Page 61 of The Artist
“Was I too rough on you?” he asked while carefully cleaning my folds and inner thighs.
“No, Mason.”
He met my gaze. “You sure?”
“Yes. You didn’t split me in two. We’re fine.”
Putting the cloth away, he stripped out of his clothes and came back to bed again.
I was trying to find words as we lay on our sides looking into each other’s eyes.
Taking my hand and intertwining our fingers, Mason smiled. “So, what would you rate me as now?”
Feeling high on the wonderful experience, I caressed his scruffy cheeks. “What did I rate you as yesterday?”
Mason groaned. “Five.”
“Hmm… today you were definitely better. I’d give you eight out of ten.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I made you come twice and you’re giving me a measly eight?”
“It was amazing. I mean, I didn’t know sex could feel this extraordinary, but to get a ten… I don’t know, Mason, that would take something that blew my mind.”
“And I didn’t?”
I lifted my hand and placed my thumb and index finger close together. “A little bit.”
“I want a ten.”
I would have given him twenty, but I wasn’t stupid. With a light chuckle, I shrugged. “I’m not leaving until Sunday. There’s always tomorrow night if you want another shot at impressing me.”
His eyes widened in the most adorable way. “We’ll be back at the Gray Mansion tomorrow night. You want to sleep in my room?”
I loved the hopeful tone in his voice but didn’t want to seem too eager. “I could probably sneak in after everyone else goes to bed.”
Mason pulled me close and kissed my hair. “I’d love that, but I’m warning you: we won’t be sleeping much so when we leave here, make sure you get some rest on the flight back.”
“Okay.”
We were both silent for a long moment as we lay entangled, with him caressing my shoulder and me listening to his heartbeat. I wanted to remember this moment forever. The feeling of being completely engulfed in his arms and feeling safe.
“I fucking wish you were a Northlander, Belle.”
“Why?”
“Then I could marry you and make love to you every night.”
I turned my head and looked deep into Mason’s eyes. “You mean that?”
His face softened as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ve liked you for a long time.”
Again, my stomach felt like five fairies were tickling me from the inside. All my emotions that I’d carried for years were right there burning in my chest. And yet, when I opened my mouth to tell him that I liked him too, my throat tightened as years of learned behavior formed an invisible iron band around my neck.
There was a flash of disappointment on Mason’s face as he waited for me to say something.
Sitting up, I fixed my gaze on a spot on the wall. “It’s best if we separate our feelings from the sex, Mason.”
“Ah, yes, I should have known that’s how you French do things. No messy emotions.”
