After such a short time, Mason had become so pivotal to my life—rising to the center of everything in an exhilarating and terrifying rapture of light.
His hand reached up, cupping the back of my head, protecting me against the tile as he pounded into me.
My legs wrapped tightly around his firm backside, drawing him closer, deeper as I neared release in record time.
“Give it to me, Ellie,” he commanded. “I need it.”
My hands clutched his shoulders as my entire body flushed with a heat that had nothing to do with the shower.
I cried his name, my voice reverberating off the shower walls as he followed immediately after.
He held me tight, our foreheads pressed together as we breathed each other’s air. He set me carefully on my feet before reaching to turn off the water.
He held his hand out, helping me out of the shower, and toweled me off so gently and with such care I had to fight back tears. “Let’s get you to bed,” he rumbled after he’d quickly dried himself.
When we crawled under my covers, he pulled me close, stroking his large, callused hand up and down my back. “Ellie…” he tried, and not for the first time, to talk about the nightmarish end to our evening.
“Let’s not talk about it tonight,” I murmured. “I just want to sleep.”
He squeezed me. “All right. For tonight, baby. But know that nothing about tonight changes a thing.”
If only I could believe that was true.
* * *
Mason woke me early the next morning, murmuring that he had a team meeting but would be back before I’d even finished breakfast. I’d kissed him and promptly fallen back asleep.
It wasn’t until I’d started on my first cup of coffee, laptop open on the counter a few hours later, that the headlines penetrated my brain.
Jackson’s New Love Interest Has A Dark Past.
Mason Jackson flies into a jealous rage.
Will Ellie Mitchell’s Past Spell Trouble for Mason Jackson’s Upcoming Season?
Ellie Mitchell’s Ex Speaks, Says The Two Were In Love.
I slammed the damn thing shut, shoving my chair back in agitation as I paced the room.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I needed to get out.
By the time my phone rang, Mason’s name flashing on the screen, I was on my way to the airport.
“Ellie.” His breathing was labored almost like he’d been running. “Where are you? I went to your place.”
I winced with regret at the clear concern in his voice. “I’m sorry. I’m fine.”
He heaved out a breath. “I take it you read the news.”
“I did,” I replied quietly.
His tone was calmer, though still tense when he spoke again. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… I don’t know what I am, but fine isn’t a word I would use,” I admitted.
“Let me come get you,” he insisted.
“I appreciate that, but I’m actually going to head home for a few days,” I murmured.
