A Little Bit Naughty (3 page)

Like a saleswoman imparting the qualities of a new and improved product, she said, “This is the G-Swirl Vibrator, praised for its ability to elicit powerful orgasms quickly and effectively by stimulating a woman’s G-Spot.”

Mason choked back the instant rush of lust that lodged in his throat. Her matter-of-fact recitation had turned him on way more than it should have.

“I know what a vibrator is,” he bit out. “What is it and the rest of that stuff doing on my dining room table?”

“It’s for Kiera’s party.”

“What the hell kind of party is Kiera having?”

Releasing an exaggeratedly loud breath, Jada pushed herself up from the sofa and plucked the purple package from his fingers. “You may want to put this back,” she said. “You break it, you buy it; and I doubt you’re ready to handle something like this.”

Mason followed her into the dining room where she set the vibrator on the table. Gliding her fingers along the collection of erotic toys, she picked up a box containing a silver egg-shaped device and held it out to him.

“You may want to start with this. It’s popular with both males and females for stimulation of the erogenous zones. There is also an array of oils and gels designed to heighten sexual pleasure.”

It took some effort for Mason to swallow as she went from one product to the next, her voice dropping to a sultry purr as she expounded on the benefits of each toy. Knowing Jada, the sole purpose of her little presentation was to make him uncomfortable. She’d succeeded, but Mason doubted she knew just what part of him in particular she was making uncomfortable.

“This, of course, is just an overview of what’s available. If you’re interested in products for a specific purpose, I’m sure we can find something that will work.” She picked up a bright blue dildo and strolled over to him. With a decidedly wicked smile, she said, “Just so you’ll know, personal demonstrations are extra.”

Mason’s entire being was immediately overwhelmed with a barrage of heat. He willed his body to fight the onslaught of arousal that rushed through him.

Folding his arms over his chest, he drilled her with a hostile look. “Why are you hell-bent on corrupting my baby sister?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Mason.” Gone was the seductive lithe to her voice. It had been replaced with familiar ire. “You do realize your baby sister isn’t a baby anymore, right? Brace yourself, but she isn’t a virgin anymore either,” Jada shared in a mock whisper.

He was in no mood to be mocked.

“What kind of party is this, Jada?” Mason asked in a voice that brooked no further bullshit.

She blew out another exasperated breath. “It’s called a Naughty Nights party. It’s not some orgy free-for-all, so lay off the crap about me corrupting Kiera. It’s just a group of women having drinks and learning about sexual enhancement products.”

“And you’re the ring leader.”

“I’m the sales consultant,” she corrected. “This may come as a shock to you, Mason, but some women actually like sex.” She wielded the dildo. “Maybe you should join us for the party. I’m sure your puritanical ass can use all the help you can get when it comes to the bedroom.”

Mason stared at her for several moments before reaching over and pulling the sex toy from her slim fingers. Flipping it around, he said, “It goes this way. If you’re going to offer private demonstrations, you may want to learn how to use your products first.”

He drained the remaining water from the bottle and left her standing in the middle of the dining room.

Chapter Two

Jada stood rooted to the spot where Mason had left her, shocked as hell.

And, okay, just a tad turned on.

Who would have thought that Mason Coleman of all people could make her cheeks heat with embarrassment, or make her nipples pebble as if they had been hit with a blast of freezing cold air?

Of course, it had been quite a while since her nipples had seen any action that wasn’t of her own making, so it was understandable. But Mason? Mason Coleman? The one man she had never once thought of in a sexual way?

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. She could remember experiencing a twinge of interest once back when they were in high school. She’d gone over to Kiera’s and encountered a shirtless Mason playing basketball with his friends in the driveway. But she’d only noticed him the way any hormonal teenage girl noticed a sweaty guy with nice abs and a decent face. And once he’d opened his mouth, any warm feelings she’d felt toward him had instantly chilled.

So why was her skin still tingling now?

Jada folded her arms across her chest, willing her nipples to calm down, and cursing Mason for putting her in this state in the first place.

