Chapter Nine
A sharp creak of metal startled Hannah awake. In the darkness, she stiffened and froze, waiting for the next sound.
“It’s just Kate’s bedsprings,” Mason said, his voice gravelly and rough. He rubbed his hand against her bare stomach. “Go back to sleep.”
Hannah let out the breath she was holding and relaxed down into the mattress. The creaking grew more rhythmic, insistent. Between that and the adrenaline rush of being woken, there was no way she could sleep now. She checked the clock. Two twenty. Too early to get up.
“You slept through the first two rounds; you can do it again if you try,” Mason whispered in the dark as he pulled her closer.
She liked the feel of him, the way their legs intertwined in the night. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, but her brain kicked on in full force. “I’ll go out to the living room so you can get some sleep.” She tried to get up, but her legs were beneath his.
“You need to sleep, Hannah.”
“I know. I just can’t now.” She tried to muster up some irritation, some worry. All she felt was the low-level hum of arousal she always enjoyed around Mason. The feeling that switched off her common sense.
“Why?” His pillow rustled as he pushed up on it behind her.
He relaxed his grip as she rolled over and looked up at him. “I don’t know. My mind starts spinning and I can’t stop it.”
“What do you usually do?”
Her heart stuttered in her chest. She usually dug one of her erotic romances out of her nightstand and read until she fell asleep or needed her vibrator. But she wasn’t about to let him know that.
“Really?” he asked, as if reading her mind.
He couldn’t possibly know. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Your eyes,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “You know, since I’m here, if there is anything you’d like me to help you out with…”
How could he always see what she was thinking in her eyes? She shook her head. “Mason, I told you we are not having sex.”
“No, you said we weren’t having sex last night. It’s technically morning, so you can make love with me and not break your word.”
She bit her lip and searched his gaze. How had he used her eyes to read her mind when she could barely see his in the darkness? “Is that why you stayed?”
“I didn’t want to be away from you.” He moved his free hand in a lazy dance up and down her arm. “I never want to be away from you. I know you’re busy, but if I’m going to live on five days a month, then I need you to return my calls and let me come down once in a while.” She watched his shoulders fall as the words came out, almost as if he was releasing himself from something.
“I warned you the holidays are a crazy time for me.” She splayed her hands across his chest, the fine hair tickling her palms. “But I am sorry I was avoiding you.”
His body seemed to lighten at her apology. “I’m already looking forward to your week off in February. Let’s book a trip so we have something to look forward to.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him if she got the promotion like she was hoping, she wouldn’t get the week in February. There’d be no vacation time for at least six months. “I should use the week to visit my folks in Arizona.”
He stiffened, stalling his fingers on her elbow. “You don’t want me to go with you.” It wasn’t even a question.
She felt his discomfort. It was almost as if his heart had hiccupped. “It’s not that.” Her parents would never approve of her bringing a boyfriend into their home. Not unless there was a ring on her finger. And even then, they’d have to sleep in separate rooms. She ran her hands up to cup his face now rough with stubble. “February is a long time from now. I know it feels like more, but this relationship is brand new. Let’s not make any promises we can’t keep, okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You say that now.”
Mason grabbed her wrists, pulled her hands between them and wrapped them with his own. “I’m not going anywhere. Hannah, I—”
His words were cut short by Kate’s screams “The penguins, yes, yes, oh, the penguins!”
Hannah rolled to her back as she tried to stifle the laughter racking her body.
“The penguins?” Mason asked, sitting up. “What the hell is he doing to her?”
“He’s your brother.” Hannah laughed. “Kate collects penguins,” Hannah managed as a tear dropped from her eye. “I have to stop or they’ll hear me.”
Mason pushed himself on top of her, his face inches from hers. “They’re a little preoccupied.”
“Really? And here I thought they were dusting her figurines.” Hannah erupted in laughter again as Mason pressed down on the bed, bouncing her beneath him. “Quit it,” she yelped, trying to swallow her giggles.
His grin told her he wasn’t planning on stopping. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his, and pulled him down on top of her. “Making me laugh is not helping me get back to sleep.”
“Right,” he said without moving. “I know something that will help you.” His warm kiss on her neck did nothing to calm her down. Every nerve in her body went on alert. Instinctively, her legs tightened around him, and she raked her hand through his hair.
