Ascension (Book 4, The Watcher Chronicles) (14 page)

“Is something wrong, dear?” Mrs. Cain asks me, full of concern.

My phone rings again.

I’m outside…

“I’m so sorry,” I say to them. “Something’s come up that requires my immediate attention.”

“Is anything wrong?” Chandler asks me, instantly concerned something important to our mission has happened.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” I tell him, to alleviate his concern. “I can handle it.”

Chandler slides out while I make my apologies to his parents. I quickly slip my arms through my coat as I hurriedly make my way outside.

As soon as I step out the front door of the restaurant, I feel a strong hand grasp my left wrist. I’m instantly back where I started: the bedroom at the beach house. I turn to Mason and roughly push him down on the bed immediately crawling on top of him and straddling his hips. I kiss him so hard on the mouth I hear him give a small grunt of pain but I don’t care. All I can think about is having him inside me to assuage the painful ache he purposefully ignited there.

I fumble between us trying to undo the buckle of his belt when I feel his hands quiet mine, silently telling me to slow down, but I don’t want to. I throw his hands off mine and continue my quest for satisfaction.

“Jess,” Mason finally says pulling his mouth from mine, “wait.”

“No.” I tell him having worked his belt loose. I instantly begin to undo the button and zipper of his pants.

Mason rolls me over onto my back easily trapping me beneath him. He looks down at me with amused eyes and a pleased smile plays across his lips.

“Don’t make me wait,” I almost beg. “Finish what you started back there.”

“I intend to,” Mason says as I feel his right hand travel back to where he left off earlier.

I inhale deeply and groan in want of more.

“Why are you torturing me like this?” I ask.

“Because I haven’t eaten yet,” he says, kissing me lightly on the lips as his fingers deftly bring me to the brink. “And right now I’m extremely hungry for a marshmallow.”

I feel Mason slide his body down mine and find his way to satisfying his sweet tooth.

“You know what you did was just all kinds of wrong, right?” I ask Mason afterwards as we lay in bed together. I’m looking at him with my chin propped against his naked chest.

He looks at me and smiles, completely unapologetic. “How could it be wrong when it felt so right?”

I just shake my head at his incorrigibleness, unable to prevent a smile of my own.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell Chandler. He’s going to ask why I had to leave in such a hurry.”

“Just tell him you had a matches emergency,” Mason says as he begins to laugh. “He’ll understand.”

“I really didn’t like lying to his parents,” I tell Mason.

“Why would his parents need to know about your matches fetish?”

I rest my forehead on his chest and shake my head. Mason chuckles even harder. I feel the rumble of his laughter and it makes me happy. I look back up at him.

“I didn’t mean that, you goof. I meant lying to them about me and Chandler getting married. It felt really wrong.”

Mason calms his laughter and sighs. “You won’t have to play this game with Chandler much longer. I have a feeling things will be coming to a head soon. You have all the archangels now.”

“Once we’re all able to get together, I want us to spend some time with one another at the villa. If Gabe can show us all what needs to be done during the fight, we might need some time to practice wielding our powers as a team.”

“I agree,” Mason says. “I would like to show you how to properly handle that sword of yours as well.”

“That would be nice,” I say. “I haven’t actually had to fight much with it yet. And I don’t see Lucifer just letting me win. I wish I knew what we were supposed to do exactly. I don’t want to kill him, Mason, not if I don’t have to.”

“Promise me if it comes down to you or him that you’ll choose you,” Mason says, looking at me to make sure I tell him the truth.

“I’ll choose me,” I say, not having to lie about that. “I want the life we talked about earlier. I want to have babies with you and watch them grow up and fall in love and have children of their own. I want all that and more. So don’t worry. I won’t let him kill me if I can prevent it.”

Mason rolls me over onto my back.

“Enough talk about fighting,” he says, rubbing the side of my hip with his free hand. “I would much rather talk about something more enjoyable.”

“And what would you like to talk about, Mr. Collier?”

“Whatever happened to that little promise of the reverse marshmallow?” He asks innocently, still rubbing my hip with his hand.

“Hmm, well, that plan got interrupted by ‘she who shall not be named’.”

“Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about it?”

“No. I’ve just changed when it will happen.”

“And when can I expect this pleasure?”

I shrug. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

“Are you purposely torturing me, Agent Riley?”

“Why yes I am, Mr. Collier.”

Mason flops over onto his back, the sheet of the bed just barely covering his naked torso. I flip the sheet completely off.

“But,” I tell him, straddling his hips, “that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun in other ways until that time.”

Oddly enough, Mason doesn’t need any more prodding than that.

Chapter 9

I call Leah the next morning to make sure she made it back to Mama Lynn’s house the day before.

“Is that Jess?” I hear Mama Lynn say in the background.

“Hold on,” Leah tells me. “Mama Lynn needs to tell you something.”

I hear shuffling as the phone is being handed off.

