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I swallow, the weight of his eyes pin me in place, and my entire body shivers with anticipation. I suck in a shallow breath as I choose my next words. “So make me yours.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mason
Spilling all my truths about my past to Sophie wasn’t as painful or hard as I had anticipated. It was intense and a little emotional, but it’s not difficult to open up to someone like her. She’s so damn easy to be with, talk to, and trust. Sophie always has been, and I’d been fighting getting closer to her for years, but I can’t hold back anymore. The moment she leaped into my arms, there was no going back. Sophie Corrigan has brought me back to life, breathed meaning into my soul, and has given me hope for the first time since Emma died.
“So make me yours.”
Goddamn, the way she bites her bottom lip has me fighting my restraint. Leaning in, I cup her cheek and study her expression. Her swollen lips, so damn soft and inviting. Her dark eyes, intense and begging me to kiss her again. Her body, arching into my touch as if she’ll combust without it.
Kissing her earlier was spontaneous, something I’d been fantasizing about since the first time I kissed her, but I don’t regret it. Hell, I wanted her mouth on mine again as soon as I walked away.
Then I remembered the incident was only a month ago, and it was too soon. Even though I’ve been burying my feelings for the past three years, I forced a smile and told myself it was to calm her down. Only half a lie.
But fuck it. She was never Weston’s. Won’t ever be Caleb’s.
Sophie is mine.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask, keeping focused on her. “Because if I kiss you again, I won’t have enough strength to walk away from you this time.”
When I see the tears in her eyes, I’m taken aback and worried I said something wrong. Then she smiles wide and nods frantically. “If you have feelings for me the way I have feelings for you, then please tell me. Tell me so I can stop second-guessing.” Her tone is pleading, and I hate to think I’ve caused her any pain in thinking her feelings were one-sided.
I step closer, pressing my forehead to hers as I cup her soft cheeks. Our breathing is the only sound in the room, except maybe the beats of our pounding hearts.
“I’ve felt something since the moment I met you. I acted on them, foolishly thinking I’d be able to walk away, but instead, I’ve been fighting and lying to myself. I knew being friends with you would be next to impossible, which is why I pushed you away the majority of the time. I didn’t want to hurt you, the pain I felt was my own doing, and I suffered knowing you didn’t deserve the burden of my past. When we met, it’d only been a couple of years since Emma’s death, and I was still dealing with it, but I knew then you weren’t just another girl. You made me think I could have happiness again, deserved happiness again. But then the realization hit that you were Lennon’s sister, and Brandon was my best friend, and I convinced myself that crossing that line would only end badly. I only ever wanted you to be happy, which is why I tried to walk away. You deserved someone who could give you so much more than what I could at the time. Someone who was emotionally available to love you the way you should be loved.”
“I wish you would’ve given me the chance to show you that you were enough, are enough, have always been enough for me.” She pushes against my chest slightly so our eyes lock. “You stood up for me in a way that nearly got you killed. I can’t imagine a better man for me.”
I watch as her chest rises and falls, her words repeating in my mind as I look at her. So goddamn beautiful. Inside and out.
“Kiss me, Mason.”
Sophie’s demand has me pressing our lips together in a white-hot kiss. My hands greedily explore her body as she moans into my mouth, our tongues twisting together in a dance of want and desire. My fingers find the curve of her breast as I growl against her lips, remembering every touch I felt from the very first time I tasted her. Everything about her feels perfect against me, and when her hand sneaks under my shirt, trying to lift it, I pull away and push her to arm’s length.
“Soph, wait…”
She looks at me in shock with her mouth open as her eyes peer into mine. “I want to do this right with you. No frantic quickies on a bathroom sink,” I tell her.
