Savor Me

“YOUR BED IS TOO small,” Hunter complains as I lie sated at his side.

“You are more than welcome to sleep on the floor. Or, ya know…go home!” Mason replies, pulling me closer to his side.

“And miss round two? Hell no.”

“I want you to stay, but I have to be at work super early tomorrow, so there will be no round two tonight.”

“So I have to sleep in this small-ass bed for nothing?”

“You can hold my boob while you sleep if that would help,” I tease.

“You do have nice boobs.” He rolls over, gliding his hands over my chest. “Okay, you convinced me. I’ll stay.”

“That didn’t take much.” I lean over, planting a lingering kiss to his lips.

“It never does with you, sugar.” He nuzzles into my neck and quickly falls asleep.

Not ten minutes later, Mason rolls me away and into his side.

“Hey,” I whisper, kissing his jaw.

He gives me a tight squeeze. “Hey.”

“Thanks for going out tonight. I know dancing isn’t really your thing, but I loved having you there.”

“Oh yeah. I could tell,” he says sarcastically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I’m glad you had fun.” His shield slips into place. “So tell me about this bullshit with your sister.”

“I already told you. I slept with her fiancé.”

“And I already told you that I don’t believe you. So spit it out.”

“Why don’t you believe me?” I ask just before my voice catches.

“Lace, I may not know much about you, but you told me your biggest fear is being left alone. There is no way in hell you would ever try to steal your sister’s fiancé, effectively leaving her alone. You’re not that girl.”

“Mason…” I suck in a breath as his words release me. “I didn’t sleep with him.” I whisper.

“I know, but tell me why she thinks you did. And better yet, why you are willing to accept that you did?”

“They had been together since high school. He was very much a member of the family, and there was no question they were going to get married. The night Sean proposed, I thought my father’s face was going to split in half from the smile he couldn’t wipe away.

“I’ve always been the wild child and loved boys since I was very young. My whole life, I loved that, while my parents didn’t approve of how quickly I went through boyfriends”—I make air quotes around boyfriends—“they always loved me enough to look past it and not give me shit. Well, that is until Abby found Sean pinning me against the bathroom door. I wanted nothing to do with that asshole, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried to tell them he was forcing himself on me, but he said I came on to him. I’ll give you one guess who they believed.”

“Shit!” Mason lets out on a huff.

“Pretty much. He told my sister that he got drunk and we had sex the night before. Said that he was trying to let me down easy when I threw myself at him. I haven’t spoken to any of them since that night. Even my own mother and father believed him.”

“Knowing your fears, they still left you alone? All of them?”

“See, this is where you don’t know me. Being alone was never my fear until three years ago when every member of my family turned their back on me. All because a guy they knew for a few years said I slept with him. Everything else they knew about me flew out the window as they focused on my biggest flaw.

“Lace, sleeping around isn’t necessarily a flaw, as long as you own it.”

“Yeah right, because every guy wants a girl who’s had more sexual partners than they have,” I joke, but it’s flat.

“Wait, do you sleep around to keep guys at a distance?”

“That makes zero sense.”

“Doesn’t it? You meet guys and hook up with them, have fun for the night, while thinking you are making yourself less desirable to the next guy. Stop acting like you have nothing to offer but a warm pussy and sexy body.

I try to make a joke to take the focus off his compliment. “You forgot about my talented mouth.”

“You do have a talented mouth. I won’t deny that. But it’s even good when you aren’t using it get me off. Lace, you are more than sex. You know that. You’re just too scared to believe it.”

“You’re the first person to ever believe me,” I confide, looking up into his eyes.

“Then you are surrounded by idiots. That is more on them than it is on you.”

“Those idiots are my family.” I chew on my bottom lip to fight back the emotions.

“Every family has idiots. Just keep your head up and try not to be one of them. That’s all you can do.”

“Are there idiots in your family?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

“No, my family is full of assholes.”

“Tell me about your family.”

“No.”