Chapter 8 Mason
Mason
For someone who worries about being late, she takes her sweet time getting ready.
Using my shower and my body wash is only the start of it.
Once I get a peek of my bathroom after she’s done messing with her hair, I see all of her belongings scattered across the counter like she’s claimed this space as her own.
I should be somewhat annoyed. Yet, I’m not. Not even in the slightest. Instead, I’ve got this stirring happening in my chest.
Hoping she doesn’t worry about packing everything back up to bring back to her cabin, I help ensure it stays by coaxing her out of the cabin so we can get on the road.
Nova’s vibrating in excitement at my side once she’s settled.
Not showing even an ounce of nerves from all the snow that’s collected overnight, I’m more relieved to see there’s a path from previous vehicles.
“This is going to be great.” Clasping her hands together, she pauses to shoot a glance in my direction.
“If I’m ever too much, just tell me to chill. Seriously, you won’t upset me.”
Never. Just thinking about how many times I’ve spotted her getting worked up while making her home livable, I know that’s one of the many reasons I started wanting her. No one asks the sun to cool down when it gets hot. All I want to do is have her shine even brighter.
“Just be yourself.” Adding some weight to my words and a look that makes her turn pink, I put my attention on getting us off the mountain in one piece.
When we arrive, in my eyes, we’re entering chaos. The streets are a clogged artery of people and noise, a sensory assault of tinny Christmas music and garish, blinking lights. However, Nova is leaning forward in her seat, trying to get an eyeful of it all. The woman’s got a problem, no doubt.
Finding a spot to park is a nightmare, but the walk to join the crowds is worth it, especially when she wraps her arm around mine in an attempt to steal away all of my warmth and claim it for herself.
The sky is a solid, heavy gray, thick with clouds promising more snow.
It’s the kind of cold that usually seeps right into my bones, but right now, with her tucked against my side, I barely feel it.
We’re a little early, no surprise there, but a woman is handing out hot cocoa. Of course, Nova drags me in her direction, insisting that it’s going to go perfectly with everything around us. Like a loving fool, I let her take me wherever she wants.
A voice in the back of my head tells me not to fall so hard. Didn’t I learn my lesson the first time? It’s a faint whisper, easily drowned out by the sound of her laugh.
“How is it?” Her eyes sparkle as she waits for me to take one sip of the burning liquid. It’s molten lava, but I take a sip to satisfy her. “Bet it’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted.”
Now that gets me to crack a smile. “After last night? I don’t think anything is topping what I got to try.”
The words leave me without thought, but Nova gasps, her face flushing a delicious, dark red. She scolds me with a brush of her hand and a scoff before busying her lips with her own drink. I guess it was about time one of us mentioned it. I mean, it was the best thing to happen to me in years.
Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I keep her close as the parade starts. With so many people out here, it’s a miracle no one bumps into us. Not exactly a people person, I shift closer to her to put distance between me and the rest of the world.
Once our drinks are finished, I leave her long enough to dispose of our cups.
Returning, I’m stuck in awe at catching a side glimpse of her face.
Nova’s looking at the floats sweeping by with an expression that’s all too familiar.
It’s the same way I look at her every time she doesn’t notice. Awe. Pure, unadulterated wonder.
You’re really asking for trouble, Mason.
The longer I look at her now, the deeper I fall. Before yesterday, this woman was so far out of my reach that I never considered even trying to entertain such foolish feelings. Now… I don’t know anymore. She convinced me to come here, all because she’d be there right at my side.
As the stirring in my chest grows, a need stronger than my hesitation takes over.
I rejoin her, but instead of standing beside her, I move behind her.
My hands find her hips, and then, my resolve melting away completely, I securely wrap my arms around her, pulling her back flush against my chest. There’s no tension in her, no discomfort.
She just melts into me with a soft, content sigh, her hands coming to rest over mine.
She tilts her head up, turning all that love in her eyes onto me. It’s enough to take my breath away, even more when it remains. She’s paying more attention to me than the parade, her smile brighter than any of the thousand twinkling bulbs surrounding us.
“Pay attention,” I murmur, my voice rough as I nod toward the passing floats. “You can look at me all you want later.”
Her smile softens, but she doesn’t let me savor the moment. Instead, she nods and shifts her focus back to what’s in front of us. If it weren’t for her gentle touch on my hand, I’d believe she was fully listening.
