Chapter Sixty Seven
He leans in and suddenly everything turns to slow motion. “Mason…” He stops in an instant. He looks at me with honest, genuine, desire-filled eyes. “I don’t know if I can do this.” I’m already in deep water. I already feel too much for him. If we take the next step, it would be so much harder when he eventually finds out about me and never wants to see me again. I let go of his hand. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” I turn around and walk away from him. Away from temptation.
“Sophia, wait!” I don’t stop. I walk straight over to the front door. I need to get out of here before I give in to my desires and let my emotions get the better of me. “Sophia, please stay and talk to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him again as I open the door and rush over to the elevator which brought me up here. I push the button and watch as it turns green. “Come on,” I mumble and press it a few more times. “Come on, come on, come on!” I need to get out of here ASAP. I don’t trust myself around him anymore. Why the hell is the elevator taking so goddamn long? I look around for the fire exit just as Mason appears, bag in hand. “You forgot this.” I swallow hard. Why did he have to come after me? Every single part of me, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, is consumed by him. My mind, my body and my soul craves Mason Hunter. “Please come back inside,” he says. “I want to understand you. Please come and talk to me.”
The elevator doors finally open behind me. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking as I try to decide what to do. I walk backwards and sigh, disappointed in myself and my decision. Disappointed in the whole situation. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.” I step inside and push the button to take me down to the lobby.
“What are you running from Sophia?” he asks as he walks towards me.
“Myself. This isn’t about you.”
He laughs. “Are you really using the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line right now? We haven’t even finished our first date and you’re already breaking up with me.”
The doors start to close. “It’s not like that. I want to…”
He holds his arm out. “Then what’s stopping you?” The doors beep as they open again.
“Emily.” Shit, what am I doing? I can feel the truth bubbling up inside of me. I could tell him everything right here and now but by telling him the truth, I would also have to tell him goodbye and I’m definitely not ready for that.
“If it were up to me, we would have gotten divorced three months ago. I haven’t served the papers yet out of courtesy, no other reason. I’ll serve them right now if you want me to.”
“It’s not about that.”
“You’re right, it’s not. This is about us. Just you and me. I know you feel what I feel. Forget about everybody else and tell me what you want.” He drops my bag when the doors start to close again and steps inside. “If you don’t want this, if you truly don’t want me, then I’ll walk away. Just tell me what you want.” The doors close and we start to descend. His gaze is so intense that in this moment, nothing else matters. Nothing else exists. This is the moment I’ve been dreading but always knew would come. “Tell me what you want, Sophia.”
“I want you,” I whisper.
“Say it again.”
“I want you.”
He hits the emergency stop button and we shudder to a halt. He closes the gap between us and walks us backwards until I’m pressed up against the wall. He takes my face in both of his hands and looks apprehensive as he leans in, carefully watching my reaction, as though he’s waiting for me to stop him again. But I don’t. Not this time. Whether it’s right or wrong, I can’t deny how much I want him. As soon as our lips meet, he lets go of any reservations. He kisses me like he owns me, and in this moment, he does.
The next few minutes pass in a blur.
He kisses my neck.
I moan in delight.
His hands travel up my T-shirt.
My nipples harden.
His eyes go wide.
I groan when his lips leave mine.
He smirks as he takes my nipple into his mouth.
I wonder if he can feel how fast my heart is beating.
He sucks harder.
I fist his hair.
He gently bites down.
My legs turn to jelly.
His hands grab my ass as he lifts me up.
My legs wrap around his waist.
His hard cock presses into my stomach.
I’m desperate for him.
