She released him and reached behind her to grasp a metal shelf for support. Her legs were wobbly as hell. The shock finally hit her, making her face even hotter, but she refused to regret what they’d just done. He’d just made her feel like the sexiest woman alive.
Water ran in the sink a few feet away. Avery finally let go of the shelf and tugged her dress back down, smoothing it over her legs. She straightened as Mason stepped back in front of her. She didn’t know what to say but he didn’t seem interested in that anyway, cupping her nape and kissing her slow and tender, making something low in her belly do a somersault.
Remembering how hard he’d been against her thigh a minute ago, wanting to return the favor, she slid a hand between them to press her palm against his erection. Mason groaned and licked at her lower lip, reaching down to flatten his hand over hers. He held it there and rubbed himself against her once, twice, then pulled her hand away and kissed her again.
Avery blinked up at him in surprise. Didn’t he want her to make him come too?
He searched her eyes in the dimness, the hint of a smile tugging at his incredibly sexy mouth. “That’s better. Now let’s go back out there and hit that dance floor again.”
Chapter Nine
Mason was strung taut for the rest of the reception, unrelenting desire pulsing through his whole body. Avery was quieter now, a little bit subdued with him, and he was positive she was counting down the seconds until they got out of here so she could start shoring up the barriers he’d just knocked down between them.
He wasn’t going to let that happen. He was too hooked on her now. Every time he looked at her all he could think about was what had happened in that utility room earlier.
The way she’d felt and sounded as she finally gave into her need and let him make her come. So damn sexy he was hard just thinking about it.
She didn’t know it, but she wasn’t the only one rattled by what had happened. He wanted her until he could barely breathe, except it wasn’t just physical now. She might not need or want a protector, but she was getting one anyway. The thought of anyone hurting her made him furious, and if her ex made another dick move that upset her, Mason would make him regret it. With his fist.
Mercifully the bride and groom finally left the reception forty-five minutes later. Mason glanced at Avery, his body aching like he’d wanted her for months instead of weeks. “Ready to head out?”
Her cheeks flushed as she looked away. “Sure.”
He couldn’t get her out of there fast enough. After saying their goodbyes to her family, he linked his fingers through hers and walked her outside of the main lodge into the night air. It was chilly, scattered clouds obscuring the half-moon and a layer of mist clinging to the ground.
Avery tugged her wrap tighter around her shoulder. He curled an arm around her and pulled her into his side. To his surprise she slid her arm around his waist and leaned her head on him for a moment, and damned if it didn’t make his chest tighten.
He’d wondered what sort of woman lay beneath her armor, and now he knew. Her combination of strength, independence and innate sensuality only made him want her a hundred times more.
The other cabins were all dark as they passed them, neither of them speaking. Mason was too focused on what would happen once they were alone to think about anything else.
He had visions of backing her up against the front door and kissing her until she clung to him like she had earlier. Rev her up until she started to melt, then pick her up and lay her down in front of the fire so he could peel that sexy-as-fuck dress and lingerie off her, and finally see everything he’d missed earlier before burying his face between her legs and making her come against his tongue this time.
“Oh, it looks so cozy,” she murmured as they neared the Ponderosa, jerking him out of his fantasy.
The staff had lit the lamps again, the warm light spilling out of the front windows onto the porch. He hoped they’d lit the fire too. He wanted to see the firelight flickering over Avery’s naked body.
On the porch, he released her and unlocked the door. Opening it, he froze and automatically pushed her behind him.
“What?” she said, trying to look around him.
Mason warded her off with one arm as he stepped inside, his muscles tensing. The cabin was trashed.
Avery pushed past him to see what the problem was. She stopped beside him, didn’t make a sound as she surveyed the damage.
Furniture had been overturned. Their suitcases emptied, the contents strewn across the floor. His stuff was thrown everywhere. Most of hers was burning to ash in a pile in the fireplace.
“What the hell,” she muttered.
Mason pushed her back toward the door. “Stay here.” Before she could argue he took off up the stairs to the loft.
At the top, he stopped and let out a low curse. The bed was ripped apart. Literally. Down feathers covered everything, the duvet ripped to shreds. Someone had taken a blade to the mattress and carved it up. Bits of foam and fabric filled the bedframe.
Rapid footsteps came up the stairs behind him. Avery peered around his shoulder. “I’m calling security now.”
She hurried downstairs to make the call. While she spoke to someone, Mason catalogued all the damage upstairs and down, a hard ball forming in his gut. Who had done this? And why burn Avery’s stuff?
Security arrived in a matter of minutes, along with the resort manager. The three men were shocked when they saw what had happened. “The door was locked when you arrived?” the manager asked.
“Yes,” Avery answered.
So whoever it was had access to the key.
“Any idea who might have done this?” a security guy asked them.
Avery glanced at Mason. “No way this was Doug. Or Keely. But whoever did this was in a rage, and it feels like it’s a personal attack on me, since those are my clothes burning in the fire.”
Yep, and that’s what bothered him most.
Mason followed the manager and security guards while they called the cops and took inventory. They didn’t find any obvious evidence about the vandal. “We’ll review security footage from the camera at the front of the cabin and show it to the police when they arrive,” the manager said. “In the meantime, we need to find you another room.”
The entire resort was booked, so Avery’s sister and family ended up moving into her parents’ suite, and Mason and Avery took her room. By the time everything was settled it was close to two in the morning. Avery came out of the bathroom wearing pajamas her sister had loaned her, looking tired.
Mason couldn’t shake the anxiety grinding in the pit of his stomach. They were at a fucking family wedding. Most of the guests were her friends and relatives. It should have been totally safe.
“You sure Doug or his wife wouldn’t have done this?” he asked her quietly as she came toward the bed where he was already stretched out on his back. Because she was right, the damage done in the cabin was personal. Whoever had broken in had wanted to leave a message for Avery. Her clothes and personal items had been burned, nothing of his.
“I’m sure.” She didn’t seem shaken at all. She was calm, her jaw set. Annoyed, not scared, and he admired her for it. Avery Dahl was a strong woman. “Doug is a lot of things, but even if he still hated my guts for whatever reason, he’d never have the balls to do something like this. And Keely’s not a psychopath, she’s just naïve about him. Besides, this kind of damage takes time, and we were all in the reception together.”