Page 36 of Raised On It (Between the Pines #1)

Miles

“ A ndy, this is Miles Montgomery,” Mason says, introducing me to her salt and peppered doorman after greeting him with a hug.

Up close, he’s much younger looking than I expected. Pretty fit too. The film industry sure has got it all wrong if handsome dudes who look like Andy are the norm.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Montgomery,” he says, extending his hand.

“Please, call me Miles.”

And please keep your hands off my girl .

“Have you been taking good care of Katie these past two months?”

“Been doing my best, but since she found herself that new boyfriend of hers, I don’t see her quite as often as I used to.”

“I heard about him. He sounds like a good guy, but what’s your first impression? You’re always a good litmus test on people.”

“I do see a lot here from my front row seat, Miss Mason, that I do. So far so good with this guy. He’s in the arts like her, so it could be a match made in heaven or…he could be like all the rest, but from what I’ve seen so far, he’s a good guy.”

“Well, that’s good to hear and here’s hoping for that match made in heaven.”

I wrap my arm around Mason’s waist and pull her close so her arm goes around me as a new possessive side of me that made its first appearance at the Let ’Er Buck Room at the Round Up this past week roars its ugly head again.

Last week it was due to close quarters and drunk cowboys and was perfectly acceptable. Today is more about making my place at Mason’s side clear. Andy needs to know my role in her life. No need for him to make any assumptions when it comes to us.

“Well, we’re gonna head up now. Miles will be staying with me and please let him in and out at any time. My place is his place, okay?”

“Of course, Miss Mason. Looks like your time in Oregon has been good for you. You look very happy.”

“Damn straight, it’s been good for her. And the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She turns into my chest and wraps both arms around me and locks her lips with mine in front of our audience of one.

You see that, Andy? Everything clear, buddy? I belong to her.

“I’m very happy. Thanks for noticing, Andy,” she says to the attractive doorman, but still wrapped in my arms, she says the words to me as our eyes connect and our souls dance around the sound of the crackle in the air.

“Shall I bring your bags up for you?”

“Nah, I have it, Andy. ”

I can take care of her without your help, Mr. Doorman. Your services are no longer needed on that front.

Grabbing our bags, we catch the next elevator, and Mason holds a key fob up to the panel of buttons and then presses the one marked PH.

She stands with her hands in front of her instead of holding mine or touching me like she usually does.

She’s nervous.

“Andy seems nice?”

“He’s the eyes and ears of this place. Nothing goes on without him knowing about it.

As a single woman, it feels good to have him there, and to know that he’ll notice if something out of the norm is going on.

He knows that no matter what they say, my parents and Grant are not allowed up without him calling me first. Those visits rarely if ever happen, but he has instructions for if they do.

The poor guy has had to lie for me on more than one occasion. ”

Okay, I like the sound of that. I guess it’s good he’s there, and as long as he knows I’m the new man in Mason’s life, then we’re all good.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve had him in the past, but now you have me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, City Mouse.”

Smiling, she says, “I’m glad you’re here.”

The elevator pings, and the doors open up to a small vestibule with a large door to the left. There is a small table with a vase of flowers next to the door where Mason sets her purse while she digs through it in search of her key.

“Found it,” she says to the door as she turns the key.

Opening the door wide, she holds it for me as I carry our bags in.

“Home sweet home.” She sounds a little unsteady.

She joins me on the edge of the huge all white and gray living room lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of Central Park .

Holy shit.

“Wow, Mase. You weren’t kidding.” Leaving the bags in the entryway, I’m drawn to the huge windows and the vastness of the city spread out in front of us.

“Baby, this place is off the charts. I see why you don’t want to give it up.

Can’t say that I blame you.” When I turn to face her, she seems startled, and I’m thinking I shouldn’t have brought up the dreaded topic of her coming back to NYC so soon. “You should be really proud.”

She’s wringing her hands in front of her. Very un-Mason like.

“Can my city mouse not take a compliment?”

“I can,” she says practically under her breath. “It’s just strange to see you standing here in the middle of my world.”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet, Mase?”

She tilts her head confused.

“Your world is my world, and my world is your world, baby.”

Standing there in her tight as hell skinny jeans, hot pink heels, and not-too-tight but tight enough white T-shirt strategically tucked in only the front, she’s looking like she needs to be taken right then and there as she beams her light at me with her sexy as hell smile that tells me I’ve said exactly what she needed to hear.

“I like this look on you.”

She looks down at herself as if she has no clue what I’m talking about. “What, jeans and a T-shirt?”

“Sweetheart, I think you know how good you look, and I think you know exactly what you were doing when you put it on this morning. I’ve had a semi all day.”

“Miles…”

“Just say thank you for the compliment.”

