Untouched: 2 (Rough Boys) (10 page)

He moved around in front of her and she caught his scent—the male musk that made her mouth water. She parted her lips automatically and the velvety head of his cock brushed over them.

She moaned at his taste. A drop of pre-come hit her tongue and her fires flamed. She wanted to beg him to touch her, to sink a finger into her pussy, but she dared not.

“Take me all the way into your mouth, Eva. Let me see your gorgeous lips wrapped around my length.” He nudged his way in until the tip touched the back of her throat. She swallowed around him and he growled in response.

Without her sight and the use of her hands, she relied more on her sense of taste. She sucked him greedily, eager for his juices. He slid out and disappeared. She mewled in disappointment and earned another smack on the ass for it.

Issuing a hiss, she bit back the urge to yell for more. The sting on her ass enthralled her. Briefly the strangeness of the act gave her pause, but when he slid two fingers into her throbbing folds, she forgot everything but her bliss.

She felt his heat blanketing her. She arched her back farther and he bit into the side of her neck. “That’s it, baby doll. Thrust your ass up for me. I’m going to drive deep.” The snap of a condom made her want to scream for him to hurry.

Behind the blindfold, she pinched her eyes shut. Her shoulders rested on the chair back and he gathered her up gently, his big arm cradling her. In one solid thrust, he joined them.

Her gasp reverberated through the room, followed by his groan. “Fuck, Eva. You’re…so…tight.” He bit the words off.

His length stroked her so deeply, intimately. She let go of her worries and gave him all the control. He speared her again and again, his arms tight around her, supporting her—a safe haven.

“Mason!” Her walls clamped down on him as the first waves struck. The orgasm rolled through her swiftly. Only the beginning of a massive buildup. The heat in her belly increased tenfold. “I can’t get enough. Please!”

The crack of his palm on her ass made her cry out. She screamed again as the final and largest wave of release struck.

“Oh God!” He pumped harder, spurred on by her orgasm.

Together they rode the ecstasy. She drooped in his hold, helpless against the torrent of sensation, loving the feel of his big body curled around her.

The knot on the back of her head loosened and the blindfold fell away. He turned her face toward him, his lips tender against hers. “Damn, baby, I’ve needed you these past days. I have half a mind to keep you in this bed and never let you up.”

His words tore away a bit of the wall she’d erected since she’d discovered Bill’s treachery. She didn’t want Mason Dorsey—her boss and the man she was deceiving—to tip through the gap in that wall, yet he was.

Emotion filled her chest and she tried to fend off the surge of joy. In his arms she was helpless against it. For a year they’d been friends. In a few short days, he’d become her hope. For once she wasn’t going through the motions of life but truly living. And there was no denying the warm kernel of emotion that was quickly blossoming in her soul.

He unbound her hands and pulled free of her body. Then, lifting her off the chair and into his arms, he turned for the bed.

The scream of ambulance sirens cut through Mason’s sexual haze. He jerked his head up from the down pillow and stared at the window. The light outside had changed.
Fuck, I fell asleep!

Another horn bleated from the drive and Eva bolted upright. “What’s going on?”

She was tousled from sleep, more beautiful than ever. He wanted to dive back into the covers with her and never surface.

The horn blared again and sudden dread filled him along with understanding. His sleep fog finally gone, he jumped out of bed. “Someone’s here.” In two strides, he reached his jeans and jammed his legs into them, not bothering with boxers.

He stuffed his bare feet into his big winter boots. At the door, he whirled toward Eva. “Stay here.”

Something crossed her face that made his heart clench but he had no time to ask about it. That insistent person in the driveway obviously had an issue that needed immediate attention.

Mind racing, Mason hurried to the office. He found Tommy Cook already there, a look of slight panic on his face.

“What’s happened?” Mason barked.

“Accident. A tree ripped down the cable rigging and it backlashed. Mason, it’s not good.” He shook his head, his face mottling red with emotion.

