Later that night I climbed into bed exhausted. Dinner had been great. Jack had been telling everyone stories of his travels, places he’d visited and where was next on his list to go. He had been away from home for a while now and was planning to be back home for the summer. Seeing him tonight and catching up with him had made me realise just how much I’d missed him. I was looking forward to having him home.
Mason, Jack, and Brody had all got on really well, it was like they had all been friends for years, they had even arranged to go fishing on Mason’s next day off. After dinner, we sat on the porch chatting, Aunt Claire and Uncle Ryan had turned in early, and Savannah had talked Brody into letting her have a couple of bottles of beer. Brody had found a pack of cards, and we had played poker for a couple of hours. I had never played, and Mason had offered to play with me until I got the hang of it. He had sat close to me all night, brushing is fingers against mine as he helped me with the cards, and flashing me his real smile, the one that made my stomach flutter and my body tingle.
We had all agreed to meet up at 1.30 pm tomorrow to head over to Burnet for the rodeo. Josh was going to be coming with us which I knew Savannah was stressing about. We would need to take the seven-seater jeep that they used on the ranch so that we could all go together. Savannah, knowing that I would need to sit in the front of the jeep would be stuck in the back with Josh. I just prayed they didn’t argue the whole way.
Mason had left after we’d lost our fifth poker hand in a row, I definitely didn’t have beginners luck. After quickly tidying up we had all come to bed. Jack was in the bedroom at the end of the hall which I was grateful for. I didn’t want to wake him if I had a nightmare.
Now, I was lying in bed hoping that the nightmares would stay away so that I, and everyone else, could get a good night’s sleep. I must have fallen asleep quickly, my dreams full of Mason and the memory of being in his arms, him kissing my hair and stroking my face. They quickly changed to memories of the panic attack earlier, my breathing accelerating and my heart pounding. I was suddenly back in Mitch’s car, hearing Mia screaming and the metal of the car crunching as the van hit us. I woke up to my own screaming, tears running down my cheeks. I sat up in bed, clamping my hand over my mouth, my body shaking. As my breathing slowed down, I looked to the door waiting for someone to burst in, but no one did. Reaching for my phone I saw that it was 3.20 am, I had been asleep for longer than I thought. I flopped back down on the bed, afraid to fall back to sleep in case the nightmares returned.
It was warm in my room, and I was hot and bothered after my nightmare. I decided to take a walk out to the barn, it was always quiet in there, and it had become one of my favourite places to go. Spending time with the horses somehow calmed me down and cleared my head.
I pulled my hair off my neck and tied it up in a bobble. I picked up my kindle, creeping out of my room and down the stairs. I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a swig before heading out of the front door. It was cooler outside, and I welcomed the cool breeze around my bare legs. I wandered over to the stables and pulled on the heavy door, hearing it creak slightly as it opened. The horses were asleep, but a few stirred as I came in, poking their noses over the stalls to see who had woken them up. I made my way along, stroking the ones who were awake until I reached the tack room at the other end of the stable. I’d noticed a small chair in the corner of the tack room the last time I’d been in there, and I intended to curl up on it and read for a bit. I inhaled deeply as I walked in, loving the smell of the leather saddles and riding crops. Just as I was heading to the chair in the corner, I heard the creak of the stable door.
“Is someone in here?” A familiar voice called out.
Oh god, it was Mason! I looked down at what I was wearing, suddenly conscious that it wasn’t very much at all. A tiny pair of sleeping shorts and a sleeveless top. I hadn’t bothered putting a bra on. I hadn’t thought that I would be bumping into anyone at this time of the morning. I took a deep breath and walked out of the tack room. “It’s me, Mason.”
“Libby.” He said surprised. “Are you okay? I thought someone was stealing the horses.” He made his way down past the stalls towards me. His chest was bare, and he wore a pair of jogging shorts that hung low on his hips, his perfect v disappearing below the waist of his shorts. His hair was messy, and his eyes were hooded as he looked me up and down.
“I… I… I’m sorry.” I stuttered, flustered at seeing him with barely anything on. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I hope I haven’t woken you up. I’m fine, I just couldn’t sleep.” I said quickly, feeling embarrassed.
I watched his eyes travel the length of my body, taking in what little clothes I had on. His eyes paused on my chest, and I saw them widen slightly when he realised I had no bra on. Watching him watch me made my body tingle and I felt my nipples harden. I quickly folded my arms over my chest, my face flushing. I could tell from the small smile on his face that he had seen my body’s reaction to him. I watched the smile slip from his face as his eyes met mine.
“Libby, you’ve been crying.” He said worry clear on his face. He came closer towards me. “I thought I heard someone screaming earlier, was that you?” He asked me gently.
I dropped my eyes, embarrassed that he had heard me. “I had a bad dream. I’m sorry I woke you.” I told him quietly. I wondered how close to the house Mason must live for him to have heard me.
“This isn’t the first time, is it? I heard you a few days ago, as well. Please talk to me Lib.” He reached for me, unfolding my arms from across my chest and taking my hands in his.
