrils flared, the potency of his reaction to that statement unmistakable. “Only one way to find out.”

  We stared at each other, challenging with our eyes.

  It was a form of foreplay, the way we consumed each other from head to toe with nothing but silence.

  Our bodies were already connected, so the last form of defense we had was our words. But neither of us said anything.

  It was as if we were saying a thousand things in seconds, our cognitive messages traveling across the short void that separated us.

  Then…that void disappeared.

  At the same time, we lunged for each other, diving headlong into each other’s embrace, our arms reaching, mouths seeking.

  Our lips slid together, bruising with the force of our kiss. All pretense was lost as our tongues met and tangled, massaging the other with toe-curling acrobatics. Mason held my face in his hands, I pulled on the back of his neck with mine, bringing him closer. Our moans were swallowed, our touches welcomed with breathtaking passion. Every groan of his I encouraged and every thrust of mine he relished. I tasted, he consumed, and we both feasted.

  But that’s where the poetry ended.

  That’s when primal lust took over and things turned…raw. Rough. Desperately urgent and unapologetically dirty.

  I could feel the flickering fire become a blazing inferno. Flames that hot could be beautiful, but they could also burn and scorch and destroy everything in their path. Though in that moment, I didn’t care how high the flames rose or how badly we both got burned. I just wanted to be taken by the fire, consequences be damned.

  Mason grabbed me around my waist and slammed my back against the wall, pressing me against it as I fought to catch my breath. “Goddammit,” he growled against my mouth. “This is so fucking happening right now. No more acting like this thing between us isn’t about to make both of us go crazy. You want it. I want it. That’s all that exists from here on out. Got me?”

  There had been a deep-seeded knowledge inside both of us that if this ever happened, there would be no pretty words or gentle touches. At least not right away. Subliminally, we had both known it and accepted it even if we weren’t going to address it aloud.

  “Yeah, I got you,” I panted, rubbing my body against his. “Just as long as you make me feel it. Show me you can take me hard, Mason. Hard enough that it hurts. That’s how I need you right now.”

  He pulled his mouth away from my neck where he had left a trail of open-mouthed kisses and looked at me in question. “How much do you want it to hurt?”

  I knew what he meant. How much could I take? How far did I want him to go? I leaned forward and bit his lip, not too hard but enough to make him hiss through his teeth. I raised my eyes and stared him down, my voice serious, challenging.

  “I want you to fuck me like you’re never going to have the chance again. Give me everything you have.”

  On a tortured groan, his mouth covered mine as his hands went to the opening of my suit and ripped it completely in half. The sound of the material coming apart spurred me to do the same to him, yanking the suit off of him with little fanfare. Seeing his bare, tattooed chest sent a flood of arousal through my core. My hands immediately latched onto every inch of bare skin of his I could, followed by my ravaging mouth.

  He shoved me back and roughly pulled my shirt over my head, exposing my black bra to his greedy eyes. His fingers were at the clasp in the next second, the material easily falling down my arm, pooling on the floor.

  He took a step back at the sight before him, his eyes glued to my chest, wide with wonder. “Holy fucking shit. You’re kidding me. Pierced nipples?”

  Glad he appreciated them because it hurt like a bitch. “Told you I could handle pain.”

  His eyes flew back up to mine. “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  I couldn’t respond to that as he wrapped me up in his arms and carried me out of the paint booth, turning a thermostat outside the door. I was guessing that was what he’d meant by “baking” the car.

  “I have to turn up the heat,” he said absently.

  The laugh I released in his ear had a distinct edge to it. “I think you already have.”

  “Fuck,” he groaned when I nipped his earlobe with my teeth. “Just you wait.”

  I wasn’t sure how he found his way over to one of the cars in the shop with his face buried in my neck, but he got there easily enough and deposited me on the hood. The second he did, his mouth took one of my nipples and sucked, sending tingles down to my toes at the pull of the ring through my flesh.

