Page 92 of Devoured

Mason smiled. "Girlfriend? You didn't wait around long. Nice to meet you, Penny." He put his hand out for her.

She shook it. "It's nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?"

"James and I grew up together. Oh, the stories I could tell you..."

"Maybe another day," I interjected and laughed. I needed to tell Penny more about my past myself first.

Penny smiled. "I'll have to hold you to that.”

Mason smiled back at her.

I really didn’t like the way he stared at her.

"Well," Mason said and looked down at his watch. "I have a meeting I need to get to. If you ever change your mind, you have my number, James." Mason winked at me and walked away.

Okay yeah, he was definitely talking about going to his sex club or something. If his parents were cutting him off, it was probably something shady. And I wanted nothing to do with it for a number of reasons.

"What was he talking about?" Penny asked as soon as Mason was out of earshot.

"Yeah, you don't want to know. Let's go to our room."

We stepped onto the elevator with the bellman. Instrumental music flitted through the speakers.

Penny looked up at me.

I smiled down at her, wondering if she was thinking about me pressing her back against the wall of the elevator in my apartment. Either way, it was just good to see her smiling. I stared at the freckles along her nose. Now that I knew how young she was, I could see it. I wondered if Mason could see it too.

I shook the thought away. I didn’t really care what anyone else thought. Mason and I had been through a lot together over the years, but I knew he’d be happy for me. No matter what age Penny was.

The doors dinged and opened. The bellman guided us down an equally ornate hallway to our room.

"If there is anything else you need, please don't hesitate to call the front desk. Turndown service is at nine. Have a good afternoon."

"You too," I said. I slid the access card into the reader and opened the door.

Penny gasped and walked past me. "Oh my God." She practically ran up to the window. We had the most amazing view of the city and of Central Park. That’s why I’d chosen this hotel and this room.

I walked up behind her. "I told you that I could get you to like New York." I pushed her red hair to one side and kissed the back of her neck. My hands slid to her waist.

"It's beautiful."

"You should see it at night." I kissed her neck again as my fingers traced the waistline of her jeans.

She turned around to face me. "Are we spending the night?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"But I have to go back. I have classes."

I sighed. "Me too." I ran my nose down the length of hers and pressed my forehead against hers. "But I don't want to go back." I was worried about coming here. But I felt…free. Free to be with her in public. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted that. How important it was. But I wanted her by my side at all times. I hated going to class and pretending she meant nothing to me.

Penny wrapped her arms around my back and pressed the side of her face against my chest. "Me either."

I breathed so much better when she was with me. I ran my fingers through her hair.

She looked back up at me. "I know I've made mistakes. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for letting me back in."

I didn’t want to talk about Tyler and Brendan. Or Isabella. The past was better kept in the past. I knew that better than anyone. "Thank you for forgiving me."

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