Mason (Remington Ranch Book 1) (Contemporary Western Romance) Read online

His reminiscing about their past had him thinking that it was time to create some new memories. He shifted in his seat and told her the truth. “I'm thinking I'd like to get out of here, take a drive down by the river.” He held her gaze. She knew what he meant.

  Her cheeks flushed slightly and she nodded but didn't speak. Her eyes told him, she wanted him. That was all he needed to know. He called for the check.

  He turned the truck off the main road and headed down to the old fishing access at The Rocks. He stole a glance at her, she looked nervous.

  “Are you sure about this, G?”

  She nodded rapidly. “I am. Don't you dare back out on me now.”

  He had to laugh. “I don't think I could if I tried.”

  “Good. Let's just hope there's no one down there.”

  “We'll be fine. No one ever comes down here anymore.” He could feel her eyes boring into him. “What?”

  “Do you come down here a lot, then?”

  Ah. She must think he still brought women here. He shook his head. “Not in the way you think, no.”

  “It's none of my business. I'm sorry. I have no right to ask about what you do with your women. You brought me here, why wouldn't you bring all the others, too? It's a good spot for it.”

  That made him see red. “Damned straight you have no right to ask! If it were up to me, there would never have been another woman in my life after we got together. But you ended it. What did you think, that after you left I'd become a monk? Well, let me set you straight on one thing. I do still come down here, always have done over the years. I come to remember what we had. I come when I miss you so badly it hurts. I sit out in the bed of my truck and watch the stars like we did that night. So don't you go thinking this is just some place to bring a girl and get laid. This is a special place. It's our place.”

  He pulled the truck down on the riverbank and turned to glare at her. She looked shocked.

  “I'm sorry, Mase. I didn't know. I thought after I left, you just moved on to the next one and never gave me another thought.”

  He slammed his fist on the dash. “How the fuck could you ever think that? I wanted to marry you, I thought we were forever!”

  She shook her head. “I'm sorry.” She leaned across and planted a kiss on his cheek.

  He held her face between his hands and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Gina. I always have, I always will. Why won't you see that?”

  Her face looked pained for a moment, then she smiled. “I'm starting to. But you were the one who taught me that it's not words that matter, it's actions.” She smiled and slipped her hand inside his shirt to stroke his chest. His cock jumped to attention, throbbing as it pressed uncomfortably under his zipper. “What was that saying you taught me?” she asked.

  He knew what she meant, it was something he believed and had told her before she went off to college. He'd thought then that she was too trusting and had hated the thought of some frat boy sweet talking his way into her panties while she was gone. “Don't pay too much attention to what people say. What they say tells you what they want you to believe. What they do tells you what you need to know.”

  She smiled and started to tug at his buckle. “I need to know that you still love me, Mase. But I need you to show me. Show me like you did the first time we came here.”

  He covered her hand with his own. He needed to pull himself together or it would all be over too soon. The way she was touching him through his jeans made him want to go hard and fast, what she was asking for was slow and tender.

  “Wait here a minute. I'll get the back set up.”

  She nodded and watched him get out and go around to let the tailgate down. He pulled a bunch of blankets and pillows out of the box. She didn't need to know that he'd washed and dried them all this afternoon and stored them in the box, just in case. He pulled out a double foam sleeping pad and unrolled that. She didn't need to know how new that was either—he'd made sure to pull the tags off it before he went to pick her up. When he had a comfortable bed set up, he beckoned to her through the cab window. This was it. He was finally going to make love to her again. There was no denying the desire on her face when she came around back to join him. He closed his hands around her waist and lifted her up to sit on the tailgate. He stood between her legs and tipped her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. He didn't have any words left. She was right, it was actions that mattered. He closed his arms around her, lowering his lips to hers.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gina looped her arms up around Mason's neck and pulled his head down. She'd gotten all jealous back there for a moment. Jealous that he might have been bringing other women down here, down to their special place. His response had shocked her and made her feel bad. This place was still as special to him as it was to her. As his lips came down on hers they told her how special she was, too. She opened up to him as he tilted her head back, giving himself better access to plunder her mouth. His tongue explored, mating with her own. His free hand closed around her breast making her moan. He plucked at her nipple. The feel of his hard fingers pressing through her clothes made her wet for him. She tried to break away, wanting to crawl up into the bed of the truck and get under the blankets with him. He crushed her to his chest, not allowing her to move away. She writhed against him, suddenly fully aware of how much he liked to take charge of their lovemaking—and how much she enjoyed the way he did.

  She made a half-hearted attempt to struggle away from him. She wasn't worried about lying down in the bed now, all she wanted was to provoke him into taking charge. It worked. He tangled his hand in a fistful of hair and squeezed her nipple hard, making her gasp. His other hand made short work of her button and zipper and found its way inside her jeans. He trailed his tongue down over her neck as he pushed the scrap of silk that was her panties to the side and his fingers found her heat. She put both hands out behind her and braced herself against the sensations he was filling her with. She moaned as he thrust his tongue deep while his roughened fingertips traced her opening. He was tormenting her, his fingers traveling slowly up and down. When they came back up, he squeezed her clit hard, making her yelp as she felt herself get wetter. He squeezed again, setting up a pulsing rhythm, squeezing then releasing, giving her a moment to recover before doing it again, sending currents of raw desire racing through her. She was panting, and he was taking her to the edge far too quickly. She brought her hands up and pushed against his chest in an attempt to get a reprieve.

