Charmed: A Prescott Novel (The Prescott Series Book 3)

by Joanne Schwehm

  Instinctively, I wrapped my hands around his thick wrists, holding him—and anchoring myself. Once he broke our connection, I nodded.

  “Yes, I promise.”

  “Can you promise me one more thing?”

  “I can try.”

  “If you ever need me, you’ll call. There’s so much I want to say to you, but that wouldn’t be fair of me. Even though I know your family doesn’t like Scott, I know you do. But if he ever hurts you or does something to make you sad, please know that I’m a phone call away. You can come and visit me; we can go to the beach or hang out. Whatever you need, I’ll be there for you. You’re a special woman, Gretchen Prescott. I knew it the first day I met you. If having you for a friend is the only way I can have you, then I’ll be the best friend you’ll ever have.”

  As he spoke the words, my heart filled and my eyes stung. But the way he looked at me warmed me to my bones. It wasn’t a look of pity or even concern; it was the look of someone who cared—a look I’d hadn’t seen in Scott’s eyes for a long time.

  “That will be the easiest promise I ever had to make. But I do have one condition.”

  He smiled brightly. “Let me hear it.”

  “That you’ll allow me to be that friend to you too. I know you have Lucy, but if you ever need me, you’ll pick up the phone and call me, text me, or send me an e-mail. Can you promise me that?”

  He extended his arm and held his hand out to me. Once I placed mine in his, he brought my hand to his lips. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  * * *

  After saying good-bye to my brothers and texting the rest of my family to wish them a happy New Year, Sophie and I headed to my place where we were going to have a girls’ night. I told her she could have stayed with Mr. McHottie if she wanted to, but she didn’t.

  Now back in my apartment, we changed clothes and made ourselves comfortable. Both with a glass of wine in hand, our legs tucked under us, we sat on the sofa and her inquisition started. Neither of us needed any more to drink, but we wanted to keep our buzz going. A headache in the morning was inevitable, so we might as well make it worth it.

  Sophie gave me a knowing look. “Spill it, sister, and don’t tell me there’s nothing going on between you and Mason. And how in the hell did you keep him a secret from me, and why? That alone tells me there’s something there. As your best friend, I’m offended.” She tossed her head back and huffed.

  I sat there with a gaping mouth and stared at her. After a few beats of silence, she started laughing. She swatted my knee with her free hand and took a sip of her wine.

  “I’m kidding, Gretch, but shit, the guy is hotter than a summer day in Florida. How is it that I didn’t know about him?”

  “There isn’t much to tell,” I said, and her brows rose as she tilted her head. “Honestly, he’s a close friend of Lucy’s. I met him at a baseball game when Drake was trying to score brownie points with her, back when she was his girlfriend. Mason is a great guy and, I don’t know, we clicked.”

  “Clicked? No, clicking is the sound stilettos make on a marble floor. What you two have isn’t clicking, it’s more like thunder cracking. Do you see the way he looks at you?”

  “We’re just friends. Not to mention the fact that he lives in California, and more importantly, I have a boyfriend.”

  “Hmm. Yeah, about dickhead, did he call you at midnight like a doting boyfriend would do?”

  “Actually, I called him.” I decided setting my wineglass down wasn’t a good choice. If I was going to tell Sophie about the call, I was going to need more liquid courage. Maybe we should do shots.

  “What happened? Did you talk to him, or wasn’t he there?”

  “Oh no, he was there. A woman answered his phone. He said he was at a party and she picked it up.”

  Sophie huffed out a ragged breath. “Why don’t I think you believe that story?”

  I shrugged. “She called him babe. It seemed weird to me.”

  “Weird? That seemed weird to you?” She raked her tongue over her teeth. “If that asshole is cheating on you, I’ll punch him in the nuts so hard, he’ll have a vagina by the time I’m done with him.”

  “Seriously, Soph? I don’t think he’s cheating.”

  In the back of my mind, I knew it was a possibility, but I didn’t think he’d do that to me or to us. Would he? No, I couldn’t believe that. My head started to spin.

