Kissing Trouble

by Morgana Phoenix

  Her eyes flew open and sleep popped like a bubble against a sharp barb. Her heart gave a violent jolt that propelled her upright. She blinked at the closed door in a semi daze.

  The knock sounded again. Julie scrambled from amongst the swaddle of covers and hurried to the door. As an afterthought, she snatched up her bat where it leaned against the corner and held it firmly when wrenching open the door.

  Mason raised an eyebrow. “Do you sleep with that thing or something?”

  Snorting, Julie set the bat down in its place and pulled the door open wider. “What are you doing here?”

  He met her gaze squarely, amusement gone. “I’m sorry,” he said. “What Shaun did was inexcusable and I...”

  Julie put up a hand, stopping his flow of words. “Look, there’s only one day before you leave and I just want to get through it without any more incident. If you can keep him out of my hair for the next forty eight hours...”

  “He won’t touch you again. I swear. But,” he added quickly when she opened her mouth, “I will keep him away from you.”

  Julie gave a satisfied nod. “Thank you.” She offered him the hint of a smile. “So how come this couldn’t wait until morning?”

  His attention flicked over her shoulder and fixed on the bed, rumpled still from her failed attempts at sleep. He bit the inside of his lip.

  “Did I wake you?”

  She followed the line of his gaze and gave a sigh filled with longing. “No, I can’t sleep.” She turned back to him and caught him already watching her. “Are you going to bed?”

  “I’m not tired,” he said. “I was going to head downstairs and maybe make a bowl of something and watch a movie.”

  He was watching her now, almost expectantly, like he was waiting for her to say her line, but she didn’t know it. So she nodded, slowly.

  “Okay.”

  He chuckled. “Will you join me?”

  Julie blinked. “Oh! Uh...”

  “Luis and Shaun have gone to bed,” he said, mistaking her hesitation.

  Julie gave the bed another glance of longing. “No, that’s not...” She sighed. “Movie sounds great.”

  She shut her door and followed him down. The upstairs hall, stairs, and parts of the foyer below were lit solely by the single bulb in the upstairs bathroom. The rest of the house lay in a quiet darkness. Mason flicked the switch on in the kitchen, dousing the place with a soft, white glow that made her wince. He wandered over to the pantry and came back out with a bag of chips. He tore it open as he made his way back.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked as he set the bag down on the counter and went to a cupboard.

  Mason had his back to her while she focused on his question. He was bent at the waist, head buried in a cupboard. Julie took the opportunity to study the tight curves of his backside through the warn material of his flannel bottoms. His top had ridden up, exposing a thin strip of flesh between the hem and his waistband. Julie was momentarily distracted by the sliver of skin and the muscles bunching across the wide span of his back.

  The man definitely had an incredible ass.

  A giant purple bowl in hand, Mason pulled back and straightened. He reached around, hooked a finger in the bottom of his shirt, and tugged the material down over his waistband, depriving her of her treat. She must have made a sound of protest, because his head came up and he raised an eyebrow.

  “Nothing,” she blurted a little too quickly.

  He set the bowl down on the island and dumped the chips into it. “You sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t appear too appeased by her halfhearted remark, but he didn’t press her. Instead, he dusted his hands of invisible crumbs and reached for a six pack of Coke from the fridge. Then he motioned for her to follow him.

  They didn’t turn the TV on, which, in her opinion, defeated the purpose of watching a movie. But she didn’t questioning him as he set the bowl between them on the sofa cushion and the drinks on the coffee table.

  With an exhalation of great relief, he flopped back on one end of the sofa. He tucked one leg under him and kept the other planted firmly on the ground. One arm was thrown over the back of the sofa, the other over the armrest.

  He looked enormously relaxed.

  “Are you going to sit?”

  Seeing no other choice, Julie lowered herself down on the opposite end of the sofa and twisted her body so they were facing each other.

  “So...” She blew out a breath and darted a glance towards the TV. “What now?”

  “Now we talk.”

  Julie started. “Oh, I thought...”

  “Well, yeah,” he agreed absently. “Originally, I thought we could watch a movie, make out a little, but you look so stiff that I’m a little afraid you’ll bolt out of your skin if I touch you.”

  A brow rose on her face. “You wanted to make out?”

  “I’m a hot-blooded twenty-two year old male who has had more than one fantasy of having you under me on this sofa.”

  His blunt honesty combined with the images his statement conjured shattered the dam in her chest, filling her body with a white-hot surge of heat that tightened her nipples against the material of her top and flooded her panties with anticipation. She shifted ever so slightly to alleviate the pressure between her legs.

  He noticed.

  His eyes darkened. The air around him thickened. He carefully reached for the chip bowl and set it aside. There was nothing between them now but thick possibility.

  “Come here, Julie.”

  It wasn’t a request. There was nothing but authority in the command. There was also refusal. The refusal to take no for an answer. And Julie was powerless to deny him.

  She rose on legs too weak to support her. Her feet closed the four steps separating them and stopped when she was directly in front of him. His gaze held her captive, even when he turned in his seat and planted both feet to the ground. His hands reached for her. They anchored to her hips and she was dragged forward to stand directly before him, in the place between his feet.

