WindSwept Narrows: #19 Lacie

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “Why do you believe I need games?” Mason followed at her side, watching her frown and chew on her lip, eyes scanning the busy beach filled with families, dogs and noise. And yet none of it was there, he realized when she found a large spot and shook out the blanket.

  “Because everyone needs something that takes their mind far from things that cause them stress, in your case, it’s work. Do you think about work when you have sex?” Lacie blinked at the way his mouth opened and then closed. She sunk to sit cross legged on the blanket and held a palm up for one of the cups, taking a long drink and waiting for him to get comfortable.

  “Have I mentioned that you’re a fascinating woman?” Mason took a cold, long drink before surfacing. “No, I do not think of work during sex.”

  “That’s a relief. It’s very probably why it acts as a very good stress reliever,” she thought with a little frown, absently pulling out a sandwich and checking the markings before handing it over to him. “Does it bother you to talk about sex?”

  “I can honestly say it’s not a general topic for most people,” Mason answered, casually looking around as he opened the sandwich and took a bite. “Myself included.”

  “But it’s a very large part of a…well, if you’re a couple, I mean, shouldn’t it be a very big part of things?” Lacie met his gaze patiently. “I’ve made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.”

  “Not so much uncomfortable as off balance, Lacie,” he set the sandwich down and leaned back on the blanket, watching her. “Yes, it should be as vital as being friends or partners or companions. Without all those things, there’s a gap that doesn’t feel right. Maybe that’s why so many couples fall apart eventually.”

  “They don’t realize what they’re missing,” she said softly, nodding and picking at her sandwich in thought. “Did you? Ever think about it, I mean.”

  “In relationships? Frankly, no. I’m not sure you take the time when you’re younger to realize all the work involved to make a relationship balanced,” he answered after a quiet pause. “Have you been thinking about it, Lacie?”

  “You haven’t exactly given me much choice on that, Mason,” she said, but her grin was teasing.

  “I won’t mention what happened last night,” he said softly, smiling when she giggled.

  “I didn’t want you to stop me,” she said with a shrug, her head up and glancing toward the music that began playing. She watched the little kids wiggling and shaking to the reggae music, her head bopping and smile bright. She tipped her face up to the sun and sighed. “I’m not sorry…and you were very patient and indulgent,” she bit her lip when he laughed, one brow arched at her. “Just so we’re clear…”

  “Wanting me to understand that behavior isn’t part of your nature?” He supplied with a grin, one finger raised and crooked, beckoning her closer until their lips touched. “I think I know that. And while it was…interesting…it isn’t part of my nature, either, Lacie. But it does add a nice dimension to the foreplay,” he swore he saw relief flood her large, expressive eyes. He urged her down on her side so they lay facing one another. “This was a good idea. Thank you.”

  Only a little doubt swam through her before she lifted her hand and touched the side of his face, her mouth on his shyly, tentatively until she felt his kiss. Felt the soft pressure he returned.

  “Sometimes I have good ideas,” she whispered against his mouth. “But something inside me says this isn’t one of them,” she moved back and sat up, lifting the cup with ice and soda and taking a long drink, working to keep the giggle inside as he straightened his jeans.

  “Yeah…” Mason pulled his shirt from his jeans and sat up, drained the soda and collected their bag of garbage. He pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the bin, continuing on to the building in the distance.

  Mason walked from the rest area, his gaze sweeping the empty blanket to the music and the kids now dancing with his lanky blonde.

  Who definitely knew how to reggae her hips. She held a small boy in her arms, swinging and laughing as they danced to the upbeat music. He saw her glance his way and worked her way out of the circle, setting the little boy on the sand and laughing as he ran to another woman who waved as she left.

  “Friends from the center,” she said breathlessly, caught by one arm against him. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah…but I’m glad we came out,” he slid his palm to hers, bending to grab a corner of the blanket and head toward her car. “Stay with me tonight, Lacie.”

  “I have to get clothes,” she said after a slight hesitation. “For work in the morning.”

  “Your place first then the resort.”

  “Do you think you have time for a relationship, Mason? How is it different than when you were younger?” Lacie drove slowly along the winding road that took them past the massive acres of new businesses around the piers and docks being refurbished.

  “I’d like to say because I’m wiser now,” he answered after a few quiet minutes of thought. “I’m smart enough to know neither of us would want to be ignored, or forgotten because of work. But I’m also smart enough to know that we both have interests that would occasionally trap our brains to the point of that sort of exclusion.”

  “It would be hard on the ego to have someone tell you that you’ve forgotten them,” she said softly. “I know how easy it is to get caught up in projects to forget the other people in your life. Phoebe and I made this little recorder thing because I’d get so caught up in stuff when I was in school, I’d just forget. I’d forget to eat, forget to sleep, forget there were people worried about me when I didn’t check in now and then. I remember to put it on when I go off…so they at least know I’m alive.”

  “Chloe showed me the website,” he said quietly. “Are you making an argument for why this is a bad idea?” He asked, aware of the tension inside him at her possible answer. Until he saw her smile and place her hand on his.

