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The chill night air brushes across my cheeks, cooling the worry bubbling beneath my skin. A part of me is excited to get home and fall into my bed, but a louder part of me is anxious to step into the place that had just hours before been invaded by reflection hopping supernaturals who I’m still not sure want to kill me or not.
The memory of the infection burning across my arm surfaces, the white and blue blisters breaking the top of my skin, spreading across me until I was sure it was going to move to my heart and end me right there. It should have scared me but it didn’t, not really. In a sick way I had welcomed it. At least it wouldn’t have been my fault.
I try to shake the thought from my mind but another one takes its place almost instantly. I can see Douglas back at the facility hooked up to machines that are desperately trying to keep him alive and here I am walking back to my apartment that just a few hours ago had been a meeting place for an unknown supernatural infiltration team.
I shouldn’t have let him inside, I should have shooed him back to his heartless father with his tail between his skinny legs. But something had stopped me. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was guilt, maybe it was the feeling of mutual abandonment that lingered on the edges of my mind. Whatever it was, I had let him in and I’m going to have to live with that.
Mason’s shoulder brushes softly against mine as we close in on my building. I glance over at him but he’s not looking at me, his eyes are focused upward, looking up at the clear sky. His expression is the closest to content I think he can get. I watch him for a moment, slowing my steps to even and steady to stop myself from face planting in the street. That’s the last thing I need right now.
Mason rolls his head, a smirk on his lips as his gaze falls on me. My cheeks start to burn at being caught watching him and I snap my eyes back to the large brick building before us. “Like what you see, sweetheart?”
“I was…” The words get caught around the choked breath that catches in my throat. What am I supposed to say? Yes, I do like it, you’re the first beautiful thing that’s been willing to come near me in years and I know I don’t deserve it . “You look nice.”
His smirk grows sharper as we reach the stairs. My heart skips in my chest. That’s not what I meant, what I was trying to say, the words had just slipped out. I try to backpedal. “I mean, you look peaceful. Like you’re not about to erupt. It’s just… different is all.”
A chuckle escapes him, his shoulder bumping against mine as we walk up the stairs leading to my floor. I try to will my heart back down where it belongs, beating unsteadily inside of the hole in my chest but it doesn’t work. The heat that had been creeping up my neck burns brightly and I hope against hope that my face isn’t beet red.
He trails ahead of me, stopping in front of my door before turning slowly to meet my gaze. His smirk has faded, the only memory of it the slight uptilt of the corner of his mouth. He waits for me to catch up, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I stumble lightly over my cold feet as I hurry to reach him, eager to slip inside and escape his scrutiny.
I wedge my key into the door, twisting it swiftly before turning to him to do something, to say goodnight or thank him for taking me home I’m not sure. The words dry up in my mouth when I catch his eye, the normally still gray turned dark and stormy as he rakes his gaze over my body.
“So,” He starts, running his tongue across his top lip like he’s seeing something worth devouring. “Are you gonna invite me in?”
“I- uh…” I try to speak but my dry mouth stops the words from escaping me. I want to, god do I want to, but I’m afraid of ruining this, whatever this is. I’m afraid that if he sees me he’ll run screaming like they always do. “For what?”
“Come on.” He leans against the door frame, closing the distance between us until I can feel his warm breath on my face. I swallow heavily, trying to force the dryness out of my mouth so I can breathe again. “It’s just us. Alone. When are we gonna get another chance?”
Thoughts start to swim in my head, fighting each other to be the first one to surface. I feel like I’m drowning beneath his heated gaze, under my swirling thoughts. I should say no. I should push him away. I should, I should, I should.
Instead of answering I cross the short distance between us and press my lips against his before I can think better of it. He responds instantly, one of his hands cupping my cheek to angle me up to meet him, the other settling on my thin waist as he tugs me closer to him.
I reach behind me, shuffling my hand around until it lands on the knob. I turn it quickly, anxious to get inside where no one can see us. We almost tumble to the ground when the door swings open but Mason catches me at the last second, his firm grip on my hips keeping me upright.
He kicks the door shut behind him, his hands never leaving me. I almost pull away to lock it, worrying tingling at the back of my mind. What if another pack of thralls tries to break in? What if the supernaturals from before choose the door this time? What if any number of terrible things happen because I allowed myself to be weak just for a brief moment?
Mason moves us backwards, shuffling unsteady over the carpet until my ass hits the edge of my kitchen table. He grabs me by the hips and lifts me onto the surface, his fingers digging into my flesh just on the right side of too rough. I huff out a surprised breath against his lips that he gladly swallows.
