“A couple of weeks,” he answered.
“Do you have to travel a lot?” I asked, thinking of it for the first time. I seriously needed to put more thought into what he did for a living.
“Some, not as much as a lot of other sports,” he replied as we stepped back into the warmth of the house and headed upstairs. “Worried you’ll miss me?” he growled, hauling me over his shoulder as I shrieked in protest. He carried me up the rest of the stairs to the bathroom and started the shower.
How much I’d miss him and after such a short time wasn’t something I was ready to formulate into words. Instead, I stepped under the warm spray of the water, beckoning him to join me.
* * *
We went into town briefly for lunch and a little window shopping. Mason was clearly recognized, but no one bothered us, for which we were both grateful. We just wanted to be in our own little bubble. I offered to make dinner, and we stopped at the store for groceries. By the time we got back to the house, the sun was low in the sky.
Mason started the fire and turned on some music while I opened a bottle of wine and started dinner, trying to stave off the dread that had begun to bloom in my belly, knowing I’d need to start talking and soon.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, coming to stand behind me, kissing my neck. “You’ve gone quiet on me.”
I forced a smile, turning in his arms to put my arms around his neck. “I was thinking that I’m really happy,” I answered honestly.
His gaze roved over me, reading my expression, no doubt guessing I was holding something back. His ability to read me after such a short time continued to confound me.
After a dinner that I barely tasted and couldn’t finish, we curled up by the fire, sipping wine. The ambiance of the room was completely serene, warring with the utter turmoil I felt inside. I knew I had to start talking, that he was waiting. I just wasn’t sure how to start. So I decided from the beginning would be best.
“You know Lily and I were roommates in college,” I murmured, looking into the fire, unable to look his way just yet. I’d deliberately sat a bit farther from him than I typically did. I needed my own space. He seemed to sense this and didn’t push me.
“We had a great time. We used to have these parties, her doing much more than mine, which I’m sure you could guess.” I cracked a pained smile. “I met Brian when he and his buddies came to one of them. He seemed like a really nice guy. I let him pursue me.” I shrugged. “He was handsome and seemed kind, though Lily never liked him,” I added. “But he seemed to have much stronger feelings for me. I just never felt that spark—the one I feel anytime I’m with you,” I said softly, risking a glance at Mason. He was watching me, his expression willing me to continue.
“I was sure it was me, my fault that I never felt that with him. He was handsome, thoughtful, and clearly smitten. So I slept with him.” I swallowed audibly. “I guess I thought maybe it would change the way I felt. Ignite something…” I drifted off. “But I knew right away that wasn’t the case, and I broke it off soon after.” I took a long swallow of my wine, my hand visibly shaking, my nerves racing.
“Do you have to sit so far away?” Mason asked, sensing my growing anxiety.
I nodded, glancing over at him. “I just have to get it out. Right away, it was as though a curtain dropped or something. It was terrifying. He’d clearly been keeping up a façade, because I’d never seen that kind of temper in him as when I broke it off. His face…” My voice drifted off before I continued, “He just had this wild look on his face as he screamed at me that I was a slut and only wanted one thing. That I’d used him.” I snorted. “Trust me, there wasn’t anything to use; it wasn’t like he’d shown me anything I wanted more of. He threatened me, pushed me into a wall. It was really scary. Luckily, Lily came home, and he took off.” I sighed, rubbing my temple. Mason reached over and squeezed my hand before releasing it so I could continue.
“He… I mean, I guess he just got obsessed with me or something. He started showing up at places I was. Called me incessantly. God forbid I tried to go out with anyone else. He’d show up on the date and tell the guy that I was a whore.” My voice faltered a bit.
“Motherfucker,” Mason growled before visibly fighting to rein in his temper.
“I finally got desperate enough to tell my brother about it, assuming he’d lose his shit. But he actually kept a handle on his temper and instead helped me to get a restraining order. My parents, of course, wanted me to come home. I’d graduated by then, but I wasn’t about to let that asshole run me out of the city I wanted to be in. Plus, I’d already gotten a good job.” I looked over at him and saw him nodding in understanding.
This was the hardest part. I’d never had to tell someone aside from my family and Lily what had happened, and I felt an unsurprising amount of reluctance to share all the details.
“Then there was an incident,” I said, looking again into the fire, “and he went to jail. I didn’t have to worry about him for a year. When he got out, the police assured me that he’d moved to California. I haven’t heard from him since.” I shrugged with a nonchalance I didn’t feel.
“Ellie, baby, look at me,” Mason commanded gently.
I looked over at his handsome face and swallowed audibly. He took my wineglass from me, placing it on the coffee table, and pulled me across the couch into his lap. His hand stroked reassuringly over my hair and down my back. “What type of incident?” he asked quietly, his gaze intent on mine.
“Mason.” I sighed, looking away. “We should be at the fun getting to know you stage. The making love and going out with friends stage,” I argued against sharing any more.
“We are at that stage, baby,” he assured me, cupping my jaw and gently guiding my gaze back to his. “But I’m not interested in a fling with you. I know we just met, but the minute you let me inside that amazing body of yours, you became mine and I became yours. Actually, I think for me it happened the first night we met. I can’t explain it. It just happened. I don’t just want the fun, light side of you, Ellie, I want it all. I also want to understand you and protect you. In order to do that, I need to know exactly what happened,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to run away. I told you, whatever it is—whatever happened—I’m here. Okay?”
“Okay,” I breathed, taken by his words and feeling more fortitude to continue. I moved to get off of him, and he let me get as far as out of his lap before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me to his side.
“You tell me with us touching. I want you to know I’m not going anywhere and that I’ll hold you through anything,” he demanded, kissing my temple.
I nodded, clearing my throat to continue. “Once I got the restraining order, he seemed to just disappear. I was so relieved.” I sighed, leaning into his side, feeling safe and secure in his arms. “I felt safer going out again. I didn’t dread it every time my phone rang. Then one night, I was leaving work late. I was still trying to prove myself as a new coordinator. I was hit over the head on the way to my car in the lot, knocked unconscious.”
The answering tension in Mason barely registered as I was pulled deeper into the nightmare I’d spent so much time trying not to relive.
“When I woke up, I was locked in some sort of room. It was so dark, I could barely see. I had the most painful headache, and my mouth was so dry I would have killed for a glass of water. I was in there for a really long time. The smell was awful—like something rotten. It was suffocating. On the one hand, I wanted to get out so badly, while on the other, I knew what might meet me on the other side. When Brian finally came in, he told me that I’d done this to myself. That I needed to be punished for denying him what was rightfully his, what he’d claimed.” I swallowed loudly, reliving the smell in that dark and dank little room. The look in his eye had been one of pure madness. “He hit me a couple of times, telling me he was just working up to the real punishment. I knew that whatever he had planned I might not survive, so when he had his back turned for a split second, I hit him over the head with my boot as hard as I could and made a run for it.” I grimaced, remembering that feeling of desperation as I’d run out of the room and through an unfamiliar loft, trying to find the exit. “He recovered and chased me as I screamed with everything I was worth. It felt like one of those dreams where you’re in quicksand. My voice was hoarse and didn’t sound nearly loud enough, and my whole body was sluggish and not nearly fast enough.
