Chapter 12
TWELVE
“You brushed your teeth?” Gabriela asked as Ana hopped onto her new bed.
Gabby still couldn’t quite believe what she’d seen when she’d stepped in this room a few hours ago. She’d watched Mason bring the bedframe inside, but she’d returned her attention to dinner as he hauled in everything else. To say he’d gone above and beyond was an understatement.
The pink bedding, the dresser with its cartoon stickers, the unicorn lamp, the decorations he’d hung on the walls after dinner—all of it had been to help Ana feel more at home.
To give her something when she had nothing left.
And each of those items made the rest seem even more thoughtful, even more meaningful, especially considering that he didn’t have to do anything at all.
He had no obligation to Gabriela and her daughter.
What he’d done…it was stunning, and it was heartwarming, and amazing.
But what had really floored Gabriela was Ana’s gut-wrenching sobs as the girl embraced Mason—and her whispered words to him.
I wish you were my dad.
Those words had repeated in Gabby’s mind over and over since she’d heard them, and every time she looked at Mason, all she could see was how wonderful a father and husband he’d be.
He was thoughtful, kind, and compassionate, and he genuinely cared about Ana.
Gabriela had seen it in his every small act over the last year.
She’d be stupid to let him slip through her fingers.
I long to rut you, female. I won’t lie about that. But I want all of you. Not just your body, but your heart, your mind, your everything. I want a mate.
Her stomach was still in knots from what he’d said to her. And tonight…
“Moooooom,” Ana whined.
Gabriela jerked, turning her face toward her daughter, who was now lying down. “Sorry. Did you say you brushed your teeth?”
“Yep. See?” She drew her lips back and bared her teeth.
Gabriela leaned closer to inspect them. “Hmm… I think I see something.”
“What?”
“I see…a tickle monster!”
Ana squealed with laughter, wiggling and squirming as Gabby tickled her sides.
“Stop! Stop! No more!” Ana cried. “I’m going to pee!”
Gabriela stopped immediately. She arched her brow at her panting daughter. “Did you go to the bathroom before bed?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then you won’t pee.” Gabriela resumed her tickling.
“Mason, help! Mom’s going to kill me!”
“Sorry,” he called from the kitchen, “don’t think I’m supposed to get between a mother and her kit.”
“Noooooo! Mooooom!”
Gabriela laughed. “Okay, okay. I’m not supposed to rile you up before bed anyway.”
Ana turned her head, closed her eyes, and dangled her tongue out the side of her mouth.
“Oh, no!” Gabriela cupped Ana’s cheeks. “I guess I’ll have to give her mouth-to-mouth.”
Ana’s eyes snapped open and she pulled away. “Ew! No way.”
Gabby smiled. “I do want a goodnight kiss, though.”
“That’s okay.” Ana spread her arms open, and Gabriela leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you, too.”
Gabriela reached across the bed and turned off the unicorn lamp, leaving the room dark but for the light shining in from the hallway.
“Have a good night,” she said as she stood up.
“Goodnight, Mom.” Ana drew in a deep breath. “Good night, Mason!”
Mason leaned in through the bedroom doorway. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a tank top that stretched across his broad chest, showing off his bare, muscular arms, and his long black hair hung loose around his shoulders. “Night, Ana.”
Ana grinned up at him.
Gabriela met Mason’s gaze. Her heart quickened, and her belly fluttered. They were going to sleep together. It had been years since Gabriela had slept with anyone other than Ana. And to be lying next to Mason, lying together in the dark…
And based on the heat in his eyes, she knew he was thinking the same things.
The house was cleaned up, the laundry was done, they had already showered, put on their pajamas, and brushed their teeth. There was nothing else to do. There’d be no more delaying the inevitable.
They were going to bed together.
“Come, Gabriela,” he commanded softly, holding his hand out.
She raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, then placed it within his. He closed his fingers around hers and tugged her toward him. Gabby followed, closing Ana’s door on her way out.
He closed the door once they were inside his bedroom and drew her close. She flattened her palms on his chest, feeling the brush of his pelvis against her belly. His erection was unmistakable.
Capturing her face between his hands, Mason bent down and locked his violet eyes with hers as he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.
His hands were so big—he was so big—that she felt tiny in comparison.
