CHAPTER SEVEN
Mason
Between swimming and reading my book in the blistering sun, I manage to completely ignore Jenna’s presence for the entire first hour of our “fun” outing.
I’m proud to say, my eyes never once drifted her way while she sunbathed on her floral beach towel, her olive-green string bikini undone at the back, revealing a little too much side boob.
Nope, my gaze stayed firmly locked on my thriller.
Jenna disappears for a swim, and of course, I glance up at the exact moment she returns, water cascading down her bronzed skin, her wet hair slicked back off her face, and my stupid eyes bulge.
I’m surrounded by beautiful, half-naked women. All the time. Hell, when I’m at work, mixing cocktails and nodding along to the beats, I have women throwing themselves at me.
But there’s something about Jenna Brooks that has me lowering my book so no one can see the semi in my board shorts.
I let my eyes linger for a beat, hiding behind my sunglasses. But when she fucking moans as she drops down to her towel, I quickly avert my gaze, silently cursing myself.
She’s the devil. I’m sure of it.
Either that or I need to get laid.
“It’s as if someone corralled the most attractive people in Australia and sent them here to welcome me.
I’ve never seen so much beauty in one place.
” Jenna lifts her sunglasses as a young guy walks past, and I swear her eyes darken as she checks out his abs.
“So many options.” She sighs longingly and I scoff.
“Didn’t you fly halfway around the world for my brother?”
“In a way, yes. But he’s a friend.”
“Does he know that?” I snap, finally drawing her gaze, my eyes flashing to my lap, relieved to find my bulge well and truly hidden.
The flash of a frown crosses her features, but before I can question it, it’s gone.
“I’m not sure.” She shrugs. “I always thought so but then his last…never mind. I’m here because I wanted a break, and I figured it was time I paid your brother a visit.
I skipped our Thanksgiving letter. The first one I’ve ever missed. Did he tell you that?”
Her eyes meet mine and my throat bobs as I nod, my heart pounding in my chest. “I knew, yes.” Please don’t ask too many questions.
“Well, I felt bad. So here I am.” She smiles, lying back on her towel while stretching her body. Her back arches, and my gaze locks on her pert breasts falling out of the tiny triangles she’s trying to pass off as bathers.
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I ignore the throbbing in my shorts as she continues.
“The funny thing is, I told him I was here to explain myself, but I’ve been avoiding the topic ever since. It’s a long emotional story, and I’d rather keep things light between us. We only have a few days, a week at most. It's better to spend that time having fun.”
My eyes flash to her face, scrutinising her expression. She says she wants to keep things light with Jack, and yet it almost feels like she’s opening up to me.
The thought has my stomach twisting, but I don’t question it.
Jenna lifts her sunglasses again, raising her perfectly manicured brows in question. “Does that make sense?”
“It does,” I rush out. “But—”
“Goddddaaamn.” She cuts me off, biting her lip as she moans, sitting up again. “An ass like that should be illegal. Please tell me you know her?”
“Her?” My eyes widen as my gaze darts to the woman she’s staring at, and I instantly see the appeal, but... “You’re attracted to women?” I glance back at Jenna, confused. I could have sworn she—
“I’m attracted to people,” she clarifies, making me pause.
“What does that mean?”
“Gender doesn’t matter.”
“What matters?” My voice rises in pitch because I’m genuinely interested. I’ve never met anyone who likes both men and women. At least not on a personal level.
Jenna laughs, clearly amused, and I can’t stop my frown from forming. What did I say?
“You look confused.”
“I’d say curious.”
“Okay. Curiosity is good.”
“Good. Soooo…”
“Oh, right. Well for one, they need to have a good personality.” She stares at me pointedly and I roll my eyes.
“Funny.”
A smile lights up her face before she turns serious again. “In all honesty, it’s usually a connection I feel.”
I nod, pondering her words for a beat until my lips lift into a smile of my own. “I like that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. But I’m even more curious now. Does that mean you had a connection with her ass?”
Jenna laughs so hard, she snorts, falling back onto her towel, and my chest warms. She’s never short of a comeback or sass, and she’s constantly laughing. But there’s something more real about her reaction just now. And though I shouldn’t, I like that I elicited that happiness.
“Of course.” She speaks between giggles. “A deep, deep connection. Look at her. I bet you felt it too.”
“Oh, I already looked, and she is fine.”
“She’s not the only one. Everyone here is fine.” She matches my intonation. “I’m jealous.”
“Aren’t you an actress in Hollywood? Don’t try to pretend there aren’t beautiful people over there.”
“I’m not. They're just different.”
I nod and reach for my water, suddenly thirstier than I’ve ever been in my life. Or maybe I need to distract myself so I don’t think about Jenna hooking up with other beautiful women.
“Has your cock ever twitched over a hot piece of man?” she asks, and I choke on my drink, coughing to hide it. Not that it helps.
“Can you ever ask a question seriously?” I rasp, my throat croaky.
“Sorry.” She giggles behind her hand. “Have you ever been attracted to a man?” She raises her brows as if to ask “is that better” and I stifle a smile.
“I haven’t. I can appreciate a man being attractive, but my cock has never twitched as you say.”
“So, you’re not open to a threesome? Two men, one woman.”
Jesus. Christ. I can’t say I’ve ever considered it, but the idea is intriguing. If anything, it would be nice to rattle her with my response.
