Page 71 of Played

I look up at him. Is he serious? The look on his face tells me he is. “No.”

He grins. “There’s a first time for everything.”

“What, here?”

“I told you, nobody can see through the glass.” He holds his hand out to me.

“I’ve never danced, period. Not with a guy or a girl.”

“Then it’s definitely about time you tried. I’ll be gentle.” He winks, and it makes my dick twitch in my jeans.

Tentatively, I take his hand and allow him to pull me up. His arms snake around my waist, and he pulls me closer. “I don’t know what to do,” I admit.

“You can’t get it wrong, babe. Just do whatever feels right.”

It’s awkward, at least at first, but I grab his hips and concentrate on his hands on me, the way his hips grind against mine, the subtle sway of his body. My pulse races from both anxiety and desire, my mouth dry. But I move with him, and the awkwardness disappears, and all that’s left is me and him—two people who’ve known and loved each other so many times before that their muscles instinctively know how to do this.

Mason’s hand slides to the back of my neck. “You’re doing so well, mi rey.”

His lips brush mine, and he kisses me, slow and tender, matching the rhythm of our bodies as we sway to the music. His free hand glides up my back, over my shoulder, and along my neck until he’s gently cupping my jaw, angling my face exactly where he wants me. There’s no urgency to his movements or in mine as I let my hands roam his muscular back and ass. Our tongues dance in a delicate tempo, exploring and adoring.It feels like I’m seventeen again, and it’s fucking heaven. We kiss and dance and kiss some more until we’re too breathless to continue.

He rests his forehead against mine. “Dancing with you might be my new favorite thing to do.”

I breathe him in. “Mine too. Tonight has been incredible. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He rubs the pad of his thumb over the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “So was this your first date, Hotshot?”

“I thought this wasn’t a date. Just two friends catching a show and grabbing some food, right?”

He grins. “You kiss all your friends like that?”

I dust my lips over his again, feeling so much, yet still not enough. “I’ve never kissed anyone like that. Nobody but you.”

“Me neither.”

Our lips meet again, our tongues sliding together. We continue kissing and dancing for I don’t know how long, but songs begin and end, and we don’t stop. And I know that this is exactly what I want. What I deserve.

What we both deserve.

But I’m still not sure I’m brave enough to take it.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

MASON

“Is Mr. James available?” King’s deep voice travels through the crack in my office door, and like it’s done every day for the past four days this week, it stops me in my tracks. I tip my face to the ceiling and groan, willing my dick not to get hard from the sound of his goddamn voice. That would be incredibly inappropriate. But as usual, my dick has no common sense at all when it comes to King.

“He’s with HR right now, but let me check for you,” Deborah replies in her honeyed Georgian accent.

I can picture the scowl on King’s face at her response and suppress a smirk. I am with HR, but it’s not a private meeting, hence the open door. Hayden “dropped by” to get my input—something I realized he does a lot after King pointed it out. Today it’s about a new policy the team wants to implement, which I do need to be briefed on, but it probably could have been done via email. I’m a hands-on boss, and I pride myself on being approachable, but the leak has me spooked. Not to mention my possessive secret boyfriend putting ideas in my head.

Deborah pops her head in. “Sir, Mr. Blackthorn is here to see you.”

I glance at Hayden. “We’re done, right?” He spent the last five minutes telling me about his labradoodle’s allergies, so I assume we have no more work to discuss.

He nods, but I don’t miss the look of disappointment on his face. Maybe King is onto something.