  “Think what you want,” Sophie said, “but I hope you didn’t pass up on having an even better time with Mason tonight for a lying, no-good, possibly cheating absentee boyfriend.”

  “Yes, Scott isn’t here, but he’s working. His career means a lot to him, and it’s important for him to be in Michigan.” I exhaled in an attempt to collect my jumbled feelings. “And as far as Mason goes, like I said, we’re just friends.”

  “Then explain the midnight exchange you two had. Don’t think I didn’t see you both. Even your brothers saw you. Josh had a shit-eating grin on his face, and once Jack was done terrorizing a chick’s lips, he noticed you guys too. Both of them said you two belonged together.” She shifted on the sofa. “Gretch, that was the hottest non-kiss I’ve ever seen. Plus, your brothers must like him, because neither of them attempted to put a stop to it.”

  All I could do was stare at her. They were watching us?

  “He was wishing me a happy New Year and told me if I ever needed him, he’d be there for me. That’s all it was. I told you, we’re just—”

  “Friends, yes. I know.”

  CHAPTER 6

  ~ Mason ~

  The way Gretchen’s skin felt in my hands was like holding on to a cloud. I knew I was touching her, but it was a bit surreal. My entire body screamed at me to kiss her the way I wanted to, the way she deserved, but she was taken and I couldn’t do it.

  Once the plane touched down at LAX, I exhaled in relief. There was something about being almost three thousand miles away from temptation that helped me resist my urge to break every rule in the don’t fuck with someone else’s girlfriend rule book.

  My apartment was small, but it was home. Definitely decorated by a man with the black, gray, and white decor, it screamed bachelor. I kicked off my Adidas sneaks and headed for the kitchen to grab a beer.

  I flopped on the couch and took a long sip of my beer as I flipped through the channels, trying to find something appealing to watch. When nothing worked, I decided on a Bond movie that I’d seen ten times, but it filled my quiet apartment and distracted me from my own thoughts.

  * * *

  After a couple of days of wondering what to do about my growing feelings for Gretchen and not being able to talk to Lucy for guidance, I decided to push it to the back of my mind.

  Since school was still on holiday break, I headed for the gym to get in a workout. Going at six a.m. left me time to get in a run on the beach as my cooldown. As soon as I walked out of the locker room, I noticed a good friend of mine was working with weights.

  “Hey, do you want a spotter?” I looked down at Amber’s perfectly toned body lying on the bench as she reached up for the barbell.

  “Hello, stranger. I’m glad you’re back. And yes, a spotter would be great.” She smiled, adjusted the tightness of her gloves around her wrists, and reached for the bar.

  “You do realize you shouldn’t work out alone, right?” Muscleheads were in the room, but they were too concerned with how they looked in the mirror with each lift.

  Amber’s arms, stomach, and chest flexed with each press. Her body was perfectly formed. Although she was muscular, she was soft in all the right spots. This I knew firsthand.

  She grunted with her lift. “Yes, thank you. I do know that, but my workout partner bailed on me.” After her last rep, she set the bar to rest and sat up, careful not to hit her head.

  I handed over her bottle of water. “Now I’m back, so no more excuses.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I’m the one who makes excuses.” After she finished wiping off the bench, she turned to
look at me. “How was Virginia?”

  “The wedding was beautiful. Lucy and Drake are a great couple.” I added fifty-pound plates to each side of the bar before straddling the bench. I lay back, put my hands on the bar, and started lifting.

  Amber stood behind me and smiled. “They sound like it. How was his sister?”

  She knew about Gretchen; I’d confided in Amber one night over drinks about how I was attracted to Gretchen but she wasn’t available.

  I set the bar down after only a few reps and sat up. “She’s fine.”

  “Fine? She’s fine?” Amber shook her head. “I know we’ve only been hanging out a few months, but really, since when do you use fine to describe Gretchen?”

  Amber was about six inches shorter than me, but her hands on her hips told me she was serious. It almost made me chuckle, but I knew that would get me a flick of her towel that rested around her neck.

