Page 67 of Poet & Protector

“Mason.” I buried my fingers in his hair.

“Is this so we can finally have sex? I mean, more than we’ve already done?” he whispered. “Please tell me you brought me here for sex.”

Heat scorched through my body and all my blood rushed south. I couldn’t believe he said that. That.

“Yes.” I groaned as he bit my ear lobe, then licked the tender skin. “If it’s what you want, yes.”

“I want.” Mason leaned back, letting his weight settle onto me. He slowly rolled his pelvis into mine, making me aware of how hard he was, letting out a hiss of breath when he discovered I was in exactly the same state. “I’ve been wanting that so much, Nev.”

I wrapped my hand around his nape and pulled him down into a kiss. He stretched out, our bodies slotting together. His hands snuck beneath my sweater and the t-shirt underneath it, sliding up the bare skin of my torso. I broke our kiss and rolled onto my side, dragging the sweater and shirt over my head and tossing them away. Mason unzipped his sweater and shrugged out of it, then pulled off his t-shirt. We reached for each other at the same moment, becoming a tangle of limbs and tongues and teeth.

Mason’s skin was hot under my touch, his pulse a throb against my lips when I kissed his throat. The sounds escaping him, gasps and groans, whimpers and sighs, spurred me into a frenzy of desire. My fingers found the button of his jeans. His kisses verged on feral as I unfastened and unzipped them, but when I started to reach into his boxer briefs he caught my wrist.

“Wait,” he panted against my mouth.

My chest tightened. “Is this too fast? We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. We don’t have to do anything at all.”

The last thing I wanted was to pressure him. It didn’t matter that my body was humming with need. If he’d changed his mind, we would stop. This was a big step. There were plenty of other ways we could enjoy each other’s bodies. If we never took things further than we already had, it wouldn’t change anything about my feelings for Mason.

“No, no, it’s not that!” He glared at me, which was kind of hilarious. “But I just realized…you asked Tom and Caleb to use this cabin?”

“Yes.”

His cheeks went pink. “They totally know we came here to have sex.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“Oh my god.” His head dropped back and he closed his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Should I have told them we wanted to bake cookies?” I asked, laughing.

His eyelids snapped up. He glared at me again and slugged my arm.

“Shut up,” he replied, but started to laugh, too. “Also, no. I mean, you have a point. It’s a little embarrassing, but it’s great that they’re so cool about it.”

“They know there aren’t a lot of places we can be alone,” I said. “Or have a whole night together.”

“We’ve never had a whole night together.” Mason threaded his fingers through mine. His thumb brushed back and forth along the inside of my wrist.

“I’m aware.”

He smiled at me, his expression almost shy. “I want you. All the time. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you, Nev.”

I decided we were done talking about Tom and Caleb.

Rising over him, I pressed my lips against his. When he opened for me, I licked into his mouth, reveling in his taste. I kissed him again and again until he growled, wrapping his arms around my back and trying to pull me against him.

I placed my palm on his abdomen and splayed my fingers, holding him in place.

“You want me inside you?” I murmured. My gaze moved slowly over his face, searching for any signs of fear or hesitation, finding none.

“Yes,” he said softly.

Another firestorm tore through me. The way I craved possessing Mason so intimately, to make him mine completely, was all-consuming.

“I want to be everything you need, Nev,” he whispered.

“You already are,” I told him. My throat closed as tenderness overwhelmed me and I had to pause before I could speak again. “No matter what we do or don’t do.”