Blackbird (a Sometimes Never novella) by Cheryl McIntyre

1 Mason
          
          
          My eyes fall to Hope’s bare feet as she swings them subconsciously from her perch on the counter. I’m reminded of the moment I noticed her for the first time, her bare feet captured my attention then, too. I move forward, pressing myself into the space between her legs. She sets her drink down and skims a finger under her lip, wiping away a drop of water.
          “Are you nervous about today?” I ask as I rest my hands on her hips.
          She nods. “I could use a distraction,” she whispers. “Any ideas?”
          Oh I have plenty of ideas . “Hm. I might be able to come up with something.” I wrap one of her legs around my waist and trail my fingers up the other. “Unless you already have something in mind?”
          She cocks her head to the side as if deep in thought. “We could play Scrabble.”
          I crinkle my nose. Scrabble? Not what I was thinking at all. “You want to play Scrabble?”
          “Dirty words only and loser has to do whatever I—I mean, the winner—says for the next…” She looks down at her cell phone and glowers. “Uh, I only have a little over an hour.”
          “An hour isn’t enough time for all that.” I grin at her. “What else can we possibly do for the next hour…?”
          “I guess I could repaint my nails. They are a little chipped.”
          I shake my head slowly. “Nu-uh. That’s no fun for me and I can’t stand the smell of that shit.”
          “Huh. Well, I’m sure there’s a court show on. I love that little lady judge with the big attitude.”
          I glide my fingers into her multi-colored hair, gripping the back of her neck. “Hope, if you aren’t naked in the next thirty seconds I’ll—”
          “You’ll what?” she challenges.
          Challenge accepted.
          I bring my mouth down on hers and run my tongue across her bottom lip. She opens immediately, meeting me eagerly. I take her face into my hands and tilt her head back to deepen the kiss. She hooks her other leg around my hip and squirms closer to me.
          I’m already hard. She always feels so good. Fuuuck . An hour. I want more than that. I want to take my time, working her into a blissful frenzy. I want us sweaty and breathless, our muscles rubbery and tired.
          Hope tightens her legs, pulling me into her hard. Fuck it. I’ll make it work.
          I break away from the kiss to tug her shirt over her head. “Where?” I pant. We’ve been christening my apartment since I moved in. A new place each time. We’ve already covered all the counter space in the kitchen.
          “Fifty-five minutes, Mason. I don’t care where. Just get inside of me now or I’ll—”
          “You’ll what?” I tease her through a smirk.
          “Implode,” she breathes.
          I lean back, unbuttoning her jeans. “We cannot have that.”
          She drops her lashes, hooding her eyes, and licks her lips. God, she’s perfect. Sliding her hands under my shirt, she caresses my stomach in slow circles. My muscles twitch at her touch and I drag her off the counter. Resting her on her feet, I make quick work of removing the rest of her clothing. I kneel in front of her to free her feet from the bunched material at her ankles, pausing to place a wet kiss against each scar on her inner thigh.
          Hope shivers and traces my jaw with her fingertips. “I love you,” she murmurs.
          I grin as I pull her down to the floor with me. We haven’t made love here yet and I can’t wait any longer. She works my belt free and I lick the skin on her neck right where her pulse is throbbing furiously. “I love you,” I say against her heated flesh.
          I raise up and help her get my jeans off. She pushes me until my ass is on the cold tile floor and my back is pressed against the chilly surface of the cabinet door. It does nothing to cool my desire. 
          She straddles my