9 Under the Mistletoe, page 46
Fuck him. Fuck him and his beautiful words, and his beautiful eyes and his beautiful chin. The tears brewing in my eyes rolled down my face in globs of wetness, leaving trails of my makeup in its wake while I stared up at the most beautiful man my heart has ever screamed out for.
“Mason,” I began.
“Let me finish,” he said.
“Okay,” I whispered.
I was petrified of what he was going to say next. Everything that he was saying was nothing short of perfect. A part of me worried that it was manufactured. I had already trusted him with my heart twice, and I just wasn’t sure if I could do that again.
Not with him.
“No, wait,” I said, holding up my hand to stop him.
Mason’s eyes widened, and that was when I decided to take the reins. I’d made a lot of progress over the past few days with not allowing people to walk all over me, and I wasn’t gonna let some rich boy with stunning eyes and an expensive smile throw me back to square one.
“Mason, I don’t know if I can trust you with my heart again. I mean, you wanna talk about setting precedent? You haven’t done a very good job.”
“I know,” he said, nodding.
“I was in pieces when I came back from Milan,” I said sternly. “The only place I’d ever wanted to travel, and it was tainted by having my heart broken again.”
“I’m so sorry, Ash,” he said.
“And now you waltz back in here with your smooth words and your tailored suit and your beautiful lips, and you tell me that I’m supposed to trust you again so you can try to get this ‘new thing’ right again?”
Before I knew it, he had wrapped me up in his arms. He gathered me close to his chest, and I caved to everything that was him. His arms rippled around my back, and his cologne was the familiar scent of everything I’d fallen in love with. I felt his lips come down on top of my head, and he said the most beautiful words into my skin.
“I promise to never let you down again. I promise to always defend you, to always stand by your side, and to always make sure people understand the prize you are. It is not your job to prove your worth to me. Or anyone for that matter. It is their job to prove it to you. Give me one last shot to prove myself to you.”
His chest felt so good against my cheek, and the warmth of his body coddled me in a way no man’s body had ever done before. But I still couldn’t relent. He’d pulled this routine once already, and it lead to another heart break soon after that idiotic brunch we had.
“I don’t know, Mason,” I whispered.
I felt him let go of me, and I thought that was it. I mean, a man can only come prepared with so many words, and I figured he would simply bow out gracefully and slink out the door with his tail tucked between his legs.
But instead, I saw him pull out his phone before he grabbed me around my waist and pulled me close.
“Mason, what are you doing?” I asked.
A video chat window opened, and a voice spoke from his phone. “Mason? Mason, sweetheart, is that you? Where in the world are you?”
“Is that your mother?” I whispered harshly.
“Mother, do you see this beautiful woman on my arm?”
He panned the camera over toward me, and I forced a smile.
“Hello,” I said.
“This is Ash. The woman I’ve been telling you about. This is the woman I am in love with. Wholly and completely. And understand, Mother, that this is the woman I will eventually marry. If she’ll have me. She’s the only one for me, and that’s that. You can get with the program, digest it, and support it, or you can disown me and throw me out. Either way, the choice isn’t yours because I’ve already made mine.”
I was rooted to the floor in shock, but the kiss he placed on my cheek with his mother on the phone screen ripped me back to reality. Mason, the man who had been beating around the bush for god knows how long, called his mother and gave everything to her straight.
Right in front of me.
He just sacrificed his entire fortune, reputation, and lifestyle to be with me.
“I love you, Mason,” I said.
He whipped his gaze down to mine after he hung up with his mother, and his hand cupped my cheek delicately as he gazed deeply into my eyes.
“Say it again,” he commanded.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“Again.”
“I love you, Mason.”
Our lips were close, and I could feel his breath pulsating on my skin. I fluttered my eyes closed and wholly surrendered my body to his long, strong arms. He ghosted that beautiful phrase against my lips again before drawing me close into his body.
“I love you, too, Ash.”
And when we kissed, the entire shop stood still. In that very moment, I knew I was kissing the man I would spend the rest of my life with. In that very moment, I knew I was kissing the very future I’d cried tears over for years, as I sifted through douchebag after douchebag.
In that very moment, I knew we had finally done it. We had finally found the best of one another that each of us deserved.
Epilogue
A couple months later
Mason
The ride up into the hills was absolutely beautiful. When I picked Ash up, she looked stunning in her crimson red dress. It had these little white polka dots that offset the onyx jewelry she had around her neck. I just wanted to strip her down and pound her into the limo seat. God, we had wonderful memories in the back of this thing, but I was waiting for the big bang tonight.
I was waiting until after the prize.
We crested the hill and came upon a massive house. I heard Ash gasp. She was gazing out the window while her body was hunkered down into mine. I couldn’t help but hold my breath. Her back was pressed against my pocket, and the box I had in it was digging into my thigh.
