: Chapter 37

Payton

Now, November

We left the cemetery just before dark, and while Sarah had originally asked if I’d come back for dinner, I had to call and let her down. The day was too heavy, and I just want to be with my boys. Chase ended up taking Sarah’s offer to sleep in Nate’s old room, but Mason booked us a room at the little hotel a couple of blocks away.

It’s a little after nine now, and we’re just stepping into the hotel room, Deaton in my arms and the playpen in Mason’s.

He makes quick work of setting it up, laying the last blanket across the bottom as I approach, and I gently lay Deaton down.

He twists instantly, curling up into a little ball, and Mason eases his favorite blanket over him.

Smiling, I turn toward my bag, but Mason’s palm presses to my hip.

He pushes until I’m facing him completely, and then he shuffles closer, forcing me backward, and he doesn’t stop until my back hits the wall, his fingers locking tight against my skin.

My mouth opens, but he shakes his head.

“No,” he whispers, his tone husky, his focus on my mouth, so I snap it closed, and his twitches in the corner. “That’s right, Pretty Little,” he rasps, his thumb stretching under my chin and tipping my neck up and to the side. “I’m calling all the shots tonight.” He dips forward, and I shiver when he runs his nose up my neck. “I’ve waited so fucking long to have you in my hands.” His palm slides along my ribs, past my hips until he’s squeezing my ass in his strong hand. He groans, and my chest inflates with a sharp inhale. “And I’ll be damned if I don’t take time now that you are.” His teeth meet my jaw, and I grip his shoulders. “I’m gonna fix you a bubble bath, baby.” His head lifts, and he kisses me hard on the lips, hissing as he tears away, his forehead pressing to mine. “And you’re not getting out until you’ve come at least twice.”

He shoves off the wall, disappearing around the corner, and I’m left a panting, melting mess.

I drop my head against the wall, my body coming to life at his words, graphic images flashing through my mind and making me shake with anticipation.

“Payton.”

I jump, my smile breaking free as I follow after him, stepping around the corner and watching as he takes special care, testing the water of the giant, egg-shaped tub. It’s a double spout, so it begins to fill quickly. Mason tears open a small package and dumps the contents into the steamy water. Instantly, hints of lavender fill the air, and then he squeezes some body wash in, and I watch as bubbles start to rise to the water’s surface.

He steps back, looking at it for a long moment before spinning to face me. “It’s not perfect, but it will do for tonight.”

“It’s more than enough,” I whisper.

“It’s not.” He comes closer, his fingers grasping the hem of my sweater. “I’ll be better prepared next time.”

“I love that there’s a next time.”

“Mmm,” he moans in agreement, lifting my shirt over my head in one swift move. His eyes hit mine, and he presses into me. “Tonight, I’m going to love you,” he promises. “Tomorrow, I’m going to ruin you, and the day after that?” His voice drops ten octaves, and he tugs my lower lip between his teeth. “Baby, the day after that…I’m going to punish you a little.” He bites a bit harder, making me gasp, and then he’s swooping in on my chest, licking across the sweep of my breast as he reaches behind, undoing the clasp on the first try. “How does that sound, my sweet girl?”

“Yes.” It’s all I can say, but he needs no other words.

Mason slides my bra down my arms, and I tremble when his fingertips purposefully apply pressure on their descent.

I start to shake, and he pulls back, his eyes finding mine before lowering to my exposed breast for the first time. He sucks a sharp breath through his teeth, and my pulse jumps as he lowers to one knee, those dark, decadent eyes on me as he brings his mouth to my nipple.

I keep my eyes on his, unable to break the spell he has me under, and when his tongue lashes along my nipple, I cry out.

His pupils blow wide, and he groans, quickly moving to the other side and pulling back, watching in satisfaction as my nipples turn to sharp beads. “So fucking perfect,” he rasps, palms gliding lower.

He skims them along my soft stomach, and I wait for the self-conscious part of me to kick in, but it never comes.

My body isn’t what it was before my pregnancy. It’s thicker now, softer, but he doesn’t seem to care. Quite the opposite in fact.

He worships my curves, kissing my flesh and biting at my skin as his fingers slip into the waistband of my leggings. His heated eyes find mine, and ever so slowly, he tugs them down, tearing them off my body until I’m standing bare before him.

