Exquisite

by Ella Frank

  “Why are you here, Lena? It can’t be a coincidence.”

  Blinking at him, she heard the music change to “Closer” by Ne-Yo and she pushed in as close as she could, reached up, and pulled his head down. “I’m here for you.”

  He yanked his head back and ran a hand through his wet hair. Looking down at her, he shook his head. “I can’t do this.”

  Reaching up with a hand, she trailed fingers down his cheek. He moved his face away from her and she flinched back.

  “Can’t you just forget for the night?” she asked. He narrowed his eyes and before he could answer, she raised a finger to his lips. “Just let me help you forget. Just dance with me.”

  Swallowing deeply, waiting for his answer, she felt the music throbbing through her and she let out a deep breath, gently placing her hands on his chest. Then she felt his hands grip her and gently tug her in so that their hips met.

  “Just dance?” he asked.

  Licking her bottom lip, she nodded, blinking up at this man. This man who owned every part of her. She felt her heart squeeze when he reached out to grab her hands and wrap them back around his neck. He leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  Mason closed his eyes and listened to the beat of the music as it throbbed through him and into Lena. He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath, smelling the fresh scent of vanilla. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her fingers were threaded through his hair, and every time she gripped it tight, he wanted to take her mouth with his. Her hips were rubbing on his with each beat of the music and he couldn’t help but run his hands down to rest on the sweet curve of her ass that was wrapped up in black leather.

  He moved his head until his lips found her ear and he whispered, “I never saw this skirt when we were together.”

  He felt a small chuckle vibrate through her and moved his head back a little when she moved to look at him. Her big green eyes flashed at him with the strobes and she bit her bottom lip—and damn him if he didn’t want to do that for her.

  “It was packed away from my college days. Shelly said I needed the big guns.”

  Looking over his shoulder toward the bar trying to spot Shelly, he turned back when he didn’t see anything and asked, “So the leather miniskirt? Big guns, huh?”

  Nodding, Lena took a hand and ran it down her hip, shivering when her hand bumped his and he caught it and brought it up between their bodies to his chest. His heart was beating hard and his head was spinning as he watched her lick her lips and all he could think about was tasting her mouth.

  “Yeah, miniskirt is the lethal weapon,” she tried joking. He blinked once and then moved his lips by her ear so he couldn’t look at her mouth.

  “No, you have it all wrong. The skirt may be the ammunition but those leather fuck-me boots are your big guns.” Groaning low in her ear he continued, “Holy shit, Lena, you’ve never looked sexier than you do wrapped up in all that leather.”

  Her eyes moved to his and he noticed they were wide and clouded. He could tell she was as turned on as him.

  “Just dancing, remember?” he reminded her.

  Licking her lips, she nodded.

  Lena was mesmerized. He was so gorgeous here in the dim lights, with his shiny wet hair pushed back and his hands wrapped around her that she was having trouble remembering the rule she’d made for herself. No sleeping with Langley. No matter what, she would not go back to his bed until everything was clear between them, if that ever happened. She refused to go to bed with a man whose judgment was clouded by drink, only to have him wake up and regret it.

  That rule, however, was easy to make when Mason Langley was nowhere in sight. It was easy to say she wouldn’t fall into bed with him when he wasn’t standing in front of her gripping her hips telling her she was sexy and groaning in her ear as if he was already inside her. Yeah, that rule was great when he was across town away from her. Right now, that rule sucked. One of his hands moved down the curve of her hip to rest on the side of her thigh against bare skin. She whimpered in the back of her throat as his fingers crept slowly up her leg, pulling the skirt with them, his fingers skirting dangerously close to her ass. The strobe lights had stopped and the music had switched to Give Me Everything by Pitbull. Lena felt her heart thump as Mason started doing what he used to do—sing in her ear—about giving him everything. Oh, how she wanted to.

  Lena closed her eyes, feeling herself dampen between her legs as the fingers on her bare thigh made circles up and down her sensitive skin. He was driving her insane.

  She turned her head and whispered in his ear, “You dance pretty good.”

  “We’ve danced before,” he responded, moving slower now, really grinding into her.

  “In a kitchen? That doesn’t count.” She felt him tense at the reminder of their lives before that night.

  He leaned down and said softly, “I meant at O’Malley’s.”

  Lena felt her mouth open in an O and then he lifted his head and did something she hadn’t seen him do for a long time. He grinned; a full on, dimple-making, Mason grin.

  “And we’ve danced plenty of times horizontally.”

  Lena couldn’t help it; she grinned back at him and felt it all the way to her eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

  “Yep, but you love me,” he said flippantly, and then froze. Lena stiffened as well. To have this be the first time he had mentioned the word love seemed so very wrong, and they both recognized it. She watched as the walls came down over his eyes. She felt his arms unwrap, and saw him physically and emotionally take a step back. Reaching out with her hand, she said softly, “Mason.”

  He held a hand up and she stopped where she was.

