“God, yes. Keep going.”
“Oh, yeah,” he moaned as he drove into me. “I knew you’d be this hot. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since you strutted your tight ass into my shop that day. Knew I wasn’t going to get any relief until I could get inside you. Just. Like. This.” He punctuated every word with a deep thrust of those powerful hips.
His pace was exactly how I liked it: frenzied. My sex was dripping with my excitement and I could feel how close he was to finding his release. He was driving so deep and so hard that he was grunting with every thrust, his thigh muscles clenching with the amount of strength he was using. I would have given anything to have seen us from behind. To witness Mason’s ass rippling with his thrusts, his cut arms tightening as he gripped my hair and hip, holding on with all his might.
That picture in my head did me in. My inner muscles contracted around him and I let everything I had go. I gave myself over to the paradise of climax and screamed in ecstatic victory, the intense pleasure causing my vision to blur.
“That’s it, baby. Milk me. Fuck, that’s good.”
Seconds later, he let go with a tremendous roar and another good slap to my ass the moment I felt him spill inside me. He didn’t release my hair until he drained himself of every last drop of his seed and began to soften between my legs. We were both sucking all the air out of the room with our heavy breathing, which was no great surprise. The amount of energy we just exerted was enough to send me into a sleep coma once I came down from the high.
I slowly turned to face him, forcing him to take a step back. “That’s definitely happening again,” I told him.
He snorted but didn’t smile, still looking pretty worked up. “If it’s like that every time, you might end up killing me. Or my dick will fall off from overuse.”
I glanced down at his manhood, which looked huge even in its semi-hard state. “Only one way to find out.”
Chapter Nine
Mason
Drop them off. Don’t go inside. Leave.
It was what I repeated to myself every time I made the trip down to D.C. to my parents’ house. The three of us took turns dropping off money or groceries, assuring ourselves with the knowledge that at least we were doing something to keep Sal and Sandra Cruz from starving to death.
If they were to die in any other way, there was nothing any of us could do about it.
A cigarette dangled from my mouth as I walked down the broken walkway that led to the front door, plastic bags in both hands. I listened to the sounds coming from inside the house as I approached, preparing myself for a face-to-face encounter I wasn’t willing to have. I gently set the bags down, being as quiet as I could, but still heard nothing from the house.
It was the middle of the day so that either meant they were both sleeping or…
No. Don’t go in there. You don’t know what you’re going to see.
The last time I had been inside the house was when Dawson, Parker, and I had checked on our mother after we first heard the news that Sal was dying. We all wanted to see how she was handling it, but I had immediately regretted the decision as soon as I stepped foot inside. If I hadn’t had my brothers with me, I don’t know that I would have kept it together.
But the silence that I was hearing now bothered me. Usually, I heard Sal yelling at our mom whenever I dropped by. He was always screaming about something, so most of the time I calmly and unobtrusively left the food by the door and took off as fast as I could.
And like a fool, I convinced myself that checking on them—or at least on her—was the right thing to do this time.
I carefully peeled open the flimsy door and slowly peeked my head inside. The smell of stale alcohol and musky furniture assaulted my nostrils, the scent familiar and chilling. I stepped inside, one foot at a time, my eyes flying over every inch of the place but saw exactly what I expected to see.
Stained carpet. Dirty clothes in the corners. Overflowing ash trays and cigarette butts littering the floor. Empty liquor bottles decorating every surface. Various types of pill bottles spilled across the coffee table in the living room. And Sandra Cruz passed out on the smelly couch, her frail form sunken into the cushions, looking dangerously thin.
I wasn’t even going to bother checking on Sal, but I at least had to make sure she was breathing and I couldn’t tell through her baggy clothes. We had all tried so hard over the years to get her to leave him. Sal had been mistreating his wife long before he began abusing his sons, yet she stayed with him all this time. I supposed it was some deep-rooted love she’d once had for him that prevented her from abandoning his pathetic ass for good. Some part of her that would forever remain latched to him, even if such an attachment ended up killing her.
Because I knew for a fact that she would never have gotten into the shit she did and ended up like this if she’d never met Salvatore Cruz.
I crept forward, the worn floor creaking under my feet, until I could peer down at her face. Like always, it was drawn and gaunt, evidence of her long-time substance abuse. It didn’t look like it now, but I took after her in the looks department while Parker and Dawson inherited more of Sal’s looks. Her once rich blonde hair was now a dull dirty blonde, and even though her eyes were closed at the moment, I knew her green irises had lost a lot of their luster.
I placed my hand over her nose, letting it hover there for a second, and felt her breath coming out slow and steady. The lingering scent of alcohol was wreaking havoc on my control and I knew I had to get out of there. I could stand being in bars and around other people who were drinking. That was never a problem.
But being in that house, surrounded by the memories and circumstances that had once pushed me into seeking solace in my addictions in the first place…it brought all of it back. The reasons for why I had needed an escape all those years ago. Why I’d needed to forget the reality of my situation and pretend that I could make it all go away, at least for a little while.
I abruptly turned back toward the door and that’s when I saw it.
