by Dorie Graham
Okay, she should try to read Mason. If she could do a remote reading and it came in clearer than in the past, then perhaps Sophie’s theory was right. At the next light she closed her eyes and filled her mind with thoughts of him, letting her heart take in whatever emotions came to her.
A sense of curiosity, mixed with excitement came over her. She opened her eyes, breathing deeply as she sorted through the feelings. All right, she was a little excited herself about seeing him, but this didn’t seem to be coming from her. Did that mean he was excited at the prospect of seeing her?
What was he curious about?
With another deep breath, she focused again on Mason. Her stomach tightened with a deep sense of unease.
She bit her lip and made the final turn on her way to the nursery, a nervous shiver running up her spine. He was alone at the nursery with Evan. Depressing the accelerator, she sped along the last mile to the shop.
What could the two of them be talking about?
MASON SHIFTED BESIDE Tess’s assistant, Evan, whom she’d mentioned on several occasions. They’d apparently known each other for quite some time. What a disappointment that she hadn’t been there for him to surprise her.
Hopefully she’d be along shortly, though. Mason brightened. In the meanwhile, Evan would be a fount of information on her.
Gesturing to a low structure along the back of the property, Evan completed his tour. “This building was the original greenhouse. We use it mostly as storage and for special-order items.”
“It’s a great setup, and Tess has owned this for how long?”
“Let’s see, her great-aunt Emma passed maybe two or three years ago. She left a nice little nest egg for each of the girls.” He gestured to the complex. “This is what Tess did with hers. We’ve fixed it up a good bit. Added that front greenhouse. The place was pretty run-down, but it’s a good location. It turns a nice profit.”
“It suits her. She definitely has a nurturing side.”
Evan’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, she’s a nurturer, all right. I suppose they all are—the McClellan women—but I think our girl may be the most nurturing of them all.”
Our girl? So, were they sharing her, then? Surely not in any intimate sense. Tess had been very specific about that each-in-his-own-time thing and this was Mason’s time, damn it. “And how long have you known Tess?”
“Four, maybe five years.”
“And how did you meet?”
“It was amazing. I used to hate elevators. Couldn’t get in one for anything. Used to get claustrophobic.” He shook his head. “It was horrible. Anyway, I came home one night—I live in this high-rise, but on the fourth floor—and I always took the stairs—but this one night the stairs were blocked off. They were painting. Can you believe it? I was outraged. What if they had a fire? You can’t close down the stairs.
“Anyway, they did have another stairwell way on the other side of the building and I was whipped. Been hauling trusses all day. So I start to drag my butt to the other side of the building and there stands Tess, holding the elevator for me. I’m thinking no way, then she smiles, and, I don’t know about you, but there is no way I can deny that woman when she gets that look—you know the look that says she has a plan and she’s going to take care of everything and you might as well come along and enjoy yourself.”
Yeah, he knew that look. “So, you got on the elevator.”
“It was a ride to heaven, if you know what I mean. I have never had issues with small places ever since. The woman cured me. She’s a miracle worker, I’m telling you. She had to be to get me on that elevator in the first place.”
Mason gritted his teeth. She’d had sex with a total stranger in an elevator. His stomach tightened. “So, how long were you with her?” His face warmed. “Assuming the two of you are no longer…seeing each other…in that way.”
“Oh, no, I’ve got myself a real honey. We’re getting married next spring.”
“Good for you.” And good for him as well, one less blast from her past to contend with. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Tess and I were together just a couple months. Some of the best days of my life. She changed me in so many ways. Made me better, stronger. All I know is that I could never have gotten a woman like Jaida without Tess having healed me.”
Mason laughed. “Healed you?”
“Oh, yeah.” The serious look in Evan’s eyes had Mason frowning. “Healed me. No doubt about it. I was a mess before Tess. It wasn’t just the claustrophobia. I screwed up every relationship I’d ever been in. That woman has some kind of magic. I know you’ve felt it.”
