Page 67 of Stolen Moments

He places his hands over mine and closes his lids. “Thank you,” he says, opening them, his previously stormy eyes now calm, the streaks of gold glinting. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

“You’re welcome.”

I don’t want our weekend to end, but I know how invested he is in his work and company. What he’s doing actually helps people, and I never want to prevent him from doing that, from pursuing his passions.

Mason wraps his palm around the back of my neck, tilting my head to the side before pressing his mouth to mine. He kisses me with an intensity that burns from the inside out. Heat spreads across my body, and my knees shake. I grab onto his shirt and cling to him as his tongue wraps sensuously around mine in a kiss so hot my lips will be tingling for days. A kiss that means so much more than I think either of us is prepared for. But I willingly take it and return it with the same intensity. The same unspoken words of affection.

When we break apart, he places his forehead on mine, and I can almost feel the words he has yet to say. The ones I’m simultaneously scared and greedy to hear. While he doesn’t say anything—and he doesn’t have to—the gesture alone fills some of the holes that live in my heart.

“I’m going to miss you,” he whispers, bringing a smile to my face.

“I’m going to miss you too.”

“Just because I have to work doesn’t mean I want to. I’d rather spend my time with you, but I made a commitment and I need to follow through.”

“I know.” And I do. I can see it in his eyes, hear it in his words. I matter to him. He’s trying to keep me in his life, to make us work,but he has commitments that he can’t break. I wouldn’t want him to.

“You do?” he asks. For once, my bossy man sounds vulnerable.

I think back to last night when he made it clear that I was his and he wasn’t going to let me go. It had hope blooming in my belly. That, or I was drunk on orgasms. Maybe both.

“Well, you did make me promise to be yours while your dick was inside me, so you kind of made it clear that you want me,” I try to joke, but I think I miss the mark when Mason growls.

“Don’t talk about my cock being inside your tight wet pussy when I can’t do anything about it. I would rather be buried balls deep inside you than leave for work.”

I suck in a breath at his declaration. I almost want to beg him to stay and do just that. But I can’t.

He gives me a quick kiss and smacks my ass. “I’m going to change. Grab your stuff, and then I’ll drop you off at Chris’s before I go.”

All I can do is nod as I watch him head into his room. He just blew my mind with his sweet, dirty words and an almost confession that I might mean more than his work. I’m not going to get my hopes up, but I want that to be true. If not now, at least someday.

For both of us.

Because there are some things I still need to figure out and I’m running out of time.

Chris collapses next to me on the couch, a bottle of white wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. “So why did lover-boy have to drop you off? I thought you were staying with him all weekend.”

Ignoring his question, I take the glasses from him and place them on the coffee table. He twists off the top and fills our glasses.Sliding a glass my way, he knocks his knee to mine, waiting for me to spill.

“There was an emergency at work.”

“Mm,” Chris grunts, his concern clear.

My hackles rise. I understand where Chris is coming from. Growing up, we saw how our father always put work ahead of his family.

“I know what you’re thinking, but Mason isn’t like that. What he’s doing helps people,” I scold my brother, defending Mason.

Chris side-eyes me, taking a sip of his wine. “What does he do for work?”

“He and his team are building software for banks that helps people from getting their identities stolen.”

“Okay, that’s pretty cool.”

“It is cool. He’s not Father. I swear. Mason is passionate about this topic. It’s…” I pause, thinking of how his face lit up talking about the project he’s working on. The way he speaks so intensely about why he got into tech security is actually kind of… “It’s hot, in that nerdy kind of way.”

“You mean,he’s hot?” He fans his face and pretends to swoon.

I shove him away, and he bursts out laughing.

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