When Its Least Expected (11 page)

stand near the dresser. She reached out and grabbed the DVD case Mason had brought,
holding it up with humor bright in her gaze. “Alright then, now tell me, what in the
hell kind of movie is this?” He grinned and leaned up on his elbows.

“
The Great Outdoors
was a classic! Don’t tell me you don’t know who John Candy was.”

She shrugged and shook her head, sticking the DVD into the player. “Wow, you’re deprived,

little beast! Where is the justice in this world?” He pressed a hand against his heart,
and she rolled her eyes. It was counteractive against the smile that appeared on her
lips.

“Fine, whatever; just as long as it’s not a rom-com…”

“Don’t worry. There is absolutely zero romance in that movie.”

“Good,” she smirked, sitting back down next to him. “Like I said, I don’t do romances

anymore.” Mason scratched his head, and squinted both of his eyes together. How could
a

seventeen year old girl not like romantic movies?

She moved back against the head board, her shoulder almost pressed against his. He

turned his head to the side. Her entire body went rigid. “I don’t bite, little beast.
Nor do I have cooties or any other childhood boy disease you think I might have.”
A battle raged in her eyes as she looked over at him. He smirked, patting the spot
next to him.

She sighed, but his influence apparently won her over because two seconds later, she
was

grabbing the silver plush blanket off the foot of her bed to separate them. For the
love of all things holy, she had some issues if she thought a blanket would keep her
safe from him.

Who would keep
him
safe though? Two hours spent snuggled close to her warm body on

a bed was sure to be hellish torture!

Oh, Mason Daniel, what kind of spell do you keep casting here?

Harley was majorly at war within her own body. She couldn’t keep still. Every time
she

moved, his all too consuming nearness would pull at her skin and drain her resistance
away. She began to want things she couldn’t and didn’t need with him. There was something
about this boy, this man … that she wanted to know, but was too scared to discover
for fear that if she did then things would get messy, complicated. Friends, that’s
all they could ever be. That’s all she’d let her heart feel.

They’d been silent while the movie was playing, but her internal battle was another
thing.

All she could think about was his the way his chest moved when he laughed. All she
could feel was the way his hand warm hand felt when it brushed slyly against hers.

She sighed, albeit fairly quietly, but it was enough of a movement that he turned
to face

her anyways. A sudden devious grin decorated his mouth.

Stupid, sexy surfer boys!

“Are you okay, little beast? You kinda look a little bit, uh, sick…”

Sick, huh? He had no idea…

“I’m fine,” she snapped. Her chin went up, and if she had been a cat, her fur would
have

been standing on end.

“Fine, huh? Hmm…” Harley held her breath and prayed to God that he didn’t push the

issue. She let out her raggedy sigh two seconds, relieved that he’d let it go, but
all the more fascinated as she watched him bring that lucky silver spoon filled with
chocolate ice cream to his mouth. It was the most uncomfortable, yet the most exhilarating
night in all of her pathetic seventeen years of existence.

It was also quite amazing that she managed to fall asleep a short half hour later.

* * *

fire as she pressed her cheek further into the touch. It was a shame she had to open
her eyes because this dream was rocking her socks off. Pink, full, delicious tasting
lips had been covering her neck and her ear. And hands, God were they big and strong,
and the places they were going

… sheesh, no boy had ever gone there before.

With one eye squinted open, Harley found herself staring into two blue gems. Oh dear

God in heaven, was it not a dream after all?

“Crappity crap!” she darted backwards, only to feel his arm tighten around her, keeping

her firmly in place at his side. She blinked almost a million times as he as he continued
to keep her pinned to his side. That sleepy, sexy smile threatened to undo her to
the point of no return.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes pushing into her sockets with her palms. This had
to

have been a dream, right? She couldn’t be snuggling in her bed with Mason at … she
stared over at her clock. Oh crap, two in the morning? She tensed and tried to pull
away again, but this time he yanked her so close, that she couldn’t breathe, and it
wasn’t due to suffocation either.

