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  The tables had turned. It was a good time to get their workout started. “Let’s go, man. Before anyone else gets here.” It was early. Nine o’clock. The gym didn’t open until ten, but Mason and Rafe had privileges to use it whenever they wanted. They’d been members for almost ten years now.

  Their longtime coach owned this gym, and he’d given them permission to use it at will. Amateur MMA wasn’t something Mason did for the money. He did it for the love of the sport and the heady feeling he got every time he knocked his opponent out. Plus, it was the best way to stay in shape he’d ever found.

  Once they got into the zone, time flew. Mason was the bigger man by only a few pounds, but Rafe had never had any difficulty holding his own. It was against every instinct, but Mason managed to avoid slamming his friend in the head. The wrath of Katy wasn’t something he enjoyed often. The woman made a perfect mate for Rafe, all fire and vinegar on the outside, syrup and honey on the inside.

  She wasn’t quite what Mason had in mind for himself, but then again, Mason didn’t want any woman on a permanent basis. An occasional submissive at the club was fine. Anything more than that made his palms sweat. Women were a pain in the ass, as he was frequently reminded when he spoke with his whipped friend Rafe.

  He grinned at the man now. “So what’s planned for the wedding night? White corsets? Fuzzy cuffs?”

  “A man never kisses and tells.” Rafe held up a hand and leaned against the fence, catching his breath. “I think I’m done. That was just what I needed. How about a shower, and then we can go get our hair and nails done?”

  Mason lifted an eye and shook his head. “Perfect. Exactly what I had in mind for today. And then we can do each other’s makeup, and we’ll be set for the evening.”

  “Hey.” A voice on the floor called up at them. People had been trickling in for a while, but Mason had barely noticed. “Aren’t you two supposed to be at a wedding or something?” Joe Marks chuckled as he approached. As the owner and head coach at the gym, Mason respected him more than almost any other man.

  Mason leaned against the fence and grabbed the bar along the top. “Rafe here thought he could work out his pre-wedding jitters against my face and chest.”

  “Did it work?” Joe turned his gaze to Rafe.

  “Yep. I’m all ready now.”

  “Yeah, don’t bet on it. Been there done that. No matter what you think you’re ready for, I can assure you that little spitfire of a woman you’re marrying will set you straight really quick. For such a tiny thing, she doesn’t pull any punches.” Joe laughed at his pun and walked away. “See you at the wedding.”

  Mason smirked at Rafe. Joe knew exactly what Rafe was up against. Katy was Joe’s niece. Mason and Rafe had been standing on that very mat sparring with each other one Saturday six months ago when Katy had walked into the gym and caused Rafe to do a double take. Mason hadn’t missed the opportunity to level his friend to the ground. And the rest was history, as they said.

  As Mason tugged off his gloves, he glanced up and chuckled. “I think the rest of the gang wants to wish you luck, Rafe.” Four large guys headed their way from across the room. Joe had dubbed the six of them “The Fight Club,” and it had long ago stuck. By now, most people in a hundred-mile radius knew who “The Fight Club” was. To the guys, they were just six middleweight MMA fighters who didn’t like to lose. To everyone else, they’d been lifted to a higher pedestal.

  Rider, Gage, Zane, and Conner stepped into the ring.

  Rider was a cop. With his all-American, good-boy looks, he made women swoon at his feet. But when he had his uniform on, he was a force to be reckoned with. He nodded. “Rafe, we wanted to wish you luck, man. We’ll be there tonight for the eulogy…er, I mean nuptials.” He chuckled and jumped back when Rafe leaped forward to grab for him.

  The guys all shook Rafe’s hand.

  “Congrats, dude,” Gage said. “You deserve the best.”

  “Thanks, guys.” Rafe gathered his stuff, headed for the gate, and jumped down to the floor. “See you tonight.”

  “I’m out of here too,” Mason added. The workout had done him some good. Maybe he could get his head on straight now and keep his eyes off the sexy expanse of white skin that he’d seen way too much of last night.