  He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “You're not trying to stop me are you?” He squeezed again as he spoke.

  She gasped in a breath of air. “I want you, Mase.” She cupped her hand over his erection. Even through his jeans, she could feel how hot and hard he was. “I want all of you. I want to be naked with you, underneath you. Feel you inside me.”

  His eyes glazed as she spoke. “I want you to come for me.”

  “I want you to come with me.”

  “Oh, I will, babe. But I've waited so long for this, I'm not sure how long I can last.” He moved his hand down again, sliding a fingertip inside. “You want me inside you?” He thrust two fingers deep, making her clench around them.

  She closed her fingers around his throbbing shaft. “I want this!”

  “You'll get it, but first...” He was moving his fingers in and out, slowly at first. He widened his stance spreading her legs as he pressed his palm against her clit. “First, you're going to come for me like this.”

  She couldn't argue. She was going to come and come hard. The pressure was building low in her belly as he thrust his fingers deeper and harder. He moved his palm, making her already swollen clit tingle under the pressure. He was taking her there, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She no longer wanted to. She moved her hips in time with his thrusting fingers, pushing herself harder against his hand. When his thumb came up to circle her nub, she lost it. The pressure exploded and sent shock waves tearing through her whole body. He didn't let up, his fingers moved
in and out of her frantically. She tightened around them over and over again as the pleasure crashed through her. “Mason!” She gasped his name, it had to be his name. No man had ever made her feel the way he did. Here she was panting and screaming her way through an amazing orgasm, and he was only using his hand. When she finally lay still, he pulled her boots off before pushing her jeans down over her hips and off. He threw them into the back.

  “Weren't you saying something about getting naked and underneath me?” he asked with a satisfied smile.

  She nodded and crawled up into the bed and under the blankets. She hadn't had an orgasm as good as that in years, and she knew he was only just getting warmed up. She hated to think about it now, but she realized that after her years with Liam, she'd forgotten what it was like to be with a man who took pleasure in her pleasure. Liam would roll off her and be snoring within seconds after sex, not knowing or caring whether she had gotten there. Mason, she knew, would stay awake all night to make sure he took her there—again and again and again!

  He kicked his own boots off and hopped up on the tailgate to get rid of his jeans. With a wicked grin, he stuck his head under the bottom of the blankets and started to crawl up over her to join her. He led the way with his hands, massaging his way up her legs. His hot mouth followed, nibbling his way up her inner thigh, making her writhe in an attempt to get away while she recovered. She should have known better. His hands closed around her hips and pinned her down as he used his broad shoulders to spread her legs wider. Her hands came down to tangle in his hair when he blew into her heat. He used both hands to hold her wide open and flicked her clit with his tongue. She moaned as his lips closed around it and he began to suck. He was taking her straight back to the edge, but she didn't want to go over it again until he went with her. He seemed to understand that and nibbled his way up over her belly. His hands slid up inside her top and roughly pulled her bra down to give himself access to her nipples. Her hips bucked wildly underneath him as he kneaded and squeezed, then nipped and sucked.

  He chuckled as she wrestled with his shirt, trying to get him out of it. He let her take it off him and soon got rid of her top and bra. When all that remained between them were his boxers and her panties, he knelt above her and stared down at her. His eyes filled with desire as he filled his hands with her plump breasts. “You have no idea how many times I've imagined this, G. How many nights I lay in bed wishing I could love you just one more time.”

  Her eyes filled with tears as she smiled up at him. “I may have some idea, Mase. I've done the same thing. I fall asleep aching for you. Wake up from dreaming about you.”

  He cocked his head to one side. “Really?”

  She nodded as she pushed his boxers down. “Yes, really. And I don't want to wait another moment.” She closed her hand around him and watched him close his eyes as he lowered his weight onto her. In a moment, his hand was between them, pushing her panties to the side, opening her up with his fingers as his hot, hard head pushed impatiently at her.

  She couldn't wait any longer, she needed him to be inside her. She closed her hands around his ass and urged him on, lifting her hips to him. “Love me, Mason. Please!”

  Her words were his command. He thrust his hips and buried himself to the hilt. She screamed as he filled her. He felt so good, so right. He was so damned hard. She'd thought she'd never forgotten the way he felt, but she hadn't remembered just how good it was. For a moment, they lay still, connected in the most intimate way, just as they had the very first time he'd made love to her. He was so big, she could feel herself stretching to accommodate him. She could feel him throb, pulsating inside her. It was like trying to ride a wild stallion she knew would break loose at any moment.

  He lifted his head and looked down at her as he began to slowly move his hips. She clasped her arms and legs around his back, knowing that he was about to take her on the ride of her life. He slid one arm underneath her, curling it around her waist lifting her hips to receive his thrusts, thrusts that were getting deeper, wilder each time. He braced his other hand above her head and smiled down at her. “I love you, Gina.”

