Pieces

Chapter Thirty

**Mason**

Mason watched Kayla blink as the lights went low. He saw the tremble of fear quivering on her chin as she moved to take her spot at the bar under his aunt's gentle instruction. She wore tight jeans, cowboy boots and a little black tank top that showed off a couple of inches of her waist. If she didn't make the sexiest cowgirl he'd ever seen, he wasn't standing there. They had fastened her hair into a loose bun at the top of her head, revealing her long, elegant neck and the throat that he had come to know so well. Soft, curly tendrils fell around her face, adding to her innocence, and a turquoise stone hung from her small earlobes on silver dangles.

His hands tightened into fists as she caught him looking at her and blushed. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

"Alright, Mase," Aunt Sam said, interrupting his train of thought. "You're Aaron. Remember, he hasn't seen Jessi for nearly six years. He's determined to keep his distance, but all that kind of goes out the window when he sees that guy attempting to manhandle her. Jeff Healey is playing on the jukebox. It's nearly three A.M., all the customers have gone home, and it's just Aaron and Jessi. This will be their first kiss in a long time. You need to make it good." Then, to Kayla, she smiled. "Kayla, if you need a break, if it gets to be too much, just say the word. We can be here all day."

Mason stepped forward, his heart pounding. Kayla was looking down at the floor, one slender arm draped over the tall bar. She tensed at his slow approach. The camera clicked.

Hooking a thumb beneath her quivering chin, he brought her face up slowly until he could look into her eyes. Those soft, moss green eyes that told all.

This wasn't Jessi and Aaron's story. This was theirs. Mason and Kayla. Man and woman. "Sweetheart," he whispered, trying to keep with the script that he'd memorized from the scene but knowing that he meant it. "Why'd you leave?"

Her eyes brightened with unshed tears as the camera clicked over and over again. "I had to," she returned as his thumb caressed the smooth line of her jaw. "I had to save myself."

He swallowed. "From me?"

She nodded, her eyes flashing toward the camera before jerking back to him. "The l-longer I stayed, the more it would hurt."

"Dance with me, cowgirl," he commanded softly. He knew how hard it was to ignore having a camera in your face. It had taken him a while to train himself not to see it. He would have to keep her mind on him. He looked down at her, keeping his voice soft and his words tender. When she stepped into his arms, he whispered into her ear. "You remember the night we danced, darlin?"

Her eyes widened at his question as she glanced up at him. She nodded. "Of course, I do." Her tongue snaked out to her bottom lip. He knew it was something she did when she was anxious, but it was a major turn-on that he felt all the way down to the front of his Wranglers. "D-do...do you?"

Mason couldn't stop himself from taking her hand. Gliding it upward, loving the feel of her ultra-soft skin, he moved her arm until he felt her hand catch hold of his neck. "Oh, I remember very well." He let his eyes roam down to where her breasts nearly touched the front of his shirt. "People were all around that night, but I couldn't see anyone but you."

Her eyes widened. "You couldn't?"

He shook his head. He told himself this was for his own benefit. The quicker he could ease her worries, the quicker he could get out of here. And then, he let his hand roam to the small of her back. "And then, later. Under those trees." His voice no longer even sounded like his own, he realized as they swayed gently to the music. "The way you danced on me. Every sigh. Every touch. Honey, I couldn't get enough of you. I thought it would let up these past few weeks. I kept waiting for me to stop missing you. For the emptiness to leave."

"Mason, you have to stop talking like this," she said softly, emotion in her voice. "We're supposed to be role-playing right now. Remember?"

He cleared his throat and tightened his grip around her tiny waist, pulling her fully against the front of him. He needed her to feel what she did to him. "Tell me you don't feel it, too."

Kayla's eyes widened as she realized the state his body was in, but she kept in time with the music. "M-Mason, you're...you're...oh heaven help."

"Ignore that," he said with a low chuckle as they moved in one another's arms on the impromptu dancefloor.

"It's kinda hard to," she hissed, her eyes giving her desire for him away.

Again, he chuckled, giving her one of those wicked winks that he knew she loved. "Trust me, darlin'. I know." Then, his smile dropping, he looked into her eyes. "I've missed you."

Something flashed there in those mossy green orbs. Sadness? "Don't, Mason. I...I can't." Her eyes darted to Haley who was still clicking the button on her camera. "Let's just get this over with. You're Aaron. Im Jessi. Alright?"

He released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and nodded. Clearly, she was determined to keep him at arms length. Only problem with that was, Aaron was supposed to be kissing Jessi right now like he was starving for her. Well, he could do that. Taking a firm hold on her waist, he sat her up onto the edge of the bar, stepped between her thighs and lowered his head. "You might wanna hold on, darlin."