Exquisite

  She didn’t answer right away, as her head remained tilted to the side, so he nipped her ear. Her eyes flew open and he straightened up, raising sticky fingers to her flushed cheeks before he leaned in and then sealed his mouth over hers.

  She was sticky, sweet, and so hot she nearly singed his lips. She groaned and parted her lips for him when she felt his tongue pressing for entrance. He deepened the kiss, stroking his tongue against hers and pulling her up tight against him. He felt her hands land on his waist, slide around his back, and burrow under his shirt to land in a sticky mess against his spine, just about the waist of his pants. She seemed to like that because she smiled against his mouth and moaned softly in the back of her throat. Mason slid one hand to her neck, keeping her still as he licked her bottom lip and then slid his tongue back inside to rub against hers again. She pushed her hips in closer to him and he almost lost it when she started to suck on his tongue. Finally, he pulled away, breathing hard and looked down at her. She smelled like vanilla and tasted like peaches and she had been one hell of a dessert.

  Smiling at him, she removed her hands and whispered softly, “Well. Now that the awkward part is out of the way . . .” and just like that, Mason knew he’d be going back for seconds.

  Lena watched him carefully as he licked his bottom lip. Holy shit, that’d been worth the wait. She’d never had a first kiss that had been so hot she felt like she’d melted from the inside out. His hands were still on her, his body pressed against her, and from the waist down, he was all kinds of hard. All she wanted to do was grind against him and ease the ache between her legs, but she held still, waiting for him to give her a sign. She got it when he moved back. Just when she was about to combust from frustration, he took her sticky hand and tugged her over to the sink. He turned on the tap silently and reached for the hose attached to the faucet.

  “Put your hands in the sink, Doctor. I’ll wash them for you.”

  His voice sounded like it’d been scraped against sandpaper and his eyes were dark as he watched her move to place her hands in the sink. When the cool water hit her Lena flinched and looked at him. The spray flicked off her hands and splashed onto the apron, plastering the material to his stomach. Her eyes rose to meet his when she noticed he’d turned the water off. Still holding the hose in one hand, she noticed a mischievous grin tugging on his mouth.

  “What?” she asked quickly before she lost her nerve.

  “You look so fucking sexy right now. Your hair is half falling out, your lips are swollen, and you have peach juice down your neck.”

  Lena leaned her right hip against the sink and looked him over. “You look pretty good yourself.”

  He raised an eyebrow and asked softly, “Just good, huh? I must be losing my touch.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. You were supposed to be so blown away by my kiss that you would think that I was the sexiest thing you’d ever seen.”

  Smiling at him with a huge grin, she tried for her serious face and knew she failed. “Nope. That would require something else entirely.”

  Mason dropped the hose with a loud clunk and took a step toward her. She looked down at his sticky hands. “Mine are clean. Yours are still sticky.”

  He held them up and she reached out and surprised them both by taking one and sucking a finger deep into her mouth, mimicking his actions from earlier. He groaned low and shut his eyes. She flicked her gaze up to him to see him run his tongue along his lip.

  “If you don’t stop, I can’t promise I will.”

  She dragged her mouth off the top of his finger with a loud pop and then grinned. “Who asked you to?”

  Groaning, he shut his eyes and stated. “You said I was missing a requirement,”

  Lena blinked, seeming to refocus and looked him over. “Yeah, to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen you’d need to lose the apron and the shirt.”

  He looked shocked for a moment, and then grinned widely. “Are you trying to get me naked, Doctor?”

  Lena shook her head. “How else will you get the peach juice off your stomach?”

  He stepped back from her and then before she knew it, he was untying his apron and removing it slowly. Once it was tossed aside, Lena watched him whip his shirt over his head. She stood frozen to the spot as he tossed it on the floor. There, not two feet away from her, was the most amazing body she’d ever seen. It was tight and ripped from his shoulders to his arms all the way down to his chiseled abdomen. Lena could see the muscles bunch and flex with every breath he took and she wanted to drag her tongue over all of them. Instead, through sheer determination, she raised her eyes to meet his as he said softly, “Now, how on earth are you going to get the juice off your neck, Dr. O’Donnell?”

  Mason didn’t know what he’d expected but when she took a step closer to him and tipped her head back, her whispering “Untie me” was definitely not it. However, not one to let an opportunity get away, Mason reached forward and untied the apron strings. Letting them unravel behind her, he then reached up and tugged it slowly over her head, tossing it to the floor once it was free. He grinned down at her as she took a slow step back and then she blew his mind as she reached down, pulled her shirt out of her skirt, and lifted it over her head. He knew all the blood from every part of his body was now in his cock and it was pressing so hard against his pants he was surprised it hadn’t burst free. Prickly Dr. Magdalena Fucking O’Donnell was standing in his kitchen in a black tight-as-shit skirt, red fuck-me heels, and a red lace bra that offered her breasts up to him like two ripe peaches. And she’d just tossed her shirt on the floor.

  She took a step over the discarded apparel and stopped when she was an inch away from him. “This is as far as you get tonight, Langley.” She tilted her head up and raised her brow. “Is this second base?”