Seeing him in front of me, on his knees with a fire in his eyes, is almost too much.

It’s too much yet nowhere near enough, as, like him, I’ve waited for this, too.

Reaching out, I run my hand through his dark hair, and his eyes drift closed for a moment, his chest rumbling.

When he opens them again, he holds my gaze hostage, then snaps his down, lasering in on the most sensitive part of me.

His teeth sink into his lower lip, and his chest heaves. His right hand glides up my outer thigh, his left swiftly sliding to the inner part of my legs, and I hold my breath as his textured palms skate higher.

A shiver runs through me, and I tug his hair, making him moan, but my own follows a moment later when his pointer finger slides between my legs, right through my heat.

“Such a pretty pussy,” he murmurs. “And so wet for me.”

I’m a shaking mess, and slowly, his eyes lift to mine, now nearly black in color.

His fingers shift, and then he’s at my entrance. He drives up, sliding inside me, and I gasp, pushing down onto his hand, begging for more. Deeper.

Mason shakes his head, a devilish smirk on his face as he slowly pulls his finger out of me.

I whine in protest, words no longer humanly possible, and he chuckles, all dark and dirty-like.

“Oh, baby girl. Did you think it would be that easy?” he whispers, raising to his feet and taking my breasts in his hands, kneading them gently as he flicks his tongue along my lips. “I said you would come at least twice, but you’ll come when I let you.”

“Jesus.” I squeeze my eyes closed.

His mouth.

What an epic fucking surprise.

“Get in the bath now, baby.”

My eyes open, and I watch as he strips to his briefs, shaking in anticipation of what’s underneath, but he just climbs over the tub, lowering into the water, a clear sign he meant what he said. This is all about me, and he’s making sure of it…even if I wish he wouldn’t.

My disappointment must show, because Mason lies back in the steamy water, his hands running seductively down his chest until he’s gripping himself over his briefs. “Come here, Payton. You know the deal.”

A quake shakes my spine, and I nod. “Twice and then…”

“And then,” he rumbles, closing his eyes a moment as he strokes himself. “Hurry, baby. I’m so fucking hard for you.”

I step up to the tub, and Mason raises his free arm, so I slip my hand into his, easing into the water. He spins me, lowering me so my head can lie on his chest.

He grinds up into me, and I moan, pressing back. “Feel that, Pretty Little? Feel how hard my cock is?”

“Yes.”

“It’s all for you.”

“Yes.”

His fingers glide along my arms, lifting and wrapping them around his neck from behind. His teeth sink into my forearm, and then his hands are sliding down my stomach. “I’m going to fuck you with my fingers, Pretty Little. First one, then another, and if you’re good, I’ll stretch you with a third.”

My toes curl, and I clamp my teeth closed, heated desperation filling my every pore. “Mase. Please.”

“Please what?”

“Please.”

“Say it. Tell me what you want me to do to you. Tell me what you need.”

“I…” My chest flames. “I want to come.”

He growls in my ear, and then his finger is pushing into me, his other hand tugging at my nipple.

My hips buck instantly, my body eager for anything he’ll give it.

A second fingers pushes in, and I cry out, shaking when he takes my hands and places them over my own breasts.

“Play, baby,” he murmurs, and then his other hand joins the first between my legs.

His fingers pump rhythmically slow and perfectly in sync with the way he rubs my clit. Before I know what I’m doing, my palms are squeezing my own breasts.

I squeeze hard, and then my knuckles glide along my nipples. I moan, so I try something else, twisting them, gently at first, but when the sensation mixed with Mason’s work between my legs sends sparks of heat down my spine, I do it harder, tugging, and my body quakes.

“Did my girl find something new she likes?” He kisses my neck.

“Y-yes.”

“Do you want to come now?”

“Please.”

“Okay, baby.” He shifts. Another finger presses into me, and at the same time, he pinches my clit, hard, and heat erupts, bursting and spilling through me.

“Mason,” I moan, my body thrashing in the water.

His name from my lips has him groaning into my ear. He bites down, and a second wave crashes through me.