  “Mason…” My entire breast was engulfed in his mouth while his hand twisted the other nipple. “Harder. Suck it harder.”

  God, he did. He listened and obeyed and delivered that pain I needed.

  I worked to un-do his belt and jeans, shoving what I could reach down his legs. He had no underwear on underneath. No fucking way. It was like he knew something like this was going to happen. He continued to lap up my pierced, tattooed flesh and my fingers grasped his hair, pulling his head back to get his attention.

  “I’m not finished with those,” he growled.

  “Get my pants off and you can have all you want.”

  He scowled and pulled me forward by the ankles until my ass was hanging off the hood. It was almost like he was angry as he opened my jeans and ripped them off my legs, which I had to admit I loved. I wanted that aggressiveness, that fierce emotion from him. I wanted to see that spark in his eyes that told me I was in for it. That message that let me know his control had slipped into nonexistence.

  “You like me all worked up like this, Sage?” He stepped between my spread, naked legs, and grabbed me by the hair, pulling back until he could look down into my eyes. “This how you want me to take you? Fucking you like I hate you?”

  “Yes.”

  He pulled harder on my hair until I cried out in pleasure rather than pain. “You’re a dirty girl,” he whispered, his lips touching mine but not fully connecting them. “I should have known you would be. You’re the type of woman who needs a real man to give you what your body needs. I’m that man, baby. And right now, you’re mine.”

  The next thing I knew, he was flipping me over onto my stomach, pulling me back until my feet hit the ground. Oh, yes. That position definitely worked for me. But rather than feeling his hard cock at my entrance, I felt his tongue instead.

  “Oh, Jesus.”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw a naked Mason squatting down behind me, his rough hands on my ass, his face mashed between my legs. I could feel his active tongue spearing me, the movements in sync with the side-to-side motion of his head. That image, along with his hair mussed up from my fingers running through it, was so erotic that it sent me over the edge. I was squeezing my eyes shut and coming down his throat in the next instant, his name both a plea and a curse on my lips.

  His mouth left my core and he stood up, grabbing onto my waist as he pulled me back into
him. He lowered his mouth to rest at my ear. “You’ve got the prettiest pussy. So sweet. You going to give me more of that cream, baby?”

  “You going to give me yours?”

  He took my hand and brought it behind my body to wrap around his hard shaft. He rubbed our fingers over his head, spreading the pre-cum to moisten the tip. “It’s there waiting for you. You want it like this? I’m clean.”

  “Me too and I’m on the pill.” The only other man who had ever been inside me without a condom was Scott and he had been my husband. I normally never caved in the matter of protection, but whatever was going on with me and Mason was too strong and addictive for there to be a barrier between us. “Take me bare. I don’t want to feel anything but you.”

  He slowly rubbed himself against my wet folds, inching his way through, but I didn’t want that. “Don’t be easy,” I told him forcefully. “I told you I wanted it rough.”

  I needn’t have said anything more. With his hand in my hair, pulling my head backwards, he slammed inside me with so much power, I thought he was going to rip me open.

  But that’s what I loved.

  I knew I was pretty fucked up to crave this kind of sex so much, and even more so my reasons for such proclivities. I didn’t go for the whole whips and chains and floggers scene. I wasn’t a dominant or submissive or any of that. I just didn’t like slow and steady. I didn’t like proclamations whispered in my ear or soft caresses offered in bed.

  I wanted dirty words growled at me as I was being taken. I wanted to demand and to be commanded in return. And I wanted the fucking itself to have a bite to it, just enough pain to keep my mind from drifting off to places I never wanted it to visit again.

  I tried to steady myself on the cold metal of the hood as Mason pushed into me, driving my entire body forward as he kept me in place with his hand in my hair.

  “You like the prick of pain, Sage?” he asked as he took a quick bite out of my neck, soothing the area immediately with a swipe of his tongue. His other hand suddenly came down hard on my ass cheek, the crack of his spanking echoing throughout the room. “You like the bite of my hand?”