Chapter 5 Emily
emily
Emily, this might be the dumbest shit you’ve ever done,” I muttered to myself, tightening my arms around my waist as I headed back to the house.
Well—hopefully. I felt like I could barely see in front of me, hoping I was at least going in the right direction.
The snow was coming down thick—thick enough that I could barely see.
Plus, I hadn’t grabbed my snow boots, which had better traction.
I hadn’t even grabbed my jacket, just running out to check on Smokey without thinking it through fully.
She was fine, though I could tell the high winds battering against the sides of the barn had made her extra skittish.
I tried to soothe her, talking in a low, calm voice while stroking her muzzle and neck.
Once she was calm enough, I filled her food, swapped out her water, and put a blanket on her.
I was grateful the stable was structurally sound and heated—my parents had spared no expense—so I didn’t have to worry about my horse if the snow continued to get worse.
My foot hit a patch of ice, and I slipped, ending up on my ass. “Ouch.” I winced, rubbing my back. I’d gone down hard. Damn. That was going to leave a bruise. To make things even worse, the cold and wet from the snow had already started soaking into my jeans.
A concerned voice had me looking up in surprise. “Jesus, Em, are you okay?”
Oh.
Oh, God. I looked hopelessly at the ground. Why now? Why did he have to see me like this? Damn, this was mortifying.
Because Mason Elliott was standing over me, all bundled up, with a beanie pulled over his head and somehow still looking like the sexiest man I’d ever seen, and I was sitting in the snowbank in whatever I’d thrown on this morning.
Shivering, I rubbed my hands up my arms. “I’ll be fine. Just—” My teeth started chattering as I tried to stand up, but slipped again. “Fuck.”
Mason, without skipping a beat, pulled the beanie off his head, shoving it over mine before scooping me up into his arms. “I’ve got you, darlin’.”
“I can walk,” I insisted, even though he’d just seen me look like a baby deer who didn’t know how to use her legs. Which… fair.
He ignored my words of protest. “Come on. We need to get you inside.” I tried to ignore how it felt to be cradled against his body like this.
One of his arms was under my legs, the other supporting my back.
“Hold on.” He looked at me until I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I looked away, hoping the cold had already made my nose and cheeks pink enough that he wouldn’t be able to see me blush.
Mason looked up at the sky. “It’s getting worse out here. ”
“I know.” I looked at the ground, the layer of snow already piling up higher. My whole body shivered again, and I did my best not to bury my face in Mason’s jacket as he navigated us back towards the house.
“Did you miss the weather announcement?”
I shook my head. “Yes?” I winced.
“Dammit, Emily.” He sounded… angry. “It’s a winter storm warning. You shouldn’t be outside.”
I felt small. “I’m sorry.” My voice was quiet, barely able to be heard over the roar of the wind.
He let out a huff, but didn’t say anything else, stomping through the fresh snow as I pressed tighter against him, hoping to steal more of his body heat. Snowflakes were clinging to his hair and eyelashes, and I resisted the urge to brush them off.
When we got to the covered back porch, he set me back on my feet—though he didn’t move away from me, enough that I could still feel his heat at my back as I let us back into the house.
I was wet and cold, and all I wanted was to go get warm. Maybe take a hot bath, and then curl up under blankets.
When I turned around, there was fire in his eyes. “What were you fucking thinking, Darlin’? You could have gotten seriously hurt. If I hadn’t been there, what would have happened?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t need to be treated like a child, Mason.”
“Maybe you do.”
Narrowing my eyes, I gave him my best glare. “Fuck this,” I said. “I’m tired of everyone treating me like I can’t do anything. Like I’m not twenty-eight years old.”
Mason grit his teeth. “You didn’t even put on a jacket. And where are your fucking boots?” He looked down at the shoes I’d slipped on in the house, figuring it would be a quick trip to the barn and back to check on Smokey.
Knowing he wouldn’t like the answer, I didn’t deign him with an answer.