Before she lost all control, she said, “This is not the answer to anything.”
“Maybe it’s the answer to everything.” His hot breath tickled her neck as he made his way to the curve of her shoulder, her collarbone.
Molding her hands to his face, she raised his head to look at her and shook her head. Mason bit his lip and nodded, rolling off her and to the side.
Her stomach sank watching him close his eyes and breathe deeply. How could she make him understand when she barely got it herself? He jumped as she rested her hand against his chest. She pulled back, but he grabbed her hand and held it where his heart was thumping. She could barely find her voice.
“Every time I’m with you, I get in deeper. I just need us to be about more.”
“We are,” he whispered, stroking the back of her hand.
Hannah rolled to her side, pulling his hand with her. He wrapped himself behind her, warming her with his presence.
“Did you always have trouble sleeping?” he asked, running his fingers across her scalp and down her hair.
“Yeah. I would wake up early to be with my dad before he left for work. I was always listening for him. I think that made me a light sleeper.”
“Are you still close with him?”
Hannah wondered if they’d ever been. “He doesn’t think I have a real job.”
Mason’s chest vibrated against her back as he laughed. “What does that mean?”
“He thinks it’s something I’m doing until I get married and have babies.” She thought of his words when she’d told him she was not coming to Christmas in Arizona again. “Hannah, you work in a mall. Don’t take yourself so seriously.” Pointing out her last two stores hadn’t been attached to a mall wouldn’t matter.
“Why does he think that?”
Hannah shrugged. Because that’s how he thought the world worked. Because it never crossed his mind anyone might want anything else. Hannah blew away the heaviness of her emotions. If she kept talking about this, she’d need to have sex with Mason just to feel better about herself. Instead, she focused on his fingers, pressing them away from his palm as she traced their length.
Mason kissed her hair. “My dad still wants me to give up firefighting and join the force. Parents have dreams for us that don’t actually jive with who we are.”
“What you do makes a difference in people’s lives. Your parents have to be proud of that.”
“Are you okay with it? My job, I mean.”
She was more than okay with it. It was incredibly sexy, the way his whole career focused on helping other people. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Some women have a problem with it. The schedule is rough. Twenty-four on and forty-eight off can make for a complicated home life.”
“I’m hardly in a position to call anyone else’s schedule crazy.”
Mason spoke slowly, as if deliberately choosing his words. “We are highly trained and always very careful, but it can be dangerous if something goes wrong.”
A chill ran down her spine at the thought. He hugged her closer as if he’d felt it, too. She didn’t even want to think about anything happening to him. She folded his hand between her own and brought it to her lips. “You just keep coming home in one piece and I’ll be fine.”
…
Mason slowly opened one eye and assessed the strange light glowing from Hannah’s alarm clock. With every minute, the light seemed to be getting brighter and brighter. What the hell?
He pushed up on his elbow. The entire thing was glowing as if it might explode. He rubbed his eyes as the light brightened again. It was dark outside, but Hannah’s bedroom was fast approaching dawn.
“We still have five more minutes,” Hannah mumbled, scooting back into him.
“What is that thing?” Mason whispered, lying back down but not taking his eyes off the glowing box.
“My alarm clock? It’s supposed to help me wake up gradually and reset my circadian rhythm. Christmas from my dad two years ago. He does all his shopping from those catalogs in the backs of seats on airplanes.”
All those words without even opening her eyes. She must be one of those freakish morning people. Finally, he’d figured out what was wrong with her. He could live with it.
“It gets even brighter?”
“I’ll turn it off if you promise not to let me fall back asleep.”
“I’ll get used to it, I guess.” Never going to happen. He’d been waking up to flashing lights since he was seventeen. Hannah’s hand reached from beneath the comforter and slapped the box. It immediately powered down, darkening the room once more.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her hair, wrapping himself around her.
“Mason,” she teased, wiggling her bottom against his morning erection.
“Find something you like?” He pressed himself against her.
“You have a one-track mind.” She tucked the covers under her chin.
That was definitely not the no he’d heard last night. “You inspire me.”
“I need to inspire you to get a new line. You’ve used that one before.”
She didn’t stop him as he moved his hand across her hip and under the waistband of her flannel pajama bottoms. He didn’t stop, sliding the material down over the curve of her hip. Damn. She wasn’t wearing any panties.