I shivered suddenly feeling cold. Mason must have noticed, and he pulled me into his warm chest, wrapping his arms around me. I sighed, I’d told him about the accident yesterday, and now he knew about the nightmares, he might as well know about Mia.
“You’re cold, come with me.” He took my hand and led me out of the stables and around the back of the building.
“Mason, where are we going?”
“To my place.”
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” I protested.
He stopped walking and turned to look at me. “It’s the middle of the night, you’re cold and upset, we’re just going to talk Libby, nothing else. I’ll behave I promise.” His eyes shone with sincerity.
“Okay,” I whispered. He smiled at me and carried on walking, never letting go of my hand. I suddenly realised that we were heading for the old log cabin I had seen yesterday. When it came into view, I could see the pale glow from the porch light along with a light coming from the small window next to the door.
“You live here?” I asked him, a little taken aback that I’d been snooping through his window less than twenty-four hours ago, “It’s beautiful.”
“It is, isn’t it. Ryan and Claire offered me one of the new log cabins to stay in, but I noticed this cabin on my first day here and fell in love with it. It was a bit run down, but I’ve done it up little by little, and it’s almost finished now.” He turned to look at me. “You seem surprised, have you been here before?” He asked.
I burst out laughing. “I actually came across the cabin yesterday morning when I went for a walk, I’m a bit embarrassed to say I was peering through your windows being nosey!”
“Good thing I wasn’t walking around naked then.” He laughed, turning back towards the log cabin and pulling me along behind him.
I let him pull me along, my heart pounding in my chest at the thought of sneaking a look through his window and catching sight of him naked.
“Now you can have a proper look around rather than a sneaky look through the window.” He winked at me. He opened the front door and stood to the side motioning with his hand for me to go in.
I stepped inside, it looked even better than it did yesterday. There were a couple of small lamps dotted around giving off a warm, cosy glow. The cabin was tiny but perfectly formed, and it looked like it had all the essentials to live comfortably.
“Would you like a drink?” Mason asked me.
I turned to see him watching me from the small kitchen area. “Water would be great, thanks. I must have left my bottle in the tack room.” I told him realising that I no longer had it with me.
Mason grabbed two bottles of water and handed me one as he flopped down onto the sofa pulling a t-shirt on that was thrown over the arm, he patted the space next to him, and I sat down. “So… do you want to tell me what happened tonight?” He asked quietly.
I took a long swig of my water, slowly putting the lid back on before looking up to meet his eyes. “I had a nightmare, I’ve suffered with them on and off since the accident. I needed some fresh air once I’d woken up, so I went to the stables. I’m sorry if I woke you up.” I dropped my eyes from his, fidgeting on the sofa and picking at the label on my water bottle.
“Libby, stop apologising, you didn’t wake me, I was already awake, and even if you had woken me, I wouldn’t have minded.” He reached out and took the bottle from my hands putting it on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. He took my now empty hands in his.
“When you told me about the car accident yesterday, what did you mean when you said that others hadn’t been so lucky?” He asked me gently. His thumbs stroked circles on the inside of my wrists sending goosebumps up my arms.
I shivered again, not from the cold this time but from his touch. Not realising that I wasn’t cold, he reached for the throw on the back of the sofa and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Thank you,” I whispered. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to open up to him. I sighed. “The night of the car accident, I’d been out with my best friend, Mia. We were having a great time until she saw her boyfriend all over some other girl. Mia stormed out, and Mitch followed, he talked us into letting him drive us home.” I paused, taking a deep breath and concentrating on the feeling of Mason’s fingers circling my wrist. I felt him squeeze my hands in silent support. “He promised me that he’d only had one drink…turns out that he lied, he was over the limit, and he lost control of the car…” I closed my eyes. “They both died” I whispered. “Mia had been my best friend since we were four.”
I heard Mason take a deep breath. “And your nightmares are of the accident?”
I nodded, silent tears running down my face.
“Libby,” Mason said, pulling me onto his lap. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Let it all out, sweetheart.” He stroked my hair as my sobs grew louder.
I cried in his lap for what felt like forever. He didn’t question me or say anything to try and make me feel better, he just held me, and I didn’t realise it before, but it was exactly what I needed. I could feel the steady beating of his heart as I lay on his chest, and that, along with the feeling of being wrapped in his arms slowly calmed me down. Although it felt like I had been crying forever, it must only have been about ten minutes. Once the sobs had stopped I lifted my head off his now soaking t-shirt to look up at him. He was staring down at me, his eyes worried. “That’s twice I’ve cried all over you. You must think I’m a nervous wreck!” I only half joked trying to lighten the mood.
“Libby, I think you're incredible. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. You’re funny and kind. I hate to see you cry and now I know the reason for those tears I would do anything to take your pain away.”
I looked at him shocked, not knowing how to respond to him.
