“If you’re first in his heart, he will.”
“Thanks. It was good to talk to you.”
“Don’t be a stranger, my boy. I want to hear from you more often, or I might have to come find you.”
He laughed. “Okay. I’d love to see you anytime.”
“I might hold you to that and meet the man who’s won your heart.”
Mason ended the call and stuck his head out of his office to see that Jude still hadn’t returned. His phone vibrated with missed calls that must’ve come in while he’d talked to Deirdre and Warren. There were several missed calls from Ilana and one from his parents. God only knew what they wanted, so he decided to call Ilana first. He hit the screen to return Ilana’s call, and she picked up on the first ring.
“Mase? Thank God you picked up.”
At her tearful voice, he gripped the phone. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“It’s Doug. There’s been an accident.”
Chapter Twenty-One
There was little Jude hated more than a day away from the office spent crunching numbers. But it was a necessary evil and probably a good thing to separate himself from Mason. Too often he’d find himself watching Mason’s mouth as he talked, remembering the softness of his lips, or concentrating on his bright face coming alive while he made a point during a conference call.
Yes, Jude needed a morning away from Mason.
But now with his business wrapped up and the numbers for The Company better than expected, Jude returned to his favorite pastime—thinking about Mason. He was becoming one of those people he’d derided, a man who daydreamed about a lover when he should be working instead.
Idiot. Get your mind out of the gutter. Think about something else. A campaign. Yes, that’s good.They’d received a proposal from a new client—a natural beauty company specializing in body lotion.
Mason’s skin was soft, and Jude loved licking up the curve of his back…
Stop. No. Okay, next.
Another client Jude was excited to work with was Mad About the Man. It was a men’s grooming company featuring a monthly subscription box service. The other morning, Jude had tried the razor they’d given him.
The rough stubble covering Mason’s jaw rasped against his thigh before he took Jude’s cock deep in his throat…
Jesus.
Jude closed his eyes for a moment to get a grip. He was in his midthirties and co-owner of a successful business making millions of dollars. He wasn’t some horny adolescent with his first taste of sex.
Sex. Mason…
Dammit.
He’d had enough meaningless encounters to recognize that what he and Mason shared this past week transcended the mere physical. If it were only about sex, he wouldn’t care about making Mason laugh and catching his smile with a kiss. If it were only physical, he wouldn’t take so much time exploring Mason’s lips, ensuring the taste of him lingered on his tongue for the day until they could be together again. He wouldn’t be spending the predawn hours contemplating the long, muscular body stretched out next to him. The man was a study in perfection, and Jude had never believed his weakness to be the messy, bedhead look until Mason opened his eyes and gave him a sleepy-lidded smile from beneath those sun-streaked waves.
It wassonot only physical.
Jude slammed the car door behind him and hurried into the building, waving at Dennis. On numbers-crunching day, he turned off his phone so as not to be distracted. Even with Doug away, he trusted his team. Once inside the elevator, he powered on his phone, but service was always spotty until he walked inside their offices, so he didn’t bother checking. No matter, he’d be inside in a minute.
“Hey, Miriam, how’s everything?” he greeted the receptionist, his gaze zeroing in on her worried expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Jude, thank God you’re back. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”
Inside his suit-jacket pocket, his phone was vibrating nonstop. His heart pounded. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I have to tell Mason you’re here. He said to let him know as soon as you walked in.”
Dread coursing through him, Jude didn’t wait for her to pick up the phone. He took off at a run to the back, coming upon Mason pacing the hallway.
