Page 52 of Scary In Love
This isn’t aftercare, it’s the aftermath of something fundamentally life-changing.
He kneels to soothe my ankles next. I’m sure I’ll find more marks and bruises in the coming days, but they’ll be the best kind of souvenirs.
“Do I get a sticker now?” I ask, and he looks up at me.
“What do you mean?”
“I survived the Miller mansion, right?”
His frown softens into a smile, and he kisses my stomach. “If you want a sticker, I’ll get you a sticker. Anything you want.”
Mason stands and slips an oversized t-shirt over my head, gently guiding my arms through the sleeves, before leading me to his bed.
I hadn’t expected to sleep over, but I have no idea where my clothes are, and I’m not sure I’d manage to walk home, anyway. Mason knows it, and holds me the way I help our less mobile residents move aroundCrowmorne Heights. Which is good because my knees could give out at any second.
His bedroom is still decorated like the rest of the house, but the bed and sheets are thankfully modern, and we sink into the mattress in a tangle of exhausted limbs.
My head finds a comfy spot on his chest, and he reaches behind my knee to hook it up over his leg. From somewhere in the distance, a clock chimes. He counts each one off with a kiss on my temple.
“Is it really five in the morning?”
“Guess we lost track of time down there in the cellars,” he says. “Your sense of time can get a little warped when you’re so deep in pleasure.”
He’s not wrong there. He could have told me I’d been there for a week and I’d have believed him.
“You were perfect, Jenna. You did so well.” His praise is a balm of its own. “How are you feeling? Do you want to talk about any of it?”
I shift to look up at him, and he rubs my back in long, slow strokes.
“The chapel was a little intense. I thought you were tricking me into marriage for a second there.”
“No tricks,” he smiles. “Only treats. I’ve just always thought it would be hot to fuck in a church, and it felt like a better fit than a sacrificial virgin scene.”
My eyes widen, and he taps me on the nose.
“Ohhh, you’re into that.”
Another statement that’s not a question. He just gets me.
“Um, yeah, I think I am.” I stifle a yawn against his chest. “And the round table? All of those figures. How did you pull it off?”
“Come on now,” he teases. “Can’t give away all my secrets, but I can tell you there was some very strong fishwire involved.”
I stroke the cut on his cheek with my thumb because we can’t stop touching each other. “Might not recognise you when this make-upfinally comes off. I swear I’m going to wake up tomorrow and this will all have been a dream.”
“Well, Halloween is over. No more haunting, no more demons, but this…” he slips his hand underneath my t-shirt and squeezes my hip. “This feels like it could be an all year round kind of thing. If that’s something you’d be interested in?”
My body freezes. We never talked about what would happen afterwards, and now I’m wide awake. I roll away and sit up, criss-crossing my legs and holding his t-shirt down between them.
“I thought this was a one-night only deal.”
Mason sits up to face me, mirroring my position. He scoots close, covering my knees with his hands, and I feel his thumbs stroke soft, calming circles.
“I love this house, and I want to do everything I can to stay here. And I don’t know what the future holds, but while I’m figuring it out, I’d love to keep buying your morning coffee and walking you to work. Maybe play a goofy boyfriend character for a bit.”
“Boyfriend character?” I laugh, then cover my mouth. This isn’t funny, and I’m not laughing at him, this is all just so unexpected.
“Yeah... but for real, Jenna. Can I ask you out?”