Trailing his kisses across my face and down to my neck, he drags his tongue against the nearly invisible scar on my jugular, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. A soft moan escapes me as he moves down to the curve of my shoulder, tugging my sleeve down for him to reach it better.
He pulls back suddenly and the worry is back. This is a mistake, I know that, but don’t I deserve one good thing? I know the answer but I’m afraid to say it. He’s going to run, he’s going to tell me he didn’t mean it, he’s going to say that it was all a joke. Instead, he slips off his shirt before returning to my mouth.
Almost with a mind of their own my hands land on his chest, feeling the excited beating of his heart against my palms. Something tells me he isn’t going anywhere, that he’s going to stay at least until he sees this through. The thought pushes the worry back to where it belongs, hidden deep in the darkest part of my mind.
Mason pulls away slowly, stilling my hands from their wandering across his taut bare torso. He’s panting, his face so close I can feel his breath on my skin. He presses a hot kiss against the corner of my mouth, whispering against my cheek, “Sure you wanna do this, sweetheart?”
My words catch around the lump forming in my throat, the memory of the worry, of the panic, of what could happen if I open too much. I curl my hands against his chest, my nails pressing into his heated skin. “On two conditions.”
“Whatever you want.” He says, stormy eyes locking onto mine. I have to force myself to not look away.
“Lights off.” One of his hands worms beneath the hem of my shirt, pushing it up my side. I grab onto his wrist a touch too rough and pull him back. “Clothes on.”
Mason raises an eyebrow, a question forming on his lips that I kiss away before it can slip out of him. He takes the hint, sliding his hand lower until it’s slipping beneath the waist of my leggings. I gasp into his mouth as he glides his hand into my underwear and presses his fingers against me.
His lips curl into a smirk against mine, and I can almost feel the snarky comment forming on his tongue. I wrap my hands around the back of his neck, pulling him closer against me, sucking the words from his throat.
A moan slips out of my mouth as he moves against me slowly, working his way inside where I haven’t let anyone in years. He peppers his kisses down my neck, latching onto the curve of my shoulder where he drags his teeth across me gently.
Suddenly and fiercely I want him to let go of his carefully constructed control, to tear into me until I’m a pulpy mess beneath his too sharp teeth. My skin pulses at the thought, begging me to present myself like a gift deserving to be unwrapped beneath his eager hands.
I suck in a breath, wrapping my hand in his hair as I hold him against me, begging him silently to give in and take me away but he just kisses my skin softly before moving back up to my mouth. He crooks his fingers and my exhale gets stuck in my chest, my breath stuttering against his parted lips. My thighs clench around his steady hand, heat pooling in my stomach as I chase my release.
It doesn’t take me long to reach the edge, to begin to fall over the cliff and to my welcomed end. The ground rushes up to meet me and I reach out with aching hands but just before my palms can reach he pulls away, grinning against my lips.
I lean back, panting out around my heart in my throat. I attempt a glare at him but it fades when I see him in all his glory, lips kissed bright red, eyes stormy and hazy with lust. He pulls away just enough to lift me by the ass and carry me toward my room. I wrap my legs around his waist, pressing a desperate kiss against his lips, my hands cupping his jaw to pull him down to meet me halfway.
He presses one hot kiss against my cheek before dropping me onto my bed. I bounce against my mattress, the old wooden frame groaning at my sudden weight. He pushes me onto my back with one hand, using the other to undo his belt before he shimmies out of his jeans. Climbing between my covered thighs he presses his long body against mine, pressing me down into my mattress as he slots his hips against mine.
Kissing me breathless, he slips his hand down my stomach and under the hem of my leggings. He slips inside again, his thumb rubbing against me in soft circles as he teases me. I wrap my hands around his shoulders, my fingers scrambling against his bare back when he crooks his fingers just right. A groan slips out of him, rumbling against my lips. He starts to move faster, my heart beating so hard I worry it's going to come out of my throat.
He bites my lower lip and I clench around his skilled fingers, my breath catching in my chest as the ground rushes up to meet me. His name slips out of my tight throat as I fall, this time I crash into it, my fragile body cracking as it hits the rough floor.
Pulling away he grins down at me, his eyes shining in the sparse light slipping through my window. I pant roughly, willing my heart rate to return to normal as I come down from my high.
“You’re welcome.” He says around the grin hanging from his lips.
I manage to suck in a breath to tell him to shut up but before I can he pulls away, grabbing the hem of my leggings and pulling them just far enough down my hips to bare me before him.
