Rachel: Message me soon. I miss you.
I sighed at her response and placed the empty glass on the table. I stood up abruptly, causing Luke to stop in the middle of his conversation. “You heading out?”
“Yeah.” My mood had diminished with Rachel’s text. I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket to get my billfold and pulled out a fifty to toss on the table.
Luke put his hand up. “Nah, man, I got it.” He stood up and leaned in to give me a hug, whispering in my ear, “Don’t be a stranger.”
I pulled back and nodded at him. “It was good seeing you again,” I said, more to Drew than Steve, but I shook his hand anyway.
“You, too,” Drew replied with a wave after he sat down. Steve just nodded at me.
I fixed my jacket as I walked off and looked for Emma. I wanted to approach her before I left. I spotted her at the bar putting in a drink order, but her friends were nowhere to be seen.
As I approached, her eyes drifted in my direction for a brief moment before she looked away. With the light shining directly down on her from above the bar, I could see the blush on her neck. All it did was make me want to run my finger over her collarbone where the blush started.
I leaned against the bar next to her and looked over her features again. She was staring straight ahead at the bartender making drinks, ignoring my presence. My lip curved at the thought of how I must’ve been affecting her for her to try so hard not to look at me.
I leaned to the side to get slightly closer to her. “You know, I thought of a way you could pay me back for almost ruining my jacket,” I said softly.
I could see her jaw working as if she was biting the inside of her lips before a small smile appeared and she turned to look at me. “For almost ruining your jacket,” she repeated with an arched brow as she looked at the sleeves of my jacket.
“Yes.” I smiled. “For almost ruining.” I looked down at her shoes then back up to meet her gaze. “You should wear shorter heels. Those seem to be too dangerous for you,” I joked, trying to make her feel comfortable.
She looked down at her shoes and laughed. “You should tell that to my boss.”
“You should have a drink with me,” I blurted.
She looked at me with a soft gasp as the bartender set some drinks on the tray. She glanced toward him and smiled as he walked off. “I… uh … have a boyfriend,” she said softly as she met my gaze, but slowly diverted her eyes to her tray.
I smirked at her comment. It didn’t faze me, and it wouldn’t stop me from pursuing her whether she was telling the truth or not. “That’s a shame,” I replied as I slowly leaned in close to her ear, inhaling the scent of vanilla. “You should make eye contact more often so people can see your beautiful face,” I continued softly.
I pulled back with a smirk to find her eyes fixed on mine, mouth slightly open. I wanted to run my thumb over her bottom lip and devour her mouth, but there were many reasons why that was a bad idea. Just thinking about it was causing my dick to rise in attention.
“I’ll see you soon, princess,” I stated before walking toward the exit. She’ll definitely be my next conquest.
*
I sat on the bathroom floor with my head bowed. The workout I had just subjected myself to was grueling, but it didn’t do anything to quiet the voices in my head. Not even punching the bag until my knuckles were raw. The pain felt good, but it was never fucking enough.
Taking a deep breath, I stared down at the white tile as the sweat dripped from the end of my hair. At times, all I felt was emptiness, but that was my life.
Empty.
It was better that way.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to block the images from my mind. Thoughts of my past drowned me, consumed me in the night, and there was no way to get rid of them. Not that I would ever want to. It fueled my hatred, my desire for getting revenge one day.
After a few minutes, I finally stood and headed to the sink. I put my hands on the counter and leaned into the mirror, looking at the man staring back. Some days I didn’t know who would be looking back at me. Who the fuck was Mason Cline, anyway?
A man with too many fucked-up problems to count.
I spun and walked toward the shower. Turning it on, I stepped in before allowing it to get warm. The cold seeped into my body, causing my aching muscles to tense. I leaned my head against the shower wall and closed my eyes as the water turned from cold to scalding hot, allowing my muscles to finally relax.
I’d worked myself too hard. I knew I would. It was a reoccurring battle.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I gripped on to my hardening erection. Running my hand up to the tip, I squeezed it causing a hiss to escape my lips. Images of Emma flowed through my mind: her soft features, dark eyes, curvy figure, and that fucking blush. I wanted to taint her and make her mine. Do things to her she’d never experienced. Make her do things she’d never done.
I pumped my cock harder as I thought of all the things I wanted to do to her.