  “What do you want me to say? Gretch is my friend; that’s it.”

  “Friends like us?”

  We headed toward the Nautilus machines, passing other gym members who were running on the treadmills, rowing, or working out on other equipment.

  “No, not like us. I haven’t slept with her. You’re my only friend with benefits.”

  Amber smiled as she sat at the leg press. “And you’re mine, but remember our deal. If either one of us finds that special person, the benefits are over.”

  Amber and I had made a pact after the first time we had sex. We wouldn’t let our friendly fuck sessions stand in the way of something real. So far it had been great, since neither of us had found that person yet.

  Our arrangement was much easier than a relationship. No strings meant no stress, and who needed stress? The difference was, with Gretchen any stress would be welcome if it meant we’d be together.

  Amber and I worked out for over an hour and decided to go back to my place. After all this talk of sex with no strings attached, I was hornier than the teenagers I used to teach math to in Virginia.

  Having Amber in my apartment wasn’t anything new, and that went for the shower as well. I turned on the faucet, then turned to her. She peeled off her spandex shorts, sports bra, and pulled out the band holding her ponytail in place. Her light brown hair fell over her shoulders, just above the swell of her breasts.

  Tugging her toward me forced her to land in my arms. “You look good.”

  She laughed and swatted my chest. “I’m all sweaty.”

  A low growl worked its way up my throat. “I like when you’re all sweaty.”

  My mouth crashed down on hers in a hot, searing kiss. She easily opened up to me as our tongues explored each other’s mouths. She reached behind me and slid the shower door to the side so we could step in, but before I did, I snatched the condom that was on the vanity and set it on the side of the tub.

  Hot water bounced off my back as I moved her to the tile wall. Once she was flush against it, I grabbed the soap, lathered my hands, and started to wash her. I began at her neck, slowly bringing my hands over her shoulders and down her arms until I massaged her hands, not neglecting her fingers.

  Amber moaned as I worked my way back up to her breasts. I stood to the side and let the water rinse off the suds before I bent down to lick and flick each of her hardened nipples. My dick was as hard as steel. Her body reacted to each move I made.

  “Turn around,” I commanded, and she obeyed. Once her back was facing me, I began to work on her ass. The woman lived to do squats, and it paid off. “I’m going to take you from behind, Amber.”

  She nodded. After I sheathed myself, I ran my thumb down her spine until I got to where I wanted to be.

  “Spread your legs.” Once I had a bit more access, I continued the path I was on—down her ass until I got to the soft, tender spot I needed between her legs. “You’re so ready for me.”

  When I slid my finger inside her, she bucked her hips back onto my hand. Having been with her numerous times before, I knew what she craved. After I added two more fingers, she began to ride my hand.

  “Jesus, Mason.” The moan she let out next as she tensed around my fingers gave me the green light.

  With a hand on either side of her hips, I lifted her a bit. There was no way I could go slow, so in one fell swoop, I was inside her.

  “Fuck, Amber. Fuck.” My words sounded like primal grunts, and my muscles tensed with each thrust. “You feel so good.”

  God, I needed her today. Thoughts of Gretchen had plagued me recently.

  Wait, that wasn’t quite true. Thoughts of her had plagued me since the day I first saw her face, heard her voice, and touched her skin. Amber might be with me physically, but Gretchen was in my soul.

  Amber’s moan captured my attention. Her right hand splayed against the tile wall while her left reached behind me and grabbed my ass. “Harder, Mason. I need it harder.” Her words came in pants, her breath was so shallow.

  Tasting her shoulder, licking the droplets of water, spurred me to pick up my pace until I felt her shudder around me. I held on to her tighter as I reached my own climax. Sex with Amber was exactly that—sex. We both knew it and were fine with it.

  Afterward, we cleaned up, dried off, and tossed clothes on, which for Amber meant a pair of yoga pants she had left here and one of my UCLA T-shirts. She knotted the hem of my shirt to shorten it. We sat on the couch, drinking water I’d grabbed from the fridge on the way to the living room.