  He groaned inwardly. Keeping his hands off Jenna was going to be harder than keeping his fists off Rafe’s face.

  Chapter Five

  Jenna stood through the ceremony, concentrating on her task and trying to avoid the man opposite her, who hadn’t glanced in her direction one time. The same man who had stripped her bare last night and rocked her world.

  She felt naked even now, knowing he’d seen every inch of her body. The fact she’d seen nothing of him and didn’t even know if his chest was smooth or sprinkled with hair didn’t escape her.

  Twenty-four hours ago she’d been embarrassed standing in this same spot ogling Mason Simmons as though he hung the moon. Now, that sensation increased tenfold as she considered the ramifications of last night’s actions.

  Naked and exposed is how she felt. In fact she kept looking down at today’s dress to make sure she was actually wearing something.

  She went through the motions of the wedding, glad for the shorter service that lasted less than half an hour. As soon as the bride and groom kissed and headed down the aisle, she turned to Mason and stepped as gracefully as she could down the two steps to join him in the center of the aisle.

  He didn’t make eye contact even then, and she tucked her hand under his arm as though he were a piranha. At this point, her blood was boiling. She’d gone from embarrassed to pissed in the course of half an hour. What the fuck was his problem? She felt used and discarded, and they hadn’t even had sex.

  Yeah, but what you gave him was so much more than sex.

  Her loose grip on his bicep was very different from yesterday’s. She wished she could speed up time and get the hell out of his presence. Instead, she had to endure the long slow stroll down the aisle, smiling politely at everyone on both sides of the church as she tried to hold back the ball of nerves building in her throat. Thank God she hadn’t had to speak during the ceremony.

  Endless pictures followed, during which time Jenna tried to mingle pleasantly with the other bridesmaids and make small talk. Mason was ever present in her peripheral vision, but she never caught him looking at her.

  What had changed? Had he decided she wasn’t good enough for him after all? Or was this the way he treated all women? Maybe that’s why Katy had warned her against him.

  Jenna lifted her head and shook out her pity party. She was bigger than this. No one was going to ruin her evening. If Mason wanted to ignore what happened between them last night, she could play that game right alongside him.

  A limo took the entire wedding party to the reception. Jenna managed to sit next to Katy and continually fluffed her friend’s dress and straightened the skirt.

  Everyone toasted the bride and groom with glasses of champagne on the ride. Jenna held her glass high and smiled broadly with the others, but she only took a few sips. Part of her wished she was plastered so she could forget the man seated several people down the row from her. But she knew the only way she could maintain her calm façade was to avoid alcohol. One glass and she would undoubtedly turn into a blubbering idiot.

  The reception hall was crowded, but Jenna soon realized her luck had run out. A head table sat on a raised dais in the front of the room, and each place had a nameplate. She was seated next to the one and only Mason Simmons.

  Great. She reached for the back of her chair, but immediately found her hand brushed out of the way as a larger arm covered in a black tuxedo sleeve scooted the chair from the table.

  Jenna lifted her gaze and found Mason motioning for her to step up to her place. He didn’t make eye contact, but he kept his gentlemanly skills honed.

  Jenna took his lead and sat as Mason pushed her chair perfectly close to the table cloth. She swallowed the lump in her throat and vow
ed to be the most pleasant person in the room.

  When he was seated next to her, Mason grabbed her napkin and shook it out as he had last night. This time she grabbed it from his hand and glared at him. “I’m not a child,” she mumbled under the breath. She pasted her smile back in place and turned toward the bride and groom as they took their seats.

  “You look so beautiful,” she told Katy for the millionth time.

  “Thanks. You look pretty damn fine yourself.” Katy winked and accepted a glass of white wine from her husband. She peeked around Jenna and then looked back at her friend, her brow furrowed before she lifted an eyebrow in question.

  Jenna shrugged and smiled at Katy. She could do this. She could.

