Wasted (23 page)

And I wanted her for myself.

I smoothed her hair from her face, needing
to touch her. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way about
anyone. I want a relationship with you, Lex, but it scares the hell
out of me.”

She leaned into my palm. “It scares me, too.
And there are no guarantees, but sometimes, we just have to find
the one person that’s worth the risk.” Closing her eyes, she
grasped my forearm, holding my palm steady against her softly
rounded jawline. Her long lashes fanned across her cheek, and I was
captivated by her, unable to look away.

When she finally opened her eyes, she gazed
at me warmly. “You’re worth the risk, Mason.”

I pulled her to my chest, clutching her,
afraid that if I let her go she would change her mind. She always
said what I needed to hear, even when I didn’t know what I needed.
But the one thing that I did know was that I needed her, and damn
it, I was going to have her.

We had the day off, and after taking the
time to freshen up, I pulled her back into bed with me. A peal of
laughter tinkled through the air as I grabbed her, twisting in bed
until I lay on my back and she straddled me. Cupping her breast
through the tee shirt, my other hand snaked under the fabric,
settling on her hip. “You have no idea what you do to me, do
you?”

Her bottom squirmed against me as she backed
into my erection. “I think I might have some idea.”

I kept my line of vision on her face.
“That’s not what I mean, Lex.”

Her smile faded as she locked eyes with me.
Her parted lips closed, and she swallowed. “What do you mean?” she
whispered, her dark tousled hair tumbling around her shoulders.

I reached up and twirled a strand around my
finger. “I never knew how much my life would change that day you
parked your pretty little ass at my bar. I never knew how much I
would change.”

Watching me intently, she didn’t say
anything. She was a damn good listener, and I couldn’t remember the
last time that anyone other than her had really listened. “You make
me feel like I matter.”

“
You do matter.” Her brow
furrowed as if her full concentration was aimed in my direction.
“You matter to me.”

“
That’s the kind of shit
I’m talking about. It feels…nice.”

“
We all want to feel like
someone cares about us,” she said softly. “When I realized that you
waited up for me last night because you were worried…I’m not going
to lie…I liked it. You spend all your time taking care of everyone
else, Mason, and I love that you’ve been taking care of me, too.
Now let me take care of you.”

Cupping her nape, I drew her to me for a
kiss. “Let’s take care of each other.” I grabbed the hem of her
shirt and pulled it over her head, exposing her full breasts and
her slender waist. My hands slid up her sides and curved around,
teasing her flesh until her nipples hardened beneath my palms.

Damn, she was beautiful. But making love to
her was about more than just sexual pleasure, it was about letting
her in, about offering myself to her, about being vulnerable and
trusting her with every part of me, even those parts that I still
feared she wouldn’t like.

***

“
I made you a sammich,” I
said, offering her the plate that toted an expertly made
PB&J.

“
Are you trying to keep me
in bed all day?” She sat up, the sheet pooling at her waist. After
a tender lovemaking session, she had donned my Tennessee tee and
her sexy red panties.

“
You don’t like my plan?” I
handed her a drink.

“
Oh, I like it, but you
know Spanky’s retirement party is tomorrow. I need to go to the
grocery store. I need to pick up some fruit and cheese and…don’t
let me forget to add watermelon to my list. Will you go with
me?”

Crawling in bed beside her, I reached out
and cupped her breast. “No, thanks. I have all the melons I
need.”

“
Mason!” she
squealed.

I chuckled. “I’s just messing with ya. If
you want me to go grocery shopping, then I’ll do it. I still like
my plan better, though.”

She grinned at me, shifting her position
until she was sitting cross-legged. “I like your plan, too, but
Spanky will be moving to Florida soon. Don’t you want to give him a
nice party?”

Part of me was still frustrated that Spanky
hadn’t given me time to come up with the money to buy the bar. I
understood why he needed to move quickly, but damn, I’d wanted it
so badly. “Of course, I want him to have a nice party. Spanky’s
like family to me. But it still sucks that I wasn’t able to buy the
bar.”

