Lethal Temptation

by Kaylea Cross

  Just one more reason he was dying to get past them. And not just for a roll in the hay anymore.

  His goal for tonight was simple. Keep her focused on him, not her piece of shit ex or the trophy wife who seemed determined to rub salt in Avery’s wound with a snide look every chance they got.

  “I’m starving,” Avery finally said with a sigh. “How long until dinner?”

  “Not until after all the wedding photos are done,” her sister said. “And God knows how long that will take.”

  A few staff members were putting out some appetizers and finger foods on a table over in the far corner. Mason stood and tugged Avery to her feet. “Come with me.”

  She looked at him questioningly but didn’t argue. “Where are we going?”

  “To feed you.”

  They threaded their way through the tables. He spotted Doug, knew Avery had too because she went a bit rigid, her fingers locking around his. Doug looked her up and down and then dismissed her, turning back to whoever he’d been talking to while his new wife watched Avery with something like annoyance.

  Mason squeezed Avery’s hand. “Here.” He stopped at the table to fill a plate, then tugged her into a little alcove in the corner. It was still in full view of anyone who cared to watch them, but at least now her back was to the room so she couldn’t see her ex.

  He turned to face her, took a grape from the plate and held it up to her lips.

  Her golden eyes lifted to his, a wry expression on her face. “I can feed myself.”

  “Yeah, you can,” he agreed. “But I can do it so much better.” He slid the grape along her lower lip, anticipation pulsing thick and heavy in his veins. “Open for me.”

  Annoyance flashed in her gaze. She stared at him in defiance a moment, making him hide a grin, then her lashes lowered and she leaned forward to nip the grape neatly from his fingers.

  He focused on her lips as they closed around the fruit, just barely brushing his fingertips. He bit back a groan, imagining feeding her something else entirely while she was on her knees in front of him.

  Next, he chose a small cube of cheese. She met his gaze again. Their eyes held, the sensual tension between them rising from a simmer to just under the boiling point.

  He offered her the cheese, holding it millimeters from her lips. “Take it,” he murmured. A few people were watching but he didn’t care, he was totally absorbed in their erotic play.

  His pulse accelerated at the way Avery’s pupils expanded. This time, without looking away from him, she slowly bent her head and parted her lips. The tip of her tongue grazed his skin as she sucked the morsel from his fingers.

  A low, almost inaudible growl rumbled in his chest, his dick shoving hard against his fly. He’d set out to seduce her, but he was being seduced in turn. She was challenging him, pushing him. Did she realize what he wanted to do to her? Realize what he wanted from her?

  Totally engrossed, he fed her other little bites. A strawberry. A tiny, bite-sized quiche. A bit of pineapple.

  She swallowed it and arched a saucy eyebrow. “How do you know what I like?”

  “Because I pay attention, angel eyes.” To every little clue she gave him.

  A cheer jolted Mason back to the present. The bride and groom had arrived to start the reception. Mason took Avery back to their table, her flushed cheeks and the way she darted sidelong glances at him making the anticipation burn hotter.

  He wanted her. Tonight.

  Dinner and the speeches went by way too slowly. He was polite, talking with her family, but the entire time he was focused on her. Always touching her. Making sure his thigh brushed hers every time he shifted. Putting his arm around her. Leaning in to nuzzle her hair or graze his lips against her temple. She tolerated it, but he was observant enough to see it was more than that in the flutter of her pulse in her neck or the rush of goosebumps on her skin when he touched her.

  She wanted him too.

  Finally, the dancing started. As soon as the bride and groom and parents were done, Mason stood and pulled Avery up. “Come on.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “You dance?”

  “Sweetheart, I’ve got moves you can’t even imagine.”

  Amusement and a hint of arousal glowed in her eyes. She didn’t say anything, just followed him out to the middle of the floor amongst the other couples.

  He stopped, turned her to face him and locked an arm around her waist, pulling her forward until their bodies almost touched. Avery stared up at him as the music filled the air and other dancers wove around them.

