by Brook Wilder
Mason came in and set the bucket of ice down. He put the champagne on ice and set the glasses on the nightstand.
“So,” he mused, as he eyed my robe again.
I grinned nervously.
“So, I wanted to make the night special. It is our wedding night, after all.”
“I see,” Mason said. “So, what’s with the robe?”
I laughed.
“I wear robes all the time,” I reminded him.
Mason walked over, apparently tired of my game, and pulled the tie loose. I heard the intake of his breath as he spread the robe open.
“Do you like it?” I asked with a hopeful smile.
Mason did not speak. He just nodded before he pulled me to him and took my mouth in a passionate kiss. I kissed him back just as eagerly. I felt like it had been months since he’d held me, though I knew that wasn’t the case. My arms slunk around his neck as his arms locked around my waist, pulling me tight against him. I could feel the movement of him through the silk of my nightdress, the brush of his jeans against my bare legs, and the way my own pulse beat against my skin.
“I want it to be special,” I whispered to him between kisses.
Mason pulled back and eyed me. He gave me a confused look.
“Cassie,” he whispered softly, and my name had never sounded so poignant.
I leaned into him and he gave me the kiss my body had been pleading for. His lips brushed against mine and he kissed me in such a slow, deliberate fashion that I thought I’d cry for the want of more.
His hands slid over the nightie and up to the swell of my breasts. I moaned softly as he caressed them gently. The brush of his thumbs ever so lightly over my nipples through the sheer fabric made a shiver run through me. I moaned at the melting shock of it. He took his time as his mouth left my lips and traveled across my cheek and down my neck. I arched against him at the torturous way he teased my body. Never did I think that gentle could be so cruel.
Before long I was mumbling: “Please. More. Please, Mason.”
“You wanted gentle,” Mason reminded me, as his breath ghosted against the skin of my shoulder.
I shook my head. “Then I’m a fool.”
“No, you’re right. This is quite enjoyable.”
Mason’s words were thick with want, and I knew he felt the same way I did.
“The wait makes it better,” he promised.
Then his lips were back on my skin and I groaned in pleasurable agony.
When he finally stepped back, I followed his movement. I grabbed his hands as he went to remove his jeans. He gave me a curious look as I took over the unbuttoning and unzipping. He helped me slide the jeans down.
The full swell of him fell forward, and I admired the thick shaft as I stroked the length of it gently with my fingertips. Mason was right – gentle was nice – I decided as I watched Mason’s eyelids flutter closed at my touch. His eyes came open when I knelt down and kissed the tip of his cock.
“That feels good,” Mason said softly. “You don’t have to…”
“I want to. Now shush,” I silenced him.
He smiled at me and did as he was told. I slipped my mouth around him, which was harder to do that I had expected. He seemed even larger than before, not that I was complaining. I held his shaft in my fingertips and slid my lips over the head of his cock, drawing and releasing it in slow deliberate strokes. Mason moaned and I smiled before sliding my mouth back around him again. Mason let me have my fun for a bit before he hooked his hands under my arms and lifted me up.
I gave a pout. Mason shook his head.
“Do you really want to make me come that way?”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” I teased him.
“Maybe,” Mason smiled. “But I’d rather be inside of you right now.”
His hand slid down between my legs and under the hem of my nightdress. My legs almost buckled when he slid his fingertip over my sensitive nub. His other arm wrapped around my waist, keeping me right where he wanted me. I could feel his hard dick pressing into my stomach as he stroked me with his fingers. I was soon panting breathlessly.
Words tumbled out of my mouth, words that were useless against the assault of Mason’s hands on my body. I moaned deeply.
“Mason, Please. I can’t take anymore.”
“As you wish,” he whispered, before scooping me up and depositing me onto the bed.
I helped him shed his shirt.
“Leave the nightie on,” he said with a grin as I went to tug it off.
I shook my head at him but did as I was asked.
The pressure of him on top of me was a sensation I adored. I closed my eyes, just to enjoy the weight of him. His kiss brought my eyes open and I wrapped my arms around him to keep him close.
We kissed for what felt like an eternity, as if we’d forgotten other pursuits in favor of exploring each other’s souls through our kiss.
Eventually, Mason pulled back. I gave him an eager smile as he repositioned himself. I spread my legs encouragingly.