“
Things have a way of
working out.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “Okay then. I’m going
to eat this yummy sammich. Then, I’ll grab a quick shower, and we
can head out.” She took a bite of the sandwich and gave me a funny
look.

“
What?”

She swallowed. “Aren’t you going to eat a
sandwich?”

“
Already did.”

“
You already ate
it?”

“
Well, it’s not but a
couple of bites, and why dirty another plate?”

“
Men,” she mumbled under
her breath.

“
Can’t live without them,”
I said.

“
Actually, I can.” She gave
me a look that dared me to contradict her.

I tugged the sheet off her lap and slid my
palm along her leg until my fingers curved around her thigh. “Are
you sure you want to live without men?” I asked, brushing my
fingertips against the thin lacy material that separated us.

She didn’t reply, and I knew she was
reacting to my touch.

“
Mason….” She set her drink
and the plate on the small table beside my bed. As she maneuvered,
my fingers slid beneath the fabric, and she released a shattered
breath.

“
Maybe you
can
live without men, but
do you really want to?”

She gazed at me as I teased and taunted. Her
chest rose and fell as she arched in my arms.

If she thought she could live without men…if
she thought she could live without me….

“
You see how you respond to
me?” She was hot and wet.

Grasping my face, she yanked me to her and
kissed me, her tongue slipping into my mouth as she writhed beneath
me, wanting more.

Ending the kiss and resting my forehead
against hers, I whispered, “Damn it, Lexi. You can’t do that. You
can’t make me fall in love with you, then tell me that you can live
without me.

“
You’re mine now, and I’m
not letting go.”

***

The girls had decided on a beach theme for
Spanky’s retirement party. Everyone had been instructed to wear
colorful, summery clothing. I’d worn a pair of blue flowery
swimming trunks and a white tee shirt with a pair of
flip-flops.

I gazed at Lexi as she busied herself
covering the tables that we would use for the retirement party in
crisp white tablecloths. We’d finally made it to the grocery store
yesterday, but not until after I’d made love to her again.

She looked beautiful in a red sundress, her
plump lips glossed in the identical color. Her hair was straight
and sleek, gliding down her back like a waterfall at midnight.

Unable to keep my lips from curving into a
smile, I marveled that something as wonderful as Lexi Swafford
could actually happen to me for a change.

“
You look guilty,” Stormy
accused as she came to get the bowl of mixed fruit that I had just
set on the bar.

“
Me?” I shot her a look of
incredulity.

“
Yes, you.” She flipped her
dark braids to the front of her shoulders. “Guiltier than
usual.”

She followed my line of vision. “You got it
bad, don’t you, pretty boy?”

I guffawed at her assessment. “She is pretty
damn sexy.” I leaned against the counter. “And she gets me.” I
darted my eyes toward Stormy. “How many girls do you think actually
get me?”

“
Hell if I know. I sure
don’t.”

Amused, I reached across the bar and tugged
her braid.

“
So are you guys an item
now or something?” She peered at me over the top of her
glasses.

“
Yeah, you could say
that.”

She screwed her face up. “The devil must
have icicles hanging off his nose about now.”

“
Because you can’t believe
I could get a girl?”

She blew out a breath. “Because I can’t
believe you found one you actually wanted to keep.”

“
What does he want to
keep?” Hawk asked Stormy as he took a seat at the bar. “Isn’t it
about time to start this party?”

“
Ten more minutes,” Stormy
answered, snatching the bowl of fruit, so she could take it to the
food table. “And he wants to keep Lexi.”

Stormy scurried away in her yellow tank top
and grass skirt, and Hawk gave me a strange look. “Has she been
drinking already?” he asked.

“
Bar’s not open for ten
more minutes,” I said. “And Stormy’s the one that’s going to tend
it, so she’s stuck with being sober for a while.”

