Page 4 of The Partner Predicament

“You are a good man, Mason. You’re generous and when I talk to you, you actually listen to me,” she starts. “But I am here for a reason.”

I see the moment he understands what I’m saying. “You think I’m going to send you back to the House of Fertility because we haven’t had sex?” he asks with a frown.

My face erupts with a blush at the blunt way he states it, but I nod. I haven’t had many conversations on the topic and the few I have had haven’t been with men.

“Aspen,” Mason groans at my confirmation. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. I find you extremely beautiful. I’ve been giving you space to acclimate to being here. I was giving you time to get comfortable with me.”

“Really?” I can hear the overeagerness in my tone.

Mason takes my hips into his hands again, squeezing. “Hell, yes.”

I lean forward and kiss him, not waiting for him to say anything else. Shock has his body going taut and I’m terrified I may have overstepped. I start pulling away, but Mason tangles his hands in my hair and pulls me tighter to his body. He traces the seam of my lips, coaxing them open, before his tongue tangles with mine.

My hands grip his shoulders as I lift my body to turn in his grasp, straddling him. I feel his hardness press against my sex and moan loudly. Mason pulls away and stares at me.

“Fuck,” he grumbles, placing a chaste kiss on my lips. “There’s still something I need to tell you.”

Dread swills low in my stomach at the change in his demeanor. I don’t think I’m going to like what he has to say.

****

Mason

Lifting Aspen off my lap I start pacing the living room again. She watches me closely from her seat on the couch, waiting for me to drop the bomb on her. Running my hand through my hair for the millionth time today, I try to figure out how to say this without scaring the shit out of her.

“The House of Fertility called,” I state when I finally stop and look at her.

I watch the color drain from her face. The moment from before is completely lost. I wish I didn’t have to do this, but it seems I don’t have a choice in the matter.

“You were matched to another Partner.”

“No,” she gasps covering her mouth with her hand.

“I’ve tried everything. Called in every favor I have,” I explain. I wanted her to know that I didn’t want this to happen. “But things have been changing. Women are no longer just matched to one man. The more men, the higher chance of conception. I understand the logic, but I don’t like it.”

“What does that mean?” Aspen asks with fear in her eyes. “Am I going to have to leave? Go live with this other person?”

“You’re not going anywhere!” came out a lot louder than I wanted. “You belong here with me.”

Aspen smiles and I’m glad she isn’t terrified of me again. My temper is getting the better of me, but she is mine. Sharing her will be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I’ve had more than a day to prepare for this and I still haven’t found a way to accept it. I don’t know what her reaction is going to be. Instead of taking the time to explain this calmly and make sure she’s dealing with this revelation, I decided to just lay it all out and deal with the consequences later.

“But—” she starts to speak but I cut her off.

“His name is Jaxon.” I sigh. “He’ll be here within the hour. He’s going to live with us.”

Chapter Five

Aspen

My mind reels from this revelation. I never considered that I might end up with more than one Partner. The logistics of the entire situation have my mind turning in circles with no answers. I don’t know how to process what Mason has just told me.

“What do we do now?” I ask. I know I sound like an idiot, but I have no idea what else to ask. Where do we go from here? How will things work? What if this Jaxon person is horrible?

“First off, you’ll be moving into my bedroom,” Mason states. “Jaxon will take your room and I will take the couch in my office.”

I stare at him dumbfounded. This is yet another setback in our partnership. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“But I think it is. Jaxon is a stranger in our home.” He sighs loudly. “I only want you to be safe while we figure this out.”

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