Exquisite

Chapter Seventeen

A few days later Mason called asking if she’d be free anytime this week. Lena had told him she was off on Friday and Monday this week so he invited her down to the restaurant on Thursday night. She wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea. After all, the restaurant was the place where things tended to go downhill for them. Every time she set foot in that place she seemed to end up leaving in shame. However, things felt different between them now. When she’d left to go and finish her work, after visiting with his mother and sister, he’d leaned over and kissed her gently telling her that he’d see her after work. At first she’d been about to tell him she couldn’t because she had work the next day but then he reminded her, the flower shop. So for the last few evenings she’d gone down to Precious Petals and closed shop with him then driven over to see Carly. It was amazing how every day it got a little bit easier. Still, she didn’t think she could do it on her own yet. Just knowing he was in the car or sometimes he came up with her, gave her the courage she needed to go over and just, be. So she’d called him back this morning and agreed to come down.

“So what time did you want me there?”

“As soon as you can be here. I’m manning the bar tonight so I wouldn’t mind you sitting in one corner for me to look at.”

“That’s a little bit of a sexist comment don’t you think?”

She heard him laugh softly. “How is it sexiest? I’m not saying you can’t sit there and look at me all night as well.”

Sighing she answered with much more feigned annoyance than she actually felt. “Oh alright then. I’ll try to be there by seven.”

So here she was.

Mason noticed her the minute she stepped through the door. She had a different feel to her tonight than she had before. She seemed calm. He watched as she scanned the dining room, looking for him no doubt, when her eyes finally moved over to the bar and locked with his. Raising a small hand she waved in his direction. Feeling a smile slide onto his face he beckoned for her to come over with a raised hand. He watched as she made her way toward him. Tonight she was in a bright siren red dress. It was cut straight and high across her collarbone and had sleeves that came down three quarters of her arm. The dress hugged her breasts and nipped in at the waist before falling gently off the hip to land mid thigh. As she walked the dress swished around her legs and gently brushed by her thighs drawing his eyes down to her legs. Her hair, he noticed was pulled back at the nape of her neck and seemed to be twisted some way to remain contained in a loose bun. Altogether the end result was sophisticated and sexy as hell. Finally she stopped at the end of the bar and smiled slowly at him.

“Evening Lena.”

Her lips, that were slicked with the same shade of red, pulled up a notch in a smile that almost took his breath away. “Evening Langley.”

“You look amazing.”

She looked him over quickly then her pretty green eyes came back to land on his. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” she paused then asked softly, “Where should I sit?”

Mason looked down the bar and noticed no one was needing his immediate help then turned back to face her. He walked over to the very end of the counter and stopped leaning his hip into the curve of it.

“I reserved this seat just for you.” he said with a grin. She followed him over and around the very end to the stool that would have her facing down the bar.

“Thank you.”

“Hmm, you’re welcome.” he replied as she hitched herself up onto the chair flashing him a glimpse of a smooth naked thigh. “You’re going to distract me tonight in that dress.”

Placing her small black clutch on the counter she rested her arms on the bar. “Am I?”

“You know you are. That dress is a killer Lena.”

She laughed at him softly with such carefree joy in her voice it gently stroked over every inch of him, including his cock. Taking a deep breath and telling himself to calm the hell down he asked her. “So what can I get you to drink?”

“I’d like a White Russian please.”

Nodding he moved away to get what he needed and mixed it, all the while extremely aware of the woman in red.

Lena was looking at his ass. So what? She couldn’t help it, it was right there. He’d turned away to make her drink and that had put his very tight, very nice ass on display. He was dressed in the usual tonight. Tight black fitted slacks and a black button down shirt tucked in at the waist. On the shirt by the pocket was the word Exquisite. Lena felt the side of her mouth pull up at that. How appropriate that he should be wearing a shirt that declared to the world how sinfully attractive he was. Like a fine wine he was, simply exquisite. He finally turned back and walked over to her. She let her gaze follow him, enjoying the moment to flirt and relax. His hair was pushed back and his eyes seemed to almost sparkle under the soft lights and when he stopped in front of her she was trying to remember how on earth she’d managed to end up dating such a gorgeous man.

“One White Russian.”

