Page 68 of Torment

He was kissing me just as hard now, feasting on my mouth, tugging at my bottom lip with his teeth. I let out a low whimper when one hand slid higher and squeezed my breasts inside my loose top, kneading the sensitive flesh before tearing the fabric right off, leaving me bare. I hadn’t bothered wearing a bra because I wanted this to happen.

Mason’s other hand slid under my ass, pulling me even closer as he began to grind his hips against my center. He was rock hard, and I knew I was soaked all the way through my panties. I broke our kiss and sucked the skin on his neck, making him groan again. He liked that eight years ago, and he liked it now.

I slid my hands into his shirt, working the buttons loose and moaning softly at the sight of the hair that speckled his chest. As I slowly trailed one hand downward, heading toward his belt buckle, Mason ran a finger along my collarbone and over the swell of my naked breasts, watching my face as I shivered with pleasure.

He stepped back a moment later and knelt in front of me, his head turning to plant a kiss on the inside of my left thigh. Pleasure rippled through me as he slid a hand up my other leg, his fingers digging into my flesh. I moaned softly, and he lifted his hazel eyes to mine as he reached up and tugged me toward the very edge of the counter. Seconds later, my panties and jeans were gone, tossed somewhere on the floor. I inhaled sharply as the cool air hit my center.

Mason nudged his shoulders between my thighs and leaned in, slowly running his tongue over me. He focused on my clit, circling it before lapping back down to dart in and out of me. I shuddered, whimpered, and pleaded as he applied more pressure and sped up his movements. He slid a finger inside me, and I felt my muscles contracting around it before he slid another one in and began sucking on my clit.

“Oh, fuck,” I gasped as he fucked me with his fingers. I grew louder and wetter with each thrust. “God, yes… Just like that.”

Mason worked his fingers inside me, flicking against a spot that had me arching and moaning against him within seconds. My cries grew even louder and my pleas were barely comprehensible.

I finally came with a frantic moan, desperate for more than his mouth and hands. “Please…”

Mason rose from his knees and pressed his lips to mine in a searing kiss. I panted against him, my body tingling, and I slipped one hand back down to his lower abdomen, tugging at his belt buckle.

“Wait. No.” Mason suddenly jerked backward. “We can’t do this.”

“We can.” I realized how desperate and whiny I sounded, but I didn’t care. I wanted him inside me. I’d never wanted anything more.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “We shouldn’t have done this.”

“Please don’t say that.”

He shook his head and started to button his shirt. “You said it yourself. You know you should let go of me, but you can’t.”

“I… I didn’t mean it like that,” I said as I slid off the counter and planted my feet back on the floor.

Mason touched a hand to my face and stroked my cheek. “You did. I’m bad for you, baby girl. You know it’s true,” he said softly. “I’m sorry about what just happened. It’s my fault. I should’ve said no. I should’ve resisted.”

“No.” Tears welled up in my eyes. He hadn’t called me by the ‘baby girl’ nickname since our days together at New Eden. I missed it so much. I wanted to hear it again and again. “We can move on from the past. I know we can,” I insisted.

“No, Jolie. I can’t do this to you. You deserve so much better. Just…” He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “Take the money I gave you and go somewhere else. Give yourself a better life. Away from me.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

He leaned down for a second before handing me my panties, jeans, and ripped T-shirt. “I can give you a shirt to wear if that one’s too destroyed,” he said, ignoring my previous words.

“It’s fine.” I sniffed as I slipped it on, trying to hold back the impending flood of tears.

“You have to go.” He turned away from me and faced the kitchen window.

“No. Please don’t do this. Not again,” I said, my voice cracking. “I told you, I forgive you. I want to start over.”

He turned back to me. “And I told you, you can’t forgive me. I don’t deserve it,” he said gruffly. “There’s no such thing as starting over for someone like me. I’m a fucking monster.”

“You aren’t.”

“I am, and I can’t have you in my life anymore. You need to understand that.”

My cheeks flushed with shame and despair at the crushing rejection. The tears finally began to spill down my cheeks, running into my mouth as I choked down shallow breaths. “So that’s it? You won’t even give it a chance?”

“I can’t. Please, Jolie, you have to go. Now.”

I grabbed my phone and purse off the counter before turning and giving him a hard look. “I can’t keep begging you,” I said, wiping the tears from my face. “If you really never want to see me again, say it. I won’t bother you again after that.”

He looked me right in the eye. “I never want to see you again.”

Even though he’d said it out loud, and so heartbreakingly easily, I still had a tiny shred of hope left. “Okay, fine. You’ll never see me again,” I murmured, hoping the finality of my words would inspire him to take me in his arms and tell me he didn’t mean it.

Instead he nodded coolly. “I know.”

I turned away so he wouldn’t see my face crumple again, and I stepped out of the kitchen on weak, shaky legs. Mason followed me to the entryway.

After I opened the front door, I turned back and looked him right in the eye. “In all the ways you’ve ever hurt me, this is the worst,” I said.

With that, I turned and stepped out into the freezing rain.

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