Idiot.Glutton for punishment.
I couldn’t have Adley.But damned if I wasn’t doing everything I could to keep her close anyway.
Chapter Thirteen
Adley
The night blurred with slammed orders, spilled beers, and laughter that rang loud enough to rattle my bones.But underneath it all, I felt Mason.Every time I walked by every brush of his arm when we both reached for the same order slip, every accidental graze of his shoulder to mine, it was there.
Nobody else noticed.But the cameras did.I caught their little red lights blinking from the corners of the bar, documenting every stolen glance, every too-long pause when our eyes locked.
By close, I was flushed, exhausted, and wound so tight I thought I might shatter.
“Ready?”Mason’s voice came low behind me.
I turned, surprised.“For what?”
He jingled his keys.“Ride home.”
I blinked.“You don’t have to do this.I could ask Penny for a ride.I should have my car back by Monday.”
“Until then, you’ve got me.”
He didn’t say it like a choice.He said it like fact.
We stepped out into the night.The crowd noise was gone, replaced by the quiet hum of crickets.Mason held the helmet out to me.
I slid it on, and when I climbed onto the bike, I felt the heat of him under me, strong and solid.He glanced over his shoulder, eyes catching mine.“Straight home?”
I knew what he was asking.My pulse hammered in my ears.Mason or home.
“Let’s take the long way.”
The bike roared to life, and we shot down the road.Weston fell behind us quick, streetlights fading into open fields.The moon hung fat and low, stars scattered like diamonds across the black.Cool country air whipped against my cheeks, but all I felt was Mason.My arms around his waist.My chest pressed against his back.Every vibration of the bike rattled through both of us until I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.
We didn’t speak.Didn’t need to.
Half an hour later, he turned down the gravel road to Point Lake.The water glittered under the moonlight as he parked by the boat landing.
I slid off, and tugged the helmet free.“I haven’t been out here since high school.”I pointed toward the trees down the shoreline.“That’s where we’d sneak wine coolers and blast Paramore like we thought we were rebels.”
Mason chuckled, but it was low and rough.He leaned against the bike, legs stretched out, arms braced back on the seat like he owned the night.
I lifted my hair, twisting it into a messy knot to cool my neck.His eyes followed the movement, slow and deliberate, trailing down over me until my breath caught.
I stepped closer, until I stood between his boots.“What are you thinking?”
His gaze burned into me.“I don’t think I can say it out loud.”
My pulse jumped.“Why not?”
“Because I shouldn’t be thinking about you like that.”
Heat flooded my cheeks.“Like what?”
“Like wondering what you taste like.If your curves are as lush as they look.”
The air crackled.My heart pounded so hard it hurt.“Why wonder when you could just find out?”
