The scent of his cologne, faint but masculine, overwhelmed Lily’s senses. It was so subtle, but so perfectly Mason, as if someone had actually bottled his essence. She closed her eyes, relishing his smell, the feel of him against her.
“Oh, who cares?” Lily whispered. She gave in, at least for a moment, and kissed him back.
A mind of their own, her hands trailed up his back and settled around his neck. She found herself pulling him closer, as if that was even possible, and deepening the kiss. His hands held her firmly against him, finding their way to her bottom, lifting her up. Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist.
Deep inside of her, a yearning began to build.
He felt it too. His body responded to her kiss quickly, readily.
And then Mason pulled away. One more touch, and he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. He would take her right there, against the wall with only a rack of clothing separating them from more than a dozen teenagers and children.
Lily reached for him, pulled his mouth back to hers.
“Stop.” Was that really his voice? It sounded like someone else. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to regain control of his senses. “Later.” It was the only word he could manage.
Lily woke up from the trance she’d been under and an awkward giggle escaped her lips. Then the realization of what they were doing, and where, hit her like a ton of bricks.
“What are we doing?” It was more of a statement than a question. Her insides felt scrambled. She had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
“It’s okay,” Mason said, trying to calm her. “We kissed. That’s all.”
But it had been so much more than that, and Lily knew it. She’d felt the heart coursing through her body. She knew where things had been heading. If Mason hadn’t stopped, she would have let it go way too far, further than she’d ever let things go with anyone.
“I have to get back. I can’t be here.” She sounded almost frantic now, worried the children might have seen them.
She reached for the rack of clothes and started to push the costumes aside to leave, but Mason caught her by the hand. She turned and looked at him one more time.
“I have to go,” she said. There was embarrassment in her eyes, but something else, as well. Longing. Desire.
“After rehearsal,” he whispered. It was a promise as much as a plea.
She nodded her head, unable to say anything else.
When Lily emerged from behind the rack of costumes, she was weak in the knees. Her heart was racing and she was sure that everyone would know what had been going on as soon as they looked at her. But the kids were still gathered around the snack table, laughing among themselves. They hadn’t even noticed that the ten minute break was turning into twenty minutes.
Lily quickly ducked into the ladies room. At the mirror, she saw her lips were red and her face was flush. It was no wonder, after the make-out session they’d just had. The skin around her mouth was slightly pink from the scruff of Mason’s day-old beard and her hair was tousled. Lily ran her fingers through her hair to tidy it up, then she splashed some cold water on her face. A few minutes later, the flush was gone and she looked a little less like someone who had just been ravished.
Mason stayed behind the costume rack a bit longer. The effect Lily had on him was rather evident by the bulge in his pants. It would take a few minutes for him to recompose himself.
From behind the costumes, he heard Lily emerge from the ladies room and call the actors back to the stage. He smiled to himself at the sound of her voice. He could hear the trace of embarrassment as she spoke, even though she tried to hide it behind an air of authority. At least he knew he had as much of an effect on her as she had on him.
When the rehearsals were well underway again, Mason slipped out from behind the clothing rack and went to the workbench he’d set up along the edge of the room. He tried to keep himself busy cutting out pieces of plywood for the set, but he could still smell her sweet scent. He could almost feel her arms around him, wanting him, needing him.
The last hour of the rehearsals dragged on as much for Lily as it did for Mason. She couldn’t concentrate on the lines. She was supposed to be following along with the script as the actors ran through their lines, but her mind kept wandering back to the taste of his lips and the urgency of his kisses. She wanted him, badly.
When the last line was read and the chairs were stacked and the room was cleared for school the next day, Mason stood outside the door waiting for Lily. He watched as everyone else trickled out of the building, counted them as they left to make sure everyone was gone. It seemed like an eternity before Lily finally came out, a stack of scripts in one arm and a set of keys to lock up.
“Let me get that for you.” He took the keys out of her hand and secured the building. “When did they start locking the community center?” he asked, handing the keys back and grabbing the heavy stack of scripts out of her arms.
“New bylaw. The town council voted on it last week, apparently,” she explained. “To keep the wildlife out.”
Lily had always liked that the community building was open to anyone, anytime. She understood the town council’s decision, but it still saddened her. Even small changes, like locking the doors of the community building, would have an impact on the town. Things would never be the same.
Then again, a lot of things were changing, especially between her and Mason. The spark between them was still there, as evidenced by their outburst behind the costume rack. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She only knew she wanted to see where it would lead her. She’d been anxiously waiting for rehearsals to wrap up so she could see exactly where this thing between the two of them was heading. When rehearsal ended, she saw Mason stacking chairs along the edge of the room, moving the plywood set out of the way. But by the time she gathered her things, he was already gone.
“I thought you’d left,” she said, stepping out onto the boardwalk and then hesitating. Her house was to the left, his was to the right. She didn’t know which way to go. What were they doing? Did he still want to…? Then she felt Mason’s hand at the small of her back, gently leading her to the right.
