by Erin Noelle
“Everything is fine. I just need to be upfront with you about…” My voice trailed off. I wasn’t sure exactly how to say it.
“About what, angel? Did I make you feel uncomfortable?”
I shook my head and looked up at him. “Look, Mason, I really like you, and I love the way you make me feel when you touch me and kiss me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. But I’m not going to have sex with you—not now and not in the foreseeable future either. I’ve waited this long, so when I finally do decide to, I want to at least be in a somewhat serious, monogamous relationship where I at least think I’m in love.” I paused for a breath and continued, “I know that’s not what you’re looking for, and I’m not suggesting that between us. And it’s not that I don’t want to do… other things, because I do. I just didn’t want you to think that I was ready for that.” When I finished talking, I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, nervous at what he was going to say in response.
Mason cupped my face in his large hands and brought my face close to his. “Scarlett, I’m not going to lie to you. I want you so bad, so fucking bad. I really don’t think you have any idea the effect you have on the male population. But we will never, and I mean never, do anything you aren’t comfortable with. You’re in complete control of how far this goes between us. Okay, angel?”
I nodded, never breaking eye contact.
“Will you teach me how to do things? I really feel so awkward, like I don’t really know what to do. I know that sounds silly, but I’m just so inexperienced.”
I could tell he was trying hard not to smile, but the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly and his eyes danced with amusement. “So you want me to be your sex coach, but without the sex?”
I slapped his chest while shaking my head and looked down at the ground, humiliated at how it sounded when he phrased it like that. “That’s not what I meant. I want to hang out and do other stuff too.”
He grabbed my chin and forced me to look back at his face. “Don’t be embarrassed.” He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. “I’d love to show you anything and everything you want to know.” He kissed me again. “And I want to hang out and do the other stuff too.” With the third kiss, he used his tongue to part my lips, and I melted against him.
Mason picked me up and carried me over to his bed. He sat me down on the edge so that my legs were hanging off the side. He knelt in front of me and began removing my boots, keeping his eyes locked on mine the entire time. After he had discarded both my shoes and socks, he began to kiss my left calf and continued moving north until he reached the hem of my dress, which lay midthigh. He then shifted over several inches and did the same to my right leg; however, when he reached the hem on that leg, he didn’t stop.
He used a combination of his lips and tongue to caress the inside of my thigh until it reached the lace barrier of my panties. Feeling the cool metal of his piercing drag across my skin was exhilarating. We groaned simultaneously when he pulled away. He stood up and claimed my mouth with his. He alternated between soft and sweet pecks and hard and deep thrusts of his tongue. My head swirled with lustful thoughts, and my body clenched and softened under his assault. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and tugged on the ring lightly with my teeth.
A guttural sound escaped from him, and he separated our bodies. “Scarlett, can I take your dress off?”
I nodded eagerly, and seconds later, it was over my head and on the floor. I returned the favor by removing his shirt and was quickly reminded of how incredibly sexy his body was. My hands wasted no time in roaming over his chest and arms. Other than playing with his nipple rings, I still had not taken the time to really look at all the art that covered his skin, and I was way too far gone under his sensual spell at that moment to pay attention to anything but the way my body was responding to his gaze and touch.
He kicked his shoes and socks off, unfastened his jeans, and left both on the floor as he climbed into the bed with me, leaving him only in his snug boxers. He moved me until I was situated in the middle of the colossal bed, propped up against the pillows. I still had on my matching blue lace bra and panties, but I knew they would soon be gone too.
Mason straddled my legs and nuzzled his face into my neck. He alternated kissing and nibbling at my sensitive skin, and all I could think about was how unbelievably good he made me feel. The physical effect he had on my body was far more intense than I had ever imagined possible. He continued his ministrations down my chest and growled when he reached the cup of my bra. “This needs to go too,” he mumbled.
