When I'm Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(54)

“Not my fault if you left them. And no, you can’t get into my house with me gone. I left it locked up . . . Cord, come on. Stop playing this game with me. Don’t be this way.”

He was annoyed. And he called her Cord.

“Like I said, I’ll be home Sunday,” he snapped, then stuck his phone into his pocket with a sigh.

I stepped back from the door and took several calming breaths. That meant nothing. Cordelia could be someone he worked with or was related to. Or she could just be a friend.

“Who was that?” I asked, as I pushed the door open wide. I hadn’t meant to ask, but I needed to know.

Mase turned his attention from the floor to me. His gaze slowly ate me up as he took in my new pajamas. When he had finally made it all the way up to my face, his eyes were lit with the heat I’d missed earlier. “I really like French silk,” he said, walking over to me.

I almost wept with relief.

His hand settled on my hip and then slid around to cup my bottom. “You don’t like sleeping in panties, do you, baby?”

“No.” I watched him as his eyes grew dark and hot.

“Silk covering this ass is more than any man can handle. I want to kiss my freckle. And see it peeking out from under the lace.” He turned me around. “Put your hands on the back of the sofa and stick this sweet bottom out for me just a little. Please, Reese.” He whispered my name so close to my ear that his breath tickled my skin.

I did exactly as I was told, and his pleased growl made it worth it.

His hands slid down my hips and thighs as he dropped to his knees behind me. Soft lips and the rough stubble on his jaw brushed the backs of my thighs. He kissed a trail up each one until he found the one freckle that I’d never seen but he seemed to love.

The pleased sound in his throat as he kissed that one spot made my knees weak. I held on to the sofa just as his tongue lapped at the spot below my bottom.

“Oh, God.” I leaned over to brace myself better, or I was going to end up on the floor.

“I can smell you. I want to spread these legs and kiss you there. Just me, Reese. This is me and you, baby.” His voice was strained, and I knew he was giving me the choice. It was why I trusted him so much. He always took special care not to step too far or make me do anything I wasn’t ready for.

“OK” was the only word I could form at the moment.

I was expecting him to spread my legs open where I stood, but Mase stood up and scooped me into his arms. My surprised gasp made him smile as he walked me into the bedroom. “My girl belongs on a bed,” he said softly, and he placed me gently down on my unmade bed. “Keep looking at me. The whole time, I want those eyes here,” he instructed me, as he pointed to his eyes.

I nodded.

He caressed the inside of my calves with extra care. I was having a hard time inhaling air, and he was playing with my legs. What was going to happen when he actually moved his head between my legs?

I had gotten off listening to him on the phone telling me he wanted to do this. But the reality of it was terrifying. I grabbed fistfuls of the covers and watched as Mase’s hand moved past my knees, coaxing my legs open by giving my thighs extra-special attention.

“Eyes on mine, Reese.” His tone was husky and deep. This was exciting him.

I snapped my gaze back to his, and he winked at me. “That’s better. I want those pretty blue eyes on mine. When I kiss you, don’t close them. Keep them on me. OK?”

“Yes,” I panted out.

The corners of his lips lifted as he lowered his head, keeping his gaze locked on mine. “Open wider for me,” he whispered, as he pressed a kiss to my knee.

Wider. Oh, God.

I started to close my eyes, and a little nip of his teeth inside my thigh had my eyes flying back open.

He was grinning at me. “Eyes on me,” he repeated. “You close them again, and I’m rolling you over and biting your ass. Something I really f*cking want to do. So don’t tempt me.”

So he was going to bite me if I closed my eyes? Oh, God.

Mase trailed kisses down the insides of my thighs. His eyelids lowered until he had that sexy hooded look that made me shiver. I was making little noises I didn’t even recognize. But seeing Mase’s head moving downward was causing a riot of sensations in my body.

He growled as his mouth reached its destination, and his eyes sparked with a hungry look just before I felt his tongue graze over where it throbbed the most.

When he closed his lips around that small spot and sucked, I bucked my hips, unable to stop myself, and cried out his name.

“Eyes, Reese. Give me your eyes now, baby.”

“I can’t . . . don’t stop,” I begged.

His tongue slid back over me and then circled my clit. “I don’t want to stop. I’ll do this for f*cking ever if you want, but I need you to look at me. Watch me. See who’s making you feel good. Stay here with me.”

I forced my eyes open, and his gaze immediately locked with mine. I loved his eyes.

“There’s those pretty eyes I dream about,” he murmured, as he continued using his tongue to give me a form of pleasure I had never imagined existed.

With each stroke of his tongue, I felt the pressure building inside. The explosion was coming. My legs were shaking, and my vision was starting to blur. Mase’s name was falling from my lips over and over, but I couldn’t make myself stop.