"Mason..." Zoe tried to warn him, but her o.r.g.a.s.m was already starting. It started as a slow sizzle of pleasure, starting at her lower back and spreading lower before it felt like a wave crashing over her whole body as pleasure flooded her body. Before her o.r.g.a.s.m was over Mason was pushing inside her and filling her to the maximum she could go.

"Zoe, baby." He groaned as thrust his hips. Zoe smiled up at him, her chest heaving.

"Just move, Mason." She knew he was waiting for her approval to move and moaned quietly as pleasure washed over her again. She"d forgotten how much she loved doing this. She"d forgotten how much she loved the weight of a man on top of her.

"Your ribs..." Zoe gasped as Mason lifted her up and changed their positions so she was on top of him.

"There, problem solved."

"I..." Zoe had never liked this position. She always felt too vulnerable. Mason winked at her and pushed his hips again causing Zoe to moan. Maybe this position wasn"t too bad after all. Zoe placed her hands on Mason"s chest, just above his ribs so she didn"t hurt him and lifted her pelvis up.

"Just like that, baby." Mason let his head drop back on to the pillow and groaned as Zoe twisted her hips. They kept this up until Mason was groaning almost constantly. Mason"s eyes opened and his hands reached out to take a hold of her hips.

"Do it like you mean it." Zoe whispered and Mason smirked at her before he planted both of his feet on the bed and started to move his hips at a furious pace. The only sounds in the room were of them moaning and the sound of flesh on flesh.

"Mason!" She jumped in shock and pleasure as Mason"s hand reached between their bodies and his thumb rubbed over her c.l.i.t again. He chuckled again and Zoe glared at him. Two could play that game. She moaned again before squeezing her body tight around him. His rhythm stuttered and he grunted.

Mason held onto her hips tighter and forced his body further into her until they were joined completely. Zoe moaned as the furious pace didn"t stop and she felt her body about to release again. She once again tried to warm Mason but her o.r.g.a.s.m came over her too quickly and she was moaning and shaking.

Mason grunted and pushed himself inside her as far as he could and released himself into the condom. She groaned when they parted and flopped onto the bed next to her. Mason disposed of the condom and they both lay there, trying to catch their breath.

"That was..." Zoe shook her head in amazement.

"Amazing." Mason grinned and rubbed his ribs for a second before turning to face her.

"Just don"t leave yet, okay?" Zoe whispered to him, her eyes searching his face.

"I"m not leaving just yet; I"ll stay a few more days. I should leave but I can"t, not yet." Mason reached out and stroked his hand down her cheek with a smile.

Zoe woke to the sound of the front door opening. She looked over at Mason and he was still sleeping. The clock across the room read three thirty. That meant her mother was the one who was coming in the door. She jumped out of bed and slid the robe on before running from the bedroom.

"Zoe? Where are you, dear?"

"Here, mother. I was just about to get in the bath." Zoe brushed her fingers through her hair and turned the corner to the kitchen. She stopped walking the instant her eyes made contact with the men in all black.

Her mother and daughters were sitting in the kitchen with three men holding a gun to each of their heads. Her daughters had tears streaming down their faces and her mother was as pale as a sheet.

"What"s going on?"

"Where is Mason?" a man wearing a black baseball cap asked.

"I don"t know what you"re talking about."

"We know Mason is here." The man who was talking gestured with his gun to a man standing by the stairs to go upstairs. He nodded once before he took off upstairs. Her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of them finding Mason or hurting her daughters.

They all waited in silence until the man came down, dragging Mason down the stairs with him. Even though Mason wasn"t a small man the other man managed to drag him down the stairs with hardly any effort because of Mason"s injuries. It took two men on each of Mason"s shoulders to hold him to his knees.

"Listen here, Mason. Either you tell us where you"ve hidden the drugs or your wh.o.r.e and the kids get it." The man with the cap pushed the gun further into her mother"s head when Mason didn"t answer.

"I don"t know. I gave them to Fabio."

"You better not be lying. I"ve got ten other men outside waiting to deliver letters with surprises if you"re lying to me."

"When the police came I gave them to Fabio. I swear." Mason glanced towards Zoe who had her hand in her pocket. She nodded to Mason and he relaxed slightly in the man"s hold. Either Zoe was phoning the police or she was calling someone for help.

