6. Chapter 5
~ Mason ~
Two days later, and I can’t stop thinking about what I almost did.
What I shouldn’t have let happen.
Or how badly I really wanted to do it after all.
She really was twisting me up in ways I hadn’t thought of in years and I wanted it.
I wanted her.
So, I thought the best way to get over it was to grab some beers and drink the night away because I was having problems after problems dealing with her.
Not that she was difficult, but my feelings were.
Especially when I saw her coming out of the bathroom this morning, naked, and I saw the sexy tattoo that ran down her side.
I was outside, checking one of the water lines when I saw her.
I didn’t mean to, didn’t mean to stare either, but it was so hard not to when she was so fucking sexy.
And she didn’t even know it, not really.
So, yeah, after all that today, I needed to get drunk and then pass out because I knew I was going to be suffering. And given that it was the weekend and she had no plans to do anything at the diner, it was even worse.
I walked through the front door of the cabin, the smell of a homemade meal making my mouth water.
She was also an amazing cook, on top of all of her other amazing qualities.
“Took you long enough?” she said, holding out a spoonful of sauce for me to taste.
“Grabbed some stuff from the store.”
“Will it pair well with the pasta?”
I held up the huge case of beer and she laughed.
“Will it do?” I questioned, putting it in the fridge.
“I guess we’re about to find out. Dinner is just about done, if you’re hungry.”
Boy was I, but for something other than food. Because the thought of her standing in this kitchen with nothing but an apron on did something to me. Well, besides making me rock hard, which was not a good thing.
I grabbed both of us some beers while I set the table, waiting for her to plate the food.
“So, what are we drinking for tonight?” she asked, setting the plates down and then sitting down.
“Just. Things are almost done at the diner, which I know is a plus. It was a productive week with the meetings and finding the right balance in pricing. And then you have your staff. You’ll be ready to open soon, and it seems like everyone around these parts are excited for it to open.”
“Which is all a huge thanks to you, Mason. I really don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t around.”
She reached out and laid her hand on mine, making my skin tingle.
How did she do that?
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not. Even my boy said you went far beyond what typical strangers do.”
I had heard her talking to her son here and there, and it was kind of funny because he often questioned what my motives were and she would tell him nothing, that I was just a kind soul.
He wasn’t sure about that, exactly, but there really were no other motives.
I wasn’t out to win her heart or screw her over. I just wanted to help.
Smart man that the boy saw between the lines, but he never talked to me or questioned her beyond that. Not that I expected him to at least talk to me. But after the first time or two when she would shoot him down, he stopped.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt that if he ever stopped by, he’d have a thing or two to say, but there was no reason to worry, because nothing was going on between his mom and me.
“Really, Patty, it’s nothing. I was raised to help out where I could, especially to single women. Even though,” I told her, raising my hand to stop her, “you’re perfectly capable of taking care of things yourself. You have to admit; it was a little easier with me around than doing it on your own.”
I took a swig of my beer, giving her a pointed look, which she only nodded at.
“Well, then, Mason, let me toast to you for being my knight in jeans and boots.” With that, she took the beer, lifted it to me, then I watched as she downed it and I already could see how this night was going to go.
~ Patty ~
I probably should have stopped about two beers ago, but I was happy and excited. Everything was coming together for the diner and Mason and I, right now, were having a blast. We were joking, talking, flirting, and even dancing, all in the wonderful little sitting area of his cabin.
It was perfect, when it probably shouldn’t be.
It also felt right, when I knew it couldn’t be.
And it wasn’t even that Mason was giving me mixed signals, because he wasn’t. Everything that was going on in my end was simply my doing. But try as I might, I couldn’t shake it off.
Hell, maybe I was dumb enough that I didn’t want to shake it off.
But when he was like this, fun and carefree, it was hard to back away. And when I was in his arms, swaying to the music that I wasn’t sure when he put on, it sucked even worse. But again, this is all my fault, and that I knew.
“You’re a really great dancer,” he slurred a little, making me laugh.
“I like to think I am.”
“You also feel right in my arms,” he confessed, his lips brushing the top of my head. “Would you believe I haven’t danced like this with anyone since my wife died? We would do this all the time.”
“Yeah?”
I wasn’t sure what to say because information about his wife, his past, or mine, was scarce. We didn’t bring it up much, and it seemed like we were both content to leave it there.
“Yup. But I miss it. I just know I really like you here.”
“I like being here, Mason.”
How drunk were we that we were talking about this?
“Can I confess something else?”
“Sure, lay it on me, big man,” I told him, trying to focus on him and not the twin beside him.
“I really wanted to kiss you the other night, Patty.”
I stopped swaying to stare at him, blown away by that comment. Because the look in his eyes that night did not seem like a man who wanted to do that.
“I was scared.”
“Of what?” I asked.
“Of what you make me feel. It’s something I haven’t felt in a long time. Not since she passed. And I didn’t think I could feel it again.”
“Why are you telling me this now, Mason?”
“Because I really fucking want to kiss you right now. And I don’t want to worry about it.”
“Mason,” I started, cupping his cheeks and making him look at me, “no one is going to worry about it, least of all me. If you want to kiss me, then press your damn lips against mine and put me out of my misery already.”
“Misery?”
“I want to kiss you so damn bad, but you seemed like the type to not want it. So, I didn’t push. But believe me, I’ve spent many waking moments thinking of your lips.”
My eyes dropped down to the object I was discussing. His head descended and his lips crashed against mine.
I never thought, in my life, I would ever thank alcohol for making someone so free, but I am right now. Because there is no doubt in my mind that if we weren’t drinking, we wouldn’t be here. Not that we were falling over drunk, but we sure weren’t sober enough, that’s for damn sure.
But whatever the case was, I was going to stand here and enjoy those wonderful lips against mine because this kiss blew any I had out of the water.
Even his tongue against mine was something I hadn’t experienced. It was electric, and erotic, and it sent all kinds of shock waves right down to my stomach, then onto my core, making me clench my thighs together.
He was tormenting me and I was here for it.
I slid my hands into the back of his hair, tugging the locks as the kiss deepened and I knew, I just fucking knew in my gut and in my whole being, I was so royally fucked when this man came to his senses.
Because I was so worried he was going to push me away and I felt like my heart just couldn’t take that kind of pain.
But for tonight, I was going to enjoy everything.
And when his hands traveled over my back and down to cup my ass, hauling me up against him, I vowed I would worry about the pain later.
I was soaking it up right now.