AllFreeNovel
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At the end of the clinic’s opening hours, all the doctors stay back for a staff meeting. I head home, drifting around the house with an acute tug in the pit of my stomach.
Mason has been gone too long. I miss him.Girl, what is wrong with you?
I amwaaayyyyattached to this man. Too attached. No matter how much I try to remind myself that this thing between us is purely physical and merely temporary, every day, I just want him more and more and more. Oh, this is going to be disastrous.
I sit around by the window like an eager little puppy, waiting for his car to pull up. The moment Mason’s Mazda rolls up the gravel lot, I rush outside and meet him on the front porch.
Smiling, he leans down to kiss my lips. “Hey, Beautiful.”
“Come with me.” I pull on his hand.
He trudges after me, tugging on his necktie to loosen it as we go. “I just got home, and you’re kidnapping me already?” He tries to frown but I see a hint of that boyish grin underneath.
“Stop whining and trust me.” Fingers still knotted with his, I walk backward, leading him around the side of the house and into the woods.
His nose scrunches up. “‘Trust me…’ the beautiful dangerous lady says as she leads some pussy-whipped fool into the creepy woods…Sounds like a sequel toJennifer’s Body.”
A little laugh spills from my lips. “Just walk with me,” I say quietly.
Mason cups my cheek and puts a soft kiss on my mouth. “I think you can get me to do anything, Karli Brighton.”
I watch his face as we wander out of the backyard, passing through the towering trees. The golden rays of the sunset and the overgrown branches of the canopy create shadows that dance across his handsome face.
The forest comes to life. The sounds of frogs croaking, the crunch of the fallen leaves beneath us, and the buzz of the bees hovering over the purple and yellow wild flowers. I stand back and watch as he takes it all in for the first time. This place is special to me. Sharing it with him means a lot to me.
Nature surrounds us on all sides. Here in the woods, it’s like we’ve left the real world behind. And there’s nobody to tell me that this is wrong, to tell me that I shouldn’t feel the way I feel about this man.
“It’s magical, isn’t it?” I finally ask. “Most outsiders never get to see this. They never get to see the true beauty of Starlight Falls. But you see it, don’t you?”
Mason pauses, his eyes roaming over my face, so much intensity in his caramel orbs. “I see it, Karli. But I won't lie. There’s something else in Starlight Falls that’s even more beautiful than the flowers and the trees, and it’s probably making me biased.”
I shake my head, trying not to blush. “You’re a smooth talker, Dr. Pretty Boy.”
“And you’re a fucking heart stopper.” He swoops in for another kiss.
Then I take his hand, and lead him onward down the trail. We walk in silence, watching the birds and enjoying nature’s peacefulness. A little further in, we hear the sound of water cascading somewhere beyond the trees.
Mason cranes his neck. “That’s a waterfall…” he declares, his eyebrows lifted in surprise.
I laugh. “I know. That’s what I wanted you to see.”
He releases my hand, getting closer to the river bed and dropping to one knee on the bed of leaves blanketing the clearing in the forest floor.
“Don’t touch the water!” I shriek when he leans forward, his hand outstretched.
Mason glances at me, confused. “Why?”
I feel myself blush. “This is going to sound silly but…there’s a belief around here that the water has heart chakra awakening qualities.”
“What the hell does that mean?” he asks.
“It means that the waterfall makes people fall in love.” My cheeks burn hotter. I look away from him. “It’s totally stupid but…”
Amusement dances in his eyes. “Wait—you’re superstitious?”
I try to backtrack. “Well not superstitioussuperstitious, but—”
Grinning, he plunges both his damn hands into the water. Then the stubborn man rises to his feet, approaching me. “You’re superstitious!” He laughs. “Well,thatI was not expecting.” He flicks his wet hands at me.
