Her sister nudged her again. “Seriously, Ave, whoa. I thought you two were going to catch fire out there.”
Avery shot her an annoyed look, warning her to be quiet.
“What?” Lindsay asked, all wide-eyed innocence.
“You know what.” She glanced at her parents. They were both grinning at her across the table. She gave them a warning look too.
“All right, all right, let’s go see if we can still burn half that hot,” her mom said, and dragged Avery’s dad onto the floor.
Lindsay looped an arm around Avery’s neck. “I’m so happy for you,” she squealed, practically bouncing in her seat. “He’s just so…” She rolled her eyes and shivered. “Intense.”
“Yeah.” That was exactly the right word. Soon they would be back in the cabin alone, and there was no way she could keep her hands off him now. She deserved an award for keeping them off him this long.
Her sister’s grin vanished as her gaze fixed on someone behind Avery. “Incoming.”
Avery turned in her seat and immediately wished she hadn’t. Doug was coming toward her carrying two drinks. He pretended to walk past them, then caught her eye and stopped next to their table. “You went for younger too, huh?” He chuckled as though he found the idea incredibly amusing, or maybe he actually thought he was being charming. “Good for you.”
Lindsay gasped and Avery crushed the linen napkin in her fists. Wasn’t it enough that he’d hurt and humiliated her behind closed doors during their marriage? He needed to do it publicly too? “Go back to your wife, Doug.”
The way he lifted an eyebrow made her want to toss her water in his face, but he turned and walked away, leaving the stink of his arrogance hanging in the air.
“What a gigantic asshole,” her sister hissed.
Yeah. Doug was both charming and selfish. But his verbal barbs had struck home, already taking root in her mind, dredging up all the insecurities she fought so hard to keep locked away. She was six years older than Mason, and she was rigid in a lot of ways. They were too different, and this thing between them wasn’t even freaking real.
Whatever she thought had been building between them was only an illusion. He was doing her a favor by being here, and was only playing a part. Even if they slept together, as soon as the weekend was over, he’d ditch her, and she’d be no different than all the other women he’d taken to bed before her.
She shrugged Lindsay’s arm off her. “Excuse me.” On wooden legs she got up and started across the room. She needed to find the bathroom, lock herself into a stall and compose herself before coming back.
The music faded behind her as she left the reception room. Hurt and disappointment were eroding through the anger. She turned left and started down the empty hall. Five strides down it, a strong hand grasped her arm from behind.
She started to whirl, then stopped when she saw it was Mason. His face was set, his cool eyes burning with fury. “What—”
He opened a door several feet in front of them and pulled her inside. A darkened utility room filled with linens and plates.
The instant he shut the door, he spun and backed her up against the nearest shelf, his arms caging her in, his big body pinning her in place.
“Let me go,” she whispered, totally off-balance. There was just enough light filtering through the tiny gaps in the wooden slats in the panel of the door to see his face.
“No.” He lifted a hand and pushed her hair away from her cheek, the tender touch making her heart squeeze. “Whatever he said to you, it doesn’t matter.”
She lowered her gaze. “I know.” But it did matter. Because in this instance, Doug had been right. Mason was younger and way sexier than her. It was never going to work.
Strong fingers caught her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Why does it matter to you what he thinks now?” he demanded, still angry.
“Because it’s incredibly hurtful and embarrassing to find out you don’t mean anything to the man you said vows to—in front of everyone who’s in that damn room right now.”
He paused, staring into her eyes, and for the life of her she couldn’t look away. “Do you still love him?”
“God, no.” She had, once. Back in the beginning when he’d made her feel needed and wanted and important. Beautiful and desirable, even.
And then all that had stopped. He’d become emotionally unavailable, and unsupportive of her police work. As to why Doug still insisted on being an asshole to her, maybe he was jealous of Mason. Which was so fucked up, but she wouldn’t put it past him given his competitive nature and fragile ego.
If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn relief crossed Mason’s face. “Good. Because he’s a fucking idiot for not valuing what he had in you, and an even bigger one for letting you go.”
Was he just saying that? It felt so damn good to hear that from someone else, but her insides were currently going haywire with him so close, tempting her to edge nearer to the very flames that would burn her in the end.
But at the moment, Mason wanting her was a balm on her bruised self-esteem. Even though she knew it was a bad idea to act on this fire smoldering between them, she wanted him too, and wanted to feel like a desirable woman again.
He cupped the side of her face with one hand, his eyes dipping to her mouth. Her insides heated, tightened, the anticipation building as her heart thudded. She leaned forward slightly…
Then his mouth was on hers.
Avery made an incoherent sound of pleasure and gripped the front of his shirt, her entire body flooded with sensory overload. He tasted sweet, like the root beer he’d been drinking, his lips silky soft but firm. He groaned and angled his head, his tongue delving into her mouth.
Heat raced over her skin. Her core clenched, the empty ache between her legs building to an insistent throb, her breasts pressed flat to the sculpted wall of his chest.
Everywhere she touched him she met muscle. She’d never been with anyone built like him, and the way he kissed was enough to make her burn.
He teased with his tongue then took control of her mouth, leaving her panting for more before easing back to nibble at the corner of her lips. She was dizzy, breathless, clinging to him and desperate for more, the hunger inside her rising to a fever pitch.
The hand at her face eased down her neck, his fingertips stroking seductively, then dipping lower to cradle her breast. Avery gasped and closed her eyes a second as sensation shot through her, turning her nipple into a hard, aching point against his palm.
Voices outside made her eyes snap open in shock. She stiffened and stared at Mason, their faces only inches apart.
What was she doing? They were in a damn utility room. Anyone might hear them. Someone could come in at any moment. “We shouldn’t—”
He cut off the rest of what she was going to say with another wicked, molten kiss, then raised his head to stare into her eyes through the shadows enveloping them. “Would I ever let you be embarrassed by someone seeing us?” His voice was deep and dark, erotic as hell with his hard body pinning her in place.
She could feel the tension in him, the seething, smoldering hunger, and read the possessiveness in his taut expression. This wasn’t fake. He wanted her.
His jaw flexed, his eyes on hers. “No one’s getting through this door while I’m standing here.”