“Well, maybe, but magic? So she helped you become a better person. That doesn’t mean it was magic.”
Evan nodded, his face set in a knowing look. “It’s still new to you, and I guess since you’re a man of medicine it’s a little harder for you to accept. But the rest of us, we know how it is.”
“The rest of you? Just how many more are there?”
“You know, there’s nothing for you to get jealous about. We’ve all moved on. Sure, we like to drop in and check on her—take care of anything that needs doing.” He stopped and frowned. “Funny, I just realized I haven’t seen her outside of work for a while.” He shrugged. “Anyway, we all feel like we owe her—not in an obligatory sense. She gives with such an open heart. It’s impossible not to want to give back in some way.”
“And how long do her relationships last?” Mason wanted to kick himself for asking, but damn it, he had to know.
“It varies. Depends on the guy. A few months on average. You’ll know when it’s time to move on. You’ll be ready. You need to just chill and enjoy your time with her.”
Enjoy his time with her? The sick feeling in his gut intensified. Mason inhaled a deep breath to try to bring some clarity to his thinking. Evan believed Tess was some kind of healer. Mason needed to chill and not care about her past. And most important, the clock was ticking on his time with her.
He closed his eyes for a moment. He’d known all this already. Having it confirmed was a bit of a blow, though. Truth was there was something…unique happening with Tess. Magic seemed a bit of a stretch, but whatever it was he didn’t feel anywhere near ready to give it up.
You’ll know when it’s time to move on. You’ll be ready.
What if he was never ready?
“You’re in luck.” Evan clapped him on his back. He nodded to the white van as it pulled into the parking lot. “Here she comes.”
Relief and excitement flooded Mason at the sight of Tess emerging from the vehicle. Just seeing her made him feel better. Was that magic? If his days with her were numbered, then he meant to make the most of them. With a backward thanks to Evan he ran to greet her.
Her smile lit her face when she saw him and her beauty nearly took his breath away. How could he have ever thought her anything short of remarkable?
She met him halfway and he swept her into his arms and kissed her before she could utter a word. Her mouth was warm and welcoming, her tongue giving. He couldn’t get enough. When she pressed her body close and moved against him, waves of desire shot through him. Unable to restrain himself, he kneaded her breast until she moaned softly into his mouth and stroked her hand over his chest, palming his own nipple into an aching point.
He broke the kiss but let his fingers linger on her breast. “Can you leave with me?”
She nodded, waved to Evan, then practically dragged Mason to his car. Traffic proved to be thankfully light as he maneuvered along I-95 to his house. He should have asked if her apartment was closer.
“Hurry,” she murmured as she nibbled at his neck and stroked his thigh.
He half hoped she wouldn’t stop there, but he’d be hard put to find a secluded spot along the interstate if they got too carried away. He shook his head. What had she done to him? Before their little tryst during the dinner party the other night he never would have thought such a thing.
Still, she had his shirt wide open and
was suckling one nipple while toying with the other by the time they reached the safety of his garage.
“You little minx.” He tugged her off him, then made short work of her buttons, spreading her shirt wide to reveal a very sexy bra. Her breasts tempted him through a film of lace that barely contained them.
“I’ve been thinking of you nonstop.” With a twist of his fingers he released the front clasp on her bra and freed her breasts for his pleasure.
She cupped them and lifted them up to him as he lowered his head. “I’ve been thinking about you, too. Why did we wait so long? Tuesday was eons ago.”
She stilled as his mouth closed over her breast. While he suckled her with abandon, he rolled her other nipple between his thumb and forefinger, eliciting soft whimpering sounds from her that sent his blood pounding.
“Oh, Mason…I love when you do that. It gets me so turned on.”
Her fingers threaded through his hair, holding him in place. He settled in and sucked his fill, savoring the feel of her hard nipple against his tongue, the sounds of her heightening excitement and the smell of her musky scent as she shifted, parting her legs in invitation.