  The room got quiet while several toasts were made, including a glorious well-planned speech from the elusive Mason himself. He stood next to Jenna, taking up more space than anyone in the room and lifting his glass in the air as he said the perfect things about his friend and his new wife.

  Moments later, the room filled with chatter as everyone began to eat. The meal was served at the table. Salads arrived, followed by the main course. Jenna nibbled on everything and pushed it around the plate. She could hardly swallow a bite. It took all her energy to keep her face perfectly poised.

  With great relief, the meal ended, and Jenna pushed from the table. She didn’t pay any attention to Mason’s attempt to assist her. Instead she followed Katy to the cake table and watched as her best friend smashed frosting into her husband’s face.

  An ache in the pit of her stomach threatened to erupt. She’d faked happy for too long. She eased into a corner, wondering how on earth she was going to be able to stay in this room filled with Mason for several more hours. In her favor, the lights dimmed, making it difficult for anyone to see her face.

  She felt the flush as it rose from her chest to her cheeks, and she blinked her eyes several times, unable to keep her emotions in check another moment.

  If she was quick enough, she might make it to a restroom and into a stall before the tears fell. She berated herself the entire walk. She could only move so fast in the high heels that wobbled in her haste, threatening to toss her on her ass.

  Wouldn’t that be the cherry on top if she fell in the hall and lay sprawled out on the ground?

  Jenna easily found the restroom and sequestered herself in a stall in the nick of time. She leaned against the door, letting the surface cool her heated cheek.

  Try as she might to keep them at bay, the tears fell. She bit her lip to keep quiet in case anyone else was in the restroom. Why had she let that man get under her skin? He’d warned her against him. Katy had warned her. Even Rafe had insisted she not get involved with Mason. She had no right to be upset now.

  Hell, she had enough on her plate right now. The last thing she needed was a man in her life. In fact, she’d received a nice reminder of her real-world problems earlier in the day when she’d paused to check her messages. It shouldn’t have surprised her to hear her mother’s voice on her answering machine. The woman called every Friday. By now, their relationship was so strained her mother didn’t have the foggiest idea that Jenna was currently at the wedding of her best friend, a friend Mrs. Joann Mathews had never met or heard of.

  Jenna kept her new life separate from her old one. Katy knew all the details, but she was sworn to secrecy. Jenna’s family didn’t deserve to know about Jenna’s personal life. Nor did they show any indication they cared.

  Jenna tugged a length of toilet paper free from the roll and dabbed at her cheeks. If her makeup got ruined, she’d be found out. She needed to get a grip and get back out there. Her melancholy trip down memory lane did nothing to help her pull herself together. If anything, it reinforced her resolve to put Mason Simmons out of her mind and move on with her life. Katy’s main goal had been to keep Mason and Jenna from ruining her night. She’d done everything in her power to prevent that. Now Jenna owed it to her friend to buck up and play with the big kids.

  Deep breaths. She repeated happy thoughts to herself. Kittens. Puppies. Even hedgehogs were cute scurrying through her mind.

  She pasted on a new smile, opened the door, and stepped up to the mirror. The damage was minimal. If she could calm down enough to get the splotchy red patches to recede, she’d be in perfect shape. No one would know.

  Jenna sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the hall. She took one step in the wrong direction before realizing her mistake. But when she turned, an arm snaked out from around the corner and tugged her out of the hallway.

  Jenna gasped, but in an instant she found herself plastered against the wall in the dim light at the end of the hall. An enormous plant stood to her left, blocking anyone from seeing her from that side. Her eyes widened as the huge man she would easily recognize blindfolded nestled his body against hers and lifted her arms above her head. He held them there, firm and secure, both her wrists in one of his hands.

  And then his mouth was on hers, and he kissed her hard, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth with a few swipes between her lips. She complied, unable to deny Mason anything. Her body melted into his frame. Her dress rose along her thighs, dangerously high. It hadn’t been that long to begin with.

  Her breasts ached where his chest smashed them flat against her.