They weren’t the best choice of footwear, obviously.
And my sweater was warm, but not that warm.
I was still shivering, even inside my heated house.
Obviously, I’d been out there longer than I’d originally meant to be, and the storm had been much worse on the way back.
“You’re freezing,” he said simply. All I could do was nod. Mason let out a curse. “Fuck. We need to warm you up.”
My eyes widened. “W-we?”
“I—” He swallowed roughly. “You. You need to warm up.”
My cheeks flushed, and I turned, not wanting him to see the dirty thoughts in my mind. Why was I suddenly thinking of the ways we could keep each other warm? About him peeling off my wet clothes and using his own body heat to warm up mine?
“I’ll go—” I started. I’d go, what? My brain was suddenly empty. Like I couldn’t for the life of me think of any actions I could perform. “Um.” I turned to look at Mason.
His eyes locked on mine. “Take your clothes off, Emily.”
Oh my God. The command scraped over my skin, and I could feel my peaked nipples in my bra. Under other circumstances, I’d imagined him saying those same words to me.
“Oh, right. Right.” I babbled, reaching for the hem of my sweater.
Mason let out a strangled sound. “What are you doing? Not here.”
Fuck me. What was I doing? About to get naked in front of Mason Elliott, because that suddenly seemed like a good idea?
Without another word, I scurried down the stairs to my room, quickly peeled off my wet clothes and dropped them in a pile on my bathroom floor.
Grabbing clean underwear and soft, cozy pajama bottoms to pull on, I dressed just as fast. Not bothering with a bra, I slipped on an oversized crewneck sweatshirt.
It was the farthest thing from my wardrobe on Instagram, to the person I portrayed to the outside world, but I didn’t care. This was Mason, after all.
Shivers still wracked my body, so I grabbed a plush pair of socks and a blanket. I still had his hat, and for whatever reason, I didn’t want to take it off my head. Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders like a cape, I trudged back upstairs, surprised to find Mason rooting around the kitchen.
“You’re still here,” I breathed out as I watched his shoulders flex underneath his long-sleeved henley. While I’d been changing, he’d taken off his coat, leaving it draped over the back of a barstool, his boots by the door.
Mason turned his torso to give me a small smile. “You thought I’d leave you after that?”
I didn’t know what I thought. But having company was surprisingly nice. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why you’re even here, Mason.” There were only a few reasons he would be, so I was trying not to look too deeply into any of them.
He kept his back to me, continuing whatever he was doing, not making eye contact as he murmured, “I came to check on you.”
I shut my eyes, letting out a deep breath. “Didn’t we go over this earlier?”
Mason didn’t respond. I cracked open an eyelid, finding him standing in front of me, a steaming mug in his hand. He held it out to me, and I frowned. “What is this?”
“Hot chocolate.” He raised an eyebrow, as if that should have been obvious. And it was. But that wasn’t what I was asking, and I was pretty sure he knew it. “To help you get warm.”
Taking the mug, I wrapped my hands around it, already feeling better. “I wasn’t even outside that long,” I muttered, looking outside. The entire world outside was white, as if the entire landscape was swallowed by the snow, though the sky was growing darker by the minute.
He just watched me as I sipped on the drink, feeling my body grow warm. Though I wasn’t sure if it was from the hot chocolate, or the way he was looking at me. Letting the blanket drop to the floor, I set the mug down on the table next to me.
Took a step, and then another, until I was standing right in front of him, toe to toe.
My heart thumped in my chest, a pounding melody that sought an answer. “Why?” I asked again.
He knew what I meant. “You know why, Emily.” He balled his hands into fists at his sides, his blue eyes locked on mine.
“I need to hear it.” Needed to hear him say the words.
Why he’d left the bar. Why he was so insistent on checking on me. Why I felt the way I did.
“There’s a winter storm warning.” He repeated the same words from outside, as if that made a difference.
My tongue swiped out over my bottom lip. “And?”
