Silverbacks and Second Chances

by Raines, Harmony

  “I want to see more than the inside of your room,” she whispered as he pushed open the door leading into the hotel lobby. “I want to touch what’s under your clothes.” She ran her hand down his chest, and he groaned in his desperate need.

  He focused on getting them to the elevator since he couldn’t spare the time to take the stairs. But as they stood waiting for the elevator to arrive, he sensed someone approaching.

  “Is everything all right, Mason?” Julius walked across the lobby to meet them, a knowing smile on his face.

  “Perfect,” Mason said as he looked up, watching the numbers count down as the elevator approached. Then he remembered his manners, he didn’t want Tiana to think he was trying to hide her away. “Julius, this is Tiana. Tiana, this is Julius, the hotel owner.”

  “Good to meet you, Julius,” Tiana said, her voice strained with emotion.

  “And you, Tiana. I gathered you two met here?” Julius indicated the dining room.

  “We did, on a blind date,” Tiana replied, her voice sounding more natural. “The food was wonderful.”

  “Thank you for the compliment, I’ll pass it on to the chef.” Julius looked from one to the other. Was he aware of what he was doing? Was he aware he was testing Mason’s self-control?”

  The elevator pinged open and Mason leaned forward as if being drawn inside. Damn, all he wanted was to get to his room and strip every stitch of fabric off Tiana’s body.

  “We should go,” Mason said bluntly.

  “Before you do, I wanted to offer you both a complimentary stay at the hotel on the anniversary of your meeting. There is something special about the day you meet your mate for the first time.” Julius backed away.

  “Thank you,” Mason said, recovering his self-control. “You’re right, we will always remember our first date. The hotel will always be special to us.”

  “As it is to me.” Julius looked up at the ceiling and then around the whole of the lobby. “I bought this hotel to drown my sorrows when I thought my own mate was unobtainable.” He dropped his voice as he spoke. “It always makes me happy when a new bond is forged here.”

  “That’s so sweet, Julius.” Tiana let go of Mason’s hand and took two steps forward. She kissed Julius on the cheek, and whispered, “Your mate is a very lucky woman.”

  “It’s me who is the lucky one,” Julius stated firmly, then nodded. “As is Mason. Have a good evening, both of you.”

  Tiana watched Julius return to the reception desk before she turned back to Mason. “I think we have somewhere we’re supposed to be.”

  He reached for her hand and she slid hers into his. Mason curled his fingers around her hand and pulled her toward him as he stepped into the elevator. As the doors slid shut, he pressed the button for the second floor and slipped his arm around her shoulders as they began their ascent.

  “We’re so lucky,” Tiana said as the elevator climbed slowly to the first floor and then beyond. In reality, it wasn’t really slowly but to Mason, every moment they were outside the bedroom was one moment too long.

  “Why so?” Mason asked, although he had his own ideas.

  “To have found each other. Imagine if I’d said no to Haley and not come to the hotel. I so very nearly did, you know?” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “We’d have found each other some other way. I’d have come for a meal at your restaurant, or we’d have met on the main street in Bear Creek while you were visiting your favorite grocery store.” He kissed the top of her head, not wanting to think of them not meeting. It was too painful to imagine how empty his life would have remained if their paths had not crossed.

  “Nothing could keep us apart?” Tiana asked, and turned to face Mason, her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed against his.

  “Nothing. We were meant to be together. Close together.” He kissed her as the elevator doors pinged open. Then he took her hand and led her along the corridor to his room.

  His hand fumbled with the key card as he tried to get the door open. Inhaling deeply, he focused, unsure how he was going to satisfy his mate if he couldn’t even open a door. Thankfully, the door opened, and they spilled inside, tearing at each other’s clothes as they headed for the bed.

  “I thought we were going to take it slow?” Tiana asked as she fought to undo his belt buckle and push down his pants.

  “That was before we were delayed in the hotel lobby.” Mason slid her dress off her shoulders. It slid to the floor and pooled at her feet. Tiana stepped out of it, dressed only in her lacy bra and panties.

  He stepped back, wanting to devour her with his eyes before he worshiped her with his body. She was beautiful, soft and curvy, with round hips and full, voluptuous breasts. Breasts that needed to be freed from the confines of her lace-trimmed bra.

  “Are you just going to stand there and look?” Tiana asked seductively, running her fingers along the swell of her breasts. “Or do you want to touch?”

  His smile answered her question and he prowled forward, intent on his prey. He wanted to make love to her until she cried out his name and then he wanted to make love to her again.

  As he moved, he pushed his shorts down over his hips and stepped out of them. Naked and erect, he stood before her, their bodies only inches apart as he reached for the clasp of her bra and captured her breasts as they spilled out into his hands.

  His thumb brushed her nipple, and it hardened immediately in response. Mason lowered his head and sucked the taut bud into his mouth, rolling his tongue over it again and again. Tiana groaned and arched her back, offering herself to him.

  She was his to take, and he was not going to refuse her offer.

  Bending his knees, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. There he lay her down on the mattress, gazing at her in open adoration. But she was not quite naked enough.

