Her hands snaked around my neck and I moved to pick her up and carry her to my bed. "You better not stop this time," she groaned as I laid her across the sheets.
"I swear I won't stop until you beg me to." I descended on her, pinning her arms over her head. She looked like a goddess, sprawled across my bed. I realized then that I might be the one who wouldn't walk out of here unattached.
8
Sydney
We had fallen asleep sometime around three. I woke up at five, Mason's room was still dark. His arm draped across my chest. I looked at his clock. Shit!
"Mason." I shoved against his arm.
"What?" he answered sleepily.
"I have to write my story." I slid out from under him, my feet landing on the cool tile next to his bed.
He lunged toward me, his arm scooping me back toward his chest. "It's early."
I wrestled out from his strong hold. "I know, but my editor is in the office at eight. I only have three hours."
I walked through the condo to grab my bag and returned to the bed with my tablet. I clicked the flat keyboard under the screen. It wasn't my laptop, but it would work in a pinch.
Mason rubbed his eyes and propped himself on his elbow, the sheet fell off his hip. Focus, Sydney. Sex later.
"We're really doing this now?" he asked.
"I'm going to get fired. I have to file a story about you before eight. An exclusive, one-of-a-kind story. I promised my editor I had something like that."
"All right. What do you need to know?" He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.
I pulled open a blank page. If I typed in quotes as he talked I could easily copy and paste them into the story. It would save time.
"Where did we leave off last night?" I scrolled through my notes.
"Oh, you want to ask me about last night?" he teased.
"No, the questions. The questions." I had to ignore the surges pulsing through my veins. Waking up with him, all I wanted to do was pull him back under the covers.
"I think you were commenting on how I was taking over the Texas development market."
"Oh, right." I chewed on my bottom lip and typed in what I had recorded last night. There wasn't much. "Ok, you were getting ready to explain to me why you chose this as your career."
"Why did you want to be a journalist?" His fingertips skipped over my thigh.
I swatted at him. "This isn't my interview. Tell me."
He rolled back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. "I don't talk about this stuff. I don't see how it's important."
"Because I need a feature piece on you. Feature means personal details."
"When I was in college I took a business course, and it piqued my interest. I interned my junior year at a company that specialized in acquisitions. One thing led to another."
My head whipped to the side. "That is a canned answer if I ever heard one."
"Are you supposed to comment on my answers? I thought it was the press's job to present unbiased information."
I huffed, turning back to the keyboard. I thought of a new approach. "What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?"
"Oh, I think I showed you that, Miss Paige." He smiled.
I groaned. "I'm going to get fired if you don't take this seriously."
He sat forward, planting a kiss on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'll be serious." He shuttled the hair from my neck and kissed behind my ear. "I like to travel." I felt the chills run down my spine. "I was in Italy this spring and spent some time driving through the hill side. Beautiful country." His lips moved to my other shoulder.
I tried to type while his mouth blew warm breezes over my skin. "Were you in Italy for a vacation?"
His hands wrapped to the front of my chest, palming my breasts. "No. I was there to talk about an olive farm."
"Olive farm?" I leaned against his chest. His hands were all over me. "Why would you be interested in an olive farm?"
"Because I had a tip from a friend that there was an opportunity. I flew over to check it out. I'm not one to turn down a smart investment."
"And did you decide it was a good investment?" I tried to picture the handsome Texan driving through the sunflower countryside, tasting olives in open fields. My heart panged for a second at the thought of someone else joining him.
"No." His hands trailed over my stomach. I could feel his chest pressed against my back. "The timing was off. Good trip though."
"I met Grey and Eden last night. What about your parents? Where are they?"
I felt the cool air hit my body as he slid from behind me and stood next to the bed. He walked to the bathroom. "I was very clear last night. I said no questions about family." The door closed behind him.
I stared at the door. I wasn't sure whether to knock and apologize or to wait him out. I started framing my story while I waited for him to emerge. A few minutes later the door cracked.
"Do you have enough yet?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No. I'm sorry about the last question. I just think it would help for people to know about your upbringing."
"I don't talk about family. I'll spout business advice all day. I'll tell you my favorite sports teams and what I like to eat for dinner, but I'm not opening up the past. Grey and Eden are out of this too."
I didn't know what had hurt him so deeply, but it must have been tragic. "What it they are willing to talk to me?"
The glare he hit me with stung.
"Ok. I understand. No Grey or Eden. I promise. Will you sit with me so I can finish this?" I motioned to the bed.
He stretched out, over six feet of him. "What else do you have?"
For the next thirty minutes Mason answered every question I asked him. He made us coffee while I started crafting the story. It came together quickly. I outlined his college interests, his focus on sports as a child, and eventually painted the picture of a twenty-two year old taking on land deals that would make him a multi-millionaire in less than six years. I read over the story again. There were enough personal details to make it a full-length feature.
"Do you want to read it before I send it in?" I asked. He was at the window, watching the waves.
"No. I'm sure it paints me in a positive light."
I hesitated for a second. I wondered if the entire night had been about this moment. About writing a flattering piece on him to sway the public's opinion of him.
I attached the file to my email to Alice and hit send.
"It's done." I hugged my knees to my chest.
"Good. I've got a meeting this morning." He turned from the window. "Can I buy you breakfast before you go into work?"
Feelings bubbled through my chest and stomach. Feelings I wasn't supposed to have. Was he kicking me out? Was he buying me off with bacon and eggs? I felt annoyed and hurt. I had said I was the one who wanted the one-night stand, but with the Padre sun dotting the bed we had shared I was filled with utter sadness.
I felt the tablet slip through my fingers as Mason laid it on the bedside table. "Before breakfast though, could I interest you in a shower?"
I looked into his eyes. I realized maybe I wasn't the only one who didn't want the morning to end.
"I don't have any clothes with me."
"Well, I wasn't planning on you wearing clothes in the shower." He winked as he led me to the bathroom.
He turned the hot water on and opened the door when the steam started to billow over the glass doors.
I stepped inside, feeling the water beat against my skin like warm rain.
"Feel good?" he asked.
I nodded. I didn't think I could use words. They may have been all used up, or I was just tired of talking. I looked at the mountain of a man in front of me. His sculpted chest, the ridges at his hips, the stunning eyes, and I lost all sense of reality. I leaned against the shower wall as his mouth descended on mine.
The heat rushed between my legs, and I couldn't touch enough of him fast enough. My hands moved against his chest and over the muscles in his shoulders, feeling the firmness of his skin. The water cascaded down his back and I groaned as his teeth sank into the flesh around my nipple. It perked and hardened under the flames of his tongue. His fingers ran between my legs, urging me to open up to him.
"Oh, God, Mason," I panted as his fingers moved in circles. My leg wound around his waist. It had only been hours, but I wanted him inside me again. I was hungry for him. The way he felt, the way he knew how to make me feel explosive and whole.
His eyes locked on mine. He steadied us against the wall, and I moaned as he slipped inside me. I began to tremble from the intensity. He moved in and out, our bodies colliding with urgent possession.
I clawed against his back, holding on as the vibrations rushed from my body to his and back to mine again. It was as if we took turns sharing the same current, fueling the energy that joined us.