Only the Truth Pt. 01

I held back a laugh and shoved him. He grinned and planted a smacking kiss on my mouth. 

A world-weary sigh came from the other side of the door. "Thanks for the help, asshole. Her bag's still in the kitchen, but she's disappeared. Claire's worried. Let me know if you see or hear from her, okay?" 

"Will do."

Neither of us moved while we waited to see what would happen next. Going by the lengthy silence that followed, Andy must have headed off to look for me elsewhere. 

"So..." Mason said, his voice deep and calm like we hadn't just been about to tear each other's clothes off. "Where were we?" He clasped my hips and pulled me back against him, touching his mouth to my throat in an all-too-brief kiss. "Here?" 

"Ahh, no." Going from all that intensity back to teasing touches left me feeling like I'd just stepped off a spinning merry-go-round. 

His lips travelled higher. "Was it here?" He gave my earlobe a gentle nip.

The man knew exactly what he was doing to me. I could hear the smile in his voice. "No?"

He let out a husky laugh and stroked my hair back from my face. His lips moved to my cheek, and he pressed a warm kiss there that made me clutch his shoulders. "What about here?"

"I don't think that was the spot either." Not that I cared. He could put his mouth anywhere he wanted to, so long as he kept touching me. 

"Why don't you remind me then?"

I cradled his jaw, stroking his sun-bronzed skin while I looked him over. He was seriously beautiful. Dark and masculine, with a glimmer of warmth in his eyes that softened all his rough edges. I still couldn't believe he was mine for tonight--and hopefully much, much longer. 

I pressed my mouth to his to pick up where we'd left off, and as soon as our lips met, the passion went through the roof again. He wound his arms around me with a groan and pulled me against him. My mouth moved with his, the kiss so wild right from the start that my back arched, and a strange keening noise sounded in my throat. 

The desperate need to be closer to him overcame me. I climbed onto his lap and rested my knees on either side of his thighs. Mason welcomed the change in position, smoothing his palms under the rising hem of my dress. The moment he discovered I'd worn a thong, he made a deep, male sound of appreciation. 

The feel of his erection beneath me had me breaking the kiss to let out a breath. It was all too much, but I couldn't stop myself from taking more. With my forehead pressed to his I moved against him, shifting my hips slowly forward then back, creating a friction that was so thrilling, I pressed down harder to intensify the sensation. 

We stayed like that for a while, building the tension until our breaths grew harsher, my movements more deliberate. When Mason finally spoke again, his voice was a deep rasp. "If you keep that up, I'm going to come in my pants, and I haven't done that in at least a couple of years."

How was it possible to be amused and turned on at the same time? I wanted to laugh and kiss him and torment him, but the need for release hit me, and suddenly nothing else mattered. I ground my hips against him a couple more times, increasing the pressure until finally...

A wave of sensation flooded me, and my mouth dropped open on a long moan. Our eyes didn't meet--he didn't say a word--but I knew I had his full attention. I rocked against him until I'd extracted every ounce of pleasure, and my God, it felt so good to do this with someone else.

As the tremors eased, Mason cupped my face and lifted my chin. His gaze roamed my features, his voice filled with wonder. "Sadie. Jesus."   

When he looked at me like that, I couldn't find the energy to be embarrassed about what I'd just done. With a shaky breath, I smiled at him. "I couldn't stop. It just... it got away from me."

I pushed his shoulders until he fell back onto the mattress. I had no idea what he expected from me now, but need still thrummed inside me, and I wanted to know more of him. "Seems like it might be your turn."

He closed his eyes for a moment then looked at me again. "I can't believe I'm saying this... but not tonight."

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I scoffed in amazement. "I can't believe you're saying it either. Neither can this guy." My hips moved against his erection just to remind him of the hardness still wedged between us. 

He swore under his breath and gripped my thighs. "Don't move. Don't. I'm hanging on by a thread here."

I raised my hands in surrender and leaned back, trying not to be offended by what felt very much like rejection. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I suddenly wanted to look anywhere but at him, unwilling to meet his eyes just in case I saw sympathy in them. 