“Who?” Terror sank through Mason’s body, right down to his bare toes. God, who had the forestry business lost? Which man? And from which team?

“Jack Caffrey took the hit. He’s real bad, Mason.”

“When?”

“Half hour ago.”

“Then why are the ambulances just now screaming by? Christ!” He grabbed a coat off the hook and took off out the door. The day had lightened considerably while he was in bed with Eva.

Guilt shook him to the core. They were rolling around together instead of taking care of the business. What calls had they missed?

“Dammit!” He jumped into his truck. Ahead of him Tommy started up his big vehicle and tore down the snow-covered lane.

Fumbling for his cell in his jeans pocket, Mason called the office. “Eva, pick up if you hear this. There’s been an accident up on the crest. Jack Caffrey hit by a flying cable. They say it doesn’t look good. I’ll be in contact soon.”

Pressing the “end call” button with his thumb, he tossed the phone to the passenger’s seat. Damn, this was the second injury in a few days. What if they lost this man? He was a good man—a husband and father. Mason would never forgive himself.

A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he couldn’t have done anything to prevent the accident, even if he’d been on the jobsite. Sitting at the desk waiting for the call to come in wouldn’t have helped Jack either, but feeling helpless was the worst.

The rear of his truck fishtailed on the snow- and ice-encrusted road. Mason geared down, not wanting to slow. He burned to get up on that ridge and see what fate had befallen his worker.

What was Eva doing right now? He pictured her at her desk, hair tousled from their lovemaking, his scent all over her and her pale flesh marked by the scrape of his beard. She already wore a dark kiss mark on her throat from their first night together. It was hidden beneath her hair but when he’d spotted it earlier today, it had given him an undeniable thrill.

His phone rang and he snatched it up. “Dorsey.”

Her sweet voice trickled into his head. “Mason, I just got the scoop from Team Elm’s boss. The rigging came loose and the cable lashed back. But that’s not all. The pulley came down and caught him in the side of the head.”

“F-f-fuck,” he said sharply.

A head injury. A guy could bust up his legs and bear scars but he only had one mind. With that fucked up, he was possibly screwed for life.

“Get all the insurance and claim papers filled out, Eva.”

“I’m on it. Mason…” Her voice faltered.

His heart pinched hard to hear it. “Yeah, sweetheart?”

A sigh sounded in his ear and he pictured her blowing it out through pursed lips the way she sometimes did. “It’s no one’s fault. Accidents happen.”

Leave it to her to know what weighed most on his mind. Deep down he knew she was right, but just now he couldn’t wrap his head around it. The guilt he bore was mixed with emotion concerning her. He’d had no right to drag her into his life when he didn’t even plan to stay here. Yet now that he’d had a taste of her, he didn’t want to give her up. Tearing himself from her arms would slaughter him.

Fuck, I’m in deeper than I thought.

“Thanks, Eva. I’ll be in touch.” He ended the call and continued up the hill to the place where Team Elm had been set up. They were clear-cutting a plot of land for a big contract. But the lay of the land made it difficult, if not impossible, to take the logs out. So they’d strung a series of cables that hauled the timber off the hillside and down to be loader below. If Mason had ever expected a problem, it would be on the bottom end—logs tumbling out of control down the hillside to take out the loaders.

He reached the clearing. Ambulances surrounded the yard. He jammed his boot onto the brake, cut the engine and was out of the truck before it had stopped its momentum.

With long strides, he crossed the clearing. A knot of men gathered at the center. From the corner of Mason’s eye, he caught a glimpse of the fallen rigging. His stomach dropped out from beneath him. God, it had to be bad.

“Load him up!” an EMT called.

A stretcher was lifted and the form of Jack Caffrey was borne off to the gaping ambulance doors. He was strapped down, his head immobilized by a brace and his pallor was deathly. One hand slipped off the side, dangling lifelessly.

Mason’s breathing hitched and his heart raced out of control. He jumped into the midst of the men. “What happened?”

