Page 40 of Forever Your Touch

“Yes, but I did have one other boyfriend I broke up with because he wanted sex and I didn’t. Ray was the first guy I loved, the first guy I had sex with, the first guy I moved in with. He was my first everything.”

“First loves can blind you to a lot of things.”

“Who was your first love?”

“Nadia in second grade. She was always taking my candy, and I didn’t think anything of it until I caught her giving it to Peter. My first love and my first heartbreak.” He adopted the saddest expression known to man and let out a heavy sigh.

“Poor guy.” Jo reached over and patted his hand, doing her best not to laugh and to ignore the electricity running along the length of her arm from that simple touch.

“Tragic, I know.” He pushed out his bottom lip much like she’d seen his niece do over the weekend. It was adorable on her, and on him, it was sexy as hell.

The doorbell rang again, and Mason jumped up and ran before she could even think about who it might be. He looked way too eager…her surprise! She followed him and found his brother Viktor with a box in his arms.

“Hello, Jo.” He shot her a quick smile. He still looked tired and worried, but there was a bit of relief in his expression. “There’s more in the car. Get your ass out there, Mase. I’m not carrying all this shit by myself.”

“What is this?”

“Your surprise.” Mason gently pushed her toward the box Viktor set down. “Go take a look while we unload the car.”

Jo stared after them as they went back outside, beyond curious. When she turned her attention to the box, she couldn’t stop the shriek from escaping when she opened it. He didn’t…how…no.

Hands shaking, she lifted out a 1080i graphics card. Then she noticed the best capture card currently on the market, along with a new webcam sitting in the box. She sank to the floor, the video card gripped so hard in her hands, she crushed the box.

“Hey, now, what’s the tears for?” Mason squatted beside her, alarmed. He thought she’d be happy. He hadn’t meant to upset her.

“Why did you do this?” Big blue eyes full of confusion and something akin to pain looked at him, and his heart clenched. A heavy pressure settled in his chest, threatening to cut off his air supply.

“Because you needed it,moye dragotsennyy.” He cupped her cheek, his fingers splayed out over her neck. “I did this because I wanted to see you smile about something today.”

“I can’t take this, Mason.” She tried to move away, and he tightened his hold on her. “It’s too much.”

“No, it’s not.” The feel of her skin made him want to run his hands all along her body, but he kept a tight control over himself. “I’m your FIBB, remember? It’s my job to look out for you and make sure you have everything you need. And that equipment in your studio is junk. I have this shit just laying around, so let me do what a big brother does, okay?”

She blinked, and a single tear escaped. He caught it with his thumb. “No more arguments, Josephine. Take this box upstairs while I talk to my brother for a minute. I’ll be up as soon as he leaves. And do your best not to break your neck going upstairs.”

Mason stood and helped Jo up, pushing her gently toward the stairs that led up to the spare bedroom she was using as a studio. He went into the kitchen, doing his best to ignore his brother’s troubled expression.

He shoved the unopened box of pizza at Viktor. “You hungry?”

“When am I not hungry?” Viktor asked and took the box from him. “What is it?”

“Supreme minus the mushrooms.”

Viktor took a slice and leaned against the sink. “Mason…”

“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “Don’t start in, Vik.”

“I’m your brother. It’s my job to take care of you.” He threw the words Mason just told Jo right back at him. “She has a boyfriend.”

“I know that.”

“What you just did for her was your equivalent of a dozen roses and a box of chocolates.”

“It was nothing, just shit I had lying around.”

“Bullshit. That’s some of KSI’s equipment. It’s a state of the art security system in there. I know you asked for it because you’re worried she’s here by herself, but you don’t borrow that for just anyone. You’re falling for that girl.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned away from his brother so Viktor wouldn’t see the pain he was feeling. Jo wasn’t just anybody. He wasn’t falling. He’d already fallen so hard there was no going back.

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