Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mason
He’d had it all under control, mostly.
Right up until he hadn’t.
Spanking Audrey had been far too enjoyable.
Her little movements. Her whimpers. His cock had throbbed every time she wriggled on his lap.
Every time his hand had smacked against her butt, he’d been able to watch the impact, to see the imprint left behind until her skin had all turned a pretty pink, and it was no longer possible to see the individual swats.
But he’d had a handle on it. He wasn’t going to do anything about it.
But then she’d started to moan. Then she’d started to grind herself against his thigh in a way that made it impossible to ignore how aroused she was. That’s when he knew he had to stop because he wasn’t going to be able to control himself much longer.
And he was always in control.
He’d hauled her up onto his lap. He was going to tell her that was enough of a demonstration, and they needed to stop.
To offer her aftercare. But then he’d felt the heat of her bottom straight through his pants, pressing against his thigh.
Seen her parted lips and glassy eyes full of heat and need.
Then she’d pressed her lips against his, and he’d tasted her for the first time. She tasted like vanilla and cookies. That’s when his control had snapped. He’d kissed her back because he had to. Because once he got a taste, he needed more. He wanted to devour her.
Platonic! His brain screamed at him as he pinned her down to the couch, kissing her for all he was worth as her lips parted for him and he claimed her mouth.
He might have been able to pull away… but then she put her arms around him. Her legs slid against his, her heels moving to press against the backs of his thighs, pulling him closer.
Kissing. They were just kissing. It didn’t count if they were just kissing, right?
Even if she was undulating beneath him. Even if she was rocking her pussy against his body, rubbing herself on his erection, shuddering at the pleasure running through her. Even if he was doing the same, moving over her, against her, in a manner he hadn’t engaged in since high school.
Soft breasts flattened against his chest, her cry muffled against his lips as her movements beneath him became more frantic. More needy. Mason groaned into the kiss, sliding his hands down her sides, gripping her bottom so he could lift her to press himself more firmly between her thighs.
His cock was begging to be inside her, but he barely managed to hang onto that thin veil of sanity.
They hadn’t discussed sex.
Hell, they hadn’t discussed this either, but she’d kissed him first… Kissing was one thing. Fluid exchange was another. She slid her hands into his hair and gripped it hard, tugging, as she cried out in ecstasy. She was climaxing against him, and he was…
He was…
Fuck.
His cock pulsed as he reached his own peak. Fluid spurted as he rocked against her, wet and sticky and making him feel like he really was in high school all over again.
Lifting his lips from hers, he pressed their foreheads together.
“Fuck…” He shuddered as the last spurts of cum leaked out, leaving him in wet boxer-briefs. Thankfully, he preferred to wear some kind of undergarments rather than going commando, or this whole situation would be even more embarrassing.
He’d just jizzed in his pants like a goddamn teenager.
“Oh…”
Mason opened his eyes to meet Audrey’s green gaze. She looked horrified.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have… we agreed—”
“No.” He cut her off. “If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I lost control.”
“I kissed you first. You—”
“I’m the experienced one,” he said firmly. “And we didn’t discuss… well, this, beforehand. I should have stopped you before you even kissed me.”
She blinked, still staring up at him.
“Why didn’t you?” The question came out in the whisper, as if she was afraid to ask it.
Mason let out a long, slow breath.
“I didn’t want to,” he admitted because he didn’t have a better reason than that.
Because their faces were so close together, he could see the pink flush that crept along her cheeks.
“If you’re wondering if there was enthusiastic consent on my part, there was,” she whispered again. “But I didn’t… I didn’t ask you…”
“Trust me, there was enthusiastic consent on my part, too. But we do need to talk about this.” Mason let out a long, slow breath, pulling away from her despite his reluctance.
The mess in his pants was already getting uncomfortable.
“Where is your bathroom? I’m going to go…
clean up, then we can talk. Nothing bad…
I promise.” The way her face fell when he said they were going to talk meant he felt the need to reassure her immediately.
She didn’t look entirely reassured, but she showed him to the bathroom.
While he was taking off his underwear and getting himself re-sorted, his mind was racing furiously.
Boundaries.
That was what they needed.
Clear guidelines for what was going to happen between them.
Yasmine had asked not to see him with another woman for at least a month. That was three more weeks.
Not that he was sure there was anything going on between him and Audrey other than the insane chemistry. Which could easily disappear as soon as it had appeared. Mason gripped the vanity as he stared at his reflection in the mirror.
He didn’t look any different, but he felt different.
Everything had been different with her.
Which meant he didn’t know what to expect in terms of this attraction. Which was unnerving. He didn’t know how long it would last. Would it burn off slowly or go by in a flash?
The urge to keep going was strong. He hadn’t felt any less attracted to her after they’d both gotten off, but it wasn’t like they’d had sex.
Had Yasmine meant she didn’t want to see him with another woman or that she didn’t want him to have sex with another woman? He was pretty sure it was the former. Not that she would need to know, regardless. If they weren’t together, his sex life wasn’t any of her business.
And he’d very quickly forgotten about every other woman, and every other consideration, once he’d gotten his hands on Audrey.
Shit.
What if they started dating, and the attraction wore off?
Or he woke up one day, and it was just gone?
How was David going to react if Mason started something with Audrey, only to end it just as quickly?
And right after ending his engagement… Was this a rebound?
Maybe this was a rebound. Maybe that’s why the attraction was still so strong.
Okay. Boundaries. Guidelines.
