Because of Sydney (10 page)

“Why did you want to be a journalist?” His fingertips skipped over my thigh.

I swatted at him. “This isn’t my interview. Tell me.”

He rolled back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t talk about this stuff. I don’t see how it’s important.”

“Because I need a feature piece on you. Feature means personal details.”

“When I was in college I took a business course, and it piqued my interest. I interned my junior year at a company that specialized in acquisitions. One thing led to another.”

My head whipped to the side. “That is a canned answer if I ever heard one.”

“Are you supposed to comment on my answers? I thought it was the press’s job to present unbiased information.”

I huffed, turning back to the keyboard. I thought of a new approach. “What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?”

“Oh, I think I showed you that, Miss Paige.” He smiled.

I groaned. “I’m going to get fired if you don’t take this seriously.”

He sat forward, planting a kiss on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’ll be serious.” He shuttled the hair from my neck and kissed behind my ear. “I like to travel.” I felt the chills run down my spine. “I was in Italy this spring and spent some time driving through the hill side. Beautiful country.” His lips moved to my other shoulder.

I tried to type while his mouth blew warm breezes over my skin. “Were you in Italy for a vacation?”

His hands wrapped to the front of my chest, palming my breasts. “No. I was there to talk about an olive farm.”

“Olive farm?” I leaned against his chest. His hands were all over me. “Why would you be interested in an olive farm?”

“Because I had a tip from a friend that there was an opportunity. I flew over to check it out. I’m not one to turn down a smart investment.”

“And did you decide it was a good investment?” I tried to picture the handsome Texan driving through the sunflower countryside, tasting olives in open fields. My heart panged for a second at the thought of someone else joining him.

“No.” His hands trailed over my stomach. I could feel his chest pressed against my back. “The timing was off. Good trip though.”

“I met Grey and Eden last night. What about your parents? Where are they?”

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.

“You’re fucking amazing,” Mason growled as his teeth gripped my shoulder.

His movements quickened, and I screamed his name when I felt my body prickle with orgasmic waves.

“Don’t stop,” I begged. I wanted it to last forever. I wanted the sensations to double and carry me away, anchored only by the strength of his hands.

He smiled at me, pressing his forehead against mine. The shower sputtered behind us. “I’m not stopping until you beg me to. And even then I might not.”

My standing knee wobbled for a second before he picked up that leg and wrapped it on the other side of his hip. He plunged deeper and I screamed with electric pulses.

“Too much?” he whispered in my ear.

“No. I want more. More.” I gripped at his neck. He answered my request with another thrust that sent me over the edge. Toppling until I thought my body would melt in his hands.

“God, Sydney.” He clenched his teeth and I could see the veins in his neck throbbing. “You feel too good.”

I ran my lips over his mouth, sucking and twining my tongue against his. My hands wound around his neck. The rhythm slowed between us and my eyes opened. His eyes searched mine and my heart pounded against my chest. He moved slowly, reveling in the feel of our bodies coming together then slowing drawing farther apart.

I dug my heels against him. “Don’t,” I pleaded. “It’s too much.”

He kissed me harder. “I can feel all of you like this.”

I felt him pull away again and I whimpered. He moved back inside me slower than before. I sank into the pleasure of his hardness. “Ohh,” I moaned.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

He already knew the answer. The way his body reacted to mine said everything. We were going to incinerate if we kept this up.

I wouldn’t be able to last much longer if he held this slow torturous pace. It was exquisite pain—giving me everything I wanted, only seconds later taking it away.

I nodded. “It’s good.”

He nuzzled in my neck, trailing wet kisses below my ear. “I could do this all morning.” He pulled out again, and I clawed against him.

“No,” I moaned.

“No?” he asked.

“I mean yes.”

“Tell me what you want, baby.” He began to fill me, I couldn’t stand the agony.

I shook my head. I couldn’t say it. He stopped, leaving me half-satisfied. I felt the pain coiling deep inside. I needed him to release me.

“All morning,” he whispered. His hand brushed the damp hair from my cheek. “I keep my promises.”

“Take me back to your bed.” My eyes flashed to his.

“And then what?” His thumb began to roll over my nipple and the pure want for him fired through my senses. My body responded to his touch, arching into him, getting hotter and wetter when he pushed inside me, calling his name when I felt desperate need gripping under my skin.

“I’m already begging.”

“Baby, that’s not begging.” He tipped open the shower door and walked toward the bed. My arms and legs wound tightly around him.

He leaned forward until my back touched the sheets. I stared into his eyes. He was watching me with hunger and pleasure. The water droplets slid over his shoulders and chest. I wanted to lick every last one from his glorious body.

He began his slow rhythmic rocking again, this time with more force and certainty. I realized the shower had given him a disadvantage. I rose to meet him, but every time I was about to come he would slow down or move just enough to make me whimper some more.

He kissed between my breasts and my stomach, his fingers replacing the hardness that I had already become addicted to. I needed him inside me, as badly as I needed air to breathe.

“Please, Mason,” I whispered. He was crawling on top of me.

“What do you want, pretty girl?” His blue eyes fired with cobalt sparks.

“I want to come. Please. I want you to feel it. All of you to feel it.” I shoved his fingers out of the way, reaching for him. I guided him, my knees falling to the side.

“God,” he groaned as he pushed deep inside me. Our hips joined with feverish need. His lips were on mine, and I kissed him while we moved wildly against each other. I screamed as the fire tore through me, searing my veins and the heat between my legs. His hands gripped my palms as he moved inside me.

He kissed me deeply. I looked at him. This man had literally rocked my world, and I knew I had lied to him. It wasn’t an intentional or calculated lie. I wasn’t trying to seduce him or trap him. But it didn’t matter. I had lied just the same. I was never going to be able to walk out of here without wanting more.