by Devyn Quinn
Mason stared down at her. “I shouldn’t want you, but I do.”
Fighting to maintain her composure, she swallowed hard. “Don’t tell me,” she murmured. “Show me.”
Mason pulled her closer, his mouth capturing hers. One of his hands curled warmly around her neck even as his tongue slid along the seam of her lips, pressing for more intimate contact. Their hips collided as their kiss deepened. A shaft of white-hot heat shot through her, hard and fast. There was no mistaking her body’s reaction to his mastery.
She wanted him.
Bad.
Mason wasn’t exactly sure when he lost control. One minute he was acting like a perfect officer and gentleman. The next moment he was pulling Addison Lonike into his arms, determined to lay one hell of a kiss on her sensual lips.
The situation was spinning out of control—fast. But he couldn’t help it. Desire throbbed as hard and as fast as his rapidly beating heart. The only thing he was aware of was how much he wanted her.
All of her.
When their kiss broke, she let out a low groan. “What are we doing?” Despite her question, her bright green eyes glittered with pleasure.
Mason shook his head. So much for the idea that he’d take a sabbatical from sex and cleanse his mind and body while he concentrated on taking his career to the next level. Meeting Addison had set his libido right back on edge. Her image persisted in buzzing around the back of his brain like a gnat that wouldn’t shoo. Why she attracted him couldn’t be summed up in words. Still, everything about her was appealing, from her allure to her uncertainty, to the steely determination in her green eyes.
The only thing on his mind was increasing her pleasure as soon as he possibly could. “I don’t know.” His hands moved, claiming her slender waist. Her T-shirt was tucked into the waistband of her khakis, cutting him off from the feel of bare skin.
Her hands rose to his chest, fingers digging through the material and into his skin. Their eyes locked. The air between them crackled with strange electricity.
She stared at him, her lips parted, moist with anticipation. “We could stop.” She laughed, her sparkling eyes dancing with mischief.
A lump formed in his throat, almost cutting off his oxygen. She was so beautiful. The ache inside grew fierce, and his erection strained to break free of his slacks.
Mason bit his tongue, gritting his teeth. A shiver curled around his spine, then crept lower. God, the pressure, the need, the wonderful anticipation.
“I don’t want to.” Lost in the haze of sheer lust, he pressed her back against the wall. It was as if the whole world outside had ceased to exist.
Mason McKenzie, you are in over your head. But in his crazed, impassioned state he didn’t care.
Letting out a long breath, he ignored the self-serving admonition. He was tired of playing it safe.
Mason felt the fine hairs at the back of his neck prickle. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.
Addison moved her hand and cupped him intimately. Her fingers curled around his shaft. “By the goddess, you feel so good.”
Mason’s scalp prickled as the heat from her palm seeped through his slacks. Attraction. Need. Desire. All were communicated between their aching bodies. All sense flew out of his mind, and his sole thought was of how badly he wanted her—now. Hers was a warm, living force, a magnet he couldn’t resist.
Every inch of his body tingled with anticipation. Without a word, he aligned their bodies so she could feel every inch of him, hard and full.
As he fought back an agonized moan, his hands moved to her breasts. His fingers teased the erect tips of her nipples, made all the more tantalizing because of the material separating his skin from hers. “This is so wrong,” he breathed. Illicit sex in a utility closet wasn’t even his style, either. He liked to think he had enough class to treat a woman right—a nice dinner, a good bottle of wine, dancing to a live band at a local club in her hometown. If he was lucky, and he usually was, he’d end up at her place, in her bed. If not, he didn’t mind a hotel room as long as it wasn’t a roach trap.
She tipped her head back, staring up at him through a heavy-lidded gaze. Her breath came in shallow gasps. “But it feels so right.” Pressed back against the wall, her legs were bracketed between his strong thighs.
