Mason (Remington Ranch Book 1) (Contemporary Western Romance) Page 4

  “What?!”

  He shook his head. “You're getting married and you just spread your legs and came for me without me even getting it out of my pants. I can only think of two reasons a woman would do that. She’s either a whore or she’s marrying the wrong guy.”

  As the door slammed, Gina sank down into a chair and buried her face in her hands. She wasn't a whore. And they both knew it.

  Chapter Four

  Mason stared up at the big sky as the darkness faded to gray. He hadn't slept a wink all night and had driven up here to watch the sunrise. She was getting married? He lay back and closed his eyes. She couldn't love the guy. No matter what she said about it being over between them, about her hating the way he made her feel, she was lying. He knew it. Yesterday on Main Street and last night in her kitchen, her body had told him that she still loved the way he made her feel. He sure as hell still loved the way she made him feel. He shouldn't have grabbed her in the street and he definitely shouldn't have grabbed her last night, let alone laid her out on the kitchen table underneath him! His only regret was that he'd kept it in his pants, that he hadn't buried himself balls deep inside her. He blew out a sigh. He should have done it while he still could. If she was going to leave for good, go back to New York and marry some guy, he should have taken her one last time. She wouldn't have stopped him. He knew that. Whatever lies she told him, she still wanted him. She'd wanted him since she was fourteen years old. He smiled at the memory.

  He'd always thought of her as cute and feisty. His little brother's best friend, she'd been as much a part of ranch life as any of them. She'd surprised the hell out of him the week before he was leaving for college. She'd come out to find him in the barn one night and told him that she loved him. That she knew what sex was and she wanted him to be the one to take her virginity. She'd even handed him a packet of condoms. He'd been tempted! Even at fourteen she was starting to develop the looks and the figure that still held his heart. He’d been realistic, though, and let her down as gently as he could. Told her she was too young. Told her he was about to leave and it would be all wrong for him to take her most precious gift and then leave her alone. That she only thought she loved him, but she was too young to know what that meant, he was just some kind of hero she'd built up in her mind. She'd been mad at him, told him she was old enough, and that she knew her own mind. Told him she knew the difference between a hero and a lover and she wanted him to be her lover. If he didn't want her now, then she'd wait until he did.

  And she had.

  He shook his head. That was all a long time ago. He was eighteen then. He'd gone off to college, had his share of girls. She'd gotten to him. He wondered now if he'd ever been with a woman and not thought about Gina. The girls he'd slept with in college had all merged into one. Every time he'd had one underneath him, he'd imagined it was Gina. It didn't matter if they had blonde hair or dark, were skinny or rounded, it was always her face he saw when he came. Whenever he'd come back for the holidays or the summer, she'd been around. She'd taken every chance she could get to spend time alone with him. He'd resisted for as long as he could. He watched her grow from a budding young girl into a beautiful young woman. Each year it became harder not to take her up on her offer. She still wanted him to be her first.

  He shook his head again. What was the point in reliving it all? It was over, done. He'd known that for years. He'd been stupid to think there might be one last chance before she left. She was getting married. He should let her go. Stay out of the way until she was gone. He started his truck up and headed back down to the ranch. He was meeting with his dad and Chance this morning. He needed to focus on that and forget about Gina. Once and for all.

  His mom smiled as he let himself into the kitchen. “There's fresh coffee if you want some.”

  “Thanks.” He needed a shot of caffeine to pick him up. He took his mug through to his dad's office and was surprised to see Shane sitting at the big table next to Chance.

  His brother grinned at him. “You look like you had a heavy night. What's up, didn't you get much sleep?”

  Mason shook his head. “I didn't. But not for the reason you think.”

  Shane pulled a face. “Don't tell me you screwed up?”

  Mason took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. “There's nothing left to screw up. She's getting married.”

  Shane looked stunned. “Al didn't mention that!”

  Mason shrugged. “Why would he?”

  “What difference does it make?” asked Chance.

  Mason stared at him.

  Chance shrugged. “She's not married yet, is she? Where is the guy anyway? I'm getting married. Someday. Maybe.”

  Mason continued to stare after him.

  “What are you saying?” asked Shane.

  “I'm saying she's not married yet and I'm saying that even if there is a fiancé, he's not here right now. And Mason is.”

  Shane looked thoughtful. “I'm pretty sure she wasn't wearing a ring.”

  “You've seen her?” asked Mason.

  Shane hung his head.

  “What does it matter?” asked Chance. “You need to go see her again. That's what matters.”

  Mason thought about it. “She made it pretty clear she doesn't want to talk to me.”

  Chance raised an eyebrow. “She didn't give you any hope at all that she still cares?”

  Mason couldn't help smiling as he remembered her arching up underneath him, her arms and legs locked tight around his back as she screamed, yes! Mason, yes!

  Shane grinned at him. “That look says she did something to leave the door open.”

  Mason nodded. She had.

  “Then do something about it,” said Chance. “You'll only live with regrets if you don't.”