“I know you want to be just friends, but I’m struggling with that sweetheart. I don’t want to be just your friend. I want to be your everything. I want you to take a chance on me, a chance on us. I know you’re only here short term, but I want to see what this thing between us is.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I dropped my head to his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around me. My head and heart were in conflict, my heart was screaming yes, my head screaming no. It felt right to be in his arms, though, I felt safe and protected and dare I say it, loved. I knew Mason wasn’t in love with me, we’d only known each other a week, but I knew he cared about me. I caught myself thinking about him when I wasn’t with him, wondering what he was doing and when I would bump into him again. The connection I felt with him, I’d never felt with anyone else but could I really take that chance and risk getting hurt? I suddenly smiled to myself, I could almost hear Mia in my head “Libby what are you waiting for? You’re sat in the lap of a gorgeous cowboy just go for it. Jump his bones!!”
I lifted my head. “Okay,” I whispered. I felt Mason’s fingers under my chin, lifting my face to look into his eyes.
“Okay?” He asked, his face breaking into a breath-taking smile.
I smiled back at him. “Yes, okay, we’ll give whatever this is, a go, but Mason.” I paused, the smile slipping off my face. “We need to take this slowly, I’m not like the other girls you’ve been with. I’ve never... never had a boyfriend.” I told him embarrassed.
Mason jumped off the sofa with me still in his arms and spun me around. “Sweetheart, we’ll go as slow as you want.” I laughed as he put me down. “Come on.” He took my hand and led me to the foot of the staircase. I pulled back on his arm.
“Mason…” I started to protest.
“Libby, I heard you when you said you said you wanted to take things slowly. I just want to hold you… and sleep, it’s nearly 4 am. We’ll talk things through properly tomorrow, but for now, I want to fall asleep with you in my arms.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling shyly at him. He seemed to know exactly what to say. I was still a little apprehensive though as I followed him upstairs. I’d never shared a bed with a man before, and the nerves were building up in my stomach.
When we reached the top of the stairs it opened out into a small bedroom, there was a double bed against one wall with a small bedside table on one side. A chest of drawers lined the other wall. As I looked around Mason was rushing around the room picking up clothes that were strewn everywhere. He looked at me sheepishly. “Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Mason, it’s fine.” I yawned, suddenly realising how tired I was. He must have seen me yawning and came over, pulling me down to sit on the bed with him.
“Come on let’s get some sleep.”
I kicked my flip flops off and pulled the bobble out of my hair, my hair tumbling around my shoulders. I wrung my hands nervously in my lap. I felt Mason kneel behind me and wrap his arms around my waist, he brushed his lips across my shoulder. “Lie down Lib.” He whispered as he moved back. I swung my legs onto the bed and lay on my side, my head on his pillow. I felt him lie behind me and he pulled me into his hard, warm chest, one arm going around my waist and the other under my head. I stiffened in his arms. “Relax sweetheart.” He whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck. I turned in his arms and rested my head on his chest breathing in his scent. I slowly felt myself relaxing, loving the feeling of him holding me.
“Would it be alright if I kissed you, Libby?” I heard Mason ask after a few minutes.
He was running his fingers up and down my arm, my body tingling under his touch. Nerves swirled in my stomach. I’d kissed the odd guy before, but I knew this would be different due to feelings I already had for him. “Okay.” I squeaked out.
He rolled me onto my back and brought his body over mine. Hovering over me he reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair off my face. “You are so beautiful, Libby.” He whispered as he lowered his face to me. He brushed his lips gently against mine, before pulling back slightly and gazing into my eyes. I closed the distance between us and captured his lips again, his soft kiss turning more insistent. My eyes closed as he gently bit down on my bottom lip, my mouth instinctively opening for him. His tongue invaded my mouth, and I heard myself moan as I felt his tongue brush against mine. He pulled away slightly and peppered tiny kisses down my neck, tracing his way back to my mouth with his lips. He kissed me again, and I reached up threading my fingers through his hair, needing to touch him. I pulled him closer to me as I got lost in him. I’d never been kissed like this; he was consuming me, and my whole body felt on fire.
I never wanted him to stop, and I whimpered as he pulled away. He rested his forehead on mine staring into my eyes. “Wow,” I whispered.
“I might just need to try that again.” He said smiling as he found my mouth again, kissing me hungrily. I found myself arching up into his body trying to get closer to him. He fisted his hand in my hair and began kissing down my neck. He suddenly pulled away, both of us panting heavily. “We need to stop sweetheart…” He said breathlessly.
I felt my face flush, and I dropped my eyes from his, I didn’t know what had come over me. No one had ever made me feel like Mason did, he made me lose control, and I felt like I needed to be as close to him as possible. “Libby, look at me.” He asked gently, pausing until I lifted my eyes to his. “Don’t ever feel embarrassed when you’re with me. I want you to feel comfortable with me and be able to tell me anything. Okay, sweetheart?” He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek and kissed my forehead.
“Okay,” I whispered. He rolled off me and lay down pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around me.
“Let’s get some sleep.” He smiled down at me. “Night darlin’.”
“Night Mason.” I reached up and pecked his lips, pulling away before we both got carried away again. I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep listening to the rhythm of his heart.