Mason tugged her T-shirt out of her slacks. He pulled it over her head, and her sports bra followed. Her skin was soft and pliant. “I can’t get you out of my head,” he breathed. He wouldn’t be finished until he’d caressed, licked, and sucked every inch of her.
Addison laughed low in the back of her throat. “So I see.”
His swollen erection pushed insistently against his slacks. “I can’t tell you how tempted I was when we were in my cabin. I damn near lost it.”
Her eyes crinkled around the corners. “I know.” Her voice trailed off as she fumbled with his belt buckle. “I was thinking you were overdressed.”
Her eyes never left his. “Looks like you’re taking care of that now,” he whispered. The buckle fell away.
Heat pulsed through his veins. His stomach muscles contracted with need as he unbuttoned the top of her khakis. The zipper crunched down. “So are you,” she murmured in his ear.
“There’s no stopping now,” he warned.
“Definitely not…” Her mouth came down on his with a slow deliberation. His tongue pressed past her lips to explore her mouth.
Addison moaned a second time, arching her body against his. “Oh, yes…”
Mason took full control. He caressed her breasts, teasing the hard little beads. His head dipped. With a merciless drag of his tongue over the tips, he continued his exquisite torment.
The gentle pressure made Addison’s entire body shudder. She gasped and tangled her fingers in his thick hair, pressing him closer. “Damn, you’re good.”
Mason laughed low in his throat and began to suckle harder, taking each nipple in its turn and giving them slow long licks. “I’m about to get better.”
Her body trembled with pleasure. Her sigh was like the chorus of a thousand angels’ voices in his ears, the most heavenly music in the whole world.
He ran curious fingers over the design etched into her skin. It felt smooth, as soft as silk. Although he’d seen it when she was in the tank, he’d been aching to see the design up closer, and on a much more intimate level. He admired the way the pattern traveled its way up her arms and over her shoulders before beginning a looping descent over her breasts and down her abdomen and hips. The pattern ended at her ankles. “Your scale pattern is amazing.”
Kissing his way down her abdomen, Mason nibbled at the soft skin below her navel. He parted her legs, and Addison opened for him willingly. A whimper broke from her throat. “Please,” she breathed.
Mason’s mouth landed in the soft wetness between her legs and continued his slow assault until her breath came in shallow gasps.
Spasms wracked her. Catching a utility bar above her head, Addison writhed until exhaustion claimed her. A sob of surrender escaped from deep inside her throat.
Mason gazed into her eyes. She opened up to him; she trusted him. He knew then he would do everything in his power to protect her.
Fighting his way out of his own tight T-shirt, he dug in the pocket of his unzipped slacks for the condom Hawkins had tossed his way. He’d almost forgotten about it.
Manna from heaven, he thought gratefully. His men might think with their dicks, but at least they had sense to protect themselves and their partners.
“Prepared for every emergency, Captain?”
He grinned. There was no way he’d ever tell her the truth. “I was a Boy Scout.” Ripping the foil packet with his teeth, he eased the rubber over his aching shaft, then lifted her off her feet. “Wrap your legs around me, babe.”
Addison obeyed. A moan filtered past her lips as he lowered her onto his waiting erection. She was wet and hot, and his glide into her waiting depths was as easy as it was right.
N
o more words were needed between them.
What followed next defied anything he’d ever experienced with any other woman. Like a wildcat in heat, Addison drew him in with rocking, twisting motions that had the effect of pulling him in, each time deeper and harder than the last. She writhed in his arms, uninhibited in every way. Shuddering as his hands clenched her ass, she ground her hips against his, begging for more.
Bracing her back against the wall, Mason responded in kind. His penis was a steel shaft, throbbing with heat. With every gliding motion, he thrust deeper inside her, claiming her, branding her as his own.
A shiver went through him when Addison’s sharp nails dug into his sweat-slicked back. “Don’t stop,” she gasped. “Don’t ever stop.”
A feral growl rumbled deep inside his chest. “Never,” he grated between gritted teeth. “You’re mine.”
