Page 41 of The Artist
Maybe he was right, but I couldn’t possibly be angry with the man who had risked his own life to save mine.
An overflowing feeling of gratitude and appreciation made me want to hug him. With us lying down all I could do was wrap my arms around his chest. When I released my hold, my hands slid over his hard muscles and with my ears still pressed against him, I could hear his heartbeat speed up.
“What’s the matter?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your heartbeat picked up like crazy.”
Mason hesitated before he answered, “It’s probably because I’ve never been this close to a woman.”
“You’ve slept in tents with some of the other women.”
“This is different. You’re touching me. Belle…”
“Yes?”
“I want you to know that I’m honored that you trust me this much. You could have woken up and gone back to the couch. The fact that you chose to stay and trust me to warm you up means a lot to me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m well aware that people around the world think of us Nmen as freaks. We’re huge, crude, and have a bad reputation because of all the lies that the Motlanders fed their children about us for generations.”
“I didn’t grow up hearing those rumors and I never saw you or the others as freaks.”
“Hmm… then maybe I shouldn’t have told you, but it’s just that ever since we met at the first summit, I’ve felt protective of you.”
“I know. That’s why I considered you a friend.”
Mason played with a lock of my hair. “If things were different…”
I waited for him to finish his sentence but when he didn’t, I lifted my head. “You were saying?”
“Never mind.”
I was pretty sure that he was hinting at his promise to marry a Northlander, but since we French didn’t marry at all, I let it go. “Now I feel bad about what I said.”
“When?”
“When we had that argument after the welcome reception. I told you that I would survive without your help, remember?”
He kept rolling my hair around his finger while his chest lifted in a sigh. “I’m so sorry you had to experience something that awful. I hate the thought that you were alone out there in the valley, buried in snow. Everyone thought that you had died, but I kept hoping for a miracle.”
“How long was I trapped?”
“I’m not sure, but a few hours at least.”
“It felt like a year.” Moving my head back to lay it on his chest, I added, “Let’s not talk about it anymore. It makes me want to cry.”
Mason made a sound of agreement and was quiet for a moment before he whispered, “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“I know it’s none of my business and you don’t have to answer, but have you slept with Victor?”
His question came out of nowhere and made me raise my brows and look up at him again.
“He said that you rejected him at the welcome reception because you had your period, and it made me wonder if you’ve slept together before.”