She reached across and took the glass from him then lifted it to take a sip. When the liquid hit her tongue she didn’t even realize the sweet creamy mixture had made her moan softly. He leaned down toward her and said softly. “Ok you can’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Moan.” he almost hissed at her. “You can’t sit there in that dress, drinking drinks from a straw and moan if you expect me to work.”

Biting her lip she showed her teeth in a wicked grin.

“I mean it.” he demanded.

“Ok, ok.” she agreed reluctantly, putting the drink back on the bar. “I guess I can contain myself.”

He laughed, “Well that’s nice to know doctor.”

Smiling she sat back and looked around the place. “This is the quietest I’ve ever seen it here.”

“Yeah. Thursdays are usually steady but not anything like Fridays and Saturdays. How was your day?”

She turned back to face him and wondered when they’d become so comfortable they were asking the everyday questions, she found she liked it.

“It was good. I finally got to see a young patient go home today. He isn’t out of the woods yet but little Robbie was good enough to at least go home for a while.”

“Well that’s great news.” he paused then said softly, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get down to the flower shop today.”

Looking at him across the bar, standing under the soft glow of the lights, she smiled and shook her head. “Don’t apologize. You have a business to run. I probably needed a day off anyway. I appreciate you sending someone over there for me.”

“You’re welcome. Anytime Lena. If there’s anything I can do don’t ever hesitate to ask me.”

She nodded then lifted her drink again being careful not to let out any pleasurable noises.

“I will. So Langley, now that you have me here, what would you like to do with me?”

His grin could only be described as mischievous and she found herself returning it.

“Well. I was thinking we could play twenty questions.”

Arching a brow at him she looked down the quiet bar then back.

“Ok. I’m game.” she paused then asked, “Who gets to start?” After all she had liquid courage to get her through.

“You can.” he said easily leaning a hip against the bar and watching the dining room for a moment.

“Are there any rules?”

“Well you can’t ask me something you already know. But other than that. Nope.”

Sitting up tall she nodded once then asked, “When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?”

He looked as though he was trying to remember then he gave her a huge smile.

“My dad use to cook in our house. Mom, well she did everything else. For years as a child my father would make me help him prepare the meal always telling me that my mother, his wife, did everything to look after him. Was always there for whatever he needed, the least he could do was feed her.” he paused then chuckled, “I’ve been feeding beautiful women ever since.”

“I bet.” she murmured. “Your mom and dad sound like they had a wonderful marriage.”

He nodded, “Yeah they did. You’ve never met a couple more happy to be with each other.”

“That’s beautiful. It must’ve been difficult on her when she lost him.”

“Devastating, but we pulled through and she goes and talks to him everyday, so it makes her feel like he’s still here. He’s actually in the same place where Carly is, so you probably ended up helping her in a sense. She couldn’t avoid it.” Pausing he grinned over to her. “Ok my turn.”

Lena braced herself for his question then laughed when it finally came.

“What was your first impression of me?”

Mason watched as she laughed. Great, he thought. He remembered back to their first meeting and how she’d effectively told him he was a moron in front of everyone and pissed him off so badly he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

“Sure you want to hear this?”

“No, but now I need to since you’re obviously laughing at me.”

“You made me so mad that day because I knew my mom had sent those flowers and when I finally came out to see who was making me take them, well my first impression was that you were freakishly tall.”

He fell his mouth open. “I’m not weirdly tall?” he paused, “Am I?” and that seemed to make her laugh even harder.

“Well I was thinking I was tall but you were looking down at me. I remembered thinking your mom must have stood you in a lot of manure.”

“That’s lovely Lena.” he pouted.

She shrugged at him, “You asked.”

“So I did.” Shaking his head he motioned to her. “Ok your turn.”

“Hmm.” she murmured pressing her cherry lips together, he decided he needed them on him by the end of the night. Then she grinned. “What do you like best about me?”

“Your ass.”

“I meant personality wise!”

“Well you didn’t specify.”

Sputtering a little she looked past him. “You have a customer.”

He turned his head and saw the middle aged man looking at them. He turned back to her knowing she was expecting some kind of flirty question but he could wait for those so he asked something he’d wanted to know for awhile now.