“And…” He blinked. “You’re all alone here.” Mason frowned, like that meant something. And maybe it did. Maybe it meant everything.
“Mason… I don’t understand. You rejected me.” My words were a whisper.
He winced, shaking his head. “That’s not what happened, Darlin’.”
“No?” Because that was what I remembered.
Mason shook his head, running his fingers through his dark brown strands. “No. Told you I was trying not to do something stupid.”
I propped my hands on my hips. “Right. And now… you’re here, sweeping me off my feet, telling me you came to make sure that I was okay because I’m alone during a storm? So what now?”
“Fuck it.” He let out a growl, stepping forward and swiping his beanie off my head before cupping my jaw. “I’m not sure I care anymore.”
My eyes widened as his body pressed up against mine, eliminating every inch of space between us. His eyes were on my lips, and I swiped my tongue out, moistening them.
“You feel this—this thing between us—too, don’t you? This… heat.” He pressed his forehead against mine, still holding my face in his hands.
I nodded. Of course I did. I’d never been this attracted to anyone before.
I was practically burning up with desire, with need.
So much so that I didn’t feel cold anymore.
“But what does that change?” I asked him, feeling like I was ruining it before we even started.
“I’m still Hunter’s little sister.” And I couldn’t have that ruin things between them.
As much as I wanted this—wanted him, and had forever, I didn’t want to be something he regretted. Because I knew, deep in my soul, that I’d never regret him.
His thumb stroked over my face, an intimate motion that made me practically pant in his arms.
“Mason…” I murmured.
“I want to kiss you. God know that I shouldn't, but I can’t fucking help it, Emily. Is that what you want to hear? That from the very first moment I saw you in the bar two nights ago, you’ve been all I could think about?”
“Yes,” I said, letting out a gasp as his lips pressed against my neck, pressing soft kisses to my skin. “Please.”
“Please, what?” Mason asked, moving his face until his lips were posed over mine.
“Please, kiss me.”
He groaned. “Fuck. I thought you’d never ask.” His arm wound around my body, every soft curve of my body snug against the hard planes of his. I was on my tiptoes as he bent down, and I appreciated how well we fit together, how he was practically sheltering my body with his.
And then—Mason Elliott kissed me.
Soft lips pressed against mine, tender presses of our mouths against each other.
His beard rubbed against my cheeks as he peppered my lips and face with kisses before returning to my mouth.
The time for delicate explorations was over.
Our mouths opened, and we practically devoured each other.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, digging my fingers into his hair, needing something to keep me anchored in this moment.
My eyes fluttered shut as his fingers dipped between the hem of my sweatshirt, fingers brushing over my bare skin. I let out a soft moan as his tongue met mine, stroking over and over, working me higher. I grabbed the back of his shirt, tugging on it and trying to free it from his pants.
“Emily,” he groaned.
“You said you’d warm me up,” I reminded him, pressing a kiss to his jaw and then trailing down his neck, appreciating the way his beard felt against my skin. “Remember?”
“God, you’re going to kill me.” He slid his hands up further, and I knew he was about to find out that I hadn’t put a bra back on. Mason let out a sharp exhale of breath as he reached my bare back, thumb brushing over my spine.
The lights flickered, and then—the house went dark. The entire room plunged into darkness, dimly lit only from the last traces of light outside.
His voice dropped to a whisper. “Fuck. I think the storm might have knocked out the power lines.”
I groaned, letting my head drop against his chest.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Do you guys still have the generator?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Okay. I’ll go check on it and see if I can get it running, and then I’ll start a fire in the fireplace.” He looked pointedly at me. “You stay in here and do not go outside.”
Still a little drunk from that kiss, I didn’t bother arguing with him. Instead, I plopped on the couch in the living room, swiping my finger over my tingling lips, trying to figure out if that had actually happened.
Was I hallucinating, or was Mason actually here? Maybe I’d hit my head when I fell on the ice outside.
Because that was the only thing I could think of to explain that he wanted me too.