27. Mason

Mason

27

The smell of honeysuckle soap permeates the air. A warm fog filters from the bathroom, and I follow the trail of Reed's luscious scent.

I've been trying to give Reed her space, but it's difficult when the girl is a magnet, and I'm weak as fuck when it comes to her. Especially when she went to take a bath and left the bathroom door wide open.

I love that she's that comfortable around me. No doors between us, just like back at home.

Home.

That word is a hammer in my chest constantly haunting me. It's not even my home, much less hers. It was a temporary situation to get me on my feet in a new city. It was close to the shop and the club. It served its purpose.

Reed's the one who made it feel like something more. A place I wanted to spend time without drinking until I blacked out. She's the one who made it worth being there. Whether I was failing at cooking or trying to ignore the fact that her scent filled every corner of the apartment, she made it somewhere I belong.

When Sienna died, a part of me died on the pavement alongside her. My heart might have continued beating in my chest, but it wasn't whole like it used to be.

I'd failed.

Didn't matter how much I tried to repent. Revenge was worthless.

Until I met Reed, and I thought maybe the universe decided I was owed a second chance. If I do nothing else good in my life, I'll set this right for her.

She resuscitates my heart.

Stepping into the bathroom, my senses are flooded. I might as well be underwater. Sight, sound, smell—it's all Reed. Her scent fills the air, and she's naked in the tub, humming to herself. My attention has never been this singular, but I can't look away.

Her hair is piled on top of her head, and as always, it's impossible to contain. With the light streaming through the windows, the hints of blonde are drawn out in the brown. A mirage of tones that prove I could never do her justice if I tried to draw her.

She turns the page on the book she's reading while her knees peek out of the water. She's absorbed in the story. Every emotion plays out across her face.

Leaning against the doorframe, I cross my arms over my chest and watch her mind work as she skims the words. So many thoughts are always running through her wild mind that a man could get lost in them.

"Did no one tell you it's impolite to stare?" She smiles, not taking her eyes off her book.

"Pretty sure you like it when I'm impolite."

Lifting off the doorframe, I make my way into the room. "What are you reading?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Her cheeks heat, giving her away.

"So, smut then?"

Reed's eyes widen, and she slaps her book shut. "What do you know about that?"

"I had a sister, so I'm not as dense as you think I am."

She leans forward and taps me on the leg with the book. "I never said you were dense."

I hum as she sets the book on the ledge by the tub, watching me.

"This tub is ridiculous." She waves her arms out.

"Well yeah, it has to fit a giant." I grin, and she bursts out laughing at me calling myself that.

"Well…" Her eyes move from my face down my chest, pausing at where I'm already getting hard because it doesn't take much more than this girl's attention to do that. "There's room for one more."

"Is that an invitation?"

She shrugs her shoulder, biting her lip. And I reach to strip off my T-shirt.

I've never been shy about my body, but I've also never really thought much about it either. I'm tall—but in a way that's more inconvenient than anything. And when it comes to my size below the belt, it's only ever been a problem for most girls. Because it's a lot, and I get it.

But Reed is determined and fiery. She sees a challenge, and she meets it. Every. Fucking. Time.

With all my clothes stripped off, she doesn't shy away from staring at my cock while I climb into the tub.

"See something you like?" I call her out on it, loving that her cheeks get extra pink with my question.

"As a matter of fact." She leans forward to stroke me, but I stop her. "What?"

I spin my finger in the air. "Turn."

Reluctantly, she turns around in the tub, and I grab her shoulders to pull her between my legs. Her bare ass presses against my cock and does nothing to help with the fact that I feel like I'm going to explode. But I bury it down and reach for her hair.

She giggles when I fight with the elastic band. Until it finally snaps, smacking me in the chest as her hair tumbles around her shoulders.

"That was very graceful." She laughs, tipping her head back so I can wet her hair.

"Didn't you hear? I'm a graceful giant."

"I'm sure you are."

