Ten
That dreaded Saturday arrived and thankfully Mattie had explained that he hadn’t asked Alex to come. If he had, I’d have been the butt of McKenna jokes for the entire night and that wasn’t the party’s intention. The idea was to somehow get rid of the bad vibes and try and do something our parents and grandparents had never been able to achieve; become bum-chums with our neighbours. Personally, I couldn’t see that happening any time soon.
I had started to talk to Alex again through Facebook Messenger, knowing that I couldn’t remain mad at him. Especially as he was now officially seeing my brother. So far, they had kept themselves to themselves so as not to rub my nose in it, and I was thankful for that.
Chrissy had managed to get out of coming to the party, moaning to Jenna that old people were boring. When I explained that Seth would be there, that put her off even more. She said she was saving herself for our night out on Monday. Whatever, I took that one with a pinch of salt.
I looked at myself critically in the full-length mirror in my bedroom. Tonight, I was going all out girlie girl. I had chosen a strappy yellow sundress. It was fitted and clung to my body showing off my curves, but it wasn’t overly revealing. No cleavage or anything cheeky, but it was short and showed off my toned legs. I left my long hair loose and it fell down my back in waves and I applied a minimal amount of make-up. After that day when I’d gotten heatstroke, my face was now quite tanned and the sun had brought out my freckles.
Although I felt like I’d been summoned to attend the party at gunpoint, I had decided to attempt to enjoy it. The strange thing going on between Mason and I needed to do one, so I would focus on the other boy’s present and indulge myself with some essential flirtation. Anything to rid myself of that incessant attraction I was feeling toward him. I still couldn’t believe we’d almost had sex in the Kipling’s barn!
As I applied the finishing touches to my face, rock music floated up from outside. My bedroom faced the back gardens. I hadn’t helped with the set-up; I’d dodged that bullet and had left that to Jenna and Nixon, allowing them to play their insane mummy and daddy grown-ups game.
Jenna had decorated the entire garden with fairy lights. I’d checked out the area before my shower and it looked good. I hated that she’d made such an effort and I’d done fuck all, but I was there under duress.
I took my sweet time to go down there, I certainly didn’t want to be the first to arrive and appear overly keen. So, I left it for about an hour.
Like our house, the back garden was quite large. As you stepped out of the sliding patio doors there was a large Yorkshire Stone paved section. This stepped down onto grass which was split into two sections by a path that ran down the centre. This, in turn, led to a large decked area at the bottom of the garden which sat under a pergola saturated with honeysuckle and clematis. Several trees surrounded the garden which meant there was always a mix of both sun and shade. The sun however had gone down now and Jenna’s lights added a romantic glow. On one side, there was a large hedge with a section cut away. This led to a summer house where the speaker system had been set up. There was a variety of seating and several large bean bags spread out in sections. We had an old bronze bathtub which had been filled with ice and bottled beer and a table was set up to the side containing varying brands of alcohol and a few large bottles of coke.
I wasn’t sure how many people were coming, but I hoped there were enough guests to allow me to ignore the McKenna Boys for the entire night. Bonding exercise, my arse.
As I stepped out onto the patio, the place was rammed and there were quite a few people I didn’t know. Older, so I imagined they’d be Nixon’s friends. The cheek of the man. How dared he invite his fucking friends to my house? I sure hoped nothing went missing or this part-truce was screwed.
My intention of having some fun started to dwindle and I wished I’d invited Betty for backup. For a moment I felt a sickening sensation as I glanced around at the McKenna brothers, and how at home they looked in our garden. I wondered what my dad would feel if he could see us now, deeply betrayed probably .
Nixon was cooking burgers on my dad’s ancient BBQ which was set against the house and Jenna was standing with our cousin Wynter. Boyd lurked beside Nixon, watching the food with an impatient eye, and laughing at his own jokes. Stupid dickhead.
On the patio, there were three guys and one girl, none of whom I’d met before. Their hair was extremely neat and tidy which made me think they’d be squaddies and possibly worked with Nixon. The girl was plain with cropped dark hair but she seemed friendly enough. I returned her smile, I wasn’t a bitch to my own sex, just annoying boys.
Sitting on the wall that ran along the opposite side of the hedge was Wynter. She was petite, and quite pale with crushed rose petal lips and bright blue eyes. Her hair was jet black and fell in a river over her shoulders and partway down her back. We used to call her Snow White as she looked a bit like the Disney character. She and Jenna were talking, and so I grabbed a beer from the bathtub and moseyed on over.
