Page 188 of The Young & the Sinner

“You’re back.”

“I’m back,” I said, my voice thick from crying.

“Thank God.” And then he leaned down and kissed me once more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes, savoring the taste of him. There was nowhere else I wanted to be, but right here, with him.

To think I almost gave this up. Almost gave him up.

I would have regretted it for the rest of my life, I knew it now.

“I’m sorry for leaving,” I told him.

“Hush now, baby. I don’t blame you. Never have and never will. If anything, it was my fault. I should have told you from the very start. I shouldn’t have started a relationship without coming clean. I thought about telling you so many times, but the thought that you would hate me after… I didn’t have the courage to do it.”

“I could never hate you. I love you.”

He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them again, relief was shining through his eyes.

“I love you, too,” he choked out, his lips moving over my face. I let him plant small, quick kisses from my forehead, to my cheeks, my nose, my lips, and even my jaw.

I squirmed underneath him when he made a second pass to my lips and stayed there, deepening the kiss.

I needed him. I needed to feel him. My hands moved over the skin on his back, and downward, until I got to his pajama bottoms. I silently urged him to remove them. He pulled away from me long enough to shove the pants down. Mason was going commando, and his cock jutted out between us, angry looking, the bulbous tip tinged slightly purple.

The muscles around my belly clenched in anticipation, and I didn’t stop him when he made a move to remove my shirt, until I was in nothing but my panties.

He moved toward me first, capturing my lips in a bruising kiss. I moaned against his mouth, taking as much as he was demanding, my hands frantic... desperate for the feel of his solid form.

He urged my mouth open with a gentle bite of his teeth, and when I our tongues collided, we both moaned at the sensation.

He cupped my breast with one hand, playing with my nipple with his thumb. I kissed him harder when he pinched it, but he alleviated the pain with smooth touches from his palm.

“Make love to me, Mason,” I begged. “It’s been so long. I need you.”

“Shh, I got you, baby. I got you.” He laid me down on the mattress and carefully pulled my panties off. I didn’t want him to be careful, though.

“Please hurry,” I urged. He laid himself on top of me.

“How ready are you?”

“Ready,” I answered quickly. And that was true. I needed him. But despite my urging, he took his time as he explored my body, running his hands across my skin and kissing me in ways that made me want to cry.

I wrapped my arms around him tightly so there wasn’t any way for him to leave as he stroked me between my legs. He moved away from the kiss and stared down at me, his eyes both tender and wild.

My muscles clenched and shook with the impending orgasm that threatened to take me whole. He stopped, and I cried out in frustration.

Before I could say anything, he kissed me again, capturing my protest and reasoning.

While he kissed me, he slowly entered me. I clenched around him, my nails digging into the skin around his shoulders, never wanting him to stop. I wanted to savor it. From the way he moved to the almost bruising kiss and everything in between.

“Mason,” I cried out when he broke away from the kiss. His thrusts kept coming, and despite the fact that I wanted to fall over the edge with him, I wanted to prolong this moment even more. I didn’t want it to end.

“Just let go, Livie,” Mason whispered. “I’ve got you. Just let go.”

And I did. My orgasm hit me with full force, and I closed my eyes, threw my head back, and yelled out his name.

He continued his movements, and I felt him shake above me. I grabbed onto him, anchoring him to me. He came, much quieter than I had been, but no less intense. I could tell how much my absence had affected him when he buried his face in my neck and held me tight. I needed the closeness just as much.

“Olivia,” he said, letting his body weight drop on top of me. It was a little hard to breathe, but I didn’t say anything. I loved his body weight on me. I loved being cocooned by him, and I loved the feeling of safety that came with it.

I hadn’t realized how out of balance I’d felt in the weeks I went without him. Perhaps that made me weak. I didn’t care. I needed him.

He trembled before I felt his tears on my skin. “I missed you so much,” he whispered. “Please don’t let this be a dream. Please let this be real. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please don’t take this away from me.”

His words broke something in me. I knew I made the right choice for both of us when I decided to come back. I knew in his arms was where I belonged.

“I’m real. I’m not going anywhere. Ever again,” I whispered back to him. It was a promise I would keep until the day I died.

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