by Dani Wade
He let himself into the darkened room and stood for a moment, soaking in the stillness and the sound of Evie’s breathing as she slept. He should be having second thoughts, too. Way more than EvaMarie. So why wasn’t he shaking in his boots? Instead he was bringing replenishment to the woman so he could—hopefully—have his way with her again.
God, being with EvaMarie had been nothing like when they were teenagers. Before she’d been tentative, untried. Her hesitation this morning had made him think she’d be the same, but soon she’d been as hot as the water and as responsive as hell. He could still hear her cries echoing off the tiles in the bathroom.
He wanted to hear them again.
Setting the tray on the chaise in her room, he shucked his jeans before easing back the comforter. Suddenly EvaMarie sat straight up. “What are you doing?” she gasped.
Distracted by more bare skin than he’d hoped to see this soon, Mason spent a moment trying to pry his tongue from the roof of his mouth. Noticing the direction of his gaze, Evie gasped again, this time jerking the comforter up over her nakedness. Which was a shame.
He tried to tease her with a grin. “I’m coming back to bed,” he said, his voice gravelly with the desire evoked by just the thought of being with her again. “But we can go to my bed if you’d prefer. It’s a little bigger. More space for rolling around.”
Her eyes widened, and he could just see the images she was tossing around in her mind before she blinked. With innocence overlaying a deep river of sensuality, she was so damn intriguing.
But then panic engulfed her expression. She scrambled back to sit against the padded headboard. “Mason, look, I’m so sorry.”
Hmm... Was she sorry she’d slept with him? Because he’d never push her for more than she was willing to give. Or was it something else? This time, her expression wasn’t telling the whole story. He let a raised brow speak on his end.
EvaMarie swallowed hard. “I realize you’re my employer, and I did not mean to throw myself at you.”
Ah, this he could answer. “You didn’t.”
“I remember asking—” The blush that bloomed over her cheeks was bright enough for him to see in the dim light coming from behind the pulled curtains. Luckily she looked away and didn’t notice his smile. He didn’t want her to think he was making fun of her. He was simply, well, to his surprise, he was simply enjoying the ins and outs of being with her again.
“And I remember accepting,” he finished for her. “I consented way before any clothes came off.” He crawled onto the bed to get closer, though he left her with the protection of the comforter. “And I’m really glad I did.”
A quick cut of her gaze his way showed him her surprise. “Um. Thank you?”
He chuckled, easing the tension enough for her to meet him face-to-face again.
“Is this gonna be awkward?” she asked.
“Depends.”
When she tilted her head to the side, a waterfall of tangled hair spread over her bare shoulder. As the image of burying his face in that silky mass came over Mason, he almost groaned.
But she wasn’t done asking questions. “Depends on what?”
“On where this goes now.” He flicked his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. “I know what I want, but I’m not gonna push you into anything you don’t want to do. Anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
“What do you want?” she whispered.
Which only made him think of what other words he wanted her to whisper to him.
“I want the chance to take you to bed.”
It wasn’t romantic, he knew that. But it was honest. Besides, “romance” and “relationships” came with a lot of complications—especially with EvaMarie.
To his surprise, she said, “On one condition.”
This was new. “What’s that?”
“That there’re no obligations in the end. And no rules as we go.”
To Mason’s surprise, a trickle of disappointment wiggled through his gut. Why in the world would he be disappointed? EvaMarie was offering him every man’s dream—unattached sex with a sensual, beautiful, responsive woman living right in the same house with him. “That’s not anything like dating, you know.”
She shrugged. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”
Me, neither. He crawled toward her on all fours, enjoying the widening of her eyes as he stalked her. “But that’s two rules, not one.”
Her giggle was spontaneous and went straight to his nether regions. He buried his face against her neck. “Then I guess we can have dessert before dinner, right?”
* * *
EvaMarie plopped down on the staircase a couple steps up from the bottom. Long minutes of pacing had worn her out, yet parts of her still felt all jittery. The nerves were getting to her.
Mason had left this afternoon to meet with Kane and their lawyer, who had then taken them to dinner. Which was perfectly fine. A weekend in bed together couldn’t last forever—nor should she want it to.
She was simply eager for him to see the storage system that had been added to the wine cellar today. That’s all.
Oh, who was she kidding? Sure, Mason had been happy to take her up on what she’d offered, and the memory of her request had her face flaming hot. He’d even been complimentary, patient and enthusiastic, which had led to the most incredible two days of her life and done wonders for her ego.
But the minute he’d walked out the door this afternoon, doubt had set in. Her impulsive actions had been the result of a whopper of a few days—the argument with her father, then Mason, then lack of sleep and seeing the foal being born. She certainly hadn’t been thinking straight, but couldn’t bring herself to regret it.
She simply wasn’t ready for it to end.
Since there were no rules, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Then tonight, he hadn’t come home...no phone call or even a text to let her know where he was after ample time for dinner. Her fingers were crossed Mason wasn’t simply avoiding her because he’d had his fill and now he was done.
She shifted on the hard stair. Wouldn’t that be a humiliating conversation?
