I felt the cool air hit my body as he slid from behind me and stood next to the bed. He walked to the bathroom. “I was very clear last night. I said no questions about family.” The door closed behind him.
I stared at the door. I wasn’t sure whether to knock and apologize or to wait him out.
I started framing my story while I waited for him to emerge. A few minutes later the door cracked.
“Do you have enough yet?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry about the last question. I just think it would help for people to know about your upbringing.”
“I don’t talk about family. I’ll spout business advice all day. I’ll tell you my favorite sports teams and what I like to eat for dinner, but I’m not opening up the past. Grey and Eden are out of this too.”
I didn’t know what had hurt him so deeply, but it must have been tragic. “What it they are willing to talk to me?”
The glare he hit me with stung.
“Ok. I understand. No Grey or Eden. I promise. Will you sit with me so I can finish this?” I motioned to the bed.
He stretched out, over six feet of him. “What else do you have?”
For the next thirty minutes Mason answered every question I asked him. He made us coffee while I started crafting the story. It came together quickly. I outlined his college interests, his focus on sports as a child, and eventually painted the picture of a twenty-two year old taking on land deals that would make him a multi-millionaire in less than six years. I read over the story again. There were enough personal details to make it a full-length feature.
“Do you want to read it before I send it in?” I asked. He was at the window, watching the waves.
“No. I’m sure it paints me in a positive light.”
I hesitated for a second. I wondered if the entire night had been about this moment. About writing a flattering piece on him to sway the public’s opinion of him.
I attached the file to my email to Alice and hit send.
“It’s done.” I hugged my knees to my chest.
“Good. I’ve got a meeting this morning.” He turned from the window. “Can I buy you breakfast before you go into work?”
Feelings bubbled through my chest and stomach. Feelings I wasn’t supposed to have. Was he kicking me out? Was he buying me off with bacon and eggs? I felt annoyed and hurt. I had said I was the one who wanted the one-night stand, but with the Padre sun dotting the bed we had shared I was filled with utter sadness.
I felt the tablet slip through my fingers as Mason laid it on the bedside table. “Before breakfast though, could I interest you in a shower?”
I looked into his eyes. I realized maybe I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want the morning to end.
“I don’t have any clothes with me.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on you wearing clothes in the shower.” He winked as he led me to the bathroom.
He turned the hot water on and opened the door when the steam started to billow over the glass doors.
I stepped inside, feeling the water beat against my skin like warm rain.
“Feel good?” he asked.
I nodded. I didn’t think I could use words. They may have been all used up, or I was just tired of talking. I looked at the mountain of a man in front of me. His sculpted chest, the ridges at his hips, the stunning eyes, and I lost all sense of reality. I leaned against the shower wall as his mouth descended on mine.
The heat rushed between my legs, and I couldn’t touch enough of him fast enough. My hands moved against his chest and over the muscles in his shoulders, feeling the firmness of his skin. The water cascaded down his back and I groaned as his teeth sank into the flesh around my nipple. It perked and hardened under the flames of his tongue. His fingers ran between my legs, urging me to open up to him.
“Oh, God, Mason,” I panted as his fingers moved in circles. My leg wound around his waist. It had only been hours, but I wanted him inside me again. I was hungry for him. The way he felt, the way he knew how to make me feel explosive and whole.
His eyes locked on mine. He steadied us against the wall, and I moaned as he slipped inside me. I began to tremble from the intensity. He moved in and out, our bodies colliding with urgent possession.
I clawed against his back, holding on as the vibrations rushed from my body to his and back to mine again. It was as if we took turns sharing the same current, fueling the energy that joined us.