I can't see her face, but I can imagine her rolling her eyes. Her pretend annoyance is one of my favorite things. She's been carrying this weight around for years, so anytime I can lift it off her—make her laugh or make her think I'm ridiculous—it's worth it.

Wetting her hair more, I grab the shampoo and lather it.

Reed sinks her back flush against my chest as I do, relaxing against me. Her breathing steadies as my fingers massage her scalp.

"That feels good." She moans as I run my hands down her hair, washing it thoroughly.

I've never washed a girl's hair.

I've never spent long enough with one to even know about all the products they put in it. If Reed is the standard, there's all sorts of crap that goes into her silky waves. Conditioner, mousse… something in a tiny bottle that she says makes it extra shiny.

Who fucking knows.

I'll memorize them all, just in case she needs me to pick something up at the store.

She's got me thinking about things I always said I never would.

Flowers.

White dresses.

I can't figure out how Carter dated her for six years and never got down on a knee for her? I'd spend every day on my fucking knees if she's let me.

Grabbing a cup from the ledge of the tub, I fill it with water and slowly rinse her hair out. I'm going to smell like her shampoo and body wash, and I don't mind it one bit.

Once her hair is rinsed clean, she leans back against me. The sun shines through the window, and with the special UV coating, it's muted. Bright without being blinding. Sunbeams without turning the house into a furnace.

Reed shifts between my legs, and her ass is slippery from the soapy water as she slides against my cock. She might be pretending she isn't doing it on purpose, but when she does it again, I can't help grabbing her thighs before I blow my load in the tub.

"Feel something you like?" Reed's tone is laced with amusement.

"Yes." I roam my palms over her thighs and peel them open. "All of you."

"What do you think you're doing, big guy?" Her breath hitches as my fingers drag inward.

I find her clit and circle until she loses her breath.

"You're a smart girl, Reed. You know exactly what I'm doing."

Her nails dig into my legs as I play with her. She wiggles against me and makes the prettiest sounds. A song she's singing just for me, and I love every note.

Reed tries to sneak her hand back between us, But I pull her hips tighter against me, refusing her access to my cock.

"Let me make you come." She moans as I use my other hand to drive inside her.

"You can do that later."

"Why not now?"

"No more questions, Reed." I hold her against me as her breath deepens. "Just enjoy your bath."

Her nails bite into my skin as I pick up my pace on her clit.

The water splashes over her full breasts. It cascades between them, and I wish I could bite her perfect nipples. Instead, I settle for watching beads of water run over them.

She's the most beautiful work of art I've ever seen. One of these days, I'm going to lay her out and paint her from every angle. Nothing will do her justice, but I'll try over and over until I get her just right.

"Mason," she moans.

Every time she's about to come, she says my name, and I'm desperate to make the two synonymous. So every time her body craves pleasure, I'm the one she's thinking about. I'd like to be more, but as she pointed out, I'm willing to let her use me if it means I get even the smallest shred of what she has to offer.

Driving my fingers deeper, she's getting slick. Her body shivers and her pussy clenches down on my fingers. I'm so desperate to lift her up and seat her on my cock, but I hold back.

Some things should just be for her. Like this moment. She can close her eyes and think of me, or whatever dirty fantasy she was reading about. So long as I'm the one drawing the pleasure out of her, I don't care.

Her body moves up and down ever so slightly in the water. She's searching for friction. She's desperate to come. I'm going to take her there.

I lift one hand up to pinch her nipple while the other works her center, and she shatters. Her lips part but no sound comes out as she convulses against me. Her body might as well be caving in on itself.

The center of gravity dragging me into her.

Reed shakes through every pulse of her climax, and I help her ride it as long as her body allows me.

I'll help her get through this so long as her heart allows me.

So long as her mind doesn't get smart and kick me out.

When the scream finally escapes her beautiful mouth, it's delayed, and worth every bit of her holding it back. It pierces my heart because it's like I've been waiting my entire life to hear it.

Like I've been waiting my entire life for her.