Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Mase
I brush my fingers over Nina’s forehead, moving the hair back from her face. She’s so peaceful. The true meaning of beauty—for me.
Being here, in this house, it doesn’t bring back a haul of memories. There aren’t smells or sounds that creak in the night that have me reminiscing about being a child here. Instead, I feel somewhat restless. Like I shouldn’t be here at all.
“Nina.”
“Hmmm.” Her hand reaches blindly, smoothing over my chest as her legs tangle tighter with mine.
I smile, kissing her wrist. “Nina.”
She stirs again, her chest rising as she inhales deeply. “Time is it?”
“Three a.m.,” I whisper into her neck as she rolls to her back.
“Masseeee,” she moans, her brows drawing together.
“I owe you a dance.”
Her eyes flutter open, and I instantly feel seen. “Right now?”
I nod, kissing her forehead before rising from the bed.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“To the ball.” I smile.
“I don’t have my clothes,” she complains, watching as I search for my shirt. I don’t miss the hint of excitement in her voice.
“Wear your dress.”
“It’s three a.m. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get into that thing? It’s tight.”
I crawl over her, blanketing her body with my own. “I want to dance with you in that dress.”
“And I want to sleep.” She cocks her head with a smile. Leaning in and kissing my lips. “Compromise.”
I glare at her, already knowing I won’t fight her on it. “Fine. Wear my shirt.”
She slips out from under me, bouncing on the tips of her toes as she bends to pick up my shirt. I watch her as she slides it over her shoulders and starts to button it up.
“Keep looking at me like that, Bossman, and we’ll be dancing in the sheets instead.”
“Maybe we should do that,” I muse, lying with my hands linked behind my head on the pillow. My cock grows harder the more buttons she does up.
She shakes her head. “Nuh-uh, I wanna dance with you.”
My heart swells in my chest. She wants to dance.
“Here.” She throws me my jacket and trousers, then pulls my boxers on.
“You sure you don’t want the jacket, too?” I say sarcastically.
She pulls her long hair up into a bun, then starts towards the door. “Only if it gets cold.” She winks. “Come on, Bossman.”
I take off after her as she slips from the room, still barefoot. I manage to get my jacket on before I reach the door but stumble into my pant leg as I try to catch up to her.
“Shhh! You’ll wake Ellis!” She chuckles, watching me struggle.
Once I have my trousers buttoned, I rush her, grinning wide when she lets out a shrill squeal. Lifting her over my shoulder, I descend the stairs, letting her down when we reach the bottom. Voices carry from the kitchen; I frown as I try to make them out.
I hear Scarlet, and—
“Mase, come on.” She drags me to the front door.
Nina
My feet pad along the cool paving slabs as I lead the way to the marquee. Mason is right on my heels, his hands reaching for me and roaming my torso. “It’s cold, you can have my jacket.”
“And leave you with a pair of trousers?” She giggles. “No.”
We reach the opening to the marquee, and Mason pulls out a key. I frown as he quickly unlocks the padlock and opens the door.
When did he get the key?
“I’ll find the generator. Wait here.”
He disappears, leaving me standing in the entrance of the moonlit tent. Pulling on his shirt sleeves, I cross to the room and duck down behind the bar, looking for the matches we used earlier in the evening to light the candles.
Ten minutes later, Mason comes back into the marquee, a hard expression on his face as he looks down at his phone then puts it to his ear.
“What’s wrong, who are you calling?”
“Vinny, I can’t get the generator working.”
Lifting his head to look at me, he takes in the room that’s now lit up in a white glow. His face morphs into a smile, and he pockets his phone.
“You were going to call Vinny to come fix the generator at three o’clock in the morning?”
“So?” he says defensively.
“He’s with our son.” Something about that statement makes my stomach dip. Our sweet Ellis.
“He’s a heavy sleeper, like his mother.” His handsome face starts to relax.
I shake my head as I approach him. “What?” He grins, running his hands over my waist and down to my behind, giving it a firm squeeze. “I pay Vinny well.”
“Oh yeah, of course,” I say sarcastically. “Makes it totally acceptable and okay to—”
“Nina,” he whispers.
I smile. “What?”
“Shut the fuck up.” He slides his lips over mine, taking his time to find a rhythm before he deepens the kiss. His arms band around my body; keeping me locked tightly to him. I struggle to think of any other place I’d rather be at this moment.
After what feels like hours he pulls away, lips swollen and glossy. “I don’t have any music. But if you’ll have me as I am?”
