Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)
Page 113
âYou didnât like Chicago then?â Mason finally asked.
âNo, I love Chicago. I neededâ¦a break.â
She wasnât going to tell him all about her heart. She wanted to, but that would be too much. They barely knew each other really. And he was still maybe a little mad, or at least suspicious. He didnât need her dumping on him or sounding like a freak, as she knew she often did when it came to her heart stuff. She smiled. She and Mason had a lot in common. They were bothâ¦quirky.
âI had a really high-paced, high-stress job and I wanted a change. I knew the travel and strange routines were not good for me. When the chance came up to move to a small, quiet, slow-paced place like this, I jumped.â She sighed. âAnd I love it here. There are no sales quotas and high-pressure meetings. Thereâs no politics, no hidden agendas. I sleep in. I eat food out of my own garden. I kick back. Iâm healthier than Iâve ever been.â
âYou like Sapphire Falls better than Chicago?â He sounded completely disbelieving.
She understood. Three years ago, she wouldnât have believed it either. But she knew exactly what it was that made her love the small town.
âI was popular,â she said. âI was on the inside. I was that girl, seemed to have a lot of friends. But people were always putting on an act. I went to parties and had money but didnât really ever have fun because I couldnât fully relax. I was always first in everything and always came out on top, but I never felt satisfied.â
And all of it had almost killed her.
âSo I gave it all up and came to a place as opposite from all of that as I could find.â
âThatâs an understatement,â Mason muttered.
She shook her head. As much as she wanted everyone to genuinely like him, she also wanted him to like Sapphire Falls. Because she loved it.
âDid you know that Steve raises extra-sweet corn so that he can supply all the little old ladies at church all summer? And Mrs. Langston feeds stray cats? And Phoebe works after school teaching some of the adults Spanish? And Drew voluntarily drives the snowplow in town because heâs got insomnia and is the first person awake?â She stopped and took a deep breath. âI could go on.â
âI didnât know any of those things,â Mason admitted.
âAre you surprised?â She truly wanted to know.
Mason paused and then said, âNot really, I guess.â
âThese are good people who let me be who I am,â Adrianne said. âI would never judge any of them because theyâre way better than me. Iâm glad they let me be a part of this town.â
They were quiet for nearly two minutes. âYou donât miss the city at all then?â Mason asked.
She could honestly shake her head. âExcept for the shopping, no.â
âYou ever come for a weekend shopping spree?â
She looked over at him. Was he hinting at something? âI havenât for a long time. But I think Iâd like to.â She paused and waited. Then she chuckled. âI donât know if itâs the dork thing again or what, but now would be a great time to say we could go to Picadillyâs if I come to town. And so you know, Iâd say yes.â
âDamn.â
She sat up. âDamn?â
âYeah, Iâ¦â He started patting his pockets. âSomethingâ¦I need to take some notes.â
Memories from the farmâit seemed like a week agoâhit her all at once and she had to catch her breath and clear her throat. âOh, okay.â
She leaned over to search her purse for a pen as Mason pulled one from his pants pocket along with a little notebook.
Darn it anyway.
No, she wasnât going to lose out to him being better prepared this time. She wanted him. She wanted him to know itâand to do something about it.
âYou know, Iâd love to be a part of saving the world. I want to do my part.â She stretched back as he turned toward her.
âWhat do youââ
She slid her legs out straight, inched up the hem of her shorts and stretched her arms overhead. âPlenty of note-taking surface. If you need it.â
It was the most bizarre seduction/flirtation/whatever that sheâd ever been a part of, but it fit. And it seemed to be working. Masonâs gaze flared with heat and he licked his lips as he took in all of the bare skin she was offering.
âBelieve it or not, I almost never get stuck like I have been for the past few weeks, and ideas donât generally jump out at me in the midst of other normal conversations,â he said.
âHow do your ideas usually come to you?â
âWhile working in the lab, or as a tangent from something else Iâm doing, or when Iâm brainstorming with Lauren or the team.â
âNever out of the blue?â
âRarely. Maybe if Iâm alone, reading something or on a run, but never when Iâm doing something else. I promise you that I was focused on you and what we were talking about.â
She rolled to her side and reached out a hand, laying it on his arm. âWe were telling dumb jokes and chatting. Iâm not offended.â
âBut I was focused on you. Completely. Like I was at the farm. These ideasâ¦itâs likeâ¦â
She raised an eyebrow and waited.
He sighed. âItâs like you shake something loose for me.â
She laughed. âThat doesnât sound complimentary, but if it means that itâs helping you then Iâm good with it.â
He shook his head, smiling ruefully. âItâs a good thing. But itâs not veryâ¦romantic.â
âYouâre trying to be romantic with me?â Sure, theyâd kissedâalmost a hell of a lot more than thatâbut romantic made it sound more serious.
