“Sounds good,” he said as we both made our way down to the door. “Well, I better go.” He started walking away. “I’ll look for your email and see you next week.” He waved and strolled off.
I looked behind me to see Mason walking toward me. Our eyes locked and I couldn’t look away. When he approached me, he moved me out of the doorway and closed the door, pushing me against it. I gasped as my back met the door. He leaned into me, resting his hands against the door, caging me in. Heat flowed through my body at his penetrating gaze. He didn’t say a word. He just looked at me as if he was trying to see my soul, which made me feel exposed and self-conscious yet sexy all at the same time. My breathing became erratic and I got the urge to reach out and touch him, but I didn’t dare move. I didn’t want to break our connection.
He inched his way closer to me and I felt the pulsating start in my lower region. What is this man doing to me? I licked my lips involuntarily, drawing his attention. He was so close that, in that moment, I wanted him to kiss me… I needed him to kiss me.
He leaned in a little further and without warning, his lips were on mine. I gasped and closed my eyes at the connection, giving him the perfect opening. I’d never experienced anything like it. I lifted my hands and ran my fingers through his soft locks, moaning with each brush of his tongue. He kissed me with so much want and passion I was lost in a daze when he finally pulled away.
I fluttered my eyes open and looked into his lust-filled gaze. He was clenching his jaw as if it was taking all his self-control not to kiss me again. I was so aroused that if he’d suggested we fuck right there, I wouldn’t have protested. Just the thought of him bending me over his desk in the classroom had me wanting to moan. It scared the shit out of me. I’d never been the girl with those kinds of fantasies.
He pulled me away from the door and opened it. “Meet me tonight in front of the Museum of Modern Art at six. And don’t be late,” he demanded as he walked off in the direction of his office.
I stared after him until he rounded the corner, letting out a heavy breath before lifting my fingers to my lips.
Holy shit, that man can kiss.
Chapter 11
Mason
I stayed at the school until just after two o’clock, when my last class ended. I’d been on edge all day after that little kiss with Emma. It took every piece of self-control I had not to take her in that classroom, and it was a feeling I wasn’t used to. I never lost control, but Emma… she was doing something to me. There was a connection and I didn’t like it. I never got close enough to a woman to want anything more than to fuck. Even the feeling of jealousy that burned in me when she was smiling at the new guy was all-consuming, and it fucked with my head. I needed to get her the fuck out of my system so I could get back to the way things were.
My driver took me a few blocks away to my father’s office, Cline & Wilson, Atty at Law. They were located on the twenty-third floor and I hoped John would be in a meeting the whole ride up. I didn’t want a confrontation, but knew it would more than likely be inevitable.
I made my way to his office, bypassing his secretary.
“Mr. Cline, please let me buzz him first,” she pleaded on deaf ears. I just wanted to get the damn tickets and get out of there.
I knocked once on his door, to be courteous, then barged right in. He was sitting at his desk, while a woman sat across from him with her notepad open.
“Mason,” he said, surprised to see me.
I looked over the fa?ade of his office. He had an open window view of the city and the office was decorated in all high-quality furnishings with his plaques hanging on the wall. But the thing that caught my eye was the picture of my mother on one of the tables across the room. Seeing it caused a pang of guilt and regret in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to scoff at it all, but I never did. I couldn’t. I felt trapped in a web of lies with no way to get out.
“I’m here for the tickets. I need to be somewhere, so the quicker I get them the better,” I stated in an uneven tone.
He looked me over for a moment before turning toward the auburn-haired beauty. “Melanie, could you please get those charity tickets for Mason?”
She nodded. “Of course,” she answered as she got up, glancing toward me before she left the room.
I walked toward his windows and shoved my hands in my pockets as I looked out. It was an overcast, dreary day, which matched my mood perfectly.
“How are your classes going?” he asked.
“They’re good,” I replied as I continued to stare out the window.
“You know, when you finally realize where you belong, you have a place here.” I laughed and shook my head. I couldn’t help it; the man was fucking insane.
“I’d rather take a hot poker to my eyes,” I said in a low growl just as the door opened.