His tags hung low, getting in the way, so he paused to draw them over his neck. Once off, he tossed them on the nightstand before getting back to the task at hand.
Mason quickly removed her bra, baring her breasts to him. He paused to look at them before sucking one stiff peak between his lips. Cassie arched into his touch, loving the feel of him suckling her tight bud. He drew on the flesh relentlessly, the heat of his mouth making her pulse all over. Her panties grew wetter and wetter as her folds ached for his touch and his tongue. If he gave her pussy the same kind of attention he gave her nipple, she’d surely scream all night.
He let one peak pop from his lips and gave the second the same attention, squeezing and plumping the flesh as he devoured her. Mason was greedy, drawing her deeply into his mouth. Cassie could feel each tug on her nipple throbbing in her clit. She writhed under him, loving the feel of him pinning her down to the bed as he tasted all he wanted.
Grabbing the glass as he rose to his knees, he grinned wickedly. She shivered at the thought of where the ice would go. He reached two long fingers into the glass and plucked one cube out. After he sucked it into his mouth, he released it and lowered it to one of her nipples.
Cassie squealed, the sensation foreign. The cold was enough to burn where she already throbbed. Her flesh puckered even more and the tight bud ached. Mason kept teasing her nipple, over and over again, circling the beaded flesh. Once she was sure she couldn’t take another stroke, he drew the tip into the heat of his mouth and she nearly came off the bed. She could feel the intensity of that suckle in every cell of her being, and she lowered a hand between her legs to ease the burn he’d inspired.
“No, no, sweet,” he said as he pulled her hands away from her folds. “That’s mine to savor.”
Cassie wanted to disobey, but she knew it would only make the release all the better the higher he built the flames; no matter how desperately she wanted to touch herself. “Hurry. I can’t wait much longer.”
Mason chuckled, ignoring her plea to torture her other nipple. The cube was almost melted and didn’t have quite the same impact, so he rustled up another to provoke her. By the time he was done, she was mindless with need, thrashing on the bed, crying his name with abandon.
When he finally drew her panties down her hips, she nearly wept with joy. Her cream coated her sex, her pussy more than ready for his touch. She needed his caress in her deepest spots. Once her panties were gone, Mason lowered between her splayed thighs and gazed at her folds, quiet. He finally raised one hand to lightly stroke her, the touch too soft for her needs.
“More,” she demanded. She needed him to lap at her clit and taste her there, just as he’d done when he’d indulged her breasts.
“You’re beautiful here, too, sweet. I want to look at you like you did me.”
Cassie bit her lip, her frustration building. He was trying to get vengeance for her taunting him earlier in the kitchen. She needed him to touch her now, not play games with her. She rolled her hips to meet his fingers as he trailed them along her damp flesh.
“I can’t wait,” she said. “I need…”
“I know you need. I need, too. But it can wait a few moments more. I just want to look at you.”
A cry rent from her lips as her back came off the bed.
Mason came closer, soothing her with soft strokes of her pussy. “Shhh, baby. It’s okay. I’m going to give you what you need.”
Cassie turned her face away, suddenly feeling shame. She’d never begged a man to touch her. Suddenly, she’d become this wild, wanton woman—a woman she didn’t recognize. She was teetering on the edge, drifting into the abyss. Need such as this was unfamiliar. She’d never experienced the kind of raw desire she did now. The power of the emotions coursing through her was too much and it threatened to overtake her.
As soon as his tongue pressed against her clit, her mind went blank and thoughts of shame drifted away. Cassie clutched at the sheets as he laved and tormented her clit. Mason feasted on her flesh, pushing her well past her limits. He tested her entrance with one, thick finger. Pressing inside her, he groaned.
“You’re so wet,” he said against her. “So ready for me.”
And she was. She needed his cock to come inside her and take away her blinding need. Cassie wanted to join with him in the most basic, animalistic way. All their hours of talking, baring their souls had fed her mind and heart. Now she needed him to feed her body and give it exactly what she’d yearned for all these months.
Mason pressed another finger through her entrance and stretched the muscles wider. He pumped his hand, thrusting his fingers where she anxiously wanted his cock.
“Please, Mason…”
“Baby, you’re tight. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Mason moved up on all fours and went to the bedside table. She watched as he pulled out a condom and quickly rolled it down his length. Cassie calmed, knowing he would give her what she needed. Finally.
Instead of moving to enter her, he lifted her glass to his lips. He sucked in an ice cube, then lowered back between her legs. Cassie sighed, distraught, but cried out when his cold mouth latched onto her clit.
He worked his fingers frantically as he sucked and nipped at her clit, pushing her to the edge of reason. The freezing cold burned her heated flesh, and made her focus on each stroke of his cold tongue. Her body tightened; raw need coursing through her veins. In no time, she was screaming as she crested and rode wave after wave of orgasm.
Before she’d completely come down from her high, he moved and wedged between her thighs. Mason thrust into her in one solid stroke. Half his considerable shaft entered her, making her cry out again, lengthening her orgasm. Mason pulled back, his cock now coated with her cream, and lunging into her again—this time finding home.