“Jess,” Mama Lynn says, “can you and Mason make it over here for dinner tonight?  I was going to call your grandpa to see if he could make it too.”

“Yes, we can come. We don’t have any plans.”

“Wonderful,” she says and I can hear the happiness in her voice. “We also need to decide on a date for the wedding. I figured we could do that tonight.”

“That’s fine. How are the preparations coming along?”

“Oh, they’re fine,” Mama Lynn says but I hear a note of slight disappointment in her voice.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her. “Are you having trouble with something?”

“No, not trouble really,” she says hesitantly. “It’s just that everyone in town keeps asking me about it. I think they’re disappointed they won’t be there to wish you well is all.”

“Did you remind them we’ll have a private reception at your place afterwards?”

“Well yes, but it’s just not the same you know. Most of these people have been in your life since you came to live with me. They feel like part of your family.”

I sigh. “They’ll be fine,” I say, having no intention of changing my mind on the matter. I know that’s what she wants. She’s always wanted us girls to have fairytale weddings but I’m just not a fairytale kind of girl. She knows this.

“What time do you want us over for dinner tonight?” I ask her changing the subject as deftly as I can.

“Five, sweetie.”

“Ok. We’ll be there.”

I end the call and feel Mason staring at me.

“Problems?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No, not really. Mama Lynn just hinted strongly that she wants to invite the whole town to the wedding.”

“My offer still stands,” Mason says, gently reminding me of his willingness to just elope.

“No, it’s too late. I’ll be fine,” I tell him, trying my best to smile even though it comes out a bit strained.

Mason holds his hand out to me and I take it. He brings me into his arms and just holds me. I lay my head against his chest and breathe him in, feeling myself instantly relax.

My phone vibrates in my jean pocket and I reluctantly pull away from him to answer it.

It’s JoJo.

“Mon cher, I need you to come to my studio so I can fit you for the dress you are to wear to the Grammy’s with Chandler.”

“Do you need me now?”

“Oui.”

“Ok, we’ll be right there.”

I look up at Mason. “We need to go to JoJo’s studio so I can try on the dress she made for me to wear to the Grammy’s.”

In less than a second, we’re standing in JoJo’s studio.

I find JoJo studying a black dress lying across one of her work tables, but she isn’t alone. Chandler is standing right beside her and staring at me without his usual friendly smile to greet me.

“Crap,” I mumble under my breath.

“Do you want me to handle him?” Mason asks, all too ready to make sure Chandler doesn’t give me too much grief for my hasty departure from the night before.

“No, I’ll deal with him. Why don’t you go talk to Aiden?” I suggest, seeing the other Watcher looking out one of the glass walls towards the Eiffel tower.

I make my way over to JoJo and Chandler.

JoJo is as bubbly as ever and bounces over to me giving me a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

“Chandler said you might be sick,” JoJo said, looking me over in a glance. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look more beautiful, mon cher.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy,” I tell her.

I chance a glance at Chandler still standing a few feet away from me on the other side of the work table. His demeanor seems to soften slightly with my confession to JoJo.

“Would you mind if I talked to Chandler before I try on the dress?” I ask her.

JoJo nods her head, her black curls bouncing around her shoulders. She walks over to where Aiden and Mason are while I brace myself to face Chandler’s music.

“I’m sorry,” I say, keeping it simple.

“Matches?” He asks me point blank.

“Yes, matches.”

He shakes his head and looks up to the ceiling of the room taking in a deep breath.

“My parents were disappointed,” he tells me not looking down at me immediately but continuing to stare straight up. Finally, he lowers his head, and I can see his disappointment in me in his eyes.

“I am sorry I left the way I did,” I tell Chandler. “But honestly, I was looking for an excuse to leave. I didn’t like sitting there lying to your folks Chandler. It wasn’t right. I’m not a liar.”

Chandler shuffles his feet and looks down at the floor.

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t like lying to them either. I just couldn’t seem to get my mom off my back about meeting you. I didn’t realize she would already have it in her head that you were part of the family.”

“As soon as this is over, we’ve got to tell them the truth. I don’t care what anyone says about national security. They deserve to know the truth.”

Chandler nods. “I’d like that. Think you could come with me when I tell them?  I might need the extra backup because I think my mom might kill me.”

I laugh. “She’s not going to kill you, especially when she learns you saved the world.”

“Has Gabe woken up yet?  I’d really like to see if he knows what the hell is going on. We’re kind of flying blind.”

“Not that I know of,” I say, suddenly realizing Aiden shouldn’t be in JoJo’s studio. He should be watching the guys at the villa.

“Aiden,” I call.

Aiden turns away from Mason and JoJo to face me.

“Who’s watching Gabe, Zack and Rafe?”

“I had Malcolm come to the villa to give me a break while I brought Chandler here.”

“Do you need a break break?” I ask him, lifting a knowing eyebrow at him.