Page 11 of Primal

Goddamn.

My heart rate tripled as I pictured myself bending her over the kitchen island and thrusting deep inside. I bet she’d squeal in surprise. Mason walked into the kitchen after her, and I forced myself to look away, even though he’d already caught me staring. I took a big gulp of coffee, but I still felt flustered as Poppy walked past me to grab a bagel for herself from the bag I left out on the counter. The desire to reach out and grab ahold of her was hard to ignore.

So, I shifted my attention to Mason. He was already looking at me.

“You look like hell. Did the rain keep you up last night?”

I shot him a glare. “Don’t worry about me.”

Mason chuckled, which just pissed me off more. “I didn’t say I was worried. Just noticed the dark circles under your eyes. It’s going to be hard to write if you can’t keep your head up.”

“I’m pretty sure writers live on coffee,” Poppy chimed in, flashing me a sweet smile.

Mason poured himself a coffee and sat down at the island.

I watched him for a moment before looking out at the rain pattering against the windows. “Did you say you were here for some kind of gathering? I’m guessing that’s cancelled, huh?”

“Yep,” he replied with pursed lips.

“What kind of gathering?” Poppy asked.

“It’s a kink camp,” Mason said honestly.

I knew what he was talking about, but Poppy’s face showed her confusion.

“It’s all about exploring kinks,” Mason explained. “Spanking, bondage, dominance, submission, pretty much anything you can think of. I’ve always had certain…appetites I liked to indulge. I even brought a bunch of toys to use on my partner this weekend. Don’t worry, your mother is okay with it.”

Poppy’s cheeks turned red as he spoke, even though he didn’t go into detail at all. There was shock in her eyes, and I didn’t think it was about the fact her mom would approve of Mason attending a kink camp. It was the idea of those kinks he mentioned, and I knew he’d barely scratched the surface of what probably went on at a gathering like that.

The show of innocence from Poppy made my cock throb. She might have come here with her asshole boyfriend, but it didn’t seem as if she was very experienced with sex. Not a surprise, based on what I heard last night. I didn’t know if Joey was the only man she’d been with, but if he was, I was willing to bet she hadn’t received much pleasure in bed. She probably had a lot to learn.

And wasn’t it a father’s job to teach her?

I shook that thought away and focused on drinking my coffee. I needed to get my shit together, and I could definitely use the caffeine boost.

“Mom is really okay with this?” Poppy asked.

Mason nodded. “We have an arrangement.”

I thought back to the end of my marriage to Janie. I loved the woman, and I thought I’d be with her forever. Then, I found out the truth about her. She had a string of lovers over the years we were together. It was a secret she kept well, and I only found out by sheer luck. I came home early from work one day and caught her with a man in our bed. The whole ugly truth came out then, and my entire world shattered.

Poppy never knew we divorced because her mom cheated on me, and I never had the heart to tell her. Janie had primary custody, and it was better for Poppy to blame me for leaving to keep peace with her mother.

I had to wonder is Janie was still a cheater. Was she seeing men behind Mason’s back? Then again, they had a different kind of relationship than the two of us had. If Mason was running off to fuck strangers at a mountain retreat, maybe he didn’t care if Janie was faithful to him or not.

Not that any of that was my business.

Mason and Poppy continued to chat over breakfast, but I was checked out. I had to be. I needed my erection to go away before I could stand up. The last thing I wanted was for Poppy to notice. Her eyes on my bulge might have made my control snap.

I’d just finished my breakfast and managed to make my cock stand down when Joey came swaggering into the room. He stood before us in nothing but a pair of gray pajama pants, and I couldn't help but notice how much thinner he was compared to both Mason and myself. I couldn’t help feeling smug about it.

But I didn’t want to stick around. Everything about the guy annoyed the hell out of me. So, I refilled my coffee cup and went back to my room, hoping like hell I was leaving all inappropriate thoughts of Poppy behind.

Chapter7

Poppy

It was early afternoon, and the rain was still falling. At least there wasn’t any thunder and lightning right now, and there had been no signs of tornados forming in the area. The weather people were still keeping an eye out, but the bigger concern now was the flooding.