Page 44 of Forever Your Touch

Wow. Mason honestly didn’t know what to say to that. He took a sip of his now opened beer instead.

“Can we start over?” Ray held out his hand and Mason stared at it for a heartbeat before begrudgingly shaking it.

“We can, but I will be honest with you. I don’t like how you treat her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re abusive or anything, but the way I was raised, you don’t let your woman ride a bus or a cab in a city known for crime. You don’t make her pay for half the bill, you don’t go a week without calling or texting and making her feel like shit. I was raised to treat a woman like the most precious thing in the world.”

Ray let out a long sigh. “I know. I guess we were raised differently. In my house, women are taken care of, but we treat them as equals. My mom grew up with a self-reliant single mother, and she taught me to treat women like they are as good as a man, and if they want to be equal, then they should be treated equal in every respect, and that means sharing everything. Even the bill at a restaurant.”

“I get that, man, I do, but that doesn’t explain walking away mad and not calling Jo for the whole week.”

“It was a douche move. I was pissed, and she was pissed, and I was afraid I’d say something I couldn’t take back. It seemed easier to not say anything.”

“For the whole week?”

Ray had the good sense to look guilty. “That was me being petty. I’m not proud of it, and I apologized as soon as I got home.”

“You start treating her better, and me and you will be good.” Mason forced the words out. Ray was trying, and he knew it was more than the guy had ever done with Jo’s family. Mason would try too, even though he hated the thought.

“I’ll do my best. We cool?”

“Yeah.”

“Jo’s upstairs in her studio. You go on up. I need to go to get some sleep. Hotel rooms, especially cheap ones, are not conducive to sleep.”

“God’s truth.”

He picked up his beer and went upstairs. Jo was sitting at her desk, headphones on, intent on whatever she was doing. Walking over, he saw her designing her Twitch page. She had some really cool graphics made a while back she wanted to incorporate on her new Twitch profile.

He smiled thinking about how shocked she’d been when her YouTube subscribers flooded to Twitch. Jo didn’t really do a whole lot of live streams on YouTube, but with the revenue she was getting, it made it worth her while to do at least one stream a week on Twitch.

He tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and it startled her so badly, she reared back, toppling the chair and herself onto the floor. He shook his head and stared down at her. “How did you make it to your twentieth birthday?”

“By the skin of my teeth.” She blushed and scrambled up off the floor, only to catch her foot on the chair and fall forward. Mason caught her before she face-planted, but it brought her right up against him. It wasn’t like when he hugged her either. She was pressed against his chest so close, he could feel her nipples harden. His nose flared at the sudden rush of lust.

She made a noise he had no words for, and it drove his lust even higher.

His gaze landed on her lips—her wet, pink lips he’d wanted to kiss for as long as he could remember. His lowered his head, his lips brushing against her jawline.

“Mason…” The breathy tone drove him crazy. It had been weeks since he’d been laid. Every fucking girl he looked at turned into Jo, and he couldn’t find relief with them when he realized they weren’t her.

He groaned, trying to fight the urge to kiss her. He’d just been downstairs with Ray promising to try to be friends. Kissing his girl would derail that like nothing else could.Fuck, fuck, fuck.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t kiss her. He shoved her away, albeit gently so she wouldn’t fall. Picking up her chair, he walked over to study the shit she’d put in the bookshelves he’d helped her put together. Lots of girly stuff intertwined with her gaming icons.

“Mason?”

He closed his eyes against the question. He was so totally fucked.

“I’m sorry.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned around to face her. “It’s been a shitty day.”

She nodded, biting her lip. She always bit that fucking lip.

“I understand.” She gave him a tentative smile. “I won’t ask if you’re okay because I know you’re not, but I’m here if you need me.”

“I know, Josephine, and thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“So, what do you need help with?” Anything to distract him from his urgent need to pull her close and kiss her until she forgot Ray ever existed.

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