CHAPTER EIGHT
Karina
Watching Mason drive has jumped to the top of my favorite things in the world list. There’s something about watching his big hands rest on the steering wheel, his long fingers wrap around the cylindrical shape, and the way his forearms flex as he easily maneuvers through the streets of Laurel Springs.
“You okay?” His shit-eating grin is proof he knows exactly what I was looking at.
At dinner, I had a few margaritas, and I might possibly be replaying every second of what happened in the backseat of this Jeep the last time we were together. Crossing my legs to ease the ache between them, I let my gaze meet his. “Fine.” The word is breathless and husky, even to my own ears. I sound like I should be on the other end of one of those sex-operator phone lines.
“You sure? A little tipsy?”
Maybe I am, slightly. He hadn’t been lying when he told me those drinks were potent. “Mmmm.” I make a non-committal sound in the back of my throat.
When he turns into my driveway, I want to extend the night, just like I did last time. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth as I watch him get out and walk around to my side of the vehicle. The pair of worn jeans are delectable, loose enough to give him room to move, but tight enough so that I can see what he’s packing underneath. The t-shirt he’s pulled over his body tonight is just enough for me to see the smooth stomach lying just beneath. His hair? Tousled, but not as messed up as it would be if he’d give me half the chance to run my fingers through it. As he approaches and opens the passenger side door for me, I’ve gotten myself so worked up I can’t stop the words that fly out of my mouth.
“The tattoo on your forearm has been turning me on all night.”
There’s a sharp intake of breath when he hears what I’ve said. His arms go up, gripping the doorframe, and those forearms of his flex in the muted light of the night. Here there’s light given off by stars and the moon, and that glow makes him look like a dream come true. Given a moment, I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt. Faster than I’ve ever moved, I turn, open my thighs so he can stand in between them, and attack the man in front of me.
Sliding my hands along his waist, I push my fingers up under the t-shirt, welcoming the feel of his hot skin against the coolness of the night. Leaning up, I capture him in a kiss. Soft at first, we nip at each other’s lips, before I hook my legs around him, pulling him into me. My hands travel up his back, still under his shirt, before I slide my nails down the smooth skin.
The kiss deepens, his tongue tangles with mine as we strain against each other. I’m feeling lightheaded as I realize I can’t breathe, because he’s literally kissed the breath from my body. Ripping my lips from his, I drag a breath into my lungs before I hone in on the pulse at the side of his neck, going to work on that stretch of skin. The deep moan in return causes a reaction I feel from the hard nipples thrusting against my bra to the pulsing I feel between my legs.
“Rina, fuck, we can’t do this out here, and I have to be at work early,” he pants as he tilts his head back, giving me more room to work.
“Rina?” I whisper, a question as to what the nickname means to him. It feels as if we’re turning a corner.
“Yeah, my Rina. Is that okay?”
He’s asking me if it’s okay to give me a hot as fuck nickname while he’s literally blowing my mind? “Perfection, big guy. Absolute perfection.”
Opening my eyes, I pull away from him, taking in the picture he makes. His arms are up, gripping the doorframe of the Jeep where I sit, his forearms are straining, almost as if he’s afraid to touch me. Beneath the t-shirt, I see his own nipples hard, begging for my touch. His stomach tenses and relaxes, tenses and relaxes as he tries to control the intake of air. Further down, I see his erection straining against the denim. Without thinking, I pull my hands from around his waist, fumbling them down to grasp his hard length.
“Fuckin’ shit, Rina.” He pulls out of my embrace.
As his heat leaves me, I take a look around. We’re in the driveway of my home. I’m a teacher; he’s a respected cop in our town. He’s right. We need to rein this in and do it fast.
I take a cleansing inhale. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be sorry.” He cups my jaw with both hands, pushing his fingers up under my hair, forcing my gaze to meet his. “Don’t ever be sorry for going after what you want. This–,” he looks around, “–just isn’t the right time or place.”
“You’re right.” I lick my lips, tasting the flavor of his kisses on them.
“Goddamn, don’t do that.” His voice is tortured, tone guttural.
A feminine giggle escapes my throat. “I’m sorry.”
He crowds against me, pushing his hardness against me. “You’re not even a little bit.” His grin is as boyish as the one I see Caleb sometimes give.
“You’re right, not even a little bit.”
Ducking his head, he gives me a chaste kiss. This time, he doesn’t let it get out of hand, and neither do I. When he pulls away, he whispers an invitation. “Caleb and I are going to the fishing and hunting show in Birmingham on Sunday. Wanna come with us?”
My heart almost trips in my chest. He’s inviting me to do something with his son and him. A smile spreads across my face. “I’d love to.”
“Good.” He noses my neck one more time. “When we come pick you up, we’ll fix that porch light that’s out. See you on Sunday?”
“Sunday.” I nod as I hop out of the Jeep.