I shiver in the cool air, the heat drawing out of my body suddenly at the absence of him. I reach out and press my palms against his chest, dragging my nails across his sensitive skin. He sucks in a breath before he smirks down at me and grabs me by the hips so hard I know I’ll have bruises in the morning, pulling me flush against him.
I gasp as he glides into me, stretching me until the only thing I can think about is the heat of him pressing against me, pulsing inside of me, surrounding me until it's all I can feel. I cant my hips, chasing after him, begging him to break me apart beneath his strong hands.
Mason looks down at me, his gaze heated and too intense. I clench my eyes shut tightly, reaching up until I grasp onto the edge of a pillow. I pull it to my chest, burying my face into its soft down to stop myself from drifting away.
He pulls back, hands still on my thin hips as he moves within me. I moan into the pillow, the sound absorbed by the soft fabric. Pressing a sturdy hand against my stomach he shifts, thighs pressing against my ass as he throws my legs over his shoulders.
It doesn’t take long until I’m falling off the cliff again and this time there’s no one there to catch me. I crash into the ground full force, a strangled curse escaping my throat as I clench around him.
He doesn’t stop, moving within me until I’m shattered beneath his sure grip, the feeble amounts of air I can manage to suck in past the surface of the pillow coming out in choked breaths. Finally, he groans, pulsing within me before he slips out and drops heavily next to me.
My skin pulses where his hands had been just moments before, a bubble of confusion blossoming in my chest. I stamp it down quickly, shoving it as deep as it will go. I knew what this was the second I crossed that line. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a distraction from the nothing, from the inevitable end.
Somewhere across town Douglas lays in a hospital bed hooked up to machines while doctors try futilely to figure out what exactly has infected him. It’s your fault , my brain shouts at me, and this is how you spend your time? I push the thought from my mind, focusing instead on trying to still the rapid beat of my heart.
The bed shakes next to me and I pull the pillow away from my burning face just in time to see Mason searching around the room for his jeans. I want to say something, anything to fill the sudden silence but nothing comes to mind.
I watch him slide on his pants, glancing back at me one time, his brow drawn together, mouth open slightly like he has something to say, before he does he slips out of the door. I expected a snarky comment, a smirk around an innuendo, anything other than the overwhelming nothing that I’ve been presented with.
Flipping over in my bed I wait for the feeling to return to my legs so I can go to the bathroom. It shouldn’t be long.
—
Mason finds his shirt draped over the back of the couch where he had tossed it earlier. He pulls it on slowly, listening all the while to the Detective’s slowing heartbeat from the next room. He knows that he should have said something before leaving but the overwhelming emotion in the room had burned against his already too sensitive skin.
He finds his shoes by the front door, piled next to each other in his eagerness to feel the Detective pressed against him. Her lips had stung against his, electricity pulsing between where they were connected. The sounds of the quiet gasps he’d pulled out of her with his simple touch echo in his ears. He shakes the thoughts from his head roughly. It didn’t mean anything, he knows that, she knows that. He had made himself very clear.
Still, he can’t quite push her from his mind. The feeling of her pulling against him as he moved around her, the way her soft skin had felt where she would let him touch her.
Idly he wonders at her conditions, the rules. Lights off, clothes on. Was she worried that he wouldn’t like what he’d see? Was she afraid that he’d change his mind when he laid eyes on her nimble body? All it does is make him want her more, to come back for another round if only to be able to see her spread bare beneath him.
He groans softly, running a hand through his hair as he steps out the door, locking it swiftly behind him so he can make his escape. Outside he pulls a cigarette from his pack and shoves it between his lips, lighting it quickly. He takes a deep pull, letting it burn the taste of her out of his mouth.
Maybe this had been a mistake. Maybe he should have let the flirtatious advances be just that, advances. Maybe he should have just left well enough alone and not crossed the threshold into her brief life.
Upstairs he can hear a door shut, her steady heartbeat moving across her room. There's the creak of her bed, a sigh slipping from her lips as she settles herself against the mattress, the shuffle of blankets being pulled tight around her.
He stands outside longer than he’d like to admit, puffing on his third cigarette until it starts to singe his fingers as he waits for her breath to even out, the tell-tale sign that she’s fallen asleep. Finally, after the longest few minutes of his life, her heart steadies and he knows she’s gone to the world.
Mason tosses the cigarette butt into the street, starting on his patrol. Without thinking too long about it, he keeps close enough to her apartment to hear if anyone else breaks in. It’s going to be a very long night.