I cast a glance over a few of the other pockets of people. Wesley was there with two of his volleyball friends and a female redhead I recognised, but couldn’t place. Wesley was showing them something on his phone. At the bottom of the garden, there was unfortunately Seth and two of his friends from the village, Miles, and Stuart. They were all underage and drinking. I most certainly wouldn’t be cleaning up any vomit if they couldn’t take their booze. Mattie was with them and they were laughing and joking. Talk about turning the knife.
The Proctor boys had come which was a surprise. They appeared to be fiddling with the speaker in the summer house. They didn’t fit in, they lifted right out. I wondered who’d invited them. They had suspicious faces and always seemed to be where there was trouble. Jonathan also had a manky hand; it was covered in scars. Betty once said she’d heard he used to self-harm. I kept my distance, as I didn’t enjoy indulging in dialogue with people that were difficult to talk to.
“Sup?” I said, joining the girls. They were talking about Wynter’s outfit. Wynter’s style was bohemian and the dress she wore fell off one, milky white shoulder. It was drawn in tight at the waist by a belt and then fell to the floor in floaty tiers .
They both greeted me and then carried on talking about fashion. I usually loved talking about clothes but I felt on edge, and where the heck was Mason? Maybe he’d decided not to come. I hated the disappointment that lurked at the thought. So, what, I looked nice and I wanted him to see me having fun with other men. Why on earth I suddenly felt the need to make him jealous was anyone’s guess. Talk about mixed emotions.
The music thumped, people chattered and the laughter flowed and I started to relax, now perching myself on Mattie’s vacated chair under the pergola. I’d left Jenna and Wynter and was listening to Stuart talking about a girl he’d matched up with on Tinder. I even conversed briefly with Seth. He was sitting right there; I couldn’t exactly ignore him.
He spoke about his last year of school and what exams he was doing. He must have been intelligent enough as his mock grades sounded quite high. Seth said he had every intention of moving to London as soon as he could. This didn’t surprise me, life in the country wasn’t for everyone. I thought about mentioning his father but decided against it.
Suddenly Boyd omitted a whoop as if Elvis had just arrived and I turned to peer up the garden toward the house. Mason stood on the patio by the sliding doors and he wasn’t alone. I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick.
He’d almost had sex with me and he was seeing someone? The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. I suddenly felt more cheated on than I had after the Mattie and Alex saga. The absolute rat! How dare he bring a girl to my house! The bunny boiler in me needed a rabbit it appeared.
His date’s presence sent such a surge of discomfort through me that I physically had to clutch my chest. Fury and humiliation burned into me.
Ways of making him pay circled my thoughts like a shark’s fin. She was pretty if you liked that sort of thing. Graceful and thin, like a runway model. She was much taller than me which meant she’d be able to tower over me and look down her nose. Not a thought I relished. Bring it bitch! Frustration clawed up my spine.
After burgers, chat, and a card game which was going off in the corner, I’d met most of the guests. The black beefy guy from the fight was there and his name was Aaron, he was quite nice, although he appeared to have a death wish by staring at Jenna for most of the evening. Luckily, Nixon didn’t seem to notice.
Mason and whatever the heck her name was were now sitting with Boyd and the short-haired girl who’d been with the squaddies early. And I was right, they were part of Nixon’s regiment and were introduced as Michael, Frazer and of course, the mysterious Jaxon (the name from the beach and Chris’s brother). They were nothing alike in colouring or size. Jaxon was as big as Nixon and he fashioned the same sleeve of tattoos but only on one arm. Nixon’s were on both and most of his back. Nix was sitting on the wall with Wynter, and Jenna was standing between his legs. I caught his gaze a couple of times but blanked him. And I’d strictly kept my eyes away from Mason.
Another hour or so drifted by and I mingled well considering the jealousy racing through me. The girl Mason had brought was now sitting at the other end of the L-shaped rattan sofa on the decking. Mason and Seth were positioned opposite her on chairs which accompanied it. There was a glass rattan table in the middle of them which was strewn with cups and bottles. I ran my tongue over my teeth, telling myself to get a grip. Why did I suddenly feel petrified that this was his new girlfriend? My gut curdled.
My annoyance that Mason had brought a girl to my house increased with every beer. Her appearance impacted me physically, like a punch to the gut. She was quite touchy-feely and kept leaning over and putting her hand on his knee. Each time she did so, her top gaped open, revealing the tops of her breasts. To say she was so thin, her breasts were quite large. More than a handful there. The thought of Mason touching that area, made me feel ill. OMG, I was so jealous. I ground my molars so hard that there probably wouldn’t be anything left in the morning.
