Chapter 10 #2
"That's up to you two to figure out." He stands, clearing his tray. "But for what it's worth? I think you've got a shot. I've seen the way he looks at you, seen the way he's different when you're around. That's worth fighting for."
We head back to Mason's room where he's still sleeping peacefully, the monitors beeping steady rhythms. Falcon leaves after making me promise to text if anything changes, and then I'm alone with Mason and the quiet hum of medical equipment.
I settle into the chair beside his bed, my hand finding his, and let myself just breathe for the first time in hours. He's okay. We're okay. Castellano's in custody and the trafficking network's dismantled and for the first time since this all started, we're safe.
The relief is overwhelming enough that I start crying, silent tears I can't seem to stop. All the fear and adrenaline and terror I've been holding back for weeks comes pouring out, and I press my face against the side of his mattress to muffle the sounds.
"Ava." Mason's voice is rough with sleep and pain medication. "Why're you crying?"
"Because you almost died and I was terrified and I love you so much it hurts." The words tumble out between sobs. "And I don't know how to do this, how to be with someone who risks his life like it's nothing."
"Come here." He shifts over despite the pain it must cause, making room. "Carefully, I don't want you pulling my stitches."
I climb into the narrow hospital bed beside him, tucking myself against his uninjured side. His arm comes around me, solid and real, and gradually my breathing steadies.
"I don't risk my life like it's nothing," he says quietly. "I risk it for things that matter. For my brothers, for people who need protection, for you." His lips brush my hair. "And I'm not going anywhere. I made you a promise, remember? Forever."
"Forever's a long time."
"Good. Gives us plenty of time to figure out how to make this work.
" He's quiet for a moment. "I know it's not going to be easy.
You're going to write stories I don't like, and I'm going to do club business you don't approve of.
But as long as we're honest with each other, as long as we keep talking, we'll figure it out. "
"You really believe that?"
"I have to, because the alternative's losing you, and that's not acceptable."
I press closer, breathing in the scent of him beneath the hospital smell. "When you get out of here, I'm taking you back to the compound and not letting you out of bed for a week."
"Is that a threat or a promise?"
"Both."
His laugh is soft. "Looking forward to it."
We lie there together, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear, and eventually exhaustion pulls me under. I drift off pressed against him, safe despite the sterile hospital room and the machines monitoring his vitals.
When I wake, it's to find a nurse checking his IV and giving me a disapproving look.
"You're not supposed to be in the bed," she says.
"Then you better not tell anyone." Mason's awake, looking more alert than he did last night. "She stays with me."
The nurse opens her mouth to argue, then apparently thinks better of it when she sees the look on Mason's face. "Fine, but if you pull your stitches, I'm not explaining to the doctor why."
She leaves, and I carefully extract myself from the bed. "I should go. Let you rest properly."
"Stay, please." His hand catches mine. "I sleep better when you're here."
"The nurse is right. I could hurt you."
"You won't. And even if you did, it'd be worth it." He tugs me back down. "Besides, I've got plans for when I'm healed. I need you well-rested for them."
"What kind of plans?"
"The kind that involve you naked and screaming my name." His smile is wicked despite the hospital gown and IV. "Assuming you're interested."
"I might be convinced." I settle beside him more carefully this time. "But first you have to heal."
"Then I'll heal fast. I’m very motivated."
The next three days pass in a blur of hospital routine, brothers visiting, and physical therapy sessions where Mason pushes himself harder than the doctors want. I split my time between his room and the compound, making sure Sarah's settling in and working on my article.
The words flow easier than they have in months, the story is writing itself now that I have all the pieces.
Castellano's arrest, the trafficking network's exposure, the girls who were saved.
I weave it together with the skill of years of investigative journalism, and when I'm done, I've got a piece that's going to win awards.
Robert reviews it for legal issues, making sure I'm not opening myself to lawsuits, and Agent Forrister confirms the facts are accurate. By the time Mason's discharged, I've got a finished article ready to submit to every major publication in the country.
"You did it," Mason says, reading over my shoulder as we sit in his room at the compound. "This is going to change everything."
"It already has." I save the document and close my laptop. "The story's important, but it's not the most important thing that came out of this."
"What is?"
"You. Us. Finding something worth fighting for beyond just the next exposé or the next mission." I turn in his arms, careful of his still-healing injury. "I love you, Mason Vaughan. And I'm choosing you, choosing this, choosing us."
"Even knowing what it means? The danger, the lifestyle, the fact that I'm never going to be a normal guy with a normal job?"
"Especially knowing that. Because normal's overrated, and you're extraordinary." I kiss him, slow and deep. "So what do you say? Want to figure out this forever thing together?"
"Thought you'd never ask." His hands slide into my hair, tilting my head for better access. "But first, I'm making good on those plans I mentioned."
"Mason, you're still recovering."
"I'm recovered enough." He stands, pulling me with him toward the bed. "And I've been patient for three days. My patience is officially exhausted."
"The doctor said no strenuous activity."
"Then I'll let you do all the work." He sits on the edge of the bed, pulling me between his legs. "Take off your clothes, Ava. Need to see you."
I should argue, should insist he needs more time. But the heat in his eyes and the way his hands are already sliding under my shirt make it clear he's not taking no for an answer.
I strip slowly, letting him watch, and his expression grows darker with every piece of clothing that hits the floor. When I'm naked, he pulls me onto his lap, positioning me carefully so I'm straddling him without putting pressure on his injury.
"God, you're beautiful." His hands map my body like he's memorizing every curve. "I missed this. I missed you."
"You saw me every day in the hospital."
"Not like this. Not where I could touch you, and taste you." His mouth finds my breast, sucking my nipple until I'm gasping. "It’s been driving me insane thinking about all the things I want to do to you."
"Tell me." My hands work his belt, freeing him from his jeans. "Tell me what you want."
"I want you riding me. I want to watch you take your pleasure, and I want to feel you come apart while I'm inside you." He lifts me slightly, positioning himself. "Think you can do that?"
"Yes." I sink down onto him slowly, feeling the stretch and burn of taking him after days apart. "God, yes."
He groans, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. "That's it. Take all of me."
I do, setting a rhythm that's slow and deep, mindful of his injury but desperate for this connection. His mouth finds mine, swallowing my moans, and one hand slides between us to rub my clit.
"Come for me," he orders. "I want to feel it."
The combination of his cock inside me and his fingers on my clit is devastating, and I come hard, clenching around him. He follows with a groan, and we collapse together in a tangle of sweaty limbs.
"That was supposed to be me doing all the work," I point out when I can breathe again.
"Changed my mind. Couldn't help myself." He pulls me close, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Worth it though."
"If you tore your stitches, I'm not explaining to Vulture why."
"My stitches are fine, everything's fine." He shifts us so we're lying properly on the bed. "Actually it’s better than fine. It’s Perfect."
We lie there in comfortable silence, the afternoon sun painting patterns on the walls, and I let myself believe in the future we're building. It won't be easy, won't be conventional, but it'll be ours.
And that's more than I ever thought I'd have.
"Ava?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you, for not running when things got hard. For staying even when you probably should've left." His arms tighten around me. "You saved me, in more ways than you know."
"Right back at you." I press a kiss over his heart. "Now rest, you promised me a week in bed, and I'm holding you to that."
"Best promise I ever made."
He drifts off with a smile on his face, and I stay awake a little longer, memorizing this moment. The feel of him beside me, the safety of his arms, the knowledge that whatever comes next, we'll face it together.
Forever, I think. I can do forever with this man.
And for the first time in my life, forever doesn't scare me.
It feels like coming home.