  Mason slowly grasped her other hand, raising it to shoulder level. In her heels she was tall enough to look him dead in the eye, and he liked the novelty of it. He read the uncertainty in her gaze, and the desire she tried to hide. She had his entire body hard already, the need to stake his claim on her right here in front of everyone clawing at him.

  He began to move, leading her to the beat, sheer possessiveness roaring inside him. This had started off as a kind of game for him, but now he wanted something more. Starting with making her give into the need he could see smoldering in her eyes. Making her surrender to the demands of her body. Make her need him.

  It was impossible to tear his eyes from hers as they danced, the heat between them rising with every second. He slowed with the music, swaying gently with her, his arm locked around her waist and the fingers of his other hand encasing hers. Avery’s face was just inches from his own, her golden eyes mesmerizing. Her gaze dropped to his mouth before flicking back up, and the longing she was trying to hide undid him.

  He stopped there in the middle of the dance floor to slide a hand into her hair and lower his mouth to hers. When their lips touched, she gasped and tensed for a split-second.

  Mason curved his fingers around the back of her skull and angled his head, fitting their lips together. He kept the kiss slow, shoving back the raging need to take, seducing her with every stroke and caress of his lips.

  Pure lust and possessiveness streaked through him like a wildfire. He held her to him, battling the need to plaster her body to him, and gave her a teasing stroke of his tongue across her lower lip.

  Avery sucked in a breath and pulled her head back to stare up at him. Her irises were nothing but thin golden rings around wide black pupils, her breathing unsteady.

  Fuck him. She went to his head like a drug, turning him into a raging storm of need.

  She would go on the defensive now, put all her shields up with all these people around, but he’d gotten a taste of what lay beneath them, and he wasn’t giving up now.

  Her ex had to be the stupidest fucking idiot alive to throw this amazing, sensual woman away.

  Mason was a soldier through and through. He was going to fight for her.

  AVERY’S LEGS WERE a bit unsteady as they walked back to their table. Mason refused to let go of her hand and she didn’t feel like fighting him, but holy shit.

  She didn’t care that her family were all staring at them, or that Doug and his wife were in the room. She was too preoccupied by what Mason had just done to her.

  He’d turned her body against her with a single, barely PG-13 and very public kiss in the middle of the dance floor, and she’d let him. Except it hadn’t been just a kiss. No, it felt like he’d just claimed her in front of everyone.

  She’d never known this level of arousal before. Her body was tingly and restless. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, and the empty ache between her legs was almost unbearable.

  Over at their table her sister was grinning at her like a lunatic. Avery ignored her as Mason pulled out a chair for her, then he murmured something about getting her some dessert before leaving.

  She let out a shaky breath and bunched her fingers into the napkin in her lap. It felt like her damn insides were quivering.

  Her sister leaned over to nudge her. “You’re looking a little flushed. Better have some water.” She thrust a water glass at her.

  Avery took it and swallowed a
big sip, but it didn’t cool her off any. Mason had her so worked up she was pretty sure she was going to stay hot for a long time. That wasn’t good. What was she going to do when they got back to the cabin later? Because right now she was tempted to throw all caution aside and jump him as soon as they were alone.

  Her sister nudged her again. “Seriously, Ave, whoa. I thought you two were going to catch fire out there.”

  Avery shot her an annoyed look, warning her to be quiet.

  “What?” Lindsay asked, all wide-eyed innocence.

  “You know what.” She glanced at her parents. They were both grinning at her across the table. She gave them a warning look too.

  “All right, all right, let’s go see if we can still burn half that hot,” her mom said, and dragged Avery’s dad onto the floor.

  Lindsay looped an arm around Avery’s neck. “I’m so happy for you,” she squealed, practically bouncing in her seat. “He’s just so…” She rolled her eyes and shivered. “Intense.”

