Grand Love by JC Hawke

26

Nina

The momentwe enter the penthouse, I’m floored by the sheer effort Mason has gone to for the evening.

“Where is your daddy, baby?” I whisper to Ellis, placing a kiss on his head.

Stepping into the room, I take in the dinner table that’s set for the three of us. A large bouquet of red roses adorns the centre of the table and candles sit on either side. The lights are dipped low, and everything feels warm, special. Reaching out I pinch a petal between my thumb and forefinger.

“Hello,” his deep voice purrs from behind me.

I turn. “Hi.”

“Dadee,” Ellis sings.

Mason’s gaze holds mine for a moment with an intensity that makes me blush. All I can do is stare back, completely lost in his eyes. Stepping forward he takes Ellis from me, sitting him on his arm and then reaches out to push my hair behind my ear. Leaning in, he kisses my cheek. “You okay?”

I nod, knowing he’s talking about Joey. “I didn’t think to dress up.” I look down at my leggings and baggy tee, then back up at his navy shirt and trousers. His hair is a tousled mess, but with obvious effort. He looks delicious.

“You’re perfect,” he tells me.

I smile, rocking back on my heels as I try to control my breathing. “Something smells good.”

“I ordered in. Has Ellis ate?”

“Yeah. He ate with Maggie.”

“Perfect.” He smiles, and it’s full of mischief. “Come with me.”

He starts towards the stairs with Ellis in his arms.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

I follow him when he doesn’t answer me, only muttering something to Ellis that I can’t hear. It’s surprising how normal it feels being here. It’s been so long since I’ve felt at home. I get the same grounding feeling when we sleep at the estate, but my apartment feels like four walls. There’s no comfort in it.

Mason walks into his bedroom and through to Ellis’s. “Mummy, can you get the changing mat? It’s in the bottom of the walk-in wardrobe.”

My brows rise in surprise as I walk to the door on the other side of the room. I try to contain my gasp when I open it, but it’s no use. What almost one-year-old needs this many clothes? He will never wear it all. I spot the changing mat on top of the dresser and quickly grab it for Mason.

“Here.” I place it on the floor next to where he’s stripping Ellis of his clothes. “Does he wear all that stuff?” I ask, nodding over my shoulder.

“Some of it,” he says without looking up.

I nod, not passing comment on what a waste of money it is. If this is ever going to work between us, I need to get over the fact that Mason has money. He knows not to buy me expensive things and I know to get the hell on with it when he does it anyway.

Mason dresses Ellis into his pyjamas then spends well over five minutes raining kisses all over his small torso, making Ellis wriggle and giggle until he gets the hiccups.

“Oh man! Not the hiccups!” Mason says, looking down at Ellis with a wide smile on his face. Ellis continues to giggle while I watch on.

“Well done, Daddy,” I tut, kneeing Mason in the ribs. He grunts and falls to the side—I barely touched him. “Come here, baby.” I kneel to lift Ellis from the changing mat.

Just as I slide my hands under his armpits, Mason grabs me around the waist and pulls me to the ground, tickling my ribs.

“Mason! No!”

Ellis seems to find it hilarious, crawling over and bouncing on his knees beside my head.

I laugh uncontrollably in Mason’s arms, trying to catch my breath so I can tell him to stop. “Mase!” I cry out. “Please!”

He finally lets up, leaving both of us breathless. His body is spread behind me, and his hand brushes my hip as he leans across to tap Ellis’s nose. “See. It worked.”

Ellis pats his knees as he bounces in excitement, his dimples set deeper than I’ve ever seen them before. If I could wish for anything, it would be to have my son feel this glee every day for the rest of his life.

“Mummy” —Mason leans in, kissing my cheek again— “is going to get in the bath. Daddy will put Ellis to bed and then warm up dinner.”

I pull my lip into my mouth, looking up at him with so much love and adoration. “Do I smell or something?”

His scruff rubs along my neck as he whispers in my ear. “Fucking edible, angel.”

I stand and give Ellis a kiss good night, then as ordered I go to Mason’s en suite. The bath is still steaming, bubbles filling it to the top. There’s a robe lying across the chair, a rose placed on top of it along with a bottle of champagne and chocolates left on the steps leading to the bath.

The happiness coursing through me is everything I’ve wanted—needed for the last year and a half. Yet there’s a guilt eating away at me, reminding me of the selfish thing I did to get here.

* * *

Mase

Nina takesher time in the bath which doesn’t surprise me. It’s been a while since she’s been here and I can’t imagine the bath at the apartment is quite the same as the one here. She used to spend hours in the tub after a day in the studio.

I’m pouring myself a beer when her arms slink around my waist. “I was waiting for you to join me, Bossman,” she purrs.

I can’t help the smile that splits my face. “You wouldn’t have let me in.”

“Hmm, we all know what happens when you give a girl champagne.”

I turn, smoothing my hands down the back of her robe. “Had I known you’d have let me in.” I kiss her, meaning to make it a quick peck, but losing all train of thought when she deepens the kiss. I grasp her jaw in my hand as I take over, pushing her back to the island as my tongue licks through her mouth.