  Mason looked up as his dad entered the room. Hadn't he been thinking this morning that his only regret was that he hadn't made love to her one last time? That would be a tough regret to live with. If he couldn't persuade her to talk to him, to try again with him, he was pretty sure he could persuade her to sleep with him. He made his mind up at that moment. He wasn't going to let her leave without sleeping with him. And if he could get her to do that, it would open up other possibilities, too.

  “Okay, guys,” said his dad. “We need to get these budgets settled.”

  Mason nodded. The ranch was doing great, but only because they had diversified so well. Chance managed the cattle operation these days. Shane had surprised everyone when he'd returned from his stint in the Navy and asked if he could set up a dude ranch on the property. He'd surprised everyone even more with the success it was enjoying. Mason himself was all about the horses. He ran a successful stud operation and also held clinics to train horses and riders. His dad kept talking about retiring, kept threatening to take their mom to Arizona for the winter. It seemed that this year he might actually do it. He kept getting them all together for meetings like this and each time he handed over more responsibility to each of them.

  As his dad launched into detailing purchases they'd need to make in the coming months, Mason couldn't stop his mind wandering back to Gina. He'd taken her excuses for years. He should have made her talk to him. He smiled to himself. He wasn't going to let her leave without answering all his questions this time. If nothing else, he wasn't going to let her go off and marry some other guy without screaming his own name one last time!

  ~ ~ ~

  Gina sat at the kitchen table sipping her coffee. She was sitting in the same chair Mason had sat in last night. She could still see him, his hands on his buckle ready to get out of his pants and… She shook her head. He'd asked her for one good reason why he shouldn't. Liam was all the reason either of them needed. Wasn't he? If he was, why had she spent the whole night tossing and turning? Wishing that she'd said nothing and let Mason make love to her?

  She took another sip of her coffee. So what, if he still made her feel the way he always had? So what, if he was even sexier now he was older? So what, what? Even if she wasn'
t about to marry Liam and even if she didn't live on the other side of the country, there was no way she could ever get involved with Mason again. She hadn't lied when she said she hated the way he made her feel. For years, he'd made her feel like the luckiest girl alive. He'd loved her, he'd been so much fun, and he'd made her feel alive. He'd finally given in and made love to her when she was eighteen. He'd taken her from girl to woman and he'd made her feel so much of a woman in the years that followed. They'd been so good together, great—in bed and out of it. But when she'd heard him talk to Guy Preston that night, he'd made her feel like a fool. He'd taken every dream she'd ever had and smashed them all to pieces. He'd made her feel that the best of her life was over when she was just twenty-one years old. He'd broken her heart and yes, she hated the way he made her feel. Even now. She felt stupid. She felt betrayed. And she felt as if she would never love or be loved like that again. She felt as though she had to grow up, stop believing in dreams and make sensible decisions. She hated that the man who had starred in all her dreams was also the man who had killed them.

  She pulled herself together. Liam was the sensible decision and she would do well to stop dwelling on broken dreams and remember that. She'd call Liam later and ask him to come. That was the best way to put Mason out of her head. If Liam came here, she'd be able to put it all back in perspective. So what if it wasn't realistic for him to come? She'd beg him if she had to. Tell him she needed him out here. She did!

  “Morning, love.” Her dad rubbed his eyes as he came into the kitchen.

  “Hey. Did you have a good night?”

  He grinned. “I did, thanks. How about you?”

  She wasn't going to tell him about Mason's little visit. “I took a bath like you said.”

  He frowned at her. “That all?”

  Did he know? Had he set her up? She wasn't going to go anywhere near it either way. “Do you need me for anything today?”

  He shrugged. “It's you that's in a hurry to get everything packed up and sorted out. Don't see why though. Like that realtor guy told you yesterday. We can't go expecting a quick sale.”

  Gina nodded. The realtor had done a lot to dampen her hopes that they might get an offer on the place any time soon. While her dad was pleased about that, she was worried whether they'd be able to keep the place going until they got a solid offer.

  “Why, what are you thinking?”

  She shrugged. “I'm thinking of taking my camera and going down to the park for a few hours. I want to get out, take some photos, clear my head.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “No.” She thought about it. “Actually, there is something.”

  He grinned. “What's that, love?”

  It seemed he must know that Mason had been here. Well, he was going to have to get over it. The same as she had. And Liam was going to help them both with that. “I'm going to call Liam today and ask him to come this weekend. Is that okay with you?”

  He scowled. “What do you want to do that for?”

  “I want you to meet him. I want to show him where I come from.” And I want to prove to Mason and to myself that I'm in love with someone else now, she didn't add.

  “Well, there's no room for him here.”

  “What do you mean, there's no room?”

  “What I said.”

  “Dad, there's plenty of room!”

  He shook his head with a finality she recognized. There would be no point arguing with him. “Let him stay at the resort, if he can even be bothered to make the trip this time.”

  “Fine! I will.” Gina stood up. If he was going to be all stubborn about it, then let him. “You might not want him to come, but I need him to!”

  He gave her a sarcastic little smile. “And why's that, Gina?”

  She stared at him. Why did she need him here? If she was honest, she needed him to remind her of her real life. She needed his help to hang on to sensible and to stop herself from getting sucked into life here and everything else. What she really needed was to hide behind him so she wouldn't let herself go anywhere near Mason again. “Because I'm going to marry him, Dad.” She hurried out before he had a chance to say anything else.