When he slid into me, I cried out at the exquisite pleasure of it. His weight came back down on me and he reclaimed my mouth with a kiss as he began lazily moving in and out of me. We moved as one, our bodies coming together as our tongues sparred with one another.
This was exactly what I’d thought my first time would be like. I could have cried, but there was no time for it. We moved together at an ever-quickening pace. No matter the intent, our bodies wanted what they wanted and we had no will to withhold it anymore. I gasped against Mason’s lips as he thrust into me with powerful strokes that sent waves of electricity through my body.
Mason was panting in unison with me as I lifted my hips to meet his every stroke, my body urging his body on as we bucked together again and again. All kissing was forgotten as we clung to each other.
When I finally came, I did so with such force that I finally understood what people meant about toes curling. I felt pleasure spread through me with such intensity that, when it subsided, my body was completely spent in its wake.
Mason collapsed down beside me panting.
“That was,” I panted, “very special.”
Mason laughed breathlessly.
“It was almost painfully special,” he teased.
“But so good,” I said thickly as I rolled over onto my side and laid against him.
He curled his arm behind my back, his hand coming to rest on the nape of my neck. He pulled me over, and I fell willingly into a kiss.
When the kiss broke, Mason smiled.
“Very, very good,” Mason agreed.
“Feel like I don’t have any bones,” I giggled.
“As it should be,” Mason laughed. “Want some champagne?”
“I don’t think I can move.”
“Well, you don’t have to move far. Just scoot up on the bed a bit.”
Mason slid his feet onto the floor and laughed as I collapsed into the space he had vacated.
I pushed myself up and stuck my tongue out at him. He poured the champagne and handed me a glass as I sat back against the headboard and pillows. I took a tentative sip and wrinkl;ed my nose.
“It tickles.”
Mason smiled and held out his glass.
“To us, Mrs. Bartell.”
“To us, Mr. Bartell.”
We clinked glasses.
We drank and then laughed together as some of the champagne dribbled down my chin.
Mason shook his head.
“What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a few ideas,” I said deviously, as I took another sip of my champagne.
Mason grinned and shook his head. He sat his champagne glass down and sighed.
“Work, work. You’re nothing but work. So demanding!”
I giggled as he took my glass and set it back on the nightstand. He leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“I love you,” he whispered softly, and my heart melted.
“I love you too,” I wh
ispered back.
Chapter 32
Mason
“Hey, Boss,” Diesel called as he came into the kitchen where I was drinking a cup of coffee. “Have a nice night?”
“Yes,” I laughed, before quickly changing the subject. “What did the crews say?”
“There’s a rumor that the Cartel is mustering some support. I don’t know how truthful that is. Everyone I talk to wouldn’t spit on the Cartel if it was on fire.”
Diesel grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee. He dropped into a chair across from me.
“Where’s Cassie?”
“Probably still sleeping.” I shook my head. “People are two-faced Diesel. They might tell you one thing to your face, then turn around and stab you in the back.”
Diesel sighed.
“You have trust issues, Boss.”
“And you should too,” I pointed out. “We’re in a very powerful position right now. The other crews are looking to us to facilitate the forming of a new order. That kind of position breeds enemies.”
I took a sip of my coffee, wishing things would stay quiet just long enough for us to get our feet back under us.
Diesel nodded slowly.
“You’re right. That’s why you’re the boss and I’m just your dashing right-hand man.”
“Speaking of dashing,” I said with a laugh. “I saw you talking to Cassie’s sister at the reception.”
Diesel looked guilty.
“I didn’t do anything with her.”
“Then why do you look like you did?” I eyed the man sternly. “Pearl is off-limits. I don’t want to mix business and pleasure. You got it?”
Diesel nodded eagerly.
“I got it. She’s off-limits. I really did only talk to her,” he shrugged. “She doesn’t have what I’m looking for anyway.”
“That indefinable something?” I smiled, recalling our previous conversation, as I took another drink of my coffee.
The man laughed and made a helpless gesture with his free hand.
“I’m telling you that I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Well, just keep looking for it in your free time. We’ve enough to worry about without you romancing some bastard’s old lady out from under him.”
I shook my head. Diesel didn’t strike me as the type to do so, but he needed to keep his priorities straight.
“I’d never take another guy’s girl,” he snorted. “A girl that cheats on one guy will cheat on another. Namely me. Who has time for that?”
Cassie walked in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“You guys talking women?”
