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

He grinned at her. “Just some old friends. Now quit your worrying. You have yourself a nice evening of your own. Relax, enjoy the old place while you still can. You could take one of those bubble baths you enjoy so much. And don't wait up.”

Gina shook her head. “Whatever you say, Dad.” If he wanted a night out with some old friends, then who was she to stop him? Maybe she would do as he said, run herself a nice hot bath—try to soak away some of the tension that still gripped her since she'd seen Mason this afternoon.

After she'd waved him off, she headed for the bathroom and set the water running. She found some bubble bath and soon the room was filled with lavender scented steam. She stripped her clothes off and dipped her toe in. Perfect! She smiled as she realized that a glass of wine to sip while she sat there would make it even more perfect. She turned off the water, slipped her T-shirt back on and padded through to the kitchen. She uncorked a bottle of merlot and poured herself a good big glass.

She froze when she heard a knock at the door. The kitchen door! She could hardly go answer it wearing only her T-shirt. She did the only reasonable thing to do and bobbed down behind the kitchen table, hoping that whoever it was would give up and go away.

The knock came again, louder this time. “Gina?”

Oh, shit! It was Mason. What the hell was
he
doing here?

She crouched down further, hoping he wouldn't be able to see her if he peeked through the window.

“Gina. If you don't come out, I'm coming in!”

Oh no! He would, too. She knew it.

The kitchen door swung open. She'd always loved the way everyone left their doors unlocked out here—until now!

“Gina? I know you're home!”

She peeked out at him. Oh God. He was gorgeous! Why couldn't he have gone and gotten fat? Why did his legs have to be so muscular, his shoulders so broad? Why did everything about him have to be all rough and work worn—and sexy-as-sin?

“Gina?” There was a trace of laughter in his voice when he spoke again. “What the fuck are you doing down there?”

Oh, shit! He could see her! She stood up. She wasn't going to cower. She pulled herself up to her full height and was still half a foot shorter than him. “I was hiding!”

He chuckled. He had the audacity to laugh at her? Bastard! “Why were you hiding, girl?”

“Because I didn't want you to see me. Because I don't want to see you!” Damn him! He was looking her over and making it very clear that he liked what he saw. Her breasts tingled as he ran his gaze over them. The heat pooled between her legs as his eyes darkened. She tugged at the hem of her T-shirt, trying to pull it down, suddenly aware that it didn't cover her, that he really could see her!

He smiled his slow, easy smile as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I'm happy to see you, babe. It's been too long.”

Oh no! She was supposed to hate him, but as he took a step towards her, she wanted to run to him, throw herself back into his arms and beg him to never let go. She gathered what little sense she had left.

“Mason, I...” He took another step closer and her resolve melted. She needed to kiss him again, to feel his arms around her. “No! Mason, no!”

He was still smiling. “You don't mean that, do you, Gina?”

She backed up. She couldn't let him get too close to her. If he touched her, it would be all over. He kept coming, closing the distance between them. She backed up to the cabinets and had nowhere left to go. “Mason. No.” It came out as a helpless whisper.

He nodded as he closed his arms around her waist. “Gina. Yes,” he murmured in the moment before his lips came down on hers.

Her arms came up around his neck, her tongue met his, and she melted against him as he devoured her mouth. How had she lived without his kisses? His hands closed around her ass crushing her against his erection. She rubbed herself against him, needing him, needing him to lay her down, to make her his again.

He ran his hands up her sides, pushing her T-shirt up. His thumbs skimmed up over her ribcage then circled her breasts, closing in on her nipples until his rough skin was tormenting the hardened peaks. She clung to his neck, thrusting her hips against him, needing him to take her, right here, right now.

He lifted his head and smiled at her. “My girl,” he murmured.

That broke the spell. She pushed him away. How had she gotten so carried away? “It's been years since I was your girl, Mason. What the hell are you doing here?”

His face clouded over. Uh-oh! He was angry. An angry Mason had always been a scary prospect. “You've always been my girl, Gina. Always will be. And why am I here? I'm here to make you tell me what the hell happened! What changed? You loved me. You were going to come back. You were going to marry me. You were weird when you left for your senior year of college, but I thought we were okay. But you just shut me out and never came home.” He pulled her to him, crushed her to his chest as he glared down at her. “I need you to tell me what the fuck changed.”