A little bag full of white powder.
My first reaction was what the fuck? What was that doing there? Our mother had never been into hard drugs before, so where the hell had that come from?
My second reaction, after it dawned on me what the hell I was looking at, was oh, shit. It didn’t matter how long I’d been off the stuff, seeing it in person had some weird, otherworldly effect on me. I knew deep down that I didn’t actually want it. I knew what it could do to me and how it could ruin my life. And I knew that I had every capability of telling my brain and body no.
But my body…itched.
It was like a thousand little insects started attacking my nerve endings as soon as I laid eyes on that bag. And I knew—I could recall very clearly—how quickly and easily that itch would go away with one small hit. Just one tiny line and I would feel better.
No, you won’t feel better. Leave. Now.
That voice just about knocked me on my ass because it wasn’t mine. It was Sage’s voice I heard in my head, which didn’t make sense. She didn’t even know about that part of me. All she knew was that I’d gone to rehab for something other than alcohol, but it wasn’t as if I’d told her details. So, why was she suddenly inside my head, telling me to walk away and not do something that I would never be able to take back?
We had fucked once. True, it was the most incredible sexual experience of my life—mind-blowing, in fact—but that didn’t mean she should be taking up this much space in my head. Did it?
Fuck, I need to get out of here.
Hearing disembodied voices in my head and seeing demons from my past was not a good combination.
I bolted out of that dilapidated house without another glance back. As I pulled another cigarette out of my pack and lit it, I was grateful for small victories. Escaping that place without seeing Sal and surviving the temptation was something to be thankful for.
But I wasn’t sure if what had eventually dragged me out o
f there was my strength of will or if it had been Sage’s voice, demanding that I listen to her.
If it was the first, I was proud of my progress.
If it was the second, I was in deeper trouble with that woman than I thought.
##
I had smoked half of my new pack of cigarettes by the time I pulled into my shop later that afternoon. And a powerful thrill shot through me when I saw Sage’s ’77 Nova sitting in the parking lot, igniting a fire inside me that I hadn’t felt since our night in the shop a few days prior.
I needed to distract myself from dwelling on the scene at the house and my purple-haired vixen was just the ticket.
Today must have been a client meeting or court day for her because she was in an ass-hugging dress when I got my first glimpse of her. Her back was facing me so I took a brief moment to appreciate the sight of her standing there in my shop, her colorful tattooed arms on full display, her gorgeous purple and black hair falling in waves down her back, and her relaxed stance as she watched Cooke talking to some black kid I’d never seen before.
Cooke caught my eyes as I approached. “Hey, boss,” he greeted me, forcing Sage to whip around in my direction, a bright smile on her face. “Just showing Jamal here the ropes.”
Sage gestured for Jamal to come closer, which he did, eagerly. “Jamal, this is Mason Cruz. This is who you’ll be working for and answering to. You cause any trouble around his shop and he won’t take kindly to it. Then, he’ll tell me about it and you’ve seen me mad, so I would recommend avoiding it altogether.”
Jamal shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Geez, Sage,” he muttered. “I’m not a delinquent for shit’s sake.”
She shot him a look. “Language. And you almost were. Jailbird Jamal will not be making a second appearance, you can be assured of that.”
Jamal rolled his eyes and I extended my hand. “Nice to meet you, Jamal. I’m not as big of a ball buster as Sage seems to think. Just do as I ask and follow the rules and we won’t have any problems. Cool?”
He grinned at me and gave my hand a firm shake. “Cool. Thanks for this, by the way. And Sage only acts this way around me when she’s trying to look all authoritative. She knows she has a soft spot for me.”
I stifled my laugh as Sage tried to look stern, failing miserably. “You know I’m only hard on you because—”
“Because I have so much potential, I know,” he finished for her, his voice sarcastic but you could tell their ribbing was in good nature. They seemed to be pretty close, which weirdly made it feel like my heart was growing a size or two, like The Grinch.
She shoved him lightly on the arm. “Get back to work before I wipe that cute smile off your face.”
He laughed and rejoined Cooke, leaving Sage and I alone. I turned to see her staring after him with a soft smile playing on her lips.
“He seems like a good kid,” I said, drawing her attention back to me.
“He really is,” she replied. “He just needs a creative outlet. I think he’ll fit in well here. Just let me know if there are any issues.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Silence fell between us and the mood began to change. As we stared at each other, the atmosphere surrounding us began to thicken with something…dark, fueled by lingering memories of the other night.
“You have a second to speak with me in my office?” I asked, my words coming out stilted. She didn’t seem to be in better shape when all she could manage was a nod.
I always kept the blinds on my office windows closed, so as soon as I shut the door, we were completely alone in the tiny room. Closed off from the outside world and away from prying eyes. And if there hadn’t been a handful of too-perceptive men with perfect hearing and wild imaginations on the other side of that door, Sage would have been laid out on my desk in a matter of seconds.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.
“The fact that you’re going to come back by the shop tonight after you get off work,” I told her firmly as I leaned against the door, barring her exit until she agreed.
