Chapter 57: Chapter 22: Temptations

Jamie

His towel was hanging low on his hips, covering a part of him that I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

I hadn’t forgotten his body, nor had anyone else that had seen it before me, I was sure. Mason Knight is the image of perfection, like a Greek god with a shitty attitude.

I almost wanted to scream because he was standing before me in a towel, dripping wet, and for the first time since he’d come back into my life, I didn’t hate the sight of him.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Um, home. I have laundry to do.”

~Oh my God! Did I just say that? Instead of staying here with you, I’m going home alone to wash clothes and do a crapload of ironing. Great! I think I’ve become boring!~

“And, um, I have other things to do also.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to give him attitude. “Really? Because I’ve been getting the feeling that you hate me. Since you got that USB, you’ve kinda been giving me the cold shoulder.”

“I don’t hate you.” He walked toward his dresser and pulled out a pair of black boxer shorts. Mason undid his towel right in front of me, and I looked away. He smirked, finding it amusing.

“You can look now.”

I turned my head and looked at him, his tanned body with nothing on him but his boxers. His hair was wet and slicked back off his face.

He walked toward me, and my heart started to pound in my chest.

“Did you wear these tonight because you know how much I love it when you wear glasses?” He pointed to the black frames I’ve been wearing for years.

“Actually, I ran out of my contacts. I forgot that you liked them so much.”

Mason reached his arms around me and removed the bobby pin from my hair.

He was so close to me now I was breathing in his fresh scented body wash. Definitely not what the hotel provided but probably something that cost more than the outfit I was wearing.

“Even after seeing you and that asshole together, I can’t stay away. I can’t bring myself to be away from you, Jamie. This is what you do to me.”

“Then don’t!” I whispered. For once, I wasn’t holding back my feelings. I’ve been lying to myself for months, and I couldn’t do it anymore.

He placed his hand on my cheek and tipped my head back. His lips were on my neck, sucking and nibbling enough to tease.

Even by this little contact, he had my body tingling. There has always been something about him that made me feel so sexually free.

He picked me up from the floor, and I wrapped my legs around him. Mason gripped an ass cheek in each hand and carried me toward the bed.

He was kissing me, and for once, I was kissing him back without focusing on what he had done to me in the past. I was allowing myself to enjoy this moment with him.

“Jamie…” He whispered my name. He was over me, kissing me the way I liked to be kissed and touching me the way I liked to be touched. “I’ve been waiting so long to touch you again.”

~Oh, God!~

He stood from the bed, big and hard with a smirk on his face.

I watched him as he removed my clothes until I was left in just my underwear and button-down top. Mason moved across the bed and knelt over me, undoing my buttons one by one.

I’d decided to dress pretty underneath my casual wear. My matching lace bra and panty set didn’t disappoint him.

My boobs were a lot bigger than the last time he had seen them in a bra, all thanks to my pregnancy with Penelope.

Mason spread my legs and knelt in between them. He licked his way up my body before going back to my lips, which were now swollen from kissing him.

I pulled his bottom lip with my teeth, and he liked it. Our kiss was intense, the kind of intense that left us both breathless and wanting more.

He continued the kiss down my body and to the trim of my lace panties. He hooked his finger into them and was just about to pull them down my legs…

“Wait.”

Mason popped his head up and looked at me. “Wait?” he asked while breathing raggedly.

“I just…” I looked up at the ceiling. “We’ve been apart for so long, and the first time around, we didn’t exactly do things properly.

“I want to do things properly this time. I think we should take it slow.”

He rested his head on my stomach and groaned. “You’re killing me, Jamie Harris.”

I giggled at him, and he kissed my tummy before lifting his head and looking at me. “If slow is what you want, then slow is what you’ll get!”

It was killing me too. I wanted him to take me all night long, over and over again. But this thing between us was new. I didn’t want to rush into the intimate parts too quickly.

***

It was the morning after the night before, and I couldn’t help but watch him from the other side of the room as he dressed for his day at work.

His fitted white shirt showed off his bulging muscles, and he looked yummy!

Last night he didn’t want me to leave, so I didn’t. We stayed up most of the night, which made it extremely hard not to be intimate with him.

Kissing and cuddling would have to be enough for now.

Mason and I still had a lot to talk about, but we didn’t get into any of that last night. This was the first time since he’d been back that we were both open to having a conversation.

I was sure he had questions about when Penelope was a baby, the time that he missed.

I had questions too, like what did he do in all that time that he was gone? Had he truly faced his demons from the past, or was he still carrying around that guilt?

What did he want from this relationship?

~Are we together? Is there a possibility of forever with him? Marriage and more babies…does he want any of this? Do I?~

Maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself. We’d barely been on good terms for twenty-four hours. Things could’ve taken a turn at any moment.

Maybe this could get too much for him, and he would run again.~ Let’s face it; it’s a possibility!~

His arms wrapped around me from behind, and his hand traveled up under my button-down top. “What’s on your mind?”

