a picture of myself, being pleasured by Mason where the family's food was stored.
Sure, the thought was ridiculous, but the point was still valid.
And what about now?
I mean, here I was, at the river's edge, safe and sound. And yet, I'd made no move to retrieve my hand from Mason's.
But in my own defense, his hand felt very nice – not just big and warm, but strong and tender. The unlikely combination went a long way in explaining why he'd been such an amazing lover.
I felt myself swallow. He'd been good with his hands…and other parts, too.
Great. And now I was all distracted again.
Livia had asked me something. But what?
In the end, it was Mason who replied on my behalf. "Forget Cami," he told her. "What the hell are you doing?"
I almost smiled. It was vintage Mason – rude, abrasive, and obnoxiously direct. But sometimes, I decided, those traits weren't all bad. In fact, at this particular moment, I could totally see their appeal.
And besides, his question was entirely valid.
What was she doing across the river?
Sure, I had a theory, but it was too horrifying to consider – until Livia confirmed it herself by calling out, "Oh, you don't know? I'm their new nanny."
Chapter 37
Cami
As soon as the patio door closed safely behind us, I whirled to Mason and said, "She doesn't even like kids."
"Good thing," he said.
I stared up at him. "Why?"
With a low scoff, he replied, "Have you seen the kids across the street?"
Yes. I had. This was assuming, of course, that he meant what I thought he meant. Just to be sure, I said, "You do mean across the river, right?"
He nodded. "River, street…you get the idea."
It reminded me of a similar conversation I'd had with Willow. "I'm just curious," I said. "Who started that?"
"Started what?"
"Calling it a street instead of a river."
With a rueful smile, Mason said, "You can't guess?"
"So it was Willow?"
"Well it wasn't me," he said. "When we moved in, she was still in pre-school. She started calling it a street the day she saw her first boat 'driving' past our back yard. I guess the name stuck."
It made total sense, and yet I was a little surprised to hear Mason going along with it. It was sweet and just a little silly.
I liked it. As I gazed up at him, I said, "So you say it that way because she says it that way?"
"Yeah. Why?"
In spite of my lingering annoyance with Livia, I couldn’t help but smile. "I guess I figured you for a more literal type of person."
The truth was, I'd figured lots of things when it came to Mason. Some of them had turned out to be true. And yet, the longer I lived here, the more I realized that he also had a softer side. It was the side he showed to his sister.
And to me.
Well, sometimes, anyway.
With a casual shrug, Mason said, "Eh, it helps if we use the same lingo."
"Oh, really?" I teased. "Does this mean you're going to be using my lingo, too?"
He looked intrigued. "Like what?"
"Well…" I gave it some thought. "Like lunk-blaster."
Although it was an obvious joke, he appeared to give it serious consideration. "Well, I'd use that before 'donk.'"
I saw his point. As far as words to describe sex, donk was totally lacking. But the strangest thing was, the term had seemed perfectly fine until now.
Meaning until Mason.
After my encounter with him, the word seemed utterly ridiculous. Why was that? Was it because sex with Mason had been too incredible for such a silly word? Or was it because he made me feel things that I'd never felt before?
What those feelings were, I didn't want to speculate. And yet, I was speculating, not just now, but during the past few weeks. Now, as my thoughts churned, I heard myself say, "What would you call it?"
"Call what?"
Embarrassment made me hesitate until curiosity won out. "Like, you know how I say 'donk' to describe a certain act. What's your slang word?" The question had barely left my lips when a sudden recollection made me freeze. "Wait. Never mind."
Mason studied my face. "Why?"
"Because I already know."
"You know what?"
"What your word is," I said. "It's 'bang', right?" With an awkward laugh, I added, "As in, you don't 'bang' the Help."
Meaning me.
And yet, he had.
Mason frowned. "I shouldn't have said that."
I tried to laugh. "No kidding, especially because you did." I lifted my hands and made little air-quotes between us. "Bang the Help, I mean."
"Cami…" His voice softened. "Whatever