Eight Days in the Sun Page 12

  “Are you okay, Mason?” She thinks I’m freaking out about the fall.

  I’ve already fallen, sweetheart. “Just fine.”

  Today is a day of introductions. It takes me a few seconds too long to name this emotion, probably because I’ve never experienced it. At least not to this degree. A hurricane swirls dregs of anger and uncertainty inside me.

  Hello, Jealousy, it’s really shitty to meet you.

  “It’s gonna be over soon, man,” Lorenzo yells at me. “When you’re touching the clouds, nothing compares.”

  Yeah, Lorenzo? Well why don’t you feel up a few clouds and take your hands off Kiran? “Hey, buddy, is there a reason you have to practically hug her?”

  “What?” he says, cupping his ear.

  “You really need to be that close?”

  “This is the right position.”

  “For jumping out of the plane. We’re not jumping right now, are we?”

  “I’m going over the instructions.”

  “We both watched the video.” I look back at my guy who’s sitting ten feet away from me flipping through a magazine. “Obviously, it’s not necessary.”

  Lorenzo snaps his fingers at the other guy. “Larry, why don’t you harness yourself to him? He’s nervous.”

  Fuck you, Lorenzo.

  “Do you want to strap on, right now?” Larry asks.

  I wince at the phrase.

  “Negative. We’ll wait till the last minute.” I turn back to the guy who’s got my girl in his arms. “That wasn’t my point, man. And you know it.”

  Kiran’s mouth drops. She cranes her neck to stare up at Lorenzo. “Can I take this off?” she asks, tugging on the restraints that have them pasted together.

  “Only for a few minutes,” he says, giving me a hard eye-roll before unclipping her from the harness. “We’re almost there.”

  She crawls over to me and sits up on her knees. “What are you doing, Mason?”

  “Making an observation.”

  She puts her hands on my shoulder. “Well, stop making observations. I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but you need to get out of your head this time. And while you’re at it, you might want to consider not pissing off the guy who is in charge of my parachute.”

  She’s right. The guy wasn’t completely professional, but he wasn’t making her feel uncomfortable. I’m the one doing that.

  “I’ll try to behave.”

  Her lips curve. She looks toward the window. It’s all sky out there. She turns back to me. Her nerves are gone and she’s almost giddy. “We’re really doing this.”

  “We are, sunshine.”

  “Come back now,” Lorenzo of the rolling R’s yells.

  Larry gets into position behind me. Before we can get strapped, she kisses me. It’s a light quick peck. I pull her back for something deeper. I was right. Strawberry lip gloss. Strawberries never tasted so good. “I can’t wait to fly with you.”

  “Me either.”

  When she returns to Lorenzo, he does all the things he’s supposed to do, but without the unnecessary flourishes. In other words, fewer Rs.

  They open the door. I slide up to take in the view. She does the same. It’s nothing short of spectacular. There are patches of green fields and golden beaches and calming seas as far as my eyes can see. It’s the kind of view that makes you realize how small we are while appreciating how stunning the world is.

  “I can’t believe I almost missed this to opt for parachuting in a building.”

  I can’t believe I almost didn’t come on this trip and missed her.

  “It’s time,” Lorenzo announces.

  He and Kiran go first. Her hand grips the sides of the aircraft opening. The wind whips strands of her hair in every direction. She turns to me once. Her smile is full of confidence and joy. I give her a salute.

  She stares at the sky, her face determined. For some reason, I desperately want to put my arm over her body like I did in the car.

  She leans forward. She leaps. My heart lunges as she disappears.

  Now I’m freaked out. Not because I’m about to fall 10,000 feet. No, this isn’t fear for me. It’s fear for her. I can’t see her. I don’t know if she’s all right. We move into position, but I forget the spectacular view and the intensity of what I’m about to do. Instead, I scan the skies below for her. I don’t breathe again until I spot her. Larry taps my shoulder to let me know it’s time. I fall. I inhale a lungful of cold air. I’m going about 120 miles per hour. But it doesn’t feel that fast. It’s surreal. I’m experiencing a slow-motion dream at terminal velocity. I can’t hear a damn thing except for my beating heart. My skin tightens against the wind. It’s a rush to be sure, but even in the midst of it, I never take my eyes off her. I only relax when she safely reaches the ground.

  That, my friends, is the exact moment I realize I’m in love with Kiran Shenoy.

  Chapter 12

  Kiran

  We’re finally coming down from our high. Mason asks if I want to have dinner at the rotating restaurant in the Wilshire to celebrate. But I have a mad craving for a gooey cheese pizza. We grab one on the way back and head to the roof. We bring a bottle of red wine too, although neither of us thought to bring glasses. So we drink it straight out of the bottle, passing it back and forth between us.

  The truth is, I didn’t want to go to the Wilshire because I don’t want to share him at all. The scales have shifted without my permission, and we’ve passed some kind of tipping point. I don’t regret anything except I didn’t spend every waking second with him. Now, all I can do is watch the seconds tick by, wishing like crazy I could arm wrestle the hands of time.

  “Am I yelling?” I ask him.

  “Don’t think so. What about me?”

