Wasted (15 page)

“
So how’s school going?”
Mason asked his sister. I was thankful that the topic had changed
to something a little less personal.

“
I’m on schedule to
graduate at the end of this semester. It kind of sucks that I had
to go over the summer, but I’m almost done.”

“
You need to start applying
for jobs soon,” he said. “Are you going to move back to
Creekview?”

“
I don’t know. I guess
it’ll depend on where I can find work.” She cut a bite of steak and
swirled it in steak sauce.

“
You know you can always
come back here and move in with me if you need to.”

“
Yeah, I know.” Her lips
pursed and then curled into a smile. “I wouldn’t have been able to
do it without you.”

He pointed his fork at her. “You know I got
your back, but if you do need to move in with me, you’re going to
have to get a job, even if it’s a temporary one until you can get
something in your field.”

“
I don’t think she’ll have
any trouble getting a job as a nurse,” I said.

“
Let’s hope not,” Haley
added.

“
Being a firefighter, Hawk
knows a lot of people in that field. He probably knows somebody who
knows somebody if nothing else. Just let me know if you want me to
talk to him.” Mason pushed his empty plate back and dropped his
napkin over it.

After dinner, we went to a movie. Mason was
outvoted two to one, so he reluctantly sat through a chick flick.
He even kept his hands to himself, although I imagined it had more
to do with his sister being with us than his attempt to slow things
down at my request.

It was late when we arrived back at the
apartment. While Haley showered, Mason grabbed a blanket and a
pillow from the closet. He tossed them on the couch.

“
You’re not going to make
her sleep on the sofa, are you?” I asked.

“
Well, she sure as hell
isn’t getting my bed. Besides, she always sleeps on the sofa when
she visits.”

“
Mason.”

He angled his head towards me and lifted his
palms in the air. “What? You think I should sleep on the sofa?”

“
No.”

He shot me a look like I made no sense.

“
I was thinking…I was
thinking you could sleep with me.”

He propped his hands on his hips and grinned
at me. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

The mischievous look he
gave me caused me to smile in return. “I said you could
sleep
with me. But that’s
all we’re doing—sleeping. I was serious when I said I wanted to
slow things down.”

“
Oh, I can go slow. In
fact, a slow comfortable screw is one of my
specialties.”

“
Mason!” I gave him a
playful glare as I feigned indignation. “I wasn’t talking about
alcoholic beverages.”

“
Neither was I.”

“
It’s not too late for me
to change my mind.”

“
I’s just messing with ya.
Get your fine ass in the bed, and I’ll be there as soon as I get
Haley settled.”

Attempting to not be excited in the least, I
went to take a fast shower. Afterwards, I slipped on the least sexy
oversized tee shirt I could find.

A soft knock sounded on my door. “Come
in.”

After opening the door, Mason stepped inside
and shut it behind him. I was standing in front of my dresser,
brushing my hair, when I heard the lock click. I watched him in the
mirror as he came up behind me and slipped his arms around my
waist. His hair was damp, and he smelled clean and masculine.

“
You were a big hit with
Haley.”

“
Was I?”

“
Oh, yeah.” He kissed me
behind the ear. “In fact, she instructed me not to screw this
up.”

“
Smart girl.”

I set my brush on the dresser and twisted in
his arms until I faced him. He reached out and gently trailed his
fingertips along my jawline. “You’re incredibly beautiful,” he
whispered, his voice low and rough.

“
Almost as pretty as
you.”

He frowned. “Don’t ever call me pretty.
Jaw-dropping gorgeous—yes. Kinda nice-looking—okay. Insanely
handsome—even better. But pretty?”

“
But you are
pretty.”

“
What are you trying to do
to my manhood, love?”

Smiling, I clasped my arms around his neck,
inhaling his scent. “How about ruggedly sexy?”

He squeezed my butt, each palm filling with
my flesh. “That works, too.”

In an unexpected move, he scooped me up, my
legs dangling over one arm and tossed me on the bed. A surprised
squeal erupted from my lips as I landed onto the soft mattress.

Stepping out of his jeans, he climbed on the
bed, quickly crouching over me on his hands and knees. I reached up
and ran my hands along his rigid biceps. He was everything I
wasn’t, hard and angular, and I wanted to pull him against my
softness.

Cupping his nape in my palms, I attempted to
lower him to me, but he held fast. I wrapped my legs around his
waist, but instead of him yielding to me, my body lifted off the
mattress as I clung to him.

A soft groan escaped his lips. “Is this what
you call taking it slow? Because all I want to do right now is hit
that.”

I could feel my nipples brushing against his
steely muscles. I could feel his hard-on, unforgiving as it pressed
against the thin barrier of silken fabric between us. Frozen, I
realized my playfulness had put us in a precarious situation. I
should have released him because he was right. I was the one who
had wanted to take it slow. I should have dropped back to the
mattress and bid him good night. But I didn’t.

The set of his jaw warned me that he was
exercising restraint.

I lifted my mouth to his, teasing him with
my lips. He dropped me to the mattress, his weight pinning me
beneath him as he pressed his erection against my flesh. He
squeezed my breast through the tee shirt, his thumb rubbing across
my nipple, hardening it.

A strange combination of panic and
excitement raced through me. I did want to slow things down, and I
didn’t. I wanted him to stop, and I wanted him to keep going.
Releasing a shaky breath, I tried to remember all the reasons why I
didn’t want to jump into a serious relationship. I tried to
remember just how wrong my last serious relationship went. It was
difficult to do when just being in the same vicinity as Mason made
me feel like a lightning bolt was zapping my entire body. My head
wanted to put distance between us, but even now, my traitorous body
was arching, begging for his touch.

I opened my eyes and found him watching me,
his warm eyes looking at me with adoration.