“You think I could up and leave after that?”
The memory swept back over her and Lily found herself blushing. She still couldn’t believe what had happened between them during the rehearsals… and with a bunch of teenagers just a few feet away from them. There was no excuse for her behavior. No explanation for what had possessed her. And if Mason hadn’t stopped, there was no telling how far Lily would have let things go.
“I wasn’t sure.”
Mason was sure, though. The way Lily made him feel, he would wait forever for her, for one more kiss or even one more glance. Waiting until the end of rehearsals was nothing.
“Not a chance,” he said, leaning in and kissing her on the forehead as they walked.
Lily looked over at him and smiled.
“I’m glad,” she said.
As they walked, Lily grew pensive. She wasn’t sure exactly what was in store for them. Would they make love? It certainly looked like things were heading in that direction. But it was such a big step, one she’d never taken before.
Mason was the only man she’d ever loved. Sure, the two of them had done their fair share of making out, but Lily had never let things go too far. Even though she was in love with him, she was only 16 years old at the time. She hadn’t been ready to take such a major step at that age.
And since Mason, there had never been anyone else. Lily had gone out on a few dates, but she never felt the same way about any of the men she dated. She’d never been intimate with any of them. Anything beyond kissing was undiscovered territory for her.
Of course, she knew the basics. She’d read about it in books and dreamt about how it would be. In romance novels, it was always spectacular and mind-blowing.
Lily longed to feel the kind of passion she’d only ever read about. She believed she w
as ready to experience it for herself and she wanted it to be with Mason. She wasn’t in love with him like before, and she certainly wouldn’t let herself fall into that trap again. But giving herself to him physically, she knew, could lead to emotional attachment. She definitely wasn’t ready for that.
“What’s wrong?”
Mason noticed her silence, the nervous look on her face. Even though she tried to hide it, he saw she was anxious.
“Nothing,” she lied.
He stopped walking and turned to look Lily in eye. “Are you sure?” he asked, sensing there was something she wasn’t telling him.
Lily forced a smile and nodded her head.
“Really,” she reassured him. “It’s nothing.”
To prove it, she leaned in and kissed him, grabbing his collar and pulling him close. Her words may not have convinced him, but the touch of her lips against his certainly did.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll take your word for it.”
He took her hand and they continued on their way.
It only took a few minutes before they reached Mason’s house. At the door, they were greeted by a boisterous Bernie, who had been cooped up all day awaiting Mason’s return. She excitedly jumped up and placed her enormous paws on Mason’s chest, slathering him with wet kisses. When she was satisfied, she went to Lily and nearly knocked her over trying to greet her in the same manner. The joyful greeting of the dog helped put Lily at ease, at least for a moment.
“Sorry,” he said, grabbing Bernie by the collar and pulling her off Lily. “I’ll be right back.”
Holding Bernie by the collar, Mason left Lily in the living room and led the dog into another room. In the kitchen, he filled the dog’s dish. Then he mopped up the water Bernie had slopped onto the floor throughout the day and put down some fresh water. The dog went for the fresh water as if she’d been dying of thirst, splashing even more of it on the floor than what actually went into her mouth. Mason grinned, shook his head at the dog, and wiped up her new mess. Afterwards, he opened the door and let Bernie outside. She bounded off into the forest, glad to be free from the confines of the house for a while.
“I love what you’ve done with the place,” Lily joked when Mason returned to the living room a few minutes later. The house looked exactly as it had for years.
He smiled. Even though the décor wasn’t to his taste, he hadn’t gotten around to changing anything yet. The furniture was fine, but the walls needed some fresh paint and the master bedroom was far too frilly for a bachelor.
“I’ll get to it, eventually.”
Then he took her hand.
“Come on,” he said, leading her out of the living room, toward the hallway.
“What about Bernie?”
“She took off exploring. She’ll come home when she’s ready.”
Mason lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it lightly. Then he turned, leading her toward the bedroom.
“Wait,” Lily said. It was going to happen, there was no doubt about it. Lily wanted it and she could tell Mason wanted it. “I have a better idea.”
Still holding his hand, Lily turned toward the door. She was grateful Mason didn’t insist on the bedroom. Instead, he followed her.
The screen door clanged behind them as they stepped out onto the back porch. There were no other houses on this side of town. Mason’s was the last in a long line. Beyond that, the inlet stretched further south, nothing but a sliver of water snaking its way between two long mountain ranges with only a handful of wilderness homes dotting the shoreline, each of them miles apart.
Her hand still gripping his, Lily led Mason down the steps and onto the soft muskeg ground. Carefully they walked, stepping on rocks to avoid the boggy earth. Mason knew where Lily was leading him. There was nothing else on this side of town. Only their secret cove.
Lily hadn’t been back there in years. It held so many memories. Most of them were good memories. One of them was terrible. That last memory was the reason why she’d avoided the cove for so long.