He lets me ride it out, his breathing heavy in my ear, a tempting, tortuous sound I want more of. It’s raspy and thick, heady. He’s sure to leave his lips right there, pressing against my pulse, and when he sucks, I squirm some more.

He’s so hard beneath me, and if I move just right…

Mason’s arm locks around my stomach, holding me still. “I don’t think so, baby. I told you. I’m in charge right now, and right now I say it’s all about you.”

“But it would be for me.”

“No.”

“I want you, Mase,” I beg.

He hums in satisfaction, sitting up higher in the water and taking me with him. He curls over me, shifting and taking my shin in his hands. His lips take mine in a slow, methodical movement that has my every muscle going limp in his arms. It’s like a slow dance of tongues, and I reach for more when he gently tugs away. “You’ll have me, but I need this first. Can you give me what I need, baby?”

God, his voice drips with sex, and my thighs are clenching all over again.

His deep chuckle tells me he knows, and then he’s squirting soap into his hands, gently messaging my shoulders, his rough fingers drawing across my collarbone and down to my breasts. He teases my nipples, softly and then roughly, before abandoning them altogether.

Mason washes every part of me he can reach, kneading my scalp and rinsing us with a new wave of steaming water.

I’m a moaning mess at his mercy, and he seems to be living for every second of it, relishing the fact that he’s making me feel so good. “You’re really good at this.”

“This is just the pregame warm-up.”

A low laugh leaves me, his cocky response just as hot as his dirty whispers. “So are we warming up for the kickoff?”

“Nah.” He shifts, crawling out from behind me so his big body is now hovering over me. “We’re headed for the Super Bowl, baby, and watch me bring it home.”

He slides backward, his biceps bulging as he grips the edge of the tub near my head, his gaze dropping to my chest.

I lift it higher for him, my eyes locked on his as he skates his lips across my wet flesh. His teeth come out to play again, scraping along my nipples, and he smirks up at me as they stand to attention, begging for more.

“You’re blushing, baby,” he rasps, one hand leaving the tub to grip my hip with a tender squeeze.

“You love that, don’t you?”

“You bet your ass I do.” He kisses my stomach. “I wonder how many shades of pink I can get your skin to turn.” Mason lifts my lower half from the water, sitting back on his knees, and if I was blushing before, I’m a tomato now.

A shivering freaking tomato.

I’m exposed like never before, and while it’s a little unnerving, it’s exciting in a whole new way.

His hand travels to the apex of my thighs, but a slight pinch forms at the edges of his gaze, his awareness and connection to my mind unmatched, only confirmed when he whispers, “May I?”

I don’t have to ask what he means, so I give him something better than a yes, something I know he’ll love. I soak in some of the bravery his presence provides and stretch back a little more, tipping my hips a little higher. “You’d be the first.”

Before my eyes, his entire demeanor shifts.

His gaze grows tender, the weight of his hand featherlight. His thighs shake beneath my ass, and when his shoulders lower an inch, I smile up at him.

“First,” he breathes, his gaze moving over my face before falling between my legs. His thumb comes up, sliding along my clit, and I buck into it. Slowly, his lips curve, and the light of a moment ago is smothered. “I get one of your firsts.”

“You have a lot of my firsts, and you don’t even know it.”

Mason groans, his torso bending as he lowers himself into position. “We are making a list later, but right now…I’m going to taste you, and you’re going to come in my mouth.”

He gives no other warning than that, swooping down and swiping his tongue between my folds, up and over my clit, and then he takes it into his mouth.

My entire body comes alive as he sucks my clit between his lips, his tongue doing wild things on the inside, and my thighs are vibrating. A ball of heat forms in my belly. It’s so hot even my eyes burn, and it only grows, and with each spiral, it winds my nerves tighter.

Mason slides a finger inside, curling up into me, and then his teeth are teasing my clit. He bites, and I gasp. He licks, and I shake.

And when he closes his mouth over me again, I shatter.

My cries are loud and wanton, my body trembling, exploding, and it doesn’t stop. He keeps sucking, and I keep writhing, and before I know it, my thighs are clamped around his head, squeezing, my fingers tearing at his hair, and he growls against me, begging for more.