Happy to oblige, I arched my back off the pillows so he could reach around to unhook the clasp. The moment the fabric left my breasts, they were recovered, one by his mouth and the other by his hand. I arched even farther and grabbed the back of his head, keeping his mouth on my nipple.
After several minutes of appreciating each nipple equally, he continued to lower himself down my body, stopping at my belly button to dip his tongue into it. It made me laugh and relax a bit as he got dangerously close to the edge of my panties. He looked up at me through his thick lashes, his eyes full of lust and desire, almost as if he could devour me, but he waited to go any farther until I gave him permission. I drew my lip in between my teeth and nodded.
“Scarlett, has anyone ever touched you here before?” Mason asked in his husky voice as he brushed his thumb against my wet folds with a feather-light touch through the lace. I gasped and instinctively clenched my opened knees against him. He was still staring directly into my eyes.
“Just me and BOB,” I answered quietly. I didn’t want to talk; I wanted him to touch me again.
“Bob?” He cocked his head, confused.
“Yeah, you know, my battery-operated boyfriend,” I answered quickly. I wondered why I even said anything. I really wanted to get back to more of the doing and less of the talking.
“You have a vibrator?” A silly grin spread across his face.
“Yes, how else am I supposed to get through those trashy novels? I’d get an early onset of carpal tunnel if I had to rely on my hand.”
He started laughing and shook his head. “You continue to surprise me, angel. Vibrators and trashy novels. I’m speechless.”
“Good, stop talking.”
He bent his head down and kissed my stomach, right below my belly button, and the electric charge that surged through my body triggered me to lift my hips and rub against him.
He smiled. “Slow down, angel. I want to take care of you. This is how I should have thanked you on Friday.” He kissed my stomach again, the second kiss a bit lower than the first. I had to physically force myself not to lift my hips again.
“Relax and enjoy. Let me show you how much I appreciate getting to be the first to do this.” Mason placed one last kiss on my lower abdomen before he hooked his fingers onto each side of my panties and pulled them down.
I had always thought I would feel extremely self-conscious and awkward the first time I was bared in front of a guy, but surprisingly with Mason, I didn’t feel that way. Even though this was only our second time around each other, I felt so comfortable with him that it just felt natural.
“Scarlett,” he breathed as he gazed down at my cleanly waxed lips. I had continued seeing Tina at the salon on a monthly basis at the insistence of Evie, and I was glad I did. All the pain I had endured suddenly seemed worth it as Mason admired my smooth body. He slid down to where his face was hovering directly over my sex. I could feel his warm breath against me, and the sheer anticipation of his touch nearly caused me to come apart. He used both of his hands to keep my thighs open, and then he bent his head down and softly kissed the top of my slit.
I threw my head back into the pillows and whimpered. “Please.”
He didn’t make me ask again. He lowered his head back into my lap, and I allowed him to worship my body. The combination of his fingers and lips and tongue touching me, teasing me, felt better than anything I had ever experienced. He slipped his first f
inger inside me and I froze, all my muscles tightening around him. He continued to kiss my body as he waited for me to get used to the sensation before moving any further. Soon after, he added a second finger, and this time, I pushed against his hand, welcoming it. He started to move his fingers in and out of me in a slow but steady pace, and I could feel the pressure building between my legs.
Mason continued to tease me with his mouth, and I tried to guide his tongue to my clit with my hands in his hair, but he wouldn’t give in until he knew my frustration was nearing the tipping point. In that moment, he buried three fingers deep inside me and sucked my clit into his mouth, and my universe exploded. I don’t remember much—I clenched my eyes shut while I arched back into the pillows and euphoria engulfed my senses. It was bright colors and tingly feelings and rainbows and unicorns… all of it. When my body stopped shaking with my release, Mason lowered me onto the bed and then laid down next to me, drawing me into his arms. I kept my eyes closed and wished I could stop time. Everything felt perfect.
“So fucking sweet,” he mumbled into my hair.
