Page 132 of Luna: Posy 2

And it doesn't hurt me if they aren't near me, but her whimpers say she's in pain.

I noticed Jayden watching them, too, which made me wonder if their behavior was new or unusual. I set my empty plate down and went over to him, smiling as his dragon eyes flashed up to mine.

"Want me to hold you?" he asked and opened his arms.

When I nodded, he put his hands on my hips and pulled me down so my bum was on his left thigh and my knees between his legs. My nose filled with the lovely scent of roses, and I leaned my shoulder against his with a contented sigh.

"Happy, sweetness?"

I nodded again. When he wrapped his arms around my waist, I closed my eyes and smiled. Then, I remembered what I came over here for.

"What's going on with Mom and Dad?" I asked in a soft tone. "Mason's parents are touchy, but those two are on a whole different level of clingy."

"Yep, but I think they don't want to steal Peri's thunder."

"What does that mean?

"They don't want their news to overshadow Peri's birthday." He chuckled. "They won't be able to hide it much longer, but they're safe for now. None of my knucklehead brothers are paying enough attention to figure it out."

I looked around at my other mates. They were all either eating, playing with the younger siblings, or, in Mason's case, simply sitting and staring at me.

Flapping my hand, I motioned for him to come join us. He dropped his eyes and didn't get up, which made me frown.

"He's so stubborn," Jayden muttered and dropped his arms. "Go get him, Posy."

Sitting up, I glanced at him over my shoulder and saw him grinning.

"You're not setting me up for something, are you?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Of course not. If I were Wyatt, then yes. Don't trust him when it comes to pranking people. But Mase needs someone to shatter all that ice he's buried himself under, and that someone is you."

I hesitated, and Jayden booped my nose with his forefinger.

"Try to get him to loosen up a bit, sweetness. He shouldn't feel he has to be so stiff with his own family."

"Okay." I smiled, flashing my dimples.

I stood and went over to Mason, who looked up at me without a word.

"Don't you want to sit with us?" I asked.

He shrugged, his face blank as always, but I saw a different story in his gray eyes. Hedidwant to join us. He wanted me to sit on his lap and snuggle into him, too, and he had no idea how to show or say that in front of his family.

In front of hisfather.

Things were awfully tense between them, and rightly so. No one, not even Mama, tried to force them to talk to each other, which was good. It would upset Peri if the two of them got into a fight on her birthday. Papa mainly talked with Mama or Dad, although I did see him tickling the two littlest boys with an actual smile on his face.

Maybe he only hates Mason?I asked myself.

As I stared at Mason, I thought about the look in his eyes earlier when the others asked him to play ball. He'd shaken his head, though I knew he wanted to join them. At the time, I thought he was worried that he'd accidentally hurt one of the younger boys, but now I realized he didn't want his father to see him having a little fun.

Does he feel as taut as a piano wire? Does he fear what might happen if he ever relaxes?

I knew all too well how grueling it could be to hold yourself so rigid day after day after day. To be afraid to move or to veer even a hair off the set path.

"Shatter all that ice he's buried himself under," Jayden had said.

I didn't like the thought of shatteringanythingabout Mason, but maybe I could help him melt a little.

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