At the feel of him, my eyes closed. I was home again. His touch made me feel that I struggled against throwing myself at him. I wanted to bury my head into his chest and let everything go. He was home.

He stepped forward and bent so his forehead rested against mine. “I’ve been so angry that I couldn’t apologize to you the right way, but I couldn’t get to you. It hurt. It really hurt that you were scared to talk to me and I couldn’t fix this.”

He cupped both sides of my face, and my hands lifted to hold onto his arms. I felt that he was shielding me again. Him and me. No one else. I murmured, “I wasn’t scared to talk to you. I was scared of myself. I wouldn’t be able to stay away if we talked.”

“You were?”

I nodded, my head moving his at the same time. “Logan showed up at school today and chewed me out. He said I was being stupid and I screwed the family up.”

“No, that was me. All me.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “Logan’s pissed because he can’t fix it. He didn’t do anything to f**k this up so he can’t fix it. He yells at me every day.”

“He does?”

“Yeah.” He cracked a grin, pulling away. His thumb brushed one of my tears away. “He was really mad when I decided to give you space.”

“He was?”

“Yeah.” His eyes darkened, and he dipped down to kiss my cheek. It was soft and lingering. It sent my heart racing. He added, still against me, his lips brushing my skin, “I was going to start trying again, but I figured you were staying away for a reason. I hadn’t given up. I was just waiting. Hell, I planned on showing up in your bedroom one of these nights.”

I grinned at the idea of that. It would’ve been over. The image of him in my bedroom would’ve destroyed any resolve I had against him. I would’ve crumbled, apologized over and over again, and then begged him to take me back. At that realization, I was humbled by my own stupidity. “I’m so sorry, Mason.”

He pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me, and he held me there. His head dipped to my shoulder and he pressed a kiss there. I shivered at the sensation. Then his hands left and grabbed under my legs. He hoisted me up in one movement. My legs opened, wrapping around his waist in one movement and I felt him walking further into the clearing. When he got to the middle, he knelt down, and laid me on the ground. Holding himself above me, he brushed some of the hair behind my ear and smiled.

There it was again. His love. I saw it and everything clicked back into place. Closing my eyes, I knew he was leaning down to kiss me. I didn’t see it. I didn’t feel it, but I knew he was going to, and when he did, when his lips touched mine, everything fled away.

It was the two of us. Once more.

His lips opened over mine and I answered. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I drew him down to me. The need to be with him was being fulfilled, but I was starving for more. I would always need more of him.

It was later when we realized where we were. The tall grass had kept us hidden, but we heard a group of runners going past us. They were laughing and shouting at each other. Mason laughed in my ear, his chuckle quiet and low. He raised his head and glanced at them. When they were gone, he sat up, but kept his back against the trail so I was shielded from any last stragglers going by.

Adjusting my clothing back into place, I gave him a rueful grin. I couldn’t stop myself—my face slipped into one of those dreamy looks every girlfriend gives her boyfriend when they’re in love. That was me. I was back to being cheesy again. Then I rolled my eyes at myself. An hour ago, my world had been shattered. Now it was back in place again.

My fingers kept catching on my bra as I was trying to pull it back into place. It was rolled together and I needed to straighten it. I cursed under my breath, but Mason leaned over me. His arms went around me and he brushed my hands aside. He smoothed it out and ran his hand down the rest of my spine, trailing all the way down to my underwear.

I held my breath, feeling the tingles from his touch, and he grinned at me, sliding his hand inside my underwear. His hand flattened and his other gripped my hip. He lifted me in one movement. My legs went around his waist again and I laid my head down on his shoulder. He carried me all the way back to the car.

I shivered, feeling the drugged addiction I had for him reawakened and doubled. As he walked with me in his arms, I knew I could never leave him again. Nothing could pull me away now.

EPILOGUE

When I asked what happened the night I left, when Mason came home and Logan learned that he’d been manipulated, neither of them told me. James had to order new furniture for the downstairs media room and a new television so that gave me a good idea of what happened. Logan never talked about his feelings. If he had them for me or not, it was a conversation that was never discussed again. His actions never indicated anything either.

I was cautious the first couple months, but then I relaxed. Both of them were right. If he did, that was his decision for when or if we would handle it. The only indication that there had been anything wrong between Mason and Logan was that Logan yelled at Mason. He yelled a lot, and he yelled about everything. If Mason got the wrong food, Logan would wink at me and then start yelling. Mason was sent back for the right order or anything Logan wanted. That went on for three more months until Logan yelled at Mason about a fork. He hadn’t given Logan the right size.

Mason got up from the table, grabbed a fork, and came back. He stared down at Logan, who waited with his hand held out, but Mason gripped the fork like it was a knife. He leaned over and stabbed it into Logan’s steak. Then he turned, still leaning over his brother, and said, “That’s enough.”