  I shake my head. It wasn’t until other people were giving us weird looks that we realized we were screaming every time we said something. I guess the adrenaline and noise screwed with our hearing. I’m so psyched about the experience I can barely contain myself. The skydiving was bucket list material. But Mason letting me drive his car and encouraging me the whole time was something I’ll always hold in my heart.

  I take a swig of wine and hand the bottle to him. “Let’s go surfing tomorrow,” I say.

  “It’s a plan.” He slides lower in his chair. “Were you praying?”

  “When?”

  “You closed your eyes and mouthed something right before you got on the plane. Just wondering if you were saying a prayer.”

  “Actually, I was talking to my mom. I asked her if it was a bad idea. I do that sometimes. Ask her questions.”

  “Does she answer?”

  “Not so far. I’m glad she didn’t start answering today, though. She would have told me to keep my butt on the ground where it belonged. It’s just this silly thing I do.”

  He turns toward me and takes hold of my wrist. He rubs the underside with his thumb. “Not silly in my book. I used to talk to my dad.”

  He lost his dad at such a young age. How did he manage to take care of himself, let alone his grandmother and sister? “What kind of questions?”

  “Everything under the sun. My dad was a great man. He was the backbone to our family. You don’t realize how devastating it is to lose your backbone until it’s gone. I used to ask him if I was making the right decisions regarding Dana. If I should drop out of high school and work full time. If there’s a better way. If I should put Gram in a home.”

  “Did he answer?”

  “Not often. Once in a while I would hear his voice, though, especially concerning Gram.”

  “His mother?”

  “My mother’s mother. But he always respected her. She taught me a lot of skills too.”

  He speaks so highly of his grandmother and father. I wonder why he never mentions his mother. “What kind of skills?”

  “I can tell you if a melon is ripe and how to properly plant a rosemary bush.”


  “Impressive. I’ll remember that in case I need help with melons or…bushes.”

  He chuckles. “I’m your huckleberry.”

  “What happened to your mother, Mason?”

  His mouth turns hard. “She had other priorities.” I have no idea what other priorities could take precedence over your own children. Judging from the sharpness of his tone, I decide not to press. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to lose your dad and take over all those responsibilities.”

  “You're not the first person to ask that. Typically, I say we all do what we have to. That’s my canned response.”

  “What was it really like? You can tell me.” I take hold of his hand.

  “At first, I was so angry.”

  “At who?”

  “Everyone. At the doctors who couldn’t save him. At cancer itself. Hell, I was even mad at him for up and leaving us like he’d had a choice. At my mom for quitting us. Even angry at Dana because she was so damn needy. When Grams got sick, I really fucking hated my life. On the outside, I did all the stuff the son of a great man like Joshua Cutler should do. But on the inside, I fell apart.” Mason’s mouth tightens into a grim line. “When I look back on all of it now, I realize how good I had it. If anything, I was lucky.”

  “Lucky?”

  “Sure, Grams took us in. She needed us as much as we needed her. It wasn’t a picture-perfect family, but we were a family. Dana and I might have ended up in the system if it wasn’t for her. A lot of kids in our situation do. Yeah, I would give anything to have had a few more years with my dad. But I’m grateful for all the memories I have. What I really wish is that Dana had the years I did.”

  My lower lip trembles. I turn to look at the water below us so I don’t give into tears. I want to go back in time, hug that brave boy, and make his world right. Then again, this beautiful man next to me is a product of those experiences. He grew up stronger and faster because of his heart ache. It’s one of the reasons he is such a good man. Waves crash against the shoreline singing a sad melody. I take a small sip and hand the bottle back to him.

  “You don’t ask your dad questions anymore, Mason?”

  He takes a long drink. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Just one, Kiran.”

  “What is it?”

  “Do I make you proud? Never got an answer on that one.”

  I squeeze his hand. “I can answer it for you. You make him proud, Mason. You honor his legacy every single day.”

  He takes my hand and kisses my wrist. We watch the sun set over the water.

  Chapter 13

  Mason

  I am hard. I mean explosive hard. Her luscious mouth is around my dick. Her hair brushes my thighs. Moaning loudly, I throw off the covers to watch her. I lift her long silky hair away from her face so I can see that beautiful fucking mouth in action.

  We’d tried this the other night. She licked me like an ice cream cone until I couldn’t take it anymore. Finally, I pulled her toward me so I could make love to her properly. Here is the amazing thing about Kiran. She picked up on the fact I didn’t care for what she was doing. Not only that, she asked how she could improve. How to please me. I’ve never had a girl ask me that. It turns me on like crazy. I told her more mouth and hands and sucking. She’s a quick study.

  “Oh my God, baby. That feels really good.”

  I crane my neck back and suck air between my teeth. What a fucking beautiful way to wake up. My hips jerk reflexively. Shit. I expect her to stop. She takes it in stride. I run my fingers through her hair. She hums softly. I feel the vibrations in every vein and cell. Her hand is wrapped around my base. Every time she comes for air, she strokes me from root to tip.