  “Who gives a shit? It’s fucking heaven.” With that, he raised his hand and traced a finger down the cleavage he’d been looking at all night. She started to breathe a little deeper so he bent down and followed the same trail with his tongue.

  “Shit,” he heard her whisper as he licked his way up and over to her neck, tasting the remnants of peach. She placed her hands on his naked chest, digging her little nails into him and he groaned at the contact. Reaching behind her with one arm, he tugged her forward, grinding his aching hard-on against her. She groaned and perched up on her tiptoes, rubbing those amazing fucking breasts against his chest in a sweet brand of torture.

  Slowly, he pulled back from her a little. “Well, are you ready for me to get you wet?”

  She grinned, leaned in, and whispered, “Don’t you mean a little more wet?”

  And with that hot as hell comment, he knew he’d met his match.

  Chapter Nine

  Lena woke the next morning realizing that last night was the first time in years she’d not been woken by a nightmare. She was amazed by the possibilities of the gut-wrenching dreams coming to an end but at the same time, she could feel the guilt of possibly losing one more piece of her sister as the guilt swept in and suffocated any thoughts of happiness. Looking at the picture on her dresser, she saw her sister smiling back at her with such exuberance she felt her heart clenched tight in her chest as she was rudely reminded of that horrible night.

  She hadn’t thought about Carly once last night. In fact, she hadn’t thought about anyone except the man in front of her who had set her body on fire with every look. She stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath in through her nose and then letting it out through her mouth. Squeezing her eyes shut, she flung back the covers and got up. There was no point lying in bed and feeling bad that she had turned off her grief and enjoyed herself. Sure, it’d been what everyone had been telling her to do for years. However, it was a different story to actually feel yourself consciously decide not to think about a horrible tragedy so you could enjoy yourself—yeah she was pretty sure that just made her feel like a horrible empty shell of a human.

  Lena walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, pus
hing her hair up and into a ponytail. She blinked and stared in disbelief at the bluish mark at the base of her neck. He’d left a hickey on her! She reached up and touched the blue area, trying to be mad at him but instead she felt a smile force its way through. Running a finger across the evidence, she wondered if she’d left any marks on him.

  Mason looked at his chest for the second time that morning and noticed four little marks on his chest where Lena had gripped him while he had sucked on her neck. He felt a smug grin come across his face and remembered her telling him softly, second base is not down there, Langley. She’d grabbed his hair lightly and pulled him back up, then kissed him quickly on the lips before pushing him away with a smile. She then turned, taking the hose attached to the sink and spraying herself down. He had stood only a few feet away from her and had watched as the droplets of water clung to her skin and slid provocatively down her throat and across those creamy white breasts that were plumped up, begging him to touch or taste, and then disappeared into one spectacular cleavage he wanted to drag his tongue through. He swore if he hadn’t been holding onto the side of the sink the sight would have brought him to his knees. As it was, he’d had to eat dessert opposite her with that provocative image in his head and that had been a monumental task all on its own, but he’d made it through and she’d agreed to meet him for a run on Saturday morning.

  He wasn’t surprised that she ran. She was in amazing shape and her legs were long and strong, which only made him think of her wrapping them around him. He’d been shocked when she’d invited him to join her for a run and jumped at the chance to see her outside of work and outside of a conventional date. The run felt more serious to him, as if she were letting him in just a little bit. He wasn’t kidding himself, though; he knew she was secretive about her past and it would take a lot of hard work to get her to open up, but Mason was shocked to discover he was looking forward to the challenge. She intrigued him, made him think about things he never had. He’d never felt such an intense pull to another person. She made him so angry at times but then she could pull him in another direction and he wanted nothing more than to rip every piece of her clothing off. Lena was a mystery, she was slowly letting him unravel her, and he couldn’t wait to see who that woman was once she came out to play. He scratched his stomach and reached over to pick up the phone. He quickly dialed her number, knowing she had the day off. Three rings later, she answered.

  “Hello,” Lena said as she picked up the phone.

  “You left marks on my fragile body.”

  Lena sat down on the edge of the bed and found herself grinning at his deep voice. She scooted back against the headboard. “Well, you left a damn hickey on me.” She heard a deep laugh travel through the line and closed her eyes, imagining his dimples.

  “I did that on purpose.”

  “I know you did.” She paused and then muttered, “Smug bastard.”

  “What? I didn’t quite get that,” he asked with a louder laugh.

  “I said you’re a smug bastard.” She heard a rustle and asked him softly, “Are you calling me from bed, Langley?”

  “Hmm. Yeah I am. Where are you?”

  Lena sank down in her covers and rested her head on the pillow. “In my bed.” She heard a low groan and smiled, laying an arm across her forehead.

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Are you trying to have phone sex with me?” she asked, laughing softly. She heard a rustle again and then he grumbled.

  “Well, no. Not now that you asked me like it was an idiotic idea.”

  That had her laughing even harder. The sulky note in his voice had tears leaking out her eyes. Finally, she calmed down and heard him ask, “You done?”

  Clearing her throat, she answered, “Yes. Thank you. Has anyone ever told you that you act like a spoiled brat at times? Man, you can work up a good sulk, Langley. Were you a sulky kid?”