We’re two the same, soaking up the other’s presence. No matter how loud the music gets or how excited the crowd becomes when Santa Claus appears, it feels like it’s still just us two here. I don’t know about her, but it stays that way for me all the way through the event.
By the time the crowd begins thinning, many of them groaning about the cold weather, Nova’s grabbing my hand to pull me in the direction of where we parked.
While one hand squeezes at three of my fingers, the other securely holds a sharpened candy cane—a gift from a woman dressed as an elf.
Walking so casually, she doesn’t realize how easy it’ll be to catch one of her boots on a patch of ice and stab herself with the candy.
This woman is going to give me a headache at this rate.
She notices me looking at her candy and smiles.
“I could have asked for another if you wanted one.” As she sucks it back into her mouth, her gentle hum ignites a feeling in me that isn’t concerned about her safety.
As my eyes linger on her candy-coated lips, I realize I might be the one who ends up slipping. “Want a lick?”
Holding it out to me as a tease, the amusement in her eyes giving it away, there’s nothing more satisfying than the look on her face when I accept her offer. Instead of licking her cane, however, I crunch down on it.
“H-Hey!” Sputtering in shock, she looks from her halved piece of candy to my moving jaw. “Not nice.”
Satisfied by taking out the problem, and this little interaction, I can’t help but chuckle that rumbles through me. “Guess that makes me naughty, then.”
Nova makes the cutest sputtering noise before she jerks to look at something else. She can look wherever she wants, but those red ears of hers are spilling her secrets. I could double down and ask what she’s thinking about, but I don’t want to embarrass her to the point of pulling away.
Like she expects me to pull the same trick on her, she crunches on the rest of her cane, refusing to offer me any more.
The drive back to the cabin is quiet, the kind of quiet that feels heavy with things unsaid. The heater roars, chasing the chill from her skin, but she still squirms in her seat like she needs the movement to warm her blood.
She’s surprisingly eager, practically vibrating as we turn onto the winding road that leads to my place. Is it the thought of returning to my home that has her in this state? The possibility has me pushing down the gas, returning as fast as I possibly can.
Inside, the cabin is stark and cold. First things first, I need to get a fire going so she doesn’t freeze to death. However, the reindeer sweater she’s wearing will be a big help in giving me a few extra minutes to get the flames going.
I kneel at the hearth, stacking logs and kindling with a focus I don’t entirely feel.
My attention is split, listening to the soft sounds of her moving around behind me.
The rustle of her coat being shed, the quiet pad of her boots on the hardwood.
Then, the sounds shift, moving away toward the kitchen.
By the time the flames are licking hungrily at the wood, casting dancing shadows across the room, the silence from the kitchen has stretched too long.
I find her there, having made herself so perfectly at home that it steals the air from my lungs.
She’s on her toes, rummaging through my cabinets with a familiar ease that should feel invasive but instead feels… right.
She glances over her shoulder, a soft smile gracing her lips. “What should we have for an early lunch? You have… canned soup. And a startling amount of pasta. I hope your fridge and freezer are more impressive.” She turns fully, leaning back against the counter. “What are you in the mood for?”
I just stare at her at first. She looks perfect here, within my space, adding a splash of color and vitality to my monochrome world. The words are out before I can temper them, low and honest. “I’m not hungry for food, Nova.”
Her eyes widen just a fraction, a flicker of understanding in their depths. But she plays it innocent, tilting her head. “No? What are you hungry for, then?”
She has no idea. No concept of how hard I’ve been fighting since the moment she woke up in my arms, since she looked at me under those Christmas lights like I was the only thing worth seeing.
She can’t tell how every casual touch, every smile, every breathy laugh has been a fresh kind of torture, stoking a hunger in me that has nothing to do with food.
I arch a brow, my gaze dropping to her mouth, then dragging slowly back up to meet her eyes. I see the moment her breath catches, the faint pink that blooms across her cheeks. She’s no longer so innocent. She senses the change in the atmosphere, the heavy tension mounting sharply between us.
I take a single step forward, and her lips part.
The question hangs there, a direct line to the desire coiling tight in my gut. I want to answer it. I want to show her exactly what I’m hungry for, to back her against that counter and finally, finally get my hands back on her.
The last thing I want to do is cave to this hunger and spook her by moving too fast.
My hands curl into fists at my sides. The real question isn’t what I’m hungry for. It’s whether I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself long enough to find out if this is real, or if I’m about to ruin the best thing that’s happened to me in years by wanting her too much.