“
Then what’s she talking
about?”

“
Lexi and I are
together.”

“
Together?”

“
Hell, don’t make it such a
big deal.” I pulled a stack of red plastic cups out of a bag and
started filling them with draft beer.

He turned and looked at Lexi as she bent
over a table, placing the centerpiece, and it irritated me that he
watched her longer than necessary. “Shit, stop staring at her
ass.”

Turning back toward me, one side of his
mouth twitched up in a grin. “Congratulations.” He held his fist in
the air, and I bumped it with mine.

“
Thanks, man.”

Swiveling toward the open room in the
barstool, he watched the action as the bar started to fill with
brightly dressed people. I prepped garnishes for the bar while
Stormy and Lexi completed the finishing touches.

“
I guess she’ll get to meet
Rachel.”

My head snapped around at Hawk. “What are
you talking about?”

He nodded toward the tables. “Rachel just
came in.” He turned back toward me. “You didn’t know she was
coming?”

“
No, I didn’t.” Shit, I
wasn’t ready for this. I’d barely even explained who Rachel was to
Lexi. I searched for her in the crowd, spotting her in a yellow
bikini top and white shorts, a colorful lei circling her neck. Her
light clothing showed off her deep bronze tan.

“
Don’t sweat it,” Hawk
said.

“
You know how Rachel
gets.”

“
Y’all haven’t been
together in a very long time.” Hawk leaned back in the chair,
folding his arms behind his head. “She has no reason to get
jealous.”

I exhaled loudly, hoping he was right.

Stormy appeared behind the bar. “Spanky’s
coming out of the office. Check out his Hawaiian shirt.”

Spanky waddled to the middle of the room in
a bright orange shirt covered in multi-colored flowers. I whistled
loudly, and he turned toward me, white tufts of hair making him
look like he’d just came from a spin in the dryer. His leathery
face broke into a smile, and he threw his hand in the air to
acknowledge me as he turned back to the crowd.

The girls had done a great job decorating.
Many of the guests wore leis, and each table had a jar of sand and
seashells with a single white flickering candle rising out of it.
Every bare spot was filled with sand buckets and shovels or
inflated inner tubes or beach balls. The entryway was decorated
with a neon pink surfboard and a fishing net filled with shells and
starfish.

A huge cake sat on its own table, shaped
like a sandcastle with colorful flags flying from the turrets.

“
Guess it’s showtime.”
Since I’d known Spanky the longest, I was roped into starting the
evening off with a toast. I grabbed a cup of beer and made my way
to the front of the restaurant. Cade came in through the front door
and headed straight toward Spanky, shaking his hand.

I spotted Lexi weaving through the crowd
toward me. She gave me a quick kiss. “Are you nervous?”

“
Me, nervous?” I flashed a
grin. “Haven’t you figured out by now that I know how to work a
crowd?”

“
A crowd’s not the only
thing you know how to work.” She gave me a sly smile as she wiped
her lipstick from my lips.

I pointed at her. “Are you flirting with me?
Because that sounded a lot like flirting.”

“
Maybe.” She drew the word
out, her luscious red lips curving upward to reveal her brilliant
white teeth.

“
I’ll take care of you
after the party.”

“
I’m driving back home
after the party.” She hesitated. “To my parent’s home.”

“
You are?”

She lowered her eyes. “Yeah. Seren’s going
with me.” Glancing back at me, she continued, “I’ve got some
business to take care of, but I should be back sometime
tomorrow.”

“
Okay.” I rubbed my palms
together. “Well, I guess I have a toast to perform.” Why hadn’t she
mentioned it? Hell, I didn’t really want to meet her parents, but
did she not want to introduce me to them?

Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, I
concentrated on the toast. Releasing a shrill whistle, I held my
hand in the air. “Can I have your attention, please?”

The room quieted down. “We’re all here to
show our support to someone who I consider not only a friend of
mine but a mentor.