“Mason, we need to get up in four minutes.” Her words hung in the air, but she didn’t resist as he pushed the pants down past her thighs. He shucked his own boxers and wrapped himself around her again, pushing her pants off the rest of the way with his foot. Brushing the hair away from her ear, he kissed her neck, savoring the scent of her soap that even now lingered on her skin. Hannah moaned and arched her back, pressing against him mercilessly.
He reached beneath her shirt, palming her breast and squeezing, kneading until her breath went shallow. Hannah lifted her leg over his and arched back farther, offering herself to him. Mason bit back a groan and released her breast, reaching over the top of her to throw open the nightstand drawer.
He fumbled around, looking for the box of condoms, not caring to imagine what some of the other objects he found might be. “Finally,” he groaned as he snatched a condom from the box, rolled back, and sheathed himself.
Snuggling against her, he worked his hand back to her breasts, brushing across each nipple in turn. “Hannah?” he whispered as he pulled her hair away from her face and began to kiss his way down her neck to where her shirt met her shoulder.
“Shhh. I’m having the most amazing dream.” She twisted and writhed against him. He slid his hand south from her breasts, over her belly, and cupped her pussy. She was so wet, so ready. He parted her lips and his length slid against them, absorbing her heat.
“Have this dream often?” he asked.
“All the time.” Her voice was raspy from her shallow breathing.
He hissed as he slid inside her, slipping his fingers on either side of her clit.
She hummed and leaned forward slightly, pressing back against him. He pulled out almost all the way and then slid in again. He watched the comforter move as her hands found her breasts. In his mind, he saw her tweaking each nipple.
“Hurry, Mason, I can’t last,” she rasped. Good thing, because neither could he. He quickened his pace, stroking her clit with each thrust. Her hands appeared over the comforter as she grabbed her pillow and buried her face in it.
The strength of her spasms shocked him, sending him over the edge immediately, milking him of all he had. He gathered her body against his, waiting for his mind to return to this world while he stayed buried deep in hers.
“Hey, Mason,” Derek whispered as he knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. They were fine, covered more now than when they’d slept, but Hannah stiffened anyway.
Derek peeked his head in the room. “Wake up. I need to borrow some clothes. Where are your keys?”
“In my jacket pocket. It’s on the chair in the living room.”
“Thanks.” Mason could swear he heard whistling as Derek closed the door.
“That did not just happen,” Hannah squeaked as she buried her face in her hands.
“What?” His heart skipped. She could not mean them.
“That was too close.”
“He didn’t suspect anything. Trust me, Derek would say something.”
“But we’re lying here, together.” She squeezed him with her inner muscles to accentuate her point. His body surged at the contact.
“It looks just like it did when we were sleeping.” He brushed his hand along the length of her thigh, the curve of her hip, the dip of her waist, up until he found her breast again.
“But if he’d come in even a minute before.”
“We wouldn’t have known he was there.” Mason laughed against her neck.
“This isn’t funny, Mason. We shouldn’t have started anything without locking the door first.”
“Who knew you’d change your mind.” Mason edged his legs between hers once more.
“I’m only human.” She wrapped her fingers around his, encouraging him. “I can’t resist you forever.” She pulled her hand away. “You probably get that a lot.”
No way was she shutting back down on him now. He circled her clit with his fingertip, and she tightened around him. If she kept that up they’d need another condom. “You mean see fireworks behind my closed eyes? Not caring if I ever breathe again. And as I’m coming down from the high, wondering if my nerves will ever be the same?” She covered his hand with her own, trying to hurry him, to quicken his pace. “And it’s not just me.”
Hannah nodded furiously and sucked her bottom lip all the way into her mouth. “No, it is you. It’s not like this for me. It’s usually like ripples.” She reached into the drawer and came up with a condom on her first try. She passed it back to him without a word.
He protected them and then pulled her close. She lifted her leg over his and reached for him, guiding his cock exactly where she wanted it. He pressed into her tight heat, so wet and ready he wanted to throw off the covers and watch.
Being inside Hannah was like nothing else, a rush that had him chasing her orgasm so he could find his own. The frenzy remained, but he needed to be sure she felt the difference, too. With long, sure strokes, he showed her just how good they could be.
