Page 20 of Sensual Nights

"No," he said a little more boldly.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad and I'm not trying to pry. I'm trying to understand."

"I haven't seen a counselor. I have the names of a couple. I know Jace could help me out with finding someone, too. It's..." He scraped his hands through his hair again.

"It's embarrassing."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Mason. Nothing."

"Says the woman who has nothing wrong with her."

She laughed. "I have plenty of things wrong with me. Plenty."

Their eyes met for a while, then his drifted down the sheet, barely covering her breasts. "Not from where I sit, you don't. You have everything going for you, Carley. You have a business. You're phenomenal. You're smart. You're self-sufficient. I'm a fucking bartender."

"Well, I guess after today, I could say you're a fucking bartender."

She waited. Then she chuckled. "You work in a bar as a bartender, which is not a bad profession. You're good at what you do. I don't see anything wrong. You're gainfully employed. You've got a lot going for you. You paid cash for this condo, for crying out loud. You're alright, Mason. You're doing well."

He huffed out a breath. "I don't know."

She watched him for a while. His shoulders rolled forward, looking dejected. She scooted over toward him, and her hand rubbed his back. "What did you do before you were a bartender, when you were in the military?”

"I was a surgeon."

"A surgeon?"

"Why does that surprise you?"

"It doesn't surprise me as in I don't think that you would be capable of it. It surprises me that you went from surgeon to bartender. I'm trying to understand why."

He huffed out a breath. "Can we not talk about this right now? I'm feeling embarrassed, and that's not exactly the best feeling after having been with someone and having them witness something like my nightmare."

She rubbed his back a little bit more. "You know, it was just a nightmare. People have them all the time."

"Not everyone."

"Some people do."

"Do you?"

"No."

"See, not everyone has them."

She swallowed. "Okay, well you got me there. Not everyone has them and you do. You weren't violent. It's like you were trying to push someone away or something."

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to do."

He got up and stalked to the bathroom.

She watched as he walked. He was incredible. Tall and lean and broad and firm. He was handsome, and he was smart. She didn't know how to help him. She started dressing and devising a plan in her mind. What would she do? She didn't want to divulge any confidences, but she wanted to help him. She really liked him.Reallyliked him.

He came out of the bathroom and stopped in front of her. He reached over, pulled his sweatpants on, and slid the T-shirt over his head.

She didn't know what to say. It was sort of awkward at this moment. What did she say? Thanks for the roll in the hay? She stepped into the kitchen and slipped on her new slacks. They felt wonderful against her skin. She tucked her blouse into her slacks as she moved to the sofa to grab her purse. She didn't want this to be the only time they saw each other. She surely didn't want it to be the last time they slept together. What they had was hot. It was passionate. It was incredible.

As she lifted her purse and slung it over her shoulder, his hands rested on her collarbone from behind. She halted for a moment, and he turned her to face him. She looked up into his eyes.

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