Chapter Six #2
I push potatoes around on my plate for a long moment before looking up at him. "I like this, Mason," I whisper, my voice soft. "Thank you for not hating me."
"Hey." He reaches across the table, running his thumb across my bottom lip. "I could never hate you, Rebel."
I smile in response, my heart ready to burst.
"Can I ask what happened to your mom?" I ask, peeking up at him as we stroll down the pier after dinner, our fingers laced together.
A few people are scattered around on benches or jogging, but most are at the carnival near the parking area.
It feels a little like we're the only two in the world out here.
"She had an aneurysm," he says. "By the time they got her to the hospital, she was gone."
"Oh, Mason." I wrap an arm around his waist in a one-armed hug. "I'm so sorry."
"Me too, Rebel." He leans down, brushing his lips across my crown. "She was an incredible woman."
"She had to be. She raised you."
He tips my head back, kissing me softly. His lips taste like wine and something else—something that's uniquely him. I groan, burrowing into him as he nips my bottom lip and ruins me for any other kiss.
"You're awfully good at that," I whisper when he finally lets me up.
"Glad you think so," he rasps. "I intend to do it a lot."
"Do you?"
"I do."
"We'll see."
I love the way he smiles at me like I'm the most important thing in the world. When he does it, I feel like the most important thing in the world. I can't remember the last time anyone made me feel that way. Actually, that isn't true. No one has ever made me feel that way.
"Come on," he murmurs, wrapping an arm around my waist to get me moving again.
We walk along in silence for a long moment before I feel compelled to speak again. "You said Paulina was your mom's bird?"
"Yeah. Mom loved her, and she loved Mom. I didn't have the heart to rehome her after Mom passed, so I brought her home with me. She mourned for months before she finally decided to give me a chance." He chuckles ruefully. "She still gets pissed any time anything in her world changes, though."
"Hence why you're an asshole."
"Hey now," he says.
"She said it, not me."
He narrows his eyes at me, making me laugh out loud. He doesn't give me a hard time, though. At least, not vocally. Instead, he just pulls me along until we reach the little carnival at the end of the pier.
"No way!" I cry, stopping in my tracks when I see where he's heading.
"You scared?"
"Uh, yes. Absolutely, yes."
"Too bad." His eyes glint with humor as he practically hauls me the last few feet and then buys two tickets. I protest, but he just chuckles, practically carrying me onto the Ferris Wheel.
"I take back everything I said earlier," I grumble while he buckles me in. "You absolutely are trying to kill me."
"Nah, baby," he says, laughing. "I'm just trying to kiss you on top of the world."
"You…I…you… Not fair," I huff, my protests dying.
"Who said I had to play fair?" he asks, wrapping an arm around me and tugging me up against his side until we're pressed together in one long line. "I certainly don't remember hearing that rule."
His hand brushes my thigh before he just places it there, six inches above my knee. My core instantly ignites, my whole body quivering. He doesn't try to move it higher, though…at least not until we're slowly spinning into the air.
"You want to know a secret?" He presses his lips to my ear, flicking his tongue against my skin.
"Y-yes."
"When you told me that you heard weird sounds from my place last week, I thought you meant that you heard me jerking off," he mutters against my skin, his hand inching higher. "I was panicking, convinced you heard me moaning your name."
"You…really?" I moan, my legs parting on instinct. "You were getting yourself off while thinking about me?
"Fuck yeah," he growls. "Every fucking day since I met you."
"Me too."
"Christ." He nips my skin, groaning. "You can't tell me that if you want me to behave. I'm not that strong, baby."
"Then don't behave," I whisper, my voice shaking. I want him so badly I feel like I'm going to come out of my skin if he isn't touching me soon.
"Fuck." His hand slides higher, his fingers grazing the edges of my panties. "You want me to get you off right here and now? Want to know what it feels like to fall apart for me while you're on top of the world?"
"Yes," I gasp, already writhing for it. If anyone below can see us, they're getting a show. I don't really care, though. It's not like they can see anything important. Just me, slowly unraveling for the incredible man beside me.
His hand slips higher. "Spread wider, Rebel."
I do as instructed, prying my legs apart.
"Oh, God…"
"Goddamn," he breathes against my skin. "You're so wet for me."
"I know!"
He hooks his pinky around the crotch of my panties, tugging it aside. "I'm fucking dying to know what you sound like when you're coming apart for me," he groans. "I want to know what you taste like, and what you feel like wrapped around me."
"Mason, please…"
He bites the side of my throat, parting my folds with two fingers.
I'm going to hear his growl in my dreams. I'm going to feel this in my memories long after he's done. I know I will.
I cry out, the loud sound muffled by his mouth on mine and the wind around us. He strokes my clit like he owns my body already, driving me right to the edge.
"Open your eyes, Rebel," he demands, pressing two fingers inside me, stretching me with them. They're so damn thick. Jesus. "I want you to see the world bending for you while you're falling apart for me."
I pry them open, realizing that we're stopped at the very top of the Ferris Wheel. The ocean is a dark, wild thing below us, stretching into infinity. The rest of the world stretches the other way, bending around mountains and valleys just like he said.
The only part of it that really matters is him and the way he watches me, his eyes two burning points in the dark. His gaze sears into me, burning me with possession, need, and something so beautiful it's terrifying.
"Mason," I whimper.
"Fall for me," he rasps, curling two fingers up. He hits that magic spot inside, stroking firmly.
I choke out his name, splintering into a million pieces.
"Good girl," he croons, working me through every shiver and aftershock.
He doesn't let up until I'm a quivering mess on the bench beside him, completely wrecked with pleasure.
And then he slips his hand free, tugs my panties back into place, and licks me from his fingers, his eyes still locked on my face.
My body ignites again, clenching so hard it's like a brand-new orgasm sparking to life.
"Mm," he moans, popping his fingers free. "Best dessert ever, Rebel."
I melt. I fucking melt.