With my lip trapped between my teeth, I lean in closer, my face barely an inch from her ear. “Again… I can see the appeal. I’m sure there’s something to be said about restraining yourself while you watch another man fuck the girl you want. Taking her after. But…it would depend.”
Jenna’s lips part, and I don’t miss the way she squeezes her legs tighter together. “On what?”
“On who she was. If she was my girl…I wouldn’t have to think about it. The answer would be a huge fuck no. I don’t share. But a random hookup, maybe.”
I shrug and her breath hitches as she spins in my direction, her nose brushing my cheek, forcing me to move back. “I like that,” she whispers, her expression heated until she pulls herself out of it. “Good answer.”
She’s quiet for a beat until she pivots her entire body to face me and crosses her legs, her gaze now full of mischievous wonder. What did I get myself into? “How do you think your brother would react to that question?”
My brother. Fuck.
As if someone splashed cold water over me, I shiver, and any hint of an erection instantly disappears.
“Maybe you should ask him. I’m sure it classifies as ‘keeping things light.’” The hardness of my voice has Jenna’s brows pinching, but before she can sass me, I jump up, needing some space.
“I’m going for a swim,” I rush out, walking away, my chest tight with something I refuse to acknowledge.
She’s here for my brother. For Jack. After his last letter.
And that means she’s completely off-limits. At least she is to me.
Jenna’s ready to leave after my swim, and we walk back in uncomfortable silence.
When we’re home, I lead her through the yard to rinse and dry off, all while pretending she’s someone else.
Anyone else. Going as far as cutting her off when she tries to speak, mumbling something about a phone call I have to make.
A lie.
My muscles are tight as I take the stairs, two at a time, and the second I’m inside my room, I groan, proceeding to laugh at myself.
God, I’m a fucking idiot. It’s Jenna. Jack’s Jenna. Jack and Jenna. Their names don’t even work together. But that’s their problem, not mine.
It’s time to fuck my hand, relieve some tension, and move on.
Who flies to another country after getting a dirty letter?
Jenna, apparently.
Grabbing a pair of shorts and a tee, I stalk past Jenna’s room, praying she doesn’t choose this moment to come upstairs. If she hasn’t already.
I need to grab a new shampoo from the guest bathroom then I’ll be on my way, back to the privacy of the master suite where I will remain until Jack gets home.
Which better be soon.
The image of him waltzing through the door without a care in the world has me wanting to knock some sense into him. He's beyond frustrating. I can't believe he left.
I’m once again angry on Jenna’s behalf as I swing open the door, huffing to myself in the process, until…
“Jesus, fuck.” I freeze, midstep. “What are you doing?” Jenna’s in the shower, bent over, her phenomenal naked ass wriggling in the air, begging me to touch it.
She glances up at me from her compromising position and I groan, my cock instantly hardening.
“I’m shaving my legs.” She shrugs.
“I can see your ass,” I grate, my teeth clenched with the tension coursing through me.
“How else am I going to reach?”
“I don’t know. Lift your leg and plant it against the wall.”
“This is much more comfortable.”
“That’s nice but can you—”
“Why are you here, Mason?”
Shit. Fuck. “Sorry.” She stands and spins slightly, forcing me to look away to avoid full frontal nudity. Seeing her in her bathers was hard enough, seeing her bare ass was harder still, but seeing her pussy…that’s not something I can come back from. “I’m leaving.”
I grab the door but pause at the threshold. Dammit. “I need shampoo.” I walk backward, blindly reaching for the drawer under the sink, and of course she fucking giggles.
My hand curls around the shampoo and I remember she’s a girl. Obviously, but… “There’s better body wash here.” I reach around and lift up the bottle. “It’s for women. Jack uses whatever is in front of him, not wanting to overload his head with too many decisions in the morning, so I moved it out.”
“That’s kind of you, though I don’t mind smelling like a man. Is this what you use?” She moves, presumably to grab the body wash from the shower floor, but I don’t dare look. Instead, my muscles twitch. Why is that so fucking hot?
“Which one have you got?” I ask, clenching my teeth once more.
“Have a look?”
Dammit, Jenna.
“It doesn’t matter. Use what you like.”
“What’s wrong? Never seen a naked woman before?”
What the fuck? She’s challenging me now?
Growing some balls, I raise an eyebrow and spin confidently, but the second I see her, I falter.
She’s fucking breathtaking.
There is no other way to describe her.
And from the sass in her expression, she knows it.
“This one?” She holds up the bottle with one hand and bites a nail on the other. While I couldn’t tell you what she’s holding if my life depended on it.
The bottle is positioned next to her pebbled nipples, and it’s taking all my power not to join her in the shower, eager to twist one.
My throat dries as I stare at her, my gaze lowering to her bare pussy, imagining what it would be like to run my tongue through her heat, to lap up her—
“Mase.” She moans my name, her tone as desperate as I feel. It’s barely louder than a whisper but it pulls me out of my lust.
What the fuck am I doing?
A door slams downstairs and I curse as I jump, my heart pounding so hard it hurts.
“I’m home,” Jack calls out and I curse louder.
“Use the men’s,” I growl, dumping the floral-smelling shit back in the drawer, my body vibrating with unease as I hightail it out of there.
Why the hell didn’t I leave?
But more than that, why does it feel like that’s the least of my worries?