"I think I might just take this one for my own. Since you"re so attached to her." The man with the black cap reached over and stroked his hand down Zoe"s face. It took everything in her body not to shudder at his touch. Instead she kept her gaze forward, on her two daughters and mother.

"You touch her and I will cut your b.a.l.l.s off with a rusty knife, so help me." Mason threatened, his body surging forward in the man"s grasp.

"I"m scared, Mummy." Angelia sniffled and Zoe saw Mason"s eyes narrow as he stared at the man in the cap.

"William, let them go. It"s not them you want. It"s not the neighbourhood you want."

"That"s where you"re mistaken, Mason. Since you ran into this neighbourhood, it makes me want it." William, black baseball cap guy, lowered his gun and crouched in front of Mason.

"It"s me you want. Why hurt innocent people in the process?"

"Well the thing is-" that was as far as William got in his sentence before the doors to the house slammed open and armed policemen stood there. Zoe risked a look outside and felt relief through her body at the sight of the policemen arresting countless men outside.

"Release the hostages." A SWAT man had his gun aimed at William"s head and Zoe"s fear spiked again.

"Just one thing first, officer." William smiled at the SWAT man before spinning and firing his gun quicker than Zoe could even register. She heard Mason shout and the two men dropped him and ran. The SWAT team were on them within seconds.

Her daughters and mother were released, the two girls immediately running to her. She hoisted them both in her arms and tried to soothe them as she saw Mason writing around in pain. Her mother shook her head before heading rushing towards Mason. Her mother was a nurse in the ER for nearly forty years so she knew that Mason would be safe in her hands.

She set Rebecca and Angelia down on the counter and looked at each of their faces.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"We"re fine, Mummy." Angelia reached out and held her sister"s hand with a little smile; even though tears were streaming down her face she tried to be strong for her sister.

"Who"s he?" Rebecca pointed to Mason who gave a half-hearted wave to the little girls. They both enthusiastically waved back him.

"That"s Mason. He"s a friend of Mummy"s."

"More than a friend." Mason grumbled and then grunted as Zoe"s mother put more pressure on his shoulder. Zoe smiled and watched as the police vans departed from her kitchen window. The window had been covered with a cardboard sheet at some point and she didn"t remember doing it.

"Mummy, is Mason our new daddy?" Rebecca was munching on a cookie that had been left on the counter earlier. Obviously the girls weren"t too shook up about what had happened or they adjusted quickly.

"No, Rebecca. Mason"s not your new daddy." It pained Zoe to have to say the words but deep in her heart she wished that he was. The ambulance crew finally arrived and took over from the position of her mother.

"I want Zoe in the back with me." Mason moaned when they lifted him on a stretcher.

"I can"t, I"ve got my daughters."

"I"ll watch them for a few more hours. You go be with your man." Her mother patted her on the shoulder with a smile.

"He"s not my man."

"Honey, he"s your man and you"re his woman. Just go with him."

"Mum-"

"Just leave or I will push you out of the door with my foot, Zoe." Her mother kept the pleasant smile on her face and Zoe was fearful for what might happen if she didn"t go with Mason so she followed the paramedics into the back of the ambulance with Mason.

"Zoe, I"m so sorry for what happened."

"It"s all right. Everyone is safe now." Zoe reached out and stroked Mason"s hair away from his face with a smile.

"Are we okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I really like you, Zoe. I just want to know if there could be an "us"?"

"What about my children?" Zoe"s heart leapt into her throat as she asked the question. If Mason wasn"t prepared to put up with her daughters then she wasn"t prepared to put up with him either. Her daughter came first in her life and that was final.

"I told you, I love children. I want them to like me back."

"I"m sure we could work something out then." Zoe smiled and kissed Mason on the cheek. Who knows? Maybe things would start going right for the couple.

Nine months later "Is that the last box?" Mason asked as he placed a cardboard box on the floor in the kitchen.

"I think so." Zoe turned from plugging the kettle in and smiled at him. They"d been together for nine months and they had decided to get a house together. Some people would say they were rushing it but she loved Mason and Mason loved her and the girls. It felt right.

"I have a housewarming gift for you." Mason grinned at her before pulling a small envelope from his back pocket. Curiosity swarmed inside her as she opened the letter.

Dear Miss Davis, Congratulations for applying for Earl Channing"s cookery school. Please find enclosed an interview date for the course. We look forward to hearing and seeing from you very soon.