“My question, think about it while I help him. Why did it take you nine years to visit your sister?”

Lena watched as he moved down to the man at the middle of the bar. Could she tell him she wished it’d been her that night and not her sister? Could she explain to him and make him understand the level of guilt she felt whenever she thought about driving them across that street and having the car slam into them? She watched in slow motion, it seemed, as he turned and walked back over to her. Before he could say anything she blurted out.

“Guilt.”

He tilted his head and asked, “Guilt? You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. That’s my answer.” she knew she was being harsh and probably a little more bitchy than she should be so when he nodded and said, your turn, she snapped out.

“Why do you want to date me?”

Without so much as blinking he answered, “Because you’re so much fun.”

She looked at him and saw his serious face and felt the sarcasm dripping off his words. “Hilarious Langley.”

He arched a brow and leaned into the bar. “What do you like most about me?”

She deadpanned and replied, “Your ass.”

He grinned at her, “Be serious.”

“I am. You have a really nice ass.”

“You can’t steal my answers.” he said pretending to be put out. Back to being relaxed she lifted her glass and took another sip.

“Ok favorite color?”

“Blue, that light sky blue. But I’m also growing found of forest green.”

“Ha! Google was right about that too. Not the green part.”

“They have my favorite color on there?”

She nodded.

“Hey you weren’t supposed to ask me something you knew.”

Shrugging at him she grinned, “I didn’t know it for sure. I wanted to confirm their sources so I knew if other important details were correct. You know like how many..”

“Stop.” he warned her, “You’re doing so well.”

She laughed and motioned to him. “Your turn.”

“What color panties are you wearing?”

Lena looked around quickly feeling a blush creep up to her cheeks.

“Do they match your dress?”

“That’s two questions.”

“Well not technically they could be considered one.”

Taking one last gulp of her drink she motioned for a second one and he grinned widely at her. “Answer me Lena.”

“Fine.” she answered in a snotty tone then gave as good as she got. “A cherry red thong.”

She was happy to see his mouth fall open.

Mason couldn’t help all the images that were now flooding his head. Holy shit, he wanted to see it. In fact he was ready to close early just so he could. Taking a gulp he placed a fresh drink in front of her then nodded not quiet trusting his voice yet. She seemed to understand because she reached out took a drink then proceeded to blow his mind.

“How many times tonight have you imagine my lips on you since I sat down?”

He couldn’t decide how to answer that. Here she was sitting at the end of his bar dressed to drive him insane, wrapping her mouth, no that was the wrong choice of words at this moment. Throwing around words and questions that had him imagining exactly what she’d intended. As though her words had a direct line to the actual part of his anatomy that he wanted those lips around, he felt himself go rock hard.

“At least once, now.” he managed to get out, then coughed to clear his throat. “But I’m sure it’ll be crossing my mind a few more by the end of the night.”

Her mouth tipped up in a sexy smile and she licked those red lips wetting them with her tongue and made him groan.

“Are you enjoying this?”

“Is that your question?”

He shook his head and took a deep breath. “Three years since you’ve had sex. Are you nervous about it?”

Her eyes boldly moved over his body then came back up to land on his face. She shook her head. “That’s not the right word.”

“Oh? What’s the right word?”

“That’s two questions.”

He sighed frustrated beyond belief. “Answer the damn question Lena.”

She blinked slowly, “Anxious.”

Swallowing hard he tried to keep focus. “Your turn Lena.”

Knowing the drink had relaxed her, and she was saying things she wouldn’t usually ever say, was making this game interesting. At every turn she went from innocent and shocked to hot and downright sexy as she teased him with questions that were blowing his mind and this one was no different.

“Ultimate fantasy?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Sexual or life goal fantasy?”

“Both.” she replied licking the drink from her bottom lip.

“But that’s two questions.”

“So? You asked two this is my payback.”

Laughing he nodded. “Ok life fantasy. Obviously I want the restaurant to be a success, but I also want a partner to share it with. I want success in my life with a wife. I want children and I want to grow old and die happy knowing that I loved someone completely and they loved me back. I want essentially what my parents had.”