“Mase,” she breathes breathlessly against my lips.

Lifting her at the waist, I place her on the island, sliding myself between her smooth legs as her hands work on pulling my shirt free from my trousers. I let her do her thing, my eyes on her dainty fingers that work my buttons.

“Mase,” she purrs. “We should have dinner, right?”

I lift my gaze to hers, my cock growing stiffer behind my zipper with the look in her eyes.

We’re both fucked.

Slowly, I loosen the tie at her waist, keeping my eyes locked on hers as I use my finger to nudge open one side of her robe. “Oops,” I mutter.

Her full round breast is exposed to me, and I drop my eyes to her hip noticing she’s completely bare. Pushing her hair over her shoulder, I give her a long, wet kiss, then run my lips down her neck to her chest, taking her stiff nipple into my mouth. I bite down.

“Ouch!” she cries.

I continue down her side, running my mouth over her exposed hip and thigh. Flicking my eyes up, I watch her head drop back, rolling to the side then falling back to me.

I don’t ask if she wants more, it’s clear to my own eyes what she needs. My hand slides into the other side of her robe. I push it aside, letting it fall off her shoulder and onto the counter.

“Jesus Christ,” I groan, dropping my head to her stomach before I come in my pants just from looking at her.

I feel her stomach jiggle against my stubble as she laughs lightly, running her hands through my scalp. I place a kiss on her stomach then lift my head. Closing my eyes and leaning into her touch.

“What have you done to me?” I sigh.

“I’ve made your ass mine, Bossman. That’s what I’ve done to you.”

I take her nipple again, biting down on the hard nub. “That cockiness will get you fucked, angel.”

“Fucked? I don’t think I’ve ever been fucked before.”

I arch a brow at her. “No?”

She shrugs a shoulder, her chocolate eyes fixed on me. “Not that I remember, I’ve had some good sex.”

“Good sex.” I nod, licking my lips.

She giggles, pulling my head up and demanding my lips. I place my hand to the base of her throat and guide her back to the counter. The very tips of my fingers trail down the centre of her chest until I meet her pussy. I bring my other hand up and then grip each of her legs, bringing them up and placing them on the counter. “Are you going to fuck me now?” Her lip twitches despite her best efforts to control it.

“No, Pix. I’m going to have my dinner.”

She chuckles as I slide my hands under her thighs and up to grip her full hips. I lift her at the ass and onto my waiting mouth.

A sigh falls from her parted lips, her head dropping back to the marble with a thud. Her hips lift voluntarily as I flatten my tongue, slowly licking up through her slickened folds. “I could live off of the taste of you.” I bite down on her swollen clit and her hips jolt under my hold. I grip her tighter, my tongue swirling over her as I nip and suck until she’s trembling beneath me. Lifting my thumb to her mouth, I slide it past her lips, her teeth scraping along the skin. “Suck.”

She does as I ask, hollowing her cheeks and drawing my thumb deep into her mouth. I pull back, letting it pop and place it on her now pulsing clit.

“Oh god,” she moans.

I apply the slightest of pressure, sliding my thumb down to trace her slick pussy until I reach her opening. I dip my thumb inside and suck her clit into my mouth. She tenses around me, her legs locking my head in place. “So fucking tight,” I groan.

She whimpers as I pull away from her, lifting herself up onto her elbows to look at me.

“Do you know how good you taste?” I ask, licking up the side of my thumb then offering her a taste with my hand stretched out to her.

She gives me a devilish smirk then leans forward, grasping my wrist. She pulls my hand to her mouth. Starting at my pinkie, she starts to suck each of my fingers into her mouth. I watch her in fucking awe.

When she reaches my slickened thumb, she stops. Leaning in, she bites the pad, then places a kiss on my palm. “This is for you,” she whispers, directing my thumb to my own mouth.

I suck every inch of her off my skin, then take her lips in mine again in a rushed frenzy.

With our mouths still locked, she blindly reaches for my trousers, finding the button easily and shoving them down my legs.

My mouth drops to her neck, her hands roaming over my head, holding me in place when I reach her nipple. “Don’t stop,” she begs.

“Hmmm, I need inside.” Grasping my cock, I glide it through her folds before pushing the tip inside.

“Condom!” she shouts. “We have to use a condom!”

“What? We didn’t on Saturday.”

“We are now!”

“No,” I snap, sliding into her to the hilt.

“Mason,” she murmurs, her teeth scraping my shoulder.

“There’s never been anything between us, Nina. I’m not about to start now.”

She groans into my neck, and I lift her from the island, letting her legs drop and her pussy slides deeper onto me. I squeeze my eyes tight as I fight for control.

Her hot tongue traces my lips. “Are you going to fuck me now?”

I pop open an eye and find her smiling up at me. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes dazed and heavy. “You’re already fucked, Pixie.”

I roll my hips, and her smile drops. “But if you really want it… I can have you,” I thrust hard into her, wrapping an arm around her back and forcing her down onto me, “completely.” Another thrust. “And utterly.” Thrust. “Fucked!”

My balls draw up as Nina claws at my skin, trying to get even closer as she wraps herself around me.

