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I turned to see him watching me from the small kitchen area. “Water would be great, thanks. I must have left my bottle in the tack room.” I told him realising that I no longer had it with me.
Mason grabbed two bottles of water and handed me one as he flopped down onto the sofa pulling a t-shirt on that was thrown over the arm, he patted the space next to him, and I sat down. “So… do you want to tell me what happened tonight?” He asked quietly.
I took a long swig of my water, slowly putting the lid back on before looking up to meet his eyes. “I had a nightmare, I’ve suffered with them on and off since the accident. I needed some fresh air once I’d woken up, so I went to the stables. I’m sorry if I woke you up.” I dropped my eyes from his, fidgeting on the sofa and picking at the label on my water bottle.
“Libby, stop apologising, you didn’t wake me, I was already awake, and even if you had woken me, I wouldn’t have minded.” He reached out and took the bottle from my hands putting it on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. He took my now empty hands in his.
“When you told me about the car accident yesterday, what did you mean when you said that others hadn’t been so lucky?” He asked me gently. His thumbs stroked circles on the inside of my wrists sending goosebumps up my arms.
I shivered again, not from the cold this time but from his touch. Not realising that I wasn’t cold, he reached for the throw on the back of the sofa and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Thank you,” I whispered. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to open up to him. I sighed. “The night of the car accident, I’d been out with my best friend, Mia. We were having a great time until she saw her boyfriend all over some other girl. Mia stormed out, and Mitch followed, he talked us into letting him drive us home.” I paused, taking a deep breath and concentrating on the feeling of Mason’s fingers circling my wrist. I felt him squeeze my hands in silent support. “He promised me that he’d only had one drink…turns out that he lied, he was over the limit, and he lost control of the car…” I closed my eyes. “They both died” I whispered. “Mia had been my best friend since we were four.”
I heard Mason take a deep breath. “And your nightmares are of the accident?”
I nodded, silent tears running down my face.
“Libby,” Mason said, pulling me onto his lap. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Let it all out, sweetheart.” He stroked my hair as my sobs grew louder.
I cried in his lap for what felt like forever. He didn’t question me or say anything to try and make me feel better, he just held me, and I didn’t realise it before, but it was exactly what I needed. I could feel the steady beating of his heart as I lay on his chest, and that, along with the feeling of being wrapped in his arms slowly calmed me down. Although it felt like I had been crying forever, it must only have been about ten minutes. Once the sobs had stopped I lifted my head off his now soaking t-shirt to look up at him. He was staring down at me, his eyes worried. “That’s twice I’ve cried all over you. You must think I’m a nervous wreck!” I only half joked trying to lighten the mood.
“Libby, I think you're incredible. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. You’re funny and kind. I hate to see you cry and now I know the reason for those tears I would do anything to take your pain away.”
I looked at him shocked, not knowing how to respond to him.
“I know you want to be just friends, but I’m struggling with that sweetheart. I don’t want to be just your friend. I want to be your everything. I want you to take a chance on me, a chance on us. I know you’re only here short term, but I want to see what this thing between us is.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I dropped my head to his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around me. My head and heart were in conflict, my heart was screaming yes, my head screaming no. It felt right to be in his arms, though, I felt safe and protected and dare I say it, loved. I knew Mason wasn’t in love with me, we’d only known each other a week, but I knew he cared about me. I caught myself thinking about him when I wasn’t with him, wondering what he was doing and when I would bump into him again. The connection I felt with him, I’d never felt with anyone else but could I really take that chance and risk getting hurt? I suddenly smiled to myself, I could almost hear Mia in my head “Libby what are you waiting for? You’re sat in the lap of a gorgeous cowboy just go for it. Jump his bones!!”
I lifted my head. “Okay,” I whispered. I felt Mason’s fingers under my chin, lifting my face to look into his eyes.
“Okay?” He asked, his face breaking into a breath-taking smile.
I smiled back at him. “Yes, okay, we’ll give whatever this is, a go, but Mason.” I paused, the smile slipping off my face. “We need to take this slowly, I’m not like the other girls you’ve been with. I’ve never... never had a boyfriend.” I told him embarrassed.