Kiera came back into the house, pocketing her cell phone. Worry lines etched the corners of her mouth.

“Is everything okay?” Jada asked.

“Yeah,” she said, waving off her concern. “Just work stuff. Nothing to worry about.”

“I wouldn’t say that. You’ve got at least one thing to worry about. Your brother was just in here. He isn’t too keen on your kinky little party.”

Kiera grimaced. “Ouch. Bet that was an awkward conversation.”

If she only knew.

“Hey, can you spare an hour or so?” Kiera asked. “I was hoping you could come with me to my condo. I need to pick up a few more things since I’ll be here for a while.”

Jada shrugged. “I’m unemployed remember? I have all the time in the world.”

“Thanks,” Kiera said. She went to let Mason know she was leaving, then followed Jada out of the house. They walked over to Kiera’s SUV.

“Oh, crap,” she said. “I forgot I had all of this in here.”

Jada peered into the smoke-colored windows, spotting boxes on the backseat and cargo area.

“I have to bring this stuff to my kitchen tomorrow,” Kiera said.

“We can take my car.”

“Are you sure?” Jada seared her with a look, and Kiera held both hands up. “Okay, okay. Thanks. Now I don’t have to go inside and ask Mason to move his car.”

Jada plunked a hand on her hip and pointed at the blue Mercedes. “What happened to him needing to get his car in the garage? I swear, your brother gets off on irritating me.”

Jada wondered if she would later question why the thought of him getting off in any way whatsoever sent a zing through her bloodstream.

“I think you may be right.” Kiera laughed as they walked over to the curb where Jada had moved her car. She shook her head as she opened the passenger-side door and slipped in. “What is it about you two? I have never seen two people who dislike each other so much? I know why Mason doesn’t like you, but why don’t you like him?”

Jada whipped her head around to her. “Why doesn’t he like me?”

Kiera glanced over at her, her lips flattened in a frown. “He thinks you’re shallow,” she said. “But it’s because he never took the time to get to know you,” she quickly added. “And he and Eric were sworn enemies long before you ever moved here so I’m sure the fact that the two of you were a couple practically a week after you started at Maplesville High has something to do with it, too. And because you were a cheerleader. Mason always thought cheerleaders were superficial, but that goes back to the point of him believing you’re shallow.”

“Okay, I get it,” Jada said, pulling away from the curb. After a few minutes, she said, “And to answer your question, I never liked him because he never liked me. And because he thinks he’s better than everyone else.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Kiera said, looking down at her phone, her thumbs flying furiously over the touchscreen. “Mason is very sweet. Except when he’s around you,” she tacked on.

Jada huffed out an aggravated snort as she flipped on her left turn signal to head south toward the commercial area where Kiera’s condo was located. The building was yet another sign of Maplesville’s rapidly expanding downtown area. It boasted a slew of new chain restaurants, retail stores, and a huge outlet mall that had beefed up the local economy. The downside was that it also made traffic an ever-loving nightmare on the weekends, when the town was inundated with visitors from all over the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

A flashing light on her dashboard drew Jada’s attention. She thumped her fist against the steering wheel. “Dammit, I forgot about putting gas.”

Jada glanced over at Kiera, whose face was intense as she read something on her phone.

“Hey,” Jada called.

Kiera looked over at her. “What?”

“I just said that I forgot to put gas and you didn’t make a wiseass remark.”

“Oh, sorry,” she said, and went back to her phone.

Jada just shook her head as she turned into a filling station. Eventually, she would find out what had Kiera so distracted.

She pumped twenty dollars’ worth of gas into her car and got back behind the wheel, waving off the bill Kiera tried to hand her as she reached for the hand sanitizer she kept in her glove compartment.

“Take the money, Jada. You’re driving me to my place.”

“I can afford to drive you ten miles to your house, Kiera. I don’t need any more reminders that I’m a broke loser.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t have to. I had a reminder earlier today.” She looked over at Kiera and let her head fall to the steering wheel. “I ran into Eric at the bank.”