Yes, asking him for some no-strings-attached time had been unprecedented, as well as unpremeditated. But she’d realized that she wanted Mason, without the complications that had come before—and now she could have him.
But for how long?
Mason had agreed...but did he regret his decision the minute he’d left her? Had he told Kane? Were they even now trying to figure out a way to fire her...to get her to leave without angering her enough to file a sexual harassment suit?
Just as her panic reached fever pitch, she heard a key in the front lock. Her stomach clenched hard enough to force her to swallow, but she couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation. Then she heard—wait, was that a woman?
The wave of nausea rushing over her kept her immobile, so when the door opened she stood and continued to stand there like a scared rabbit, shaking in her sweatpants. Busted.
The wave of relief to find herself facing a group of people, and not just Mason with some woman he’d brought home, was short-lived. Because she knew these people. Mason. Kane. John Roberts. And Liza Young.
Liza’s gaze swept up the stairs and right to EvaMarie with her bare feet, baggy sweats and T-shirt. A wave of heat followed that look, lighting EvaMarie with embarrassment everywhere it touched.
“Wow, EvaMarie,” the other woman said in an exaggerated drawl. “Whatever are you doing here?”
The heat and nausea combined caused EvaMarie to break out in a sweat. She glanced at Mason, hoping for a little help, but he remained silent, his expression a touch perplexed. Her smile felt sickly, but she offered it to the rest of the group anyway. “Could you all excuse us a moment?”
Surely Mason got her point, but he only went as far as
the stairs, even when she moved as if to go farther down the hallway. His frown didn’t bode well. Kane and John spoke in a low murmur, but Liza never looked away. With the uncomfortable feeling that her oversized T didn’t cover nearly enough, EvaMarie pulled at the hem.
She returned her attention to Mason, and her nerves flared. “Couldn’t you have let me know you were bringing people home?” she snapped.
His right brow shot up. He’d gotten pretty good at the haughty look for someone who hadn’t grown up using it. “I didn’t realize I needed permission to bring people to my house.”
Nerves gave way to pain as the remark hit her like a slap to the face. Then a giggle came from right behind Mason’s shoulder. They both turned to find Liza listening, her overly mascaraed eyes wide, taking it all in. Her grin turned EvaMarie’s stomach, because she’d seen it before—whenever Liza knew she’d just landed a juicy bit of gossip that she could use to her advantage.
“Well, Mason, I thought this was your place now,” she said, blinking as if her remark was innocence itself. “But that does make me curious as to what she’s doing here...”
Mason glanced back at EvaMarie with a look that said since this situation was all her fault, she could get her own self out of it. Quelling the unexpected urge to smack him, she quietly filled the silence. “I work here.”
Liza’s exaggerated gasp made EvaMarie want to cringe, but she maintained her stoic expression with the last ounce of her strength.
“Whoa,” Liza said, throwing a look around the room as if to include everyone there. “Did y’all hear that? From princess to pauper. Bet that’s a big change.”
Mason’s frown deepened. Luckily this time it wasn’t directed at EvaMarie. He turned to face Liza. “Nonsense. EvaMarie knows this place better than anyone,” he said. “And she’s quite talented with organization and interior decorating.”
Kane chimed in too. “She’s doing a great job overseeing the renovations. Let’s go look. After all, that’s why you’re here.”
Mason led the way. John Roberts was quick to cross the foyer and offer his arm to Liza, but she was just as quick to get in her parting shot. “Well, she’s dressing the part, isn’t she?” The words were whispered to her partner, but echoed off the walls of the cylindrical room.
The hitch in Kane’s stride said he’d heard, but still he paused right below EvaMarie. “Join us?” he asked.
Words wouldn’t come right now. As much as EvaMarie knew she’d be the object of ridicule every time she met someone of Liza’s caliber in the future, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. She was too soft-hearted, her daddy had always said. But truly, it was Mason’s response that had hurt her more. If she went with them, she’d probably do something stupid like cry. So she simply shook her head.
The pity in Kane’s look quickened her getaway. Her hope to witness the excitement on Mason’s face when he saw the new wine cellar pieces didn’t matter anymore. Climbing the stairs proved tortuous, as did the whirl of her thoughts. She could go to bed, but Mason would just find her there later—probably crying. Or maybe not.
After all, he didn’t seem very interested in her at the moment.
There was only one thing she could think of to soothe herself. A deep breath helped her pull on her big girl panties...along with jeans and a pair of boots. She’d known she was naïve, but not how much until this very moment.
Now she knew. When Mason said this wouldn’t be like dating, he hadn’t been lying. This definitely wasn’t dating...it wasn’t even friendship.
Eleven
Mason gritted his teeth against Liza’s inane chatter as he walked their little party back down the promenade to the foyer.
“What, no EvaMarie to see us out like a good girl?” she asked, her giggle scraping Mason’s nerves. The glasses of wine she’d had at dinner had combined with the sampling they’d had downstairs to celebrate their renovations, pushing her into the just-inebriated-enough-to-lose-any-claim-to-class stage of drunkenness.