Mason groaned and paused within her, burying his face in her hair. “You feel better than I ever imagined.”
Her pussy contracted around his thick cock as she worked to grow accustomed to his girth. Once she was more comfortable, her hips bucked, silently prodding him to start the dance between them. Mason straightened his arms and hovered over her, his gaze locking with hers.
“I’ve wanted this so long,” he whispered. “You feel so good wrapped around me.”
Cassie could barely speak. She nodded her head and whispered, “I need more.”
Mason chuckled and gave a tiny thrust with his hips. “Just what I need—an insatiable woman.”
“Is that bad?”
He smiled wickedly. “No.” Mason moved his hips to punctuate his point.
Cassie laughed, mindless with want. “Then satisfy me.”
“I plan to.” Mason smiled crookedly and began to move in short, slow thrusts.
His cock felt incredible stretching her as he filled her over and over again. Within a few moments, his shorter thrusts turned into longer, languid ones. Mason was ever watchful, his gaze never leaving her face as he rolled his hips. He responded to her moans and pants, seeming to give her more of every stroke she loved. Once he settled into a rhythm, he lowered his upper body against her breasts and kissed her madly, stealing the very air from her lungs.
They thrashed together on the bed, seeking absolution in one another’s arms. Cassie met his body with each downward stroke, reveling in the sound of their bodies meeting. Mason’s control seemed to snap and the tempo of their lovemaking sped faster and faster. He continued to feast on her lips, greedily stealing every moan and whimper that came from her and giving her nothing but pleasure with every stroke, caress, and squeeze.
Her desire built, the fire within her stoked ever higher. Cassie knew her release would soon be upon her. Every nerve ending was sizzling, crackling within her.
Cassie looked into Mason’s eyes when he pulled away for a moment. Their gazes locked and she felt a wave of emotion crashing into her. This man, her hero, her best friend, they were sharing a new secret—one of the flesh.
She cried out as her orgasm took her over the e
dge and into the abyss. Holding on to him, she gripped him tight, as if she’d be lost if not tied to him. Her pussy clenched tightly around his cock as each surge of her release broke inside her. Mason’s body tightened against her, his thrusts becoming wild. She knew he was following her into the void and when he stiffened, she felt the heat of his seed filling the condom within her. His groan of pleasure rumbled through her body, and she smiled, knowing he’d found satisfaction in her arms.
Sex had never been like this before. One time with Mason had erased all the awkward attempts of her past. Now she understood why some women were so sex crazed. If they experienced anything like she just did, she could easily become addicted.
When the haze cleared Mason stared down at Cassie, and moved a few strands of hair back away from her face. A satisfied smile twisted his lips before he leaned in to gently kiss her. “Thank you,” he whispered against her lips. “You were amazing.”
Thank me? “I think I should be the one doing the thanking. That was incredible.”
Mason chuckled and slowly exited her pussy, holding the condom in place. He crawled out of bed and left her to go to the bathroom. The distance was too much. She longed for him to hold her in his arms once more. Cassie lay there silently, unsure of what was expected of her. They’d never traveled this road. Did she get up, stay in the bed, what?
There couldn’t be any awkwardness. Not now, when their friendship hung in the balance.
He came out seconds later, a cloth in hand. Mason sat on the side of the bed beside her and put the warm washcloth to her brow and wiped away the sweat that lingered there. Their eyes met and her chest tightened. The softness in his gaze made her relax. She was exactly where she was supposed to be. Once her face was cleaned, he lowered the cloth lower and gently eased it along her pussy, soothing her abraded skin.
The consideration was as foreign to her as the desire she felt. Cassie wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, but she could sure get used to it. Yet she couldn’t. Mason was leaving her in two days. He’d be in harm’s way when he left, and there was no guarantee he’d come back to her. “We’ve wasted so much time already.”
Mason smiled up at her before growing serious. “We’ve got the rest of tonight and tomorrow. I don’t want to think about going. I just want to spend my last days here in your arms. If you’ll have me.”
Cassie pulled him into bed and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him. “This is exactly where I want to be.”
Chapter Five
Mason heard the call over the airport loudspeaker, announcing they were boarding his flight. He wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet. Cassie sat beside him, nestled in the crook of his arm. She’d been right. They had wasted too much time. They’d spent the last day or so in bed, exploring one another’s bodies. She was everything he could want in a lover and more. Cassie had let him sample every inch of her and he was still hungry for more. How Dave could’ve cheated on her, he didn’t know, but he did know the man was crazy.
But Dave’s stupidity was his gain. She’d felt so right in his arms and he knew that fate had brought them together, which only made his departure all the harder.
A year’s wait before he could touch or taste her again was a sin.
Now he had her to come home to. It would make the long months and lonely nights that much easier to handle. He would write her, call her, and make sure she was taken care of in his absence.
Fear struck him. A year was a long time. What if she changed her mind and moved on? No. Cassie wouldn’t do that to him, but they didn’t have anything tying them together. They’d made no promises to one another. And he couldn’t ask her to wait. He would just have to hope she did.