“The bastard,” Kiera said. It was their universal name for her ex-husband. “What was he doing, taking a couple of hundred thousand out of that account he keeps in his sister’s name so that you couldn’t touch it in the divorce?”

“I didn’t ask,” Jada said. “I just got the hell out of there as soon as possible. It’s a bit demoralizing to have to find spare change under my car seat just to pay my bills every month while he’s sitting on a mountain of cash.”

“I still would have gone after some of it in the divorce,” Kiera griped. “This is a community property state.”

“Which is why Eric Pearce is worth only about twenty grand on the books, despite the millions he has access to. He knew exactly what he was doing well before he filed for divorce.”

“Bastard,” Kiera reiterated.

Jada had to agree. It was amazing how quickly one could go from loving a person to wishing they would come in contact with a deadly, flesh-eating bacteria.

They made their way to Kiera’s condo and was out of there in less than a half-hour. According to Kiera, the building’s management company was footing the bill for movers to pack up and store all of the affected apartments’ belongings while the walls were being replaced.

As they started back for Mason’s, Jada considered just dropping Kiera off and leaving. After learning that Mason still thought of her as a ditzy, shallow cheerleader, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop herself from inflicting bodily harm when she next saw him.

However, an assault charge wouldn’t help to dispel the crazy lady image she’d earned after the clothes-burning incident with Eric, so she’d resist the urge to knee Mason in the groin. Hopefully.

***

Mason rested his head against the firm leather headrest of the lounge chair in his office. Eyes closed, he allowed the soothing cadence of the jazz music flowing softly from the speakers mounted throughout the office to lull him into a state of relaxation he could only seem to find in this room. He brought the cut crystal tumbler to his lips, taking a sip of aged Dalmore Scotch. The expensive liquor felt like velvet against his tongue.

He rubbed the spot between his eyes, trying to blot out the bulk of his day.

The client whom he thought would be the ticket to an eventual partnership in the downtown New Orleans firm where he’d practiced tax law for the past eight years had turned out to be the biggest pain in his ass. But even without Oscar Davis’s constant phone calls and emails, Mason figured he would still be nursing this headache. They were in the thick of tax season so, of course, every client had an emergency, and every single one of them thought their emergency should be his top priority.

And let’s not forget his biggest headache of the day, coming home to find Jada Dangerfield and her bevy of erotic toys.

Mason pitched the remaining alcohol down his throat, trying to wash away the memory of her seductive invitation to offer him a demonstration. He’d been semi-erect since the moment the words left her mouth, and had a feeling the only way he would get things under control down there was through some manual self-gratification.

Actually, he did have one tried and true method for quelling any amorous feelings.

Mason reached for his cell phone, and pulled his mother’s number up on the speed dial.

“Hey there, Mason,” she answered, and just like that, any lingering desire was instantly squelched by the sound of his mother’s voice.

“Hey, Mom,” he said. “I stopped by on the way home to check out your television, but you weren’t there.”

“I was at my Zumba class,” she said. “And don’t worry about the television. Linda Pennington’s grandson came over and fixed it. Apparently, I had the input set to DVD instead of HDMI, whatever that means.”

“Well, I can come over and we can figure out which inputs go with which settings,” he said.

“It’s already done. Joaquin even typed me up a little diagram. Oh, I’ll have to call you later. Linda’s honking her car horn outside. We’re going to check out the sales at the outlet mall.”

“Okay,” Mason said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Later, baby. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Mom,” he said before disconnecting the call. Mason set the phone on his desk and stared at it for several moments, trying to disregard the unease—possibly even resentment—stiffening his jaw.

He remembered a time when his mother wouldn’t have even thought to get help from anyone else. Now, the last couple of times Mason had offered to take care of something around the house, he’d been usurped by some neighborhood kid who his mother had already called on.

He should be grateful. He had enough on his plate these days.

But taking care of his mother and Kiera had been ingrained in him. It had been his top priority since his fourteenth birthday, when he’d made a promise to his dad that he would always take care of them.