It goes on forever, and only when I’m nothing but a bag of bones, unable to keep my head above water, does Mason release me.

A satisfied smirk tilts his glossy lips, and he climbs from the tub, lifting me into his arms.

He towels me off, brushes my hair, and then he tucks me into the hotel bed, climbing in beside me. “Sleep, baby. I can promise you, you’re going to need it.”

I’m out within seconds.

Mason

I sigh, leaning on my elbow and smiling at my two favorite people, sitting on the edge of the creek that runs through the back of my aunt and uncle’s property. It’s too cold to get in this time of year, but that doesn’t stop Deaton from doing his damnedest to try.

We’ve been in Alrick for two days now, and Payton was finally ready to step out of the room, not that I was complaining about being locked away with her. There’s nothing I want more than uninterrupted time with her and Deaton. God knows I’ve missed too much already, but there’s something about watching them with my family that’s just as pleasing.

“That’s got to be a record.”

I look over to find Chase smirking from where he’s lying beside me. “What?”

“You’ve sighed, like, ten times in the last ten minutes.”

Chuckling, I push up onto my ass, hanging my elbows over my knees. “Guess I’m feeling pretty sappy.” I swallow, admitting, “I was starting to worry I’d never get here.”

“You worried for nothing, my man,” he says softly. “There was no way she could walk away, even if she wanted to. It’s so obvious, I don’t know how the others didn’t pick up on it a long time ago.”

My lips twitch with a smile, and I look back toward the water, to my little family, but Chase’s words repeat in my mind, and I look his way. “When did you know?”

“When I showed up at her place that night and you were already there.” He looks away. “I had no idea why she was so upset. I assumed she was having a bad day and needed someone, and I could relate, so I ran home after practice, got some things together, and headed out. When I first saw you, I thought she asked you to come, too, and you just beat me there. I was like, okay, cool, and I didn’t feel so bad about it taking me so long to get there, and then you took off.” He shakes his head, sitting up and mimicking my position. “I was confused as hell, but she was crying, so I left it alone. Later, I learned she didn’t call you at all, and that was right about when she told me it was the one-year mark since Deaton passed. The second she said it, I was like, fuck. I wanted to be there for her, but after all we went through last year, man…” Chase sighs, looking me dead in the eye. “I love you. You’re my brother, and I just couldn’t, so I took off. It wasn’t until I was halfway home that I realized I was making another fucking mistake. I knew you better than that. And pissed off at my presence, angry that she called me, and confused about why, none of that mattered—you’d have still wanted me to stay so she wasn’t alone.” He looks away. “I swear, it seems to be one fuckup after another for me nowadays. Starting to think that’s all I am.”

“You’re not, man, and you figured it out.” He meets my eyes again, guilt in his own. “You were there for her when she wouldn’t let me be, and even though I was a dick about it⁠—”

“Even though you reminded me what your right hook felt like.” He forces a smirk.

A chuckle leaves me, and I nod. “Even with that, you had her back.” Gratitude overwhelms me, a knot forming in my throat, and I look away. “That right there, that’s why you’re my brother.”

His hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing, and I blow out a long exhale.

“I can’t believe I almost fucked up my eligibility and put my scholarship a risk. I’d never forgive myself if I let you guys down like that.” I swallow. “Or her. Them.”

Chase nods, not making excuses but saying, “Yeah, well, at least you got your head out of your ass before it was too late.”

I chuckle, and this time when his hand reaches out, he gives a little shove, and my ass flops over. Spinning, I come at him, and we wrestle around the way we have for years, but I’ve got one up on him now.

“Someone’s got some new moves,” he notices with a laugh, flipping me and coming down, but I hook him under his knee and around the neck.

“This is a cradle, my boy. Big D’s signature move.”

He laughs, tapping out, and as we flop onto our backs, a blond sheet of curls falls over my face, and a perfect little man throws himself down on my chest.

I grunt, laughing as I lift him into the air. Bringing him down, I kiss his cheek and look up at my girl. “Time to go home?”

She smiles softly at the two of us, and I don’t miss the little blush crawling past the neckline of her sweater. “Yeah, time to go home.”

We say goodbye to my aunt and uncle, climb in the vehicle, and then we’re off.