The Lesson (12 page)

“Good food, good life,” sighed Alfie, still
smiling. “It does my heart good to see you two again.”

After he bustled off again, Bianca picked up
her fork and cut into an artichoke. “Mmm,” she marveled as she
slipped it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and sat back,
chewing slowly. When she was finished, she opened her eyes to find
Mason watching her, the food forgotten, his eyes stormy and his
nostrils flared.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” he asked
carefully.

The heat of his gaze tugged at her core and
she felt her whole body respond.

No!
the
little voice inside her cried out.
Don’t
you do it! Don’t you dare let yourself get sucked into his little
seduction.

I won’t.

Liar! Liar liar! You already are!

Go away.

You’ll regret it. Just like six years ago.
You’ll get your heart broken all over again.

Shut up!

“Of course not,” Bianca answered smoothly.
“But it certainly is like you to apply sexual connotations to a
perfectly innocent act.”

“There’s nothing innocent about the way you
eat,” he muttered hoarsely.

“Please,” she rolled her eyes.
“I’m
eating
. Get over it and
get on with why you asked me to meet with you.”

“I want to show you something.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “I’ve already
seen everything you have to show me.”

“Please,” he implored, leaning forward.
“Next week, Friday night. I’d like to take you somewhere.”

“Where?” she asked, nibbling on a piece of
salami-wrapped Asiago. “Like a date? I think I’ve had enough of
dating.”

“Do you mean dating in general, or just
me?

Bianca fell silent, unwilling to admit she
hadn’t been on a date since they broke up.

“I see.” He studied her intently. “I hurt
you. More than I imagined.”

“Really? You think?” she snapped. “I
was in love with you, Mason. I would have done almost anything for
you, but you abandoned me,
betrayed
me, in one fell swoop right at the same moment my grandfather
died. And now you come here and expect me to forgive and
forget?”

“No.” He leaned forward, burying his face in
his hands. When he spoke, his voice was muffled. “I don’t expect
you to forget. I hoped for forgiveness maybe, but I didn’t expect
it. I know what I did. It took time to see it, and I when I
realized how heinous I was, I must have cried a thousand tears.
When I realized that I’d lost the only woman I’d ever loved, I must
have cried a thousand more. You can’t know how sorry I am for
everything.”

He lifted his face and Bianca was shocked to
see his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I could cry a thousand
tears now if I thought it would convince you that I mean what I
say.” He took a deep breath and seemed to gather himself, taking a
sip of his wine as a distraction.

Bianca stared at him. She’d never seen him
so emotional before, not even when he admitted he loved her.

It doesn’t change
anything,
the voice inside reminded her.

Doesn’t it?
she asked.
It changes
him.

Maybe, but that’s what life is. You do
something stupid and you learn your lesson. That doesn’t mean it
changes the past. That doesn’t mean you can go back.

Mason reached across the table, taking
Bianca’s hand in his. She stifled a gasp when he made contact, the
thrill of his touch igniting a fire in her she’d believed was long
since dead.

“Please,” he pleaded. “I have to show you
something. Next week. Friday night, that’s all I ask. After that,
if you never want to talk to me again, I’ll understand and I won’t
bother you. I promise.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Bianca withdrew her hand and picked up her
wine glass with trembling fingers. She drained it while she
considered his request.

“Fine,” she answered. “Friday.”

He smiled and his entire face lit up. “Thank
you.”

She nodded. “I need to go,” she told him,
gathering her purse. “I have to get ready for a business trip.” The
words came out of her mouth unexpectedly. When had she decided to
accept Martin Trayne’s job offer? She didn’t know, but it was true,
nonetheless. Seeing Mason had confirmed the possible benefits were
worth the risk.

After all, if Mason had been willing to take
a risk, they might still be together. She didn’t want to make the
same mistake he had. She wasn’t going to let her fear keep her from
what she wanted.

“Can I pick you up at home?” he asked as he
threw some money on the table and stood up.

“We’ll see. Give me your phone number and
I’ll call you.”

Alfie met them at the front door before they
left. “Sweet girl, I can’t let you leave until you promise to come
see me again very soon.”

Bianca wrapped her arms around him and
kissed him softly on the cheek. “Alfie, I promise. I’m so sorry I
stopped coming in,” she whispered in his ear. “It was just too hard
at first, and then it became habit. I won’t let it happen
again.”

He pulled back and gazed at her with a
bittersweet expression. “I miss him too. He was my best
friend.”

They said goodbye, and then Mason and Bianca
were standing on the sidewalk under the anonymity of the night sky.
“Do you need a ride?” Mason asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “I drove.”

“I’ll walk you to your car then,” he said,
and began to follow her down the block.

A light breeze swept across them and Bianca
shivered a bit.

“Are you cold?” Mason quickly whipped off
his jacket and laid it across her shoulders.

The jacket smelled like him, the familiar
scent stirring Bianca’s senses, and she found herself shivering for
an entirely different reason. It was all she could do to not bury
her nose in the collar and take a long, deep breath.

“I’m here,” she pointed at the Mini Cooper
as they approached.

“So am I,” smiled Mason, pointing at a wine
colored Nissan Sentra parked two spaces behind her.

Bianca stopped walking and stared. “That’s
your car?” she stuttered.

“Yes,” he answered, offering no
explanation.

She lifted an eyebrow. “What happened to the
Porsche?”

He shrugged. “It didn’t really suit me
anymore.”

“Hmm,” she couldn’t help sounding doubtful
as she stood next to her car, pushing the button on her key fob to
unlock the door. “Well, I guess I’ll see you next week.”