He meant what he said—absolutely and completely.
Passing the point of no return, Mason gave himself to the waves building inside him, a relentless tide crashing onto a jagged shore. He rode the peaks, letting the power of his need tumble him end over end. It was all too much; yet it didn’t feel like enough.
Countless seconds later, the heat in his loins melded with hers. Physical and emotional sensation melted into a single profound ache even as a sense of the most exquisite rapture branded his heart. All control shattered.
Mason pummeled her harder—faster. Beyond their bodies, beyond sex, he felt himself blending into her. At the same time, Addison’s fingers convulsed, her sharp nails tearing into his shoulders as she clung to him. Their shared excitement grew, spreading out in shivering ripples, engulfing every last inch of their physical selves.
A cry of wild abandon ripped from his throat. Addison’s name tore past his lips even as his orgasm seared through his veins. Pleasure overflowed, spreading all around him like a wave of fire; a scalding, shivering explosion of white-hot desire.
As Mason let himself drown in the magnificent abyss of pure passion, it vaguely occurred to him that he’d been snared.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Chapter 12
The aftermath of sex was the hardest part for Addison. Now that the intensity of the moment had passed, the inevitable would occur. She felt empty, deflated.
Mason lowered her to her feet, holding her steady. “God, that was terrific.”
Unable to look him in the eyes, Addison reached for her discarded clothing. The narrow space didn’t give her much room to maneuver.
Damn it! This wasn’t any time to be fooling around. She needed to focus on finding her sister instead of dallying around with the delectable Captain McKenzie. Tessa needs me.
Mistaking her silence for assent, Mason pulled her against him before delivering a nip to the nape of her neck. “Give me a minute to catch my breath and we’ll do it all over again.”
Addison stiffened, wriggling out of his hold. Nerves strung as tight as a piano wire, she felt miserable because she was miserable. Everything was piling up on her at once, and she was powerless to stop the destruction. Like an earthquake victim, she saw no way to dig herself out of the rubble.
Unbidden tears blurred her vision—so much for remaining detached. “That’s okay,” she said, turning away so he couldn’t see her face. “I’ve had enough.”
Mason’s touch immediately fell away. “Something wrong?”
Mustering her inner strength, she put on a cool and aloof manner. It was just sex—nothing more. Just because they’d shared a few moments of intimacy didn’t mean they had any obligation to share their feelings. She’d had an itch and Mason had scratched it. Besides, he probably just wanted to see what sex with a mermaid would be like. “Nothing’s wrong.” Slipping on her slacks, she snagged her sports bra. “We’ve had our moment.”
As he reached for his own clothing, bemusement colored his features. “Wow. You don’t waste any time brushing a guy off. We had sex. Now we’re done. End of story.”
Pulling her T-shirt over her head, she poked a finger into his chest. “You were the one who said duty comes first.” She shook her head. “I’m not a clingy woman. You don’t have to give me a cuddle afterward.”
A frown spread across his rugged face. “So that’s it?” he asked. “Now that I’ve serviced you, you’re dismissing me?”
Addison ran her hands across her numb face. Talk about putting her foot in her mouth. She was trying to offer him a graceful exit, but he didn’t seem willing to take the hint.
“I didn’t mean it to come out that way. What I meant was, we’ve relieved the tension and now it’s time to get back to formalities.”
His brow furrowed as he pulled his slacks up his slender hips and zipped them up. “That’s usually something the man would say,” he noted wryly.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that we don’t have to get personal here. We gave in, and now that we’ve satisfied our curiosity about each other, we can get back to work.”
He paused a moment. “Is that all men are for Mer?” he asked slowly. “Curiosities?”
Everything she said was coming out sounding negative. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. She wanted to tell him she’d just had the most mind-blowing sex of her life, with the sexiest man she’d ever met.
Yet something inside kept holding her back, tripping up her tongue, and sending out the wrong signals. She didn’t want Mason to feel obligated, as if he’d somehow taken advantage.
