Page 19 of The Hero's Bride
“Thalia, you don’t have to—”
She placed her fingers over his soft lips. Ones that had branded her minutes ago. “Maybe I’m wrong, but somehow, I think I understand that you don’t expect much from others. I hope you know you’re worth promises, too. I vow to show you that your needs and feelings are important. I don’t want one-sided promises between us.”
Mason’s eyes slowly shut, his chest rising with an expansive breath. His thick auburn lashes lay against his cheeks for one heartbeat, then two, before opening. Emotion was steeped in the cobalt depths. She could’ve happily drifted in this moment, saturated in the warmth of Mason’s presence. His hands moved to frame her face. “You see me so clearly.” His gruff tone made a dull ache begin in her chest as she realized how much she wanted this. Wanted Mason for as long as she could have him.
Chapter Ten
After the pictureswere taken, Mason escorted Thalia into her room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, he wanted to press her back against the wall and devour her mouth.Too much too soonhad become his mantra for the past two hours, yet he couldn’t seem to stop baring his soul to Thalia. There was so much more he’d wanted to say as he placed the ring on her finger, but he’d fought to keep his words centered around friendship and connection. He respected her too much to hold her back from exploring everything her life had to offer.
She’d never know what her earlier words meant to him, though.I understand that you don’t expect much from others. I hope you know you’re worth promises, too. I vow to show you that your needs and feelings are important. I don’t want one-sided promises between us.With a couple of sentences, she’d pinpointed everything he’d longed to hear growing up. Made him recognize the unnamed hurt lingering in his heart with absolute clarity. If those words, spoken from her sweet lips and her steady eyes locked on him, weren’t enough to soothe old wounds, he wasn’t sure what would.
His entire body quivered with need, but he refused to take things beyond kissing her tonight. More would only make her question his intentions and create a fissure of doubt in the strong foundation they were building.
“Mason?” She tilted her head, a line creasing her brow as she studied him. “Will you…” She trailed off, then bit her bottom lip, uncertainty sliding over her features.
“What?” he whispered and stepped closer.
She sucked in a breath and released it slowly. “Kiss me again?”
He couldn’t stop the grin from forming. “You never have to ask.” She smiled back at him, transforming her natural beauty into something almost ethereal. “Come here, sweetheart.” He held his arms wide, and she immediately stepped into the embrace, raising up on her toes and wrapping her arms around him. She pressed soft kisses at the base of his neck, and his blood seared through his veins. Fuck. His cock was instantly erect and the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her or make her think he’d been full of shit when he promised he would never pressure her for anything physical. Her lips moved to his jawline, then to his mouth. He stifled a groan of pleasure as she angled her head and kissed him deeply.
The stroke of her tongue against his saturated him with a combination of satisfaction and surprise. Earlier she’d been timid and unsure of her actions, now she was boldly kissing him in a way that felt like he was being claimed, and he fucking loved it. His hands found her hips and slid around her back, drawing her closer as they continued to stand in her hotel room, melded to one another. She tasted sweet, warm, perfect. The pace of the kiss grew frantic. His hands ached to explore her body, but he kept them firmly around her, determined not to let the moment spiral out of control.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he slowly eased her back. They were both gasping for breath. Thalia blinked several times, as though she’d just recognized that they were no longer kissing. He immediately wanted to erase any uncertainty she might have about why he was abruptly ending their connection. “I’ve had the two best kisses of my life inside this hotel room.” He wasn’t sure why kissing Thalia felt infinitely more intimate than the sex he’d had with other women, but he knew soul deep that if they came together, he’d never want another. That it would be even harder to let her go. Thalia had already taken up residence in his heart, but she could never know. If she understood that his emotions were involved, she’d stay with him out of a sense of obligation and that wasn’t what he wanted for her. If she wanted to explore their physical connection as time went on, he vowed to be a safe space for her to experience those desires with the knowledge that she’d take a piece of him when she left.
“Then why did you stop?” The way her green eyes sparkled nearly had him diving back into the kiss.
His lungs deflated in a rush of breath. “Because you’re important to me in a way that goes beyond desire. I want to earn your trust. Help you get on your feet. Experience what it means to be free.”
“Twenty years ago, when you made a promise, I thought your words were too good to be true. You followed through. I may not trust many people, but Mason, I do trust you. Then tonight, well, you made everything comfortable. Not only that, though. Special. Memorable. You cared enough to give me that. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“I do care, Thalia.” He cupped the side of her face, loving the way her soft cheek felt against his palm.I care more than I can begin to understand myself.He didn’t want to examine all of the emotions spiraling through him when it came to Thalia. He only knew that it was more than he’d ever felt for someone else. “I don’t want to leave, but I’m going to say good night now.” He kissed the top of her forehead and stepped back. “Good night, Thalia.”
A small smile curved her lips. “Good night, Mason,” she whispered back. “Sleep well.”
“You too. We’re only on the other side of this door. Anything you need, just come over.” He crossed the room, glancing over his shoulder when he reached the connecting door. A look of anticipation moved between them, the electricity from their kiss still snapping in the open space. God, she was beautiful standing there with a shy smile gracing her lips. Before he could change his mind, he released the breath he was holding, exiting through the connecting door and closing it behind him. Sully glanced over from his spot on one of the queen beds. He had a beer in one hand and a remote in the other but turned down the game he was watching.
“Sent the shots over to Jude. He’s submitted everything. This time tomorrow we should be crossing Eagle Pass. Once we’re back on U.S. soil and Thalia gives her statement, we can catch a flight to Virginia.” Sully readjusted the pillow behind his head.
“Almost feels too easy.” He stalked over to the window and drew back the heavy curtains, just enough to look out. There were no suspicious cars on the street. Nothing that alerted his senses.
“I was thinking the same.” Sully scrubbed one hand over his face. “After the safe house break-in, I expected to have an ambush, or hell, even a tail at some point.”
“When we get across the border, I’m going to contact Benito and give him what we can about Estrada. I’d feel a lot better if I didn’t have to be constantly looking over my shoulder for someone who’s after Thalia.” He let go of the drapes and they closed, blocking out the streetlamps and glowing signs from bars lining the road. They were silent for several minutes. He’d known Sully long enough to discern there was something his teammate wanted to say and that he’d get to it in his own time.
“I noticed a lot tonight.” Sully raised his arm and aimed the remote at the television screen, which went dark.
“Huh?” he grunted more than spoke, but he was almost certain what was coming.
“Noticed the way you held her hand. The way you looked at her. You just, I don’t know, seem happier.” Sully settled back against the headboard and gave him an assessing look before taking a long pull from his beer.
Needing something to do, he crossed the room to the mini fridge and took out a bottle of water. “She’s different.”
“I not trying to be a dick. I like her. And most importantly, she doesn’t strike me as someone who would use another person or a situation to help herself.”
Red sat on the side of the empty queen bed across from Sully’s and cracked open the seal on the water. “She’s not.”
“So that ring wasn’t just for the pictures then?” A grin spread over Sully’s face.
