Page 82 of Beautifully Broken Redemption

“I hate to break it to you, but we’re already in a real relationship. This was just our first fight.”

“What?”

I burst out laughing. “Anna, we’re married. We share a bed. I know what it feels like to sleep with my body curved around yours. We’re there.”

Her eyes flared with a heat I’d only seen hints of before. “Then let’s jump.”

32

Anna

“What?”

I couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled out of me at Mason’s shocked expression. “Let’s jump.” Something about realizing that we were both a bit of a mess, with wounds that influenced our choices, made it feel safer somehow. I didn’t need to have it all together because Mason didn’t, either. But maybe we could figure it out as a team, find a way to make it work.

The truth was, I was exhausted from fighting. And spending last night away from Mason, without his arms around me and the steady beat of his heart, had made me realize I never wanted to do it again. I was giving in to this thing between us. And I would do whatever I could to hold on for the ride.

His hazel eyes flared with heat. “What does jumping mean, exactly?”

My mouth curved. He was going to make me spell it out. It was such a Mason thing to do. Extra-careful to make sure he wasn’t misreading anything. I didn’t look away from him. “Take me to bed.”

It was all he needed. Any lingering air of carefulness was gone in a flash. He was on his feet and lifting me out of my chair in a flash. My legs encircled Mason’s waist instinctively as his lips met mine. Nothing about the kiss was polite. It was desperate and hungry. Born of all the holding back he’d had to do these past months.

I’d never felt more wanted than I did in that moment. It was both a balm to my soul and the spark of a fire low in my belly. As if my body were waking up after hibernating for years.

I let out a yelp as Mason strode towards the staircase. “Put me down. You can’t carry me up two flights of stairs.”

He kept right on moving but arched a brow as he looked down at me. “Watch me. I’m not letting you go for a second.”

Mason had always done his best to make his hulking form unintimidating when he was at the shelter. But nothing about him was small. From his broad shoulders to his muscled arms. And now, I would see all of him.

A shiver trilled through me, making my nerves seem to dance under my skin. I couldn’t resist trailing my lips up his neck and breathing him in.

“You keep doing that, and I could drop you.”

I laughed against his skin. “You’re the one who said you were up for a challenge.”

“You would find it funny that you have the power to drive me crazy. Have from the moment I saw you.”

I leaned back a bit so I could take in his face as he climbed the last of the stairs. “Really?”

I’d felt the buzz of chemistry the moment we met. I’d instinctively clenched and flexed my fingers after our hands had grasped in a shake. It had been a red light of warning for me. A sign to stay far away. But Mason had seemed wholly unaffected.

He came to a stop in the middle of the bedroom, slowly lowering me to my feet. “I was supposed to volunteer at a few different organizations around town. But as soon as I met you, I asked Cain if I could dedicate my time to Hope House. I needed to know you. I can’t explain it, but there was this…”

“Pull,” I finished for him.

“Exactly.”

“It’s what made me stay far away.”

Mason framed my face with his hands. “I’ll do everything in my power not to hurt you. And if I do, I’ll give everything I have to fix it.” He pressed his lips to one side of my face, then the other, before finally settling on my lips.

Three little words were on the tip of my tongue. I bit them back, but all I wanted was to let them loose. “I trust you,” I whispered. Those weren’t the words I wanted to give him, but they were still a gift.

Mason’s hands left my face to trail down my body and tug my sundress up and over my head. He sucked in a sharp breath. His fingers traced my nipple through the lace of my bra. “So damn beautiful.”

My nipples puckered, drawing some invisible cord in me a little tighter. “Mason,” I breathed.

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