Ever the gentleman, Mason walks me to the door, making sure I’m safe before he turns, going back to his Jeep, and takes off for home. As I watch his taillights in the darkness of the night, I can’t help but put my fingers up to my lips, feeling where his were such a short time ago. Tonight, I might go to bed frustrated, but I’ll go to bed with a huge smile on my face.
Menace
“Made you coffee,” Caleb mumbles as I stumble into the kitchen the next morning, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
“Thanks.” I shuffle over to the coffee pot, thankful he had the forethought to go ahead and get me a cup out. “Shit this is gonna be a long day.” I yawn loudly.
“Shouldn’t have gone out on a work night.” The sing-song voice of my teenager is enough to piss me off this morning. Honestly, he’s not wrong. “Did you have a good time with Ms. Holland last night?”
Immediately I’m taken back to us making out in her driveway, where I almost forgot about us being in public and broke a couple laws myself. Never in my life have I been one of those men who thought about saying fuck it to being in public. I’ve always been the type of guy who kept most of my affection behind closed doors. The only person who I’ve even been comfortable hugging in public is my son, but Karina, she’s challenging everything I thought I knew about myself. Even this early in the relationship. I would have given a lot just to pull her out of my Jeep, lie down on the ground, and let her ride me to the best orgasm of our lives. But that wasn’t the way it had worked out, and I’ll never be the type of person to put her in a potentially embarrassing or damaging situation.
“It was good.” I swallow down a drink of the blessedly hot coffee.
Caleb squints at me as he takes a drink of his own. “Dude, it was so much better than good, I can tell by looking at you.”
“I’m your dad, not your dude.” I attempt to put some authority in my voice.
“Fair enough.” He purses his lips. “But I’m also an adult, so don’t pretend like I’m a little kid.”
He’s got me there; I’ve always treated him like an equal. Now that I have a woman I’m interested in, I shouldn’t just turn it off and pretend as if he doesn’t understand. “Karina…” I let my voice trail off, because I’m not sure how to describe her, not sure I want to let my son in on the thoughts and feelings I have for her “She makes me feel like I haven’t felt before.”
“You’re hot for her,” he supplies, a smile teasing his lips.
Fuck it. “I’m insanely hot for her.” I groan as I run my hand along my neck, my voice gruffer than it should be while talking to my son, but our situation is what it is.
“Is that a bad thing?”
I think about it for a second, trying to allow myself to come to grips with what I’ve revealed to him. “It’s not, but given the jobs we have, neither one of us need to do anything that could hurt our standing in the community.”
“And you almost did that last night?”
Jesus why is he so smart? “I have no comment.”
He laughs, a full-out, belly rolling laugh. “I’m glad, Dad. I’m glad she does that to you.”
“Why?” I rub my eyes again, trying to figure out if I’m in some sort of alternate universe.
His cheeks pink as he has a seat at the breakfast bar. “As I’ve gotten older…” he trails off, face red. “I wondered how in the fuck you lived like a monk for so long. Especially this past year.”
I think I get the gist of what he’s telling me. My face is just as red, but I answer him honestly, because we’ve always been honest. “I’m not a teenager with teenage hormones rolling through my body, Caleb. Sometimes, it’s lonely. Other times, like when I have a lot on my mind, I don’t think about it.”
“But you do think about Ms. Holland?”
We’re quiet for a few minutes, until I sigh heavily. “Yeah, I do think about Ms. Holland.”
And with that admission, I realize quickly I’m in a place I’ve never been before.
“Relax, Dad, you’ve waited for this your whole life.”
I laugh, finding it amusing that my teenage son is the one talking me down, but truth be told he’s probably smarter than most men my age. Walking over to him, I reach down, ruffling his hair. At least I’m still taller than he is. “Caleb, get to work.”
He grins as he sets his coffee down on the counter.
“Dad, text her and tell her you like her.”
I shake my head as he runs out the door to his truck. Little do I tell him I think Karina and I have moved past the I like you stage. What I’d rather tell her is that I don’t want to go to bed at night lonely anymore. But it’s too early for those words, and I have no desire to scare her away.
Instead, I grab my phone, text her a good morning, and then go about my routine. As I’m getting into my Jeep to make the drive to work, I get an answering text.
K: I barely slept at all last night, and when I did, I dreamed about all the things you could have been doing to me. Dream Mason is one of the hottest guys around.
Starting the Jeep, I take a minute to text her back.
M: Yeah? Real-life Mason has some tricks up his sleeve he hasn’t showed you yet. Maybe we can make that happen sometime this week.
K: I’m going to be spending all day tomorrow with you. We will NEED to find some time to make it happen this week. Text me your schedule, and I’ll let you know what mine is.
M: Will do when I get to work. I want this to work, Rina. More than I’ve wanted anything else in a really long time.
K: Same here, big guy.
And with a smile on my face, I head off to start my day. Having someone to share this stuff with? Doesn’t suck at all.