  In her chest, her heart was a rampant mess crashing against her breast. The force of it was violent and louder than a storm brewing over the ocean. The reverberations of it vibrated down the length of her body and she wondered if he could feel her shaking.

  The sofa creaked, the fabric of his clothes rustled as he pushed his frame back, away from her.

  “All the way,” he instructed.

  Her heart gave a vicious crack as his implication slammed into her. Her gaze dropped from his to take in his lap. Her spit made a mortifying gulping sound going down the dry path of her throat. It sounded louder in the stillness of the room.

  Pushing aside the little voice begging her to run, Julie drew herself up, placing one hand on the back of the sofa next to his shoulder and the other on the armrest, and straddled him.

  Maybe he didn’t think she would actually do it or maybe he thought she would sit side saddle, but there was a quick flicker of surprise in his eyes before it was swallowed by the hunger.

  His fingers tightened on her hips in a very clear message: you’re not going anywhere. Julie wanted to tell him she wouldn’t even if she could, but he took that moment to push himself up higher. The gesture arched his hips. Julie was awarded with a very solid grind of his erection over the wet path of her pussy. The sheer shock alone tore a gasp from her. Slivers of fire shot through her in a shower of need. Her body collapsed forward into his and was secured by his arms. Against her breasts, his heart pounded as fiercely as hers.

  “No.” The plea was a whisper against her shoulder where his fingers were digging into her skin.

  It took Julie a moment to realize what he meant and it was only because his free hand was pressed flat against her tailbone, ceasing the slow jerks of her hips. Her crotch was flush against the bulge of his cock, like the worst torture device known to man. The feel of it snug between her pussy lips, the heat of it burning through both their clothes, the pulse of it as he fou
ght back his own desires was driving her insane.

  “No!” he said again, louder and with more insistence. “Hold still.” The command was back in his voice. His hand was steady and even his heart had slowed to a near steady patter. “I’m going to fuck you,” he announced without a shred of doubt. “But not here, not like this, and not tonight.”

  Julie didn’t know what part of that pissed her off more, being told to wait, or being teased mercilessly and then told to wait.

  She jerked back and his hands dropped to her hips. Hers were curled in his shoulders. She peered furiously into his eyes, her defiance marking a red haze over her vision.

  She tightened her knees around his hips and pushed ever so slightly forward, dragging herself up the full length of his cock. She stared unflinchingly into his eyes through every second, daring him to stop her.

  Mason stared back. The blue of his eyes were pits of black on a face dark with warning. The fingers on her hips gouged into her skin. It hurt. It was meant to. She responded by giving his cock a slow, rolling grind that had his nostrils flaring and something primal flaring across his eyes.

  She never saw it coming. Never saw him move. In a near flash of light, Julie found herself face down on the sofa. Her back was pinned by the full span of Mason’s hand, restraining her from so much as twisting her head around. The cushions on either side of her dipped as he straddled the backs of her thighs. The hand lifted only to be replaced by the weight of his chest.

  “Damn you!” he growled quietly into her ear. “What did I tell you?”

  Tasting velvet and her own churning desires, Julie could only pant into the fabric.

  Mason took her silence as acceptance as he slid one hand under her belly and between her legs. Julie struggled, not to escape, but to make room as he bypassed the elastic of her shorts, shoved aside the waistband of her panties and cupped her mound.

  Her sob was muffled in the cushion. Her eyes squeezed tight as her entire body shuddered. She parted her knees and thrust out her ass.

  His fingers pried apart her hairless lips. A growl burned into the side of her face when he located the thick pool in the center. She could tell by how easily his fingers slipped over her opening and traced the rigid bump of her clit that she was soaked.

  “Is this what you want?” he demanded, his voice no longer steady.

  Delirious and so close, Julie shook her head.

  “What then?”

  It took her a second too long to answer; he was circling her slit with a fingertip and it was taking all her resolve not to scream when he didn’t elevate the pressure.

  “I want you!” she growled at him.

  “I’m right here,” he said, inserting just the tip of a finger before pulling out.

  “I want your cock,” she blurted. “I want it inside me.”

  Against her back, his heart gave a wild kick. She heard his sharp intake of air. The hand cupped between her thighs tightened, stroking a little harder, getting just a little closer to her opening but not close enough.

  “And you will have it,” he promised. “But not tonight.”

  Just like that, he stopped. His hand tugged free of her shorts. Frustrated, feeling like she was on the verge of exploding, Julie pushed up with her arms and twisted her head around to glower at him over her shoulder.

  “What...?”

  Mason offered her a sheepish, understanding little smile. “I know, love.” He extended her his hand. “I hate stopping, too. Trust me,” he added with grimace.

  Julie ignored the hand and got to her own feet. She swayed slightly on her unsteady feet and caught herself on the armrest. Her gaze flitted down to the strain against the front of his pants.

  It was clear that he was in as much pain as she was and yet his hesitation baffled her.