“Thank you. Want a tour?”

“If there is a bedroom somewhere on the tour, then lead the way.”

“You have a one-track mind, Miles Montgomery.”

“Mason, when it comes to you, there are so many tracks running through this brain of mine, you don’t even want to know. Now show me your place and then I’m making love to you. Before we leave New York, I’m making sure we christen each and every room in the place.”

“Luckily, it’s only a two bedroom then. Otherwise, I’d never get a chance to show you my town.”

“Oh honey, we aren’t keeping this to the bedroom. I’m gonna have you up against that window before the day is done.”

“Did I not mention I’m afraid of heights?”

“Then why live on the top floor of a sky-rise with floor-to-ceiling windows?”

She shrugs.

Walking toward her, she looks leery of me. She should be.

“You’re scaring me, Miles.”

She knows me well enough to know what’s coming when I approach her this way.

Slow and steady.

“Be afraid, Mason. Be very afraid.”

She kicks her shoes off, and before she’s taken her second step, my arm is around her waist, preventing her escape.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Miles! What are you up to?” She giggles while she struggles to get away from me, wanting a fun little game of cat and mouse.

“Baby, you know I love foreplay. I can play this little game of struggle snuggle as long as you want, but you know this is gonna end with you screaming my name, begging for more, and ultimately, with a big ole smile on your face, but if this is how you want to play it, we’ll play.”

I let her wiggle out of my arms, and she squeals as she runs into the kitchen, placing herself on the far side of the island. We’ve played the ‘chase me around the island’ game at my place. I always win.

She’s breathing heavily, more from the anticipation and lust than any real physical exertion, her chest heaving with each breath. I love this playful side of hers. It feels good to know she can let loose and be silly around me. Show me all her colors.

Casually strolling around the island with my hands in my pockets, I see her eyes dart to the left and know when she’s going to make her move.

I let her take her first couple of steps and then before she has a chance to get too far, she’s back in my arms. As soon as our bodies connect and that crackle fills the air, I’m done playing.

Swinging her legs up, I cradle her in my arms and march back into the living room.

Gently yet still playfully, I toss her on the gray overstuffed couch. She lets out another little squeal, but her playfulness is quickly being replaced with lust. She knows where this is going, and she wants it just as badly as I do.

I straddle her on the couch, my body engulfing hers and my lips devouring her like a dessert I can never get enough of. Never wanting the taste of her sweetness to end.

“Baby, what do you say we conquer that fear of yours?”

“Now?”

“No time like the present. Stand up for me.”

Rising to my feet, I take her hand and help her up.

“Take it all off, baby.”

“Miles…”

“All off.”

This time, she doesn’t question me and unzips her pants. While she’s busy following my instructions, I go pick up her heels from the entryway and then bring them back and set them in front of her, earning a sexy smile from her lips.

I remove my shoes and socks, kick off my pants, and when I pull my shirt over my head, I’m met with the sight of my girl with only her lace panties on.

I’m so hard for her I instinctually squeeze myself to try to ease some of the throbbing.

When she shimmies out of the scrap of lace and steps into her hot pink heels, I growl with need but stop myself from tasting her .

Taking her hand in mine, I walk her to the window and feel her hesitance the closer we get.

“I got you. Now, come here and press that fine ass of yours up against the glass.”

“Miles, you have got to be kidding me.”

“Just look at me, Mase. Don’t look down just look at me.”

Never taking her eyes off mine, she turns her back to the window and steps backward until she’s against the glass.

“Shit, that’s cold.”

“We’re about to steam that shit up, so don’t you worry. You won’t be cold for long.”

Letting go of her hands, I finish undressing and take a couple of steps back to admire her. She watches me watching her, and subtly, her legs close as she tries to fend off the throbbing she seems to be feeling too.

I’ve never seen anything like her. She is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on, and sometimes when I see her like this—bared to me, vulnerable, and trusting me with her body—it overwhelms me.

Closing the distance between us, I get as close as I can without touching her except to take her hands in mine so I can put them above her head and hold her in place.

“Mason O’Brien, you take my breath away and give me life all at once.

” Her big doe eyes fill with tears as my body presses against hers.

“I had no idea how empty my life was before I met you. Or what it was like to love someone and have them love you back. To trust me to help take away their fears. You complete every piece of me. Nothing has ever fulfilled me the way you do.”

She begins to speak, but I take her nipple in my mouth, effectively cutting her off.

“That’s what you’re doing right now by trusting me. You’re fulfilling me. Body and soul.”

I gently ease into her, and even though the view behind me is one many dream of, there is no way I’m taking my eyes off the woman trusting me with her soul.

“I love you, Mason. I love you so much.”