“Don’t apologize, little beast,” he rasped, his thumb rubbed tantalizing circles over
her

hip bones. She shivered, not caring anymore that the time was well beyond her curfew.
“You

only drooled on me a little bit, and the snores were kinda cute.” He tapped the end
of her nose with his knuckle, closing his eyes again as if he was completely okay
with being here in her room, in this position, so late. If her parents walked in …
she’d be screwed.

“I don’t want to go, little beast. Your bed is so warm, so soft,” he groaned, tightening
his leg around hers. Harley swallowed, her throat was like sandpaper. Every nerve
ending connected to her skin was on fire. This wasn’t happening.

Mason stretched one of his arms high above his head, lifting the hem of his tee just

enough to reveal some to-die-for ridges underneath that very lucky shirt of his. This
time, she gulped, and it was loud.

Her mouth definitely wasn’t dry anymore.

“Don’t …” he whispered almost aggressively. “…think, Harley. Just feel,” he pulled
her

so close, that nothing but their clothes separated their skin. When in the hell did
this happen?

And why in the hell did she like it? She should be embarrassed … no, scratch that.
She should be
mortified
that she was practically pressed underneath him, but as her breathing turned rapid
and she got sucked deeper into that come hither smile of his, she had no choice but
to drop every single inhibition she had. She was in way too deep to dig her way out.

“You should go…” she whispered back, not meaning the words one bit. All thoughts of

parents and the consequences of getting caught were gone by the wayside as he watched
her

mouth and felt his fingers dig into her side, hard.

“Shit, Harley …” he moaned, lifting his hand to cup her now too heated cheek. Her

stomach churned; her lips parted without a fight. As he leaned in, she knew she couldn’t
fight the pull towards him anymore, but she had to at least try. This was wrong, but
also so, so right. Man, she was a screwed … times ten.

“Mason…” his name was a plea on her lips, but also lost in a whimper as he

brought his mouth onto hers.

Hell, he didn’t kiss her right away, just lingered there … teasingly, his cinnamon
flavored breath washed over her. The line they’d been teetering on for days was finally
crossed, and there would be absolutely no going back.

She shivered from head to toe, her body responding to him without her heads approval.

The pressure of his mouth on hers was perfect, too darn near perfect. He pushed his
lips against hers at a painstakingly slow rate. Harley didn’t fight it though. She
wanted
to be lying under him, feeling his heart beat rival against her own as their hands
became familiar with one another.

Mason’s mouth opened slightly, finally, practically begging for more than just their
chaste kisses. Harley was suddenly down for it all, so she obliged, giving and taking
at the same time.

The intenseness between them increased with every kiss, every slow movement of his

hand as it crept higher up her thigh. Her earlier dream was apparently becoming her
new reality.

Slowly, annoyingly slowly actually, Mason lifted the hem of Harley’s shirt, drawing
lazy,

sensual circles around her belly button, turning her into a giant puddle of molten
lava. She gasped but was silenced as his skilled fingers inched higher, touching her
in places that she had almost forgot she had. Those hands, so soft, so gentle, were
now her most favorite part of his body.

Harley was almost over that scary edge, drifting into the place where she’d forbade
her

body to go a long time ago. Screw it, this was only for one night, and she needed
it, earned it even. She yanked at his long hair, needing to feel his pulsating limbs
pressed over hers. She must have hit some sort of button with him too because a low,
indescribable growl rumbled through his chest.

Yes, please
…

Then he was over her completely, pressed into her, kissing her. She couldn’t get enough.

He pushed, she pulled. She moaned, he growled. And just as he maneuvered his body
where she truly wanted him to be, a soft knock and an accompanying whisper, sounded
outside her

bedroom door.

“Harley?”