  She called Liam and, of course, got his voicemail. She left him a message begging him to come out for the weekend. He'd probably think she was nuts, but what the hell, she probably was. She had the idea lodged in her head now, that if he came everything would be okay. She'd stop thinking about Mason, stop yearning after broken dreams and be able to hang onto reality.

  It was six o'clock by the time she drove out of the park. She'd had a great time, hiking up to the falls and getting some great shots. She was always able to lose herself behind the lens of her camera. It had been way too long since she'd made the time to spend a day in Yellowstone like this. She stopped in the little town of Gardiner to check her messages. She'd had no signal all day. Her dad had called, apparently he was going out again tonight. Whatever he was up to, it didn't matter. There was a message from Liam, too. He sounded a little annoyed, but he was coming. She was surprised that he said Kaitlyn and Ian from the gallery were coming too, but it kind of worked out okay, because he said since there were three of them he'd had Kaitlyn book them rooms at Chico. Perhaps things would work out.

  Since she didn't need to rush home for her dad, and she didn't feel like cooking, she decided to have dinner at the little restaurant in Gardiner. She loved to stop here when she could and have an elk burger. It wasn't something you could get in New York. She sat at a booth in the corner and ordered a beer while she waited.

  The server had just brought her food when she saw him. Damn him! He stood silhouetted in the doorway for a moment as he looked around. Double damn him! He really shouldn't be allowed to look like that. His cowboy hat was pulled low over his eyes, but she could still see them peeking out at her, that hint of laughter in the creases around them. His broad shoulders were speckled with raindrops. The same buckle as he'd been wearing last night sat at his narrow waist, his muscular legs were encased in work worn Wranglers, brown boots sticking out the bottom. He was sexier than any man had a right to be. His smile told her he knew it, too. He sauntered over and slid into the booth to sit opposite her.

  “Hey, babe.”

  Her heart stopped in her chest. His words took her right back, back to all the times they'd sat here, in this very booth. All the days they'd spent in the park, hiking, snowshoeing. All the times he'd packed her gear around for her when she was determined to get the perfect shot of the Grizzlies or the wolves.

  “What do you want, Mason?”

  “You.”

  Her heart went from naught to sixty in a nanosecond. If only that were true. If only he wanted her like he used to say he did—forever. But he didn't. He hadn't then and he certainly didn't now.

  “We both know that's not true, Mase.”

  “Never spoke a truer word in my life, G. I want you. You say you don't want me. But you do.”

  “I told you. I'm getting married.”

  He stared pointedly at her left hand.

  She realized that he was noting the lack of a ring. “We haven't picked one out yet.”

  He laughed. “We? Isn't he supposed to pick one out himself? What kind of proposal was it if he didn't even have a ring ready?”

  Gina felt her cheeks color. She wasn't about to tell him that there hadn't even been a proposal!

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “You're not shitting me, are you? Does he even exist?”

  “Yes, he does! He'll be here this weekend. You should come to Chico and meet him!” Oh, why in the hell had she said that? Introducing the two of them had not been part of the plan!

  Mason was grinning at her, looking way more confident than she could be comfortable with. “That's mighty nice of you, babe. I think I'll do that. Be good to meet the guy.” He picked a fry from her plate and smiled as he popped it into his mouth. “You want to eat that before it gets cold.”

&nbs
p; She couldn't eat a damned thing! She took a swig of her beer. “What are you doing here, Mase? I don't for one second believe that you just happened to be down here.”

  He grinned and took a swig of her beer before answering. “You're right. I stopped by to see you at lunchtime. Your dad said you'd come down to the park. I figured you'd stop in here on your way home.”

  She let out a big sigh. “Why did you want to see me? I thought we said everything we were going to say last night.”

  He held her gaze. “Last night I asked you to give me one good reason why I should keep it my pants.”

  Gina swallowed. She wanted to wriggle in her panties, the way he was looking at her. She was getting wet just at the memory of last night in the kitchen. And damn him, and his lazy smile, he knew it.

  “I'll be honest. You stunned me when you said you were getting married. But I've had time to think about it.” He held her gaze and smiled that smile. “I thought it was only right I should let you know.”

  “Let me know what?” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded husky, full of desire.

  He caught hold of her hand and traced circles on her palm with his thumb. She didn't pull away. She couldn't. She stared at him, mesmerized, waiting for him to reply.

  “That I don't consider that a good enough reason.”

  Now she did try to pull her hand away, but he closed his own big paw around it. “What the hell are you saying?” she gasped.

  “I'm saying that you can lie to me if you want. You can marry him if you must.” He held her gaze as he lowered his voice and squeezed her hand. “But you're going to sleep with me again before you do, babe. And don't even try telling me you don't want to. We both know that'd be a lie.”

  “No, Mason!” She wanted to sound strong, indignant, but it sounded more like she was begging.

  He grinned. “Gina, last night I took you from No, Mason, no, to Yes, Mason, yes! in just a few minutes. Maybe tonight we should take our time.”