by J. S. Scott
Mason
The night of Jett’s engagement party had been heaven, but it had also been pure hell.
I started to explain to Laura what had happened.
I closed my eyes, and I could still play the scene out in my head.
I’d been worried about Laura’s unconscious state. While I’d been well aware that she was plastered, I’d been pretty damn glad when she’d finally opened those pretty eyes of hers and talked to me.
Until it had come time to take her dress off.
My dick had been so damn hard it would have cut diamonds, and I’d felt like a damn pervert for ogling every beautiful curve she had while she was in a skimpy bra and panties. I mean, what guy wouldn’t have looked? However, I wasn’t about to take advantage of her drunken state.
“I think you should come to bed with me, handsome,” she’d said. “I’m sooo attracted to you. I always have been.”
I’d laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket, but she’d wrapped her arms around my neck. “Kiss me,” she’d demanded.
I’d put my hands on her shoulders. “Who am I?” I asked, wondering if she even knew what she was saying.
She’d slapped me on my arm playfully. “I know who you are. You’re Mason Lawson. The hottest of the Lawson brothers. Do you know you’re the only guy who has ever melted my panties?”
I’d swallowed hard. “No.”
“You’re ridiculously gorgeous, you’re highly intelligent, you’re filthy rich, and you’re way too unattainable for me, but we could have one night, right?” Her words had been slurred, but her pretty blue eyes had looked at me so earnestly that it had nearly killed me.
“Not tonight,” I’d said huskily as I kissed her forehead. “If you feel the same way when you’re sober, tell me, and then we’ll talk.”
I’d pulled back, which had taken a Herculean effort, and waited until she’d finally fallen to sleep.
I felt Laura roll off me after I’d finished explaining, but she didn’t go far. She curled up next to me and buried her face in my chest as she moaned, “Oh, my God! I didn’t!”
“You did,” I answered mischievously. “You have no idea how hard it was not to crawl into that bed with you that night. But you were drunk. And once you were sober, you were distant, and you never mentioned that attraction again. Not that I didn’t give you plenty of chances. I did call you every Sunday.”
“Only to see if I was pregnant,” she complained.
“Actually, I think I was waiting to see if you brought up that night. But you didn’t. I figured you weren’t really interested.”
She lifted her head and looked at me. My damn heart almost jumped out of my chest. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “And you could have said something.”
I shrugged. “I thought you were embarrassed about it, and didn’t want to discuss it. Until you recently told me you didn’t remember anything about that night after we talked on the patio.”
“You could have told me then,” she said firmly.
“What did it matter? Why embarrass you when I thought you weren’t interested?”
“I was always attracted to you, Mason. But you were all business until you decided to lobby to be my baby daddy.”
I grimaced. “Bad move.”
“Do you want to tell me why you really did that?” she asked hesitantly. “I was shocked that you were willing to give me so much personal information.”
No, I really didn’t want to tell her because I was having the most amazing night of my life, and I didn’t want to spoil it. However, I wasn’t going to lie—or even stretch the truth—with Laura again. “Honestly, I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting pregnant unless the guy who knocked you up was me. That’s how damn crazy you make me sometimes.”
“Oh,” she said simply, sounding surprised.
I rolled onto my side and propped my head up with my hand. “I know I handled things badly earlier tonight, but it’s like I can’t control myself when it comes to you being safe. Maybe some of that fear comes from the fact that I lost my parents in the blink of an eye. I know how fragile life can be. I feel protective and possessive with you, and I think that now that I’ve claimed you as mine, it’s going to get even worse. I’m not even going to pretend that it’s going to be easy being in a relationship with me, but it has to be all or nothing for us, Laura. Which way will it be?”
Dammit! The last thing I wanted was to scare her away, but I knew I had to warn her that those instincts would never be far from the surface for me. Not with her. Not ever.
Her eyes widened. “Are we…in a relationship?”
“I sure as hell hope so,” I growled. “And I won’t share with other men. I can’t.”
Oddly, she didn’t look the slightest bit frightened. In fact, she smiled, and my damn heartbeat kicked into overdrive as her lips kept turning up.
She wrapped a hand around my neck and fingered the hair at my nape as she said, “Good thing,” in a voice that seduced me. “Because I’m not sharing, either. It’s going to be all for me, Mason. With you, it has to be. Monogamous, until one of us feels differently. Deal?”
I lowered my forehead to hers in relief. “Deal. If I start being an asshole, just tell me.”
“Oh, you know I will,” she said with a laugh. “Next time, please explain before you give orders. We can discuss it. I’m not going to promise I’ll do what you say, but at least I might get where you’re coming from. I lost my parents the same way, and I get how terrifying it can be to think about losing someone else you care about.
I pulled my head back to look into her eyes. I nearly drowned in the depths of her gorgeous blue eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, Laura, and I hate the thought of you being alone and vulnerable. And now, it’s going to be known that you’re important to me. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Even Carter sends security with Brynn when she’s traveling, and he can’t be with her for the whole trip. And Jett keeps a tail on Ruby, too.”
I could see her brain working behind those intelligent eyes of hers. And I just hoped to hell she’d see reason. If not, we were going to end up fighting before the relationship part really began.
