Page 6 of Grateful for You
“It’s not your fault,” I said gently. “She, um, has an injury.”
He nodded, his soft gaze landing at my temple, and I quickly ducked my chin. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he hadn’t pieced together the puzzle that was Piper Morgan. It wasn’t exactly a hard story. Girl meets boy. Boy tricks girl into thinking he’s kind. Boy starts getting drunk and abusive.
Yep, age old story. Except there was no knight on a white horse to save me. This princess had to find her own Stetson and save her damn self. Where wasthatstory, Disney?
“There’s a veterinarian here in town,” he said softly. “Steve Tripp is one of the best and he wouldn’t mind a house call… even the night before a holiday.”
I shook my head and offered Mason a small smile. “I’m pretty sure she’s okay… just a little tender.”
Again, those silver eyes found mine. The air between us was so thick, my lungs were robbed of breath. “What about you? That cut could probably use a stitch or two—”
I shook my head. “I’ll keep the scar. It’ll be a good reminder of how far I’ve come.”
He pressed his lips together but didn’t fight me on my objections. Instead, he offered, “At least document it with cell phone pictures. In case you need proof for a restraining order.”
He reached beside him to grab a newspaper that sat on a chair near the door and tucked it on top of my bag. “It has today’s date. Take a picture with that near your bruise.”
A damn lotta good a restraining order would do, I wanted to say. If John wanted to find me, he’d find me. Which was why I was only planning to stay at my sister’s house for a day. It would be the first place he’d look.
“Can I get you anything? Water or—”
I shook my head. “I really just need to get out of these wet clothes.”
“Of course. You must be, um…” His eyes flicked to my breasts for just the briefest fraction of a second. “Cold.”
“It’s pretty hard to hide that fact, huh?”
We might as well call out the elephant in the room. My breast were in no way small and my nipples could easily cut through glass right now. I guess I could have left the sweatshirt on, but it was even colder wearing a blanket of damp, heavy cotton.
His flush deepened, and it took everything I had not to laugh at his adorable blush. I wasn’t sure I ever saw a man turn red so damn fast. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. The guest room is upstairs, and it has a private bathroom attached to it. You’ll have all the privacy in the world.”
It was the first disappointing thing he’d said all night. I hadn’t been with a man in over six months. John was increasingly disinterested in me, despite the fact that when we had first dated, he would roll over in the middle of the night, half asleep, and ravage my body. Just one of the many signs that we were over—he seemed to enjoy smacking me around more than he enjoyed fucking me.
Not having sex for months hadn’t bothered me… I didn’t think I had missed it. In fact, it was sort of a relief when John was no longer drunkenly pawing at my breasts at midnight trying to start something that he likely couldn’t finish anyway. I thought maybe I had lost my libido. That I had grown out of my sexual prime.
But now, standing here in front of Mason, my breasts were heavy with the ache for his mouth. Between my legs, I could feel the heat and dampness that craved the thrust of his thick heat. And those lips… God, I wanted those lips on mine.
I managed to mutter a quick “Thanks,” as Mason lifted my bag once more—the worn material at the edges fraying and the zipper looking like the stitching was about to give way any minute. It didn’t help that I had packed it to the brim, trying to throw as much as I could into it as fast as I could to get out of the house immediately after John left for work.
As Mason ascended the stairs with a jerk of his head signaling me to follow, he smiled, saying, “You can let her off the leash. She’ll be fine in here.”
I hesitated only a moment. “You don’t mind? She’s sweet but can kind of be a bull in a china shop.”
His grin widened. “Well, that makes two of us, then.”
I unclipped Athena’s leash, and as promised, she rushed up the stairs, just nearly missing taking Mason out at the knees. He laughed, the sound warm and vibrating through me. Annoyingly, even his laugh was sexy. “I guess I had that coming, huh, Athena?” he called out after her.
He guided me to the end of a hall and opened the door to a large bedroom and he gently set my bag down at the foot of the bed. “Bathroom is through there. Help yourself and of course let me know if you need anything at all.”
Athena launched herself on the bed and immediately curled up in a ball. I swear that I even heard her sigh as she settled in.
I circled the room, looking at the dresser, the full-length mirror, the walk-in closet. It was utterly gorgeous… and this was only theguestroom. “This place ishuge. You live here alone?”
Sure, it was a prying question, but hell, he didn’t even have a dog to share it with. Didn’t it get lonely here?
“There was a time I wasn’t here all alone,” he said, but didn’t offer anything more.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my gaze dropping to his bare ring finger. Not even a tan line or sweat mark. So, he wasn’t married or recently separated. “I shouldn’t have pried.”