I take his outstretched hand, a grin stretching my face. “Ever the gentleman, Mr Lowell.”
He lifts a brow. “Hmm, I don’t know. Would a gentleman want to fuck every inch of you until you can no longer take any more of him?”
I do a little two-step, trying to keep my face straight. “I mean, I never wanted to be a lady anyway.” I jump up into his arms, locking my feet behind his back. He spins me, and I drop my head back, letting my body go lax for him as we both laugh freely.
“When was the last time you danced?” he asks, pulling me upright with a hand to my back.
My legs slide to the ground and we start to sway. “It was in the penthouse. You were in the shower, and I was supposed to be warming up our dinner.”
He watches me intently; his hand drawing circles on my shoulder. “What song did you play?”
I feel stupid for remembering, but he doesn’t judge me for it. “The Goo Goo Dolls, ‘Iris’.”
His lips brush my temple, then he spins me.
I step back into him, lifting my leg and leaning into him. He moulds to me, following my lead.
I get lost in our movements, our bodies swaying to the sound of our own heartbeats. For the first time in over a year, I dance, and not in the conscious way I move around a dance floor with my girls. I dance how I always used to dance. Freely.
“You were the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”
I laugh as he dips me back, kissing my jaw. “I’m serious. Vinny said it too. You looked phenomenal in that dress. And when you came to me with Ellis.” His eyes are glazed and far off, as if he’s right back in the moment. “I don’t know how I ever went a day without seeing you.”
My throat is thick with emotion; My love for this man is boundless.
“I’m so sorry, Mason. For what I put you through. I didn’t trust you when it mattered and I don’t know how to fix that.”
“Shh.” He brushes his finger over my lip. “We’ll figure it out.”
We continue to float around the dance floor, his hands lingering on my body for longer than necessary at every opportunity he gets.
I don’t know how long we have been dancing for when we finally slow, rocking back and forth with my head on his chest. “I’m glad you came tonight,” I whisper.
He doesn’t say a thing. His response delivered with a soft kiss to my head.
I frown, then think out loud. “I’m so proud of you, Mason Lowell.”
After a moment, he runs his hands up my arms, pulling away from me and looking down at me pensively. Every emotion inside him is bared to me in the reflection of his eyes.
“They would be so proud of you.”
His eyes drift to the ceiling before coming back to me, a small smile playing on his lips. “Come with me.”
Taking my hand, he leads me from the marquee. But instead of taking me to the house, we round the side of the property, and towards the fields that lead to the meadow.
“Mase, I don’t have any shoes.”
It’s not overly cold out but the grass is getting dewy as the morning draws close, coating my feet in wet slush.
“Anything to have me carry you.” For what feels like the one hundredth time tonight, he lifts me into his arms. Striding through the grass, and over to the open gate.
The last time we were in the meadow together was the day that Anthony died.
I know this must bring back difficult memories.
I love him so much for being here, and all the more so for being here with a grin on his beautiful face.
He stops when we finally get to the top of the hill, dropping me down and looking out over the estate. We stand side by side, taking in the eerie silence.
“You haven’t been out here in a while.”
His throat bobs on a swallow, not taking his eyes from the estate. “Maybe not as long as you think.”
What does that mean?
I’m about to ask him when he continues.
“Dad used to come sit here on the hill while we played on the lake.”
He’s someplace else right now; I don’t say a word.
“They both did, every day from the day I was born they would walk around the grounds, until Mum got sick. I don’t remember a lot, but I remember her shouting, telling me to slow down when I would race to the lake as fast as my legs would let me go.
” He sniggers. “Dad would tell her I was fine, but she always worried.” He pauses for a moment.
“It was always sunny!” He looks to me in question, a frown marring his brow, as if it’s the most ridiculous thing in the world for the sun to shine.
“As a kid, do you feel like it was always sunny?”
“Uh…”
“He loved the sun.” He shakes his head. “Would be out here for hours every day, and long after we went to bed.”
We stand looking over the estate, the view soothing something in the both of us. My eyes drift to the garden, still lit up with the lanterns. Scar must have forgotten about them, or she didn’t want to turn them off. Mason’s strong hand grips mine, warm but calloused.
I lick my lips, trying to decipher his thoughts and find the right thing to say. He seems lost in his own head again.
“I think in life, especially when it isn’t all that fair to us, we have a habit of clinging to the good. We feed off it, making it seem better than it actually was.”