There was no denying the strength in his fingers or the roughness of his palms, yet his touch remained gentle, remained soothing, as he searched her gaze.
“You don’t need to be frightened of me, Gabriela.”
“I’m not scared of you, Mason. It’s just…” She took in a deep, fortifying breath, and slowly released it. “I…I haven’t been with a man since I was pregnant with Ana.”
His nostrils flared, his body tensed, and his fingers flexed, making his fingernails—which felt oddly long and sharp—dig lightly into her skin.
That heat in his eyes took on a new sheen, becoming tantalizingly possessive.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head down slowly, inhaling deeply through his nose.
His chest rumbled; the sound was a cross between a purr and a growl, and its vibrations went straight to Gabby’s core, making her pussy clench and her clit pulse.
Mason opened his eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear, which he traced with a finger. “Nothing will happen, Gabriela. We’re just going to sleep. I want you to feel comfortable with me. To feel safe.”
“I do feel safe with you. I just thought… After what you said earlier, about wanting me as your…mate…”
“I want you, female. Even now, smelling you, touching you, it’s hard to restrain myself. But in this, it will be when you decide.”
So much of the tension in Gabriela’s body vanished in an instant. Mason was giving her the choice. He wasn’t pushing her, forcing her, coercing her. He was letting her choose when she was ready to be with him.
How many times had James guilted her into sex? How many times had he made her feel like refusing meant she didn’t care for him, or that she somehow owed it to him, that she was being a shitty girlfriend if she denied his desires?
Gabriela could fall in love with Mason so easily.
Hell, she might have been falling for him already.
Every time she watched him interact with Ana, every time she saw how great a dad he could be, her panties melted.
And hadn’t she waited long enough for someone like him to come into her life?
Why wait longer? Why fight it, especially when he’d stated his intentions so boldly and clearly?
This wasn’t the time to deny an opportunity.
Yet as much as her body craved him—as much as she craved him—she didn’t need to rush this. She could see where it would lead, and if the time came, if it felt right…she wouldn’t resist it.
And she had a feeling that the right time would come sooner than expected.
She smiled and reached up, meaning to sweep Mason’s hair back from his face, but he gently caught her hand before it could go higher.
He brought her hand to his mouth, and, without breaking eye contact, brushed his lips over her palm. Gabby’s breath hitched as a thrill rushed through her, making skin pebble and her nipples taut. Heat flooded her between her legs.
“Get in bed, Gabriela,” he said, his voice rough and husky, before releasing her hand and stepping aside.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth. Her eyes lingered on him as she stepped forward, somehow keeping steady despite the overwhelming anticipation fluttering in her stomach. She walked around to the other side of the bed, drew down the covers, and climbed on.
Gabriela lifted her gaze to Mason again just as he flicked off the lights. The room was plunged into darkness—but for an instant, she swore she could see two faintly glowing violet orbs where his eyes had been. When she blinked, those orbs were gone.
Her eyes were slow to adjust to the dark, but she heard Mason make his way to the other side of the bed, and she heard a swish of cloth that sounded like clothing being removed. The bed creaked softly as he settled onto it; she felt his movement through the mattress.
After a few seconds, he seemed to settle.
Able to discern little more than deeper shadows amidst the darkness, Gabriela turned to lie on her side, facing a wall she could not see.
The bed seemed far larger than it had last night—and, though he was so close, far emptier.
It couldn’t have been more than a couple feet separating her from Mason, but it felt like an immense rift had been torn open between them, and she longed for it to be closed.
As though reading her thoughts, Mason shifted closer to her. Something tightened low in her belly, pouring a fresh wave of heat into her core.
With a growl, Mason wrapped an arm around her, his hand covering her stomach, and drew her back against his chest—his now very naked chest. She felt his face against her hair, felt his breath against her scalp.
His body was big and hard and warm, and she fit so perfectly spooned against him, felt so immediately…
comfortable and safe, just like he said he’d wanted.
But safety and comfort weren’t all he was making her feel. Her backside was tucked against his pelvis, and even through their pants, she couldn’t mistake the long, thick hardness of his cock pressed firmly along the crease of her ass and lower back.
The ache between her legs intensified, and his hand was so close to the source of her discomfort.
No rushing? Ha! Patience be damned.