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It took every ounce of self-control Mason had to keep from ripping that towel off, bending Addison over the nearest piece of furniture, and fucking her until neither of them could see straight.
He clenched his jaw so damn tight it gave him a headache.
“Oh!” Addison said, her belligerent expression morphing into one of surprise. “I thought you couldn’t come see me when you’re with a guest?”
Mason realized his hand still hovered an inch from where her closed door had been. Dropping his arm to his side, he said, “My guest is still asleep. Once she wakes up, I probably won’t have another free minute until tomorrow. I didn’t want to wait.”
“Right. Good.” She clutched her towel a little tighter around her body. Not that it did anything to hide her spectacular curves. “Do you want to come in?”
Do. Not. Fuck. Her. Against. The. Wall. Mason repeated those words over and over in his head, desperate for his cock to listen to his brain. But it was a losing battle when she stood there in a thin layer of Turkish cotton, hair dripping down her shoulders and between her breasts.
“Why don’t you put on some clothes first,” he suggested, knowing his control would crumble the moment he stepped over the threshold. “Then we can talk.”
“Right,” she said again. “One sec.” For the second time, she slammed her door in his face.
Fisting a hand in his hair, Mason screwed his eyes shut and tried to calm his body. Coming up here was a mistake. That was fucking obvious now.
Too late. He had to make the best of it.
By the time Addison reopened her door, he stood serenely in the hall, hands in his trouser pockets.
“Come on in,” she said, stepping out of his way and holding the door.
“Thank you.” He hated the formality of the conversation. He’d fucked this woman, had her naked across his lap, and wrapped his collar around her throat. How did they go from that level of intimacy to...this?
Mason settled on one of the armchairs over by her gabled windows. After a moment of indecision, she folded herself onto the other chair, tucking her legs up under her. Picking at her fingernails while she stared at her hands, she let several seconds tick by before clearing her throat. “Thank you for the bird feeder. That was an extremely kind thing to do.”
Though he usually didn’t feel a need to celebrate his successes, Mason repressed the urge to pump a triumphant fist in the air. He had no problem admitting his sole purpose in installing that bird feeder was to get her to talk to him again. Thank Christ she appreciated it, rather than being furious at his obvious scheming.
“I know how important Alexander is to you,” he said, trying to soften his usual businesslike tone, but it didn’t sound any different to his ears.
Fuck, he sucked at this.
It earned him a small smile, though, and she finally met his gaze. “I didn’t mean...when you said...I couldn’t...” She let the sentence trail off with a frustrated groan. Then, taking a deep breath, she blurted, “I think you’re right about the PTSD thing.” She slumped back in her chair. “God, why was that so hard to say?”
Mason stretched his arm across the space between them, wrapping his hand around one of hers. “It took a lot of bravery to say that. Give yourself the credit you deserve.”
She stared at their joined hands for a long time before responding. “I freaked out when you said it the other day, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all of it. I know I should’ve used my safeword, but I just...panicked.” She sighed, then straightened her shoulders, giving him a hopeful look. “I’d like to try again this weekend if you’re interested.”
“I can’t,” he said, wishing it wasn’t true.
“Oh.” She watched him with an unreadable expression, and he wondered if perhaps she expected him to say more. “Right. Of course. Sorry.” She started to slip her hand out of his.
Mason’s fingers instinctively tightened. No more misunderstandings. No more pulling away. Something drew him to this woman, and goddamnit, he would figure out what it was once and for all. “I don’t mean I can’t ever. I’ll have most weekends free during the rest of your trial period. Well, except the end of February—I’m traveling to Chile that last week.”
“Oh!” she said again, relief flashing in her eyes. “That sounds amazing. I’ve never been on a plane. Even if I could afford it, I’m too afraid.” She gave an overly dramatic shudder, and he couldn’t help noticing her breasts shaking beneath her thin cotton top. That little minx didn’t bother putting on a bra when she got dressed.
He dragged his gaze back up to her eyes. “I hope you get over your fear of flying someday. There’s an awful lot of world you’ll never get to see if you don’t. As for this weekend, I found out about an hour ago that I’ll be attending a last-minute wedding on Saturday.”
“Sounds like someone’s pregnant.” She gave him a look that was half jesting, half nervous. As though she wasn’t sure how he’d react to the comment, and wished she could take it back.
Mason didn’t see why. It was a perfectly logical assumption. “I don’t think so, but I’ll admit I didn’t ask.” He’d spent most of his morning in the dungeon, restocking all the spanking and sex toys. Housekeeping sterilized everything after each use, but Mason generally put it all back where it belonged. Otherwise, he always had trouble finding things when he needed them. He was organizing a selection of paddles by size and severity when Aiden tracked him down with the invite. “Aiden and Olivia went to her friend’s wedding in Boston last weekend and apparently caught wedding fever. Neither of them mentioned a single plan the whole year they were engaged, but now they can’t wait another second.”
To his surprise, Addison’s eyes softened, and she gave him a sappy grin. “That’s so romantic.”
Was it? He was happy for his friends, certainly. But like everyone else at the Manor, he’d been part of more than one whispered conversation about why the pair seemed to lose all interest in marriage as soon as they got engaged. To him, this sudden turn of events seemed more hormonal than anything else. Like when your friends have a baby, and suddenly the chemicals in your brain tell you to have one too.
He chose not to say any of that out loud, however.
