Page 77 of Claiming Hannah


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“I’m so glad you came to see me,” she ventured. “I’m happy and relieved we were able to talk things through. This has been a wonderful night. But I’m not sure…”

“Hey, it’s cool,” he said, placing his huge hand on her arm. “Zero pressure, Hannah. I can sleep on the couch, even get a motel room, whatever. I just didn’t want to have the obligation of meal prep hanging over my head in the morning.” He grinned, adding, “The chef needs a day off now and then. And there’s this amazing new breakfast place I wanted to take you to in the morning. They make these blueberry blintzes that are out of this world.”

His easy manner set her at ease. He wasn’t expecting her to fall into bed with him. He didn’t plan to retake control as a Dom. Because, even while the idea was deliciously thrilling in the abstract, she just wasn’t ready.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I have a guest bedroom. I might even have a spare toothbrush.”

“No need,” Mason said, getting to his feet. “I brought an overnight bag.” At her raised brow, he added with a grin, “What can I say? I was a Boy Scout.”

A half hour later Hannah was in her big bed, alone, her door closed. She’d wrestled with herself over whether or not to ask Mason to join her. It had felt odd, even wrong somehow, to invite him into the bed thatshe’d shared with Andy for so long. Yet, she wanted to lie with Mason, to snuggle against him as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

Their mutual declaration about falling in love made her want to squeal with excitement, but also with terror. Had they really said those words aloud? Was she ready to commit to another man? Would she ever be?

“Okay, back it up, Hannah,” she muttered to herself. No one was talking about a full-blown relationship at this point. They were still feeling each other out. One thing she knew for sure now—she didn’t just lust after Mason the sexy Dom. She really, really liked Mason the man. And she wanted to know him better.

The evening had flown by, their talk as easy as if they’d known each other for years. It was both startling and gratifying to learn just how much they had in common, and how similarly they viewed the world. He’d been so unapproachable at The Enclave, even during intense training sessions, or maybe especially then.

Everything felt different now. It had been touching to watch his obvious internal struggle when they’d sat at the table, each baring their hearts to one another. By allowing her to see his vulnerability, he’d only made himself stronger in her eyes. He wasn’t just some uber-Dom determined to claim her as a conquest. He was a real flesh-and-blood man, someone she could trust.

Someone she could love.

There was still that dominant, masculine vibe, make no mistake. And the sub in her responded eagerly to that dominance. Beneath their easy, friendly banter there remained a steady buzz of sexual attraction, like an electric current arcing between them.

She glanced reflexively at Andy’s side of the bed, empty for so long now. Despite all the time that had passed, a pang of guilt snapped like a rubber band against her heart. She’d always believed he would be her one and only. Would he have wanted this for her?

I want you to be happy. I’ll always be in your heart. But it’s time to live again.

Hannah gasped and sat bolt upright in the bed, her hands flying to her mouth. That had been Andy’s voice, as clear as day.

“Andy?” she whispered, heart hammering.

He didn’t reply.

She remained still, listening hard. But there was only the chirping sound of the crickets playing their music outside her window. As her heart slowed to something approaching normal, she lay back down. She didn’t believe in ghosts. She must have imagined his speaking aloud, when surely it had only been in her head. But Andy’s words, even if they were pulled from her own psyche, comforted her.

“Thank you,” she said softly to the universe.

Turning on her side, she closed her eyes again, waiting for sleep to beckon. But she was once again wide awake. She tried counting backward from one hundred. She tried controlling her breathing. She tried visualizing each part of her body slowly relaxing…

Her mind refused to shut down. Her eyelids flew open like cheap vinyl roller shades. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep with Mason in her house, right down the hall.

She flashed back to his hard, naked body that day in his bathroom. The way his strong legs had gripped her on either side in the tub as he’d cupped her breasts and rolled her nipples… How he’d stood there like a god as she’d dried his body, tall, massive, powerful and so quintessentially masculine. Her clit throbbed at the memories, her nipples aching for his touch.

Was he naked under the sheets? Was his huge cock fisted in his hand? Was he thinking of her as he stroked himself? Was she insane to be hiding out in her bedroom, instead of lying in his arms?

The digital clock by the bed informed her it was nearly one a.m. She turned over again, plumping her pillows, adjusting the sheets, closing her eyes…

What would happen if she crept down the hall…

No. It was better she stayed where she was, sleepless or not. It was safer. Mason was a man, with a man’s appetites. And while it was thrilling in the abstract, the thought of actually making love with another man was more than a little terrifying. And anyway, she wasn’t on birth control anymore. And then there was the issue of his cock. It was way too big for her to accommodate, she was sure of it.

More tossing and turning ensued. More counting, more breathing, more flipping her pillow to the cool side.

“Okay, this is stupid,” Hannah finally announced to the empty room.

Sitting up, she threw off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Padding to her bathroom, she peed, washed her hands and face and drank a dixie cup of water. Back in the bedroom, she went to her bureau and pulled out a satin nighty. She slipped it over her head and, before she could talk herself out of it, she walked to her door, opened it and stepped into the hallway.

Heart pounding, she made her way to the guest bedroom. Placing her hand on the knob, she turned it slowly, listening all the while for any sound within. Hearing nothing, she pushed open the door on silent hinges.

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