  “Yeah.” That was exactly the right word. Soon they would be back in the cabin alone, and there was no way she could keep her hands off him now. She deserved an award for keeping them off him this long.

  Her sister’s grin vanished as her gaze fixed on someone behind Avery. “Incoming.”

  Avery turned in her seat and immediately wished she hadn’t. Doug was coming toward her carrying two drinks. He pretended to walk past them, then caught her eye and stopped next to their table. “You went for younger too, huh?” He chuckled as though he found the idea incredibly amusing, or maybe he actually thought he was being charming. “Good for you.”

  Lindsay gasped and Avery crushed the linen napkin in her fists. Wasn’t it enough that he’d hurt and humiliated her behind closed doors during their marriage? He needed to do it publicly too? “Go back to your wife, Doug.”

  The way he lifted an eyebrow made her want to toss her water in his face, but he turned and walked away, leaving the stink of his arrogance hanging in the air.

  “What a gigantic asshole,” her sister hissed.

  Yeah. Doug was both charming and selfish. But his verbal barbs had struck home, already taking root in her mind, dredging up all the insecurities she fought so hard to keep locked away. She was six years older than Mason, and she was rigid in a lot of ways. They were too different, and this thing between them wasn’t even freaking real.

  Whatever she thought had been building between them was only an illusion. He was doing her a favor by being here, and was only playing a part. Even if they slept together, as soon as the weekend was over, he’d ditch her, and she’d be no different than all the other women he’d taken to bed before her.

  She shrugged Lindsay’s arm off her. “Excuse me.” On wooden legs she got up and started across the room. She needed to find the bathroom, lock herself into a stall and compose herself before coming back.

  The music faded behind her as she left the reception room. Hurt and disappointment were eroding through the anger. She turned left and started down the empty hall. Five strides down it, a strong hand grasped her arm from behind.

  She started to whirl, then stopped when she saw it was Mason. His face was set, his cool eyes burning with fury. “What—”

  He opened a door several feet in front of them and pulled her inside. A darkened utility room filled with linens and plates.

  The instant he shut the door, he spun and backed her up against the nearest shelf, his arms caging her in, his big body pinning her in place.

  “Let me go,” she whispered, totally off-balance. There was just enough light filtering through the tiny gaps in the wooden slats in the panel of the door to see his face.

  “No.” He lifted a hand and pushed her hair away from her cheek, the tender touch making her heart squeeze. “Whatever he said to you, it doesn’t matter.”

  She lowered her gaze. “I know.” But it did matter. Because in this instance, Doug had been right. Mason was younger and way sexier than her. It was never going to work.

  Strong fingers caught her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Why does it matter to you what he thinks now?” he demanded, still angry.

  “Because it’s incredibly hurtful and embarrassing to find out you don’t mean anything to the man you said vows to—in front of everyone who’s in that damn room right now.”

  He paused, staring into her eyes, and for the life of her she couldn’t look away. “Do you still love him?”

  “God, no.” She had, once. Back in the beginning when he’d made her feel needed and wanted and important. Beautiful and desirable, even.

  And then all that had stopped. He’d become emotionally unavailable, and unsupportive of her police work. As to why Doug still insisted on being an asshole to her, maybe he was jealous of Mason. Which was so fucked up, but she wouldn’t put it past him given his competitive nature and fragile ego.

  If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn relief crossed Mason’s face. “Good. Because he’s a fucking idiot for not valuing what he had in you, and an even bigger one for letting you go.”

  Was he just saying that? It felt so damn good to hear that from someone else, but her insides were currently going haywire with him so close, tempting her to edge nearer to the very flames that would burn her in the end.

  But at the moment, Mason wanting her was a balm on her bruised self-esteem. Even though she knew it was a bad idea to act on this fire smoldering between them, she wanted him too, and wanted to feel like a desirable woman again.

  He cupped the side of her face with one hand, his eyes dipping to her mouth. Her insides heated, tightened, the anticipation building as her heart thudded. She leaned forward slightly…

  Then his mouth was on hers.

