Page 72 of Boundaries

Mason McKenna was right. I had spent years idolising my sister, putting her on that pedestal, envying the fact that she was everything I could never be. But who cared right? We were different people and I needed to accept that. I knew my parents loved me even though they had always put Jenna first, but why wouldn’t they? I’d projected that false front that I was fine; a confident female, tough and savvy. I didn’t need anyone. That confident aura I had polished over the years had probably been the reason my parents left me to it. I had no one to blame but myself if I’d felt second best. My parents and Jenna were not responsible for that. That was on me.

But the fact remained that despite my own insecurities, I was stronger than Jenna. She needed more support and encouragement from our parents, she was shy delicate; a sensitive soul who needed to be treated carefully.

Yet after years of being tough and hoping it would protect that non-perfect part of me. My suit of chainmail had, at last, been pierced by this boy’s attention. He’d pushed me over the edge and I had glorified in that.

“You’re probably right,” I replied with a shy smile.

He looked at me with such tenderness at that point, that goosebumps suddenly flittered over my skin.

“Are you cold?” Mason asked softly as his dark eyes ran over my bare flesh. I loved the way he looked at me. It was like he couldn’t get enough. New feelings were consistently emerging between us, I was sure of it.

“No, not really.”

His eyes narrowed, “You’re shivering.”

I smiled, “Trembling,” I corrected, “Maybe it’s the company I’m keeping.”

He returned my grin, “So, I make you tremble?”

Stretching my legs, I took my time to answer, “You do more than that Mason.”

And then things changed.

My words appeared to unsettle him, his expression which had been warm, suddenly dipping in temperature. I wouldn’t say it turned cold, lukewarm maybe? I didn’t like that and wanted to kick myself for being too obvious. Didn’t they say men liked the chase? If I made it too easy for him, would he lose interest? That thought made me want to bleach my brain.

I watched as Mason rolled onto his back and stared up into the sky.

“What do you think is happening here, Amy?” he questioned in a low, unreadable voice. This time I shivered due to the indifference in his tone.

Shrugging my shoulders, I shuffled further toward him and slipped my bare leg over his.

“I don’t know. I thought we’d decided not to put a label on it,” I replied with confidence which I suddenly wasn’t feeling.

Mason shifted on the ground and placed both hands under his head, those massive arms of his bulging. I drank him in, he was masculine perfection at its best and I couldn’t get enough of him. Odd considering our past relationship, but I suppose how could I ever have known it could be like this?

“You do realise that whatever this thing is between us has a sell-by date? At least, what we are doing now anyway.”

A further jet of cold slid into my bones. His words caused something in my soul to tear. What the hell did that mean?

“A sell-by date? Like I’m a piece of fruit or a ham sandwich?” I volleyed, untangling my leg from his.

Mason turned his head to look at me, “You know what I mean.”

Chewing my lip, I pretended to think about it. Of course, I knew what he meant but I’d rather him spell it out. Pain ripped inside of me.

“Not really. But you apparently do. So, when we do expire?” I didn’t manage to keep the snarky element out of my tone. How could I? We had just had mind-blowing sex which had been so intimate and perfect and now he was saying that the clock was ticking. I could feel that old emptiness inside me returning like a fucking race car.

He turned back onto his side and looked at me down his nose.

“I think when our parents come back, we will have to stop this. The sneaking around.”

Another twinge of pain shot into my heart like a dart. My parents were due back the following week. Now I only had seven days with this man? What the hell?

I needed to calm myself, I couldn’t let him see how his words had affected me. I knew this had only been sex for Mason, hadn’t tried to fool myself it was anything but. To do that would have made me weak as well as pathetic. And McKenna boys prayed on the weak. My old insecurities started to return.

“I see. So that’s it then. We become enemies again?”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” he huffed, his expression twisting. I couldn’t read that expression on his face but it wasn’t good.

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