  Hooking his fingers around the elastic of her panties, he pulled them down over her curvy thighs and threw them away as if she would never need them again.

  Spreading her thighs, he knelt on the deep, plush carpet and angled his body, so he could kiss her inner thighs. She sighed as he moved higher, inching her legs apart to allow him access to the core of her need. One inch at a time, one kiss at a time, teasing her until she writhed before him, urging him on to kiss her intimately.

  Who was he to deny his mate?

  Mason rose to the challenge and flicked his tongue over her mound, igniting a fire within Tiana that only he could quench. Kissing, licking, grazing her sensitive bud with his teeth, he drove her toward her orgasm. She arched her back, plunging her fingers into his hair as he lapped at her. Changing his position, he stroked the soft skin of her inner thigh, before pushing two fingers inside her.

  Slowly, he inched her toward her climax, his fingers and mouth working in unison to push her over the edge. Tiana came, her voice breathy as she climaxed around his fingers. Mason didn’t let up as he plunged his fingers in and out of her until she was spent.

  Tiana lay on the bed, her breasts heaving as she recovered her breath. As he stood up, she reached out her hand to him and he took it, lying down on the bed beside her.

  “You are a man of many talents,” she said dreamily, stroking his cheek as she gazed into his eyes.

  “You have some talents of your own.” He kissed her lips, and she slipped her hand down his stomach and wrapped her fingers around his hardened length. And he was hard, incredibly hard. Painfully in need of his own release.

  Tiana stroked her hand up and down, stimulating him until he thought he’d explode. He reached down between their bodies and stilled her hand, then he moved to slide between her thighs. She parted her legs for him, and he guided himself into her.

  The sensations were incredible, skin against skin he moved, the head of his cock entering her heated depths. He moved slowly until he could bear it no longer, he needed to be buried deep inside her. With one hard thrust of his hips, he impaled her completely, her inner walls gripping him. Mason lay s
till for a moment or two, allowing him to immerse himself in the touch of her, the taste of her, the feel of her all around him.

  When he was certain he wasn’t about to explode prematurely inside her, he flexed his hips and eased out of her, before thrusting forward, filling her once more. In and out he moved, taking them both closer to the edge of pleasure, and then beyond.

  Tiana kissed his neck, nipping his skin, her hands sliding down his back, fingertips pressing into his flesh as she urged him on. Harder, deeper, and then he came, his seed spurting inside her. He groaned and jerked forward as her inner muscles pulsed around him, milking him of his seed.

  As he lay beside her, kissing her skin, both sated after making love, he only hoped that they might be blessed with a child of their own.

  It was his dream, but if they were not blessed, then he would still be happy and eternally grateful for their blind date.

  Chapter Thirteen – Tiana

  “I should go.” Tiana twisted her body in his arms and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was early morning. Too early to be out of bed, but she wanted to get home before her mom and Rhett got up.

  “Stay,” he whispered in her ear, his fingertips stroking her skin, reigniting the fire within her. A fire that he’d rekindled with his body and now refused to go out.

  “I can’t. We’re meeting you at the house, remember?” She kissed his mouth, his wonderful mouth that had given her so much pleasure.

  “I do.” He groaned and sat up in bed. “I suppose I should let you go.” She ran her fingers down his back, and he turned to face her. “I just want you to know how difficult it is to let you leave. I want to wake up with you every morning.”

  “Then move in with me.” Her words tumbled out of her mouth, but she meant them.

  Mason’s face registered his shock. “You want me to move in with you?”

  “Yes.” She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. “Why not?”

  He looked dazed. “I could probably think of a hundred reasons why not.” His face cracked into a smile. “But they don’t matter.”

  “So that’s a yes then?” She must be crazy. But this was the right thing to do. Who cared what the neighbors thought of her inviting a man she’d just met to come live with her?

  “Yes.” His voice held the tone of a man who was waiting for the punchline of a joke that was on him.

  “I’m not joking,” she insisted. “I think it would be good for us all to get to know each other before we move in with my parents. It will give you a chance to change your mind before you fully commit.”

  Mason stroked her face with the back of his hand. “I already am fully committed.”

  “You don’t know what you’re taking on,” she told him.

  “I think I do.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “I know I do.”

  “Good. Then pack your stuff, check out of the hotel and come over when you're ready.” She smiled at his confused face. “How long have you waited for me?”

  “A long time,” he admitted.

  “Well, the wait is over. I know it’s the right thing, even if you don’t.” She slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom. When she came back out into the bedroom, he was lying with his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling.

  He rolled onto his side as she gathered her clothes off the floor and got dressed. “I have a condition of my own.”

  “Do you?” Tiana sat down on the bed next to Mason. His face was serious, and her heart beat rapidly as nerves took hold. Had he changed his mind about living with them while she was in the bathroom? She could hardly blame him, it was a huge move forward. But the sooner he got used to her family, the easier it would be.

  Plus, she couldn’t bear being apart from him. She might not be a shifter, but she sure as hell liked having him by her side as much as possible.

