Page 12 of Deny Me

His lips smash to mine before I can speak. I try to clear my mind, to keep it from asking questions as he kisses me, his lips breaking away a few seconds later and going to my neck.

I try to quiet the voice that tells me this is all wrong, that it doesn’t feel like it does with Mason. Again, I try to push it away as he makes his way to my breast, his tongue circling my nipple before he’s sucking it into his mouth.

I close my eyes to just allow myself to get lost in the sensations, the way I do with Mason, but there’s some kind of block there that refuses to budge.

And then, the bathroom door opens, and there he is, the man that I can’t stop thinking about. I feel shame grip me as he watches Jared feasting on my body. I feel all kinds of wrong as his eyes hold mine, an unquestionable expression on his face.

“Stop,” I say, too quiet at first, Jared so engrossed in moving to my other breast that he doesn’t seem to hear me. I raise my voice more and repeat, “Stop.”

Jared pulls back abruptly and looks at me. “What’s wrong?”

My eyes move from Mason’s as I finally look at Jared. “I can’t do this,” I tell him truthfully. “I can’t be with you like this.”

“Why not?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.

“I just…” My eyes move back to Mason. He hasn’t moved, his expression unchanged.

“Just say it, Gabby,” Jared says, my eyes moving back him. I don’t think he’s realised Mason is here too, and if he has, then he’s not letting on, his attention solely focused on me.

“I can’t be with you in this way,” I admit, knowing it in every fibre of my being.

“Why not?”

God, he’s really going to push me on this, huh?

“Because…”

The tension mounts, the time ticking by at a slow rate.

“Because what?” Jared urges.

“Because you’re not Mason.” I’m not looking at him as I say it, my eyes fixed on his chest. His hand moves to my chin, and he tilts my head up as he says, “Gabby, look at me.”

Reluctantly, I do, my teeth sinking into my lip, and I’m surprised to see Jared smiling at me.

“About fucking time,” he says, before he places a kiss on my cheek and laughs, getting out of the shower and grabbing a towel. I’m stood there, frozen to the spot, as Jared wraps the towel around himself and turns to Mason. “Enjoy, brother,” he says, clapping his hand on Mason’s shoulder before he walks out, closing the door behind him.

I’m shocked at his reaction. About time? What the hell?

My eyes collide with Mason’s, and I wish I could be in his head and know what he’s thinking right about now.

ChapterFourteen

MASON

She’s looking at me like I have all the answers. I mean, I do to a certain extent, but fuck, she just admitted she wants me. Openly admitted it, without my dick being inside of her. Words I’ve wanted to hear for so fucking long. All I had to do was force her hand, even if it was a little unorthodox.

Jared and I had a plan, and that’s why it never bothered me. He never intended to be with her the way I want to be. He never planned to make a life with her or claim her for himself. No. What he did was help me to get her to realise that she wants me, and only me.

“Mason, what’s going on?” she asks, still under the shower. She looks uncertain and lost, and it has me climbing into the bathtub, fully clothed, to try and reassure her as I admit my truth.

“I move my body against hers, taking the place of Jared, because this is right. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Me and her.

“Gabrielle,” I whisper as I run my nose up the side of her face. I feel her body melting against mine, so ready to give in to what we both know, even if her mind took some persuading. “I want you to remember that you own my fucking heart,” I tell her, my eyes looking into hers as she nods slightly. “I want you remember how we feel together, and how fucking right it is.”

“Mason,” she says, her voice a little firmer than before.

“I want you to remember that even as you tried to fight it, you couldn’t. We were always inevitable.”

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