Gina's throat went dry. She'd never told him. She'd managed to avoid him and his questions for all these years. She pulled away from him again. “It doesn't matter anymore, Mason. It ended.
We
ended years ago.”

He towered above her. “Just tell me, G. If this is really it. If you're going to make your dad sell up and leave, what does it matter anymore? Just tell me the truth, babe. Put me out of my misery.”

His
misery? Ha! After the misery he'd put her through? How dare he! She walked away from him. Keeping her back to him she rested her hands on the kitchen table and stood there shaking. She could tell him a half-truth and have it be over. She took a deep breath. “Okay. The truth is...” She was not going to cry. Would not allow herself to. “I changed, Mason. The way I felt about you changed.” She wasn't about to tell him that hearing him tell Guy how little he actually cared about her had destroyed her. Wasn't about to tell him that after giving her a couple of years of happiness, he'd caused her more pain than anyone should have to suffer. “I loved you for years. But that summer I realized I hate the way you make me feel.”

He moved so fast she didn't have time to escape him. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. She could feel his heart thundering in his chest as his mouth came down next to her ear. “I don't believe you, Gina.” Keeping one arm around her waist he slid his hand down over her belly. His fingers found their way between her legs making her gasp. He nipped her neck, none too gently, then swiped the sting with his tongue. She whimpered as he tormented her clit and pressed his hard-on against her ass. “You always loved the way I make you feel. Even now.” He stroked his fingertips over her opening. His other hand came up to cover her breast and his mouth came down on her neck again. “You can't tell me you don't love the way I make you feel. Don't lie to me, babe.”

She sagged against him, her head rolling back against his shoulder. Lies or truth, she was incapable of forming any words. He owned her body in the way he always had. He squeezed her nipple hard and in the same moment thrust his fingers deep inside her.

“Mason! No,” she begged.

“Yes, babe,” he murmured against her neck. His fingers slid in and out, carrying her towards the precipice, he twisted her nipple between his fingertips as he moved his hips against her ass. She was lost. He knew her body better than she did herself. She moved her own hips in time with him. Suddenly he stopped and spun her around. Laying her back on the table he spread her legs wide and covered her body with his own. Damn him! He felt so good! Her arms and legs came up around him as he thrust his denim covered cock between her legs. He slid an arm under her waist and held her to him as their hips found the rhythm neither had forgotten. They moved as one, mouths and bodies locked together. Gina was helpless. All these years she'd dreamed of this, believed that never again would she feel him like this and here he was. He was…the tension was building low in her belly, all her muscles tensed in anticipation. He was thrusting hard and she was going to… “Yes! Mason! Yes!” She arched up underneath him as her orgasm tore through her. He ground his hips into her, working her for everything she had until she finally lay still. She clung to him, her face buried in his shoulder. What had she done?

He cupped her face between his big hands and smiled down at her. “See, that's more like it, G. Now we can talk.”

She hated the traitorous tear that welled up and rolled down her face. She hated the sadness in his eyes as he wiped it away with his thumb.

“Talk to me.”

She shook her head and pushed him off her, struggling to stand up. “I told you. There's nothing left to talk about. Just go, Mason. Please go.”

“I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me.” He pulled out a chair and sat at the table.

He was such an obstinate bastard! “I told you. I don't want to talk to you. I want you to leave.”

“Well,
I
don't want
to leave.” He looked down at the front of his pants. Gina was mortified to see the wet marks she'd left on him. He looked up at her with that infuriatingly sexy smile of his. “I’ll restrain myself while you figure it out. But give me one good reason why I shouldn't undo this zipper and try that again. No restraint.” His hands were on his buckle and her throat went dry.

He was so smug! He knew what he did to her. And he knew that if he did get out of his pants she'd be all over him. She wouldn't even try to stop him. Hell, she was on the verge of unzipping him herself! She had to stop. “I'm getting married. I'd say that's reason enough!”

She'd never seen so much pain and anger mixed together. He rose from his chair and towered above her. He searched her face and, apparently seeing the truth of her words there, he turned and walked away. He stopped and turned back when he reached the door. “I feel sorry for the poor bastard!”

“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.

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.