Page 7 of The Partner Predicament

I need to talk to Mason. He is smart and logical. He will know how to navigate the mess we’re in. Jumping from the bed I don’t take a moment to think through my plan before hurrying downstairs. I knock softly on his office door before pushing it open.

“Aspen?’ he asks.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I say softly. “Can we talk?”

Mason looks uncertain in the light from the lamp but nods as he makes space for me beside him. He doesn’t move the blanket off his lap, but I don’t think anything of it.

“What’s on your mind, sweetness?” I love that he has taken to calling me that.

“You. And Jaxon,” I reply.

“All right,” he says. He frowns slightly waiting for me to continue.

“I came down here to ask your advice on how I can be a good Partner to both of you but I changed my mind.”

“So why are you down here?” he asks looking more confused.

“I don’t want your advice anymore because I want you to decide.”

****

Mason

It feels like a blow to the chest, those words out of her mouth. Does she mean that I have to decide who gets her and who doesn’t? How the hell am I supposed to do that?

“Aspen, honey,” I start, slowly trying to keep my emotions in check. “You need to explain what you mean.”

For a long moment, she is silent as she gathers her thoughts.

“I’m not sure how it will work but maybe you can figure it out. Make up a schedule or something so I know what I’m supposed to do.”

I can see she is trying to look confident but in truth, she looks a little lost. “A schedule?” I ask.

“Yes.” She nods. “We are Partners and I should be doing my duty.”

“You mean sex?” I ask bluntly.

Aspen blushes before lowering her head and allowing her hair to cover her face. She nods but I’m not having her hide from me. Slowly I tip her chin up and look at her closely.

“What do you want, sweetness?”

“I don’t know.” She sighs in exasperation before standing to pace the length of my study.

It’s only then that I realize what the hell she’s wearing. A light-blue button-down shirt that came to mid-thigh and not much else. My cock reacts to the sight of her lean legs as she moves back and forth, tenting the blanket.

I knew the moment she knocked I should have sent her away. I never should have allowed her into the study while I knew I was naked beneath the blanket. But I would never turn her away, especially not when she came to me on her own.

I leave her to pace for a couple of moments as I try to discreetly adjust my hard-on before I speak. “Aspen, this isn’t something I can decide for you.”

Her face falls as she stops to stare at me. “This is so unfair.” She stomps her foot. “All I ever wanted was a Partner and a family of my own and now I’m being forced to choose between the two men I love.”

It takes her a moment to catch up to what she just said. She slaps a hand over her mouth but it’s too late, the words are already out there.

“You love me?” I ask softly.

She hesitates before nodding. “I do,” she whispers.

“And Jaxon too?”

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