  She struggles to take me all the way. I want to tell her she doesn’t need to. Except I can’t speak right now. I can barely hold on. But as consuming as this is, I want us to both climax together. I need her in my arms.

  “Come here.”

  She stops. Her mouth presses into the sexy kissable pout I love. She crawls up my body, the ends of her hair dragging against my flesh. It’s taking mammoth strength for me not to come. I sit up and wrap my arms around her.

  “Wasn’t I doing a good job?”

  “Best. Job. Ever.”

  “Then why did you tell me to stop?”

  “We’re not stopping. Just changing directions.”

  I cannot resist this power between us. It’s tangible like the crackle of a thousand fires. I take her face in my hands and I kiss her crazy. She tastes like peppermint. It’s delicious, but I’ve got a craving for peaches. When we come for air, her lips are swollen. So I kiss her more gently. I tug on her bottom lip. I work my way down her neck. She fists her hands through my hair. She leans up on her knees and straddles me. She brings her breasts right where my mouth is. I love how we’re past the initial shyness. She tells me what she wants. And I aim to deliver.

  I flick my tongue against her nipple and fondle the other one. I trace her opening back and forth. She’s wet and ready for me. She gets up on her knees and rakes her fingernails down my back. We’re in a dangerous position. It’s so fucking good I’m liable to forget the condom. Her body quivers with my touch, responding to every action. This isn’t just physical. This is an intimate conversation between us. Finally, I manage to tear my hands away and grope the nightstand. I knock over a bottle of water and the stupid alarm clock until I finally find the packet.

  I hand her the condom. She takes it without a word. She slides down. Her hot wet mouth is over me one more time.

  “You’re killin’ me, girl. Put it on already…please.”

  She smiles proudly. Yeah, girl, you manage to reduce me to monosyllabic incomplete sentences. Thankfully, she rolls it on.

  “Get over here.” I reach for her arms and bring her up to my lap.

  Her eyes widen. “This way?”

  I nod. “You can be in the driver’s seat.”

  She looks unsure. I move her into position. She sinks down. My heart rate notches up as I’m wrapped in her warmth. I grip her hips and move her. It takes only a few seconds before she picks up the rhythm. She puts her hands on my shoulders for leverage. My grunts shift to growls. I bite into her shoulder, not hard enough to be terribly painful, but it will leave my mark on her for a while. The control I exercise in my life weakens when I’m with her. Hell, it disappears altogether. I hold on, fighting back the urge to go over the edge.

  “Come for me,” I say. It’s more of a plea than a command.

  She’s not there yet. I recognize this. I grasp her hips and jerk inside of her. Each motion brings her closer. Her soft breaths transform to harsh pants until she tightens around me. Once she comes, I close my eyes and let myself follow.

  We collapse into each other’s arms, rocking back and forth in time to the tune of our chaotic heartbeats. I roll us over and pull out slowly.

  “Be right back,” I say, following each word with a kiss.

  “I’ll be here.”

  I head to the bathroom. I discard the condom. I wash my face and brush my teeth. God, I hope I didn’t have morning breath. I grab a washcloth and rinse it with warm water. She lays completely naked on the bed, the filtering light of the sun casting shadows on her golden flesh. I sit on the edge of the mattress and run the washcloth between her legs.

  “Surfing?” she asks.

  “Yeah, but can we take a few minutes?”

  “You want another round? That was pretty…vigorous. Round two might just knock me out.”

  I laugh. Hard to believe she can make me laugh after such an intense experience. “Me too, sunshine. I just want to lie next to you a little longer.”

  She scoots over and pats the area next to her. “Get in here then.”

  I lie on the bed. We’re both on our sides facing each other. I frown at the indented mark on her flesh. The one I caused.

  “I got carried away. Are you okay?”

  She shakes her head.
“I’m feeling exceptionally fine, Mason. It was empowering in a strange way.”

  “Empowering that I bit you?”

  “Empowering that you were so turned on by me.”

  “I was. I am.”

  She smacks my chest. I trace the scar down her stomach. She tenses. Then God help me, she flinches.

  “Kiran? What’s wrong?”

  She shakes her head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

  “Not physically, but you dislike me touching you here.”

  She covers her face. “It’s so ugly.”

  “I can’t believe you think that.” I kissed the long, neat line. She’s still tense, but she doesn’t stop me.

  “This scar is beautiful, Kiran. I love it.”

  Her laugh is nervous. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Serious as a Sunday sermon.” I shake my head. “Do you think I’d joke?”

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  “I have no idea why you would love a disfigurement. I hate it.”

  Of course she did. It is a constant reminder of the carnage in her past. I notice she winces sometimes when she stretches or twists her body a certain way. I do my best to watch for those signs when we’re physical. It’s not easy because I get lost in those moments with her. But the last thing I want is to cause her pain.

  “It’s not a disfigurement. There isn’t anything ugly about you, Kiran. Not a damn thing.”

  “I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon. He won’t touch the scar on my stomach but this one”—she gestures to her face—“this one he can remove.”

  She wears her hair in a way that covers the scar on the left side of her face most of the time. I understand her reason, but I still think it’s a shame. She has such a pretty face.