  She heard him chuckle. “Actually, I was. Just ask my mother.”

  “Well, I would, but I don’t know your mother,” she pointed out.

  Lowering his voice he asked, “So Lena, tell me something I don’t know about you.”

  She paused. “Like?”

  “Like how many men would I find if I Googled you?”

  “You did Google me,” she pointed out and then sighed. “Not many. I told you I don’t do relationships.”

  “Just sex?” he asked quickly.

  “In the past, yes.”

  She heard him clear his throat and then continue, “How far in the past?”

  Her eyes opened and she stared at her irritating fan, almost happy to have something to concentrate on, as the thwump thwump kept time for her.

  “Doctor?”

  “Three years,” she mumbled quietly, aware that she had just let him past one of her major walls. She heard a soft groan over the phone and asked defensively, “What? There’s nothing wrong with not having sex, you know? I don’t know what it is about you and Shelly, just because I don’t hop into bed with every available man, I’m some kind of freak?”

  There was nothing at the other end, just silence. She waited, knowing he was still there because she could hear him breathing. Well, she’d be damned if she spoke first.

  “Are you done, Lena?” he asked in a low deep voice that sent a pulse right down between her thighs.

  “Excuse me?” Lena asked incredulously.

  “I asked if you were done? You’re quick to accuse me of sulking but no one has you beat when it comes to throwing a temper tantrum.”

  “Ahh.”

  “No,” he cut her off effectively, “No. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I was just imagining how tight and hot that’s going to make you when I finally do get to slide deep inside of you.”

  Mason waited on the other end of the phone with his eyes closed and breathed deeply, wondering if she was going to hang up on him. “Lena?”

  “Yes?” she almost sighed and he smiled to himself.

  “Why don’t you have relationships?”

  “Why don’t you? Surely you can’t tell me all thirty-three women in the past year have been meaningful and long-lasting,” she asked in a decidedly petulant tone.

  He laughed at her surliness and was pleased to notice she almost sounded a little bit jealous. “Well, no, they haven’t been long and meaningful, and for the record I’m almost positive that number is exaggerated.”

  “How reassuring,” he heard her mumble.

  “But at least I put myself out there.”

  “What a giant understatement,” she told him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “See, Lena, this is why I can’t argue with you over the phone. You always have a quick smart-ass comment. At least in person I can shut you up,” he told her, automatically envisioning his mouth on hers.

  There was a pause and then she asked him, “Why do you date so much?”

  “Because I don’t like to be alone,” he answered quickly, and then added, “Plus, I love women.”

  Lena smiled at his response and knew he was telling the truth. She didn’t know what she was doing with him. She didn’t want a deep long-lasting relationship, but she also knew she didn’t want to walk away.

  “What do you want from me, Langley? You hardly seem the commitment type.”

  There was a pause and she heard some movement. “Right now or in the future?”

  “Let’s start with the future.”

  “Hmm. I want to know at some point in the future that I’ve made Dr. Magdalena O’Donnell so happy that she walked around smiling all the way to her toes, for a whole week, with not a care in the world.”

  It seemed like such a simple thing to say and yet, at the same time, she was amazed at how perceptive he was. He somehow knew that somewhere deep down inside her soul there was a huge gaping hole—after all, he’d been witness to her Ice Queen routine. The smile she threw around on occasions was only on the surface and it was only for that second. He seemed to want more from her. When had he be
come so attuned to her? Since she didn’t want to ask him, she decided to push the “easy button.”

  “And right now?”

  He sighed as if he knew she’d chosen to sidestep the huge elephant he’d just put in the room. “Right now I want you to tell me one thing you’ve thought about while you were around me, but didn’t tell me.”

  Lena groaned softly and then answered him in a husky whisper. “Last night . . .-”

  “Yes?”

  “Will you be quiet and let me finish?”

  “Sorry. I got excited.”

  “Last night when you took your shirt off and your stomach had all that juice on it . . .” she paused, and then she heard him suck in a deep breath, “. . . I wanted to get down on my knees and lick it all up. You have an amazing body, Langley,” she stated with the confidence of a woman who had seen exactly what she wanted.

  She heard a breath whoosh out of his mouth and then he groaned, “I’m going to die of frustration, I think.”

  Lena laughed softly. “You asked.”

  “I know. I never said I was smart.”

  She paused, thinking about what she wanted to say and went on before she lost her nerve. “You tell me all the time the things you are thinking. So what about things you wish you could do to a woman but never have? What is one thing you want to do to me?”

  He was very quiet while he thought about his answer. She had the phone cradled against her ear, resting against the pillow. It was a good thing, too, because when he opened his mouth and answered she was sure she would’ve dropped it.

  “I find myself feeling things with you that I haven’t ever felt before. I feel edgier, more intense. You make me want to strangle you and in the next minute throw you over my shoulder. I’m not usually like that. I’m always the easygoing guy and I don’t know how that makes me feel.” He paused, took a breath, and then continued. “My reactions to you make me question myself because they aren’t light and carefree; they’re dark and dirty, Lena. I want to do so many dirty things with you, to name them all wouldn’t be possible.”