Many regards, Earl Channing.

"What?" Zoe looked up at Mason with a frown. If this was his idea of a joke it was a pretty sick one.

"I filled out an application form for you before we moved here. I thought you could get back into baking since you love it so much. I"m sorry if I overstepped the boundaries." Mason rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and frowned.

"No, it"s perfect. Thank you so much, Mason." She flung her arms around Mason and kissed him gently.

"Ew, in the kitchen!" The two parted from their embrace to each pick up a child. Mason took the time to look at the three of them. Finally after six years he had finally found a home that wanted him there for good. His life had turned out for the better.

Below are some of Ellen Graves" other works to enjoy! Tap the covers for a sample

Lace and Iron.

Ellen Graves.

Mimi Parker waited impatiently at the red light. She hated red lights about as much as traffic jams and idiot bicyclists. They were basically all the same thing keeping her from where she wanted to go.

The light flicked green and she zoomed off. She loved this part of moving. New scenery, new people, new life. She had never been the type to settle down. She was not interested in getting married, buying a house, or putting down roots.

She wasn"t really sure why she felt that way. Her parents had been married 40 years and were steadfast and boring. She supposed she wasn"t interested in being like them. If she lasted six months in a relationship, it was long term. h.e.l.l, who was she kidding... if she lasted six weeks that was a long time for her.

This time it was a bad relationship that had pushed her out of her latest town a little faster than normal. She had made herself a deal that this time she would choose a place because it felt right. Sometimes she chose a city based on the first letter. Sometimes it was because it had a cool name. Nope, this time she was going to be smart about it.

She cruised through the countryside until she pulled into a town. She saw the sign calling it "Lincoln". The sign said it was just fewer than three thousand people. That was more her style she wasn"t a big fan of large cities. They tended to be crowded, smoggy, and overpriced.

She worked her way onto what she guessed to be Main Street. There were a few kids out since it was the afternoon, but no commotion, no crowds. She pulled over to the side when she saw a restaurant advertising the best barbeque around. Mimi figured she could use a break from driving, and who doesn"t like barbeque?

She parked her Jeep and hopped down. She straightened her shirt, hoping it didn"t look like she had driven through the night... which she had, of course. She walked inside, a little bell on the door announcing her arrival. The couple sets of customers inside looked at her curiously as she walked in, but didn"t say anything to her. She sat at the bar and grabbed a menu.

About 10 minutes later, she got up and started wandering around. No waitress had come to take her order, but she had plenty of time. The place was filled with memorabilia and old pictures. It was like a place out of the history books. She had always liked to learn about what made towns like this tick and how they were started.

A little while later, after the restaurant had cleared out and she still hadn"t seen anyone come out, she wandered back into the kitchen. An old man was stirring some kind of vat-soup, she guessed. He was humming to himself. He didn"t appear to have heard her come in, so she walked behind him and tapped his shoulder.

"Oh, goodness me!" he exclaimed. He looked her over head-to-toe. He seemed nice, the grandpa sort. He had deep wrinkles and laugh lines.

"I"m sorry." She smiled, apologizing. "I just wanted to get something to eat, but I"ve been here for a while. I took it upon myself to come back and ask!"

"Well, Krista-or is it Katie-she should be by to take your order soon, Dear." The old man went back to stirring. Mimi hesitated. She didn"t want to be pushy, but she didn"t have that much time, and she definitely didn"t think Krista-or Katie-was coming back anytime soon.

She tapped the old man"s shoulder again. "I"m sorry, sir. It"s just that... there"s no waitress here. I"ve been here an hour and haven"t seen anyone."

He looked stunned. He hobbled over to the door of the kitchen and looked through the window.

"Well, I"ll be d.a.m.ned. You"re right! I guess another one quit on me." He sighed and looked even older than he had before.

"I put that "Help Wanted" sign in the window, but haven"t had any takers."

Mimi looked over to the window and saw that it was indeed there. She made one of those split second decisions that she was known for.

"I"ll work here," she said determinedly. "That is, if you want me to."

The old man blinked owlishly at her as if he were seeing things. "Are you pulling my leg?"

Mimi laughed. "No, I was just thinking I would like to stay in this town for a while and a job is as good of a reason as any. When do you need someone?"

"As soon as you can work! What"s your name?" he asked.

"I"m Mimi. Mimi Parker," she answered.