“
I love to watch your
response to me,” he whispered, his hand sliding under my tee shirt
and caressing my bare breast.

As he rubbed against me, the lower part of
my body hummed as if voltage ran through me. I was waiting for the
one touch that would send sparks scattering like pyrotechnics in a
blinding display of bright light and brilliant colors.

Warning bells rang loudly. How could his
touch make me toss out all my judgment and good intentions as if
they were nothing more than a bucketful of mop water?

“
What time is it?” I asked
in a weak attempt at diverting his attention from me.

“
Sex o’clock,” he said
softly, that endearing smile that I found nearly impossible to
resist, lighting up his face.

I reached up and touched his cheek, feeling
his rough whiskers against the soft pads of my fingertips. “That’s
not what my clock says.”

“
What does your clock
say?”

“
That it’s wait
o’clock.”

“
Hmm,” he said kissing my
cheek as he slid onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow.
“I think your clock needs a new battery.”

Laughing, I smacked him playfully on the
chest, his hard muscles easily absorbing the impact. I thought
about the relationship that had destroyed my faith in men. “I did
warn you that we were only sleeping.”

“
You did,” he agreed, that
contagious smile spreading across his handsome face. “I was just
hoping I could change your mind.”

“
I’m sure you can,” I
whispered. “Just not today.”

“
Has someone hurt you?” he
asked, his voice gentle as he entwined his fingers with mine, our
hands resting against my abdomen.

Glancing up at his face, I was surprised
that he had read me so easily. “Yes.”

His thumb began rhythmically caressing.
“Want to tell me about it?”

“
I was engaged.” Pausing, I
swallowed, not wanting to ruin our moment together. “We had a nasty
breakup.” I shrugged my shoulders. “That relationship is over, and
I don’t want it to ruin our evening. I’d much rather concentrate on
you.”

“
And I want you to
concentrate on me. I’m incredibly attracted to you, Lexi, and
things are different with you. If you want to take things slow,
we’ll take them slow. I definitely think you’re worth waiting
for.”

Happiness filled my heart, and I bit my
lower lip in an effort to keep the silly grin off my face.

“
Let me get the light.” I
watched as he rolled over and hopped off the bed. His boxers rode
low on his hips, and I couldn’t keep myself from admiring his
body.

He hit the light switch, and darkness
enveloped the room.

Totally blinded as my eyes attempted to
adjust, I felt the mattress dip with his weight as he crawled into
bed. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I turned on my side, facing
away from him.

His hands groped me in the darkness, and he
wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his
warmth.

“
Sweet dreams,” he
whispered. He tightened his hold and kissed the top of my
head.

“
Sweet dreams.” I lay still
a moment, his tight hold restricting my air intake.
“Mason?”

“
Hmm?”

“
I can’t
breathe.”

He relaxed his hold. “Sorry, love. I’ll give
you some leeway, but I have no intentions of letting you go.”

Feeling wanted was an incredible sensation,
especially when I hadn’t felt that way in a very long time. Lying
in the darkness, I rested my arm on top of his and stroked it
gently, contentment filling my soul.

And as my eyelids grew heavy, I couldn’t
prevent my thoughts from envisioning a future with him.

Chapter
12

Hanky Panky

Mason

I woke up to Lexi snuggled against my side,
her small hand resting on my chest. Gazing down at her, I realized
that she was still asleep, her dark hair disheveled with tresses
spreading everywhere in disarray. She wore no makeup, and her hair
was a mess. And even though I really appreciated her beauty when
she was all dolled up with those sexy dark red lips, I thought she
was even more beautiful now. Maybe her compassion had swayed me. I
think the night that I was wasted, her touch had done something to
me, bewitched me, entranced me. Hell, I didn’t know, but I hadn’t
been able to get her out of my mind since.

Covering her hand with mine, I thought about
what a difference such a small thing as a woman’s hand could make
in the life of a man. Her hand was soft and warm. It was an
extension of her kindness and compassion. Just having her near me
made me feel things that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Shit,
maybe some things I had never felt.

Hugging her to me, I kissed the top of her
head, noticing how great her hair smelled.

She stirred, and her eyelids slowly opened.
Looking up, she rewarded me with a tantalizing smile. “What a great
way to wake up,” she whispered.

“
It is a great way to wake
up, but I can think of one even better.”

Her lips turned down in a pout. “Like
what?”

“
Morning sex.”

Laughing, she rolled over and sat up on the
edge of the bed. “Is that all you think about?”

I reached for her, pulling her back toward
me. “Well, look at you. Who could blame me for wanting to
participate in a little hanky-panky?”

She curled against me. “What time is it? And
don’t you dare say ‘sex o’clock’.”

I chuckled. “Wasn’t even.” Picking my cell
phone up from the night stand, I glanced at the time. “Almost
noon.”

“
Noon!” She shot up in the
bed.

“
What?”

“
We have a guest!” she
screeched in a hushed tone. “Shouldn’t we make her breakfast or
something?”

“
First of all, she’s not a
guest. She’s my sister. She’s used to fending for
herself.”

Lexi groaned. “We don’t even have much in
the way of groceries. I should definitely go get some groceries
before work. You think she’d want to go with me? It’d give us a
chance to get to know each other.” Her brow furrowed. “Or maybe
you’d rather spend time with her while I go get the groceries.”

“
I’m supposed to meet Hawk
and Cade at the gym. Why don’t y’all go get groceries while I do
that? Maybe we can meet back up here and eat before we go to
work.”

“
Okay. I’m going to jump in
the shower.”

“
I’ll let Haley know what’s
going on, and I’ll see you later.” I got out of bed, located my
jeans, and pulled them on.

Lexi stared into her closet, and I slid my
arms around her waist, pulling her back against me. Kissing her
temple, I whispered, “See you in a little while.”