He nodded at himself and straightened up. His eyes caught on where his pants pocket was bulging because he’d shoved his wet underwear into it. Not exactly a confidence-builder, but a good reminder that things with Audrey hadn’t been like anyone else. Not from the moment he’d met her.
Audrey
Taking the opportunity to change her underwear to some she hadn’t soaked through, Audrey returned to the couch and smoothed her skirt over her legs. Maybe she should go back to the armchair.
But she didn’t want Mason to think she was ashamed of what they’d done.
Because she wasn’t.
Although maybe she should be.
That had not been the plan.
But he hadn’t let her apologize either.
What was he doing?
What was he thinking?
Maybe he was thinking that she was desperate.
Which she wasn’t.
It wasn’t like she was yearning for a relationship. Especially after Cash.
She’d just…
She’d never been aroused like that before.
Her bottom was still sore, and just thinking about it made her want to squirm in place. Even though her clit was kind of sore, too.
Dry humping. They’d basically been dry humping. And it had been way hotter than any sex she’d ever had.
Which doesn’t speak very highly of my sex life before this.
Although she hadn’t thought her sex life was that bad. She just hadn’t known what she was missing. Spanking was part of it. But so was the heady attraction between her and Mason.
He said they were going to talk. Nothing bad, but who defined bad? If he told her that it could never happen again, that might not be bad by his definition. Would it be bad by her definition? She honestly wasn’t sure. She wanted more. More of this. More like tonight. With Mason, specifically.
But only if he wanted her in the same way. Which was the big question.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Audrey sat up straight, turning slightly to face the hallway where he was coming from. He looked as calm and confident as ever, while she felt like a messy bundle of anxiety. What was she thinking? Why on earth would he want her?
Except that he had…
He smiled when he saw her sitting there, and some of her nerves immediately settled, a few of the butterflies in her stomach coming to a halt.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said as he came over to sit beside her on the couch. Very closely beside her. Close enough that as the cushion dipped down, their legs ended up touching instead of there being a bit of space between them—and he didn’t shift away.
That was a good sign, right?
“That’s okay. Um, so what did you want to talk about?” Smooth. Real smooth. But if it was bad, she wanted to get it over with.
Mason leaned back against the couch, stretching his arm along the back, which meant it was behind her.
Audrey turned her upper body to look at him, rather than leaning back against his arm, even though she really wanted to.
He was studying her with that intent gaze that made her feel like he could see so much more than her physical exterior.
“Us,” he replied simply, and her heart skipped a little beat.
“I think it’s clear there’s an attraction between us.
I’m attracted to you, you’re attracted to me, and you have an interest in something I’m experienced in.
I want to suggest that if you’re going to keep exploring kink, you do it with me. Privately. At least for now.”
“For now?” she echoed, unsure of exactly what he meant.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” he said, his tone frank.
“I do know that if we go to the club, anyone who knows Yasmine and I were together will have certain expectations if they see us together next. That’s a lot of pressure to put on anyone, much less two people who are still getting to know each other. ”
Audrey shuddered at the very idea. She’d already experienced people trying to pressure her into marrying someone. Though if she had to choose between Mason and Cash…
“There’s also the fact that Yasmine point-blank asked me to give her a month before I start publicly seeing anyone.
Not that we would need to date in order to scene together, but I want to honor her request and give her the time she needs.
” He smiled, a rather crooked smile. “Unfortunately, I think a lot of the highest expectations about my relationship with whoever I’m seen with now will come from her. ”
Which made sense. From what Audrey could see, Yasmine completely bought into her curse. She really thought that whoever Mason dated next would be his happily ever after.
Yeah. That was a lot of pressure.
Especially since Yasmine had become a friend.
“So, you want to… scene together but keep it a secret for now?” she asked.
Mason hesitated.
“A secret sounds extreme, but maybe… we just don’t announce it to anyone. You get to explore kink with someone you’ve already put your trust in. And we get to explore this chemistry together.”
“Like fuck buddies?”
“To put it crudely, yes. Although we don’t necessarily have to have sex to enjoy the scenes, maybe we don’t have to keep it as platonic as we had originally planned either.
” He dropped his arm down, reaching forward to cover her hand where it was sitting on her lap and squeezing her fingers.
The riot of butterflies exploded in her stomach again at his touch, her heart racing faster.
“How far we go is completely up to you.”
“Not dating, just scening. I just want to make sure I have this correct.”
“Yes. Although I’m sure we’ll spend some time together.
” He hesitated again, then gave a little nod, like he’d made some kind of internal decision.
“I’ll be honest with you, my reaction to you was nothing like I expected.
I’m not normally out of control, even when I’m attracted to someone.
Nothing like the way I was tonight. It’s possible we might burn through the attraction and come out of this good friends who have had some fun together in the past.”
“Right. Friends with benefits.” Audrey studied him for a long moment.
Men should read more romance. He sounded an awful lot like those heroes who thought they were going to fuck their way through the chemistry, as if it had an endpoint and would eventually be all used up.
That never worked. Then again, maybe it was just the genre.
Either way, she knew what she wanted.
“Okay,” she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. “Deal.”
He took her hand and tugged her toward him.
“That’s not how we seal the deal, cupcake,” he murmured, and his other hand came up to glide through her hair as he tilted her head back for a kiss.
His lips closed over hers as she fell toward him, her hand pressing against his chest as her head spun dizzily.
This was definitely the better way to close the bargain.