Chapter 3 #2
His gaze found hers. “We never know when we’ll get called up or how long we’ll be gone. Hell, even if we did, I couldn’t share the details. But just because I wasn’t here didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about you.”
A smile spread across her face. “Since your friends weren’t around either, I thought maybe that you guys must’ve all had to go somewhere. Either that or you were all avoiding me,” she added, a twinkle in her eyes.
She stepped slightly closer to him as a group of young sailors walked by, heading toward the bar, and he inhaled her clean, fresh scent.
She inexplicably smelled like the ocean—like sunshine and sand.
Maybe a hint of coconut mixed in. Hell, he’d give anything to pull her closer so he could feel her soft curves against him and inhale that intoxicating scent.
One of the guys accidentally jostled her as he made his way past, and Mason let himself steady her, his fingers running over the bare skin of her upper arm.
She flushed at his touch, stepping back only after the guys cleared the area.
Interest and arousal flared within him at the way she reacted to his simple touch.
Hell, he’d love to have her over him. Under him. In every and any way imaginable. He’d love to take her back to his place, strip off her clothes, and slowly explore every curve of her body.
Her waitressing uniform certainly wasn’t meant to be sexy—but something about the way her top hugged her breasts and her jeans clung to her like a second skin had him incredibly attracted to her. Not to mention uncomfortably aroused.
Clearly she was fit and in shape. With just the right number of womanly curves to tempt him without even trying.
“Were you having trouble with your car again?” Mason asked, watching as her pink lips parted in surprise. “I asked our waitress earlier if you were working tonight, and she said you had to call out.”
“Oh, something came up,” Taylor said lightly. “But I don’t actually have a car right now. It’s uh, getting repaired. Sort of,” she added, again looking flustered. “My friend gave me a lift.”
“It’s in the shop?” Mason asked raising his eyebrows.
Taylor shifted uncomfortably. “I just need to arrange to get it back. Listen, I need to get orders from a few tables. I’m already late for my shift, and it’s filling up fast in here tonight. I’ll have to catch up with you later, okay?”
Mason nodded, something about her answer not sitting right with him.
Maybe she couldn’t afford whatever repairs she needed? Hopefully she wasn’t using the same tow-truck driver who’d jerked her around before. He was still pissed as hell she’d been charged $400 just for a tow.
“Do you need a lift home later on?” he asked. “The guys and I will be hanging out here a while, but I can swing by afterward so you don’t have to worry about a ride.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. “I’ll just catch a ride with one of the other waitresses later. I don’t want you to have to go through the trouble of coming back.”
“It’s no trouble,” he assured her. “What time do you get off?”
“I don’t get off until one a.m.,” she said, flushing again slightly. Her brown eyes locked on his. “Is that too late?”
“For you? Not a chance,” he said with a chuckle. “And I don’t have PT in the morning, so we’re good.”
“All right. I’ll see you later then?”
“Yep,” he confirmed. “I’ll be back here at oh-one-hundred.”
She wrinkled her brow in confusion, looking cute as hell as she did.
“One a.m.,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Just text me if you need to stay later or something. I’ll wait right outside Anchors for you so you don’t have to walk anywhere alone in the dark.”
“I usually just walk to the garage with everyone else.”
He frowned. “There’s no need to since I’m here. I’ll be outside the front door. It was good to see you, Taylor. I’m glad you made it in tonight. I was worried since I haven’t seen you around much.”
“Yeah, it was good to see you too,” she said. “I’ll see you later on. And thanks again for offering me a ride.”
He turned to let her pass by him, resisting the urge to lean over and inhale that coconut and sunshine scent. She turned back and flashed him a smile, her dark ponytail swishing back and forth.
Hell.
Driving her home tonight was going to be the death of him.
Mason watched her walk away, his eyes drawn to her shapely ass. Damn, she was gorgeous. All of her. Briefly, he had a vision of tugging on that ponytail, tilting her head back as he claimed her soft mouth. Letting his fingers trail over her delicate neck as he kissed her.
He’d love to run his hand down that long necklace she had on, letting his hand drift between her breasts.
Pressing his hard body up against all her soft curves.
Kissing her until she was softly moaning against him.
Not that he’d be doing any of that tonight. Taylor was a woman you took things slowly with. The slow burn of the heat between them was intriguing as hell. And judging from the electricity that always sparked between them, he had a feeling she would be worth the wait.