Chapter 28 Mason
Mason
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
I was a nervous wreck the closer we got to my house. The one that would soon be our home. But this time, it was a good nervousness.
“I’m great. How about you?” I couldn’t wait for him to see what I’d done.
He raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I promise. Just anxious to get there.”
The minute his expression changed, I knew he’d gotten it wrong. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed to go to the bathroom? I would have driven faster.”
I grinned over at him, storing that excuse away for future use. “I’m fine, and I don’t need the bathroom. But I do have something to show you when we get home.” I loved how that sounded.
Keeping an eye on me, he made the drive down the street before turning into our driveway. He reached up and pushed the button to engage the garage door, and that made me smile even more.
“If I hadn’t been with you all day, I might wonder if you were inebriated.”
“I’m anxious to show you something.” He pulled into the bay and cut the engine. We got out and each collected a dog. “I’ll grab our bags later.”
Thomas eyed me with a sexy smirk that made my heart swoon. Once we had the girls unhooked, I held out my hand to take his as he chuckled at me. “You’re a mess.”
“I am,” I admitted, “because this is important.”
Thomas sobered and squeezed my hand. “I’m ready.”
“Okay.” Releasing a heavy breath, I smiled. “If you don’t like it, we can change it. It’s not a problem.”
His brow knitted together at my statements as I led him toward the unused dining room, then stopped before we reached the doorway. Turning to face him, I leaned in and kissed his cheek. Stepping aside, I swung my arm to the doorway. “This is for you.”
Stepping around me, he peered in the doorway of his new home office. He stood frozen as he took it all in.
Turning back to me, he didn’t speak, causing my anxiety to grow.
“If you don’t like the design, we can…” I wasn’t able to finish that sentence.
Thomas moved like a panther and pinned me to the wall.
Pressing his body against mine, he took my face in his hands while mine went to his hips.
“You sweet, fucking man,” he breathed against my lips.
“You are so incredible. How are you single? No one has ever treated me the way you do.”
All my nerves settled. “I’m not single. And I think you have that backward. That’s how I feel about you.” Lifting my hands to hold him closer, I caressed his face with my eyes. “I wanted you to have this space in our home, Tommy.”
Ever the FBI agent, he tilted his head to the side. I saw the questions coming. “I only agreed to move in a couple of days ago. This took more time than that.”
“It did. They started working on it when we left for the airport.”
He frowned. “Who is they?”
“Maddie and Hudson. She worked with him to figure out what you liked, then designed the room. She sourced all the furniture and a local designer. Hudson oversaw the work.”
The smile that lit up his face made me so happy. “You pulled this off so quickly. Is that why you wanted to go to Mexico City?”
I shrugged. “Part of it. I really wanted the taco tour, but I also wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with you before the season starts. So it all worked out.”
“What if I’d said no to moving in?” He was having fun being the FBI guy.
“I figured you’d say yes at some point. If you hadn’t in Playa del Carmen, I hoped maybe this would convince you. But if that didn’t work, you’d eventually move in when we got married. You could use it until then.”
Thomas gazed at me like I’d done something unbelievable. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?”
I hugged him tightly. “If you mean our life, then yes. And I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
“I can do that.” With a hard kiss to my mouth, he smiled and backed away. “Show me my new office, sweetheart.”
Taking his hand, I happily showed him the space curated just for him. “Here in the doorway are two French pocket doors. I chose those to let the light in, but if you’d rather have solid ones, they can be changed.”
Thomas shook his head as he pulled them out to look at them. “I love them just like this.”
“Moving on,” I said. “I had the built-in bookshelves put in to display all your military books. The dark green walls and wainscotting gave it a library feel. Maddie vetoed the brown I suggested.”
Thomas grinned as he ran his fingertips over the red leather Chesterfield sofa that sat against the far wall and the brown leather wingbacks across from his desk.
From there, he went to the freestanding globe and large oversized desk.
“The monitor is recessed inside so you can close down shop whenever you need to. The button to make it work is under the ledge.”
He didn’t speak again for a few moments as he took it all in. When he sat down in his new chair, I leaned against the door frame and assessed him. “Is there anything you want to change?”
Sweeping the room again, his eyes held mine. “Yes. Your last name.”
That I would happily do.
Thomas never went back to his condo after we returned from Mexico.
We spent our time before training camp moving him in and debating the merits of each job.
In the end, he decided he would turn down the Storm job, opting to continue working for himself.
“I enjoy the flexibility working for myself provides.”
But when he came down to the team’s workout room, where I was having leg day, he entered holding a brown envelope and a familiar folder from HR.
Furrowing my brow, I pointed to them. “What’s that?” Thomas looked at the folder, but didn’t answer right away. “He talked you into the job, didn’t he?”
He ran his hand over his neck, then chuckled. “Technically, no.”
I folded my arms across my sweaty chest, amused by where this was going. You didn’t get the HR folder unless you had a job. Thomas’s eyes trailed from my feet, cataloging every muscle and bulge until he reached my eyes. My mouth tipped up as he devoured me visually. “Time to fess up.”
Clearing his throat, he shoved down his attraction long enough to point toward the ceiling. “That man could teach courses in strategic negotiation and coercion.”
“Why?” I chuckled. “What did you agree to?”
He propped his hands on his hips and looked at the floor before looking back up.
“I went in, ready to turn it down. And I did. I shared my concerns about us being together and how I thought it would be a conflict of interest. But somehow, he convinced me there was no issue with me and you, and got me to agree to be a consultant this season. He hired me to be additional private security for…”
“For?” I asked, moving closer. We were alone, so I didn’t worry about anyone seeing us.
Thomas looked around. “For the queer players. Evidently, there’s been some chatter online. It’s probably nothing, but he doesn’t want to take a chance.”
“So let me get this straight,” I said, leaning in. “You’re going to be paid to protect me and my friends?”
“I offered to do it for free, but he said he had to pay me for liability and insurance reasons.”
“Hmm,” I grinned. “Does this mean I get to be strip-searched? We can practice that now.”
Thomas shook his head, but I could see the humor in his eyes. “We’ll save that for at home.”