  “No, Lena.” He shook his head, his cold eyes returning and locking with hers. She watched silently as he moved to her. He reached out, took her chin in his fingers, and tipped her head up. “Don’t touch me, just let me . . .” he trailed off, leaned down in the middle of the dark dance floor, with the music throbbing around them, and pressed his lips to hers.

  She watched his eyes shut and kept her hands by her sides in small fists. His mouth was hard and warm as it pressed brutally against hers, almost in a punishing melding of mouths, then he pulled back, blinked at her, and said softly, “Thank you for helping me forget. But you really shouldn’t have bothered. Nothing’s changed.” And with that cutting remark, he moved around her and walked off the dance floor.

  Lena watched Mason move through the crowd and knew he thought she was going to let him go, and once upon a time, she would’ve, she was so pissed. However, she had news for him. As he exited the dance floor, a lady in a hot pink tube of a dress stepped up to him with a huge smile on her face. Lena had made her way over and was now behind him. Shelly’s hand was on his chest and she was shaking her head.

  Lena caught up. “You’re not going anywhere,” Lena told him as she stopped behind them. Lena watched as he glanced over his shoulder at her with his eyes narrowed.

  “Would you tell Monroe to move it?”

  Lena pursed her lips and shook her head. “Nope, she’s right. You’re not going anywhere tonight, except back to your place with me.”

  She took great satisfaction in watching his eyes widen and he turned slowly to her.

  “I thought I made it clear out there, Lena. I don’t want that from you.”

  Placing a hand on her hip, she looked him up and down and tried to pull off an indifferent shrug. She wasn’t sure how she did, because quite honestly, she did want that from him, but he seemed to wince at her expression so she must’ve been convincing.

  “I’m not offering you anything more than a safe ride home, Langley. Get your mind out of my skirt.”

  That seemed to piss him off even more because his back stiffened and he responded with a sneer.

  “Feeling brave, are we?” he leaned down until they were nose to nose. “How much have you had to drink?”

  Tilting her head up, she made a show of taking
a breath and wincing. “Not as much as you. You smell like a bottle of scotch.” Shaking her head, she said softly, “You’re head is going to hurt tomorrow.”

  Grumbling, he straightened. “It hurts every morning.”

  Brushing past him, she looked over her shoulder. “No use trying to get out of it. You’re coming with me and I’m getting you home safely.”

  Closing his eyes, he sighed, then opened them and focused on Shelly and then Lena. “Why?” he asked softly. “Why are you two here bothering me?”

  “Because we’ve sworn an oath to help idiots,” Shelly grumbled.

  His eyes flicked to her, and then Lena reached out and took his hand. He stiffened and looked down at where she touched him, and then his eyes came up to meet hers.

  “Because once upon a time I met a man who saved me.”

  Frowning at her, he tugged his hand free. “So what? You feel sorry for me and are here to what, save me?”

  Nodding, Lena stepped close to him. “Yeah, something like that.” She paused, then blinked and whispered softly, “I’m part of the reason you’re doing this.”

  Snorting, he shook his head. “Wow, don’t flatter yourself.”

  Glaring at him, she was about to snap back when Shelly pushed her out of the way. “Listen up, buddy. You’ve been an ass for the last time. She’s trying here.”

  He glared at Shelly and said between his teeth, “I told her not to bother.”

  “Yeah, well she wants to. For some insane reason she thinks you’re worth it.” She reached up and poked him hard in the chest. “Pull your head out of your ass!”

  “Shelly,” Lena said softly, reaching out to place a hand on her friend’s arm. Shelly looked at her with fury in her eyes.

  “No, Lena. Sure, this won’t work the way it used to.” She turned back on Mason and asked, “But are you really willing to let her walk away?”

  Dropping her voice, she stepped back and said softly, “She didn’t have a choice in what she did. If you let her walk away, you may find you don’t have a choice to get her back. Is that what you want?” and with that she turned and walked to the door.

  Mason stood unmoving with his eyes on Lena. Lena was about to say something, anything, to break the awkward silence, when he stepped forward and said softly, “Fine, Lena, you win. Take me home.”

  Lena felt her breath catch and her heart clench. She’d won this round.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Mason climbed into the cab with two pissed-off women. One was making it quite obvious and the other, well—she was sitting quietly between him and hot pink. He’d never seen Dr. Monroe quite so pissed off and quite honestly, he pitied any man that went up against her. She was intimidating in all her hot fury. Lena, on the other hand, was fuming, but she was sitting silently, almost as though if she breathed she would lose her temper.

  He was trying really hard to push aside everything he was thinking and feeling but it was all swirling around in his head. The last time they’d been together, at her house. The time when he’d given her the letter, and the way she’d looked at him as he’d left after telling her about his mother leaving her a part of the business.

  His mother—that’s what this all came back to. Over and over, he replayed the last line his mother had written to him and he shook his head—you need to forgive her. It infuriated him to no end that his mother had hidden such an important piece of information from him, but for Lena to have known, he just couldn’t seem to move past it. However, Rachel did have a point. She’d told him just the other day that he was directing his anger at Lena when really it should be to his mom. After all, it’d been his mom who’d chosen to keep the secret, but he couldn’t be angry with a dead woman. Could he?

