Untouched: 2 (Rough Boys) (9 page)

He ran a hand over his face. “What about the boy? Brady. You ever seen him?”

Whit thanked the waitress when she poured him another cup of coffee. She hovered over Mason’s cup but he placed a hand over it.

“No, I’ve never seen him. They ever come in here, Karen?”

“Eva and her boy? No.” She leaned over and whispered, “I suppose she doesn’t have the money.” She shuffled off to the kitchen, where she struck up a conversation with the cook.

God, everything was made worse in Mason’s mind. The blurred edges of Eva’s life sharpened to razor points. He had to do something to help her. She couldn’t possibly be making ends meet. Why hadn’t he given her a pay raise before now?

Because I’ve let decisions about the company go.
He couldn’t do that anymore. He either had to grab up the saw and run into the forest or walk away and leave it untouched.

But he’d already touched Eva. That was the trouble. His body knew hers and now his heart cried out to learn everything about her too.

He reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. Slapping a couple bills on the counter, he called out to let Karen know he was finished. Turning to Whit, he shook hands. “Thanks for the info, man. I’ll catch you another day.”

Outside, the snow was softly falling. The fields around his house would be drifted in heaps and the resident geese would be holed up in the wooden boxes Mason’s father had long ago built for them. As Mason headed home, he yearned to drive past Eva’s house, but part of him didn’t want to see it.

* * * * *

Eva had worked all day on Monday without even a glimpse of Mason. Disappointment still echoed in her heart. Was he avoiding her? It wasn’t unusual for him to be out in the woods working before she arrived for her day, but still…confusion filled her.

The morning sun clung to the frost defining the tree branches.
Another day. Another chance.

She approached the door of the forestry office, carefully placing her feet so she didn’t slip. Where was Mason? It was unlike him to neglect the sidewalk. And the driveway had been closed off with snow. Her little car had barely made it.

She reached for the door handle when suddenly it was whipped open. She gasped and jumped back a little. Then laughed at herself because it was only Mason.

Mason looking ruggedly appetizing in a black knit ski cap, plaid shirt and leather gloves. She sucked in a sharp breath. Her gaze lingered on his big hands. The leather stretched deliciously over his knuckles. She longed to feel them on her.

She shivered.

Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around her forearm and yanked her inside. “You’re cold.”

Before she could respond, he kicked the door shut and pressed her up against the wall. She met his gaze a split second before his mouth crashed over hers. Instant need rose in her.

He pinned her with his body and when she tried to move her arms around his neck, he gripped them in one gloved hand and nailed them to the wall over her head. Tremors of excitement ripped through her.

She tore her mouth away, panting, her panties growing moister by the second. “Mason.”

“Eva.” The way he grated her name out made her stomach flip. Heat pooled in her core.

“Take off my coat.”

He stared into her eyes for one eternal heartbeat. Then, keeping her firmly secured to the wall, he one-handedly unbuttoned her coat. Sliding a hand inside, he found her breast. Electric heat shot through her. Her synapses snapped at the silken glide of the leather over her blouse. Fuck, she wanted it over her flesh.

Whimpering, she arched her back off the wall, bringing her breast fully into his palm.

“Have you been thinking about me?”

“Yes,” she said breathlessly. He smelled divine—fresh soap but with an underlying hint of leather and musk. She drew a deep, shuddering breath as he peeled away her jacket.

He dropped his face to the hint of skin peeking from the V of her blouse. “You wore the red blouse. God, Eva. I’ve gotta have you.”

Picking her up beneath the thighs, he turned with her for the main part of the house and the bedroom. His cock was hard steel against her sex. Through the cotton of her pants, its heat scorched her.

He stopped in the hall to capture her lips. With her hands free, she was able to sink her fingers into his hair and tug him closer. He nipped her tongue with his teeth lightly—just enough to send her spiraling out of control.

Small noises issued from her. She worked at her shirt buttons then his, popping them quickly as he plundered her mouth. For days she’d been thinking about just this—walking in the door for work and him meeting her.

He scraped his rough jaw over her throat, pressing hot kisses to her neck and along her collarbones. “I’m sorry I didn’t see you yesterday. It was one of those days when the business consumes a person. Over the weekend I couldn’t reach you by phone. I was worried.”

“My phone is off,” she said before she could check her words. He flicked his tongue over the swell of her breast and she gasped. Clutching his head to her, she battled the emotion that welled in her from knowing he’d tried to reach her.

Her mind said he was simply being nice but her heart said something more. He reached into the lace cup of her bra and located her straining nipple with his leather gloves. White heat flowered in her belly and she writhed against him, eager for the bite of his teeth.

He looked up at her, passion emblazoned on his rugged features, his eyes glittering. “Tell me you want me to take you to bed.”

“Please, Mason.” Boldly she slid a hand down the ridges of his abs to the swell in his jeans. She could nearly taste the musky length on her tongue. She licked her lips and he issued a growl.

Plucking her off her feet, he continued down the hall with her. His footsteps rang against the hardwood floors and the scents of a fire burning on a hearth somewhere in the house reached her.

She sank her teeth into his earlobe, raising a rumble from him. Worrying it between her teeth, she hummed with anticipation of his lovemaking. She’d thought of little else since they’d been separated. The weekend had lasted too long, and yesterday had been torture.

His steps changed tone as he hit the carpet. She glanced up to find herself in his bedroom. In three strides, he reached the bed. Tenderly he spread her out on the down comforter. His scent wafted from the bedclothes, bringing her to a fever pitch.

She kicked off her boots and yanked him atop her, wildly removing his plaid outer shirt, then the plain white cotton t-shirt beneath. His muscles stood out sharply—carved abs, the bulges of his biceps and the cuts of his pecs.

