“I thought I knew what it was like to be happy to see you,” he murmured, his breath coating my lips. “But I don’t think I really knew till now.” He opened his eyes to drink me in, pulling away but holding me tight, like I might somehow escape his arms again. But he seemed reassured by the needy curl of my fingertips against his chest. I wanted to hold onto him too. I hardly ever wanted to let go. “You know how sorry I am, right, Taylor?”
Holding his face in my hands, I nodded. “And I think I understand why you did what you did. I just need to ask you one question.”
“Ask me.”
I wet my lips. “The night you came to get me. I still remember the questions I asked you in the cab when I thought you were Aaron. I asked if you still loved me,” I whispered, watching the storm twisting behind his dark eyes. “And you said yes. You said it so convincingly I think I’m just wondering how and why you did that.”
“I really wished I was him in that moment,” Mason answered with a soft laugh. “Sounds harsh but you know it would take a lot for me to ever wish I was Aaron. But I wished it hard that night. I wanted to be the person to save you whenever you needed. I wanted to be the man who took care of you and held you at night. But you were with him a year by that point. You loved him and it was too late for me to be the one for you, so I gave you what I thought what you wanted. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I understand now, Mason. I promise,” I insisted softly, letting him press a kiss to my lips.
“I never wanted to hurt you. And every day from here on out, I’m going to make it up to you, Taylor. That’s all I want to do.”
My lips wiggled into a crooked smile. “Gotta say, you’re off to a pretty good start.”
“Glad to hear that. Happy birthday, by the way.”
“It’s two in the morning, so it’s not my birthday anymore. But thank you,” I said teasingly. “And thank you for bringing my little island to life. I know you thought my birthday wish was lame but it was easily the best birthday of my life today.”
“Good.” Mason brought my face closer to his. Kissing me, he brought me with him as he laid on the couch. I exhaled as I rested my weight on his strong body, running my hands down his sculpted torso as his hot tongue swept against mine. “But they’re only going to get better from here.”
“Birthdays?” I giggled against his mouth, closing my eyes as his hands lifted my sweater up my body.
“Birthdays.” His lips devoured me. “New Years.” Another thrust of his tongue. “Valentines. Christmas.” He smiled back against my mouth between every sweet, passionate kiss. “I’m going to give you everything you ever wanted, Taylor. And all the things you didn’t know you wanted.”
Music to my damned ears.
“What about what I want right now?” I asked, reaching down between us and cupping what I could already feel was almost fully hard. Mason groaned.
“Fuck, I don’t think you know how bad I’ve wanted that the past two weeks.” He moved my hand up and down his impressive shaft, hard and thick against my fingers.
“Trust me, I was hurting for it pretty bad myself.”
“And did you satisfy that craving?”
I smirked. “Is this your way of asking if I’ve slept with anyone since we’ve been apart?”
“I’ll admit I’m curious.” Carrying me, he stood up, eyes locked on mine as he walked me across the living room and toward the staircase. “So tell me.”
“I haven’t been with anyone else, Mase.” My heart lifted with every step he brought me up toward his bedroom. “Your turn.”
“I haven’t been with anyone since we started,” he said, his eyes dipping to my curving lips. “I haven’t wanted to, and I can’t imagine that I’m going to.”
I grinned. “Good answer.”
“Just the truth,” he said as he pushed open the door to the bedroom I hadn’t realized how much I missed till I was in it again. Laid gently on the plush bed, I felt again like a queen. I breathed steady, my cheeks hot as I watched Mason slip his hand under my back and arch it for him to better pull off my sweater, then my leggings. Kissing the straps of my bra off my shoulder, he pushed his sweats down till he could kick them off. He wasn’t wearing boxers underneath, so I gave a little moan as I felt the weight of his hot erection fall between my legs.
“Spread your legs for me.” His command was firm and I could hear in it just how much he missed me, how much he wanted me. In his arms again, it felt so incredibly good. I was already filled with gratification before he entered me, but then with a weighty stroke of his tip against the length of my sex, he confirmed my wetness with a groan and then slid easily inside me.
“Mason,” I gasped, his stroke a gliding force that stretched and rocked me from the first second. We wasted no time with teasing. Our need for one another was already maxed out. I was wetter than I could stand and he was harder than I knew possible. Already lost, I thrust my h
ips up to meet him, to match the mounting intensity of his every push inside me. My abs burned as I clenched up toward him but as Mason pounded in and out of me, I fucked him right back, driven by the deep groans that tore from his chest as our bodies returned to that place of just need, desire and everything we could do to fulfill it. But when I ran out of the strength to meet his, Mason relieved me. Grabbing two handfuls of my ass, he pulled my hips higher and drove deeper inside me, so instantly commanding that I could hardly make a sound.
The kiss he crushed over my lips was frantic now, and in it, I tasted those words he wouldn’t say on our last day in St. Lucia. I didn’t care if now wasn’t the time. I needed to let them out. Tearing away from his mouth, I looked into Mason’s eyes and breathed urgently, “I love you.” He was the second man I’d ever said the words to. The first I’d truly meant them with.
“I love you,” Mason returned, his cock rubbing a sweet spot inside me, his smoldering gaze completely consuming mine. “I have loved you,” he breathed. “I can’t stop, Taylor. Even when I tried, I couldn’t. I can’t control it with you.”
“You don’t have to now. You can love me,” I whispered. My body was slack now, languid as it received the years of Mason’s need in the form of his every mighty blow inside me. “You have me.”