  Avery made an incoherent sound of pleasure and gripped the front of his shirt, her entire body flooded with sensory overload. He tasted sweet, like the root beer he’d been drinking, his lips silky soft but firm. He groaned and angled his head, his tongue delving into her mouth.

  Heat raced over her skin. Her core clenched, the empty ache between her legs building to an insistent throb, her breasts pressed flat to the sculpted wall of his chest.

  Everywhere she touched him she met muscle. She’d never been with anyone built like him, and the way he kissed was enough to make her burn.

  He teased with his tongue then took control of her mouth, leaving her panting for more before easing back to nibble at the corner of her lips. She was dizzy, breathless, clinging to him and desperate for more, the hunger inside her rising to a fever pitch.

  The hand at her face eased down her neck, his fingertips stroking seductively, then dipping lower to cradle her breast. Avery gasped and closed her eyes a second as sensation shot through her, turning her nipple into a hard, aching point against his palm.

  Voices outside made her eyes snap open in shock. She stiffened and stared at Mason, their faces only inches apart.

  What was she doing? They were in a damn utility room. Anyone might hear them. Someone could come in at any moment. “We shouldn’t—”

  He cut off the rest of what she was going to say with another wicked, molten kiss, then raised his head to stare into her eyes through the shadows enveloping them. “Would I ever let you be embarrassed by someone seeing us?” His voice was deep and dark, erotic as hell with his hard body pinning her in place.

  She could feel the tension in him, the seething, smoldering hunger, and read the possessiveness in his taut expression. This wasn’t fake. He wanted her.

  His jaw flexed, his eyes on hers. “No one’s getting through this door while I’m standing here.”

  It shouldn’t have swayed her, but the look on his face, the authoritative way he said it, like a vow, made something inside her sigh and flutter. Made her believe he would protect her no matter what.

  The hand at her breast shifted, his thumb sliding across her straining nipple, scattering her chaotic thoughts. Her lace bra was so thin she felt every exquisite movement. She
bit her lip and pushed closer to his hand, needing more contact.

  “You’re so fucking sexy, Avery.” He kissed her again, a firm press of his lips on her chin, her jaw. The flick of his tongue as his mouth reached the side of her neck.

  She shivered, her eyes falling closed once more, her body arching into his. He was hard and thick against her thigh, inches from where she craved pressure and friction. She was already hot and wet for him.

  His tongue slid over the sensitive skin on her neck just as he tugged the strap of her dress down. She tightened her hold on his shoulders, holding her breath as he eased the lace of her bra down with it. He tucked the lace beneath her breast, pushing it upward slightly, framed by the soft fabric.

  His thumb trailed across her exposed nipple. She sucked in a breath and bit down to trap the moan in her throat. Mason raised his head to watch her, the faint bit of light on his face making his eyes glow like blue flame.

  He caught her nipple between his thumb and fingers and rolled it gently. Avery came up on her toes, a moan spilling free before she could stop it.

  Mason’s mouth covered hers, his tongue plunging inside. Capturing the sound as he tormented her with his fingers.

  The pressure between her legs was almost unbearable, the feel of his erection against her leg taunting her. She shifted her stance and rubbed against his solid thigh. Her whimper was drowned out by another kiss, his tongue teasing hers as he shifted to press his thigh right where she needed it.

  She shuddered and clung to him, now clutching at his back. Her breathing was ragged, her heart thundering in her ears, need tearing through her. She was so wet, and getting wetter, desperate for relief.

  His mouth left hers, his dark head dipping while he hooked one arm around the middle of her back, pulling her exposed breast toward his waiting mouth. Avery stifled a whimper as pleasure shot through her, every pull of that hot, wicked mouth making her crazy.

  She tried to rock her hips into him but he held her fast, one hand clamped tight on her hip, the other forcing her back to curve more. All she could do was hold on and hope he didn’t stop, his commanding grip turning her on even more. She wanted this. Wanted him.