Page 88 of Writing Mr. Wrong

She lowered her voice. “Did you suggest that more dates were coming? Beforehand?”

“What?” His eyes widened. “No. I’d never—” More shoulder straightening. “I do a lot of shitty things, Gem, but I’d never lie to get a woman in bed. I’m really clear up front that it’s…”

Her lips twitched. “A onetime offer?”

“It’s my thing. I don’t get involved. Too busy, you know?” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks. “I mean, it’s better now that I’m older, and I… well, I’m ready for more. With the right person, you know?” He snuck her a look. “Someone I want to be with for…”

“More than a night?”

“Yeah. But with Camille, I was clear from the start. That’s how I usually operate. We go out, and if we click and we’re both interested, the date goes to its natural conclusion. Everyone has fun. End of story.”

“So when did you lie?”

“Afterward. Sometimes, when I try to duck out, they want another date, and I can’t just say no. That’d be rude.”

“So you lie.”

“Which is ruder, isn’t it?” He exhaled a breath. “Disrespectful.”

She shrugged. “You’re just too good apparently. They can’t get enough.”

He wagged a finger at her. “You’re joking, but they’re not coming back for the sparkling conversation.”

“I like your conversation, Mace.”

“Only because you’ve never had—” He stopped short. “And that’s a penalty shot.” A grin her way. “True, though.”

Heat raced through her. That grin wasn’t leering or lascivious. Just so damned confident, which was sexy as hell, because it left no doubt that he wasn’t bragging. What had she just thought earlier? That “good” wasn’t enough for Mason. He wasn’t going to take credit unless he could claim it fully.

Another rush of heat.

“So should I be a little worse?” he said. “A little less… giving?”

She swallowed.

A sidelong grin. “Like you said, I’m a generous soul.” He went serious. “I wasn’t always. Back in high school, you definitely wouldn’t have wanted more than that kiss. I was accustomed to being on the receiving end, and I took all I could get. But then when I reached the juniors, the puck bunnies appeared, and… you know how guys joke about notching their bedposts? That’s what I felt like for them. A notch on their bedpost. Like they were collecting hockey cards.”

“Once they got yours, they moved on.”

“Yeah. They came back for some guys, and when they didn’t with me, that felt like failure. So I improved my technique. Back then, I liked having a regular hookup. But the older I got, the more ‘regular hookup’ seemed to mean ‘possibility of a wedding ring,’ and I just wasn’t ready for that.”

“So you switched to your one-date policy.”

“And it mostly works, but the last thing I want is to hurt someone, Gem. I know I’ve done that, like with you, and I hate it.” He met her gaze. “You get that, right?”

“I do.”

“Anyway, dating was just an example, and I don’t think that’ll bea problem anymore. I’m ready for more.” He looked at her again. “Ready to show someone what I can be and why they want to be with me. Start something real.”

A strange sensation zipped through Gemma. One that felt almost like… jealousy? She had no problem talking about Mason’s hookups. That was sex. Healthy and fun, as long as no one got hurt. But what he’d just said was different. Mason was looking beyond sex, looking for commitment, saying he was ready for that, and all she could think about was how lucky someone was going to be.

Someone who was not her.

Which was good, right? Of course it wouldn’t be her and—

He continued, “So mostly, I want to talk about how to get out ofallsituations where I think I’ve been clear, but someone expects more and I feel like an asshole saying no.”

“Boundaries,” she said. “You’re good at setting them, but maybe not so good at defending them. Okay, let’s talk about that.”

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