From a safe distance, I allowed my gaze to roam over Mason. He looked calm and comfortable and not out of place considering he was in the enemy's lair. His black tee was tight against his muscled body and he wore dark jeans.
Boyd, Stuart, and Mattie were playing beer pong and their aims were all shit. I wanted to join in and show them who the boss of that game was but I didn’t want to be seen to be having too much fun .
Jenna kept a wary eye on me as did Nixon, who appeared to wear a constant smirk when he looked my way. Had Mason told him about the barn thing? Probably. I suddenly felt like I was trapped in a dodgy Netflix drama and couldn’t escape.
It was now quite dark and there was a breeze in the air. I was just in the process of opening another beer when I saw Mason and his date if you could call her that, walking hand in hand from the area between the hedges where the summer house was. What the hell had they been doing in there? The thought ruffled me more than it should have done. I forced myself to stay focused on anything but Mason but struggled. The fact that he was there with another girl was eating away at my insides.
That was the final straw and I placed the full bottle of beer on the windowsill of the house. Mason had taken the same seat he’d had before, and the girl, the sofa. Boyd was now sitting where Seth had been and I made my move.
She looked like the cat that had got the cream and the cream was Mason flavoured. Over my dead body!
There was a tight ball of emotion in my chest. Everyone was wrapped up in the music, chatter and games and I kicked off my sandals and walked over to where Mason sat with his strong arms resting on the chair. He glanced up at me with a curious look before nodding, “Amy.” He had such a strong jaw like God had carved it from granite. Alex was lucky he hadn’t shattered his hand that day at the beach.
I squared my shoulders, “Mason,” I echoed with a sigh before hitching my dress up slightly and lowering myself onto his lap, straddling him. It all happened so fast and his large body stiffened. I pressed my breasts into his chest and slid my fingers over his jaw before mashing my mouth against his. I didn’t use any tongue; it wasn’t supposed to be sexy, but it would have looked that way from the back. Where she was sitting.
“Fuck me, go Mason!” Boyd roared, probably drawing some attention from other parts of the garden. I heard someone clap but of course, I had my eyes closed. Mason was like a piece of wood, stiff and his mouth didn’t soften. At first, he didn’t try to kiss me back either. My hands curled into his hair and I ran my tongue across his closed mouth. I heard his breath hitch in his throat and then everything went wild .
He shifted in his seat and I could feel he wasn’t unaffected. He was growing hard between my parted legs, the muscles of his thighs, also like steel and I ground myself against him, and he grunted. His scent hit me, it was woody and musky and it swept in through my nose and came to settle in the pit of my belly.
My head was then yanked back quite roughly. Mason’s hands had tangled in my hair and had pulled me off his face. I was still breathing heavily. Those dark eyes met mine but he wasn’t angry, he was mildly amused I would say. My body tensed against his. At least after everything that had happened, I knew without arrogance that he was attracted to me.
“You still kiss like a virgin,” he whispered before his hand tightened and he forced my mouth back against his. Taking control. Our lips met and my mouth parted as he filled it with his tongue. I sank into him as my pulse skyrocketed. I could faintly hear more whoops, wolf whistles and Boyd’s barks of encouragement and someone shouted spin-the-bottle.
For me, they didn’t exist, all that did was the amazing heat I felt by being on Mason’s knee with his mouth moving so determinedly against mine.
My head was spinning and our bodies were close, fused together and the madness he was creating with his lips sent flurries of pleasure through my body. He tasted me, deeply, his tongue moving in and out and at one point, he drew my bottom lip into his mouth, like he had that evening of the fight. I moaned against him; my nipples as hard as bullets. Mason was literally inflicting sexual torture against my lips. The want inside me reached new heights. Irrespective of how I felt about this man, I physically needed him. He fed my starvation of affection.
My fingers fell onto his biceps and they flexed beneath against my palm. I felt Mason’s hand at the back of my head, angling me to get better access. He growled against my lips and I fenced my tongue against his.
I heard, “Get a room,” through the mist of passion.
And then it was gone. Mason pulled my head back again using my hair, breaking the kiss. Pinpricks of pain fluttered over my scalp and I jammed my hands against his shoulders and pushed back off his lap, flicking my legs over his to the decking .
He wore an expression of victory like he’d won something and I wanted to rake his face with my nails. My plan had backfired. As I said before, I never won any round I went with the Mason.