He watched Lena taking in his answer then she smiled at him, almost wistfully and he wondered if she even realized he was starting to picture her in the leading role of that fantasy. Before he embarrassed himself and told her he leaned down and rested his elbows on the bar. He looked her right in the eye and said softly, “Sexual fantasy.”

He saw her take a deep breath and watched her chest rise then fall when she let it out again. “There are so many I can think of, but right now my ultimate fantasy is of a beautiful stranger and she’s standing just out of my reach but she’s fully captured my attention. Her presence holds me, almost in a trance. She sees me as well and watches me from where she’s standing. Then she smiles, the most sexy smile, that seems to invite me to come play with her. Knowing it’s driving me crazy, knowing I’m outside looking in watching her but not being able to get to her. Then I watch as she moves away from view but it’s with the unspoken invitation for me to join her, so I do.”

He noticed her pupils had dilated and her breathing was slow as he waited for her to say something.

“Why a stranger? What’s the fascination with watching her from a distance? I’d think a fantasy would be touching and rolling around somewhere, not looking at someone unobtainable. Doesn’t that defeat the sexual aspect?”

He reached out and touched her cheek. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she seems untouchable but in the end she lets me touch her. As for the stranger part of it all, I think it’s more that she isn’t familiar to me. It’s new. Hot and passionate but so foreign it feels surreal. I can’t explain it.”

Her eyes flicked up to his and she sat back picked up her glass and drained it dry.

Lena had no idea how to respond. She wasn’t sure she even liked his answer. What did he mean, a stranger? Was he referring to her or some random stranger? She would like to think he meant her but if that were the case he must have a bad memory because she sure remembered letting him touch her, several times. So really it came down to, he’d just basically told her something he wanted to do with another woman. The perfect unobtainable woman and that totally pissed her off. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something but honestly she had nothing to say.

“So I guess that makes it my turn?” he stated in a voice so low she had to strain to hear him.

“ I guess it is.”

He stood up and placed his hands on the bar. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” she said shaking her head and looking behind him to the wall where a clock hung. It’d just turned nine and she knew it was incredibly early but suddenly it seemed vital she leave. She couldn’t explain why she was feeling the way she was but she needed out. Right now. Looking up at him she shifted to the side and hopped down off the seat.

She watched a frown pull down on his face as he asked. “What’s going on Lena?”

“Nothing. I just need to get going, it’s been a long week.”

“Sure it has.” he replied drawing out the, sure.

Lena’s eyes snapped up to his and she bit back the bitchy remark she could feel bubbling just under the surface.

“What’s going on here? Why are you running away right now?”

She felt her spine stiffen. “I’m not running away.”

He placed his hands on the bar and leaned over it so they were almost nose to nose. She took a step back.

“Yes you are.” He narrowed his eyes and said so softly she almost didn’t hear him. “Okay. Run away. I’ll let you go, but don’t think I’ll stay gone for long.” and with that parting shot he pushed back from the bar and walked away from her.

By the time Mason got home he was tired and pissed off. The night had not gone the way he’d expected. Actually it had somehow gone horribly wrong. Oh, it’d started off amazing, but then gone to shit real quick. They’d been having fun. Flirty, sexy fun and then it was like a wall had come down and she’d been throwing a whole lot of pissed off tension his way. God the woman was a pain in his ass and so ready to tell him to go to hell he had to watch everything that came out of his mouth. He reached into his kitchen cabinet and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. Pulling it down he poured a glass and made his way over in the dark to the window. He downed it in one gulp then turned grabbing the phone. Looking at the clock he noticed it was just turning 2am. Too bad, he didn’t give a shit. He punched in her number and let it ring. It rang three times then he heard her.

“Hello?”

“What happened tonight? What’d I do?” he demanded louder than he’d planned. There was silence on the other end and then he heard a sigh.

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Don’t jerk me around right now Lena.” he paused taking a deep breath. “I want to know what I did to piss you off.”

“It was just something you said that I over reacted too. That’s all. It was my fault.” she whispered.

He ran a hand up through his hair and gripped his neck. “Did I scare you or something?”

There was a long drawn out silence and then. “No. I wanted to be your fantasy not some stranger.”

And before he could answer, the phone clicked off and she hung up. He stared down at the phone shaking his head. Crazy, infuriating woman, she didn’t even know she already was.