“Mmm” was the only response I could come up with. I was still in my post-orgasmic bliss and was unable to create meaningful thoughts. I rolled to face him and scooted up so that I could kiss him softly on the lips. “Thank you,” I mumbled.
“Anytime, angel, anytime.” Mason smiled and kissed my forehead. “I’m going to take a quick shower before taking you home. That cool?”
I nodded, and he rolled off the bed. Once I heard him in the shower, I got dressed and wandered into the kitchen to get some water. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel now, if different at all, but I didn’t really—just happier. I didn’t allow myself to listen to those voices screaming questions and warnings somewhere from the depths of my morality. Instead, I focused on the peaceful butterflies in my stomach that now lay sleeping, sated from all of their earlier acrobatics.
Butterflies. Just thinking the word made my mind drift to Ash and wonder what he was doing and who he was with.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the problem in its simplest form. All my thoughts ultimately ended with Ash.
Twenty-Three
Evie still wasn’t at our place when Mason dropped me off a little after ten o’clock. I was a bit disappointed, because I wanted to tell her about everything that happened; I knew she was going to be so excited for me. After showering, I grabbed my e-reader and climbed into bed with the plan of reading until I heard her get home, but I woke up sometime in the early-morning hours on top of my e-reader, open to the same page I had begun reading. I guessed my make-out session with Mason had taken more out of me than I originally thought.
I realized that I still didn’t know if Evie had made it home okay, so I went to check on her and found her and Max in a mess of limbs, blankets, and pillows in the middle of her bed. I smiled, happy she had met Max. They clicked instantly and had spent every night together since they met except for Sunday, but I knew I hadn’t been around much either over the past several days.
Wednesday came and went uneventfully; my classes and coursework consumed most of my time. I filled Evie in on my dinner and trip to Mason’s house first thing Wednesday morning at the table over breakfast. She laughed heartily at his “sex coach without the sex” comment, and then she told me that I should get rid of the “without sex” part.
I rolled my eyes at her. “I’ve known him less than a week, Evie. Plus, he’s like… not exactly boyfriend material.”
“I didn’t say anything about a boyfriend, Sam. It’s sex, just sex. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be,” she reprimanded me.
“I’m not sure I can do that. I just don’t know how I’ll feel or act afterward.” I drank the rest of my sweet cereal milk from the bowl.
“Look, all I’m saying is that I bet while you and sexy rocker boy are getting hot and heavy, you really want to have sex with him, but you keep telling yourself that you shouldn’t, because it doesn’t fit into some preconceived notion you have about how your first time should be and who it should be with.” Evie downed her cereal milk too. “I just think you should do what your body is telling you to do, whatever feels right in the moment.”
I got up and put both our spoons in the sink while she tossed out paper bowls in the trash. “If I do that, I’ll be giving it up on Friday when I see Mason again, and every time I see him after that.” She turned and raised her eyebrows at me. “I’m just being honest,” I admitted. “I get around him and my panties try to shimmy themselves down my legs.”
After a pregnant pause, we both cracked up—the visual was quite humorous and not very flattering.
Thursday’s classes sucked. I wasn’t sure if I had passed a surprise pop quiz in Biology and I broke a flip-flop as I was walking to English, so I had spent the rest of the day barefooted. Thankfully, that night, Evie and I had our movie date, which greatly improved my mood.
I still hadn’t heard from Dylan and was starting to get a little agitated. I thought I at least deserved an explanation for what happened Saturday, but at the same time, if I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to hear it.
Friday morning greeted me with two texts, one that made my heart soar and one that made my stomach plummet.
Ash (7:42 a.m.): Is it Sat night yet? This week’s been way too long
Dylan (8:22 a.m.) Can we talk?
I groaned and threw myself back on the bed. I knew Dylan and I needed to get this over with, but I’d never had to have an uncomfortable talk like this with a guy and it made me nervous.
Me (8:29 a.m.) How’s tomorrow? Saturdays seem to work for you.