Our eyes clashed like soldiers during battle and I needed to make an escape. I couldn’t believe that I had just played tongue tennis with Mason in front of everyone . What had started out as a prank had gone terribly wrong?
Shooting him a sugary sweet smile, I pushed to my feet and turned, giving Mason’s guest a sympathetic look. She was outraged and in the process of standing.
As I sashayed away, I heard Mason say, “Lara.” In an ‘it meant nothing, please forgive me’ tone. Yeah right, tell that to your raging hard-on that had been digging into my thigh!
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Mason offered in a dry voice.
“I’ll see myself out I think,” she shot back. She was fuming and I felt a hint of regret. I picked up speed not wanting her to pass me as she made her way out. Most people had now refocused on what they were doing before watching the show I had supplied.
As I passed by, it looked like Wynter was arguing with that Jaxon guy and then it hit me. Jaxon, as in her stepbrother Jaxon? I decided not to tangle myself up with those thoughts just then. I needed a shower and as far as my presence at the party and playing nice went, I was done.
I retrieved my sandals and stormed past a puzzled Jenna and Nixon who were standing in the kitchen. I couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough. Fresh humiliation washed over me.
After showering, I pulled on clean knickers and wrapped my body in a towel. I had an ensuite bathroom and the largest bedroom in the house. It wasn’t due to favouritism; I’d just nagged the heck out of my parents until they’d caved. Chrissy, Jenna and I were on this floor and my parents had an attic room above us which had been converted. It was still thoroughly luxurious up there.
I’d washed my hair and it smelled of coconuts. Taking the towel off my head, I then bushed it and briefly checked my reflection before turning to exit the bathroom .
Pulling open the door, I stepped into my lamp-lit bedroom to see Mason, standing with his back against my closed bedroom door. My heart jumped in my chest at the shock.
“I had hoped you’d be naked and in bed by now.” Mason’s dark eyes roamed over my towel-clad body and on autopilot, I held the hairbrush out in front of me.
He cocked his head to one side and folded his arms across his chest.
“What are you going to do, brush me to death?” he drawled out in that sexy smoky voice of his. He looked gorgeous with his eyebrow quirked at me.
I inhaled and lowered the brush. I was frowning again; I’d probably end up with permanent groves there.
“What are you doing here?” I rasped. A flurry of several different emotions all talking over each other.
He was looking at me with unnerving intensity, “I wanted to talk to you about your little stunt.”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. There was a three-beat silence. His hair was tousled like he had been constantly running his hand through it.
“Oh, that,” I said with a quick smile, an appeasing look I would have called it. It was the one I used on my parents when I knew I was in deep shit.
It didn’t work on Mason.
His smile was mirthless, “Yes, that . You just cost me a couple of hours of sex,” Mason said, pushing off the door, unfolding his arms and taking a step further into the room. My heartbeat increased its pace as I took in his scent. He was all aggressive male, bristling and standing in my room. The bed was looming at the side of us. I had a large white iron bed and a giddy fizz of excitement mingled in with the shock.
“I don’t know what you mean?” I questioned, holding the brush against my chest, thankful that I had underwear on, although the way Mason was looking at me, I was surprised it didn’t fall off.
He dismissed my response with a curl of his lip, “You fucked with my date, Amy.” His voice was rough.
My temper flashed, “You mean your booty call.”
Mason carried on as if I hadn’t spoken, “You, owe me,” he growled .
His words made me flush, “I owe you what? I owe you nothing .” I was both cross and happy to see him, a fucked-up blend I know.
“Getting off was so on the cards tonight and you fucked it up,” the words trickled from his mouth like a sensual caress and he slowly walked toward me. I backed up but the bathroom door had closed and there was nowhere to go. Shit.
He stopped about a foot away, but in touching distance, his eyes roaming over my body and I felt my cheeks heat under that scrutiny. Was he going to touch me again?
“Let’s see how well you take instruction, Amy. Because in all things sexual, I’m in charge.” A flash of heat went up my spine and into every nerve-ending of my body.
My blood was throbbing in my veins in a way it never had before. I couldn’t speak, my tongue was welded to the top of my mouth. He was the alpha male from the books I read, and even though I never thought I’d like it in real life. I so fucking did. He had me in the palm of his hand.
Mason’s eyes hooded and there was still that bewitching curl to his lips. A mouth that had only an hour or so ago been moving so deliciously against mine.
“Drop the towel,” he suddenly ordered and heat flooded between my legs. I held the brush in front of me as a shield, but a second later he grabbed my wrist and pried it from my fingers, throwing it onto my dressing table with a clatter. He still held me and added, “A child of five could have taken that from you.” I almost stopped breathing.