  “I love you, Mason.”

  He was pounding into her, the slow and tender replaced by a desperate, almost animal need that possessed them both. She clawed at his back as his hips pistoned up and down, his cock stretching and filling her with every thrust. Gina clung to him, powerless to do anything but surrender as he claimed her body as his own. Each time he buried himself deeper inside her, he was taking her back, possessing her. Her body was his, she was his, he was owning her, leaving no doubt about where she belonged or who she belonged to. He was carrying her away. She was flying again, soaring on the sensations he was filling her with. Just when she was about to let go, she felt him tense. His release triggered and amplified her own orgasm, as he gasped her name and spilled his need deep inside her. Waves of pleasure crashed through her as she clenched around him, squeezing him, milking him as he pumped into her.

  They lay there panting for a long time. He kept his arm wrapped around her, underneath her, holding her close to his chest. She kept her arms wrapped around his back, one hand stroking his hair as he recovered. He was still buried deep and she didn't want to let him go. He covered her face with little butterfly kisses making her laugh. She used to do that to him—until he told her how annoying it was and then proved it by doing it to her. She swiped at him. “Quit it, would you!”

  He laughed. “You once told me that you only did that as a way to show me how much you loved me. You said there weren't enough words to tell me, but maybe a million of those little kisses would do it.”

  “I was a dumb kid when I said that. You're a grown man and you should know better.”

  He nodded. “I do know better. I know there are no words, no gestures that will ever be able to tell you just how much I love you. I know that my love for you is as vast as the big sky. So maybe if we lie here a while and just look at it and watch the stars, you might get some idea of how much I love you.”

  Gina felt her eyes fill with tears. He was a romantic in his own way. And his way meant more to her than any more conventional gestures ever would. She hugged him tight and smiled at him. “I love you, Mason. All these years, I have always loved you, much more than you know.”

  He frowned as he rolled off her. “I hope someday you'll try to let me know just how much you loved me while you wouldn't even speak to me. It's difficult for me to believe.”

  She nodded. How could she explain to him all the pain he'd caused her? How much he'd put her through when he told Guy that night just how little she meant to him. She wasn't going to think about that tonight. The past and all its hurt was behind them. This was the present. She was back here, back in his arms. All she could do was make the most of it. Make a new start and hopefully build something stronger as adults than they'd been able to when they were kids.

  ~ ~ ~

  Mason rolled up one of the blankets as a pillow and leaned back against it. He held his arm out and Gina came to snuggle against him, resting her head on his chest just as she always had. He felt as though they were caught in some kind of weird time warp. Part of him felt as if they'd never been apart, that they'd somehow erased the last ten years and jumped back to the first night they'd come and made love down here. Part of him felt uneasy. Making love to Gina had been as good as he'd hoped, better than he remembered. That made him aware of the fact that they were different people now than they had been back then. It made him realize that they couldn't just pick up where they'd left off. Especially since he still didn't know why it had ended. The woman lying in his arms was still his Gina, but she was also a woman he didn't know, with a life and ten years of history that he knew nothing about. He hugged her to him as he lay his head back and stared up at the stars.

  “What is it, Mase?”

  “I guess I'm just realizing how different it is now.”

  She turned to look up at him, her eyes filled with concern. “It wasn't good for
you?”

  He had to smile. “It wasn't good, it was great! You were great, we are great together. But we're different. I think I'm just giving myself a reality check. I've been living with the hope and the dream that I'd get you back.” He held her gaze. “I hope I am getting you back?”

  She nodded.

  “But we're not going to get the old us back, are we? We'll get each other and whatever we can create as the people we are now.”

  She nodded again. He waited for her to speak, knowing she was trying to find the right words. “I know what you mean, but don't you think that's a good thing?”

  He was relieved. “I do, it's just a bit of a surprise because I never understood that before.”

  She nestled against him. “I didn't either. I think what we need to do is think of this as a new relationship. Instead of trying to recreate what we were, what we had, we need to just start fresh like any other couple would. We just have a bit of an advantage because we have more background knowledge than most people do when they meet someone.”

  Mason thought about that for a while. Then he laughed.

  “What?” she asked.

  He planted a kiss on her lips. “Well, if we're just starting out here, then I learned something about you tonight that I didn't expect.”

  “And what's that?”

  “I wouldn't have guessed you'd be the kind of girl to sleep with a guy on a first date.”

  She laughed with him. “I am not! It takes a lot to get this girl into bed.”

  He rolled over and pinned her underneath him, trapping her hands above her head. “Unless it's the bed of my truck. It didn't take me much.”

  She struggled underneath him, turning him on with the way her warm, soft body felt moving against his own. Her eyes were shining as he put his knee between her thighs. Trapping both her wrists in one of his hands he slid the other down between her legs. “And I don't think it'll take me much to get some more of this either.”

  She moaned as he stroked her. The sound of it, so low and full of need had him hard again. He'd been playing at first, but he needed to be inside her again. He smiled as her hips started to move in time with his hand, she wanted him all right.