I fucking knew that I wanted to give Laura any damn thing she wanted, but the fact was, I was a rich, powerful guy, and I had made enemies. Probably a whole lot more than Jett and Carter since I dealt more with the ruthless business part of our company.
Jett was the tech genius.
Carter was the marketing genius.
And me? I was the business muscle.
I had more enemies than Jett and Carter combined.
“Okay, I’ll use your jet,” she said in a contemplative voice. “And I’ll take your car to and from my accommodations. But no security tail. Mason, I know San Diego well. I’ve done a ton of shoots there over the years, and I do have a couple of business meetings. I need to conduct myself like a businesswoman, and that doesn’t mean having my guy’s security on my ass.”
Preferably, I’d way rather be all over Laura’s luscious ass myself, but I had some meetings during her trip that I couldn’t miss myself.
I looked at her face, and she seemed like she had moved as much as she was going to compromise. “Deal. But check in with me so I know you’re doing okay,” I grumbled.
“Every day,” she promised. “I’d want to know if you were doing okay, too, if you were out of the state or the country. It’s reasonable. But I have one more request.”
Hell, I didn’t feel the least bit reasonable. But I was glad she thought I was. “What’s that?” Like there was anything I wouldn’t do for her. Whatever she wanted; she could consider it done.
“Don’t treat me like I’m fragile, Mason. I’m stronger than you think. And I want you just as much as you want me. I’ve never done it, but I think I’d like any kind of down and dirty sex that you want to try.” She paused before she continued. “It feels really good to know you want me that much.”
All I want is a man who’s att
racted to…me.
She’d said something like that when I’d asked her what she wanted in a man. What in the hell had been wrong with the men she’d previously dated? With her beautiful blonde hair, and soulful blue eyes, she looked like a damn angel with killer curves.
She was soft where I was hard, and she felt like a wet dream with her velvety skin pressed against me when we were skin-to-skin, and those curves would mold perfectly against me even when we were clothed. And then, I’d wish I had her naked.
“You have to know you’re beautiful, Laura. You’ve had a very long career as a supermodel. That wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t a damn head turner, no matter what size you wear. I guarantee there are more men than just me who want to get you naked. A lot more.” Unfortunately, just the thought of those men made me want to lose it.
“The only one I care about is you,” she murmured as she put her hand to my whiskered jawline.
“This…you…it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me,” I told her honestly. “I don’t want to screw it up. But I’ll try to remember that you actually prefer a guy with a big dick.”
She snorted. “Don’t you forget it, mister,” she teased. “So what are we doing tomorrow?”
I grinned at her. “Sunday. We have a standing date at six o’clock, but I’d rather you stay here until tomorrow.”
I wanted the next twenty-four hours solid with this woman more than I wanted to fucking breathe.
She nodded. “I want to stay. Other than earlier tonight, I’ve had an amazing time this week with you. Are you missing the office?”
Weirdly enough, I couldn’t say that I really had missed being at Lawson. Maybe it had felt strange at first, but I trusted Carter. And I was pretty sure my absence hadn’t collapsed the company.
“Not really. I had a very attractive distraction,” I answered honestly. “And I’m not going to work every moment of the day anymore, Laura. I want to have some time and energy left for you. I’ll probably still work harder than my other two slacker partners,” I joked. “But they’re right—we all need some time to breathe.”
“So where are we breathing tomorrow?” she asked with a seductive smile that got my dick harder than a rock.
I fell to my back and pulled her luscious body on top of mine. I wanted her to ride me until we were both spent and exhausted.
“Do you really think we’ll ever make it out of this house?” I said in a husky, horny voice.
Hell, no matter what she said, I was going to have to keep my dick in my pants occasionally over the next twenty-four hours. She was so damn tight, and I knew she hadn’t been with anybody since…James? Jason? Justin? Whatever his name was—the stupid fucker who hadn’t known how good he’d had it.
Maybe I had promised to give her everything I had, but we could work up to that slowly.
She slid off me. “I think we need another shower now. It’s my turn to…wash your back.”
I swallowed hard as I saw her sensual smile.
Holy hell. She didn’t think she was going to actually…
I had to hold back a groan when images of Laura—naked, wet, on her knees with my cock in her mouth—assaulted my brain. “No,” I told her firmly as I stood up, and then pulled her up from the bed. “You’ll gag. It wouldn’t be pleasant.”
“On the contrary,” she said in a silky voice. “I think you’ll find it very pleasant.”
I’d probably start to come the minute I felt her wet, hot mouth on my cock since I was a blowjob virgin. No woman had ever cared enough to even try to take me on.
“That’s not the point,” I said, trying to keep my voice stern.
She took my hand. “It’s exactly the point. I want to pleasure you, too, Mason.”
Fuck! How could I explain to her that she gave me pleasure just by being close to me and breathing?
She tugged on my hand, and I followed her because I simply couldn’t not follow Laura.
“Don’t worry,” she cooed as she turned on the water. “I’m an intelligent woman. I think I can figure out how to make it feel good.”
She did.
In fact, she entirely blew my mind.