Reminding me it was there. Reminding me I still had a job to do.
When we came to a stop, I pulled out a blindfold, and Ash was hesitant. I told her not to worry, that I had her, and that it was merely to build the anticipation. She relented, made some comment about her makeup, and then she let me take her hand and lead her from the limo. She walked with me, her hand tightly wound with mine, until we were inside the house.
“Can I take it off now?” she asked.
“Not just yet.”
I wound her through the corridors, trying to thoroughly confuse her until I found the hallway I wanted. We padded down the hall slowly. The bright light from the room I wanted was pouring into the hallway.
“Now can I?” she whined.
“Almost there,” I said.
I led her into a room that had a massive work table that faced the window. The view was breathtaking. You could see the whole of L.A. from it. It even had a balcony where she could throw open the doors and go sit out there for inspiration.
Drawers built into the walls, and inside those drawers were hundreds of thousands of dollars of precious materials and gems for her to use to make her jewelry.
I wanted to invest in her dream. Everyone complimented her on the street about what she was wearing, and they always asked who made it.
And they were always stunned when she said herself.
She had people stopping her and spouting off orders at her, saying they wanted two pairs of the earrings she was wearing, or four of the necklaces she had on her. She quickly became so inundated with orders that she had to quit the craft shop.
And Luna was all too happy to see her go.
“Now, Mason?” she groaned.
“Now,” I said.
I removed the blindfold from her, and she slowly looked around the room. Her eyes adjusted before they fell onto the work table, and I could tell she was thoroughly confused.
“Mason, where are we?” she asked.
“Well, this is your new workroom for your jewelry business,” I said.
“Wait, what?”
“Yep,” I said, nodding. “It’s a room within our home.”.
“A workroom. Wait. Our home!?” .
I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out the little box. When I got down on one knee, her jaw dropped to the floor.
“Ash, from the moment we first met in that bar I had absolutely no idea how to find, I knew there was something about you. Something different and quirky, and it drew me in from the start. What started out as a favor to you, turned into a love I didn’t realize I could have for another person.”
“Oh, my god,” she said.
“And I know I’ve made some mistakes. Too many to count, in fact. But I’ll spend the rest of my life making them up to you. Ash, I’ll spend my entire life showing you just how much you mean to me. Just how special you are to me. Just how much I love you.”
“Oh, Mason,” she choked out.
“Ash. My beautiful, talented, strong Ash. Will you marry me and turn this house into a home?”
I searched her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. She grabbed the collar of my suit coat and ripped me from the floor, and when she did, she stood on her toes and crashed her lips into mine. Her arms flew around my neck, and I picked her up off the floor. When I set her back down, we were both panting and gasping for air.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she shrieked.
I plucked the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger, but her eyes were nowhere near it. They were looking around the room and taking in the view. Digesting everything that had happened.
And still, her hand was slid perfectly into mine.
“I love you so much, Mason,” she said.
I knocked her off her feet and swooped her up into my arms. We barreled out of the room before she had a chance to make her way onto the balcony. I knew if she went out there, I’d never get her back, and I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.
That dress was going to go fabulous with the carpet in our master suite.
I walked us up the stairs while she peppered my neck with kisses. When we burst into the room, I slowly lowered her into the bed. She was radiant in the sunlight that streamed in through the windows, and I couldn’t help but brush a little bit of her dyed green hair back from her face.
“It really brings out the color of your eyes,” I said.
“So, you like it?” she asked.
“I love it,” I said.
I lowered my lips onto her neck, and she bowed her body into mine. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. I knew that if I could have it my way, I’d order us dinner in bed, and we’d never leave. My hands trailed up her thick thighs, and I could feel her wetness beckoning to me.
“Oh, god Ash,” I groaned. “The things you do to me.”
I dropped to my knees and allowed my tongue to feast on her drippings. I licked up the inside of her leg before my mouth cupped her clothed pussy. She rolled her hips into my face, begging and wanting more from me, but I was going to take my time with her.
I was going to relish the body of my fiancé.
I hooked my fingertips into her underwear and slowly slid them off her legs. I took off her heels and kissed every single toe she had on her feet, but my body was pulling me elsewhere. My mouth was salivating for the sweet honey she was making for me. I trailed my nose up her other leg while my hands slid up the inside of her dress. My tongue finally reached its destination, and I licked her and swallowed every drop of her.
“Oh, god Mason.”
Long, languid strokes tickled her pussy lips, and her legs quickly locked around my head. Her dress was bunched up around her waist, and her body was flailing for me on the bed. Her hands wrapped into my hair and pulled me closer, but I was going to make sure this was a day she wouldn’t forget.
I was going to crash this orgasm so hard over her body, it would bring tears to her eyes.
