I took a step back from him and gave him a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay? Be careful going home tonight.” As I turned on my heel and headed back towards the entrance, I could feel his eyes on me the entire walk. Just before I slipped back inside, I glanced back at where he still stood. I gave myself a silent pat on the back for standing up to him and not giving in, even if my inner voices were having a knock-down, drag-out over whether I should run back to Ash’s arms or continue flirting with trouble inside with Mason. I would’ve said it was my inner angel and devil, but in this case I had two devils. I knew I was playing with fire either way I went.

Chapter 20

Evie and Mina had followed Ash and I out when he had abducted me. They had given us our space and privacy, but there was no way that Evie was going to let me be out there without her. I found them lingering outside the door, waiting to make sure I was okay.

“You alright, Sam?” Evie asked as I walked over to her.

I nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, I think it’s all going to be okay. Now I only hope that Mason is inside and still wants to hang out tonight.”

“Do you want me to go in with you?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine, I promise. I’ll text you if I need you,” I reassured her. She gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, and then she and Mina bounded off across the parking lot to where Noah and Max waited for them. I couldn’t help but smile at how happy Evie was tonight.

Back inside the warehouse, the overhead lights had been turned on and other than the employees, there were only a few people lingering around. I instantly spotted the back of Mason’s tall frame standing at the bar. I drew in a deep breath and made my way over to him.

“Mason?” My voice squeaked as I tried to get his attention. He sat his bottled water on top of the bar and turned around to face me. When he saw me, his face lit up and he exclaimed, “Angel! You’re still here!” His enthusiasm to see me made my heart swell. He appeared so tough with his big muscles, tattoos, and piercings, but for the short time I had been around him, he had been so sweet, soft, and cuddly.

I walked right up to him so that I was only inches from his body and looked up into his mysterious gray eyes. “I thought we had some unfinished business to attend to.” He leaned down and lightly swept his lips over mine. The warm, silkiness of his flesh on mine accompanied by the cool metal piercing set my body on fire. Mason slipped his hands under my arms, and in one swift motion, he lifted me up, turned us around, and sat me on top of the bar. Instinctually, I opened my legs so that he fit between them.

The next kiss was not quite as sweet as the first, and the one after that was nearly obscene. His lips and tongue expertly teased and tortured my mouth, my face, my ears, and my neck while his large, strong hands caressed me from my head down my back to my hips. When he paused briefly with his mouth on my shoulder, I took advantage of his lull and repaid each of his tormenting kisses with one of my own. My inner thighs throbbed while the rest of my body buzzed with desire. His hands found their way back in my long, straight hair. He was massaging my scalp when suddenly he grabbed two handfuls of my hair and yanked my head back, offering up my entire neck to him. A raspy growl emerged from my throat and I felt my panties moisten. I locked my legs around Mason’s waist and pulled him as close to me as physically possible. He tugged on my hair again, harder the second time, and again, I couldn’t help but groan at the overwhelming jolt of pleasure that shot through me. I arched my back with my legs still wrapped around Mason and he lowered me back onto the bar. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even stop to realize that we were in the middle of a public place, and even if I had noticed at that point, I’m not even sure I would’ve cared. The night had been such a mixture of emotions with meeting Mason and dealing with Ash, but while laying on my back on top of that bar, the only thing that mattered was Mason, me, and the fact that we both had way too many damn clothes on.

“Oh my God, Scarlett. You are the sexiest fucking thing I have ever laid eyes on,” he said as he gazed down at me. I smiled at his gratifying words and lifted my right hand to his cheek. “You’re not so bad yourself, Mason Templeton.” He turned his face so that he could kiss my palm.

“I need some fresh air. You’ve got me so worked up, Angel, that I almost forgot that we weren’t alone here,” Mason said as he looked around the bar to the handful of people who were pretending to be busy and not watching our steamy, bar-top make-out session. I blushed thinking about the guttural sounds that I had made just minutes earlier. “Good idea, let’s get out of here,” I replied. Mason lifted me up back into a sitting position and pulled me in for one more kiss. I could feel his hard cock pressed against my lower abdomen and I wanted so bad to reach down and rub my hand up and down it, but I controlled myself. I wasn’t quite sure what it was that Mason evoked in me, but I yearned for both his touch and to touch him like I didn’t think was possible. It was like my body was hungry for his, starving actually. Finally, I understood the draw towards the bad-boy image that so many girls and women could not resist. If I was Mason’s angel, he was my perfect devil.

“Wanna grab a bite to eat?” he asked as he lifted me off of the bar and down to my feet. Oh, there was something I wanted to put in my mouth, but it wasn’t food. On cue, my stomach growled loudly. “Well, I guess that’s all the answer I need.” He joked and kissed my forehead.