She tried not to stiffen, pretending as if there was nobody there. She pulled Mason
tighter to her, willing the voice to go away. Mason obviously didn’t hear it. He was
apparently too lost in the moment. His hands slid up and down her outer thighs again.
She plunged her fingers into his back, needing him to never let go.

Harley was a furnace, hot, boiling, and Mason was the thermostat, finding ways to
turn

the temperature up on her over and over again. Mason Daniel was by no means inexperienced.

This should have bothered her, made her want to push him away, but she didn’t, she
couldn’t.

She
wanted
to be his student, and she
wanted
him to teach her all that he knew.

“Damn it, Harley, I know you’re in there, and I know you are not alone too. So open
this

God damn door before I break it down!” David’s voice shook. Mason pulled back and
stared

down at her. Longing and heat were there in his eyes. Damn her brother had some crappy
timing.

He rolled off of her and onto his back, and she wanted to cry out in disappointment.
Her

breathing was out of control, she was suffocating, and then he leaned over her once
more,

placing one last lingering kiss upon the corner of her mouth. The entire room moved,
or maybe it was just her head. Then he was gone, jumping off the bed and gathering
his stuff with that shit eating grin crossed over his lips. How was he not as affected
as she was?

She palmed her face. What in the hell had she been thinking? This boy was a player,
the

epitome of a player, and suddenly, Harley wasn’t so needy anymore. Instead, she was
pissed, and he would definitely feel her wrath. “Get out of my room, Mason Daniel,”
she sat up quickly, pulling her sweatshirt down and rearranging her well-loved hair.
She balled her hands into her lap, “Right now.”

His eyes and lips widened. He had the balls to look upset at her? Oh, hell to the
double

no. She was
so
not falling for his playboy antics again. He could find himself another toy to play
with!

“What,” he grinned finally, obviously overcoming his temporary sadness. She heard
the

humor in his voice, and she swallowed the sudden blurry tears that built in her eyes.
“You can’t handle some fun, little beast? Because you know … I’ve got plenty more
tricks where that came from, trust me.” Damn … this had been a bad mistake.

Screw the crazy, mad, needy lunatic that had taken up shop in her head earlier. She
had a

new emotion coming to town … hatred. She jumped off the bed as Mason lifted a leg
out of the window. He looked back at her; their eyes locked together before he completely
disappeared out the window. “Goodnight then, little beast and you are more than welcome
by the way.” He

winked, and without an inkling of control left in her body, Harley whipped the half
eaten gallon of melted chocolate ice cream at his head. Of course she missed, and
the crap dripped

everywhere, leaving a drippy, sticky mess all over her bed and floor.

“Son of a…”

“You missed…” he snickered from the other side of the window.

Stupid, arrogant, jerk face!

But somewhere along the line, Mason had managed to steal a tiny piece of Harley’s
heart

and taken it with him through that stupid window. She wanted to beg him, plead with
him even, to give it back to her, because he was well on his way to breaking her heart
if he didn’t.

It had been almost a week since Mason had snuck out of Harley’s window, and he still

felt like an ass about it. To his credit though, she hadn’t brought up that night
or what had happened between them either. Nor did she even try talking to him. He
still didn’t know what came over him when he’d kissed her, touched her, but he also
knew one thing was for sure … he couldn’t wait to do it again.

Possibly even do it a lot.

Who knew that the muddy eyed girls, with the snarky attitudes, could enchant him,

Mason Daniel, AKA the perpetual teenage bachelor and self-proclaimed ladies’ man?

Mason had been fighting his feelings for Harley since day one; there was no denying
that

anymore. Then when he had awoken from falling asleep in in her bed with his arms wrapped

tight around her waist, he realized that the battle he had been waging was futile.
He’d lost it. He had to have her. In all the ways he could get her.

Mason didn’t believe in romance or soul mates or any of that other happy ending shit

from books and movies. He was the epitome of the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy,
mainly leaving, never once loving. But Harley was the most perfect specimen of a girl
as she slept so peacefully in his arms that night that he had to try her out … at
least once.