Shelby - Mandy Harbin Page 0,41

other man.

It wasn’t right. He was fully aware he could not be with her or any woman until the mess at F and B was handled. Knowing it, however, didn’t stop him from having that carnal reaction to her.

“Okay, turn over and scoot down so I can sit behind your head. Please,” she added softly.

“Good girl,” he said, smiling as he rolled over and adjusted himself. He shoved all errant thoughts into the deepest recesses of his mind as she maneuvered into a new position. He had plenty of shit to fret about regarding work to have time to focus on anything else.

She dug her hands under his neck and rubbed. He liked this position much better because he could see her, watch her reaction as they talked. She touched a spot that was tender and he did his best not to grimace, but she frowned anyway. “Care to tell me what has you so stressed? I’m a good listener.”

He half-smiled at her. “I’m not stressed.”

“Your neck says otherwise.” She dug into that spot harder, and he clenched his fists at the sudden pain. “Relax,” she murmured.

Jesus, how could he relax when she was ripping his head off? But as she continued, the pain lessened and the knot disappeared.

“Since you don’t talk to your family and you’re not married, I’m going to guess it has something to do with work.”

He sighed. She wasn’t completely wrong. “Yeah, but you don’t want to know.”

She licked her lips. “No,” she said easily. “You will probably bore me to tears.” Then she stopped and looked down at him. “And if you start talking about derivatives and shit, I’ll know you’re doing it just to be mean, so I’ll have to squirt oil in your eyes as payback.” He laughed, and her eyes twinkled back at him as she fought a smile. “But,” she said as she continued rubbing his neck, “if something is bothering you, you should let it out. You’d be surprised how just talking about something can relieve tension.”

“I think my boss is up to no good,” he said, shutting his eyes as she went back to rubbing his neck. Apparently, releasing tension in his neck also loosened his tongue.

“Up to no good how?”

When he didn’t reply immediately, she moved her hands from his neck to his chest, rubbing just above his pecs. He kept his eyes shut as she worked, but he wondered how much he could say without giving anything away. Too much was riding on him to take William down at all cost, now more than ever.

Fuck, he’d already said too much. If Shelby knew anything, someone could hurt her. Carl knew too much and had to be dealt with already. The thought of anybody hurting one hair on Shelby’s head ignited fury. He couldn’t chance it. He was in too deep and wouldn’t tarnish any part of her with his dealings. He was getting close to her, and that was the problem. He had to put a stop to it, lock down his emotions.

Her hands traveled lower, caressing him on their path south. When she wrapped her oiled hands around his straining shaft, more tension flooded him, rather than leaving. He strained up into her grasp as she began to pump him because it had felt too good not to. He loved what she did to him, and he hated that. How could he push her away when he craved her so?

“Mason,” she breathed, moaned, and his gaze flew up to her, yanking him out of his passionate haze with stark reality. He grabbed her hair, directing her to look at him.

“No,” he bit out through gritted teeth. Her shocked expression tugged at his heart, which only spurred him on. “Don’t call me that, Shelby. When it comes to sex, I am your Master.” She let go of him, and he continued, “You’re getting too close. This is not a relationship.” His admonishment was as much for her as it was for himself. When she blinked a few times, he let go of her hair. Without looking at her, he rolled off the bed and stood. He needed distance right fucking now. “I think tonight was a mistake.”

Her mouth dropped open, and her struggle for words was apparent as she quickly shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, and looked down.

“We’re done.” He hated it, but pushing her away was his only choice. He reached for his pants and pulled them on. “I’ll talk to my associates