  “You know I have a lot of money.” He looked at her directly. This wasn’t some rich guy trying to show off, there was a reason he’d brought the subject up. Tiana had a good idea of what that reason might be.

  “I do.” She nodded and scooted across the bed toward him.

  “I want to pay toward the house renovations.” He shrugged. “It only seems fair since it’s your parents’ house and you plan to sell your house to put money toward the renovations.”

  “I don’t need your money,” Tiana told him. During their short relationship, she’d never considered how rich he was.

  “I know, but I’m not offering it because you need it. I’m offering you the money because I want to be part of this, not the lodger on the sidelines.” He gave her a placating smile. “Will you at least think about it?”

  He reached out for her and she went to him, snuggling up to him as the first rays of sun lit up the sky. She could see his point. However, her parents, especially her dad, were proud people and they wouldn’t want to take money from a stranger. And Mason was a stranger, to them at least.

  “I’ll talk to my parents about it,” she promised. “My dad might not like it. At least not at first. But there must be some arrangement we can come to”

  “There is one other thing,” he said, his arms tightening around her waist as he kissed her neck. “When we get married, you won’t have to work. I want you to enjoy the time with your parents, with Rhett. And with me.”

  Tiana pulled herself into a sitting position and then turned around to face him. “I like my job.”

  “I thought you’d like the extra time. With your parents’ ill health, I figured you’d want to be around for them.” He sat up in bed, a confused expression on his face as he reached out to brush her hair from her face.

  “Work is important to me, too. At least for now. I love meeting people and being with Haley and Sorcha. I’m also used to being independent. I can’t let that go so easily,” Tiana told him honestly.

  He drew her head toward him and kissed her lips. “I hope I haven’t offended you. Part of us being mates is me wanting to protect you from harm and make your life easier.”

  “There are plenty of other ways you can do that.” She kissed him on the cheek and slid off the bed. “And I will talk to my parents about you contributing toward the house.”

  “I’ll see you soon?”

  “You can count on it,” Tiana promised.

  Mason watched her from the bed as she pulled the door open. It was all too tempting to climb back into bed with him, but she wanted to get home and check on her mom and Rhett. When she left last night, they’d still been consoling Quentin. For the first time, her mom had actually seen the heartbreak in his eyes and it had moved her to want to help.

  Perhaps the worry over Tiana’s dad had given Philippa a new perspective on what it was like to lose someone. Her husband might not be dead, but he was missing from her life, the couple of hours she visited each day were not enough to make up for the lifetime they had spent together.

  Tiana ran down the stairs in the hotel and out through the back door. A stab of guilt hit her as she raced across the parking lot in the early dawn. She was torn between Mason and her family, which confirmed her offer for Mason to come and stay was the right one.

  Driving home, she mentally sorted through her closets. She’d have to make room for his stuff. Of course, when he moved to Bear Creek permanently he would have a lot of stuff. Maybe even furniture. Perhaps she hadn’t thought this through enough.

  But they had time. Some of the furniture could go into storage. Although plenty of her own furniture was old, bought when she and Quentin first married. Perhaps it was time to clear out and start fresh.

  As she pulled into the driveway outside the house, Quentin appeared, looking as if he’d been waiting for her all night. If he picked a fight with her at this time in the morning, he might be facing a fresh start, too.

  “Morning,” Quentin said as he approached, looking a little sheepish.

  “Morning. You’re up early.” Tiana locked the car and walked over to him, where he hovered around the doo
r of the house they once shared.

  “I haven’t slept,” he admitted.

  “I kind of guessed by the disheveled look.” She studied him for a moment. “Shall we get some coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” Quentin followed her to the house like a sad puppy. He was dressed in jeans that were a couple of sizes too big because of the weight he’d lost as he mourned Nicky. They hung off his thin waist and the hems dragged along the floor, leaving them frayed and tattered, like his life.

  Tiana put her keys on the counter and grabbed the coffee pot. As she filled it with water and added the coffee, she watched Quentin as he sat down carefully at the table. He looked in pain, but she was certain it was an emotional, not a physical pain. Unless he’d been up all night drinking, but he didn’t look hungover.

  “So what’s this about?” Tiana asked as she put bread in the toaster and got the butter out of the fridge. Then she fetched some homemade strawberry jam her mom had made before her dad’s stroke had turned their world upside down.

  “Last night.” Quentin avoided her eyes as he sat staring at his hands clasped before him.

  “What about last night?” If this was about to erupt into an argument about Mason being here, she would withdraw any sympathy she had for the father of her child.

  “I wanted to apologize.” Quentin looked up at her as she released a long, drawn-out breath. “You thought I was about to cause trouble.”

  “I did wonder. After your speech last night about how you were trying to protect us, I thought maybe you were going to tell me how unsuitable Mason was for me.” She smiled with relief as she poured the coffee into two big mugs and set them down on the table. Then she retrieved the toast and grabbed a couple of plates. “Help yourself.”

  Quentin buttered the toast and then added a large dollop of strawberry jam. “I always did like your mom’s jam.”

  “I remember.” She watched him as she sipped her coffee, happy to let Quentin eat all the toast if he wanted it. He looked like he needed fattening up.