  “No. No. My friends say I have to trust myself to survive if I’m wrong. I don’t think I’m wrong, though, just a little afraid. Faith thinks you got through because you wanted inside and because of the wolf,” she pulled into a parking space and turned the car off.

  “She’s made Dominic very happy. I know he was kicking himself for a time there trying to fix what he termed a monumental jackass mistake.”

  “I didn’t know him before Faith. I suppose changing little things about yourself is part of becoming a couple. Kind of like taking a new course at college,” she said with a deep breath. “Come inside while I find clothes? Or I can meet you back at your room.”

  “I think inside would be good,” Mason stepped from the Rover and joined her at the gate. He caught her palm just inside the apartment, his back against the door when she came into his arms.

  There was no urgency in his kiss. Not yet. This time he wanted to taste her; to learn everything there was and yet he knew he’d be forever learning about Lacie. Learning, playing, enjoying every day and night with her.

  In his mind, the urgency would always be there, but in his heart he knew she wasn’t going to run from him or fight what she was feeling. His hands pressed from the rise of her behind, onto her back and onto the sides of her face, thumbs tipping and caressing as their kiss went on for several minutes.

  “Mason…this is…” She groaned softly when his mouth moved from hers. Soft, warm kisses that trailed over her jaw and onto her throat. His hands pressed against her lower back and her hips moved on their own against him. “You know where this…”

  He raised his head, one palm sliding into the pocket of his jeans and surfacing with several foil packets. He watched her eyes widen and laughed. “I uncovered a source in the resort.”

  “So…this was planned…” she backed up with a teasing smile. The chase. The game, she mused, backing up again, just out of his reach.

  “I excel at planning,” he returned, his steps forward slow and just as teasing. Her hands went to the buckle at his waist, slim fingers working it free as she continued bac
king toward the bedroom. He dropped the packets to the nightstand before tugging her tee shirt free and pulling it up over her head, holding her hands captive. “So tell me where you learned to tie knots?” He laughed at the fire that flared to life in her eyes as he tumbled her back onto the bed.

  “I…um…sailing,” she whispered finally, squirming beneath the man sitting astride her, holding her arms above her head with one hand while the other one stroked and caressed down her body. His hand slipped easily beneath her back and released the tiny snaps. “Mason…”

  “It’s my turn, Lacie,” he slid lower, letting the free palm caress and lift the scrap of lace from her breasts before trailing one finger down to her stomach, to the small indent of her naval and to the edge of her jeans, skimming it just inside the band. He saw her gulp in a breath seconds before he flipped the button free.

  “I started this…” She heard the faint whimper in her voice, her eyes closing as the sensations began warming through her in wild swirls.

  “Remember that years from now when the game is still fresh,” he whispered against her breast, drawing his tongue around the puckering small nipple and soaking up the shiver that streaked through her. He pulled more of the small mound between his teeth, biting down and watching the excitement streak through her, her slender back arched against his mouth for more.

  Lacie opened her eyes slowly when he slid to the side, watching as he finished unbuttoning his shirt and slipping it off one arm before shifting his hold on her.

  “I’m not sure I like this part,” she pouted a little, her tug tentative. She knew she could never break his hold, she could see the muscles of his arms flexing and wanted to stroke them. No, she corrected, she wanted to feel him beneath her hands, all of him.

  Mason laughed and tugged the shirt off her wrists, rolling to his back and taking her with him. “Better?”

  “Much,” she growled softly, sinking her hands into the thick hair and holding his mouth in place for a long, ravaging kiss. Her hips pressed hard against his even as his palms slid down the back of her jeans and shoved them slowly down her legs.

  His groan rippled across their lips as she wiggled to free her legs, his palms caressing over the bare expanse of soft skin, holding her body hard against him. Until she shifted, split her knees and sat up astride him. He watched the fasciation in her eyes, his breath catching as her hands stroked over the firm contour of his muscled chest, down over the flat plane of his stomach and back to his face. He felt each and every muscle demanding her touch and decided allowing Lacie Barton free reign would make his body scream with need in no time.

  “It’s amazing,” Lacie breathed a long time later. Her head was thrown back, long hair hanging off the edge of the bed, her fingers woven with another hand at her side. Both of them breathing heavily in the falling daylight outside the windows.

  “Something about making love with you is magical, Lacie Barton,” Mason murmured when he returned to the bed, stretching out beside her and staring. He wasn’t sure how a part of him that he thought long since jaded, even bordering on cynical now felt alive and necessary to his very existence.

  “Magic,” Lacie whispered reverently, rolling to her side to face him. “You don’t have magic in your life. You don’t believe in it.”

  Mason blinked and shifted to face her, leaning on his elbow and staring into the wide eyes blinking at him. “I’m pretty sure most adults don’t think of magic outside of movies or games.”

  “Is it because you get old or you just lose the ability to believe?”

  “What are you defining as magic? Maybe I need that answer first,” he said cautiously, and knew he was doomed the instant she smiled at him.

  “Magic is part of life. What can be explained so simply that it makes your tummy shake,” Lacie leaned closer, her hand sliding over his muscled flank, as far as she could reach and then back, very, very slowly. Her fingers closed around the stirring arousal, stroking, teasing and learning the growing shape of him. “Magic,” she whispered hotly against his mouth.