It annoyed me that he called me weak as if he thought I was just going to fall into his arms, but he could think again. I twisted my wrist against his fingers, trying to pull free but he yanked me toward him and I was plastered against his chest. With his other hand, he tilted my chin up so I faced him. He then released me and whipped off my towel before I could stop him.
I was now standing pressed against Mason in my knickers and nothing else. My entire body was on fire. I felt so dainty and feminine next to his large impressively toned body.
“Come over here,” Mason whispered into my upturned face. And that’s when the nerves kicked in. I wanted this to happen. Needed it. Maybe sex would eradicate whatever this thing was between us and a reset button would be pushed. I could then go back to hating him and not see this side of him. My life could go back to normal, to a world where I wasn’t attracted to a McKenna and I could ignore the maelstrom of emotions this boy generated within me.
I took his hand and he moved to stand behind me, placing a kiss on my bare shoulder. He then steered me over to the full-length mirror and looked at me through the reflection. A shyness took hold and I moved to cover my breasts but his hands grabbed both of mine and he pulled them down to my sides.
His eyes flicked up and down my body, “Don’t cover yourself. You’re beautiful, Amy. And I know you’re proud of your body. I remember the way you teased me with it at the beach.”
He was saying all the right things and that nervousness started to fade. Once he felt me relax, our eyes met in the mirror again. He was so strong at my back, pushing against my softness. Sexual sensations licked up my spine where his body touched mine.
I watched as he kissed my neck again, but retained eye contact in the glass. One of his hands then slowly lifted and he placed it against my flat midriff.
His eyes roamed over my breasts in the reflection and he ran his fingertips gently up and down my arms. The excitement I felt was intense.
“So sweet. But before we go any further Amy, I need to hear you say it. Do you want this to happen?”
I didn’t need convincing, I knew what I wanted, “Yes,” I sighed. And with those words, Mason turned me in his arms and brought his mouth down on mine. It was firm but tenderer than it had been before. The night of the fight and at the farm, his kiss was almost savage. This time his lips were coaxing and I fully savoured the taste of his tongue with my own.
Mason continued to kiss me and I moaned and put my arms around his neck. I could feel him walking me back towards the bed and as the backs of my legs hit the mattress, we went down together.
It was bizarre as Mason McKenna was now on top of me and I was semi-naked and loving every minute of it. His touch ignited my soul .
I wasn’t sure how long we lay there with Mason kissing me, stroking my hair, and cradling my face, but suddenly his weight lifted and he kneeled up, his knees on either side of my body. I watched as he lifted his tee over his head, revealing his perfectly muscled drool-worthy body. My eyes fed on him greedily and he grinned. His hands then went down to my underwear and I lifted my bottom, allowing him to peel them down my legs. I heard his intake of breath as he exposed my most vulnerable area to his ravenous gaze.
After a moment of looking at me there, he pushed off onto his feet and I watched with wide eyes as his hands went to the buckle of his belt, yanking it out of the hoops. Without breaking eye contact he then started to unbutton his jeans. Everything he did was slow and unrushed, sensual.
I wiggled my body further up the bed and moved onto my side as I watched the strip show before me. I was about to see Mason in all his manly glory and whilst excited, I was also terrified .
He removed his jeans and kicked them to the side; he wore no underwear. I exhaled sharply. He was huge , much larger than I had expected.
Mason joined me on the bed, we were side by side and he reached for me again, kissing me deeply, intimately . Feeling brave I moved my arm from its position on his back and reached between us, running my hand along his slick length. He exhaled and his body jerked which made me smile. The fact that I was the one who had made him so sexually excited pleased me.
Mason kissed me all over my body and touched my breasts and it felt amazing. I writhed against him, wanting to feel that hardness everywhere. When his hand reached between my legs, I parted my thighs and lifted my pelvis against him.
We must have been together like that for quite some time, our bodies both hot and sweaty, the noise from the bed adding another sexual ingredient.
Mason drew back and looked down into my eyes, saying, “Do you want me, Amy?”
I smiled shyly and nodded wondering if I needed to remind him that I’d never done this before, even though he’d said I kissed like a virgin on the decking.
“I’ll try and be gentle and if I hurt you, you need to tell me. We can stop, OK? ”
I looked away briefly, my cheeks feeling warm, that shyness back. “Amy?” he prompted, this time his voice was firmer and more serious.
“OK.”