“Is that so?” One side of her mouth tipped up in a smirk that I wanted to kiss off her face.
I nodded slowly, my eyes raking down her cock tease of a body. “It is. I want more of whatever the fuck that was the other night. And I think you do too.”
Her confident smirk spread. “I believe we call that sex.”
I huffed out a mirthless laugh. “Oh, baby. I’ve had sex plenty of times before and trust me, that wasn’t sex. That was some kind of animalistic, voodoo magic shit you cast on me that turned me into a mindless, Sage-obsessed lunatic.”
“Not sure if you’re making this sound better or worse.”
My fists clenched as I resisted the urge to move forward and touch her. “The point is, I don’t know what it is and frankly, I don’t care. And I know you don’t either because you were just as wild for me as I was for you. I’ve never been that out of control with a woman before.”
Her brow furrowed. “And that’s a good thing?”
“It’s a fucking great thing. That was the kind of reaction you were hoping to get out of me anyway, right?”
She hesitated for a second. “Maybe.”
“Well, mission accomplished. And you’re going to come back for more of that tonight because I know you’re dying for it. You wouldn’t be squeezing your legs together right now if you weren’t.”
She immediately shifted her feet, spreading her legs slightly because she knew she’d been caught. “And you like it? You’re okay with the whole ‘voodoo magic shit’?”
A short laugh burst from me. “Like it? Are you out of your mind? Do you even realize how hard I came that night? Why the hell would I ever complain about that?”
She shrugged. I saw a flash of vulnerability in her eyes, which bothered me. “Sometimes it freaks guys out, I guess.”
“Then, all of those guys were morons and pussies. I’m neither one.”
I didn’t like the idea of her doing the same things we did with any other man, let alone multiple ones. Obviously, other guys had come before me, but I wanted to believe that I had affected her differently. That she hadn’t had better than me.
Possessiveness was a foreign feeling to me.
And it was kind of a pain in the ass.
“You don’t ignore chemistry this strong, Sage.” She still hadn’t responded and it was starting to unnerve me. “I’m willing to go however far you want to. But you don’t take only one lick of the ice cream and throw the rest of the cone away.”
The coy smile finally came back to her face, replacing the worried expression. “Well, I’ve never been the wasteful type.”
“I thought not.”
“I’ll be here by 7.”
I gave a short nod. “I’ll be waiting.”
She walked toward me, swaying her hips enticingly. I still hadn’t moved from in front of the door and she didn’t stop until our bodies were almost flush against each other. “You going to let me by?”
My entire body heated up at having her so close to me after days of nothing but her memory to satisfy me. “You going to give me a kiss goodbye?”
Something sparked in her eyes as she leaned forward, bending down slightly, bringing her lips to my chest. Even through my thin t-shirt, I could feel the touch of her hot mouth and my dick hardened in an instant. I wondered if she could feel it. Then, she took my nipple between her teeth and bit down just enough to send my hand flying up to the back of her head on reflex. And I know she felt that reaction. I didn’t like to brag, but me being at full mast wasn’t something she could miss.
She raised her head after removing her mouth. “You never said where you wanted the kiss.”
The woman sure knew exactly how to work me up. “In that case, I promise to be more specific tonight.”
Her eyes flew down to my tented jeans, biting her lip. “And I promise to use less teeth tonight.”
Fuuuuck.
; ##
“You need a ride home?” I asked Jamal as he helped me clean up all the stations at the end of the day.
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. The bus stop is just down the street so I’ll be alright. Thanks, though.”
I was impressed with the kid and decided that he would do well at the shop. He was attentive and a quick learner, clearly very sharp, just as Sage said. Willing to help out with anything and didn’t mouth off. As he gathered his stuff to leave, a notepad fell out of an open pocket of his backpack so I bent down to pick it up. It fell open and I glimpsed a few drawings as I went to hand it back to him.
Curious, I began flipping through the pages and was shocked to see drawings of cars and motorcycles with various designs on them, obviously all originals and not tracings. It wasn’t just the designs on the cars that were impressive, but the cars themselves, most of them looking like hybrids of different models both new and old school. I had never seen such unique creations in all the years in my line of work.
“You draw all these?” I asked, glancing up at him to see a nervous kid staring at his shoes, seeming much younger than his fifteen years.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “It’s just something I like to do in my free time.”
“They’re really good.” That wasn’t a lie. The kid had a massive amount of talent if those drawings were anything to go by.
His head shot up. “Really?”
I nodded, handing the notepad back to him. “Yeah, really. Maybe tomorrow you could help me with some of the designs I’m working on right now. Maybe we could come up with some ideas together.”
His eyes lit up like Gabby’s and Leo’s on Christmas morning. “Are you serious? Yeah, I’d totally be down for that.”
I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He returned the smile and waved as he walked away with extra pep in his step. “Later, Mason.”
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting at my desk working on organizing invoices when my office door creaked open. Knowing exactly who it was because I had left the side door open for her, I immediately smiled. I looked up to see Sage’s gorgeous face peering at me with calculating eyes.
The Art of Sage (Cruz Brothers #2) Page 10