Mason stepped into her room, still glancing over his shoulder at his friend’s retreating back. “What did I miss?”
Rubbing Luis’s saliva off the back of her hand onto her shorts, Julie swallowed. She turned away, more to collect herself than anything else.
“Hey.” Mason came up behind her. His hands closed around her arms. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah...” She cleared her throat when it squeaked and tried again more firmly. “Yeah.” She forced herself to face him and keep her features neutral. “Sorry. Hi.” She willed her mouth to curve into a smile. “Did you need something?”
He continued to study her, searching her face with concern in his eyes. His hands remained on her arms, not restraining, but comforting. He rubbed lightly with his palms. It took all her restraint not to lean into him and nuzzle that taut stretch of flesh along the side of his neck. More than that, she wanted to scrub away Luis’s kiss with his.
“Jewels?”
She started to lick her lips, only to think better of it a second later. “I’m okay.”
“What did Luis want?”
It was harder looking him in the eye when answering that one. “To talk. I think being cooped up here is getting to all of us.”
Her response seemed to satisfy him. Some of the tension melted from his shoulders and he pulled her to him. One hand lifted and lightly stroked the side of her face.
“But you’re okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I was about to shower and dress.”
He grinned teasingly. “Need someone to wash your back?”
Despite the resonating shock clamoring in her chest and jittering through her veins, Julie chuckled. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Actually, I came to ask if you wanted to go for a walk with me, get out of this house for a while.”
Dread clenched her stomach muscles all over again. “I don’t...”
“You can’t just sit here waiting for something else to happen, Jewels. We don’t know how long this is going to take.”
She shifted, but his hold tightened on her. “Mason—”
“I’ll be there the whole time,” he promised. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Julie started to shake her head. “It’s not just that,” she whispered. “What if there’s something out there?”
“There isn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Because I’ve been checking.”
Julie blinked. “What?”
“Every morning after I get up,” he replied. “I do a full circle around the house. There hasn’t been anything else.”
While relief slammed down on her like a two ton truck, Julie squinted at him horrified. “Are you insane? Why would you go out there ... alone? Something could have happened to you and we would never know.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for something else to happen,” he said simply. “It’s my house and it’s my job to protect it, and you. I’m not letting anything else happen to either.”
“But who’s going to protect you?” she shot back.
His grin was lopsided. “I was hoping you would with those really sexy karate moves.”
“It’s kickboxing,” she muttered, feeling her own mouth twitch.
His grin broadened. “So, about that walk?”
It was in the pit of her stomach to say no, a nagging that was slowly gnawing its way up her esophagus. But she chuckled instead and gave him a nod.
“Okay, but I still need a shower first.”
His hands moved over her back and along her arms, guiding her even tighter into the folds of his chest until there was no space between them. His head lowered, dropping his lips inches from her, and Julie stiffened. She jerked back without thinking.
Mason started. “What?”
It killed her not being able to tell him that she felt like she had something contagious on her lips and couldn’t bring herself to let him catch it. At least not until she’d had the chance to wash it off.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth this morning,” she lied.
His brows crinkled in confusion at her lie. “I don’t care—”
“I do,” she lied, yet again. “It’s kind of a pet peeve.”
Still squinting at her like she’d just declared she could fly, Mason shrugged. “Okay, well, I’ll wait for you downstairs then.”
She said nothing as he left, closing the door behind him. Alone once more, she shut her eyes and breathed in the lingering scent Mason left behind. Exhaling, she opened her eyes and hurried into the bathroom for a shower and a heavy lather of toothpaste.
While she had nothing against Luis, and even really liked him, getting her mouth invaded against her permission made her feel ... dirty. The fact that Luis had gone straight for tongue, hadn’t helped. It had been like getting Frenched by an over enthusiastic Labrador.
She dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a black top that fit comfortably under a light jacket; there was no sun in the sky, just an angry wall of clouds that looked about ready to burst. She stowed her cellphone into her pocket, double checked the room for anything she might have missed before heading downstairs.
Mason was leaning against the sitting room doorway, arms folded, watching the basketball game Shaun had put on. Shaun was reclined on the sofa and Luis was a tiny figure stooped in the armchair. He glanced up when Julie stepped into view. His shoulders seemed to migrate even higher around his ears. He looked so pathetic that Julie couldn’t stay angry, even if she had tried. She offered him a slight smile, not too bright. The last thing she needed was for him to get the wrong idea. But enough to assure him she was letting it go. He seemed uncertain, but some of his tension lessened.
“Hey.” Mason turned his body to her. “Ready?”
Julie nodded.
He took her hand. She let him, hoping it was a clear enough sign to Luis that she had already made her choice. Just in case.
“See you guys in a bit,” he told his friends.
Shaun deliberately ignored the statement. Luis nodded ever so slightly, but kept his attention on the worn carpet beneath his feet.
Mason led her out of the house. Julie faltered only marginally when they crossed over the threshold. Her gaze swung over the driveway, searching for lurking shadows and hanging bodies. There were none. The air was miserable, cold and damp, but aside from the threat of a downpour, everything was calm. If Mason noticed her hesitation, he never let on as they started down the stairs.