  “So, who were you with in the shower?” She brought the bottle to her mouth and took a sip.

  Despite her smile, my heart sank and I felt like a dick.

  “It’s fine, Mason.” She put her hand on my knee.

  “Amber, it wasn’t like that.”

  Her eyebrows rose, questioning my last statement. I took a long swig of water before setting the bottle on the coffee table.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to think about her, but it was you I was with. Honest.” I let out a long breath. “I can’t get her out of my head. I’m worried about her.”

  She nodded. “You should talk to her and tell her how you feel. Did you ever think she’d feel the same way about you? You’re a great catch.” After a quick smile, she added, “Granted, I don’t want you for more than your body, but I know you’re capable of more. You have a heart of gold.”

  I lifted her hand off my knee and kissed it. “What about you? You’re gorgeous, have a body that could stop traffic, and you’re a sweet person. Why are you here with me and not with someone else?”

  Amber bit her lower lip. “I did meet someone, but what happens if he turns out just like everyone else?” She shrugged. “What if once I fall for him, I get my heart broken again? Isn’t that why we started this? So we wouldn’t get hurt?” Her eyes pleaded with me to agree, and I did to an extent.

  “That is why we started this.” I ran my hand through my hair, scratching my scalp with my fingertips, trying to get the blood flowing in my veins. However enjoyable the sex was, this needed to end. “Who is this guy, anyway?” This was the first I’d heard that she was attracted to someone.

  “His name is Donny, and he works with me. He’s a great guy—successful, independent, driven, gorgeous, and kind. He’s asked me out, but I don’t know.”

  “What’s wrong with him?” I had to ask because the way she described him, if I were a chick, I’d date him.

  “Nothing. That’s the problem; he seems too good to be true. He’s a lot like you, actually.” She sighed. “The only difference is I’m attracted to him.” When she realized what she’d said, she started laughing. “You know what I mean.”

  I laughed with her. “Yes, I do. I think you should go for it.”

  “And what about you?” Amber smiled. “What are you going to do?”

  If that wasn’t the million-dollar question. I knew what, or I should say who I wanted, but I could only answer Amber one way.

  “I’m going to make sure Gretchen is happy.”

  CHAPTER 7

  ~ Gretchen
~

  The rest of the week went by without incident. Scott had called and told me he was coming home from Michigan on Friday night. His meetings were successful, and he was looking forward to seeing me.

  I was glad he was coming home. Ever since that night at Prism, I’d had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t because of anything specific; I simply felt off. All the babe comments toward me and then Manda spun around in my head like a top.

  Each conversation with Scott was tense. Maybe it was my imagination, which had run wild when that woman answered his phone. However, whenever I asked him about her, he stayed true to what he’d originally told me.

  “She’s just someone I work with.”

  “My phone was on the table.”

  “She’s just a friend.”

  There was no reason I shouldn’t believe him. Every excuse was plausible. Regardless, I was looking forward to being with him. My brothers, on the other hand, weren’t as thrilled when I said he’d be at our parents’ home for Sunday dinner.

  Growing up in a home with four older brothers didn’t make my dating life easy. No, it was quite the opposite.

  My oldest brother, Drake, was the diplomat of the family, but I attributed that to his time spent in DC. Jack was a successful businessman who’d made millions, but you wouldn’t know it. Well, aside from his fleet of Mercedes and his impeccable wardrobe, okay, I guess you’d know it. Then there was Dane, who didn’t take shit from anyone. Out of all my brothers, he was the one my boyfriends should fear as far as getting their ass kicked. Then there was Josh. He was a tattooed sweetheart, so all he said was if I was happy, my family would be happy. So, I made sure to be happy.

  After I finished designing a website for a boating company, I closed my laptop and headed home to make Scott a welcome-back dinner.

  Soon, my apartment smelled like tomatoes and basil. Chicken parmesan was in the oven, the wine was breathing, and the table looked perfect. When the doorbell rang, I quickly gave myself a onceover in the mirror in my small foyer.