“I have a new favorite sound,” he tells me as his eyes burn into mine. “Your heartbeat.” He bends his knees and carefully places me down on the floor. He looks at me for a long moment before kissing me. Hard. Fast. Gentle. Slow. Every possible way that a person can be kissed. He pulls away and works his way down my body, trailing kisses in his wake. I feel like I’m going to explode with anticipation as he reaches my stomach. Luckily, he doesn’t keep me waiting too long and moves further south. He keeps his eyes locked on mine as his mouth finds its intended target. He strokes and kisses me through my yoga pants and oh my god, if it feels this good through clothes then how will it feel on my bare skin? I throw my head back and moan when he closes his mouth around me and begins to suck. He laughs which sends little vibrations through me, resulting in even more pleasure. I raise my hips and ride his mouth until I feel the pressure starting to build. “Take my fucking pants off, Mason.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He takes off my shoes then slips a hand into my waistline. He strokes me before pulling both layers down in one go. His eyes light up as he growls. “I need to taste you.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” He smirks before burying his head between my thighs. I shout out in pure ecstasy when his skilled fingers and tongue work in unison. It doesn’t take long before I’m bucking my hips and calling out his name as the world explodes around me. He milks every last shudder out of me and then slows the pace. “What are you doing?” I ask after about half a minute when it becomes obvious that he has no intention of stopping. It feels one hundred times more sensitive than it did a few minutes ago and I squirm around, which causes his stubble to rub up against me. He chuckles as his fingers carry on in a slow and steady rhythm. He gently pushes down on my lower stomach as his fingers speed up.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m making you come.” That’s all it takes to spark my second orgasm. I call out his name as I ride the waves which ebb and flow. He watches me in awe then sits up and licks his lips with a devilish grin on his face. It’s almost enough to make me have orgasm number three. I know without a doubt that I will never, ever, be the same person after tonight. I will forever crave his touch. “You taste just as delicious as I’d imagined.”
I lean up on my elbows. “Is it my turn to taste you now?”
“I think that’s the greatest question anybody has ever asked me.” I sit up and crawl over to him. He takes hold of my face and kisses me slowly. “I could definitely get used to this. In fact, I think I’m already used to it.”
I laugh. “Stand up.”
He does as I ask. “I like your bossy side. I’m not used to taking orders.” I pause for a moment and look up at the magnificent man standing in front of me. My heart shatters at the fact that I will never be able to do this again. Why did I have to develop feelings for the one person who is off limits? I reach up and undo the button on his jeans just as a man’s voice fills the elevator. “Mr Hunter, are you in there, sir?”
I panic and grab my underwear. “That’s not another AI, is it?” I whisper as I quickly yank them back on.
He laughs and shakes his head in answer. “Yes, I’m in here.”
“It’s Darnell from maintenance.”
“Hello Darnell.”
“Are you okay, sir? We’ve had a problem with the hotel servers and we’ve just been alerted that the emergency stop button was engaged ten minutes ago. Is there an emergency?” My cheeks heat in embarrassment as I put my pants and shoes back on.
“No. I’m fine. I was just…taking care of something.” His eyes dance with amusement.
“In that case, I’m sorry for interrupting. For some reason, we can’t access the live stream for the camera in there.” My eyes widen as I look around. “It’s running about half an hour behind and it’s not letting us skip to present time. IT are working on it now.”
“I’m fine. Tell IT not to worry.”
“I will. Enjoy your evening, sir.”
“You too.”
“You didn’t tell me there were cameras in here,” I say.
He holds his hands up. “I’m sorry. It didn’t even cross my mind. I got a little carried away.”
We both did. I flatten my hair. “What happens in twenty minutes when the footage is all caught up?”
“I won’t let it.” He presses the stop button again. The mechanics begin to whir and we start to move a few seconds later.
“But what if somebody sees us?” I groan as I’m filled with regret. How could I have been so stupid? I listened to my heart instead of my head and now I’ve put us both in jeopardy. “What if they leak it?”
“Sophia, nobody will see it. I promise.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to him. “Do you want to wait in the bar while I take care of it or go back up to the penthouse?”
I stiffen. “Um, I think I’ll just go home.”
He frowns. “Oh. Oh, okay. Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m getting tired.”
“You can spend the night here, if you want? We could even stay in separate rooms.”
“Lori doesn’t like to be alone in the house at night.”
He peers down at me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, trying to keep a poker face. “Of course I am.”
He kisses me softly. “Thank you for tonight. It was the best first date I have ever had. In fact, it was one of the best nights I’ve ever had.”
“So much for not kissing on the first date, huh? Now you have real life elevator porn,” I joke, trying to keep the mood light. Anything to stop my real emotions from showing.
“When can I see you again?”
“I don’t know.”
“I want to take you out to dinner. We can slow things down if you would prefer.”
“I’ll call you.”
He nods and kisses me on the forehead right before the elevator doors start to open. “I’ll be thinking about you.”
“I’ll be thinking about you too,” I reply in an almost whisper.
“Will you let Charlie drive you home?” he asks as we step out of the elevator.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll walk.” I smile. “I could use some fresh air.” He laughs softly. “Goodbye, Mason.”
“Until next time, Sophia.”
I manage to make it out of the hotel before the tears start to fall. My heart aches at the realization that very soon, there won’t be a next time.