Mason jumped off the sofa with me still in his arms and spun me around. “Sweetheart, we’ll go as slow as you want.” I laughed as he put me down. “Come on.” He took my hand and led me to the foot of the staircase. I pulled back on his arm.
“Mason…” I started to protest.
“Libby, I heard you when you said you said you wanted to take things slowly. I just want to hold you… and sleep, it’s nearly 4 am. We’ll talk things through properly tomorrow, but for now, I want to fall asleep with you in my arms.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling shyly at him. He seemed to know exactly what to say. I was still a little apprehensive though as I followed him upstairs. I’d never shared a bed with a man before, and the nerves were building up in my stomach.
When we reached the top of the stairs it opened out into a small bedroom, there was a double bed against one wall with a small bedside table on one side. A chest of drawers lined the other wall. As I looked around Mason was rushing around the room picking up clothes that were strewn everywhere. He looked at me sheepishly. “Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Mason, it’s fine.” I yawned, suddenly realising how tired I was. He must have seen me yawning and came over, pulling me down to sit on the bed with him.
“Come on let’s get some sleep.”
I kicked my flip flops off and pulled the bobble out of my hair, my hair tumbling around my shoulders. I wrung my hands nervously in my lap. I felt Mason kneel behind me and wrap his arms around my waist, he brushed his lips across my shoulder. “Lie down Lib.” He whispered as he moved back. I swung my legs onto the bed and lay on my side, my head on his pillow. I felt him lie behind me and he pulled me into his hard, warm chest, one arm going around my waist and the other under my head. I stiffened in his arms. “Relax sweetheart.” He whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck. I turned in his arms and rested my head on his chest breathing in his scent. I slowly felt myself relaxing, loving the feeling of him holding me.
“Would it be alright if I kissed you, Libby?” I heard Mason ask after a few minutes.
He was running his fingers up and down my arm, my body tingling under his touch. Nerves swirled in my stomach. I’d kissed the odd guy before, but I knew this would be different due to feelings I already had for him. “Okay.” I squeaked out.
He rolled me onto my back and brought his body over mine. Hovering over me he reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair off my face. “You are so beautiful, Libby.” He whispered as he lowered his face to me. He brushed his lips gently against mine, before pulling back slightly and gazing into my eyes. I closed the distance between us and captured his lips again, his soft kiss turning more insistent. My eyes closed as he gently bit down on my bottom lip, my mouth instinctively opening for him. His tongue invaded my mouth, and I heard myself moan as I felt his tongue brush against mine. He pulled away slightly and peppered tiny kisses down my neck, tracing his way back to my mouth with his lips. He kissed me again, and I reached up threading my fingers through his hair, needing to touch him. I pulled him closer to me as I got lost in him. I’d never been kissed like this; he was consuming me, and my whole body felt on fire.
I never wanted him to stop, and I whimpered as he pulled away. He rested his forehead on mine staring into my eyes. “Wow,” I whispered.
“I might just need to try that again.” He said smiling as he found my mouth again, kissing me hungrily. I found myself arching up into his body trying to get closer to him. He fisted his hand in my hair and began kissing down my neck. He suddenly pulled away, both of us panting heavily. “We need to stop sweetheart…” He said breathlessly.
I felt my face flush, and I dropped my eyes from his, I didn’t know what had come over me. No one had ever made me feel like Mason did, he made me lose control, and I felt like I needed to be as close to him as possible. “Libby, look at me.” He asked gently, pausing until I lifted my eyes to his. “Don’t ever feel embarrassed when you’re with me. I want you to feel comfortable with me and be able to tell me anything. Okay, sweetheart?” He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek and kissed my forehead.
“Okay,” I whispered. He rolled off me and lay down pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around me.
“Let’s get some sleep.” He smiled down at me. “Night darlin’.”
“Night Mason.” I reached up and pecked his lips, pulling away before we both got carried away again. I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep listening to the rhythm of his heart.
