Free Ascension (Book 4, The Watcher Chronicles) by S.J. West

return, I pull away from him and quickly step out of the tub. Mason groans in frustration and looks at me like a little boy whose favorite toy was just snatched out of his hands.
    I giggle.
    “Later,” I tell him, picking up one of the hotel robes and putting it on, “when we get back from this ball you’re taking me to.”
    “Are you purposely trying to torture me, woman?” Mason moans.
    “Torture is such a harsh word,” I say to him playfully, leaving the front of the robe open as I turn back to him. “Just think about how much you’ll want me when we get back.”
    Mason stands from the tub fully displaying just how much he wants me now.
    “If I wanted you any more than I do at this very moment,” he tells me, “I’m not sure I could walk properly.”
    I giggle again, pick up the other robe and walk over to hand it to him.
    “It’ll be worth the wait,” I promise him. “I want to try something new with you tonight.”
    “New?” Mason asks, sounding intrigued by my proposition as he steps out of the tub and puts the robe on. “What is there left that we haven’t done?”
    “It’s something I haven’t done to you yet,” I tell him, feeling shy all of a sudden, trying to explain exactly what I want to do to Mason.
    Mason squints at me in confusion still not understanding what I’m trying to allude to.
    “I guess you could call it… a reverse marshmallow,” I say, not being able to think of another way to describe what I want to do without it sounding crass.
    Mason’s eyes light up in gradual understanding and he grins.
    “Now you’re really just making my torture excruciating,” he tells me. “You know we could just stay here for the rest of the evening. I’m sure no one will notice us missing from the ball.”
    “And let that beautiful dress go to waste?” I ask. “Not a chance, buster. You’re taking me to the dance. But just remember, when you see me lick my lips, I’m thinking about what I’ll do to you when we get back here.”
    Mason phases and is immediately standing in front of me. His hands delve inside the interior of the robe and his mouth descends upon mine. He snakes one of his hands in between us and makes me seriously reconsider his offer of staying in the room for the rest of the evening. He brings me to the brink of finding fulfillment and pulls away, leaving me gasping for breath and desperate for more.
    “Two can play at your little game,” he tells me as he walks away with a satisfied grin on his face.
    I stare after him trying to steady my breathing.
    “I can’t believe you just did that to me,” I say.
    Mason turns to face me, still grinning.
    “My offer still stands,” he says.
    I feel my resolve harden like concrete. “No, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of winning.”
    “But really, Jess, wouldn’t we both turn out to be winners in the end?”
    I stick my tongue out at him which makes him chuckle.
    “You’re not winning,” I tell him and close the bathroom door so I don’t have to look at his devastatingly handsome, completely sexy face smiling at me.
    Damn him and that smile.
     
     
     
     
    After we get dressed, Mason phases us to the residence of the Watcher of Italy. It’s a fully restored piano nobile close to the church of Santa Lucia which overlooks the Grand Canal. Being that it’s a Carnival ball, we have to wear masks just like we did at Angela’s ball on New Year’s Eve. Mine looks like a glittery monarch butterfly which matches my dress and Mason’s is a simple black mask that only covers the upper portion of his face. If there is anything just as sexy as a naked Mason, it’s him dressed up in an exquisitely tailored black tuxedo. Even with half his face covered, he seems to attract the attention of every female we pass on our way to what Mason told me is usually the living room in the house, but tonight it has been emptied of most of its furniture to become the ballroom for the festivities.
    The room is large with