  Chapter Eleven

  By the time morning came, Mason was convinced in the existence of everything from fairies in the garden to mermaids out in the deep ocean. He was half watching the business news channel when she came through, dropped her pack near the door and continued to his side. He held the glass of juice out to her, accepting the softest of kisses before she leaned against the counter, hands up and expertly knotting his tie.

  “I think you’re looking exceptionally killer this morning,” she commented with a nod, taking the juice and drinking.

  “And you…look ready for the playground,” the corner of his mouth lifted when she went over and plopped on the sofa, pulling a pair of sneakers into place. She wore a knee length pair of blue jean coveralls with the bib over a bright pink tee shirt.

  “That’s ‘cause today is paint day. We’ll have hand prints everywhere by dinner time,” she told him with a bright smile.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve left hand prints in all the important places,” he teased with a wink. “But I believe I have to check later to be certain. I wouldn’t want any part of you neglected.”

  “Purely scientific, I’m sure,” she laughed. “And I’m sure you even hit some I didn’t know about,” Lacie returned with a sigh.

  “Some girl was teaching me about magic last night,” he answered, tossing a couple folders into his briefcase and snapping it closed. “I’m pretty sure she made a believer out of me,” he said with a matching sigh, his arms around her waist as they left the room. “Let me walk you down.”

  “Russell waiting for you?”

  “Off to decimate and conquer,” he said flatly.

  “Oww…it would be curious to know the why part,” Lacie put her palm on his face as they rode the elevator down. “Breathe…I’ll see you tonight, Mason,” she kissed him quickly and ran out of the elevator toward the employee door.

  It was impossible not to think of him through the day when things quieted down in the late afternoon. Daphne caught her just staring and tapped her head.

  “You’re looking a bit starry eyed.”

  “Just thinking about guys and how they manage to get into your system,” Lacie continued cleaning up her art room, catching sight of herself in the mirror. Brightly colored paints in all manner of shades now decorated her coveralls.

  “You know rumors are flying,” Daphne leaned against the window, smiling at her friend when she groaned. “Faith can’t keep a secret to save her life,” she said with a laugh.

  “It isn’t a secret,” Lacie protested. “I guess we’re dating…and stuff…”

  “It’s the stuff that puts the stars in your eyes,” Daphne told her with a chuckle. “So what has you looking puzzled?”

  “I don’t know…maybe the speed that it happened…” Lacie sighed. “Maybe the intensity. He just seems so positive.”

  “It’s that arrogance that seems innate in them,” Daphne walked with her down the corridor. “And yet they have their own insecurities. I think they just hide them better.”

  Lacie shrugged. “I’ve really never spent time wondering what I’d do when things went wrong, so I guess now isn’t the time to start. I like him. I’m glad his company moved him here.”

  Daphne frowned at that but said nothing. “Then what’s the puzzle?”

  “I don’t think it’s a real puzzle. Just me over thinking things, probably,” she admitted with a grin. “I’m out and off to explore his site. I’m going to see if I can find him on the site where the plant will be built. See you tomorrow!”

  Lacie had her pack in the Rover and was headed out of the employee parking lot when she saw the vehicle that had the hunters in it. She pulled to the side, watching where they drove and followed toward the back of the large side parking area. There was a break in the fence that led to the beach and the state park and that’s where they were headed. Only this time they carried long duffle bags that didn’t seem to have much in them at all. She glance
d around. It was almost four but a mild storm had been heading their way since noon, coating the Sound with silver grey clouds that reflected off the choppy waters.

  She glared after them, jerking the wheel and heading toward the exit to the resort. She knew where Mason was working and she did have a plan, she thought with a sigh, watching the resort vanish in her mirror. And she really hated people messing with her plans. All the voices of her friends echoed in her head as she drove.

  It wasn’t up to her to save the world, she thought. And hopefully, the wolf and his mate moved to higher ground away from the annoying humans. She made a mental note to visit the wildlife reserve in a day or so, just to look around.

  Lacie made it to the gates of the property, the high security fences definitely serious since they posted signs about the tops being electrified. She pulled next to the guard and offered up a smile.

  “I’m here to see Mason Wells,” she told the guard, watching him reach for a clipboard. “Oh, I’m not on a list. If you’ll just give him a call…”

  “Mr. Wells doesn’t accept sales calls,” the man said flatly.

  “I’m not selling anything,” Lacie kept the smile on her face. “Please call and tell him Lacie is at the gate for him.”

  “You aren’t on the list.”

  “Because I’m surprising him,” she said carefully, her gaze up and taking in the people striding around the grounds. She swore to herself. She’d forgotten to get his phone number.

  “Sorry, lady. You’re not on the list,” he repeated dully. “Back up and go.”

  Lacie backed up carefully, parked near the side where there were other cars and climbed down onto the ground.

  “Miss, you can’t stop here unless you’re on the list for clearance.”

  Mason Wells rounded the corner of the half concrete wall they were discussing with the people doing the clean-up of the site, his vision just naturally sweeping the area. He lifted the safety glasses and squinted.