Chapter Nine
Mason
I’d taken to sleeping in late since arriving in Melrose Bay—well, late for me anyway—and put my languor down to the fresh sea air and a relaxing environment. Not today though. Nope, today, I got up and out of bed bright and early, wanting to be showered, dressed, and ready to head over to Ash’s and help on the demo of his house.
It’d taken me ages to fall asleep last night, my mind continually going over the part where I’d fed him a spoonful of the sauce. The way his lips had covered the edge of the spoon and closed around the rest had all but made me groan. After swallowing the contents, he ran his tongue over his lips, leaving them glistening and making my stomach flip over a hundred times.
My overactive imagination taunted me with how those lips would feel against mine if I kissed him. How they’d taste, how’d he’d react to my touch. Thank goodness for a bubbling-over pan or I may have acted on my impulse to try to find out.
I licked my own lips, following the same route as Ash, gliding my tongue along the sensitive flesh from one side to the other. Mine were firm, cool and dry, and slightly cracked by the sun and sea, but I bet Ash’s were hot and silky smooth.
He kept pulling me toward him, more and more, and I had a hard time fathoming why. Getting close to people, trusting them, letting them know me was not easy for me to do. Outside of my family, there were only a handful of people I’d placed my complete trust in, and I worked alongside three of them.
But Ash had somehow managed to burrow under my armor and settle himself in, make himself comfortable. Odd, too, how I didn’t mind him being there one bit. But trust? I wasn’t so sure…
Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall, I checked the time. A few minutes after seven thirty. I’d already exercised in the basement home gym and, being Thursday, had eaten my hot oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, banana, and blueberries for my breakfast.
I checked the clock again. Was it too early to go next door?
To hell with waiting any longer. What’s the worst that could happen? Ash may well be in bed and wouldn’t answer when I knocked, or he might tell me to return later at a more sociable hour.
The fluttering in my belly returned in anticipation of seeing him again. He’d quickly become my new favorite obsession, which was crazy. When had I begun acting more like a teenager than a fully grown man? Shaking my head, I sat on the edge of the sofa, then pulled on and laced up my tatty old sneakers. I should be wearing my work boots and a hard hat, but as I hadn’t been expecting to work or go to a construction site while I recuperated here, sneakers would have to do.
I crossed the short distance to Ash’s house, the morning sun already warm on my face. Shielding my eyes with my hands on either side of my head, I peered through the salt-encrusted glass. On first glance, I didn’t see anyone inside until a movement from the rear of the hallway caught my attention.
Ash walked into the room, wearing nothing but a pair of exceedingly snug, exceedingly fitted, white boxer briefs and nothing else. Okay, I’d seen him naked through the bathroom mirror yesterday, and yes, the scene was indelibly inked into my brain. But him in underwear, in only underwear, I found more intimate and sexier for some reason. I’d ogled his naked butt, for Christ’s sake, so this should be nothing. But as my focus dropped to the bulge hugged by the thin fabric, it was everything, and I had to swallow hard and bite my cheek to prevent moaning out loud.
He disappeared into the kitchen, thankfully not seeing me gawping at him through the window, so I took that as my cue and rapped a few times on the doorframe. A couple of seconds later, his head popped out from behind the wall, a surprised look crossing his face when he recognized me. Then his grin appeared, lighting up the room.
He made his way across the living area, apparently not embarrassed in the least at wearing next to nothing. I adamantly kept my gaze on his face, though not peeking near killed me to do so. Since I’d acknowledged my newfound attraction to him, every gesture or move he made registered in my awareness, no matter how small, my mind cataloguing every aspect of him and committing him to memory.
He unlocked the door and pulled it open, the bottom sticking a bit as he did so. The distinctive smell of lavender wafted out and answered my question as to why the fragrance always lingered around him.
“Wow,” he said, grinning wider. “Someone’s keen to get started.” I relaxed somewhat; glad he didn’t think I was too much of a weirdo for turning up so early.
I smiled back. “Did no one tell you demo day is the best day of any renovation?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Yep,” I replied. “I mean, come on. Who doesn’t like knocking down walls with a sledgehammer? You get to be a kid all over again.”
Ash laughed, easy and relaxed. “You better come in, then.” He moved to the side and gestured for me to enter. I did, inhaling deeply as I walked past him. In addition to the ever-present lavender, he also smelled of sleep and the faint scent of my almond body wash.
In other words, he smelled really good.
By virtue of the snooping I’d done when I’d first arrived at Gabe’s, I already had an impression of what his place looked like, but getting to see inside was interesting, to say the least. As well as dried lavender, the place also smelled musty, so we’d need to check for damp and mold. I also smelled fresh coffee brewing, which he must have started when he went into the kitchen a few minutes ago. The house looked like no one lived there for a while, and I’d correctly assessed an older person had owned the property, as the evidence was all over the place.
