“I said top half only. If you won’t listen, you naughty girl, I’ll just have to discipline you next time I see you. Eyes on me,” he growled.
“Yes, sir,” she gasped. She was completely turned on now and wanted so badly to touch herself elsewhere. She felt the tingle as the blood rushed to between her legs.
Mason unzipped his pants and slipped his hand under the fabric to slowly stroke himself. “Take your skirt off.”
Leaning forward, she reached behind her back to unzip her pencil skirt, giving Mason a close-up shot of her bare chest.
Mason moaned at the intimate view on his screen. “That is wonderful. I wish I could be there to suck on them.”
Laura slid her skirt down, baring the matching black thong and her long, smooth limbs. She lay back against her headboard, positioned her laptop by her feet, and spread her legs, offering up the full view of herself to him.
“You are so beautiful, Laura. Show me what gets you off.”
Laura sighed with relief as she shifted the crotch of her underwear out of the way. The fabric was soaked through, and the draft from the air conditioner was near enough to send her over the edge.
She slipped her finger between her folds and stroked herself while watching Mason do the same. “Pull it out, Mason. I want to watch you.”
He did as she asked. Watching him slowly rub himself drove her crazy. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, moaning as the pleasure grew. “I want you inside me so bad!”
Slipping two fingers into herself, she teased her g-spot and tried to imagine he was the one doing it. She whimpered and moaned as she drew close to coming.
“Go on then. I want to see you come.”
Mason moaned himself as he picked his pace up. Watching her rocking hips and hearing her cries of pleasure as she orgasmed quickly pushed him over into his own.
Laura lay still to catch her breath for a moment before shifting her underwear back into place.
They both took the time to rearrange themselves before speaking again.
“How was that? I can’t say I’ve ever video-boned before,” Laura asked while she tossed her wrinkled blouse to the floor.
“You were unbelievably sexy. I love how you just went for it. However…”
“Aw, hell. What did I do wrong?”
“You looked away. I told you to follow my directions completely, and you didn’t listen.” Mason smiled like a kid on Christmas. “I suppose when I get back I’m going to have to teach you how to behave.”
“Ooh.” A delicious thrill tightened her belly. “For the first time in my life I’m so looking forward getting punished.” The glaring digital numbers on her bedside clock flipped to midnight. “Baby, I have to let you go. It’s late, and I have to get to the office by like seven thirty.”
“Okay. Call me on your lunch tomorrow?”
“I will.” Laura blew him a kiss. “I love you. Talk to you then.”
She clicked her laptop closed and then panicked. She didn’t mean to tell him that! The words just slipped out. What if he bolted? Or what if he wasn’t ready? Laura wasn’t even sure she meant it. Maybe it was just an old habit resurfacing.
She tucked the computer under the bed and huddled under the covers. She could try and rationalize letting her slip of the “L” word all she wanted, but she couldn’t hide. The reality was she truly did love him. It dawned on her then that she’d never really stopped.
Since they’d split she had had one failed relationship after another. With each one she talked herself into dumping them because of some stupid reason she cooked up. One was too short, one only had and entry-level job, one got too close.
With each one she sought out a flaw of some kind that made her deem them unworthy, and then she’d bail.
If it wasn’t a short-term relationship, she bed-hopped with a close guy friend, or, as she had been doing the last two years, called on dear, dependable Frank. Each failure was used as a way to mask how she really felt. They weren’t unworthy. They just weren’t Mason.
The tears started streaming; the emotion welling up in her chest had completely overwhelmed her. Loving him was a truth she had been running from for years. Mason was the specter that lingered over every relationship she attempted to have.
The sobs came a little harder then. The tears were the last of her pent-up anger and bitterness leaving her heart.
What was worse, she missed him so bad that week it almost hurt. The distraction of work all day kept her mind busy, but when the sun went down and the email didn’t need answering, her mind would wander, almost obsessively, to thoughts of him.
She rolled over, turning her back to the alarm clock, and cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Eight
“I love you.” Laura had said it first. Mason slouched back in bed and smiled to himself. He didn’t want to read too deeply into the words, but his heart gave a little leap in the hopes that she really did.
He pulled back the duvet and set his computer aside. He was too amped to sleep and couldn’t lie still. Mason paced the hotel room floor.
The Hotel Vintage was his favorite place to stay when he came to Seattle. His suite was roomy with a separate living room and an ultra-deep soaker tub in the bathroom. The king size bed was more than enough to accommodate two people, and felt cold and barren with just him in it. Mason figured he would have a hard time sleeping that night.
He checked his calendar to see if he really had to stay another day. He itched to go home and be with Laura. They had spent so much time apart that continuing to do so when they didn’t have to sucked.
He had meetings that took him until noon, and then he had to speak from three to four, and then his part in the conference was over. He texted his partner and asked if he wouldn’t mind taking over his speaking engagement the next day. He had been pissing and moaning the whole trip about how bored he was.
His partner text back with a “hell yes”, so Mason would just pack up and go straight to the airport from the Hampton Inn and be home by the time Laura left work.
He called SeaTac and hoped that there might still be a concierge to switch his flight.