  So instead, he took it out on the silent woman sitting beside him. The cab came to a stop and Mason presumed it was Shelly’s house because it wasn’t his or Lena’s. He watched Shelly lean in and kiss Lena’s cheek and thought he heard, “You okay?” Watching closer, he saw Lena nod and then Shelly glared at him and climbed out of the cab. The door shut firmly behind her and Lena scooted over to the other side, making the space between them feel like a gaping hole. The cab started off and Mason rolled his head on the seat to look over at the woman now staring out the window. Her skirt had ridden up her thigh and she had her legs crossed. Her chest rose and fell softly as she took deep breaths and he thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She must have felt his eyes on her because she turned her head to him.

  “What?”

  Smirking at her attitude, he said softly, “Nothing. I’m just looking.”

  “Well, stop it,” she snapped.

  Blinking once, he let his eyes go down over her legs and then moved back to her face. “Why?”

  “Because you don’t even like me, so stop checking me out.”

  “I like you,” he murmured softly.

  Lena grunted softly at that. “Yes, that’s obvious by how you’ve been treating me.” She stopped then and pinned him to the seat with her eyes. “But you know what, Langley? I don’t care. I’m not going away.”

  He clenched his teeth and rolled his head back to look at the dirty ceiling of the cab. Ugh, it made him think about throwing up to see the dirt and cigarette rings on the lining of the roof.

  “Why do you keep coming back? I try to forget about you and you just won’t go away.”

  He heard a rustle but just closed his eyes, and then suddenly he felt small fingers grip his chin hard. His eyes popped open as she turned his head and her eyes glared at him.

  “I’m not going anywhere. Get that through your thick head.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I have no secrets from you, Langley. I have nothing to hide. You know everything about me and you know what?” She blinked and shook her head. “I love that. You pushed your stubborn ass into my life, made me give a shit, and then decided to check out when things got hard.” She laughed a bitter sounding laugh, and let go, sitting back against the door. He turned his head, his eyes focusing on her as she stared out the window again. “Well, I don’t think so. I’m not giving up on you.” She looked at him and said softly, “Even if you’ve given up on yourself.”

  Mason took a deep breath and then let it out, closing his eyes and listening to the hum of the car as it continued through the streets. Finally, it came to a stop at the front of his condo and he watched as Lena sat forward and paid the fare. He figured he should probably do it but didn’t want to get into an argument with her. He pushed open the door, climbed out, and made his way into the lobby behind her. They walked past the doorman and got into the elevator, standing on opposite sides and staring at one another as it traveled slowly to the top. The silence was tense and the air was thick as they stood glaring at one another. Lena didn’t move a muscle; she just kept her eyes glued to his. His hands clutched the railing behind him and he gripped it tight, knowing that if he let it go, he would reach for her.

  The elevator lurched to a stop and dinged after what felt like the longest ride ever. The doors slid open and she waited for him to move. Pushing off the wall, he kept his eyes on her as he moved past. She didn’t look as though she was breathing either, but he saw her move and follow him out. He unlocked the door and moved into the dark condo quietly, aware she was standing directly behind him. He dumped his keys on the counter and heard the click of the door and lock. He didn’t move and didn’t turn. This was the first time she’d been up here since that horrible night months ago and he suddenly found he couldn’t think of anything to say.

  Lena was barely breathing. The air thrummed with tension. Mason had moved through the condo and was now standing in the living room in front of the couch. She wasn’t sure what to do from here but she knew talking was not going to be part of the plan, and she was determined that sex wasn’t going to be either.

  It was clear he was waiting to see what she would do, so she moved to stand behind him and reached out to place a hand on his hip. His whole body tensed and she could actuall
y see his spine straighten, but he held still. Not saying anything, she moved in behind him and ran a hand around his waist until her palm was flat against his stomach. When he did nothing but stand there, she did the same thing with the other hand until she had her arms wrapped around his waist with both palms flat on his shirt just above his belt buckle. She pulled him back a little and moved in, molding herself to his back. Her breasts brushed against his shirt with every breath she took and she gently placed her cheek between his shoulders. Closing her eyes, she listened to his breathing, in out, in out. Her hands tightened and she felt him shudder. This was what she’d wanted to do that fateful night many months ago—hold him.

  She felt him shift and then sighed as his hands laced over the fingers that were resting on his belly. Swallowing hard, she fought back the tears that were threatening to spill over and then she felt him pull her hands apart as he slowly turned and walked silently into his room. Left standing in the living room, she looked out the huge window at the city lights below. Taking a deep breath, she turned and made her way into the bedroom they’d once shared. His back was to her and he was removing his shirt. She watched in silence, with just the lights playing over his skin, as he slowly shrugged out of the shirt. He turned to face her, and she noticed he’d unbuckled the belt and top button of his jeans. He looked mouthwatering. His eyes didn’t hold the anger she had seen earlier, but they weren’t warm. They seemed distant.