They recounted the events quickly. One of the EMTs filled him in but couldn’t give him the information he really wanted—would Jack live?

His chest was on fire with worry for the man. And beneath that, his practical side told him this could finish Dorsey Forestry. A huge hike in insurance, cutting into the revenues. A settlement with Jack or possibly his family. And Mason would never skimp on such a thing. He’d go bankrupt before he’d see a family struggle because their breadwinner was injured on a Dorsey jobsite.

He had to go forth with his original plan to unload the business. He simply couldn’t be responsible for so many men. Perhaps his father was made of tougher stuff. Mason didn’t possess the same passion for the business. At times he felt the joy of a job well done, but times like this threatened to break him. Didn’t seem worth it.

Beneath all these emotions was an undercurrent of pure pain. If he abandoned the business and returned to the West, he’d leave Eva. He’d surely lose a piece of his heart too.

He rammed his fingers through his hair. Her scent was on him—his fingers smelled of her arousal, her vanilla perfume clung to his skin. Running his tongue over his lower lip, he almost came undone because he could still taste her.

Could he really walk away now? Maybe he wasn’t in that deep yet. Their relationship might be infatuation and the fact that he hadn’t gotten laid in a very long time before taking her to bed.

He didn’t think so though. Right now all he wanted was to return home and wrap his arms around her. Finding solace in her embrace consumed him.

Climbing back in his truck, he drove to the hospital to await the news on his employee. Standing vigil with the man’s friends and family, Mason wondered if something happened to
him
whether anyone would really be there the way they were for Jack Caffrey or his father.

* * * * *

Eva pulled away from the large branch of the bank in the next city, breathing a little easier. Finally she had her paycheck and could live a little. Although she’d deposited her usual half into the Dorsey account, she’d at least manage to pay most of her bills and get a few groceries. If she was careful, she could make it two more weeks.

Mentally, she ticked off the list of things she needed. First, she was going to buy enough milk to keep Brady happy. And she needed fruits and vegetables. They could live without meat if she went deer hunting and bagged one. It had been years since she’d hunted, but she remembered well enough how to shoot Bill’s rifle.

Christmas was coming. If she harvested a deer, she could make up some bologna to use as gifts. She hadn’t been invited to any gatherings but she’d have something to take if she were.

Brady’s bicycle was all shiny now, the rust spots buffed out and painted. It even sported a little bell. A brand-new bicycle helmet was wrapped and hidden away in her closet. If she had a couple more gifts for him, she’d feel happier. And she desperately wanted something to give to Mason.

The miles flew by as she made her way to her hometown. For the tenth time, she racked her brain for a gift for him. A gesture? A night in his bed? Maybe she could get the babysitter to agree. If Eva actually got a deer, she could use the extra grocery money for the babysitter.

“Santa is everywhere, Mom,” Brady’s chirping voice sounded from the backseat.

Eva glanced around at the shop windows and signage. “You’re right. He’s watching you.”

“Have I been good?”

“Buddy, you’ve been the
best boy
.” She looked at his smiling face in the rear view mirror. Her heart pinched a little and happy tears stung her eyes. He was a terrific kid. She didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky. Raising him alone had been a breeze so far. Sure, his teen years would be a trial, but even whole families had problems. She had faith that she’d make it through those years not only alive but happily.

“Let’s get chicken nuggets,” he said as they passed the diner.

She vacillated. She had a few dollars in her pocket now. Maybe she could spring for lunch. She didn’t need to eat, after all.

“Pleeeease?”

“Okay.” She turned around and went back to the diner. Automatically she scanned the parking lot for Mason’s truck. It wasn’t there but part of her wished it were. He had thoroughly loved her countless times, even taking her on the desk at work. He knew her body inside and out, but he knew little of her other self—her motherly side. Brady was her universe. If Mason was going to be part of it too, he’d need to come to terms with that. Luckily Brady was small enough he didn’t remember his father. So adding a new man to the equation would be little strain for him, as long as Mason was attentive and accepting.