Turn Over(102)

“Yes, let me grab my bag.”

“I’ll get it.” He stepped past me, taking in my one-room apartment.

“It’s temporary.” I fluffed the pillows on my bed. I didn’t even have a couch. “Until I find something else.”

I had moved into the studio my second day in South Padre. It was part of a string of studio units on the sound side of the island.

He walked to the dresser and picked up a picture of Hailey and Gracie. I ran over to snatch it from him. “That’s personal.” I laid it face down.

“Sorry.” His brows furrowed in confusion.

“I’m all packed.” I pointed to the bag.

He picked up the suitcase as if it weighed the same as a pair of flip flops. “Let’s do this.”

I locked the door behind us and followed him down the stairs. His car was running, cool air filling the convertible.

Mason secured my suitcase in the trunk and made sure I was settled in the front seat before closing my door. It surprised me that he was such a gentleman. I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I thought he was self-absorbed. Everything he did contradicted the preconceived ideas I had of him. Except maybe last night. I could have predicted he was phenomenal in bed.

The car whipped in reverse and I reached for the bar on the door.

“You better hold on, girl.”

We spun out of the parking lot and merged onto the island roads. Before I knew it we had crossed the bridge and South Padre was in our mirrors.

“Do you always drive so fast?” I asked.

“I have a lot of ground to cover.” He tapped a few of the buttons on the computer screen on the dash. “My acquisitions are located from one end of the state to the other. And if you haven’t noticed, Texas is one damn big state.”

“You’re going to get us killed driving like this.” I clutched the handle tighter as we exited onto seventy-seven.

I looked at my driver. He had a devilish grin. He was enjoying the effect his driving was having on me. It wasn’t the first time I had seen him smile like that. My skin tingled.

“Don’t worry. I promise to deliver you to the hotel in one piece.”

“Have you ever crashed?” I should have checked his driving credentials before I got in the car with him.

“Not yet.” He smiled wider.

I looked out the window at the blurry landscape. “What kind of meetings do you have in San Antonio?”

“I’m meeting with a few contractors.”

“Shouldn’t they be coming to you? Why not meet in Padre?”

“I want to keep everything I’m doing with the resort as private as possible.”

“And you’re not worried I might write a big expose on it?”

“You are home sick with a sore throat. I don’t think I have to worry about you interviewing anyone.” He pulled his sunglasses down and I caught the message in his sapphire blue eyes.

“Right.” I didn’t like that he had pinned me in a corner.

“Have you ever been to San Antonio?” He lowered the radio so we could talk.

“I’ve never been anywhere but around the island. I went across the border when I first moved here so I could say I had traveled to Mexico.”

“You’re telling me you haven’t left Padre in three months?”

“Is that bad?”

“It tells me something about you.” He changed hands on the steering wheel so that his right palm rested on my leg. I liked that touching me came naturally to him.

“That I’m trying to work hard at my new job and prove myself to my boss?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“What then?” I waited—worried he was going to think I wasn’t the travel companion he really wanted. There were probably tons of women who were beautiful and spontaneous, willing to hop on a jet with him and cross the ocean. Women with adventurous spirits and travel savvy. I didn’t know if I fell into that category. I didn’t have any idea what category he put me in.

“That you needed to meet me.”

“Is that so?” God, he was arrogant.

“It is.” He gently squeezed my thigh. “We can have fun together, Sydney.”

“Fun?” I realized exactly what category he had grouped me in—the fun girl.

“We both work hard. We play hard. Very hard.”

My cheeks burned. Somewhere deep inside I knew this was bad. Mason was the kind of guy who got what he wanted when he wanted it. And when he was satisfied he would move on to the next thing. But with his hand on my leg and those bedroom eyes smiling at me, all I could think about was that I wanted him too. My body still ached from this morning, and yet I wanted more.

“So that’s what this is?” I tried to sound completely cool.