But now, with Mason by her side, Lily didn’t worry the memories of their break-up would come flooding back. Instead, she remembered the first time they’d come to the cove together. That time, too, she’d been holding his hand, leading him there in silence.
Following behind Lily, Mason stepped carefully over the mossy ground, through the thick vegetation that encircled the tiny cove. Other kids had discovered the privacy of the place, he realized, as they walked past bits of trash and a few empty liquor bottles. He’d have to take care of that later. He didn’t want anything destroying this place. It meant too much to him to see it turn into a trash pile.
When they emerged from the trees and stepped out onto the large sheets of shale along the shore of the cove, the sight almost took Mason’s breath away. There, tucked away among the trees and hidden from the rest of town, the waters of the inlet lapped quietly against the black shale. The receding waters of the tide left pools of water among the rocks, trapping crabs and other small sea life until the ocean tide would rise again hours later. It looked exactly as he remembered it.
He hadn’t seen this place in ten years, but the memories he and Lily had shared there came rushing back to him. Hours spent sitting on the damp rocky shore, exploring the shoals, dipping his feet in the water. He’d sat on that very rock, the large one that jutted out into the water, and bared his soul, sharing his hopes and dreams. And always, Lily was by his side. Midnight strolls, kisses under the moonlight, and promises to always be together. Every first they’d ever had together happened there, in that tiny cove.
Mason remembered the first time he’d kissed her. She was only 15 at the time, but she was still the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. She’d been the light of his life, the only woman he ever loved. And now they were there again, together like the old times.
Lily turned to him, touched his face, and looked into his eyes. They were the same eyes of the boy she’d loved.
“Kiss me,” she begged.
“That’s all I’ve been wanting to do for the past hour.”
When his lips touched hers, she let out a soft moan. The passion between them was reignited in an instant. It was everything she wanted, everything she’d been feeling, wrapped into a single kiss. Her arms went around him, pulling him closer. She felt his hands on the small of her back and the need in his touch.
Anticipation welled up inside of her. It was going to happen, here in their secret cove. The place where he’d kissed her for the very first time all those years ago was the place where they would make love for the first time. The act they were about to commit would wipe away the bad memories of this place, erase the memory of Mason leaving her. It would forever be the place where Lily gave herself to him completely. The place where he accepted her, body and soul.
The realization was suddenly overwhelming.
“Wait.” Her hand was on his chest, holding him away from her. She needed to tell him, to let him know that this would be her first time. But she didn’t know how to say it. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered.
“Me neither,” he said, not understanding. His words were throaty, full of desire. He took her hand, pulled it to her side, and pressed his body against hers. “I have no control over myself when I’m with you.” His teeth scraped against her collarbone, trailing kisses from her neck to her shoulder.
Lily closed her eyes, giving in to the sensation for a moment. It felt so good to be in his arms, to feel his hard body against her own, to know that she was the source of his arousal.
But, again, she stopped him. She opened her eyes and waited until he opened his. She needed to see him.
“What does all this mean?” she asked, gasping for breath. “What are we doing?”
“Don’t think about it,” he whispered into her hair. “We’ll figure that out later. Right now, all I know is I want you.”
With that, his mouth closed over hers. She opened to him, let him in. And when she felt the passion
rising up inside of her, she gave in to it.
Chapter 12
Lily awoke first. It was still dark, but that wasn’t unusual for her. She was accustomed to getting up early and opening the pub. Even though she’d taken the month off to focus on the fall production, she still found herself waking up well before anyone else in town stirred.
In the darkness, she slowly made her way across the bedroom. She didn’t turn any lights on, not wanting to wake Mason. Carefully, she stepped over Bernie, who was fast asleep in the bedroom doorway, snoring heavily. When she reached the kitchen, Lily turned on the water and cupped her hands together to drink.
It had been late when she and Mason walked back from the cove, hand in hand. Two lovers. They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. Instinctually they knew what the other was thinking. Mason led her into the house, toward the bedroom. When they made love a second time, it was on the soft downy bed instead of the solid shale shoreline. Then they quickly drifted off to sleep.
The window above the kitchen sink was open a crack, letting in a cool breeze off the inlet. Lily reached up and closed the window to keep the chill away. Then she stood there for a while longer. Looking out the window at the moonlight glistening on the water, she smiled at the thought of their night together, how quickly they had fallen back into their old rhythm.
It really was like the old times, except so much better than before. For the first time, Lily gave herself to him completely. Her body still ached from the passion he ignited within her. She could almost feel him, even though hours had passed since they made love. Now, there was no going back. They were together again, and this time, they were old enough to know what they were doing.
Lily was still standing by the kitchen sink, looking out the window, lost in thought, when the dim light of morning’s first rays began to illuminate the house. She considered going back to the bedroom, climbing into bed and stretching out next to Mason. She could probably spend the entire day there, in bed with him, and not even care about the time she was wasting. Rehearsals, set construction, costume design… it all seemed unimportant now. Nothing else mattered when she was with him.
Sky High (Alaskan Frontier Romance Book 2) Page 11