Not wanting to disappoint either one of them, he slipped his free hand under the hem of her skirt. Had she purposely dressed again for easy access, or was a short skirt and thong her standard attire?
Her swollen, wet flesh sent all thought from his mind, other than his burning desire to slip inside her. He pushed two fingers into her and was rewarded with a wild groan as she gyrated against him.
She arched, pressing her breast farther into his mouth, and his fingers deeper inside her. His cock hardened and he shifted to relieve some of the pressure. His hip hit the horn. It blared, the sound startling them both.
“Sorry.” He pulled back to gaze at her face flushed with desire. “Let’s go inside.”
A devilish light lit her eyes. “I have a better idea. Follow me.”
She moved to slip over the front seat into the back. In the process her bottom came in close proximity to his face and he breathed in the musky scent of her arousal. Acting on impulse, he anchored her as she hung half over the seat, her lovely ass positioned just right for him to take advantage.
“Mason,” she gasped in a breathy whisper as he shoved her skirt up.
“If you’re going to make me swelter in this car, we’re going to have a little fun with it.”
She only moaned in answer as he parted her tight buttocks and went straight for her clit. He sucked her swollen flesh into his mouth and pulled hard, as he’d done with her nipples, laving the hard bud until she gasped and bucked against him. Liquid heat seeped from her and he drank his fill, holding her in place with a firm grip on her hips.
He crouched on the front seat and thrust his tongue into her, savoring her salty taste, losing himself in the glory of taking all he wanted from her.
She pushed against him. “Oh, yes…yes.”
Excitement rose in him. The need to give to her filled him. Her taste, her scent, triggered something feral in him and he let himself pleasure her the way he’d only imaged doing until now.
Using his lips, tongue and teeth, he experimented, alternating his technique depending on her response. When she shifted, he took her cue and changed the pressure of his tongue, until she moved in steady rhythm against him, her cries of passion growing decidedly wilder, sending his own desire to new heights.
She was hot and willing. Was there anything she’d deny him? His cock was so stiff he wondered briefly if he’d survive, but he was so caught up in her unhindered response. Centering on her clit again he laved her with the point of his tongue, moving in quickening circles as she ground against him, moaning with every gyration of her hips.
Even as he shifted again to relieve the pressure in his groin, she stiffened as the first tremors of her orgasm hit her. He held her fast and continued his assault as her muscles clenched and she screamed her release.
He ran his mouth over her as she calmed, soothing her with gentle strokes of his lips and tongue.
The taste of her.
Only when he’d laved away the last drop, did he pull back to stroke her heavenly ass. The woman didn’t have a bad angle. He squeezed one firm cheek, her skin smooth and soft.
“That’ll get me started again.” She glanced back at him, her breasts exposed and heaving with her exertion.
“Really?”
She shrugged, laughter in her eyes. “Playing with my ass, my breasts, just kissing me the way you do. They all seem to do the trick.”
He took her buttocks in his hands and kneaded her. Her eyes grew dark and she pressed back against him again. He licked his lips and met her gaze. “And if you rub your breasts while I stroke your ass, will it get you wet again?”
Her eyes widened and she nodded as she complied, caressing her breasts as he stroked her bottom. “Oh,” she said in that breathy voice, “do you have any idea what a turn-on this is?”
“Oh, yes.” He unbuttoned his slacks. “How long?”
She laughed, the sound sexy as all get out. “We can do this all day and night if you want.”
He grimaced. “I mean how long before you’re ready to take me inside you?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Now. Is it too crowded, or can you manage from there?”
“Hold on. Don’t move.” He dug in the glove box and thankfully found a condom. After readying himself, he reached for the control panel and opened the sunroof, then he rose to his knees on the seat, his head just clearing the small opening as he positioned himself behind her.