~A whole lot of something I would rather not share~, I thought.

“Nothing, I’m just thinking about last night and how much I like kissing you.” I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“And how much you like to tease me too.” He pressed his lips against mine, kissing me with passion while squeezing my ass. It was a kiss so hot it would keep me going until I saw him again.

“Mmm, I think we should stop before one of us loses control.” I chuckled and placed my head on his chest.

His arms were around me, and he was rubbing my back so tenderly when we heard a knock on the door of the hotel suite.

“That’s probably the breakfast I ordered. I didn’t want you to leave hungry.”

“So sweet!” I grinned. “I’ll get the door. You go finish getting ready for work.”

I left the bedroom and crossed the room toward the front door of the suite. The thought of having breakfast with him before I left excited me.

I opened the door, surprised to see who was on the other side. Two men in blue, tall and intimidating. “Hi, um, how can I help you?”

“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am. We’re looking for Mr. Mason Knight. We were informed that this is his room.”

My heart was pounding, and my mouth was now suddenly dry. The police were here, and they were looking for Mason. I had a horrible feeling inside.

“This is his room. May I ask what this is about?”

“I’m afraid we can’t discuss it. Can you bring him to the door, please?”

“Um, sure.” I left the door open, and the two of them waited by it as I walked into the bedroom.

Mason was slipping his suit jacket up his arms, getting ready to leave. “The police are at the door,” I whispered.

“The police?” He furrowed his brows. “Did they say what they wanted?”

I shook my head. I was so worried now, and I’m sure it was clear to him by the look on my face.

He walked toward me and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Wait here, okay?”

I waited in the bedroom as he told me to. I could hear talking, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Mason walked back into the room a minute later.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Fine. They just want to question me down at the station. I need to grab my phone.” He crossed the room to the bed and grabbed his phone off the sheets.

“Did they say why?” There was only one thing that came to mind. One reason why the police would be at his door right now. “This is about Jack, isn’t it?”

He released a sigh. “Yes, but you don’t need to worry. I’ll call you later.” I watched him as he left the room and then closed the door of the suite behind him.

I was feeling guilty, so incredibly guilty! ~He wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for me. Things could take a turn at any moment,~ I told myself. ~Look at us now!~

I couldn’t go home after leaving the hotel. I didn’t want to sit at home and wait.

I collected Penelope from Harry as we arranged, and then I waited outside the station. Penelope fell asleep in her car seat, so I sat watching the door.

~How long is he going to be in there?~

I wondered what kind of questions they were asking him. Jack must’ve gone to the police late last night.

This wasn’t exactly the fresh start I wanted for us.

I saw him walk out of the police station and put his shades on to stop the sun from blinding him. I stepped out of the car and stood by the door. Mason spotted my car and walked over.

“Hi, convict!” I smiled at him.

“We’re going to joke about this now, are we?” He smirked and wrapped his arms around me. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was worried, so I wanted to come pick you up. Besides, I knew you didn’t have your car.” I got into the car, and he walked around to the passenger’s side. “So, where do you want me to take you?”

“The Ritz. I need to pick up my car before I go to the office.” Mason turned his head and looked at Penelope sleeping. That brought a smile to his face.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” I asked.

“They just asked me questions about last night with Jack, and I told them the truth. I don’t want you to worry, Jamie. I have money. I can make this go away.”

“The law is the law.” I pulled up outside of the hotel ten minutes later, and I turned to face him. “Maybe I can talk to Jack and see if he will let this go.”

“No! I don’t want you talking to him. I don’t trust that guy,” he replied with a tone.

Mason stepped out of the car and walked around to my window that was rolled down. I need you to promise me that you won’t contact him, okay?”

“Okay, I promise.”

He left me with a kiss before walking into the hotel.

~He likes to be the boss, to have all the control. This time around, I need him to know that I will be in control too.~

As far as Jack went, well, I wasn’t going to go behind Mason’s back and go to speak with him. I didn’t want to mess this up.

My day with Penelope was busy. Since I had a day off, I took her to the park before grabbing some bits and pieces that we needed.

I held Penelope in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other as we walked the path to my front door.

I placed the key in the lock and realized that it was already unlocked. That was weird. I was pretty sure I locked it earlier before we left for the park.

We walked inside and looked around. It was just as I had left it.

When we walked toward the kitchen, I saw that my laptop was open on the table. It was a little strange to me because I always made sure to close it when I wasn’t using it.

~That’s so weird!~

Looking down at the table, I noticed that something was missing: two items I’d left sitting beside my laptop that morning after I had come home to freshen up. They were gone!

I pulled my phone from my bag and dialed his number. Thankfully, he picked up on the third ring. “Jamie, I’m in a meeting. Can I call you after?”

“I think he’s been in my house. The USB sticks…they’re gone.”