Page 32 of Merrily Mine
I’d be happy staying right here—buried between her thighs—for the rest of my life.
11
emily
There was something extra peaceful about the world out my window this morning. It was calm and beautiful, even with the world buried under a blanket of white. Though maybe that had nothing to do with the snow, and everything to do with the man at my side. Mason had woken me up with his fingers before fucking me slow and deep, and I honestly couldn’t remember a better way to wake up.
Knowing the storm would pass soon, that we’d have to go back to reality, had me feeling slightly apprehensive. I had no idea what would happen to us once the snow cleared. It was like we were in a perfect little bubble, and neither one of us wanted to pop it by bringing up the dreaded question.
“We should probably get up,” I murmured, looking outside at the snow. “Maybe we can divert some of the propane to the hot tub.” My parents had gotten it a few years back, and I loved it.
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, the hot tub, huh?” He slid his fingers through my entrance, making me let out a sharp whimper. “And you’re not sore?”
I winced. “Maybe, a little.” He was just so big, and my body still wasn’t used to the stretch yet—even if we’d spent most of thelast two days having sex. When he’d pulled out, I’d felt the loss instantly.
Mason laughed, kissing me softly. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Kissing him back, I hummed. “Worth it.”
He grinned, running his fingers through his dark brown hair, flashing me a look that promised a repeat later.
God, if only my childhood self could see me now.
“You know, eight-year-old me was obsessed with you.” I rested my head on his bare chest, looking up at his handsome face. I used to follow my brother and him around everywhere, so in love with my older brother’s best friend, in the purest way possible. He’d always been so kind to me, even when he had no reason to be. Mason could have brushed me off—I was just a kid, and he wasn’t obligated to do anything for his best friend’s little sister—but he hadn’t. Maybe that was why I’d loved him.
Maybe that was why I still did.
“Yeah?” Mason ran his fingers through my hair, a little smirk forming on his face. “And what about twenty-eight-year-old you?”
I hummed. I wasdefinitelystill obsessed with him. “Maybe.” Looking up at him through my eyelashes, I couldn’t help but notice the way he was looking at me.
Like I was something sacred. It made my smile fall. Because part of me knew that this wasn’t justfun.Maybe it had started out like that, but it didn’t feel like just funor just a meaningless hookup, not anymore. But I was the one who told him we were just having fun, like an idiot.
This morning felt like… I looked up at him, at his handsome face. That scruffy beard and mustache that I loved feeling between my thighs, on my skin. Those blue eyes that were always trailing over my body, like he was trying to commit it to memory.
This morning felt a lot like making love. And I didn’t know what to do with that. I’d never been in a serious relationship, not really. I’d had flings, but they had never felt as monumental as we did.
Which was crazy, wasn’t it? I was almost twenty-nine, and I’d never been in love. When I’d confessed that last night, it felt like the world was going to open up and swallow me whole.
I wasterrifiedthat I would never fall in love. Never meet the right man, get married—start a family.
Because I wanted thatdesperately. Even more after seeing my brothers welcoming their children into the world, how happy they’d been cradling those babies in their arms.
And here was Mason. Mason, who’d been married before. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it or his divorce. That was okay—even if I desperately wanted to understand. Because I wanted to know him better than I knew anyone else.
If I were being truthful to myself, maybe I’d admit that it never felt like just a fling. It always felt like more.
Because this was Mason. My Mason.
“Well, that’s good.” He interlaced our fingers before bringing our hands up to his mouth and kissing the back of mine. “Because I’m a little obsessed with you, too, darlin’.”
Giggling, I poked at his stomach. At those rock-hard abs I’d had my tongue on earlier. That I wanted to admire all over again. “Mason. Have you seen yourself? I had a crush on you from the moment I realized boys weren’t, in fact,gross,” I admitted. “But back then, I was just your best friend’s annoying little sister, and that’s okay.”
“I never thought you were annoying,” he grumbled.
Smiling, I laid my head in the crook of his arm, closing my eyes as he played with my hair. “I was, though. Constantly coming up with excuses to be near you. Asking you to teach me how to ride a horse. Getting hurt and then asking you to put mybandaids on.” I looked down at our hands. He’d been rubbing his thumb over my skin, over and over. “Even though my parents were doctors.”
With that, Mason smiled. “I thought it was cute, you know. You with those little pigtails and your pink cowgirl boots. But you never complained about it being hard or gave up. It’s one of the things I like about you, Em. Even now, you’re so dedicated. And you’re just…” He shook his head. “You’re mesmerizing, you know that?”
