That muscle in his jaw jumped again. “So you told him you weren’t interested, and instead of getting the hint, he came to your house and asked you out again?” His expression had grown even darker. “Am I getting that right?”
Shit. “No. You’re waaaay off base. He wasn’t pushy, not at all. He’s a nice guy. His visit tonight was work related. He was nothing but sweet.”
“He’s a Rambler,” Mase said.
“I’m aware. So is Riff, and he’s a good guy.”
Mase gave me a hard look. “Riff was an enforcer, Trixie, what do you think he did? You think he just gave people a good telling off when they fucked with his club?”
Okay, nope, I did not want to go there. I sighed at the dark look on Mase’s face. “Are you actually pissed at me right now?”
His arms were crossed and his forearms bulged as the hard expression dropped. “No. Not at you.” He closed the space between us. “I came home and found a biker in your trailer, the same one who wants a piece of you and isn’t shy about showing it. I’m not pissed at you, I’m pissed at myself.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m a jealous asshole. Until I met you I had all kinds of control. Honestly, I don’t know myself around you,” he said, frowning.
I knew the feeling. I rested my hands on his chest. “I promise, you don’t need to be jealous.”
“That guy is closer to your age.”
I threw up my hands. “Again with the age.”
“And fuck…if Riff likes him, I guess he can’t be all bad?” he muttered.
“Nope.”
“Good looking, as well,” Mase said.
“Yep, seriously good looking.”
“You could have denied that one,” he grumbled.
“Dude, I’m not blind, but I’m also not interested.” I pressed a hand to his chest. “First, I prefer older guys, I always have, and second…have you looked at you? Brick is good looking, but, Sheriff Parker, you are smoking hot.”
He chuckled and cupped my face, leaning in. “Aww look at you, stroking my fragile male ego. I think you might be a keeper, Trixie Faraday.”
We both stilled at his words.
He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Uh, what I meant…I was just…”
I laughed, pretending his backpedaling and obvious alarm at what he’d said didn’t hurt. Because terrifyingly, it did. “Don’t panic,” I said, keeping the smile on my face no matter what it cost me. “I’m not going to drop to one knee and propose.”
He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Right,” he said, gaze on mine. “I don’t think I ever wanted anyone as much as I want you, Trixie. But you deserve a good man, and I can’t…”
“Mase, seriously, you don’t need to say any more. We’ve been over this already. We know where we stand,” I said and hoped he didn’t pick up on how raspy my voice sounded.
His gaze searched mine. “You’re sure?”
Okay, maybe I wasn’t as good at hiding it as I thought. So instead of facing what I was feeling, something I’d become an expert at, I smirked up at him. “Brick will still be there when we’re over.” I don’t know why I said it, it just came out.
Yes, you do. You think if you push hard enough, he’ll leave. Hurt him before he can hurt you, because eventually, he’ll get sick of your shit and walk away like Mom and Ross and Adam, anyway.
Adam’s parting words filtered through my head.
We were never a good fit, Trix. You grew up traveling around in a trailer, for fuck’s sake. A wild girl covered in tattoos doesn’t fit the future I have planned. I found someone who does.
The memory sliced through me, and the pain of it made me swipe back, even if it was at the wrong person.
All traces of warmth washed from Mase’s face. “Low blow, kitten.”
Instead of backing down, I shrugged like I wasn’t affected in the least. “Are you telling me you won’t fuck another person when we’re done? Of course you will. Why are you so hot under the collar about it? I don’t get it.”
Mase crowded me. “I’m hot under the fucking collar because what you and I have is so fucking incredibly good, you’re all I can think about…”
“I’m a good lay? That’s what you’re going with?” Okay, apparently, I wasn’t going to stop swinging wildly like a goddamn wounded animal.
Yep, you’re going to push him right back out the door.
Maybe that was for the best.
“For fuck’s sake, Trixie,” he said, looking flustered as hell. “That’s not what I meant and you know it…”
“Did your ex not like it, being held down? Didn’t she like to be told what to do when you were in bed?” I said, firing another shot.
“Trixie,” he said, warning in his voice.
God, I was right. It was in his eyes, so damn clear. Suddenly, I felt sorry for him, for both him and his ex-wife, and this thing he had for me suddenly became crystal clear. I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “I get it. I’ve been with guys who think I’m a freak when I wanted them to pull my hair or wrap their hand around my throat, or just hold me down. Our kinks are in sync, which is cool, and you haven’t had that before or in a while, I’m guessing? So yeah, things are…potent between us. I’m glad we could give each other that. But don’t worry, I won’t confuse it with actual feelings.”
His face was red, jaw tight. Mase was pissed. I’d poked and prodded and pushed, and he was about to bite back. I braced, but he said nothing, and the longer he stared at me, not saying anything, the more I wanted to squirm.
“Mase?”
“Mason,” he growled.
I blinked.
“You think you have it all figured out?”
I nodded.
“Turn around and bend over the table,” he said, breathing hard.
We stared at each other for long seconds. Yes, this was what we had. This was all we