“Sorry about the mess,” he apologized. “I’ve not done much since I arrived, apart from sorting out the cupboards and drawers. You wouldn’t believe how much stuff one person can accumulate.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed. “A good few of our houses were foreclosures, and the amount of garbage people left behind continually amazed me.”
Scanning the place, I took it all in. An ancient wood burner filled the fireplace to my left, and perpendicular to that sat a large sofa. The red corduroy velvet faded to a washed-out pink in places, the upholstery bleached by the strong summer sun. A large patchwork quilt was draped casually over one end. A couple of striped deck chairs sat on the opposite side.
In the area to my right, an imitation-wood built-in shelving unit stretched along the whole wall, and a cheap dining set filled the rest of the space. Despite how dated and in need of help the place looked, it had managed to retain a nice homey feel. His aunt had more than loved her time living here.
“Interesting decor,” I stated when I’d finished my visual sweep.
“You don’t think it’s too over the top?”
“Nah,” I smirked. “‘Old style lived-in’ is so this season.”
He laughed, and I enjoyed how his response made me feel. I wasn't known for my sense of humor, so I liked that he appreciated my attempts to be funny.
“Glad to see I’m on trend,” he replied.
“On trend. Wow, look at you, all up on your interior design talk.”
He blew on his fingernails and polished them on his chest. My eyes followed the movement, fixing on his biceps as they contracted from the action. “Didn’t you know I’m an interior design guru?”
“Hmm, I dunno about that, but you could call it grandma chic and own the hell out of it, I suppose.”
“You know, I just might. Kick off a radical new style.”
“Yeah. You could go on the internet and vlog all about this new trend.”
“I can picture it now. Me sitting there in a crocheted cardigan, telling my subscribers how to get the look.”
We both laughed, and I enjoyed the easiness between us.
Looking at each other for a few seconds, our eyes connecting over our shared joke, I almost got a peek of a future I’d never even contemplated unfurling before me. How easy life might be if Ash and I were together.
Ash dropped his eyes first. “I should go get dressed.” He turned toward his bedroom, giving me another chance to view his perfect, round butt. He peered over his shoulder, the move making his ass cheeks flex and my gut clench. “Coffee’s on,” he said, my eyes flicking to his at the huskiness in his voice. His gaze fixed firmly on my face, coupled with the slight color gracing his cheeks, let me know I’d been busted staring at him. “Give me ten minutes.”
I tracked behind him to the kitchen as he headed down the hallway, my gaze stuck on the firm globes as they wobbled in the cotton of his underwear. I determinedly made a right into the kitchen so as not to not follow Ash to his bedroom and rummaged around in his cupboards to find a mug, then poured myself a much-needed cup of coffee. I truly hoped when he returned, he’d be covered from head to toe in clothing distracting enough to dissuade my overactive brain from fantasizing about what lay underneath.
The next few hours went by in a blur as we tackled the demo. After moving all the furniture into the garage, we donned gloves and masks and protective glasses and pulled up the dusty, old carpet in the living area and ripped out the shelves, which collapsed into a heap after the first hit of the sledgehammer. Once cleared, the resultant space made the area a whole lot bigger.
Standing in the middle of the room, Ash twirled around on the spot. “That was fun.” His smiling eyes sparkled at me. “You were right. Demo day is the best day ever.”
“Wait until we knock out the kitchen wall and the space really opens up.”
“I agree, without the wall, it’ll be huge.” His eyes sparkled with excitement and pride at what he’d already achieved, and my heart swelled for him. The sheer enjoyment he took in the task sent me right back to when I’d done my first demo. There was absolutely no feeling like it.
Covered in dust and happiness, he looked so beautiful; I couldn’t pull my eyes away. He’d not worn anything remotely loose, of course. Instead, dressed in a fitted black tank and shorts, every time he’d bent over, the material stretched nice and tight across his hips, leaving me semi-hard the whole morning. The tan boots and rolled down socks only added to the sexy persona he projected, making him the hottest tradesman I’d ever seen. After years of being on construction sites with builders and carpenters, plumbers, electricians—you name it—not once had any of those men given me the gut-punching rush of lust Ash achieved. It was absolute torture.
A loud knock on the front door shocked us both and had my body stiffening in an instant.
“Relax.” Ash rested his hand on my arm, calming me. “I ordered us some lunch.” He gave me a squeeze. “Stay here and I’ll go sort things out.”
He headed down the hallway to the front door as I moved out of the line of sight. Here with Ash, just the two of us, allowed me to forget about the outside world happening such a short distance away.
Some back and forth conversation went on between Ash and the delivery guy, but after a few minutes, the door shut, and he reentered the room carrying a large brown paper bag and a drink holder with a couple of sodas. He dropped down and sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor, thighs apart, and my eyes instantly zeroed in on his crotch, the bulge more prominent as it pushed against his shorts.