“SeaTac, how may I help you?” asked the clipped female voice.
“Hi, my name is Mason Decker, and I need to have a flight switched. I’m supposed to leave Friday morning, but I was wondering if I would be able to get a flight to JFK tomorrow around 1pm.”
“One moment, sir.”
The Muzak clicked on; a saxophone version of “Endless Love” accosted his ears while he waited.
“I only have one nonstop, business class flight to JFK at 12:50am Friday on Delta. The estimated travel time is about five hours and ten minutes. Does the red eye work for you, sir?”
It wasn’t ideal, but it would put him in the air six hours sooner. “Perfect, book it.” Mason gave the woman all of his information, and it took a little hoop jumping, but he somehow managed to sweet talk her into just switching his flight rather than just charging him for a new ticket.
Racing around the room, he collected all of his clothes and stuffed them into his carry-on. After a quick shower, he jumped into bed upbeat and ready for the next day.
Chapter Nine
Another thirteen-hour day was just beginning, and somehow Laura had already managed to keel over once. She was looking forward to the weekend; 4:00 couldn’t come fast enough, and she was pretty sure Daniel had given her a few new grey hairs.
After a knock, a wild mass of flaming red hair poked her head in the doorway. “Excuse me, Miss Ross?”
“Hey, Tammy. What’s up?”
“May I come in a minute?”
That’s weird. “Of course. Come on in. What’s the matter?” Laura rose from her desk to approach the nervous receptionist. “Why are you sweating?”
“Because there is a really handsome man out front, and I get a little rattled around the good-looking ones.”
“That’s… good?” There were a number of good-looking guys on their floor
, and usually a room full of models shooting on the floor below them. “Is that all you need to tell me?” Laura chuckled a bit.
“Oh, no! Duh. He’s here to see you. He’s the guy you wrote this month’s feature on. Sorry about that. His accent made me a little stupid for a second. I’m a sucker for a British guy.”
Laura’s face lit up. He’s home early! “That’s Mason Decker. Send him in!” Tammy left to go show Mason in, and as soon as the door shut she did a little happy dance. She ran to her desk and yanked her compact out of her purse to check her hair and makeup.
“Yeesh!” Her eyeliner had smeared and her hair had gone flat. A quick swipe with a tissue and a few strategically placed pins were about all she could get through before another knock came.
“Miss Ross, Mr. Decker here to see you.” Tammy shrank back out of the doorway as Mason passed by her.
“Thank you, Tammy. I appreciate you showing me the way.” He flashed the flustered receptionist his most charming smile before she scampered out of the room.
Laura couldn’t contain herself. Like a lovesick schoolgirl, she rushed him, throwing herself into his arms, and planted an urgent kiss on his lips.
Mason wrapped his arms around her in a squeeze and lifted Laura off of her feet. “I’m happy to see you too, love.” He set her down and kissed her again, gentler, but no less needy. He dropped a bag, and he cupped her face in his hands, his stubble rasping against her skin as he claimed her mouth with his.
When they separated, Laura was breathless and weak-kneed. She wound her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. “Next time take me with you. This week sucked.”
“It did for me too. Do you have time for coffee?”
Laura nodded into his chest.
Mason untangled himself from her and got the door. The pair exited down the hall hand in hand, Laura quickly abandoning her need for discretion and privacy. She was too over the moon to care what her officemates thought.
Right as they hit the elevator Laura remembered something. “You go ahead. I almost forgot my purse.” She hurried back to her office to gather her purse and the final magazine layout to show Mason.
She was digging for her cell phone when she bumped smack into Frank. “Oh, hi! I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No harm done. So the hot office gossip is that you’re banging a billionaire now. Is it true?”
Wow. That took all of five minutes. “Not that it’s anybody’s business, but I’ve known Mason since we were teenagers, and yeah, I am seeing him.”
Frank shook his head. “So, he’s the ex-fiancé, huh? I wouldn’t have pegged you for one of the limey groupies.”
“Excuse me? You cut that out.” Laura was fuming. In one sentence he had used a derogatory word and he called her a slut. Great.
“Mason fucking Decker,” Frank chuckled. “Welp, I certainly hope his money keeps you warm at night. Take care, Laura.” He walked away, mumbling under his breath. Laura stared at his back, mouth open. She caught the words “whore” and “gold digger”, but was too blown away by that brief interaction to chase Frank down and tear him a new one.
“Asshole,” she muttered as she turned to leave. Some guys just couldn’t handle rejection.
***
Laura stepped onto the sidewalk from the lobby and found Mason’s driver waiting to get the door for her. She nodded and slid across the black leather next to Mason; she was still fuming over Frank’s utter idiocy.
“You okay? Because you look like something happened in the last five minutes.”
She contemplated answering honestly, but decided it wasn’t worth it, so she just went halfway. “Office gossip has already started. I can’t wait to hear what it’s going to sound like in the morning when everyone’s had a chance to check their email.”
Laura removed her jacket and pinned her hair up in a loose twist. The air conditioning felt wonderful on her neck and helped to calm her temper.
“Let them talk. Shit like that tends to settle pretty quickly anyway. Besides, anything they cook up won’t be nearly as good as the truth.” Mason leaned in and playfully bit her neck.
