Page 94 of Bruised

“Because I’m Oliver’s friend?”

He frowns. “What do you mean?”

I fidget with the hem of my shirt. “Did you only like being with me because, um, because it felt fun for you that Oliver doesn’t like it?”

Mason shakes his head. “No, like I said; it wasn’t some elaborate plan. I just wanted you. The circumstances don’t matter to me. If anything, they just got in the way of me having you.”

“But you said that I liked the thrill of it. In the pool.”

“You didn’t?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Well, then we feel the same. Oliver or no Oliver, I’d still want you just as much.”

I flush, but I can’t let this go yet. “Are you afraid you’ll hurt me like that? Like you did to that man?”

Mason blinks. “You? No. God, no. I’d never lay a hand on you like that. It wasn’t random; that guy… he wouldn’t leave Tess alone. He pushed me until I snapped. You’d never give me a reason like that, and even if you did, I could never hurt you.” His voice cracks, and for a moment, his face is so open, his expression so raw, I feel like I’m looking into his soul. And I believe him, but…

“You did hurt me,” I whisper. “Not like that, but…”

“I know.”

I look down, rolling the hem of my shirt and bunching it up in my hands. This is hard for me to say, and I don’t know why. “Sometimes… I feel like you want to own me like a pet, when I’ve never agreed to that.” I heave a shaky sigh, tears welling in my eyes. “It felt weird. Like I didn’t matter to you.”

Mason looks pained. “I know. I’m sorry I’ve been an idiot. I’m sorry I haven’t proved it to you.”

“Proved what?”

“That I…” He takes a deep breath. “That I’m fucking crazy about you. I don’t want anything else. I could be left with nothing, naked to the world, but as long as I had you, I wouldn’t care.”

“I’m not just your puppy?”

“You’re not just my puppy. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Oh.” My voice is no more than a whisper, and I feel strange, like I’m floating. My chest is so warm, and my heart is beating so hard I don’t know what to do with myself.

“I know I fucked up,” Mason says. “I know I let you down. But if you give me another shot, I swear, Lane, I’ll never let you down like that again. I want to know you. Truly know you. Not just your body. You.”

I take a deep breath, feeling a little dizzy.

“Do you want to know me?” Mason asks, and he sounds unsure, as if he fears I’ll reject him.

He’s never been unsure around me before. He’s always assumed I’ll give in to him eventually, always been so infuriatingly confident, but not this time. This time, he doesn’t approach me unless I approach him first. He doesn’t try to trick me, doesn’t try to tempt me into anything. He just asks. He just offers. And it’s up to me to say yes or no.

I have a choice, finally, where I’ve felt like I don’t have a choice when it comes to him. Even though it was my decision to go to his room at night, even though it was my decision to clip the heart-shaped choker around my throat, it didn’t feel like it. He’s always held such power over me, but now he’s relinquishing that power and giving it to me.

I take a deep, steadying breath, and I say it. “Yeah. Yeah, I want to know you.” I smile, and Mason smiles with me.

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

“You’re being awfully polite,” I tease. “Where’s the Mason I know?”

“Come here, and maybe you’ll get to see him again.”

I take a step forward. And then another. I step over my mattress, and as soon as I’m within reach, I expect him to grab me, to pull me in, but he does nothing until I’ve wrapped my arms around his waist. He drapes his arms over my shoulders, and we stand just like that, embracing. Holding me tight, he slides a hand into my hair, trails it through my messy locks, and scratches softly behind my ear.

I feel myself start to relax, to sink into the intoxicating heat of his body and inhale the faint smell of his sweat. He’s not wearing deodorant; he kept his promise.