“No, I’m not.” Sean heard the hope in his own words, but he daren’t go there.
“Then explain to me how, after only meeting you a few days ago, you’ve already made my wife love you?”
His head jerked up like on puppet strings. “Liberty doesn’t love me.”
“Really? Do you think she’d allow someone to do the things you did with her if she didn’t care for them on some level?”
“She didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice. Do you honestly think I would’ve let you force her into something she wasn’t on board with? Do you honestly think you would’ve been able to force her?”
“I’m bigger—”
“It has nothing to do with size.”
“Come on, Mase, she was scared—”
“I told you before. It takes strength to submit, not fear. The only person afraid back there was you. You were afraid we would tell you enough was enough and ask you to go. When will you get that we want you here? There is nothing you can do that’s so evil we would turn our backs on you.”
Sean sunk down to the edge of the bed. His voice was hard to find. When he finally spoke he sounded as if he’d swallowed a handful of razorblades. “What you have with Liberty, it’s beautiful. Why would you risk wrecking it by inviting me in?”
“Because we think having you with us will only add to the beauty of what we share.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll take off again?”
Mason smiled. “We’re both a little older and a little wiser. If you try to leave again, don’t expect me to stand idly by like I did before and watch you go. Besides, there’s a different dynamic when a female is involved. I don’t think you could do that to Liberty.”
“Awfully big gamble.”
Mason kneeled before him in the space between his knees. “Like I said, it’s about trust, trust in each other and in the love that we share.” He palmed the back of Sean’s neck and drew their heads together, looking him directly in the eyes as he pressed his forehead to Sean’s. “If thirteen years didn’t diminish what we feel, I doubt anything could. I love you, Sean.”
He stared back into Mason’s soul. He felt raw and exposed. His tears long ago passed his lashes. “I love you, too.”
The soft press of Mason’s mouth against his lips sent trickles of pleasure down his spine. Sean let himself be slowly eased back onto the bed and Mason crawled into the space between his thighs. At first they simply kissed one another, taking the time to relearn each other’s taste and feel. There was no haste or urgency.
Mase smelled good. Strong and clean like soap and linen and a little bit of Liberty. The weight of Mason’s body on his was something he’d forgotten the feel of, that delicious press of strength, more substantial than a woman, harder, more powerful.
Mason’s fingers found his and entwined. The pressure when he squeezed his hand was more fortifying than any handshake. This was an agreement, a consummation of the future they would all be committing to. Sean felt vulnerable and terrified that he was being given something he so badly desired and that it would suddenly be ripped away from him because he proved to be not good enough.
“Don’t think about that now,” Mason whispered over his mouth as if reading his mind. “Trust this.”
His tongue coasted over Sean’s and he loved the rough feel of his jaw against his. He slowly began to caress his way under the hem of Mason’s cotton shirt. His skin burned his fingertips. His muscles trembled under his touch.
“Take this off,” Sean whispered.
Mason spent another moment kissing him. They were each reluctant to pull away. Mase rose up on his knees and crossed his arms over his stomach, fisting the hem of his tee and shucking it over his head in one smooth move. He was beautiful.
Without returning to him, Mason kneeled and simply let Sean look at him for a moment. Really look at him. He was a long awaited feast for the eyes. Although many years had passed, time had treated Mason well. His dark, flat nipples were sharp at the tips, his trim abdomen still rigid and lean. Sean placed his palm on the side of Mase’s chest and ran a thumb over the brown disk of his nipple. Mason shut his eyes and breathed in the pleasure.
He repeated the caress on the other nipple, his eyes watching and greedily eating up every square inch of perfection that was Mason. Slowly, he moved his touch down his stomach, fingers tripping over every muscle like a ribbon laces over a Jacob’s ladder.
Then Mason pulled the zipper of his pants slowly down, one tooth at a time, the silence making way for the quiet interruption, the tiny zip transforming into an echoing stampede of something magnificent to come. Mason stared at him as he worked his pants over his firm hips and his cock sprang free. Slowly, he worked his legs out of the pants and returned to the space between Sean’s thighs.