What would it feel like to hold another man’s cock in my hand, to experience it slide through my fist? The rogue thought anchored itself in my head, taking root. What about in my mouth? Slipping past my lips and across my tongue, filling it completely?
I shuddered at how far my imagination had taken me, pleasure feathering along my skin. Never had I entertained doing such a thing. I’d always been the one being sucked, rather than the one doing the sucking. But now the wayward thought had taken hold in my brain, I found the concept intriguing. Making Ash groan his pleasure as I sucked his length. Him coming in my mouth…
Shit .
My body went all hot, a sheen of sweat popping up all over, making me light-headed as the movie played out in my mind—him grabbing my hair, gripping tight; the moans he’d make when he climaxed; his cum spilling out of my mouth and down my chin.
Shit, shit, shit .
I needed to sit, in case my distinctly shaky legs gave out and I fell in a heap on the floor in front of him.
Dropping down beside Ash, I focused on controlling my breathing and watching him opening the bag. Tearing along the edge and spreading out the paper to act as a small placemat for the food, he removed the two subs and rested them on the top.
He handed me one. “You look a bit red,” he remarked with a smirk. “Is all the demo too much for you to handle at your age, old man?”
“Watch it,” I grumbled, surprised how normal my voice came out. Picking up one of the colas, I pushed a straw through the plastic lid, and took a large gulp, the liquid cooling my insides. “It’s hot in here. Okay?”
He snickered and took a bite of his sub. “Do you miss it?” he asked and gestured with his sandwich about the room. “Doing all the work yourself.”
“I didn’t do all the work on my own, but sometimes, yeah. Though I prefer my current job so much more.”
He shuffled closer, and I determinedly refused to look down. “How come?”
“The company is split into four areas,” I explained, “and I look after the hotels and resorts sector.”
“Okay.” He reflected on my response for a second. “So, you like being able to build places to give people pleasure, give them a time-out while on vacation, enabling them to relax.”
I took a bite of my ham and cheese sub. “It’s more than that, though I do like the satisfaction it brings.” I chewed, trying to figure out how best to state my philosophy. “My objective is to offer our clients the best vacation experience with our eco hotels and resorts, while considering the environment around them. I want to enhance the locations we build in, not detract from them.” Ash had stopped chewing to concentrate on me, and I liked the fact I had his full attention. “Nature is so beautiful, why would you want to lose any part of that? Plus, I want to give back to the local community. What’s the point of hiding all the tourists away in a compound when they should be out exploring the area and contributing to the local economy?” I half smiled. “It’s a huge challenge, getting the balance exactly right, but when it all comes together, when everything coalesces and the vision becomes a reality, well, that’s what I love the most.”
“You want to make a difference.”
“I want to help try, yes.”
He sat silently for a while, and I was dying to ask him what he thought. No one got to see this side of me, of my desire to help, to give back. I’d had a good upbringing with parents who’d loved me and my brother. We’d wanted for nothing, but they’d instilled in us this wasn’t necessarily the case for a lot of families, and we should do whatever we could to help others if we had the chance.
My intensions weren’t entirely selfless, of course, as I’d made a hell of a lot of money from my chosen career. But I was now in the fortunate position to pay it forward and make both myself and my parents proud.
When Ash eventually spoke, his voice seemed loud in the quiet of the room. “Makes my contribution to society, or lack thereof, seem pretty lame,” he said, setting off a pang of guilt in my gut. I hadn’t wanted to make him feel bad.
“What are you, twenty-four, twenty-five?”
“Twenty-two,” he confirmed.
Fuck.
He was far too young for me to be thinking about him in any way other than a friend. He needed to have fun with people his own age, screw around, make mistakes, make some more. He shouldn’t be sitting here talking to a guy who had become an agoraphobic recluse barely able to tolerate being in the company of other people.
“You’re still really young, Ash. There’s plenty of time to figure out what you want to do with your life and what you want to be. And if making you happy sometimes includes wanting to help make other people’s lives better however you can, what’s to stop you?”
He mulled my words over, and they appeared to penetrate and settle inside him as he brightened up. “I guess I have some time to think about it, then, huh?”
I laughed softly, “You do. Lots and lots of time.”
“Okay.” He unfolded his muscular legs and stood. I didn’t look at his crotch, even though it was right there in front of my face—well, perhaps a fleeting glance. I counted it as a win. “So why don’t we begin by giving me somewhere to be happy in.” He offered me his hand. Taking hold, I let him help me up, trying to determine if he was honestly being helpful or if he did, in truth, think I was too old for this. I didn’t dare ask him in case I didn’t like the answer. “Let’s make me a home and go from there.”