“A little to late for that now don’t you think?”
She looked at the sheet that had fallen into his lap and all of the naked chest that was now on display. “I don’t remember anything after the stairs.”
As she watched a grin pull up on his mouth, his dimples crept out. “You do remember what happened on the stairs though?”
Lena felt a flush spread over her body and nodded.
“Then everything went blank you say?” he asked running a hand through his hair.
“Stop being so mysterious Langley and tell me how we ended up back at my place, in bed!” she demanded, embarrassed to hear her voice hitting close to hysterical.
Reaching down he lifted the sheet and flung it off himself. Lena averted her head quickly, which seemed slightly immature, but at this point she didn’t care. Then she caught a flash of black as he walked around the side of the bed and stopped an inch from her in a pair of black silk boxers.
Mason watched as she looked up at him with wide eyes and lots of questions. He reached out and pushed a stray curl behind her ear. “Nothing happened doctor, relax. I’m not naked, you’re not naked.”
“We might as well be!” she pointed out, “You’re all..” and she waved her hand up and down at him.
“In boxers.” then bending down at the waist so they were nose to nose he grinned, “And you’re in a little black thong.”
Blushing and holding the sheet tighter to herself he grinned then stood walking over to the window. “Anyway, lets focus on the real issue here. You must’ve had to much to drink and after you went off, like fireworks on the Fourth of July, you passed out.”
“Please tell me you’re lying.”
“I wish I could but...” he shrugged. “Then Shelly told me your address and I drove you home.”
“That still doesn’t explain how you’re in my bed. Why didn’t you just drop me off then leave?”
Stretching his long arms above his head he heard her move behind him and knew she was reaching for a shirt. “Well I put you down on the bed and was about to leave when you reached out and asked me to stay. So I did.”
He turned back to face her and noticed she looked appalled, which for some reason made him want to crawl back into that bed and do what she thought they had, but instead of doing that he leaned against the window and crossed his arms and legs. “Don’t worry Lena all the exciting stuff happened on the stairs.”
“That’s not the point.” she mumbled.
“Then what is?”
Sputtering she tried to come up with a good answer then she blew out a breath making a curl flop forward in her face. She must’ve been annoyed by that because she reached up and pushed the offending strand behind her ear. Almost reluctantly she raised her eyes to his again.
“So ah, what happened with Delicious?”
He arched a brow at her and smirked. “So you do remember bits and pieces?”
Visibly she stiffened then snapped at him. “I told you I did.”
“So you did,” he nodded then pushed off the window to stand straight. “I won’t know until the article comes out on Monday but right after you passed out I called Peter and asked him if we could do a phone interview. He agreed and I called him after I got you safely in bed.”
Groaning loudly she flopped back on the bed her hair fluffing out behind her as she threw her arm over her eyes. “God Mason! This is a disaster.”
Taking her arm away and turning her head toward him she muttered, “I’m a disaster.”
He walked over and crouched down beside her. She’d shut her eyes so he reached out and stroked a finger down her cheek watching them spring back open. “I was comparing you more to a train wreck, but same conclusion.”
She grimaced then asked softly, “Then why are you still here?”
Lena couldn’t believe she’d asked him that. She shouldn’t even care why he was here or if he was going to stay but suddenly it seemed vital to her very existence to know.
“I have no idea. You really messed up last night.”
Although she didn’t like hearing it she knew he was right. She also knew he was half naked and very close. Pulling her hand out from under the sheet she reached out to stroke his chest. “I told you I wasn’t good at this.”
He laughed softly, “Yeah but you didn’t say you’d been the downfall of my career.”
Her eyes widened and he wrapped a curl around his finger, “I’m just kidding. I’m sure it wont be that bad. Although I’d love to be there when you finally meet up with Shelly again.”
Lena sighed then sat up as he walked away and she found she missed him being close to her. She froze when she saw him in front of her dresser, he reached out and picked up the picture of Carly and herself. He turned to face her with a smile and when his eyes met hers it disappeared. She felt the blood drain away from her face and all her walls shifting back into place. Suddenly last night disappeared and any pleasure she’d been feeling was suffocated by a heavy dose of guilt mixed with pain. Even though she knew it was coming she flinched when he asked.
“Who’s this in the picture with you?”
Mason knew he was walking through a minefield with the way Lena was frozen and barely breathing. Somehow the moment had gone from warm and almost, dare he say, tender? To arctic cold. He watched her eyes go from his face to the frame in his hand then back up to his face. He’d never had anyone look at him with such an icy glare, but suddenly the room was frigid.
“None of your business.” she answered coolly.
Okay, whoever this girl was, obviously it was a huge no go zone because suddenly he felt like he needed to dive back under the covers to warm up, or hide. Turning he placed the frame back then walked around the side of the bed he’d slept in. He bent down and picked up his clothes looking over to see that Lena hadn’t moved an inch. She didn’t so much as spare him a glance as he walked around the bed, clothes in hand to, the door.
“I’m going to walk out this door right now.” he paused and even though he had no indication as to whether or not she was listening he added, “This isn’t done though. Whatever it is you’re thinking, and whatever walls you’re trying to put up, don’t even think about it. I’m here to stay, you don’t get to kick me out yet.” and with that he left her sitting in the middle of her huge white bed, alone. Exactly the way she seemed to want it.
Lena sat staring at the dresser in absolute silence. She knew it was absolute because she’d just heard the front door slam signaling Mason’s departure. She couldn’t have explained what she was feeling at that moment if her life had depended on it. She’d been on her way to trying her luck at inviting Mason back to bed, to continue what they’d started last night, when everything had gotten flipped upside down. Taking a deep breath she pushed the covers off walking over to the dresser. Picking up the picture he’d been holding, not five minutes earlier, she stared at the two happy people in it. It felt like a lifetime ago, and it was, Carly’s life. She knew she’d been horribly rude to him about the photograph but she just hadn’t been ready to let him in, an honestly she didn’t know if she ever would be, and that was a damn shame. Putting the picture back in its place Lena made her way over to the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water then looked at herself in the mirror. What the hell was the matter with her? Here she had a funny, gorgeous guy, who for some reason kept coming back when she continually screwed things up, and she couldn’t find it in her to let him in. Not having any idea what Mason Langley saw in her she was thinking that maybe she needed to squash whatever it was before he got in deeper and she squashed his heart instead.