Women didn’t usually ignore his demands, but this particular woman didn’t know that.
The look she gave him made his vision blur for a moment. She took a deep breath, and the clip fell from her lips to her lap. Her right arm still held her hair in the air, but the locks slowly slipped between her fingers and cascaded back around her shoulders.
Mason ran his hand through a section and leaned in to smell the scent of her shampoo. He closed his eyes and learned her scent, feminine, floral of course.
Someone honked, and he jerked his gaze back to the front and grabbed the steering wheel. He hit the gas a bit too hard, and they lurched forward.
Jenna didn’t comment. She lowered her arm and stuffed the clip back into her purse. She turned her gaze to look out the passenger window. He saw her chest heaving with breaths out of his peripheral vision.
Fuck Rafe and his demands. There was no way in hell he could let this woman go. He’d had good intentions, but for Christ’s sake, she was so damn malleable he wanted to pull over and see what else he could command her to do.
Instead, Mason gripped the wheel harder and concentrated on driving. He might not be able to keep any promise about leaving Jenna alone, but he could at least get her from point A to point B without mauling her in the car. Later…
Chapter Two
Jenna slipped into the chair next to Katy when her self-appointed suitor pulled the seat out for her. She’d had to concentrate hard to avoid falling on her face while getting from the car to the inside of the restaurant.
Everyone had already been seated, leaving two vacant chairs—the one next to Katy and the one adjacent to that one.
Jenna wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. On the one hand, she wanted to be as close to Mason as she could get. His enormous body took up a lot of space, and she loved the way his bicep brushed against hers as he took his own seat. He leaned so far in her direction, he could have kissed her as he sat.
She almost moaned out loud, wishing he would. She’d thought of nothing but his lips since she’d entered his fuck-me sports car. Full and luscious, every time he licked them, she wanted to be the one to do the honor.
Jenna grabbed the glass of water at her spot and gulped half the contents as though that would somehow fix all her problems. Maybe dehydration was making her brain fuzzy. She never ever fell for a man like this. And she knew nothing about him.
“You made it.” Katy reached around her with one arm and gave her a half hug. “Everything okay?” She glanced around Jenna to peek at Mason, but the man didn’t return the gaze, although Jenna suspected he knew Katy was staring him down.
“Yep. It’s all good.”
“You feeling better?”
“One hundred percent, thanks.”
The waiter leaned in between Mason and Jenna at that moment. “May I get you something to drink?”
“A house chardonnay would be fantastic, thanks.” Maybe if she gulped that too, she would be able to relax. As it was, she was so tense her neck hurt. She felt like her body was plastered against Mason’s side. Was he leaning her direction more than necessary? She couldn’t see around him to assess the other side, but his thigh brushed hers, and he seemed to have planted it precisely so she couldn’t escape him.
Granted, the entire table was a bit squished for space. She glanced up and down the length of the long line of diners on both sides and decided the table was undoubtedly meant to hold about four less customers than it currently served.
Mason grabbed the perfectly folded napkin from her plate, shook it out, and set it in her lap. He repeated the process with his own napkin formation as though it wasn’t the least bit strange he was controlling her space.
Had anyone else noticed? Jenna’s cheeks grew hot again. Shit.
What was with this man? She wanted to both slap him for being so high-handed and climb on his lap and ride him like a stallion.
Jenna jerked her gaze to Katy, who had indeed not missed the strange gesture from her other side. Katy lifted one brow. Her mouth opened, and then she jerked her head in a quick no.
No? No what? Jenna had known Katy long enough to recognize the signs. Mason wasn’t the man for her. Katy deemed him unfit. Normally that would be enough for Jenna. They were close. Katy knew Jenna’s tastes in men, and Katy knew Mason much better than Jenna. If Katy said he wasn’t right for her, then Jenna should by God listen to reason.
But her body refused to play along. Her pussy wept with the need to be touched. She was so fucking aroused she could undoubtedly come with one stroke of a finger. And she desperately wanted that finger to be attached to Mason’s hand. So what if he wasn’t a good choice for her? She wasn’t selecting a life partner this evening. She was out for a night of dinner.