“Fuck,” I groan, pounding harder, faster.

“Yes!” Nina cries out into my neck, her pussy clenching like a vice around me.

I pump into her three more times, then I’m coming right along with her.

* * *

“I really didn’t thinkI’d cave so easily.”

I chuckle at Nina’s admission, smiling up at the ceiling as I lie sprawled out on my sofa with her on top of me. “Nah, I knew we wouldn’t last a day.”

She lifts up onto her arm to look at me, her warm hand smoothing over my chest. “You? Sure. Me? Nope. Didn’t think I’d cave.”

“This is all on you,” I tell her. “I didn’t seduce you in the kitchen with my tits.”

“Uh, thankfully you didn’t, no. But you did seduce me with the whole daddy, mummy, Ellis vibe, and ‘go get naked in my tub’ tactic.” She arches her sharp brow at me. “I’m not stupid, Mr Lowell.”

I pull her back down so she’s flush against me. “I wanted to cheer you up. I knew you’d be sad when you came here.”

She doesn’t say anything for a minute, her finger tracing circles on my chest. “He didn’t get mad. He didn’t really do or say anything.”

Probably because he’s a fucking psycho. “He probably saw it coming.”

“Hmm,” she hums, not delving any deeper into it. “What did you want to tell me about Jasmine?” she asks.

My hand falls to her hair, sliding the silky strands between my fingers. “I told you she’s going through social services to get her children back.”

“Yeah,” she sighs.

“She’s not a bad person, you know. She’s working to get her life straight again. It’s the only reason I gave her the job and a place to stay.”

“I’m glad you did,” she murmurs, barely audible.

“You are?”

She props herself up on her arms so she can see my face. “She would’ve been pregnant, right? If she has a child the same age as Ellis. I don’t know why she did it, but I can only imagine the situation she must have been in for that to ever become a scenario. I don’t know. It just seems awful to think about.”

“From what we saw, I’d say her boyfriend had a lot to do with the why. She was afraid of us.”

“Us?”

“Me and Charlie. We went to her flat. There were drugs, it was damp and mouldy, and she had Betty, her baby, living amongst it all.” I grimace just thinking about it.

She purses her lips, a sad expression on her face. “Do you think you took her in because of Ellis?”

“Maybe. I knew I couldn’t leave her there though.” I roll to face her, wanting her to understand my reasoning. “But I also wanted something—someone for you. Family, Nina, real family.”

She watches her own hand as it runs through my hair again. “I know, and I love you for it.”

“Would you consider meeting her, properly?” I ask, hopeful.

She doesn’t say anything right away, her brow creasing as her beautiful mind works. I give her a moment, not trying to push her into anything.

“One day. I think I could one day.” Her gaze meets mine again. “But right now, it seems a little soon. I feel like we’re only now finding our new dynamic as a family and there’s so much room to fuck it up. I’m sure I will fuck it—”

“Shut up with that,” I cut her off, squeezing her hip.

“But it’s not a no, and I want to know more about her.” She shrugs. “I’m intrigued.”

“Of course, you are.” I give her a soft smile as I smooth a hand over her back.

“I want to meet my dad too.” My heart seems to jolt in my chest at her words, my body running hot with unease. “I haven’t heard from Mum since before Ellis was born. I’ve reached out but haven’t heard a thing back. I don’t think I can do any more than that, but I could try my dad.” She looks up at me again sheepishly and I try to relax my features. “I spoke to Vinny about it today.”

How do I tell her, her father is a fucking oxygen thief? How do I tell her that I know exactly why her mother hasn’t been in touch? Keeping things from Nina now will only come back and kick me in the ass. But it’s been a day, and I don’t necessarily want her to kick me in the ass now either.

I don’t want to disappoint her.

Not when things are so good.

“I can see if I can get hold of your mum.” (Not a lie.)

“I wouldn’t bother. I’ve lost all hope for the woman,” she says it with disdain, but I know she hurts. She only ever wanted her mother to care.

“I’m sorry.” I kiss her head.

“It’s not your fault,” she hums, wrapping her arms around my back and snuggling close. “Thank you for tonight, Mase. It’s been the perfect first date.”

“This isn’t a date.” I smile into her hair.

“No?” she asks, sounding surprised.

I chuckle as I tell her, “No. This was just foreplay.”

“Date foreplay? I don’t think that’s a thing.”

“Is now.”

“If this was foreplay.” I feel her smile against my bare chest.

“We won’t fucking survive it,” I deadpan. Her laugh that follows flows through me like silk, making my eyes close as I absorb every bit of it. I’ve missed this. Her.

“RIP me.”

I frown. “You did not just say that.” I laugh, throwing my head back. “RIP me,” I mimic in an eerily girly voice.

“Shut up!” She giggles, biting down on my nipple.

“Ouch!” I grasp my pec, pushing on her shoulder and away from me.

“Don’t dish out what you can’t take, Bossman.”

I manoeuvre myself so I’m above her and between her legs, kneeing them far apart. I sink my growing cock deep inside of her. “Let’s see just how much you can take, smart girl.”