At the bottom, they headed towards the main road. Their feet clipped on pavement that followed them with the whisper of the wind rustling through the trees.
“So Luis told me what happened,” Mason murmured once they had ventured off the driveway and down the dirt path towards the main road.
Julie’s eyes widened. “He did?”
He nodded. “Luis isn’t very good at ignoring his guilt. It eats at him until he’s sobbing the truth. I guess he really felt bad about what he did.”
Julie grimaced and looked away. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I just ... it didn’t mean anything and he was already so sorry. Are you angry?”
He was quiet for a moment, letting their footsteps fill in the silence. When he spoke, it was thoughtful and soft.
“I won’t lie, I was pissed at first when he told me. I even considered punching him in the face just to prove a point. But I thought of something.”
“What?” she wondered when he stopped talking.
He cocked his head in her direction. “You don’t need me to fight the little things for you. I’ve seen you kick ass more than once. Even my ass.” He grinned when she laughed. “So I know you could have handled him. Now if he’d been bigger, taller, and if his chin hadn’t wobbled like a little kid ... maybe then...”
She laughed harder. He squeezed her fingers in response.
“I am sorry,” she said. “It honestly didn’t meant anything. I felt ... I feel worse fo
r Luis.”
“Mm.” He released her hand and slid the arm around her shoulders instead, drawing her into his side. He pressed his lips into the side of her head. “Yeah, well, he can just find himself his own girl to kiss. Mine’s off limits.”
A warm tingle worked through her at his words. She hid her goofy grin by resting her head on his shoulder and slipping her own arm around his lower back. They trudged for what felt like miles, immune to everything but the other. They spoke of the four years they’d been apart, of the lives they’d lived until that point. They talked about relationships that had failed and things they expected of the future. The conversation would have been endless had the sky not begun to leak fat drops of rain.
Julie laughed as the clouds burst overhead and drenched them. She tipped her head back on Mason’s shoulder to peer up into his face, a face that was tilted to the heavens. His eyes were closed. He seemed so peaceful standing there, unaffected by the icy downpour.
Rain cascaded over the hard lines of his face to stream down the column of his exposed throat. Julie watched the rivulets of water drench the collar of his shirt, soaking the dark blue material until it was black. Beads of it dropped from his chin, the curve of his jaw, and earlobes, clinging for one quivering second before plummeting. She could have stood there for hours, just watching him. Instead, she acted on impulse, rose up on her tiptoes and skimmed her lips to his Adam’s apple, tasting him in the water.
The spot vibrated with his low hum. She felt it tickling her lips before he lowered his head and his dark eyes met hers from amongst strands of damp, shiny hair that lay plastered to his head and over his brow.
Julie dampened her already wet lips. Mason raised a hand and skimmed the tips of four fingers over the curve of her cheek, sweeping aside plastered strands of hair and rain. They roamed over the bow of her bottom lip, making them part.
“I’ve never kissed anyone in the rain before,” he admitted quietly, barley loud enough to be heard over the downpour.
Julie swallowed. “Me neither.”
Something shimmered dark and primitive behind his eyes. “I want to kiss you.”
“Yes, please.”
His mouth curled into a voracious smile. “Beautiful.”
There was nothing gentle or romantic about the kiss. It was impatient and demanding, robbing her of her breath and senses. She whimpered as the fire built inside her, the one that worked up from the very heart of her abdomen to spread like wildfire through her veins. She could feel it coiling like barbwire about to snap. And all he’d done was kiss her in the rain.
Then, just as suddenly, he changed gears, giving her soft little nips that capsized her heart. The burn was a sweet one that pattered in her chest, weakening her knees and melting her into his arms.
When he finally released her of his spell, she was panting. Her heart was thundering with painful force that hurt her ribs and she was relying solely on him to keep her up. He didn’t seem to mind. He clasped her close and continued to rain tiny kisses across her face, sipping the rain from her lashes and lips.
“I love you,” he whispered into the side of her cheek, close to her ear so she couldn’t miss it.
Julie felt her eyes close as those three little words warmed her straight to the marrow. She would have squealed in delight if she wasn’t too busy trying not to cry.
“You love the fifteen year old you used to know,” she whispered. “I’m not her anymore. I’ve changed.”
His eyes were intense. The light behind them sharp. “Not as much as you think,” he murmured. “You may not look like her, but you’re still her, and I’m still crazy about you, Jewels. I don’t think that will ever change.”
Chapter Fifteen
The rain had lightened up by the time they found their way back to the house. Shaun was on the front porch, a cigarette pinched between his fingers. Smoke coiled from the red end. It rose into the air, mixing with the plume Shaun expelled from his nostrils like an over enraged bull ready to charge. His eyes narrowed through the thick cloud.
“The happy couple returns,” he grumbled between another deep drag. He expelled. “Sorry, we forgot to put down the carpet.”
“Lay off, dude,” Mason muttered as they started up the steps. “Did we miss anything?”