I knew I didn’t need to make the snide remark about Saturday, but I was still a little pissed and my feelings were more than a little hurt about his strange behavior last Saturday followed by the lack of texts or calls for 6 days. All of this had been so out of character for him, at least it was for the Dylan that he had allowed to me know.
Dylan (8:30 a.m.) Fair enough. I’ll be at your place at 5?
Me (8:30 a.m.) K
With that settled, I reread Ash’s message and I felt much better. During the week, we texted back and forth, keeping up with what was going on in each other’s life for the most part, but nothing replaced the time I spent in his bed with him. I really was pathetic when it came to Ash Walker. I shot him a quick response before I headed off for my morning shower.
Me (8:44 a.m.) One more day and they are all too long. See you tomorrow
By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, I was wound so tight with frustration and irritation I thought I was going to snap. Fridays were usually the worst day of the week for me anyway, because that was always day six of not seeing either Ash or Dylan. Day six of my male withdrawal. By Fridays, I longed for the following day, when Dylan would hold me in his arms and kiss me sweetly. And then of course there were my late nights with Ash and sleeping snugly in his arms until early the following afternoon. Those Sunday early morning hours were what I lived for, and it was then I felt most comfortable just being me.
But Friday nights were the absolute worst. I would toss and turn, get hot then cold, look at the alarm clock no less than ten times…. So when I added the additional stress about the upcoming talk with Dylan, I needed a release in the worst way. Fortunately, my plans for the evening involved the one person I knew could help me forget it all, even if it was for just the night.
I was no fool when it came to Mason Templeton. I knew I was way out of my league when it came to him in almost every facet of life, and I didn’t for one minute fancy myself as the girl who was going to make him fall in love and change his bad-boy, promiscuous ways. He was the lead singer in a pretty popular local band that was possibly headed for bigger things—according to the results of my Google search—co-owned a bar with his brother, and obviously wasn’t hurting for cash.
I was sure he had hundreds if not thousands of girls in his bed, and there was a line just as long waiting
to be the next. As long as I didn’t allow myself to forget any of those facts and not get emotionally attached, I was going to enjoy hanging out with this uber-sexy, hot piece of sin and learn whatever he was willing to teach me. The reality of my situation was the guy I liked was about to break off whatever it was that we had going, and the guy I was in love with was never going to allow us to have a chance, so I figured why not spend time with the guy I lusted after. The guy who made my body explode in a thousand pieces of pleasure with his hands and mouth. The decision was quite easy.
It was a little after eight when I heard the growl of Mason’s bike pull into the parking lot. I looked down at my short denim skirt and I shuddered at the thought of hiking it up and pressing my body against Mason’s back. The first cool front of the fall had blown through the night before, so instead of a tank top, I opted for a fitted, long-sleeved old ringer tee that donned the cover from Van Morrison’s Moondance album. I hoped Mason would understand my wearing it was a show of appreciation of his previous week’s serenade. It clung to my body and was extremely thin from hundreds of wears and washes, which allowed my satin chocolate brown bra to be clearly visible. I may or may not have gone shopping that afternoon especially for this bra and panty set to match this shirt. I threw on some brown leather flip-flops and opted for the pigtail braids again, since I had assumed he’d bring the bike and I didn’t want my hair to be a tangled mess.
I ran out of my room to meet him. Even though it had only been three days, I was so anxious to see him again, to touch him and just let loose for a while.
“Angel, what a breath of fresh air on this fucked up day. You look amazing as always,” he complimented me as I approached him, taking off his helmet. He looked just as incredible as I remembered, once again in a plain T-shirt, navy this time, and jeans, and I had no shame but to walk right up to him and wrap my arms around him. He just as eagerly put his arms around me and held me close to him.
“Mason,” I said into his chest without pulling away. We stayed like that for several minutes. I didn’t know what happened in his day, and he didn’t know about mine, but we both seemed to know we needed the physical contact, the closeness at that moment. No words were necessary. We finally tore apart, and Mason broke the silence.
