Perv (23 page)

He didn’t utter a word. He couldn’t. If he did, he was afraid he might say something that would scare her off…

•●•

The bell rang over the door to Jenna’s shop on Friday, and she lifted her face to find Mason strolling into Ribbons and Bows at lunch time. She grinned from ear to ear. She did that a lot lately. The man had some sort of power over her. He called or came by every day. Three times he’d sent flowers, which made her chuckle since they were from her own store.

“Lunch,” he called as he sauntered into the shop, filling the entire space. She swore she could smell his personal musk over the roses she was arranging in front of her.

“Thank God. I’m starving.” She was alone in the store right then, but she could duck into the back room and stuff her face. If a customer came in, it would be easy enough to pop out front and greet them.

The sandwiches Mason unpacked from his brown paper bag were from her favorite sub shop, and she greedily grabbed one before he could open the chips.

He chuckled. “Didn’t you eat breakfast?” He unwrapped his own sub and stared at her, in no hurry to consume the soft bread and thick slices of ham and turkey.

“Hours ago,” she mumbled around a bite. “I got here early, and it’s been a busy morning.” She shoveled food into her mouth as she spoke. “Besides, this is delicious.”

Mason handed her a lemonade, and she moaned around the next bite.

“Now you’re trying to torture me.” He stepped around the counter, took the sandwich from her hand, and kissed her soundly on the lips. “If you want me to let you finish, don’t make any noises.” He stepped back, but left her heart beating rapidly in his wake.

He always packed a punch. Every day was the same. Her reaction to him didn’t lighten.

When they finished eating, Mason surrounded her against the counter again and kissed her senseless. When his hands roamed up her body, she forgot where she was.

A bell chimed in the background, and she jerked upright, wiggling under Mason’s arm and trying to compose herself before she walked out front. “Customer,” she muttered when he tried to tug her back into his embrace.

“They’ll wait a second.” He kissed her neck and nibbled a path to her ear until she giggled.

“Jenna?” a shrill voice pierced the back room from out front.

Fuck
.

Jenna lurched free. Her eyes shot wide. “Damn,” she mumbled. “Shit and damn.”

“What?” Mason mouthed. He grasped her face and gazed into her eyes.

“My mother.” She moaned and rolled her eyes. “Wait here.” She glanced down at her clothes. Was she disheveled?

Feeling only about half composed, Jenna stepped out front and took two strides to the counter next to the register. “Mother.” She tried to smile, but it was tough on a good day to make pleasantries with her mother. Today she had no tolerance for the woman at all.

“What were you doing back there? I could have robbed you blind while you left me hanging.” Her mother stood tall in her high heels. She kept her hands folded in front of her as she glanced around the room, scrutinizing every detail. She clearly avoided touching anything as though the plague were housed in Ribbons and Bows.

Ignoring her mother’s insults, Jenna asked a question of her own. “What are you doing here, Mother? I’m working.”

“That is no way to speak to your mother, young lady. I came to make sure you were coming for dinner Sunday. You haven’t been in a long time. You need to rejoin the family.” Her words were filled with double meaning. When the woman said “rejoin the family,” what she really meant was for Jenna to give up her dreams and come back into the fold like the prodigal child.

“Jenna.” The voice behind her made her cringe. The last thing she wanted to do was share Mason with her mother. If that wasn’t bad enough, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side. “Who is this? Did I hear you say this was your mother?”

She glanced at him, trying to give him a look that said “Stop while you’re ahead” with her eyes, but he was staring at her mother and smiling broadly.

If Jenna could have captured the look on her mother’s face on camera when Jenna jolted her neck back to look at the stunned woman, she’d have had a priceless memory. Instead, she watched her mother swallow her shock before a smile spread across her face. Finding some composure, she recovered herself. “I am. And who are you?”

“Mason Simmons.” He reached forward with the hand not wrapped around Jenna and waited.

Miraculously, although Jenna knew Mason was undoubtedly not the sort of man her mother would normally give the time of day, she opted for polite and took his offered hand. “Joann Mathews. Jenna hasn’t mentioned you.”

“Well, that makes two of us then, ma’am,” he said in his most polite voice. “But to be honest, we’ve only been dating a few weeks.”

Jenna cringed. Her mother was going to have a field day with this.

“Is that so?” She turned her steely gaze on Jenna. “I expect you at dinner this Sunday. Six sharp. Don’t be late.”

“Mother, I’m not coming to dinner. I have too much to do. If you might have noticed, I work for a living.” Jenna spread her arms to encompass the room as if the obvious might jump out and bite her mother this time. She tried to dislodge Mason’s grip on her waist in the process but to no avail.

Mason turned his face toward Jenna’s and raised an eyebrow. “Sunday? You aren’t open on Sunday. Surely you can squeeze in dinner with the family?”

Jenna’s face burned. She wanted to kick him. Couldn’t he tell she had no desire to do a damn thing with her family?

Her mother humphed. “You should listen to him, dear. After all, we’re family.” She turned toward Mason. “Why don’t you come too? I’m sure her father and sister would love to meet you.”

Jenna almost swallowed her tongue. The only thing worse than dinner with her family would be dinner with her family and Mason.
No. Fucking. Way
.

“Excellent, ma’am. We’ll be there.” Mason squeezed Jenna’s waist, and before she could close her mouth and form words of protest, her mother lifted her chin, spun on her heels, and stomped out of the shop.