  Mason tipped his head to one side and deepened the kiss, his tongue delving into the crevices of her mouth until she lost all train of thought. This was the first time he’d kissed her. After everything he’d done last night to scatter her brain, he still hadn’t kissed her.

  Her eyes fluttered shut. All she knew was his lips, his tongue, and the way his body caressed hers against the wall. She couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t care.

  She moaned and he pulled back, setting his forehead against hers. He reached with his free hand and covered her mouth. “Don’t do that. I can’t think when you make that noise, and besides, someone is going to hear you.”

  Her eyes widened. She stared at him without blinking, his palm flattened against her mouth. She could taste his skin, and she wanted to run her tongue along the lines in his hand.

  She inhaled through her nose instead, trying to regain one brain cell’s ability to function.

  Slowly, he released her mouth and swiped her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “You were crying.”

  She closed her eyes and took shallow breaths, panting really. Damn him and his vigilance.

  “You’re killing me. Stop…liking me.”

  She opened her eyes. “Are you serious?” What a strange thing to say to a woman. “I was doing fine until you dragged me into this corner to grope me in the hall,” she whispered with her most gravelly voice. “Fuck you.”

  “You weren’t doing anything fine. You’re so transparent, I couldn’t swallow my dinner through the lump in my throat you put there with your sighing. And don’t cuss at me. It’s not becoming.”

  “Fuck you again, you jerk.” She bucked against him, but he held her steady.

  “Why are you so damn angry?”

  “Oh, aren’t you a piece of work. You spend the entire evening ignoring me as though we’ve never met after rocking my world and turning it upside down last night. You are an ass. Katy warned me. I should have listened. I can’t believe I let you do all those things to me last night. I’m so embarrassed I could scream. And you don’t even like me.” Her voice rose above a whisper, and Mason covered her mouth again.

  He set his forehead against hers and inhaled deeply. “First of all, I have yet to grope you in this corner.” He released her face and ran his hand down her side, grasping her breast and cupping it firmly in his palm.

  Jenna squirmed, trying to avoid his touch, willing her body not to respond the way it was. Instead, her panties grew wet, and her nipples tightened against the inside of her dress.

  Mason squeezed her tit hard through the silky material and then lowered his hand to her crotch to cup her pussy. He held her steady for one heart-stopping moment and then tugged her dress
up with his fingers until the hem was too high on her thighs. Again he covered her pussy with his palm, pressing against her until he nearly lifted her off the ground. “That is groping, baby. I was doing no such thing. But thanks for the idea.”

  When he released her, her dress didn’t fall back down. Instead he stuck one thigh between her legs and held her spread open. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grinding against him. She was that hot, that fast.

  “Second of all,” he began, gripping her chin lightly with his fingers, “I never ignored you for a moment. You just thought I did. I tried. God knows I tried. If Rafe or Katy knew what I was thinking throughout the ceremony and then dinner, they’d have my head.” He licked the slit of her mouth until she opened in a gasp.

  “I—”

  “Hush. I have a few more things to say.” He bit her lower lip with his teeth and released it when she groaned. “It’s true, I can be an ass. I’m sorry about that. Yes, you should have listened to Katy’s warning. Please don’t be embarrassed about the beautiful way you came apart in my arms last night. I’m humbled by your gift.

  “And it’s completely untrue that I don’t like you. I like you way too much. God knows why. I shouldn’t. I should walk out the door and never look back. But your body calls to mine on a level I’ve never experienced before. I need you like an addict needs their next fix.” The second he finished his speech his lips were on hers again.

  The world spun as her blood went south.

  His hand roamed her body, grabbing and squeezing her in so many places at once she thought he’d grown an extra arm or two. When he lowered his thigh and slipped his palm back over her pussy, she squealed.

  “Shh. Baby, not a sound. You don’t want anyone to find you here like this, right?”

  She tried to focus on his face. She shook her head and bit her lip.

  “No sounds. Got it?” He stroked a finger under her thong as he spoke, dipping into her channel and then spreading her moisture up over her clit. “So wet for me. So aroused.”