Her hand dug into his hip as she urged him on. “Please, faster.”
He kept up the steady rhythm, as if he could do this all day. Luckily, she couldn’t see the set to his jaw, the way his eyes were shut tightly. A peek at any part of her would catapult him right over the razor’s edge he was balancing on. “What’s it like with me, Hannah?”
Her hand slipped from his hip. He knew where it was going. He pried her fingers from her swollen clit and held them firmly. “Please,” she whimpered, trying to tug either of their hands back down.
“Tell me. What’s it like with me?”
She leaned forward and arched against him, meeting his slow thrusts with her own strokes. “Tidal waves.” The words came out in breathy pants. How could either of us be this close already?
It was all just part of the magic. “It’s not me, Hannah.” He fingered the button to send her flying. “It’s us. Us together. It’s better because it’s us.”
She tilted her head back, the expression on her face robbing him of control. With her lips parted and her eyes closed, she looked euphoric, blissful. Her muscles clenched around him, and he had no choice but to hang on, enjoying the ecstasy they created together. He wanted to cry out, scream her name to the heavens, but he knew that would ruin it for her. Instead, he hauled her back up against him and held her close until their breathing returned to normal. Amazing how it remained in cadence even after their lovemaking was finished.
“This is why you can’t sleep over,” Hannah teased.
“This is a reason in favor of my sleeping over.”
Her hair tickled his cheek as she shook her head. “With you here I don’t want to get out of bed.”
“Why is that such a problem?”
“I have a breakfast meeting with my district and regional managers, three ramp-up seminars at three different stores, and a training class full of high school sophomores.”
He wrapped his fingers around hers. “You win. I only have a trip to a preschool scheduled.”
She rolled to face him, which left him amazingly aware he wasn’t inside of her any longer. “You go to preschools?”
“Sure. I raise the ladder, let them climb on the truck. Preschool is where I decided I was going to be a firefighter.” Teasingly, he narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not trading. I’ll take toddlers over teenagers any day.”
…
Is it a walk of shame if I walk into my own kitchen? Hannah straightened her suit jacket as she followed Mason down the hall. It wasn’t as if Kate and Derek could judge. She grinned, thinking about penguins.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Mason stopped so abruptly Hannah plowed right into the back of him. He didn’t move. Peeking around him, she saw Derek sitting on the couch with another man. A man who looked a lot like Mason, only bigger. This guy was a brick wall.
“Derek called me.” Even his voice was big as it echoed in the small room.
Hannah tried to get a better look, but Mason had her fenced in the hallway. “Why?”
Derek reached for something on the table. “I found another card when I went to go upstairs.” Hannah closed her eyes at the words. Another card. Marty had been here, just steps away from where she’d slept.
Derek handed Mason a plastic bag. Inside was a card showing a picture of a naked well-muscled male torso, a Santa hat leaving little to the imagination. “You can arrest him for this. Coming here violated the restraining order.” Mason handed the bag back to Derek, but his feet stayed rooted.
“Probably not,” the big man said. Hannah saw Mason’s shoulders tense as he stepped forward.
“Then why are you here, Junior? If there’s nothing you can do but make more sorry excuses.” As nervous as she was, Hannah couldn’t help but smile at someone calling this behemoth Junior.
“Watch your mouth, Francis. I told you why we couldn’t hold him.”
Derek stood between the men calmly, as if there was nothing frightening about standing between two towers of testosterone.
“Someone want to fill me in?” Hannah said, stepping into the room from the hallway.
The three men turned to face her as she crossed her arms over her chest. She wanted answers and quickly, because she had to get on with her day. Mason spoke first but turned his words on the mountain of a man.
“This is my older brother, Mike. He’s a captain at the precinct that released that bastard as soon as he sobered up. Some bullshit about no priors and a shortage of beds.”
Hannah hadn’t wanted to know what happened to Marty. She also hadn’t wanted to make this kind of a first impression on so many members of Mason’s family.
Mike shook his head. “The cards aren’t him, Mason.”
Mason spun on his heel and pushed Derek aside. Derek merely rolled his eyes and moved between them again. “Why? Because he said so?”
“No, because I’ve been tracking his credit cards and cell phone. He’s in Maryland trying to patch things up with his wife.”