“Was that your flight they just called?” she asked in a small voice. She’d been so quiet this morning. Her pale face looked up at him and he saw the dark smudges under her eyes. Cassie was exhausted, as was he. They’d not slept much the last two days.
“Yeah, sweets, it was,” he answered.
She pulled away from him and stood, her small frame somehow appearing even smaller as she hugged herself, waiting for him to rise. He saw the sadness in her eyes as she looked up at him. He understood it. It was the same emotion tightening his chest now.
Cassie made a little sound and then hugged him ferociously, with more might than he’d expected from her small body. He drew her closer, an ache forming in his chest.
He leaned down to steal a kiss, tasting her lips for the last time before his deployment. Hopefully it wouldn’t be the last kiss they’d share. The embrace went on forever, until the final boarding call was announced.
Cassie stepped back a little, tears glistening in her eyes. “You come back to me. Do you hear me?”
Mason grinned, though he was fighting back the tide of emotion he’d not expected to feel. Of course he’d known he’d miss her, but not like this. He leaned down and grabbed his duffel, flinging it over his shoulder. “Yes, ma’am. Like any good soldier, I can follow orders.”
He saluted her and leaned in for one final kiss before spinning on his heel and stalking toward check-in. Those last steps were the hardest he’d ever walked.
* * * *
Cassie walked into her apartment and closed the door. She fell back against it and dropped her purse and her keys on the floor beside her feet. Slowly, she slid down the door to the floor. And then the tears finally came.
She already missed him. He’d been gone for less than an hour and she was overwrought. How was she supposed to make it a year without him?
Forever independent, she would survive. She knew how to take care of herself, but there was something he gave her no one else did. Mason listened to her stories. He cared about her and the things that mattered to her. He was the most considerate man she’d ever met.
In that moment, she realized he was her other half. When he’d left, there was a hole inside her that wouldn’t be filled by anything but his return.
She would manage. Days would pass and she would survive. She would look forward to the weekly calls he’d promised and it would be enough. It would have to be. How military wives did this time and time again, she didn’t know. She had a newfound respect for the families who had to say goodbye to their spouses and parents, not knowing what would come next.
Cassie rubbed her face with both hands and tried not to think negatively. He would return to her.
A knock on the door made her jump and she climbed up from the floor, dusting her bottom off. Looking through the peephole and saw… flowers?
She opened the door and noted the idling delivery van in the driveway.
“You Cassie Summers?” a voice sounded from behind a bouquet of what had to be at least three dozen red roses.
“I am,” she answered, holding her hands out to take the arrangement. She carefully navigated into the kitchen and lowered the vase down to the counter. Stepping back, she frowned, wondering who they were from. Before she could check the card, she heard a cough from the door.
Cassie returned, signed for the delivery, and fished a couple of bucks out of her purse for the driver. As soon as she shut the door, she walked back to the beautiful display and searched for the card.
Buried deep inside, she found it.
I miss you already. I love you. –Mason
Cassie pulled the card tightly to her chest as more tears threatened the backs of her eyes. She held on and didn’t let any fall. For him, she needed to be stronger. She would make it through and be waiting with open arms when he came home.
Chapter Six
Nearly a year later…
“I can’t believe it’s almost been a year already,” Ashley twittered as she dumped a big mound of potato salad on her paper plate. They stood inside one of the park shelters before a table laden with more food than everyone assembled could eat. “Another month and Mason will be home. Are you excited?”
Cassie nodded, not wanting to say much. There was no way she was jinxing his return, so she’d decided not to
talk much. Mason had missed his normal Sunday call and it had her anxious—so anxious, she almost reneged on coming to their friends’ Fourth of July party. How was she supposed to eat, drink, and be merry when her stomach was tied in knots?
Why hadn’t he called? Those phone calls were her comfort—the lifeline she needed to know he was well.
“The fireworks are supposed to be even bigger this year, from what I hear,” Ashley droned on, adding a pile of coleslaw next to the potato salad. She handed Cassie the handle, but Cassie shook her head. Ashley looked down at Cassie’s near empty plate and frowned. “Why aren’t you eating? It’s a celebration. We’ve got tons of food. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got something on your stomach before you have a beer or two.”
Cassie took a deep breath, not wanting to be asked why she was so unnerved. Better to eat something to appease everyone and not draw unwanted attention. She took the spoon out of the potato salad and plopped a small mound onto her plate. “I’m eating. Okay?”
Ashley stared at Cassie a moment, her eyes narrowing. “Everything alright?”
“I’m fine,” Cassie added, reaching over and snatching a couple of Deviled eggs. “Everything is A-Okay.”
Ashley stared another few moments before appearing to leave well enough alone. “The sun’s getting lower. Fireworks start at nine. I feel like a big kid every time I see them.”
Cassie absentmindedly added food to her plate, things she knew she’d never eat. But it would look good and she’d nibble here and there, waiting for the night to be over. Following Ashley to one of the picnic tables occupied by their friends, Cassie settled down in the center and closed her eyes as a cool breeze drifted off the lake. After the intense heat of the day, the wind felt refreshing.
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