Chapter Twelve
Mase
Trixie looked up from behind the counter when I walked into Rocktown Ink, Cal standing beside her. Playing it cool, not going straight to her and asking why she took off without a goodbye this morning, was a serious test of my control.
I jammed my hands in my pockets. “Hey.”
“Mase, what’s up?” Cal said.
Trixie said nothing, just watched me with those wide green eyes. I couldn’t read her, not at all. After we got back from the lake, she’d been quiet, but she hadn’t tried to go back to her trailer. She’d stayed in my bed, had been more than into it when we’d fucked, but she wasn’t there when I woke, and I won’t lie, I panicked.
“Was looking for Bull, his truck’s not parked at the bar,” I said, knowing full well it wouldn’t be and why.
“He won’t be there for another hour, needs his beauty sleep,” Cal said, chuckling.
I glanced at Trixie, and still, she gave me nothing. “Yeah, of course.”
The door opened and someone walked in. Cal greeted them and gave me a chin lift. “Catch you later? Maybe a drink tomorrow night?”
“Sounds good, brother.”
Cal and his client disappeared down the short hall and my gaze slid back to Trixie. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.” She hustled out from behind the counter, and I had to grit my teeth and curl my fingers into fists so I didn’t reach for her. She had the whole Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield vibe down today. Her dress was blue and seriously low cut, clinging to her curves like a second skin. Her hair was half up, sexy and loose, and she had red lips. Always those red lips that made me hungry for a taste. But instead of heels, she was wearing chunky lace-up boots.
Trixie looked cute and sexy as fuck all at the same time.
I followed her into one of the rooms, shut the door behind us, and turned to her. “You took off this morning.”
She blinked up at me. “I had to get to work.” Her head tilted to the side, and she took me in. “Are you…pissed off?”
I shouldn’t be, but I was. And even though it wasn’t logical, I’d had a flashback to the first night we’d met, the way I’d felt waking and finding her gone, and yeah, irrational fear had gripped me, hard. “I want you to wake me before you go from now on,” I said, tone harder than I’d intended.
Her eyes narrowed a little and her spine straightened. “Okay…I think we need to clear some things up. Yes, I like to be bossed around in bed, I love it in fact, but we aren’t fucking right now, Mason.”
“Hang on a minute.” What the fuck was going on here? “Trixie…”
“I think we need to have clear boundaries when it comes to what we’re doing here.”
The pulse at the side of her throat was fluttering and she was tense. “Something’s happened. I don’t know what brought this on, but something’s bothering you,” I said, concern rising to the surface.
She lifted a shoulder, then dropped it. “Bull almost caught us yesterday. Quinn’s under doctor’s orders to take it easy. This would stress her the hell out. Neither of us wants that to happen, right?”
I studied her and couldn’t read her expression at all. “Right?”
She rested her ass on the table by the door. “So that means leaving your place early so no one sees me, and choosing the places we go together carefully, that’s how a casual relationship works…well, a secret one, anyway.”
I didn’t like the tone she was using, so fucking calm and unaffected. And even though we’d agreed on casual, on keeping this a secret, I hated her pointing it out, for some fucked-up reason. “I didn’t think it through yesterday. Nothing like that will happen again.”
“Dude, you showed up at my work to ask me about this stuff. There’s no way you don’t already know Bull starts later at the bar. How would we explain the two of us together in this room? Bull’s the only person who’s inked you, so not a consultation. The house is finished…”
I closed the distance between us, gripped the back of her neck, and tilted her head back. “Shhh.”
Her eyes flashed. “You did not just fucking shhh me?”
“Yeah, I did. Now stop fucking talking.”
“Mason,” she snapped.
“You’re right, about all of it, and I’m sorry for fucking everything up. I won’t do it again, but when I woke this morning and found you gone, I was worried.” The words tumbled out of my damned mouth all on their own. “I got dressed, got in my car, and came looking for you before I knew what the hell I was doing. You’ve made your point and I’ve heard you.”
“Good,” she said.
“Now I need to make my point.”
“Be my guest.”
I leaned closer, breathing her in. Christ, she smelled amazing. “When you leave my bed, you wake me, always. That, I won’t compromise on.”
Her throat worked. “Fine, if it’s so important to you.”
Her breathing was now shallow pants and her cheeks were pink. Trixie was turned way the fuck on despite being pissed at me just a few minutes earlier. “It is. I would have made you come before you left, kitten.” I slid my hand up under her dress and paused. She didn’t push me away, she leaned closer. I dragged my fingers along the inside of her thigh, tugging her dress up, and cupped her over her panties. I groaned. They were hot and drenched. “Because you woke up wanting it, didn’t you?” She bit her lip, for the first time holding back, not telling me what she felt, what she was thinking. I didn’t like it. No, I fucking hated it. I pressed deeper and she moaned. “Don’t hide from me,” I rasped. “I don’t like it when you hide what you’re feeling from me, kitten. You woke up wet and desperate to come, didn’t you?”
Her eyes glazed