Mason sighed and took hold of my wrists, pulling my hands down to rest against his abdomen. "Don't be sorry. It's not what you think. Claire would have organized a search party by now," he explained while I stared at the front of his t-shirt, "and I don't want to be in the middle of something with you--something there's no way in hell I'd want to stop once we got started--when the helicopters start hovering."

A reluctant smile tugged at my mouth, and I lifted my gaze to lock eyes with him. I had a sneaking suspicion he'd just handed me an out to stop me from making a decision I'd had no time to think through. "That makes sense, I guess." 

Mason swept his thumbs over the insides of my wrists and studied me. His expression was intense at first, but it relaxed more with each passing second. "When we go there," he said, "there won't be a party on the other side of the door or anyone else around. We'll take our time, make it good. So good you'll be begging for more."

How could I argue with him when he put it like that? "All right. You win." 

I pushed myself off his lap and stood beside the bed, tugging my dress into place while I tried my best to switch off lust mode.

There were more important things for me to worry about now, like how my sister might react when she found out we'd been hiding in here this entire time.

~ * ~

We hadn't been gone for long, but so much had happened while we were alone in Mason's room that it felt like forever since we'd left the party.

He liked me.

It still blew my mind, even now with his hand holding mine, squeezing it for reassurance as we headed back down the hall. I loved knowing that I could touch him whenever and wherever I wanted now that my feelings were no longer a secret.

If I could just get Claire on board with the idea it would make life so much easier.

We'd done nothing wrong. There was no solid reason for me to be worried, but I kept remembering the look on her face and the tension between her and Mason. She'd never outright said she hated the idea of the two of us together, but something told me this new development wouldn't go down well.

Each step closer to the living room had me feeling like I was about to introduce my fresh-out-of-prison boyfriend to my disapproving mother.

When we rounded the corner, the first thing that hit me was the wall of sound. The music had been dialed up a couple of notches and voices were raised to compete with all the noise.

A group of guys had a drunken breakdancing contest going on in the living room that looked like it wouldn't end well. Two girls were making out on the nearby couch. People were scattered everywhere, but other than Andy's coming to search for me it didn't look as if anyone had noticed we were missing.

Maybe it wouldn't be too difficult to blend in with the crowd. If we committed to the idea, we could enjoy the rest of the night without having to explain our absence to anyone.

"How do you want to handle this?" I asked, looking up at Mason. "Grab a couple of drinks and pretend like nothing happened? I could tell her I went for a walk or something."

He met my eyes and shook his head. "I'm done tiptoeing around."

I didn't have time to analyze the edge to his voice, or the way his fingers tightened around mine.

A whoosh of air blew through the room, followed by the slam of the front door. Andy walked by, too caught up with shaking the rain from his hair to notice Mason and me standing at the end of the hallway. He headed straight for the kitchen, where two of Claire's friends were laughing as they lined up shot glasses on the bench. Claire had her back to us while she rose on her toes to grab a bottle of tequila from the overhead cupboard. 

My guilt took over, and I opened my mouth to call out to her, but Andy got her attention first. She turned at the sound of her name, and after they exchanged a few words, she frowned and scanned the room as if hoping I'd appear out of nowhere.

As soon as she spotted me, I pulled in a sharp breath, and I knew--I just knew--my suspicion had been right, and her birthday party was about to go downhill fast.

She spared me an absent smile, a silent hey-there-you-are, but when her attention shifted to my left, her eyes narrowed, and her expression changed to something a little less friendly. She took in the sight of our joined hands, then stared at Mason, not appearing all that surprised, but not pleased with the situation either.

"Aaannd... it finally clicks."

"Shh." I nudged his shoulder and said under my breath, "This isn't the time for jokes."

He gave my shoulder a return bump. "This isn't the time for caving under pressure either. Don't let her push you around. Do what's right for you, and if being with me turns out to be what's right for you, I'm the last person you'll hear complaining."

While Claire stalked over to us with Andy in tow, my worries eased for a moment, and I looked up at him with a smile. "You want me to be with you?" I'd already had an idea that was the case, but we'd run out of time to have that discussion in his room, so it was comforting to hear him say it out loud.