âIâm not that good at it,â he admitted.
She scooted closer. âThatâs not what I meant. Mason, Iâ¦â Want to take my clothes off every time I see you. That would certainly reassure him that he was good at something.
âWeâre off script here so Iâm not sure whatâs next.â
She didnât know what that meant, but he did look a little confused. âOff script?â she asked.
âThings are usually very predictable with me. Iâm usually in control, smooth, sure of what the next step is, but with you itâs all beenâcrazy, off the charts, erratic.â
She could tell that bothered him, but she really liked it.
âEven getting mad at you last night was new for me, unusual. I donât want to be usedââ
âOh, Mason, Iâm sorryââ
âNo. I mean, the reason I was mad was legit, but I donât get upset with the women I date. I donât usually care that much, I guess. If we donât agree on something, we finish dinner and donât get together again. I only get upset about work.â
She could tell that meant something. Her heart skipped and she decided to give him some assurance.
âMason, every time weâre together, I find myself smiling more and wanting to get naked more than I have in a really, really, really long time with a guy. Nothing else matters. I can tell you what the next step is, but if you roll over here, Iâll show you. Which will be way more fun.â
He gave an aroused groan. âIâm already having more fun than I can remember.â
Oh, she really liked that.
âSo come here.â
He did. He turned and stretched out beside her, bracing himself on his left elbow, pen poised in his right hand. âI need to take some notes, before I forget.â
âIâm guessing you havenât forgotten something inâ¦ever,â she said with a smile.
âI havenât been distracted
by you before.â
He smiled too, but his eyes held a heat that made her tingle.
âThen you better start writing.â She inched the bottom of her shirt up to the bottom of her bra. âBecause Iâd like to get even more distracting. Soon.â
He took a shaky breath. Then the only sound in the room was the click of his pen. The tip touched the skin over her ribs and she felt her stomach quiver. He seemed intent on his task, but she noticed that he was definitely breathing faster. She felt like she was holding her breath and her heart thundered, but she didnât feel the panicky tightness she usually got when that happened. This felt good.
He wrote notes across her stomach from left ribcage to right about an inch below the underwire of her bra. Then he started again, left to right above her belly button. Then below it.
He cleared his throat and finally looked up at her. âI need a little more room.â
Without a word, still holding his gaze, she lifted her hips. Watching her face, he popped the snap at the top of her shorts, lowered the zipper and then sat up slightly to hook a finger in the waistband on both sides and slide the shorts down to mid-thigh.
Her panties dipped low in front, giving him a few more inches of skin, and his attention dropped from her face to the black silk. He traced the top edge of the panties with the pad of his index finger.
Then he chuckled.
She felt herself smile, though she had no idea why. âThought of another joke?â
His finger kept moving between the elastic edge and her skin and she felt her entire body growing warmer from that one touch.
âI was thinking of all the books, all the researchingâ¦and itâs all deserting me at the moment. I canât think of a single thing right now except that I want to touch you all over.â
She moved her legs restlessly. âTouching me all over sounds like a great plan. No offense, Mason, but Iâm caring a little less about your plant research projects right at the moment.â
He chuckled again and dipped his finger deeper, skimming lightly over her soft curls. âNot plant research, Adrianne. You. Women. Sex.â
The word sex from him made her stomach flip. Which was stupid. It seemed rather obvious that they were heading in that direction, but that confirmation made her want it.
âWhat do you mean? Youâve been researching women?â
âOf course.â He gave her a grin. âStudying and analyzing is my natural reaction to things that fascinate me that I donât fully understand. Women and female sexuality certainly fall into that category.â
It was funny. Heâd been a nerd in high school by all counts, but that grin and the matter-of-fact statement about studying women and sex were full of confidence.
âHow do you study female sexuality?â she asked, eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to herâhow many women had Mason Riley been with since leaving Sapphire Falls?
âLike I study everything elseâbooks, observation, interviews. Experiments.â
Her eyes widened. âYouâre kidding, right?â
âIâve used all of those methods.â
He had to be kidding. âHow?â
âThere are hundreds of books written on the subject. One I like in particular is Lou Pagetâs How to Give Her Absolute Pleasure.â
Adrianne didnât know who Lou Paget was or how he knew all about absolute pleasure, but Mason didnât seem to be kidding.
âAnd the observation? Are we talking porn here?â
He grinned. âSome of that. But the mechanics of sex arenât hard to understand. Itâs the flirting and seduction that I needed to understand. So I observed men and women interacting in bars, restaurants, the office, anywhere I could to figure out what worked, what didnât, what made women respond, how to tell if she was responding.â
âHow do you tell?â
âWith you, itâs your mouth.â
Her lips tingled and she pressed them together.