“I could ask you the same question,” she countered. “Weren’t you wondering what it would be like to be with a mermaid?” A little laugh escaped her. “I know you guys are always wondering what we can do with the tail…”
He gave her an odd look. “I actually wasn’t thinking about your tail. But I get what you’re saying. It was a one-time thing.” His words came out a lot cooler than hers.
Addison winced. That wasn’t what she’d wanted to say at all. But since he was going to take it that way, maybe she should take the easy way out. “Yeah.” Good. That made things easier—less complicated.
Mason’s gaze searched her face. “Are you wishing we’d never done it?”
Addison looked at him, his body half in shadow and half in light from the gentle illumination flickering from the naked bulb overhead. She’d never been good at being a distant bitch who used men and then tossed them aside. That was the trouble with being the kind of woman who wore her heart on her sleeve. She wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.
“I don’t regret what we did,” she admitted after a moment’s silence had passed. “I just wish the circumstances had been different.”
Mason’s big frame relaxed. Stepping closer, he turned her around and put his hands on her shoulders. His touch was familiar and soothing, a knowing and intimate one. His thick fingers went to work on the knots of stress and strain. “We both know there’s something going on here,” he speculated as his fingers probed a particularly sore knot. “I felt it the second I set eyes on you.”
As she melted under his talented manipulations, a swirling ribbon of desire unfurled in Addison’s belly, igniting her desire all over again. She relished everything about him—his scent, his touch, his closeness. She swallowed the lump rising in her throat, feeling a thousand-watt jolt go surging all the way through her body. She was like putty in his hands, willing to be molded into anything he desired.
The pressure felt so good, she groaned in relief. The pain receded a bit, and she focused on the rhythmic motion of his hands. A comforting rush of heat traveled between his fingers and her skin. “I have to admit, the feeling was pretty strong,” she said softly.
Mason continued the soothing massage, pressing the tips of his fingers into the slender curves where neck and shoulders came together, the soft pads of his thumbs rubbing at the hollow at the base of her hairline. “And I have to admit that now isn’t the best time for us to discover we have a mutual attraction. I’m breaking every damn rule in the book, being here with you now.”
Her throat tightene
d again. “Technically I’m not a crew member under your, uh, command, Captain.”
His low deep laugh brushed across her ear. “Technically, you’re right. But you can’t deny that being involved with you is something much more explosive.”
Addison’s heart stalled. She broke away from his delicious hands, turning around to face him. He was right, of course. “That little problem with Queen Magaera…” The rapid flutter of a pulse beating in her throat betrayed her nervous tension. “Which must mean you’re fraternizing with the enemy.”
“In so many words, yes. It’s true you’ve been recruited to help breach the queen’s island, but—”
“I’m still one of them.” She waited a beat, but he didn’t speak.
Mason simply nodded.
Addison felt her throat tighten. The warmth and tenderness in his touch caused a tidal wave of emotion surging through her, the need to have him all over again almost overwhelming.
She reluctantly pulled away. “Oh, damn… We just made a huge mistake.”
“It didn’t feel like a mistake to me,” he said. “But the timing isn’t right. It’s just too much, too soon.”
She grimaced. In other words, they should have been adults who were able to hang on to their hormones. “Tell me about it.”
Although she’d had her flings, tumbling into the nearest utility closet for a hot sex session wasn’t usually the way she took on a new lover. She had to admit it was a bit easier this time. There were no awkward explanations about her scale pattern and no unveiling of the tail. Mason knew exactly what he was getting.
Yeah, he was definitely getting her. And so much more, her mind silently filled in. So far Mer females had proven to be a handful for their partners. The men who chose to be with them usually ended up sacrificing everything. Kenneth Randall had practically rebuilt his whole life around Tessa. And Blake Whittaker had not only ended up chucking his entire career for Gwen; he’d taken on the federal government to do so.