What happened next was like being on a rollercoaster. As he carefully moved over me and parted my thighs, I looked up into his eyes. He was concentrating, making sure I was OK and it pulled at my heartstrings. Something else was happening to me, my emotions were a jumble. Being in his arms and under him felt so right.
I heard him tear off the foil of the condom he was holding and watched him roll it over himself. He then shifted into position and I lay back, my hands resting on my bare stomach.
As he pushed inside of me there was a slight pain and my toes curled. Nothing could have prepared me for that first penetration, he was so big I felt impaled.
“OK?” he whispered, his eyes searching my face.
“Yes, don’t stop.” I bit my lip and nodded and he continued to push slowly before one final thrust. I cried out and he stopped, giving me time to get used to him.
We remained like that, joined together for a few beats before he looked down into my eyes. That initial discomfort started to fade.
“Now for the best part,” he whispered against my mouth and I sucked in a breath.
Then he started to move and I was lost. The sensation and glide of his body against mine was sensational , each movement was unlike anything I’d felt. Even that day at the beach was no comparison and I wanted the feeling to never stop. He consumed me, demanding nothing less than my total surrender.
Mason kissed me deeply, taking some of his weight by bracing his hands beside my head. My own fingers trailed over his hard back and I cupped his buttocks which flexed with the pace of his thrusts as he rocked back and forth.
His body against mine was so hard, throbbing with the need to possess me and that euphoric feeling was building inside. It was the same one I’d experienced at the beach but it was more intense, raw, and fierce.
As that feeling continued, my emotions were so mixed. I lost track of time, the sensation of that pleasure smashing away all coherent thought .
I was panting heavily, as was Mason as he drove into me and that building feeling of excitement eventually exploded, my body arching as I climaxed.
“Sweet,” Mason whispered as he followed me over the edge and I felt his body jerk as his own orgasm hit him.
We lay together, catching our breath, the aftermath of that lovemaking still uncurling through my body. He remained embedded within me whilst we both came back down from that euphoric level of release.
After he withdrew and disposed of the condom, he didn’t speak. Neither of us did. Mason pulled me into his arms, spooning me naked and I shuffled back against him. His breath was warm against my neck.
During the early hours of the morning, we had sex again and it was sensational . That second time, there was no pain at all only pleasure.
Afterwards, we spoke briefly about Mason’s father again. I was surprised, as he was the one who brought him up. He was open about how his dad had treated him over the years and why out of all his brothers he’d taken the brunt of Mitchell’s temper.
“Nixon was the quiet one and always stayed out of the way. I acted up purposefully so Mitchell would channel his anger issues my way, sparing the younger two.”
I listened with a heavy heart. His voice cracked slightly as he explained a couple of scenarios where Mitchell had lost it. I didn’t know half of what had happened over there and had only witnessed pieces of that life.
“Did he ever hit your mother?” I asked, turning in his arms to face him.
Mason inhaled sharply, “No, never. I would have killed him if he had.” And I believe him, he said the words so vehemently.
“So, now he’s ill, what will happen with the livestock, the farm?”
“I’ll take over completely eventually. Mitchell gets more and more distant each week. It’s pretty fucked up stuff.”
I listened intently, thankful that Mason was sharing something so personal with me.
“Does he still hit you?”
“Fuck no, he hasn’t tried that shit for the last ten years. I saw him go for Seth once and had words. He never tried anything again and when he became ill, he was too confused anyway. ”
My heart squeezed for him and we eventually fell asleep. I spent the night in his arms; who would have thought that Mason McKenna was a snuggler?
I then woke up in the morning and he’d gone. Vanished, without a word. He didn’t even try and wake me.
At first, my emotions were mixed. Maybe Mason had left for work or had something important he had to deal with. Either that or he’d left because he thought I’d be embarrassed to face him in the light of day.
Eventually, as the morning progressed, I realised that no matter what, Mason had left me without saying goodbye and the misery I felt was overwhelming. I blamed it on my hormones, I’d had sex now and my body was different. Hell, I was different.
I stood in the shower and allowed the jets to beat down on my body. As the water trickled over my skin, I told myself to treat what had been a beautiful exhilarating experience as an experiment.
One I now did not feel like repeating with Mason.
How could we have spent such a special night together for him to then leave without saying anything? Did he regret it?
I know out of the blue, but I could feel my heart physically breaking into a thousand bits.
Mason McKenna had unlocked something deep inside and he now owned a piece of me. As I made my bed, reorganising those rumpled covers, I realised that I had no idea how I would ever get that back.