His eyes softened and he slid a hand underneath my shirt. "People don't know what they're made of until they're tested. You need to pull yourself out of a situation and think of the collateral damages, if it's worth it."

"You speak from experience?"

He grinned and leaned forward to kiss my stomach. My shirt was lifted higher and he started to tug me down onto him. Both of his hands went around my back and up to my shoulders as he pressed me down. I sunk down and felt him harden between my legs. He kissed his way around my neck to my lips and whispered against them, "I had a girlfriend once."

I wound both arms around him and held him against me, tighter than I knew I could. "Oh yeah?"

"She cheated on me." He leaned back and waited for my reaction.

"What?"

He laughed and nipped at the corner of my mouth. His lips nibbled their way around my lips before he opened against them. His tongue touched the corner of my lips and I opened for him. He swept inside and his hand gripped the back of my head to hold me still. The ache started to throb inside of me and I squirmed against his lap. I needed to get closer, I had to.

Then he pulled back and fell against the bed. He gazed at me with lust in his eyes. They darkened as he nudged me higher on his waist. "My friend, Marissa. She cheated on me."

"Are you joking?" I frowned at him.

He laughed and lifted my shirt over my head. "Yeah, I am about her. I didn't date Marissa. I had a few other girlfriends and most of them cheated, but I wasn't surprised. I wasn't dating them for their caliber, if you know what I mean?"

"You didn't cheat on them?" His hand slid to my back and he tipped me down to him. I was breathless as my head landed on his shoulder where I turned and licked. My body stretched as his hands slid to my bottom. He cupped my cheeks and grinded me against him.

"I've never cheated. Being faithful was one thing I valued as I grew up. I made my mind long ago that I'd never be like my dad. I'd never do that to a woman I respected, even to someone I didn't respect. I won't lower myself to those standards."

I whispered against the side of his mouth, "Logan cheats."

He caught my mouth with his and whispered back, his lips brushed against mine, "Not if he loves the girl and I don't give a damn what he does." Then his mouth took command of mine and I was lost after that.

I tipped my head back, but I was blind with lust. As his hand slid to my pants and he slipped two fingers inside of me, my throat was full. I couldn't talk anymore and I groaned when he rolled me underneath him.

Thirty minutes later, after Mason arched over me for his last thrust, my body collapsed onto the bed and I waited as the waves rode over me. He groaned and fell onto me. I welcomed his weight. He entrapped me, but I felt sheltered. Safe. My legs felt heavy with exhaustion and slid down the length of his to fall onto the bed.

It wasn't long after that when he propped himself on an elbow beside me. My throat was still thick with desire and I gazed at him. My fingers twitched to touch the side of his face, to feel how soft his eyelashes were, the slight stubble on his chin, the dip in his shoulders where his muscles attached together…I wanted to touch all of him again.

I struggled to clear my throat and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is it always like this?"

He shook his head in a slow motion. "No. It's not." His eyes darkened again and he bent down to me.

I tipped my head back and met his lips with mine. It was a soft kiss, but it didn't deepen into more because a soft beep sounded before the door swung open. Mason cursed and jumped to block me from whoever entered.

"You better put some clothes on because if you think that sheet's going to keep me from having a word with your new girlfriend, then you're not the son I thought you were."

Mason cringed. "Mother, leave."

"I want to talk to her—"

He spoke over her, "We will come upstairs to have this conversation."

She laughed and the sound gave me chills. There was an intelligent shrewd tone in her voice, but the anger sat me up in attention. "With Logan to interject with his snide comments, I think not. This conversation will happen without your brother's snarky attitude. You think I'm a fool so the three of you can team up against me? I'm no fool, Mason James. Logan likes your litty bitty. He's told me that he supports the two of you." She drew in an angry breath. "I'm not having it."

"Fine, mom." Mason had been holding a sheet in front of him and let it drop. "We'll have it out like this."

"Put something on," she hissed. "I'm not some high school cheerleader you can intimidate or make me squirm by showing your penis. I've seen it before. I was the one who changed your diapers."

He bit out a laugh and sat down instead. He gathered the sheet around his lap again, but kept his back to me.

"Oh for the love of your grandfather, she's going to have to face me at some point. Get some clothes, Mason. I've been waiting all week to meet Analise's daughter. It might as well be now," her tone gentled.

Mason's shoulders stiffened. "It's not going to happen like this, mom. Go upstairs. We'll be up in a few minutes."

There was a silence that filled the air with more tension.

Then she sighed. "You're not going to budge, are you?"

"And you're not going to come over and move me."

"You're as stubborn as me." She bit out a laugh that resembled Mason's. "I don't know if I should curse your genetics or mine. Fine. Be upstairs in five minutes, not a minute late or I'm coming back down."

When the door shut, he looked back and grimaced. "She's been after us all week to call you. She's the real reason we didn't call."

I drew my knees against my chest and hugged them tight. "Why does she want to meet me so much?"

"Now it's because of this, but it was about revenge against your mom before."

"Revenge?"

He ran a hand over his face and looked exhausted. His shoulders slumped and he let out a deep sigh. "My mom's not dumb. She's known about Analise since she was poking around dad. And knowing that the guy she's been seeing is your biological dad, I'm not too surprised. My mom can be calculating, Sam."

I swallowed over a painful knot. "Why did she want to see me before so much?"