I slowly circled her clit and could feel it pulsing against my tongue. Her moans and groans shifted to whispered pleas for mercy. When her thighs began to glisten with a sheen of sweat, I realized she’d been tortured enough. Silently, I slipped a hand from her stomach and slid a finger deep inside of her. Her walls fluttered around my intrusion, and I could no longer help myself.
Deeper and deeper I licked, flicking her swollen bud and crooking my finger against that beautiful spot of hers. When her back arched off the bed, I knew she was almost there. I could feel her juices dripping down my chin as she lost control of her body. Her hips rolled deep into my face, and I felt my dick throbbing against my pants. I couldn’t take it any longer.
“Mason! Please! Have mercy!” .
So, I did. I sucked that tight little clit between my lips and buried my face into that juicy pussy. She flung herself off the edge, and her legs trembled around my ears. Moans left her lips instead of my name, desperately trying to paint a picture of how good her body felt. She trembled and convulsed in front of me while sweat dripped down her chest. When her body finally hit the bed, I smiled and gave those beautiful pussy lips one last kiss.
“Come here,” she whispered.
I rose up onto my feet just as she rose from the bed. I went to crawl on top of her, and she pushed me back. She pushed me so hard I fell into a chair, and her hands went to work on my belt faster than I could protest. She undid my zipper, and my rock-hard cock came flying out. She straddled my hips, and I shook with anticipation.
I loved holding her like this: face to face, close to my body while she rode my dick. I could feel the heat of her pussy hovering over my leaking tip, and our eyes locked as she slowly sank down onto it.
“Jesus Christ, Ash,” I grunted.
Her hips rolled against mine, and her juices soaked the fabric of my pants. My hands cupped that round, luscious ass of hers, and she pulled her dress over her head. She was beautiful, with her skin bared to me and her body flushed with the pleasure only I could give her. No man had ever made her come the way I could, and no man would ever get the chance.
She cupped my cheeks and found my gaze. The two of us locked eyes as I slowly began to roll my hips up into hers. Every single thrust I made stroked my cock in all the right places, and every single time I reared up, her eyes would flutter closed.
“You’re beautiful,” I said.
But all she could reply with was a whimper.
Slowly but surely, our undulating bodies reached their peaks. I raised my hips to hers while she bore hers down onto mine. My hands couldn’t help but sink themselves into her hips as my dick began to twitch.
“Come with me,” I growled.
I felt her walls flutter at my command, just as my dick grew and throbbed within her. I slammed my hips up into hers one more time, and I spilled my essence into her body. Her walls squeezed my cock, milking me for all I was worth. Her moans were swallowed by the crook of my neck while her fingernails raked down the fabric of my suit coat.
“I love you,” I whispered into her ear. “I love you so much.”
We sat there, cradled in each other’s arms while our juices dripped down onto my pants, and the only thing I could think about was that one little word.
Yes.
The love of my life said yes.
And I would spend the rest of my life making sure she never regretted that decision ever again.
***
END OF THE SECOND STORY
The Billionaire’s Surrogate
I’m ready to become a single dad.
Now I just have to find the right woman to give me a baby.
My business empire needs an heir.
I can be a better dad than mine ever was.
I’m going to love my kid and always be there for him.
But I don’t do relationships.
I’m not looking for a wife.
My only solution is to find a surrogate mother.
Paige Carter is hot.
A loner.
Hates men.
Perfect.
We’ll sign a contract. And get to work.
Dirty and sweaty and grinding.
I’m going to claim her body and f*ck her as many times it takes to plant my seed.
I might even enjoy it. I might enjoy her.
More than I even thought possible.
So once the nine months are up,
How am I gonna give up my addiction?
Chapter One
Michael
The Shift wasn't one of the nicest bars in the area, but man, it could pack an attractive crowd on a Saturday night. I looked appreciatively around at the girls in high heels and short skirts. And this was just the start of the evening; the selection would get better the later it got. I knew from experience.
You could say I was a regular. I knew all the bartenders, anyway. From the tall, athletic girl with the bright green eyes, to the blonde manager whose eyes told you she meant business, to the attractive-but-rough-looking young college dude who was behind the bar just a couple nights a week. I even knew all the DJs, and I could tell when it was going to be a good night.
Tonight was going to be a good night.
“Come on, man, who's your target?” Chris asked, yelling so he could be heard over the noise of pounding music and loud partiers.
I shrugged, grinning behind my bottle of beer. “Haven't decided yet,” I told him, even though that wasn't true. But it was my turn to play wingman for Chris, so I was going to let him choose the target.
I couldn't keep my eyes from straying in the direction of the sexy woman I was interested in, though. She had been out on the dance floor with her friends for the last twenty minutes or so, and I couldn't stop watching as she twirled, moving high and low, catching the beat as though it were ingrained somewhere deep in her soul.
“Why don't you go ask her to dance?” Chris asked, rolling his eyes.
“It's your turn,” I told him. “I'm playing wingman for you tonight.”