“Not really what I had in mind, but I guess that my stomach has different ideas.” I admitted.

He grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together as we headed towards the door. “You’ve had a busy night, Angel. I need to feed you and get you home so you can rest. It’s nearly 3:00 in the morning. We can pick up where we left off another night in a place with a little more privacy.”

Mason led me across the parking lot to his car, a new, black Infiniti G37. The car was gorgeous, but I was actually quite surprised he didn’t drive a motorcycle, which would’ve completed the image perfectly. When I told him just that, he jokingly apologized for disappointing me in not being the “full package.” I sighed over-dramatically and teased him, “I guess you’ll do for tonight, but you’re going to need to step up your bad-assness if you expect me to go out with you again.” Playing along, he assured me he was going to buy a motorcycle the very next day.

We continued our playful banter over pancakes and orange juice at a local IHOP. I quickly discovered that Mason was a child trapped in a twenty-three year old’s body. We joked, teased, and clowned around throughout the entire meal. I had never had so much fun just eating with anyone except Evie. I wasn’t embarrassed to say or do anything around him, and I could tell he felt the same way about me. And even though we refrained from touching and kissing each other too much while in the restaurant, the physical ache I felt for his touch never subsided.

When we reached my dorm, Mason insisted on walking me all the way to my door. I wasn’t surprised to find that Evie hadn’t made it home. I was happy for her, knowing that it had been so long since she had been with a guy. I actually was a little worried for Max, the poor guy probably didn’t know what had hit him once she got him alone.

Mason followed me into the living room area of the suite. “This is really nice for a dorm. It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be,” he said while looking around the place.

“Yeah, Evie’s parents paid a pretty penny for us to have an upgraded suite. Usually freshman don’t get these, but her mom is on some president’s council here or something, so she pulled some strings for us,” I explained. “That’s Evie’s room over there and this one is mine,” I continued as I pointed to each of our doors. “We each have our own bathroom and then, obviously we have our common area and kitchenette here. And that completes the tour.” I said in my best fake, over-the-top HGTV realtor voice.

Laughing, he grabbed my hips and pulled me close to him. He looked down at me, his gray eyes twinkling, and he pressed his forehead against mine. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you walked in my bar tonight, angel. You’re like a breath of fresh air that blew into my life.”

I swatted at his shoulder. “Oh stop, you don’t have to say all that. I had an awesome time tonight. It was a night full of new experiences for me, definitely a night I won’t soon forget.” I rubbed my nose against his in an Eskimo kiss.

“When can I see you again?” he asked. The question completely caught me off-guard. I honestly thought this was going to be a one-time kind of thing. I guess my faced showed my confusion because he frowned and questioned, “You do want to see me again, don’t you?”

I quickly nodded my head yes. “I didn’t think you would want to… I just assumed this was, ya know, a one-time thing. I’m really not sure how these things work.” Suddenly I felt extremely immature and naïve and it embarrassed me. I looked away from Mason’s face so that he couldn’t see me blush, but he wouldn’t allow me to escape my mortification that easy.

“Scarlett, look at me. Don’t be ridiculous,” he scolded me and pulled my face back to his. His eyes were warm and sincere. “You told me that you didn’t want to constantly think about or be reminded of the things you have or haven’t done, so don’t dwell on it or beat yourself up over it. Like you said earlier tonight, just go with what feels right. You’re going to make mistakes and bad decisions, just make sure you learn from them or otherwise the pain, stress, and heartache you endure from them was all for nothing. Okay?” His thumb was stroking my cheek and I closed my eyes and nodded. Understanding exactly what I wanted and not disappointing, Mason covered my mouth with his in a long, sensual kiss.

After several more kisses, an exchange of phone numbers, and plans for him to pick me up the following Friday for dinner before going to the warehouse, Mason left. Tired couldn’t even begin to explain how my brain and body felt. I took the quickest shower of my life, threw on a camisole and panties, and collapsed on my bed in a pleasure-induced coma.

Chapter 21

The alarm clock read twelve o’clock sharp when my phone vibrating on my desk woke me up. For several minutes I just laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling, remembering the previous night and early morning hours. At just the thought of Mason, a wide smile spread across my face. His gorgeous face, his ripped body, the beautiful tattoos and piercings, his full lips… I brought my hand to my swollen mouth thinking about how it had explored not only his mouth, but all over his body. My upper thighs clenched as the visual ran through my mind.

The phone vibrated again jolting me from my daydream. Begrudgingly, I crawled out of bed and crossed the short distance to my desk. I grabbed the phone and read my missed messages.

Rat (5:44 A.M.) Had a great time tonight, Angel. Sweet Dreams

Ash (8:35 A.M.) Just making sure u made it home safe

Ash (10:07 A.M.) Let me know u r ok