He gave her a crooked smile that set her blood boiling. “Slow down, darlin’. We have all day.”

Raising an eyebrow, she gripped the button at his waistband. “What about the business? It’s going to wait while we’re in here?”

His smile broadened, followed by a sheepish look. “I might have turned on the answering machine before you came.”

A laugh bubbled up her throat. It filled the space. Mason’s expression changed suddenly, his smile falling away and his stare growing in intensity. Leaning away, he roughly shoved her top open so most of her cleavage was exposed. “Fuck, yeah. That’s beautiful.”

She watched him with hooded eyes as he drew her breasts out of her bra cups so they rested on the bunched cloth of her favorite bra. Apparently his favorite too, by the look on his face.

He knelt over her, strumming her hardened nipples with the flats of his hands. The feel of the leather against her flesh drove her mad. Scooping up her full breasts, he pressed them together and then let them fall naturally under their own weight. “God, Eva. Do you know how many times I’ve imagined doing this to you? Every damn time you wore this top.”

Abandoning her breasts, he unfastened her pants and drew them down her hips. He tossed them to the floor. She dipped her fingers into his waistband but he rocked his hips backward to avoid her touch.

“Not yet, baby. If you touch me, I’ll blow. And I want to see you pleasured first.”

With that, he swooped in and opened his mouth over her nipple. His scorching tongue swirled around the areola until she was writhing with need. Her panties were soaked and her nubbin throbbing for his touch.

“Stroke me, Mason.” The heated plea left her before she could stop it. She’d never been so vocal in her sex life with Bill, but Mason dragged out a new side to her—one that was more primitive and hungry to get what she wanted.

He moaned against her breast and then pulled away. The moisture on the pink tip glistened in the light of the fire. Suddenly he clamped his hands over her wrists and held them out to the sides. “Don’t move.”

A quiver began in her core. He glided a sheathed finger beneath the thin elastic strap of her panties, back and forth over her needy flesh.

“I’m going to make you scream for me, Eva. And then I’ll push you farther.”

A dark thread of lust wove through her belly. Part fear, part excitement loomed up and swallowed her whole. She had to have him, had to know what he intended to do to her.

“Yes. Please!”

With a quick jerk of his hand, he snapped the elastic. Her panties loosened around her body and the triangle of lace covering her mound fluttered aside, exposing her to him. She moaned.

“Christ, Eva. You shaved.” He stretched out between her thighs, sliding his hands beneath her ass and drawing her up to his mouth as if she were a tasty treat.

She stared down the length of her body at him, half in love with the glow of his eyes and the sight of his dark facial hair next to her pale flesh. Not to mention the rough leather gloves against her skin.

A shudder racked her. She started to reach for him but he stilled her. “Keep your arms at your sides.”

He dipped his tongue into her moist seam. She cried out and instinctively moved, clutching his shoulders.

Raising his head, he gave her a look that curled her toes. “I told you not to move, Eva.” He abandoned his place between her legs and rose off the bed.

Anticipation claimed her. She followed his sharp movements as he crossed the room. He took a moment to kick his boots into the corner, turning his back on her as he did. The lines of his back were roped with muscle and his worn denim sat perfectly low on his hips. She clamped her thighs together to ease the ache.

With jerky movements, he yanked off his gloves and tossed them away. He grabbed a black t-shirt off the dresser top. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a silver knife. He snapped the blade open and set the point into the cloth. The tearing sound ignited her. With a shock, she realized he was cutting it into strips.

Pivoting back to her, he dropped the knife on top of the dresser. The strips of ragged cotton hung from one clenched fist.

His brows were drawn together thunderously but something about the soft set of his mouth reminded her she had nothing to fear.

“Sit up.”

She obeyed at once. He wrapped a strip of cloth over her eyes and tied the ends at the back of her head. Tremors tore through her.

He picked her up and carried her away from the bed. Unable to see, she threw out her other senses. The heat of the fire bathed her skin as she passed the hearth. In a second, the cold, hard frame of a chair was beneath her. He forced her to kneel.

“Lean over the chair back.” Using a firm touch on her lower back, he guided her where he wanted her. “Now put your wrists together behind your back.”

Shock was a dark thread inside her. What was he going to do? Was it safe?

He pressed a fleeting kiss to her nape. “Come on, baby.”

His encouragement was all she needed to do his bidding. She locked her wrists together behind her back and a second later found them bound. She tested her bonds, learning they were loose enough that they didn’t cut into her. Fears abated, she again sent out her senses.

Mason’s breath was coming raggedly behind her. Her torn panties had slipped down her thigh and were caught around her knee. Beneath her, the chair was hard but the warmth of the room soothed her.

All of a sudden, his mouth was at her ear. “Gorgeous. Arch your back for me. Yeah, that’s what I want. Let me see those beautiful breasts spilling over that red blouse.”

“Touch them please,” she begged.

His palm came down upon her bare ass cheek, making her cry out from the sound and shock of it. A thrill spiked her pussy and cream flooded her inner thighs.

“Don’t beg me unless I tell you to. You hold still and be a good girl.”

The grating sound of his zipper sliding down sent her passions raging.

“Lean over the chair more.”

She obeyed without thought, trusting him implicitly, needing everything he would give. She’d expected to come to work and gain a stolen kiss or two, but this was far from her wildest dreams. Never in her life had she played out a scenario like this in person or in her mind. She needed more. Now.

Again, he brought the flat of his hand down on her ass. Her cheek lifted and the sting maddened her with desire.

“Oh fuck, Eva, that’s perfect. Your skin bears the mark of my palm. Perfectly pink.”