After the echoing ring of the door chime stopped, Jenna ducked her head and tried to catch her breath. She’d been bamboozled, and she hated it.

“What was that all about?” Mason asked. He tried to pull her into his embrace, but she squirmed away from him and stepped back.

“You have no idea what you committed us to.” She ran a hand through her hair and paced the room.

“What? She’s your mother. Why wouldn’t you want to have dinner with your family?”

“That woman is nobody’s mother.” Jenna stopped dragging her feet and faced Mason from the other side of the counter. “Sure, she gave birth to me, but she’s never been much of a mother. She’s a manipulating, conniving bitch, and the only thing she cares about is appearances. It drives her fucking crazy that I left the family fold to open my own shop and do something on my own. All she’s done since day one is moan about her reputation and humor me until I
quote
‘See the light.’” Jenna lifted her hands to make air quotes as she finished.

Mason stared at her, his mouth hanging open.

She lowered her voice. “My family is pretentious and condescending. I don’t care to live my life that way. That’s why I’m trying to make something of myself and disassociate from them.”

“What about your father?”

Jenna laughed. “Oh he’s a real gem. He’s the most subdued man you will ever meet. He lives in my mother’s matriarchy and lets her run his life. She probably picks out his underwear. And all the while, he’s perfectly capable of making it clear he’s disappointed he never had a son.”

“How is that possible?”

“Oh, you’ll see. Since you insisted on us attending Sunday dinner, you’ll have your hands full of their pretentious shit within five minutes.”

Mason frowned.

“You can’t possibly understand what it’s like to have that woman for a mother.”

Mason straightened his shoulders and stood taller. He curled his hands into fists as his face turned pink. “No, you’re right. I couldn’t. Because my mother died when I was a toddler. I can’t remember her face.” His voice rose. “I’d give anything in the world to have her back, even if she was a raving bitch.” He turned and stepped into the back room.

Jenna swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at the door he’d come through.
Shit
. It took several large gasps of air before she could follow him. When she entered the back, she found him packing up their lunch mess and tossing it in the trash. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to yell.” He paused and turned toward her. “I’ve spent my entire life wishing I had other people’s mothers and wondering if mine would have been like one or another. I’m sorry you don’t get along well with yours, but I hate to see anyone letting family slip through their hands. Life is too short.”

Jenna nodded. She felt like a heel. If only he knew. As far as she was concerned, there
was
something worse than a mother who passed away years ago. “I’m sorry to cause such bad memories.” She’d take him to Sunday dinner and let him see for himself.

“It’s not your fault. I never mentioned my mother to you any more than you mentioned yours to me.”

“You want to go to my parents’ home then?” She tried not to make a disgusted face as she spoke.

Mason nodded.

Jenna exhaled, deflated. It would be nice to see her sister again. Maybe she’d changed since the last time they’d seen each other. Hell, maybe Jean needed to get out of the house too. She was old enough now. They’d never been close, but people changed. Right? Could her parents change? “Okay. I’ll go, but only because you’ll be with me. It’s like a lion’s den there. But it might be nice to see my sister Jean.”

“Good.” He smiled. “I’ll be right there. It can’t possibly be that bad.”

Oh, how she hoped he would be right.

The last thing she wanted was for Mason to know who her family really was. She’d been doing so well for so long. It had been easy to keep her identity a secret from the world. There were plenty of people with the surname Mathews. There was no hope now. In two days’ time the cat would be out of the bag, and Mason could pass his own judgment about her family. All she could do was hope he didn’t decide he couldn’t handle the notoriety dating her would bring. Hell, what she really hoped was he wouldn’t drop her ass as soon as the going got tough.

“Tell me more about your family,” Mason asked as she stuffed her mouth full of burger.

Waiting until she’d swallowed the huge bite, she wiped her mouth with her napkin. “You’ll meet them tomorrow, and you can see for yourself. Let’s not ruin a perfectly good evening with talk of my parents.”

Mason stared at her. He’d already finished his food and was unwrapping a stick of gum. “A few tips? Perhaps a few details so I don’t make a fool of myself.”

Jenna chuckled. “Oh, trust me. There’s no way to prevent that from happening. Everyone is a fool in my parents’ eyes.”

“Come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“It can. Let’s drop it.” She grinned up at him and pushed her food away, reaching for a stick of his gum. “You’ll find out soon enough.” She wanted this one last normal night before all hell broke loose.

They’d been to the club again, and Jenna had stood rooted for long minutes watching a woman get tied elaborately to a bench. The rope-work fascinated her. She hadn’t been willing to do anything like that in public yet, and bless Mason for not rushing her. She was loosening up about the idea of being submissive. And from what she’d heard, being with her was a gigantic step for Mason, far bigger than he implied.

Apparently he hadn’t been kidding when he said he never brought a woman to the club or his home. She knew enough to realize what a huge step this was for him from the strange looks he got from his friends at the club. Several other men had commented on his new stance at the club.

They’d grabbed takeout at an all-night joint on the way home, and now she felt brave. She stood and sauntered to his side of the table. She took his shoulders in her hands from behind and squeezed, leaning her face down to whisper in his ear. “Thanks for being so supportive of me while I’m not ready for a public scene, but I’m not opposed to trying out some of those rope moves here at home.”