Read Misunderstanding Mason for Free Online

dresser drawer and unfolded them with a fierce
shake. Lisa Bennet always rattled Kirstin’s confidence. That was the dominant
reason he’d never told Kirstin about Lisa’s indecent proposal. The woman was
the only person alive who could turn Kirstin inside out with just a few words.
Last time, it had taken all his self-control to not ask Kirstin to turn the
project over to him just so he wouldn’t have to watch her doubt all her hard
work and her true gift for art. She’d wanted so badly to succeed. Lisa was her
first big name client with the potential to turn Kirstin’s hobby into the
career she so desperately wanted. He had let her handle it, forced his opinions
to the wayside, and after the proposition, removed himself from the project
before he strangled Lisa.
    Now, here
they were again. Only this time, Kirstin was so desperate to get away from him
she couldn’t even recognize Lisa’s poison was already running in her veins. And
this time, there wasn’t a damn thing Mason could do about it.
    Except finish
the project before Kirstin suffered irreparable damage.
    God his head
hurt just thinking about the coming fallout.
    No, he
amended as he eased a grey T-shirt over his head. The banging against his brain
came from beer. Shit—how many had he had last night anyway? All he could
remember was sitting down in the recliner with the second one in his hand. Then
he woke to the bright sun, in his bed, with the worst hangover he’d experienced
since college.
    He glanced in
the mirror. Ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. Shaving would have to wait
until he rehydrated. With the way his hands were still shaking, he’d cut the
hell out of his face. Besides, it wasn’t like he had clients to see today. He’d
finished the project for Gamesquare—
    Shit!
    Gamesquare’s
launch party was tomorrow night. As their lead designer, he was presenting the
final prototype at the banquet dinner. He and Kirstin had reserved seats at Don
Margelies, the owner’s, VIP table. Just last week Don hinted when the deal was
finished, he wanted Kirstin and Mason to join him and his wife on their yacht
in the Caribbean for a week.
    Mason groaned
inwardly. Last week he’d been convinced Kirstin was in a snit. The last thing
he wanted was to face the banquet solo and the inevitable questions. He might
be able to find excuses to explain her absence for one night. But not with the
invitation for a week-long cruise hanging over his head.
    He yanked the
bedroom door open and wandered into his office. Kirstin sat in his chair, long
black hair spilling all the way down to her waist and dangling over one arm.
She started when he entered, spinning around to set wide green eyes on him and
steal the very breath from his lungs. For a heartbeat, he couldn’t move. His
gut clamped down so tight he’d swear someone punched him. She was so damn
beautiful.
    “Good grief,
you scared the crap out of me, Mason.”
    The melodic
ring of her laughter relaxed the constriction in his chest. But the wide smile
that turned her pretty face into something crafted by the divine laced him
further into knots. His pulse kicked up a notch, and for one frightening
moment, he was thrown back in time when David Kirkoff had introduced them. For
the first time in his life, Mason doubted himself. She wouldn’t want him. He
was a gamer. A nerd who’d rather sit in front of the computer than throw
footballs or hit the courts with guys like David. He didn’t have a chance.
    Except,
somehow, for some unexplainable reason, those mesmerizing green eyes didn’t
leave his. Not a day had passed since, that he didn’t consider himself lucky.
    Her smile
faltered, and Mason’s gaze riveted on her full lips. He wanted to kiss her
right now as much as he had that long ago night at David’s dinner party. More
than he’d wanted to then. The need to feel the soft silk of her lips against
his, to taste the way the rich flavor of black coffee lingered on her tongue,
swamped through him