He pinched my chin between his forefinger and thumb, dipping his head to press a kiss on my mouth. When our lips had barely parted, he muttered, "Oh, yeah."

"Oh, hell no."

And with those words, our moment ended.

Mason sighed and swept his thumb over my chin before releasing me.

I turned my head to find Claire standing before us with her fists jammed on her hips and her mouth pressed into a firm line. Her grey eyes flashed at me. I'd been expecting that, but beneath the irritation lay something a little more surprising.

Disappointment.

In a way, I could understand her feelings. No one actively encouraged their sibling to get together with their best friend. It had too much potential to create trouble down the line, to ruin friendships and relationships--sometimes forever--but it didn't stop me from wishing it could have been different.

With his auburn hair still damp from the rain, Andy stood beside her, staying silent and keeping an eye on the situation.

"Hey, Claire-bear. Having fun?" Mason's tone gave the impression the tension had no impact on him, but I knew now that whatever you saw on the surface didn't necessarily reflect what was going on inside of him.

Claire apparently had him figured out as well. "Enough with the easy-going, loveable clown routine, Mason. Weren't there enough options for you here tonight? You had to go and put your hands on my sister?"

His fingers flexed around mine and his attention remained on Claire. I could feel the tension coming off him. "Put my hands on her? Like all I care about is getting laid?"

She looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. "You're telling me you two didn't just have sex?"

My face flushed with mortification. Did we really need to be having this discussion in the middle of a fucking party? Before Mason could respond, I jumped to his defense. "Claire, what the hell? We haven't slept together--not that it's any of your business. He's been good to me."

She scoffed and gave Andy a look before she redirected her attention to me. "Yeah, I'll bet. That's the thing, Sadie. He's good to lots of women."

"Babe." Andy slipped his arm around her shoulder, either to distract her from saying something she'd regret or to prepare for a choke-hold. My vote was for the latter.

She didn't shake him off, but she didn't back down either. Her eyes stayed on Mason, daring him to refute her claims. Claire had always been highly-strung, but on a scale of one to ten tonight's intensity would have been an eleven.

Mason scrubbed his free hand down his face and threw me a sideways glance. I could tell he wanted to let her have it, but when he saw my pleading look, he managed to rein in his anger. "They were rumors, Claire. Most of them bullshit. I haven't been with a woman--any woman--in a while. You should know. We share a house."

I had the least experience of anyone here, but even I knew you didn't need a bed or a bedroom to have sex. He could have done it anywhere with anyone--not that I wanted to think about him with other women. Claire seemed to be aware of this, too, because she spared our joined hands another glance and let out a humorless laugh. "Right. It doesn't matter, though, does it? I asked you to stay away from her, remember?"

Her admission had a trickle of unease starting in my gut, and I suddenly wanted to run away, to be anywhere but here. Something had gone very wrong here tonight, and I had the distinct impression I was the only one in the dark.

"Claire."

On a roll now, she ignored Mason's warning tone. I'd seen her like this before. She turned into a Pitbull whenever she had a point to make, and once she got hold of something, she couldn't let it go. Hence why she'd become a lawyer. She got paid to do her favourite thing; argue.

"You told me you liked her and wanted to ask her out," she went on. "I said you were too old for her, too experienced, too everything. You promised me you'd leave her alone--so now what? Three years later your promises suddenly mean nothing?"

She must have realized the exact moment she'd made a mistake because her mouth clamped shut and her eyes darted across to mine. Mason wouldn't look my way, but his thumb swept over my hand like he wanted to soothe me.

My breath caught and my face grew hot. I could barely process what I'd heard let alone take comfort from his touch.

Three years?

Three years.

All this time and neither of them had said a thing?

My eyes burned as I looked from Mason to Claire. When neither of them attempted to provide an explanation, my gaze shifted to Andy. Quiet, contemplative Andy, who always seemed to know  exactly the right thing to say, who provided the calm to Claire's chaos. This time around, he offered no support other than understanding eyes and a sympathetic smile.

So, he'd been in on it, too.

Did everyone know? Their friends? My parents?