“Oh, yes, Mason, now.” She pressed back, impaling herself on his cock.
She was wet and tight and he nearly lost control as he again gripped her hips and pulled her back hard on him. Then all he could do was feel as he thrust into her over and over, his gaze fixed on the vision of her tight ass swallowing his cock, her muscles contracting around him, bringing him the most exquisite pleasure he’d ever known.
An unprecedented warmth tightened his throat and expanded his chest to the point it seemed to spill out of him as he closed his eyes and focused on making love to her. That’s what this was. Making love. Awe filled him at the realization. So, this was how it felt.
She reached toward him and he took her hand and held on as they continued their loving, their movements fluid, the feel of her intoxicating, the tension coiling to almost unbearable heights.
It had never felt so wild, so good before. He thrusted with abandon, dropping her hand to reach forward and cup her breast. He slipped his other hand between her legs. She straightened with him, until her back pressed against his chest and he groaned at the changing pressure, thrusting upward into her, while he squeezed her nipple and caressed her clit.
She cupped her hands over his and rolled her head back against his shoulder, exposing her neck. He fastened his mouth on her there to stifle the yell rising in him as his body tensed. He sucked in a breath and plunged into her.
The spasms of her orgasm rippled around him and he felt his control slipping. Gritting his teeth, he fought to restrain himself, hating the wild, out-of-control feeling sweeping over him. Her inner muscles tightened and he came, crying out against her neck, in spite of himself.
10
HOURS LATER HE TURNED TO HER, the sight of her hair spread across his pillows bringing a smile to his face. She drew lazy circles along his chest with the tip of her finger. Her eyes, that startling blue, filled with warmth.
“It’s okay, you know,” she said.
“What’s okay?”
“It’s okay if you lose control while we’re making love.”
He hesitated a long moment. “I—I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh, Mason.” She cupped his cheek. “You could never do that.”
“I wish I could be so sure.”
“Have you ever lost control and hurt anyone before?”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t lose control. Hey, you hungry? I forgot to feed you.”
“I’m okay. Please don’t change the subject. I want to talk about this.”
Anger rose in him. “What’s wrong? Is my lovemaking too restrained for you? ’Cause you didn’t seem to be complaining.” The minute the words left his mouth he felt three times an ass. “I’m sorry, babe. That was uncalled-for.”
Her hand was smooth and warm as she pressed it to his chest. A blanket of calm soothed over him. He closed his eyes. “Sometimes, it seems I have all this…” He motioned lamely, not sure what he meant to say, not sure why he was saying it. “Maybe I have too much bottled up inside me.”
“It has to come out sometime. You do know that, right?”
He opened his eyes and met her gaze. “Evan says you healed him.”
Her hand flexed against him. “Did he?”
“Yes.”
“I wondered what the two of you talked about.” She resumed drawing circles on his chest.
He stilled her hand. “Is that what you’re doing here? Trying to analyze me so you can heal me or something?”
The blue of her eyes seemed as bottomless as the sea. “I am a healer, Mason. Me, my mother, my sisters, all the McClellan women before me and, I assume, all to come after me.”
He stared at her, not quite sure what to make of her quiet statement. She believed it. There wasn’t a flicker of doubt in her eyes. “You mean you heal with your touch?”
“With my touch, yes. The gift works when we make love. I’m a sexual healer.”
He stared at her a long moment.
“You really believe that?” he had to ask, though a quiet voice inside him seemed to nod in satisfaction, as though this absurd statement somehow made sense. “And that’s why all the men. You’ve healed them all…sexually?”
“It’s okay if you don’t believe me. It won’t make any difference.”
Again, the need to give to her overcame him. How could he hurt her by telling her there was no such thing as sexual healing? A weariness filled him and he closed his eyes again. What did he know? Maybe she was right. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Then don’t think.” She smoothed her hand over his forehead, then kissed him. “Sleep. We need to be up early for the beach cleanup tomorrow.”