Shaun shrugged. “That depends on what you mean.”
Mason stopped and faced the other guy. “Are we really playing this game?”
Slipping out from under Mason’s arm, Julie started for the front door, which stood open and dimly lit from the hallway light.
“I’m going to shower and change,” she said, anxious to get away from Shaun. “I’ll see you inside.”
The last thing she heard before she ducked inside was Mason’s voice, tired and frustrated.
“Are we really going to do this again, Shaun?”
Shivering, Julie jogged up the stairs and closed herself up in her room. She shed her clothes in the bathroom, rung them in the sink before tossing them into the hamper and climbing into the shower.
The hot water felt like heaven chasing away the chill stiffening her limbs. She moaned as the spray hit her in all the places that needed it and she all but melted on the spot. She leaned into the sprayer, letting it drum loudly in her ears and echo through her skull. It was why she didn’t hear the knock until the voice broke through her solitude.
“Jewels?”
Sputtering out water, Julie poked her head out of the water and squinted through the shower curtain at the dark silhouette hovering by the open doorway.
“Mason?”
“The one and only.” He kicked the door shut.
She watched him move to the counter, heard the quiet clutter as her bottles and things were lifted and set back down. He hefted himself up on the counter and sat, swinging his legs.
Julie bit back her grin. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.”
Shaking her head, Julie stepped back under the spray and closed her eyes. “Have you changed?”
“I did.” She heard him sniff. “This smells really good,” he said.
Drawing back the curtains a notch, she glanced into the room at him holding her body spray.
He looked up. “It smells like you.”
Julie chuckled. “Well, I do use it so I guess it’s more like I smell like it.”
He brought the bottle to his nose again and sniffed. He set it back down.
“So I was thinking of grilled cheese.”
Julie ducked back behind the curtain, shut off the nozzle, and twisted the water out of her hair before responding. “For supper?”
She saw him hop down and reach for the towel she’d hung on the back of the door. She hesitated with her fingers on the edge of the curtain.
It seemed silly to play modest now when he had seen most of her naked already and had touched nearly all of her. But stepping out completely in the nude was a move there was no going back from. Yet, she drew in a deep breath and rolled the plastic aside.
Mason stood frozen a full two feet from the tub, towel in hand. He’d changed into gray sweat shorts and a white wife beater that showed off the beautiful hills and valleys of his arms and chest. His hair was still damp and hung recklessly over his brow and into his dark, roaming eyes.
“Towel?” She held out a hand like she stood naked in front of people all the time.
A pink tongue poked out and slid over the firm curve of his bottom lip as he continued to survey her from head to toe. Julie could almost feel the force of his scrutiny like the lick of flames along her skin. A shiver passed through her that had the junction of her thighs clenching and her breasts swelling for his attention, which they got almost immediately.
He tossed the towel onto the counter, out of her reach, and offered her his hands instead. Trembling from the cool sweep of air over her damp body mixed with anticipation, Julie accepted and let herself be guided from the tub. She was brought to stand before him, naked except for the droplets of water clinging to miles of pink
ening flesh.
“I thought you wanted grilled cheese,” she whispered over the loud cracking of her heart.
“I want you more,” was his guttural response.
Biting her lip, Julie turned to the door. Her fingers curled around the knob, but the thing never opened. It was restricted by the large, toned hand pressing into the wood just above her head.
“I didn’t say I was letting you leave.” Hot, naked skin pushed against her back, driving her forward into the door. It took her a moment to realize he had yanked off his top and it lay at their feet. “Not when I feel like I will lose my mind if I don’t touch you.” His lips grazed the arch of her neck. “Kiss you.” His fingers on the hand not holding the door shut glided along the curve of her side. “Take what you’re so willingly offering me.”
The pit of her stomach seemed to melt into a warm puddle that only added to the tremors coursing through her. Her skin seemed to sizzle with hyperactive awareness of every caress as though he had the power to coax every nerve ending just with his words.
“You said we would wait until tonight...” Her words hitched in her chest when his fingers deftly traced the line of her hipbone.
“And I meant it.” He nipped lazily at the curve of her jaw with his teeth. “When I’m inside you, it won’t be on a bathroom floor.”
Julie caught her breath as her heart hammered wildly in her chest. There was no doubt he could feel the sheer force of every crack when his palm slipped over her breast.
She gasped his name at the burst of heat that vaulted through her. Her back arched into the steady flick of his thumb over the peak, teasing it into a tight point that fanned the ache between her legs until she was shifting restlessly for a reprieve. Her fingers clenched around the knob she was now clutching for dear life.
When Mason released her and began slipping free, she whimpered urgently, unable to bear the idea of him stopping now.
“Shhh,” he whispered huskily into her ear.
His hands returned. They turned her to face him and color pulled into her cheeks when his eyes settled on her exposed flesh. It intensified when he actually licked his lips as if in anticipation of a feast. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth. His hand lifted and he toyed with the right breast, rolling and pinching it until she was panting. It was only the door supporting her limp weight now.
Kissing Trouble Page 23