The beautiful blonde holds up her hand and looks curiously between us. “Wait, am I missing something?”
I turn my head toward her and the anger dissolves. She’s really pretty and clean looking. Not fake in any way. Natural light hair that probably doesn’t reek of hair bleach, highlights from the sun rather than streaks of candy-color, little makeup rather than the fake eyelashes and lip-plumping gloss slathered all over my face. She’s perfect for him. Better for him than me.
Disappointment crushes my lungs. “No, you’re not missing anything.” I push back from the table. “Sorry to bother you.”
I turn on my heel and head toward the door, needing to get the hell out of there with or without Angel. I hear Mason call my name from behind me, but embarrassment pushes me forward. I’m weaving in and out of clusters of bar patrons until I finally exit into the warm desert air.
“Holy shit!” Angel is right behind me. “What was that?”
“Nothing, it was . . .” God, I’m such an idiot. “I’m done for the night.”
She nods, a small smile on her face. “Yeah, I gathered that.” Her eyes narrow. “Oh my God . . . you like Mason.”
The door swings open so hard it hits the brick wall behind it, and Mason comes barreling out. His eyes hit me, and I curse my damn shoes because if I run in them he’ll surely catch up to me.
“Trix . . .” There’s softness in his voice, a pleading that reeks of guilt. He eyes Angel. “Hey, could you give us a second?”
Her gaze slides to mine, one eyebrow lifted. “I’ll be in the car.”
“I’ll take her home,” Mason says.
“You will not!” I jut out my chin. “Who will you take home first, huh? Me or your date? Oh . . . let me guess. You’ll take her home first so you can fuck me after, right?”
His expression darkens. “Stop it.”
“’Cause good girls like that don’t put out like we do.”
“Hey!” Angel stomps a foot. “I don’t—”
“Right?” I ignore Angel’s offense. “You wine and dine the lady and end it with a good night kiss before you fuck the easy girl to get off!”
His hands shoot out and grip my shoulders, pulling me to his chest so quickly a whoosh of air rushes from my lungs.
I squirm to get out of his hold. “Let me go.”
He presses his lips to my neck, his nose just under my ear, breathing me in. “Fuck . . . stop. Why are you doing this?”
“What?” Why? Um, besides walking in on the guy I kissed and let feel me up on a date with another woman? God, I’m such a hypocrite. I have no right to feel as possessive as I do, and yet . . .
“You misunderstood what you saw in there.” His big hands slide around my back and down to link just above my ass.
My traitorous body curls deep into his chest. “Mason, you’re on a date. The only misunderstanding was me thinking . . . thinking . . .” That we were more. How could I be so stupid?
He pulls back, and the anger I saw in his face is replaced with a tenderness that I feel in my chest. “Thinking what?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
At the sound of a throat clearing, my gaze darts to Angel, her expression soft. “I think you’re in good hands.” A tiny smile tugs at her lips. “I’m gonna head back inside.”
My cheeks heat and I nod. “Okay.”
“Thanks, Angel. We’ll be there in a sec.” She heads back into the club, and Mason forks his fingers into my hair to cup my jaw, locking me in a determined blue stare. “She doesn’t need to worry. You’ll always be safe with me.”
I believe Mason would protect me from harm, but he has no idea how vulnerable he’s made my heart. “Am I?” I choke out the words, shocked at how seeing him with another woman has reduced me to this kind of violent jealousy.
His grip is firm, unrelenting. “I care about you, Trix. I care about you enough to want to strangle every man who’s had the pleasure of touching you, to follow you home like a damn stalker, to walk away from you when all I want to do is strip you down and bury myself inside you. I care about you enough to ask you out on a real date and to chase after you when you run away.” He shrugs. “I care about you enough to forgive you for breaking my phone.”
My lips twitch, and I hope he sees it as a grin I’m fighting and not the torrential downpour of tears his words have evoked.
His hands cup my face. “Let me explain. Then you can decide if my offense is worth walking away from me for. Deal?”
I nod into his big palms, and my heart flutters as a soft smile tilts his lips. “Deal.”
“Okay.” He takes my hand. “Come on.”
Ten
Mason