Page 51 of A Little More Hope

Waking up to the sun setting, I stretched out my body, mindful of my sore ribs and hurt jaw, which looked only slightly puffy when I peered into the mirror on the far wall but felt like I had a huge tennis ball stuffed in my cheek when I delicately prodded it. The tablets were doing their job, as the pain in my side and back had subsided to a lingering dull ache. I shifted, testing my movement, a slight twinge here and there but nothing horrible. Hopefully I’d have enough strength and energy to get up and eat with Mason downstairs later, and not be stuck here on my own in bed. I hated feeling like an invalid.

The gauzy curtains were blowing gently at the entrance to the balcony, so I had no trouble hearing Mason and Gabe talking on the deck below, their voices easily carrying up to me on the breeze. Eavesdropping was an extremely bad habit. Whereas before I’d deliberately kept quiet while they talked around me, this time around could hardly be construed as underhanded if they were talking directly below me, loud enough for me to hear as I recuperated in bed.

Gabe talking, or more to the point, not talking about his previous partners, plural, had broken my heart when his voice went cold at the topic. More interesting was learning Mason’s unhappiness at the prospect of me going to the bar without him. I filed that revealing fact away for later. If being a teensy bit jealous provoked him into pushing himself and his boundaries to become more confident, I possibly…maybe…wouldn’t be averse to using the knowledge on occasion.

Now that we were sort of together, I’d never contemplate picking up someone else. Plus, with my battered face, I’d hardly be the belle of the ball. No, my sights were firmly fixed on one man and one man only. To be honest, I would be the one getting possessive over him and fending off advances from any other guys. Mason had no comprehension of how good-looking he truly was. Once he went out in public, and both the men and the women set their sights on him, I’d need a baseball bat to fight them off.

Hopefully, Gabe might divert the attention away from Mason and keep the pressure off me needing to discourage any potential rivals, although I doubt he’d manage to do so. There was no contest, in my opinion, about who was the more attractive man.

A light knock roused me from my thoughts. The bedroom door opened a moment later, and Mason’s head appeared around the side.

“Hi,” he said, “you’re awake.”

“Only a few minutes.”

“How are you feeling? Any better?”

“A few aches and pains but nothing major. In fact, I’m thinking about getting up and coming downstairs. I feel like I’ve been in bed for weeks already and have a dire need to stretch my legs and use the bathroom.”

Mason hesitated and I had to prevent the smile from coming out, even though I liked the idea of someone worrying about me.

“I promise I’ll be careful, and if I feel any pain, I’ll tell you immediately.”

He considered my proposal for a moment. “Hmm, okay.”

Thank goodness. Hopefully, life would finally return to some semblance of normality around here.

*

“Hey, hey, stop right there.” Mason strode over from where he wrestled with the last panels of sheetrock from the master bedroom walls of my house, the final room to demo, and firmly took the step ladder out of my hands. “You’re not meant to be lifting anything heavy, remember?”

I released a long huff and tried not to glare at him.

“Sit,” he ordered, ignoring my look and pointing at the battered, old deck chair he’d retrieved for me from the garage. “And don’t move.” I traipsed over and unceremoniously plonked myself down.

“There.” I glowered. “Happy now?” He came over and crouched down in front of me, and I instantly got lost in his beautiful face. The blond hair I longed to run my fingers through was currently hidden under a baseball cap. The tight navy T-shirt and shorts he was torturing me with today hugged his torso and ass like a glove. Add in the work boots he’d purchased online earlier in the week, as well as a tool belt, for Chrissake, and he looked as if he’d stepped straight out of a goddamn porn movie. So much so, I’d sported a semi practically all day, and there was absolutely no sign of it dissipating any time soon.

“Very much,” he said, leaning in and planting a kiss on my lips, his mouth teasing mine, making me want more, always more. When his tongue slid along my lips, slicking them up, pushing inside to tangle with mine, I moaned in surrender. When he eventually sat back on his haunches again, after taking all my air, he seemed far too pleased with himself for my liking.

“No fair,” I whined.

He ran his fingers along my cheek. “It’s only been a few days. You still need time to heal. I know. I’ve been in your position too, remember? Worse actually, as two of my ribs were broken.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I didn’t want to appear ungrateful for his aid but, come on. “And it’s four long, long days since you two beat me, in fact,” I huffed. “Not that I’m counting, of course, but really, I’m fine.” I didn’t find his snicker in the least bit funny. “What?”

“I used to say I’m fine all the time,” he mused, “and never meant it. At all. Unless you counted fucked-up, insecure, neurotic and emotional as fine, of course.”

I snorted at his response, but then frowned when I thought back to the time he’d told me the same thing. “And when I asked you?”

He determinedly shook his head. “I’d never say I was fine if I wasn’t. I’d never lie to you.”

There he went again, saying the nicest things, effectively disarming me. How could I be mad at him when he told me stuff like that? And okay, while I’d begun to feel a whole lot better and almost back to my usual self, lifting the ladder had sent a sharp pain shooting up my side, so I’d concede he might have a point.

“Wait here,” he ordered again, standing up, the outline of his erection easy to see in the tight-fitting shorts, making my ass clench in need. He turned, heading for the door, my eyes glued to his gorgeous butt as he exited the bedroom and disappeared down the stairs.

Disappointingly, we’d not fooled around anymore since the first time, with Mason citing the doctor’s orders for me to rest and heal, and he didn’t want to hurt me, but damn, not being allowed to get intimate left me so frustrated. I also worried he’d change his mind about us, about me. Decide he was completely heterosexual after all and was waiting for the right time to tell me before we got any more serious. Memories played on my mind as I recalled previous boyfriends getting bored with me after a few weeks of dating, and how much it hurt to hear them say so.

“Here,” he said when he returned and handed me his laptop. When I looked blankly at him he pointed at the sleek computer. “Start by making a list of all the outstanding items we need to finish. Once you’re done, we can put them in order and make a project and design plan, ticking them off one by one.”

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