Derek cleared his throat. “It might not have anything to do with Hannah. It could be someone with a grudge against Kate.”
Mason pushed a hand through his hair. “D, what about your friend, Troy? He’s overprotective as all get out.”
“For goodness sake, it’s not Troy.” Hannah moved past the menacing McNallys and into her kitchen. She needed tea, hot and strong. She grabbed her favorite purple owl mug and filled it with simmering water from the insta-hot.
The guys huddled around the coffee table exchanging their theories. Mason brought up Jeremy Taylor. No way was she volunteering that she’d have to spend the next three days working with him. She might end up the subject of a stake out.
Kate padded into the kitchen, her blonde hair in a messy ponytail. Kate didn’t do messy. “A cop, a shrink, and a firefighter walk into your apartment. How long until they declare the place a crime scene?”
“I think all we’re missing is the yellow tape. What is it with guys?” Hannah opted for her favorite jasmine tea. What it lacked in caffeine, it made up for in comfort.
“My money is still on a neighbor who is horrifically bad at flirting with us.”
Hannah stifled a laugh. Could be a neighbor annoyed by midnight screaming about penguins? She smiled and decided that was the option she was sticking with. After all, six in the morning was much too early for conspiracy theories.
“Dad thinks it’s probably a woman,” Mike said out of nowhere. Hannah turned, her tea sloshing onto the floor, narrowly avoiding the front of her suit.
“You said your brother wouldn’t tell the rest of the family,” she snapped at Mason. The entire McNally clan knew about the biggest mistake of her life. Yeah, they were going to just love her.
“Ryan?” Mason looked at her wide-eyed. “He didn’t talk to my dad about the case, I did.”
Hannah felt the color rising from her neck to her hairline as she slammed the mug against the counter. “You what?”
“Come on, honey, let’s go grab some bagels at the coffee shop.” Kate grabbed her arm and jerked her to the door.
Hannah was still fuming as the door closed behind her and she found her coat thrust into her hands. “What did you do that for?”
“You were about to lay into him, that’s what for.” Kate stepped quickly across the landing and down the stairs. Hannah had to hurry to keep pace with her as they hit the street. “When you’re scared, you get mean,” Kate said as the cold morning air hit their faces.
Hannah thought about arguing but didn’t bother. She stuffed her hands deeper in her pockets and trudged beside her friend until they reached the coffee shop.
While the clerk bagged the bagels for Kate, Hannah tried to ignore the smell. She walked to the window and ran her fingers across the velvet of the chair she’d sat in the last time she was here. She smiled, remembering the way Mason’s kiss had made her toes tingle.
“I have to know,” a voice said from behind her. “Is he stalking you or not?” Hannah turned, recognizing the young brunette from the writing club she’d been eavesdropping on that morning.
Hannah smiled at the ridiculous situation. “Are you writing the romance or the suspense?” If the woman was going to be nosy, Hannah could be, too.
“Romance. At least it’s supposed to be, but I’m stuck.”
Kate walked behind the woman, arching her brow at the conversation.
“Then if I say he’s not stalking me, it probably won’t help you.”
The woman shook her head and grinned. “I’m glad though. You two look great together.”
Hannah smiled and left with Kate and the bagels. “What was that about?”
“Nothing,” Hannah said with a wave of her hand. She dug into the bag for a bagel. Still warm.
“Take my car while I’m gone. It’s safer than the train.”
Hannah had statistics to prove the train was actually safer, but they didn’t factor in greeting-card droppers. Hannah’s eyes widened. If she had a car, she wouldn’t have to ride with Jeremy between stores.
“Thanks.” She meant the save from snapping at Mason, the bagel, the car, everything.
“Don’t thank me. This way, I can make Derek drive me to the airport.”
Hannah grinned, realizing she’d forever link Derek to screaming penguins. “Are you coming home this weekend?”
As she punched the code and swung open the door to the building, Hannah noticed Kate’s expression change. “I already booked my ticket to Vegas. Remember, I was going to try and have some fun.”
“Don’t come back on my account,” Hannah said, ascending the stairs.
“I wouldn’t, honey. You can take care of yourself.”
“Oh, I see how it is.” Reaching their door, Hannah turned back to face her friend. “You want more of whatever Derek was doing with those penguins last night.”