Page 5 of Mason

My one.

From what I heard of her ramblings the first couple of days, she would never be going back to any of those homes. I would be looking to see what I could get on them and make sure they never fostered again. I was at least ecstatic that she was attracted to me and felt safe. I loved that she told me over and over that she felt safe with me and never to leave her. I knew it was the meds that were making her talk, but I didn’t care.

My aunt Evelin had spoken to DOCS and had gotten guardianship of Alexa, thanks to her already being an approved foster care as she’d taken in Jade, Stephan’s wife, when she was underage. Alexa had five months left until she was eighteen, which meant I had five months to woo her.

I was over two years older than her, and though I did turn twenty-one a month before she turned eighteen, it was still a smaller age gap than my brother, Richard, and his wife Bailey, or my uncle and his wife. My own mother was three years younger than my father. I just hoped with Alexa’s history she wouldn’t have any issue with it.

The last two days Alexa had been more coherent as they eased her off the stronger pain meds. I was happy she still talked to me and felt safe, but since she’d started the oral medication they were discharging her. For some reason I was nervous. I stared at her hospital room door and heard my mother and Aunt Evelin talking to Alexa.

“We had a ball shopping for you. Evelin and I went a little crazy. I can’t wait for you to see your room. Evelin and Lucas have this gorgeous house on the water in Southbank. I know the Gold Coast is an hour away, but—”

“No.” Alexa cut off my mum.

“What do you mean honey?” Evelin asked in her sweetest voice.

“I mean no, I’m not going to live with you Evelin. I can’t. I just can’t.”

“Honey,” my mother intervened. “If you don’t stay with Evelin the state will put you with another foster family.”

“No. No, no, no.” Alexa cried out and I couldn’t take hearing her distress anymore. I opened the door and barged in. I watched as Alexa’s gaze landed on mine and when it did, she jumped out of bed like she wasn’t even hurt, and threw herself at me, clinging like her life depended on me. “No. No.” She shook her head franticly against my chest. “I’m not leaving you. No. No. Please don’t make me. Please. I promise I’ll be so good. Please!”

My heart broke as I stared down into the pleading eyes of my soulmate, of the woman who would be the love of my life. Right then I knew this woman already had me wrapped around her little finger because I would do anything for her. Anything. “Sweetheart, I promise you I’m not leaving. How about I move into my aunt’s house? She has plenty of rooms.”

Tears slid down her cheek and I hugged her tighter against me. Before I knew what I was doing I leaned down and kissed her tears away. She dug her nails into me and her legs practically cut my circulation off. “No.” She shook her head vehemently and for a moment I worried she didn’t want me, until she continued. “I want you in the same room.” She stared up at me with big doe-green eyes. “I love those moments when you would sneak in and get on the bed to cuddle with me. Sometimes I deliberately pretend to be asleep just so I can be in your embrace or I’d awake and be cuddled up to you and go back to sleep almost instantly. I don’t know what it is about you, but I know I’m safe.” I almost missed it when, in the smallest whisper, she added, “I feel loved.”

Holy crap, my woman not only broke my heart with those words, but she put it together again and made it whole. No, better than whole. Full. “Sweetheart, I should say no and that it wouldn’t be appropriate, but I can’t. I love holding you in my arms and knowing you’re all mine. That with me you’ll always be safe, and I want you to know that what you feel, I feel it, too.” I kissed her forehead. “This isn’t a part of my plan. I was going to woo you. Not move into my aunt’s and cuddle you all night—”

“Please. The nightmares go away when I’m with you.”

I looked up and caught my mother and aunt Evelin with tears running down their faces and Evelin nodded her head at me. “I should be a gentleman and say no, but damn, I can’t resist you.” I sighed dramatically and the giggle she gave me filled my heart to bursting. I’d just found my new favorite sound and intended to make sure I heard it a lot more.

I FELT BETTER THAN I had in a long time. Sure, I was still bruised, had three broken ribs, a cut that was healing really well on my left leg and my pneumonia seemed almost all better, but it could’ve been all the meds I was taking that made me feel good. It’d been a week, and the hospital kept me longer than they usually did due to all my injuries and the pneumonia.

Just over an hour after they released me, we were pulling up to a mega mansion right on the water with security galore. I squeezed Mason’s hand tighter as we drove through the massive iron gates.

Mason.

He was like my angel, my dream. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he calmed me. Yes I had to grow up quick due to the past but with him . . . I knew I could just be that seventeen-year-old immature teen. That I could just be safe to do, say and act anyway I can. That I could FINALLY let my guard down and act my age.

There is one thing I knew for certain, I didn’t want to be away from him. I mean, I’d begged. I hadn’t done that since my parents had been alive and I’d begged them to go to a Taylor Swift concert. Thinking back, it was selfish of me to ask as they were taking me to the Great Barrier Reef, which was costing them a lot of money. Ah, that seemed a life time ago.

“Alexa. How’re you feeling?” I gazed up at Mason and resisted the urge to sigh. I swore every time I looked at him he got better looking. I mean, beards on young guys should look scruffy and make them look older, but no, on Mason it just added to his hotness. Then I almost drooled as his shirt sleeves lifted and I saw his tats. Nothing fancy, just a globe of the world and what looked like a black flower, but oh God, my body came alive with heat all through it. It was a shock at first when I started getting those feelings, but I knew thanks to my school friends, when I went to school that is, that this was what they felt when they were attracted to a guy. I just seemed to have it with Mason a million times more than they ever told me about. I had dreams about him, and they weren’t of us going to the movies, or even out to dinner. They were erotic. I’d never had erotic dreams before and I had to admit I had bloody good taste. “Alexa?”

Oh, yeah. He’d spoken and I totally spaced perving on him. “Good. Great.” And I was. Weirdly I just knew as long as I had Mason I would always feel like that. I’ll admit, a teeny tiny piece of me at the back of my mind was yelling at me, “What the hell are you doing? Run! This is crazy. There’s something wrong with you.” I was mostly ignoring it. I was sick of feeling scared, unsafe and unloved, and no matter how crazy it was I was going to bask in what I was feeling.

“I know it probably looks daunting, but all this security is to keep us safe.” He gently stroked the pad of his thumb over my knuckles. “Are you sure you’re alright? A moment ago, you looked pale white.”

I nodded. “I’m all good. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I would be if you weren’t in here holding my hand. I know you have your own car and can drive, but I really appreciate you sitting in the back seat and holding my hand.” I gazed at him and watched as his brown eyes turned a warm, dark chocolate color. “I remember a little from our talks that you just bought an apartment of your own, not far from the gym.”

Crap. His gym. Would he have to leave me to deal with it?

At just the thought, my heart rate seemed to pick up and I tightened my grip on his hand.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. My brother Zeck’s going to look after my gym. I’m free to take care of you.”

Relief like I’d never felt before washed over me at this simple statement. I should’ve felt guilty for keeping him away from his work, shouldn’t I? “Thank you. I really do appreciate you taking time off from your work to be with me.”

“Anytime. Anytime you need me I’m only a phone call away if I’m not already with you.” He brushed some of my hair out of my face. “When you’re better and settled and if you’re up for it, we’ll go back to my gym. I’d love for you to see my place, and maybe we could do some basic self-defense. I hope and pray you never have to use it again, but I want you to learn so you can protect yourself from anyone.”

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