âLike that,â he said. âWhen youâre aroused, you press them together, you lick them.â
She did then without thinking.
He chuckled. âDrives me crazy. Then there are the other signs tooâyou breathe faster, your pupils dilate, your cheeks get a little pink.â
âI didnât realize I was giving so much away,â she said softly.
âItâs natural. I see the effect I have on you and it makes me want to do even more.â
She swallowed. âOh?â
âAs nature intended.â
Right. Scientist. Nothing magical or specialâjust pheromones and the like.
His finger was still in the waistband of her panties, but it wasnât moving. She tipped her head. âWhat about the interviews?â
âIâve talked to dozens of women about what they like, what they want from menâ¦â
âAre they naked while you do this?â
He raised an eyebrow and she was sure he noticed the jealous note in her voice, but he didnât comment on it.
âNot usually,â he said. âOften they were fully dressed and drinking coffee.â
âYou bought random women coffee and asked them about sex?â
âI knew all of these women in some capacity and had reason to believe they would be comfortable talking with me. Youâd be surprisedâwomen love to have a man who will listen to them and wants to know what they want. Sometimes it was a planned meeting, sometimes it was casual conversation.â
She wouldnât be surprised. He had a point. Most women wouldnât likely have that conversation with a total stranger, but if they got to know Mason she could see them being willing to spill. He was a researcher. She could imagine the sincere, intent way heâd look at them, the straightforward way heâd ask the questions.
âAnd then of courseâ¦the experimentation?â she asked.
âWellâ¦â He trailed off with a wicked grin.
She rolled her eyes but found while the jealousy was still there, she was curious what heâd learned.
âSo this is all very academic for you.â
He leaned in and moved his finger along her tummy again. âItâs also very fun.â
She recalled what heâd said earlier. âBut this feels different with me?â
âI canât remember anything specifically from the books,â he admitted. âI want to look at you and feel you and taste you. And do whatever it takes to make you moan. Period.â
Right after she sucked in a quick breath as heat poured over her, she laughed. He really seemed at a loss. âYou donât have to use special techniques, Mason.â
âIâm not good without a plan,â he said.
âIâll give you a plan,â she said. âPut your mouth on me.â
His eyes darkened and his voice dropped to a husky tone. âWhere?â
âAnywhere.â She meant it. She was more turned on from this crazy conversation than she ever had been. He couldnât do it wrong, she was sure of it.
âIâm not giving any money to that damned building project.â
âOkay.â
âYou still want me? This?â
âMore than anything Iâve ever wanted in my life.â
And without anything more than a simple nod, he lowered his head and kissed her stomach, then kissed her again, adding a little lick of his tongue. She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes sliding closed. Yep, sheâd been rightâhe couldnât do this wrong.
âNow the plan is to keep doing that. All over. Wherever you want.â
He chuckled, his mouth still against her stomach. âI feel much better now.â
They were both on their way to feeling really damn good, but s
he couldnât tell him that because heâd wiggled her shorts down and off her legs before she could form a syllable.
When heâd tossed them away, he crawled up, sliding his body along hers until they were face-to-face. âThis is somewhere I really love to put my mouth.â
And he kissed her. It was a slow meeting of their lips, a lift, a change in angle and a reapplication of the sweet pressure. At first. Until he parted his lips over hers and she willingly opened. The kiss grew longer, hotter, wetter, and he stroked his tongue in along hers.
She couldnât keep her hands to herself. She ran her palms up and down his back before gripping his butt and pulling him closer. He pressed against her, but it was more against her hip than where she really needed him. She wiggled against him, turning toward him and lifting her leg to drape over his hip.
The position spread her thighs and Mason, being a genius and all, took advantage of that. He smoothed one hand down her side, stopping to rub the center of his palm over the rock-hard tip of her breast before running it over her ribs, waist and hip. Finally, he cupped her butt, pressed her a little closer and slid his middle finger under the curve of her buttock and along the edge of her panties.
âMason,â she groaned when he didnât continue on. âKeep going.â
âI thought the plan was to put my mouth wherever I wanted,â he said gruffly.
Oh, yeah. âRight. Have to stick with the plan,â she said quickly.
He laughedâshe loved that deep rumble in his chestâand he lifted his head. âSome techniques are coming back to me.â
âThere areâ¦techniques to this?â
âThere are techniques to everything. But the important part is making sure that itâs working for you. They donât all work for every woman you know.â
No, she didnât really know. She and her girlfriends had never spent a lot of time talking about which oral sex techniques they each preferred. âIâll take your word for it.â
âSo I really want you to let me know how things are going. I like to play with cause and effect.â
There was that cocky-in-spite-of-being-a-science-geek grin again. âIâll let you know,â she said dryly.