I felt like a fool, the butt of a joke I didn't understand. Claire and I had never had a physical fight, but an unfamiliar rage welled inside me, rising and gaining momentum until it took everything in me not to yank my hand from Mason's and dive on her.

Why hadn't anyone told me? My sister, the one who supposedly only ever wanted the best for me, had made a choice on my behalf like my opinion didn't matter, like it wasn't even relevant. She'd taken something from me that would have made me happy, something I'd wanted since I was eighteen.

And Mason. Why hadn't he told her to back off and stay out of his private business? One request from her had been enough to put his feelings on hold indefinitely, like they weren't even important enough to withstand the pressure in the first place.

"I can't believe you all just--" My voice broke, and I paused to swallow and try again. Pressure built inside me, and the pain in my chest made it hard to breathe. "Why would you do something like that? I'm not a child. You don't get to decide what's best for me, Claire. None of you do!"

Mason turned to me. "Sadie, honey--"

My breath hitched, and something inside me broke. "Don't call me that." The tenderness behind the endearment made me want to cry, and I was so close to losing it already. "Don't be nice to me. Just do what you've done the last three years and say nothing."

If I'd been one for public scenes, I would have stomped my foot and screamed out my frustration, drawing the attention of all the other guests so they could see what kind of person they were here to celebrate, but I just couldn't go there. "I can't handle this tonight. I don't want to be around any of you."

One of my sister's friends shouted from the kitchen that their shots were ready. Claire closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Look, I have to go," she said, throwing me an apologetic glance. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Can we never talk again?" At my hard stare, she had the audacity to look hurt before she gave up and headed over to her friends. Andy squeezed my shoulder and took off to check on her, leaving me alone with Mason.

With a sinking stomach I turned to face him. Everything had changed between us tonight, and now we'd done a one-eighty and hurtled right back to where we were before the party.

Why did something so good have to be so fleeting?

Looking up at him only reminded me of the time we could have spent together, and I swallowed to try to ease the ache in my throat. The enamored girl in me still wanted to seek comfort from the man who'd kept this secret, and I had to force my hands to stay at my sides instead of pulling him closer.

"I'm heading home," I told him. "Alone. I guess I'll see you when I see you--if Claire says it's okay."

He raked a hand through his hair, his expression so heartfelt I immediately regretted my jab. "Stay. You don't have to go anywhere. Come back to my room with me so we can talk."

It would have been so easy to dive into the private world we'd been immersed in only a short while ago, maybe find a way to appreciate the fact that for whatever reason, they both thought they were doing the right thing for me. If I didn't stand my ground now though, it would only send the message it was okay to walk all over me. "I don't want to talk. I want to get out of here."

I still lived at home while I was completing my double degree, but with my parents in Hawaii celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary, it gave me the freedom to blubber in private without anyone around to ask questions or feel sorry for me.

Mason stared at me with a torn expression for the longest time. When it reached the point that I began feeling lost and hopeless and desperate for the security of his arms around me, he pulled me closer and engulfed me in a hug that pushed the breath from me. My eyes welled with tears, and I tucked my face against his chest to soak up his warmth.

"Why did you do it?" I asked, thinking my voice might be quiet enough he wouldn't hear.

"I was an idiot," he said. "Trying to keep everyone happy."

I sniffled and pushed back from him, already missing his closeness. "Well, it didn't work."

"Yeah, I know." He tucked my hair behind my ear, letting his hand linger before it dropped to his side. "Sadie..."

My stupid heart thudded away as I stared up at him. Even though my brain knew I should keep my distance, my body hadn't caught up with the change in circumstances. I raised my brows to prompt the rest of whatever he'd been about to say.

"Don't let this change how you feel about me. I'll call you later. We'll talk, okay?"

Seeing the concern in his face nearly broke me, and I looked away to keep a hold of my composure. I glanced past him to the kitchen where Claire stood with her friends, knowing I'd have to head over there if I wanted to collect my bag. Better to get it over with now before I lost my nerve.

"Don't call," I told him. "I'll be going straight to bed."

Instead of trying to convince me, he cupped the back of my neck and pressed a kiss on my forehead. With an inward sigh, I steeled myself against the shiver that ran through me and stepped away from him.