The drive back to the cabin is quiet, the kind of quiet that feels heavy with things unsaid. The heater roars, chasing the chill from her skin, but she still squirms in her seat like she needs the movement to warm her blood.
She’s surprisingly eager, practically vibrating as we turn onto the winding road that leads to my place. Is it the thought of returning to my home that has her in this state? The possibility has me pushing down the gas, returning as fast as I possibly can.
Inside, the cabin is stark and cold. First things first, I need to get a fire going so she doesn’t freeze to death. However, the reindeer sweater she’s wearing will be a big help in giving me a few extra minutes to get the flames going.
I kneel at the hearth, stacking logs and kindling with a focus I don’t entirely feel. My attention is split, listening to the soft sounds of her moving around behind me. The rustle of her coat being shed, the quiet pad of her boots on the hardwood. Then, the sounds shift, moving away toward the kitchen.
By the time the flames are licking hungrily at the wood, casting dancing shadows across the room, the silence from the kitchen has stretched too long. I find her there, having made herself so perfectly at home that it steals the air from my lungs. She’s on her toes, rummaging through my cabinets with a familiar ease that should feel invasive but instead feels… right.
She glances over her shoulder, a soft smile gracing her lips. “What should we have for an early lunch? You have… canned soup. And a startling amount of pasta. I hope your fridge and freezer are more impressive.” She turns fully, leaning back against the counter. “What are you in the mood for?”
I just stare at her at first. She looks perfect here, within my space, adding a splash of color and vitality to my monochrome world. The words are out before I can temper them, low and honest. “I’m not hungry for food, Nova.”
Her eyes widen just a fraction, a flicker of understanding in their depths. But she plays it innocent, tilting her head. “No? What are you hungry for, then?”
She has no idea. No concept of how hard I’ve been fighting since the moment she woke up in my arms, since she looked at me under those Christmas lights like I was the only thing worth seeing. She can’t tell how every casual touch, every smile, every breathy laugh has been a fresh kind of torture, stoking a hunger in me that has nothing to do with food.
I arch a brow, my gaze dropping to her mouth, then dragging slowly back up to meet her eyes. I see the moment her breath catches, the faint pink that blooms across her cheeks. She’s no longer so innocent. She senses the change in the atmosphere, the heavy tension mounting sharply between us.
I take a single step forward, and her lips part.
The question hangs there, a direct line to the desire coiling tight in my gut. I want to answer it. I want to show her exactly what I’m hungry for, to back her against that counter and finally, finally get my hands back on her.
The last thing I want to do is cave to this hunger and spook her by moving too fast.
My hands curl into fists at my sides. The real question isn’t what I’m hungry for. It’s whether I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself long enough to find out if this is real, or if I’m about toruin the best thing that’s happened to me in years by wanting her too much.
9
Nova
I’m not going to lie, the moment Mason threw his arms around me at the parade, I no longer cared about the event. In all truth, I wanted to grab his hand and tug him back to his truck so we could have a little privacy to ourselves.
Every time he touches me, it’s like something wakes up. Last night, he showed me a kind of pleasure I’ve never known. Today, his touch felt different. Less of lust, and more of… love. Despite knowing how silly something like that could be, my body’s been thrumming since.
Returning to his cabin had been at the top of my priority list. All because I’m a greedy chick who wants to climb this bulky man and see what else he can show me.
Mason trusted me enough to reveal his past. He showed me that he can be vulnerable. Will I be any better of a woman if I just went for it? I should take this really,reallyslow to avoid messing this all up.
Despite my brain knowing the right thing to do, my legs carry me toward him. Stopping only before him, I look up at him to meet his heavy gaze.
He might not realize he does this, but when he looks down at me like this, I can’t help but feel like he wants to swallow me whole. Healwaysstares like this.
“Did that candy ruin your appetite? Is that it?” Thinking about my poor candy cane, I recall the sound he made after biting into it—alaugh. Nothing else matches the perfection of that sound.
He grunts and lifts one of his hands. Ever so carefully, he tickles my cheek as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “Quite the opposite. I’m craving more sweets now, Nova. Something sweet enough to give me cavities.”
The hum of his voice, the softness behind it, I know he’s not talking about candy.
He’s making it impossible to take things slow.
Slowly, I tease the front of his shirt. It’s another plaid shirt with another row of buttons I want to undo. Is his closet full of them? “Is this craving something you want just now—” I bite the inside of my cheek and squirm under his stare. “—or is it something you’ll want again?”
Mason makes this sound, a choking noise in the back of his throat. “Fuck, Nova. I’ll want it every day.”
He’s not the kind of man to hold back, huh? If he’s this truthful, it can’t hurt to dig a little deeper to ease my own worries.
“Is that all you want? I know it’s the safe route to feed into this. But what about… something more permanent?” I squirm as I put myself out there. “Would you want… me? Not just my body, but… my heart?”
