Perv(41)
When they strolled back to the car, Mason took her hand. “Would you like to come back to my place?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “I shouldn’t. I think I like you too much.”
He laughed. “That’s the weirdest line I’ve ever heard.”
“True, though. I need more time to process this…thing…we have. If I go home with you, you will have my head spinning before we shut the front door, and the next thing I know, you’ll have me on my back. And I’ll like it.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” No wonder he didn’t date. Women were too complicated.
“It’s a confusing thing. Besides, my car is at the shop. Can you take me back there?”
“Of course.” But it might kill me to leave you.
He drove slow, saying little. He didn’t want the evening to end. Even if they didn’t have sex, he liked being with Jenna. Having her in his car was a wonder in and of itself. He didn’t want her to get out.
When he pulled up, it was dark. “You don’t have lights in the back?”
“No. I’m not usually here in the dark, anyway.”
Mason got out and came around to her side of the car. He didn’t like the idea she might ever be behind her shop in the dark. “I’m going to wait for you to pull away,” he said as he helped her out.
“I have to go in first. I left a mess.”
“Then I’ll go in with you. You shouldn’t be here alone. It’s not safe.”
“Okay, bossy.” But she smiled.
Jenna pulled out her keys, and Mason took them from her. “Which one is it?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been known to open this door by myself from time to time.”
“Yeah, but this time you don’t have to. Which one is it?” He dangled them in front of her.
“The gold one next to my car fob.”
“See how easy that was?” he teased. He opened the door and flipped the switch inside the shop. The back room illuminated, and he led her inside.
The place was pristine. “I don’t think you need to worry. I guess your guy took care of things.” The only thing on the counter was her vase of roses, the box of chocolates, and two enormous ribbons that made him chuckle.
“Yeah, David would do that.” She shook her head. “He’s a keeper.”
“David, huh?” A spurt of jealously, the likes of which he’d never experienced, climbed up his spine and deposited itself in his brain. He leaned on the counter and fingered the ribbon, trying to ignore his unusual emotional state. “How long have you known David?”
“My entire life,” she responded from the other side of the room. She opened a tall glass refrigerator and then closed it, seeming satisfied. “We grew up together.”
He stared at her backside, wishing he could run his hands over her fine ass instead of just looking. “So you’re friends?”
“The best.”
“Were you ever more than friends?”
Jenna turned around and stared him down. “Yes.” She ambled toward him. “He’s like a brother.” She stopped when she got in his space, and she grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt with both hands. “And he’s gay.”
Mason exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“Do I need to add incurable jealousy to the list of quirky things about you?”
“Perhaps.”
She released his shirt with one hand and pulled a long length of ribbon from between his fingers. “What was the point of this exactly?”
“The ribbon?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Ribbon has many uses.”
“Yes, it does. I know this. I work with it daily. But what were your thoughts on the subject?”
Mason breathed heavily. Jenna took up too much space. Ironic since she was half his size. Every time he breathed, he inhaled her scent. Roses predominated. She must have them under her skin from working with them so much. She stared at him with lust in her eyes, and her face flushed, probably from her assertiveness.
She said she didn’t want to come home with him, but now she was pressed against him and turning her away was so not an option.
Jenna lifted the length of ribbon between them and went onto her tiptoes to pull it around his neck. “If I’m remembering correctly, you’ve seen me naked more than once, and I’ve yet to be given the reciprocal pleasure.” She ran her hands down his chest, making his heart skip a beat under her caress.
“You saw my chest fine while I was fighting.”
“It’s not your chest I’m so much interested in. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s the most glorious expanse of muscle I’ve ever seen,” she squeezed his pecs with both hands as she spoke, “but I’m quite curious about what lies inside your jeans.”