He reached for her hand, rubbing his thumb
over hers and leaned toward her. “Thank you for coming to see me.”
He moved closer. “And thank you for next Friday. I’m very excited
that you’ll be there.”

Bianca’s eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you just
tell me what this mysterious thing is? What’s so important that I
have to see it?”

“You won’t truly understand unless I show
you.” He took a final step and closed the distance between them.
Bianca could feel his heat radiating through his clothes and tried
to take a step back, but found her car prevented her from doing
so.

“I’ve missed you more than you could
possibly know,” Mason uttered, and his warm breath danced across
her cheek.

She couldn’t stop the shudder that swept
through her. “Mason,” she tried to protest.

“Bianca.” Her name was a caress falling from
his lips.

He’s going to kiss
you!
screamed the little voice inside her.
Don’t let him. Get away from him.

“Yes I am,” Mason whispered.

“W-what?” she stuttered.

His leaned down to whisper in her ear, his
lips grazing her skin. “You were wondering if I was going to kiss
you. And the answer is yes, I am. I promised myself I wouldn’t do
this, but I can’t resist you when you look up at me with those big
eyes, begging me to touch you.”

Oh god.
Bianca’s head spun wildly, a tumult of emotions crashing over
her as history repeated itself.
‘You were
wondering if I was going to kiss you. And the answer is yes, I
am.’
They were the same words he’d spoken right before
he’d kissed her for the first time.

She opened her mouth to tell him no, but it
was too late. Mason’s mouth slanted across hers and his tongue
danced across her own. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip, teasing
and tasting and sucking.

Bianca groaned and her carefully maintained
control exploded in the heat of her passion. She wrapped her arms
around his neck, pulling him tight against her, letting her mouth
battle with his. His hands moved down, trying to touch every inch
of her.

Bianca could feel the heat and length of his
arousal pressing against her and she undulated her hips.

Mason tore his mouth from hers. “Fuck!” he
swore, and grabbed her hips, grinding into her.

“Ah!” Bianca cried, her head falling back as
pleasure coursed through her.

Mason slid her to the left and fumbled with
the door to her car. When the door swung open, they collapsed
inside.

Mason’s lips blazed a trail down her neck,
burrowing into her cleavage. One hand moved down to juncture of her
thighs. He pulled her skirt up, his hand cupping her sex. He found
her nub with his thumb and began rubbing it through her
panties.

“Mason!” she moaned.

“Bianca,” he panted. “Sweet girl. You feel
so damn good. So right. I’ve missed you so much.”

Bianca’s head fell back as sweet sensation
swept her away.

“I need you, sweetheart,” he told her
between kisses. “I don’t think I can wait. I’ve waited so long
already.”

He slid her up, and her back hit the gear
shift. It dug painfully into her hip and as Mason sat up to reach
behind him and close the car door, something in her snapped.

About time,
snarled the voice inside her.
Get
control of yourself and get the hell away from him before he breaks
your heart a second time.

You’re right,
she answered, trying to ignore the disappointment welling up
inside her.

Of course I’m right. I only have your best
interest in mind.

Then why does it seem so wrong?

Because Mason has always
felt so right,
the voice replied.
But you can’t trust that feeling. You know better.

I know.

“No!” she said out loud.

He turned back to look at her. “What?”

“I’m not going to have sex with you, Mason,”
she declared, trying to get her breathing under control. She inched
across the cab of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Not
here in my car like some hormonal teenager, and not anywhere.”

His mouth dropped open. “I know we kind of
lost control,” he sputtered, “but even you have to admit that
there’s still something between us. You lit up for me just like the
old days. We’re like fire and gasoline, and you know it.”

“Just because I’m physically attracted to
you, doesn’t mean we’re meant to be together,” she answered. “If I
learned anything from before, it’s that we don’t belong
together.”

“Yes we do
,”
he stressed. “I screwed things up before, I know that. But if two
people ever belonged together, it’s us.”

She shook her head. “I can’t trust you,
Mason. You’ll be there when things are good, but I can’t trust
you’ll be there for me when I really need you. I can’t trust you’ll
stand up for me when I know you won’t even stand up for yourself.
And without trust,” she shrugged. “We have nothing.”

Mason gaped at her for a moment, and then
closed his mouth, pressing his lips together until they disappeared
into a fine line. “You’re right,” he answered as he sat back. “I
haven’t done anything to prove I’ve changed. It was wrong of me to
even touch you tonight.”

He climbed out of the car, leaning over to
look at her. “Will you still come with me next week?”

“Is it still important that I do?” she
asked. “Or is it just another excuse to try and get my clothes
off.”

“No,” he shook his head, the planes of his
face hardening under the shadows of the streetlights. “In fact,
it’s even more important to me now that you come with me next
week.”

“Fine,” she answered, her words clipped.
“I’ll call you for the details or if I need a ride.”

With that, she started the car and pulled
away from the curb, leaving him standing at the curb, watching her
drive away.

Good girl,
came the voice.

Then why do I feel like
crying?
She asked.

Because you
are
crying.

Bianca reached up, surprised to find her
cheeks wet with tears. “So I am,” she said out loud.

Maybe you should cancel on him. Tell him you
don’t want to see him again and move on.

Maybe. But what if…

What? What if he’s truly changed?

You never know,
she thought and the image of the Nissan he claimed was his
flashed through her mind.

And what if he has?
The voice asked.
Does it matter?
After all, haven’t you changed as well?

Yes, I have,
answered Bianca, and she wondered why the very thought of how
much she’d changed made her so sad.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Bianca snaked her way through the crowds of
people in the MGM Grand Hotel until she found her way to the Lobby
Bar near the entrance of the casino. There were only a few people
in the bar and a low-key jazz band played softly in one corner on a
raised dais.