Page 14 of Merrily Mine
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t need to be treated like a child, Mason.”
“Maybe you do.”
Narrowing my eyes, I gave him my best glare. “Fuck this,” I said. “I’m tired of everyone treating me like I can’t do anything. Like I’m not twenty-eight years old.”
Mason grit his teeth. “You didn’t even put on ajacket. And where are your fucking boots?” He looked down at the shoes I’d slipped on in the house, figuring it would be a quick trip to the barn and back to check on Smokey.
Knowing he wouldn’t like the answer, I didn’t deign him with an answer. They weren’t the best choice of footwear, obviously. And my sweater was warm, but not that warm. I was still shivering, even inside my heated house. Obviously, I’d been out there longer than I’d originally meant to be, and the storm had been much worse on the way back.
“You’re freezing,” he said simply. All I could do was nod. Mason let out a curse. “Fuck. We need to warm you up.”
My eyes widened. “W-we?”
“I—” He swallowed roughly. “You.Youneed to warm up.”
My cheeks flushed, and I turned, not wanting him to see the dirty thoughts in my mind. Why was I suddenly thinking of the ways we could keep each other warm? About him peeling off my wet clothes and using his own body heat to warm up mine?
“I’ll go—” I started. I’d go,what?My brain was suddenly empty. Like I couldn’t for the life of me think of any actions I could perform.“Um.” I turned to look at Mason.
His eyes locked on mine. “Take your clothes off, Emily.”
Oh my God.The command scraped over my skin, and I could feel my peaked nipples in my bra. Under other circumstances, I’d imagined him saying those same words to me.
“Oh, right. Right.” I babbled, reaching for the hem of my sweater.
Mason let out a strangled sound. “What are you doing? Nothere.”
Fuck me. WhatwasI doing? About to get naked in front of Mason Elliott, because that suddenly seemed like a good idea?
Without another word, I scurried down the stairs to my room, quickly peeled off my wet clothes and dropped them in a pile on my bathroom floor. Grabbing clean underwear and soft, cozy pajama bottoms to pull on, I dressed just as fast. Not bothering with a bra, I slipped on an oversized crewneck sweatshirt.
It was the farthest thing from my wardrobe on Instagram, to the person I portrayed to the outside world, but I didn’t care. This was Mason, after all.
Shivers still wracked my body, so I grabbed a plush pair of socks and a blanket. I still had his hat, and for whatever reason, I didn’t want to take it off my head. Wrapping the blanket aroundmy shoulders like a cape, I trudged back upstairs, surprised to find Mason rooting around the kitchen.
“You’re still here,” I breathed out as I watched his shoulders flex underneath his long-sleeved henley. While I’d been changing, he’d taken off his coat, leaving it draped over the back of a barstool, his boots by the door.
Mason turned his torso to give me a small smile. “You thought I’d leave you after that?”
I didn’t knowwhatI thought. But having company was surprisingly nice. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why you’re evenhere,Mason.” There were only a few reasons he would be, so I was trying not to look too deeply into any of them.
He kept his back to me, continuing whatever he was doing, not making eye contact as he murmured, “I came to check on you.”
I shut my eyes, letting out a deep breath. “Didn’t we go over this earlier?”
Mason didn’t respond. I cracked open an eyelid, finding him standing in front of me, a steaming mug in his hand. He held it out to me, and I frowned. “What is this?”
“Hot chocolate.” He raised an eyebrow, as if that should have been obvious. And it was. But that wasn’t what I was asking, and I was pretty sure he knew it. “To help you get warm.”
Taking the mug, I wrapped my hands around it, already feeling better. “I wasn’t even outside that long,” I muttered, looking outside. The entire world outside waswhite,as if the entire landscape was swallowed by the snow, though the sky was growing darker by the minute.
He just watched me as I sipped on the drink, feeling my body grow warm. Though I wasn’t sure if it was from the hot chocolate, or the way he was looking at me. Letting the blanket drop to the floor, I set the mug down on the table next to me.
Took a step, and then another, until I was standing right in front of him, toe to toe.
My heart thumped in my chest, a pounding melody that sought an answer. “Why?” I asked again.
He knew what I meant. “You know why, Emily.” He balled his hands into fists at his sides, his blue eyes locked on mine.