Laura squealed as his stubble tickled the tender skin. “I just want to be mad, okay?”
Mason put the privacy divider up and then continued to attack her neck. The kisses and playful nips both felt arousing and tickled. She was left both giggling and sighing as she fell into his lap.
She laid her head on his thighs and closed her eyes as Mason smoothed the hair off of her face. His touch was soft and tender, soothing her frazzled nerves and washing away all traces of Frank and his disgusting remarks.
“So, while I was waiting for you to come to the car, my assistant texted me to let me know I had received a reminder about a big fundraising event at The Met next week. Would you like to accompany me? It’s some stuffy, black tie affair, but I figured I’d ask.”
“Black tie? So, I can dress up and be all girlie and get my hair done?”
“Yeah, one of those.”
“I’m down. I’m sure Daniel will let me have the afternoon off if I tell him I’m fishing for a new story while I’m there.”
“Great. I always feel like such a twat at those things. I’ll be happy to have company. And the most beautiful girl in the room,” he smiled. “You do have something cocktail appropriate, yeah?”
Laura thought for a moment, going through her mental inventory. Most of her closet was work related or workout clothes. The fanciest thing she owned was the lone pair of Manolo Blahniks she’d splurged on five years earlier. “Crap! No, I don’t have anything. Never mind then. We can go do something else.”
“Nonsense. I’ll take you shopping this weekend. Try and figure out where you want to go, and we’ll make a date of it.”
Laura snuggled in closer. The hum of the car’s engine and the head rub started making her drowsy.
Mason was nudging her as the car pulled up to the curb. “Wake up. We’re here.”
Laura lifted her head. The ride had been way too short for her rundown body, but she was instantly boosted when she saw the sign for the Doughnut Plant. “Oh, baby!” she exclaimed. She could practically feel the sweet sugar buzz already.
Laura climbed over Mason to get out.
“Hey! Really?” Mason stepped out of the car and smoothed the wrinkles out of his grey wool trousers.
“Sorry, but you move too slow, and I have to get back!” Laura sped off towards the shop. An espresso and a carrot cake doughnut were just what the doctor ordered.
“Oh, you spoil me, Mason.” Laura nearly drooled on the bakery case at the decadent selections in front of her. It had been too long since she had acquainted herself with a doughnut.
They both placed their orders then took a seat to wait. Laura kept looking at her watch. She had only a little time to play with. She had to get back for a meeting to organize the next issue.
“Relax. I’ll get you back in time.” Mason reached out and rested his hand on hers, the warmth of his hand quieting her anxiety.
“I know. I’m just wound up. I get this way whenever a new issue is set to print. I get anxious and a little nuts from the lack of sleep. I promise I’m not usually this loopy and emotional.”
“Don’t promise that. I like you a little unstable.” His eyes crinkled as he laughed. He enjoyed getting a rise out of her.
“Thanks. I’m glad my sleep deprivation is so entertaining for you.” She stuck her tongue out at him. The barista called for them to pick up their order, and Mason excused himself. She watched him walk up to the counter and made a mental note to send his tailor a thank you letter.
“Here you go.” He set her bag and coffee in front of her and reclaimed his own seat.
Laura popped the lid off of the to-go container to let her latté cool and dug into her doughnut. She made pleasure noises as she chewed. The cream cheese filling was heavenly. “You should have ordered one of these. Their doughnuts are amazing.”
“No thanks. I’m perfectly happy watching you enjoy yours. In fact, if you don’t quit moaning you won’t make it back to work.” He felt himself stir and tried to tamp the arousal down. Besides being in a very public place, she prided herself on her professionalism, and he wouldn’t dare take that away from her, no matter how selfish he wanted to be.
Laura giggled. “Sorry. Here have a bite.” She reached across the table so Mason could sample.
He ran his tongue over her finger before moving to take a bite. “You’re right. It’s fantastic.” He licked a crumb from his lower lip.
Laura felt the pang of excitement that was becoming all too common for her in recent days.
“So, Laura. You’re mine for the weekend. I’m going to send a car for you after work. What time do you think you’ll be finishing up?”
“Likely 4:30, but I’ll need to pick up my clothes. I didn’t bring an overnight bag with me. Will your driver take me all the way to Brooklyn?”
“He would, yes, but don’t worry about that. I promised to take you shopping for the gala next week; we’ll just pick up a few necessities then. Besides, I don’t plan on spending a whole lot of time needing clothes.”
She could feel herself blush. At this point she was nearly drunk on the idea of spending a naked weekend with him. “I’m not sure I’m super comfortable with that bit. The dress is one thing, new underwear is most definitely another. You don’t have to.”
“No, I don’t, but I’d like to. I’m planning on making a date of it in the morning. The only time I’m planning on being with you outside of the bedroom. I think we need to be going. I don’t want you to be late.”
Chapter Ten
4:15 changed to 4:16. The last half hour had been dragging and making her crazy. Her leg bounced, and she tapped her pen against her blotter. She had been working out ideas for her next piece, but she couldn’t focus her attention.
KYLE: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 4) Page 94