She’d been an unfortunate discovery as John Roberts’s dinner companion when their lawyer had introduced them to the stable owner who was also a fellow lawyer. About ten minutes ago, Mason had reached his utmost capacity for stupid and catty remarks for the evening—even if they had learned quite a lot about a few key players in the local upper echelons tonight.
From his increasingly stoic expression, it looked as though Kane felt the same.
“I can’t wait to tell the girls that juicy story,” the woman rattled on.
“Liza.” John Roberts’s soft rebuke didn’t have any backbone to it.
Mason didn’t have the patience to be that soft. His voice came out a low growl. “Excuse me?”
“You know, the whole privileged-daughter-is-now-the-hired-help story,” Liza gushed.
Mason had to wonder how long she’d been holding this in. Maybe she’d taken his silence earlier this evening as permission.
“She’s always been such a Goody Two-shoes.” Liza threw a sly glance at Mason. “At first, I thought maybe she had a totally different reason for being here, but she certainly wasn’t dressing to entice anyone, was she?”
Like you would have? Clenching his jaw to keep the words inside, Mason had a sudden epiphany. EvaMarie hadn’t been dressed to entice, but she’d definitely been waiting for someone. Crap. That’s why she’d been upset that he’d brought people home. She didn’t want advanced warning because she felt any kind of ownership over the house or him. She’d wanted the common courtesy of being able to prepare herself before someone came in—something Mason wasn’t used to dealing with, so it hadn’t occurred to him.
Man, he’d better get these two out of here before he said something he shouldn’t...and gave away more than EvaMarie would appreciate.
Aiming for a distraction, Mason ushered them out the door, then watched as John Roberts gallantly helped Liza down the stairs and out to his car. Halfway across the driveway she ditched her heels, leaving her date to pick up the pieces.
“That woman’s laugh could be used as a torture device,” Kane said from beside him.
Mason allowed himself a chuckle before turning away from the departing couple. He faced Kane, the man he’d always been honest with. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
“I believe so.”
He’d just seen EvaMarie’s haughty expression, heard her irritated tone and snapped back in kind. And reacted like the moody teenager he used to be.
Mason stared out into the night as he thought about the implications of tonight’s encounter. “Do you think she’s told anyone that she’s here, working for us?”
“I doubt it.” Kane rocked back on the heels of his cowboy boots. “Her parents have taught her the exaggerated importance of preserving her privacy.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you see her face when Liza made that snide remark about her clothes?”
“No.” He hadn’t even heard the remark. He’d been too intent on showing off, which meant getting the others downstairs and away from a situation he wasn’t sure how to handle.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen a face go that blank.”
EvaMarie’s parents had drilled their version of acceptable behavior into her so thoroughly that making a scene or standing up for herself never would have occurred to her. She’d taken what Liza dished out without a complaint, though he noticed she hadn’t joined them downstairs.
“I’d better go check on her,” Mason said.
The brothers parted with a quick hand slap, and Kane headed for his truck. Mason went to EvaMarie’s room, but she wasn’t there. Stumped, he stood on the threshold for a moment.
Maybe she was in Chris’s room? After all, he’d bet she was more than upset. But no. She wasn’t there either.
You’re a smart boy, Mason. Figure it out.
A
sudden memory rose of watching a young EvaMarie saddle her horse with tears flowing down her rounded cheeks after yet another dressing down from her father. Did she still love to ride to clear her head? Did she still sit by her favorite tree on the side of the stream that flowed through the middle of the estate into the lake?
He bet she did.
After a quick change into jeans and boots, Mason confirmed his suspicions when he found one of the mares’ stalls empty. He quickly saddled up Ruby, groaning as he swung into the saddle. It had been too many days since he’d been on a horse. His growing business activities here cut into his riding time.
He needed to change that.
The ride felt good, free. He moved with the horse, limbering up and clearing his head as he gained speed, though he didn’t push the mare too hard in the dark. Since he hadn’t been back in the wooded area along the creek as an adult, Mason dismounted and led the horse down the still-clear path he remembered from all those years ago.
The soft whinny of EvaMarie’s horse corrected his course just a little. She didn’t glance his way as he broke from the tree line. He tied Ruby near Lucy and cautiously approached the blanket EvaMarie was reclining on. “Hey,” he said softly, not wanting to startle her if she’d slept through his arrival.
“Hey,” she replied.
Which gave him nothing to go on. After all, EvaMarie had evolved into a master at hiding her emotions. Unsure what else to say, Mason lay down next to her in the darkness. The blanket provided a thick barrier over the mixture of bare dirt and clumps of grass beneath them. The trickle of water from the stream reminded him of the soothing sound when they’d lain here and held each other so long ago. The sky showcased an array of bright stars framed by tree limbs that he didn’t remember from his last visit here.
Of course, they hadn’t come here for the stargazing back then.
“I wasn’t demanding anything from you, Mason,” she finally said, her voice sounding huskier, deeper than before. “I don’t think I should have to demand the common courtesy afforded to anyone living in the same house—like normal roommates.”