  “Why?” she demanded, her voice accusing and breathless.

  His grin was aggrieved. “Would you believe I’m trying to be a gentleman?”

  Julie arched a disbelieving brow. “You had your hand in my pants only two seconds ago.”

  He stabbed an accusatory finger at her. “That was your fault. I told you to stop.”

  She threw up her hands in frustration. “You started it, giving me those smoldering looks and asking me to sit in your lap.”

  “I wanted to hold you,” he shot back. “I wasn’t expect...” He broke off and put both hands up to still the conversation. “Okay, wait.” He took in a deep breath. “I want you,” he said flatly. “I really fucking want you. But I only just got you back after four years and as much as I am literally dying over here with how badly I want to bend you over that sofa and sink deep inside you, I want ... no, I need to take this slow. I need to know the person you’ve become since we last saw each other. I need you to know the person I am.” He paused to search her face, his own pleading. “Does that make any sense?”

  Julie didn’t know what to say, but she nodded.

  He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath. “I’ll walk you upstairs.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Mason was already in the kitchen, standing over the coffee machine when Julie made her way down. He looked up with two steaming mugs in hand and grinned.

  “Morning,” he said as she accepted the drink.

  Her cheeks warmed, partially from the hot drink, partially just from the look in his eyes.

  “Morning.”

  “How did you sleep?”

  Miserably. Her body had ached and thrummed mercilessly for most of the night and, when she had finally fallen asleep, her dreams had been plagued with images of being brought to earth shattering climax over and over again by expert hands and a very skilled cock.

  “Okay,” she lied. “You?”

  He exhaled deeply. “Horribly. I kept tossing and turning all night thinking of you all alone in that bed.” His gaze was pitiless. “I had your scent on my hand and all I could think about was the sounds you make when you get really close.”

  The mug jerked in her shaky hands and scalding liquid splashed over her fingers. She didn’t notice. It was far less painful than the hard drum that had started in the junction of her thighs.

  “You said you wanted to wait,” she whispered.

  He nodded, took a sip of his drink, all the while watching her over the rim. “I do, but I didn’t think you wanted our relationship to be based on lies and half-truths.”

  Damn him!

  “That’s not fair.”

  His head tipped to the side. “Why’s that?”

  “Because you’re leaving tomorrow.”

  The thought speared her with a sadness that made her drop her gaze to the cup clasped tightly between her hands.

  “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”

  Julie peered up at him, waiting.

  “I was thinking about staying for a while.”

  Excitement sparked through her. “Really? But what about Shaun and Luis? Shouldn’t you talk to them first?”

  He shrugged. “I would let them take the truck back. I can just catch a ride with you and take a bus home later. That is ... if you want me.”

  I want you! Julie wanted to blurt, but somehow managed to restrain herself.

  “What about work?” She didn’t know why she was giving him reasons to change his mind, but they just kept coming out. “Don’t you need to get back?”

  “I own my business,” he reminded her. “I can do it from here if I really need to, all I need is a computer and a phone line.”

  “Shaun won’t like it,” she whispered.

  “I don’t care what Shaun likes.”

  Julie bit her lip. “Well, the kids will love it if you stayed,” she murmured instead.

  He set his mug aside and moved to tower over her. “What about you?”

  Julie never so much as batted an eyelash. “I would love it, too.”

  “Yeah?”

  Julie nodded.

  “Okay then.” He nipped a coil of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “That�
��s settled.”

  She didn’t say it, but it wasn’t only because she would miss him that she was relieved by his decision. It was because the idea of being alone in this place filled her with dread.

  “Mason...?” She bit her lip, restraining thoughts clamoring around in her head.

  “Yeah?”

  She hesitated for a second more before answering, “I’m just really glad you’re staying.”

  His smile was heart melting. “Me too, Jewels.”

  They took their coffees to the terrace and, after Julie had checked to make sure there weren’t any more surprises on the doors, left them open to air out the house as she joined Mason on the deck overlooking the lake. The clouds were a pearly white, but it had stopped raining. The air was crisp and moist, and felt nice against her skin.

  “Sit with me,” Mason insisted when she tried to drag a chair out.

  He had perched his long body on a lounge chair, one leg on either side, his bare feet planted on the floor. It left a stretch of space between the V of his thighs. Julie paused, not sure she was ready to be that close to him after the incident the night before. But he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  Lifting his butt up just a notch, he reached out and caught her wrist. He dragged her to him and forced her to sit. It was a miracle she didn’t spill her drink as she was drawn back into his chest. His thigh muscles felt hot wedging her between them. Part of her wished she had thought to put on pants.

  Mason’s arms tightened around her when she shivered. His breath was warm against the side of her jaw.

  “Cold?”

  Julie nodded. “A little.”

  She almost whimpered when his arms unraveled, taking their heat with them. She heard a clink as he set aside his mug and reached for something under the chair. A moment later, he had a hand knitted throw drawn out from a pouch sewn into the bottom of the chair. He shook it out and draped it over her, careful not to spill her coffee.

  Julie snuggled under it and let herself melt into the arms that returned around her.