I was thankful she’d put on some clothes before coming down. My mind went back to the silk gown the woman had worn the night before. My body started to respond to the memory and I quickly shifted my thoughts away.
“Diesel is,” I nodded. “I’m trying to talk business.”
Cassie frowned.
“Business before breakfast is bad for the digestion.”
“See? She has her priorities straight,” Diesel said in agreement.
I rolled my eyes.
“You just agree with anything that involves food.”
Diesel folded his arms.
“Grandma didn’t raise a fool, man!”
With Cassie pulling bacon and eggs out of the fridge, I figured getting anything productive out of Diesel was a lost cause.
“I’m gonna go check the bike over,” I told them as I got up and stretched.
“Not hungry?” Cassie looked at me with concern.
I waved off her look.
“I’ll eat in a bit. I’m just fighting the urge to fire Diesel and send him packing.”
Diesel laughed, and Cassie shook her head at the man. She went back to cooking, and I slipped out the door that led to the backyard.
My thoughts went back to the uncertainty left in the wake of the Cartel’s collapse. The Cartel wasn’t completely gone by any stretch of the imagination, and the truce among the crews would likely only hold as long as there remained a clear objective. But after that… what?
My phone rang and I answered it swiftly.
“Bartell here.”
“Mason, it’s damn good to hear your voice,” a familiar voice answered.
I stopped walking and, for just a moment, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Eventually I realized the caller was waiting for a reply.
“Noah?”
Was it really him? I hadn’t heard a peep out of him for almost two years.
“Yeah, it’s me, man,” Noah said in relief. “I was afraid for a second you’d forgotten who I was.”
I shook my head and looked up at the clear blue Nevada sky.
“Not a chance. It just threw me to hear your voice, it’s been so long.”
“Too damn long,” Noah agreed.
There was a pause, and then he said: “Look, I don’t know what’s changed, but the judge in my case has granted me an early release. Did you have something to do with that?”
I’d made it over to the motorcycle and sat down heavily.
“Actually, maybe... We took down the Cartel a week ago.”
“Holy damn,” Noah cursed softly into the phone. “Maybe the judge had a change of heart, now that the Cartel wasn’t in his ear anymore.”
I sighed.
“It’s entirely possible.”
There was silence, which I broke with a laugh.
“So, you’re coming home. When?”
“Soon as the sentence is mitigated. Probably be back in Eden by early next week,” Noah replied. “Man, I can’t wait to see all the boys.”
The day seemed brighter with the news. Things were falling into place.
“I’m sure they’ll love to see you,” I smiled. “And I’m sure Liz will as well.”
“Liz?” Noah sounded confused. “I told her to get out and go spend some time with her Mom.”
I looked down at the grass.
“She apparently took your word to heart. We only recently got back in touch.”
It really wasn’t my place to tell him what had happened, though I wanted to.
“We’ll talk about it when you’re home.”
“Yeah,” Noah agreed with a laugh. “My girl,” he sighed into the phone. “I hadn’t thought she’d be there when I got back.”
“That girl would wait for you until the end of time, I’d wager.”
“I don’t deserve her,” Noah’s voice said with all the certainty that he could muster.
I knew that feeling all too well.
“We never do deserve them, Noah,” I agreed. “It’s amazing they still give us the time of day, the bastards that we are.”
“That sounds ominously like you have a lady in your life. I’ve a few more minutes. Care to elaborate?”
Noah was apparently feeling more chatty since learning that Liz was waiting for him.
The chuckle I tried to suppress came through anyway.
“Let’s just say that I’ve fallen from the noble bachelor ranks recently. Very recently.”
“Holy damn,” Noah exclaimed. “How recently?”
I smiled. “Yesterday.”
“Son of a bitch! You bastard, you couldn’t have waited a week until I was in town?”
I could hear Noah’s hand slap against whatever he was sitting near. It was a habit of his when he got excited.
“Well, until this moment, I hadn’t expected you back until next year,” I reminded him.
“That’s true,” Noah said finally, and he laughed. “Tell the Missus that I’ll see her soon.”
“I will,” I agreed with a nod of my head.
The prison guard called to tell Noah his time was up, and we ended the call. I got up and walked back toward the house, my bike forgotten.
Inside, Diesel and Cassie were serving up the bacon and eggs. Cassie looked up.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Better than that.” I looked over at Diesel. “You’re demoted to left-hand m
an.”