When I'm Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(28)

A loud, sharp knock on my door startled me, and I put my phone down on the sofa and stood up to see who was outside. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and I really hoped that Thad wasn’t coming for a visit. Not when I planned on talking to Mase on the phone tonight.

I peered through the peephole and gasped.

As if I had dreamed him up, there he stood outside my door. His face looked determined, and his hair was pulled back so that I could see the hard set of his jaw. He was here. Shock was replaced by concern as I unlatched and unbolted the door and swung it open.

“Mase, is everything OK?” I asked.

He stared at me. He began moving toward me, but then he stopped. “No. Can I come in?” he asked tightly.

I nodded and stepped back to let him inside. “What’s wrong?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer. I was nervous.

Mase walked inside, and his gaze slowly trailed down my body, then back up again. Ever so slowly. When he made it back up to my face, there was a gleam there that made me shiver.

“That looks even better than I imagined. And trust me, baby, I’ve imagined you in that outfit a lot.”

His voice sounded like he was caressing the words instead of saying them. The dark tone in his voice made me shiver again. I couldn’t speak. Not now. He had taken all my words with those looks.

“I don’t want you going out with Thad,” he said firmly, snapping me out of my strange haze. His jaw was clenched tightly again, and that strange gleam in his eyes had returned.

“How did you know?” I asked him. And why do you care? I thought silently.

“He told Grant,” he replied. That was answer enough. “I was giving you time. You seemed skittish. I didn’t want to push you. But if you’re going on a date with someone, it’s gonna be me, Reese. Not f*cking playboy Thad.”

He said the last part in a growl that caused me to jump.

“He doesn’t know the first thing about you. He won’t know how to read your expressions to know when you like something or not. He won’t know when he’s making you uncomfortable or when you need help reading something. He won’t know that you have two different laughs. One is real, and the other means you’re nervous. He won’t know shit. But I do.”

Was Mase Manning really trying to persuade me to go out with him? Did he think he had to give me a sales pitch so I would buy in?

“And he’ll make a mistake. He will do something to hurt you, and I’ll kill him. I’m not a violent guy, but f*ck me, if he were to hurt you, I’d lose it, baby. Lose my mind. So the way I see it, you need to cancel that date with him and make new plans. With me.”

Before he could start trying to convince me again, I smiled. “OK.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. His eyes flashed something that could only be labeled pleasure, and he took a step toward me. “OK?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. OK,” I repeated.

A grin tugged up one corner of his beautiful mouth. “OK as in you’re gonna cancel that date with Thad and make new plans with me? All weekend?”

All weekend. He was here for the whole weekend? I nodded, unable to keep from smiling even more brightly. I was going to get to spend the whole weekend with Mase. He had come here to see me.

Me!

Mase closed the distance between us, and his hands reached up and cupped my face. My body tensed but then eased almost immediately. His smell met my nose, and I was comforted.

“I’m going to kiss you now, Reese. Can’t hold back any longer,” he said, his breath a whisper over my lips before the soft plumpness of his mouth touched mine.

He was so gentle as he pressed soft kisses at each corner of my mouth before the tip of his tongue slid along my bottom lip, as if asking me to open. I had seen people kiss. I knew you opened your mouth, but it seemed so intimate. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. Or if I would be any good at it.

“Please open for me,” he begged against my lips, and I realized I would probably do anything if he asked me to.

I opened my mouth—and gasped when his tongue slid inside and brushed against my tongue, as if in a dare to play. He tasted like peppermint. A low moan came from his chest, and one of his hands went to my lower back and pressed me closer to him as he slid his other hand into my hair and cupped the back of my head. The way he held me was different. He was careful with me.

His tongue continued to tease mine, so I ran my tongue over his and began exploring the minty taste of his mouth. When my tongue ran over his bottom lip, his hand against my lower back fisted. With a sharp intake of breath, his body trembled.

So I did it again.

This time, he made a pleased sound in his throat, then broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. “I knew you’d be sweet. But damn, baby, you taste like my own little heaven.”

My chest swelled, and I smiled. I hadn’t done anything wrong. He enjoyed it as much as I did. “Can we do it again?” I asked him, resting my hands on his biceps.

A low chuckle vibrated in his chest. “Yeah. We can kiss all you want to.”

His lips brushed mine again before pressing closer and opening back up. I savored the feel of touching him in such a personal way. His hands rested on my waist, and whenever I licked the roof of his mouth or tasted his lips, his hands tightened only briefly.

My body was tingling all over, and I wanted to crawl into his lap and do this all night. I was enjoying myself, and I was amazed that I was enjoying myself so much. My breasts ached, and my body instinctively pressed closer to his to find relief.