Laura
“Oh, my God,” Brynn said as we met over coffee the following Tuesday afternoon. “You actually tried to seduce Mason when he took you home from Jett’s engagement party?”
I smiled. “Yes. Apparently, I did. I don’t remember it, but I’m sure Mason isn’t making it up.”
Although I wasn’t about to share all of my intimate moments with Mason, just like Brynn didn’t share all of hers with Carter, there were things I’d tell her that I wouldn’t share with anyone else.
Like that mortifying moment when Mason had told me that I’d tried to pull him into my bed while I was in a drunken stupor.
And I’d definitely never even whisper about how I’d felt when Mason had finally let go and orgasmed with my lips wrapped around his massive cock. He’d been wet, hot, and out of control, every muscle in his body tense as he’d groaned out my name in a guttural voice that had shaken me to my core.
Only later had he admitted that it was a first for him, which I’d found as heartbreaking as it was arousing.
Brynn snorted. “Oh, Laura. That’s priceless. Well, at least you know what happened that night now.”
“And it was Mason, so I know he didn’t take advantage of the situation,” I said with a smirk as I took a sip of my coffee. “He might be high-handed, but the man has a conscience.”
“So how was your week together?” Brynn asked curiously.
My best friend had been gone for the better part of last week on a shoot, so we were trying to catch up on everything.
I sighed. “It was fantastic. I dragged him around to a ton of tourist stuff, and although he griped about it, he had a good time.”
“I think you had fun, too,” Brynn observed.
“I did.”
“Let me guess,” Brynn said. “You’re crazy about him.”
“Is it that obvious?” I asked.
“To me, yes. I’ve known you for a long time, Laura. You’re glowing. And it has nothing to do with your makeup.”
“He’s so different once you get past that arrogant shell of his. We’ve decided to give this relationship a shot. Monogamous. No dating other people. Like I could date another man? Mason is the fantasy, bossy or not.”
Brynn shot me a genuine smile. “For once, I’ll approve of your boyfriend.”
“Sometimes it’s just hard to believe that he really wants to be with just me,” I confessed. “I mean, he’s Mason-Fucking-Lawson. There probably isn’t a single woman in the entire world who wouldn’t do almost anything to be with him. He’s hot, he’s brilliant, he’s young, and he’s a billionaire at the helm of one of the biggest tech companies in the world.”
“You’re hot, you’re brilliant and talented. You’re young, and you’re wealthy. You’re the perfect couple. But I don’t think you care about all that stuff, do you?” Brynn questioned.
I shook my head. “I don’t. I like him because he makes me feel beautiful, sexy, and special. I couldn’t care less about his money or his power. I care about the man he is.”
“I think once a Lawson man finds the woman who makes him crazy, they’re done. Carter makes me feel that way, too. There could be hundreds of beautiful women in the room, but he’ll pass them all by until he finds…me. It’s like no other woman exists except me.”
“Exactly,” I said, nodding my head. “Sometimes, it’s a little scary.”
Brynn laughed. “You’ll get used to it, and then you’ll love it.”
“I think I already love it,” I confessed. “I mean, what woman doesn’t want to feel like she’s the only woman her man sees?”
“None,” Brynn agreed. “Except it’s not easy to find a guy like that. Wait until he starts doing a bunch of sweet things just so that you know he’s thinking about you, even when you aren’t together.”
“He already
did. He sent flowers to me yesterday while I was working at home, and all the card said was Hello, Beautiful. Two words, and a couple of dozen roses, and I was sappy for the entire day. But doesn’t it ever get scary? I mean, if a man becomes your entire world like that, the fall could be pretty hard if it doesn’t work out.”
Brynn laughed. “Oh, it will work out. The Lawson men aren’t quitters. If you get in a fight, they’ll find a way to fix it. They’re tenacious that way.”
“They’re all intense,” I observed.
“That, too,” Brynn replied. “But Mason will never leave room for doubts about whether or not he gives a damn, and I doubt he’ll ever want you to change.”
I thought about every other male in my life as I told her, “He doesn’t. I don’t think he ever would. He accepts me exactly the way I am. He’s good at making me feel like the sexiest woman on Earth.”
“Perfect,” Brynn said as she beamed at me. “Exactly the type of guy you need.”
I hesitated before I asked, “Doesn’t it ever make you crazy that Carter wants you to have security on your tail?”
“No. Not anymore,” she said thoughtfully. “At first, I hated giving up my freedom to wander wherever I wanted to go. We fought about it. It took me awhile to realize it was just going to be one of those compromises I had to make. I wouldn’t want to be terrified all the time that something would happen to Carter because of me, so I get why he wants to make sure I’m okay. Really, it’s a small trade-off for his piece of mind. He doesn’t get too crazy with the security. It’s only hard for him when I’m traveling. I’ve learned to pretty much ignore my tails when I’m traveling on assignment.”
I let out a long breath. “I’m only taking Mason’s jet and his transportation in San Diego. I know the city so well.”
“And Mason was okay with that?”
I smiled. “He didn’t have much choice. It was our compromise. Besides, this is my last gig. I’ve decided I’m ready to take myself out of that world completely now.”
