Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three


I was so flustered I felt like I might faint. “Mason...I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just dance with me?” He extended his hand to me.

I smiled helplessly, reaching out to give him my hand. “Here?”

I let him pull me carefully into his arms.

“Right here.” He allowed me to rest against him more than he squeezed me to him, as he gently swayed my body side-to-side.

“Mmmm.” The moan of pleasure slipped out of me.

It was irresistible, how good it felt to be in his arms.

“Don’t worry so much.” He told me, slowly stroking my hair down my back. “You’re perfectly safe, Annie. You’ll always be safe with me.”

###

Dancing with Mason was unbelievably nice, but eventually we had to go attend the actual fundraiser part of the party.

At least there was lots of tasty free finger food.

The benefit itself was for a recent oil spill off our very own Eastern Seaboard.

There were some very moving speeches from some of the representatives of the Peace Health Organization and I found myself shedding a few tears. I donated rather generously that night, glad that I had the extra money to do so.

And I saw something spark in Mason’s eyes when I came back from the donation table. I hadn’t done it for him, and that’s what made him look at me that way, I think.

Did he truly have so few good people in his life?

###

Finally the night ended and people began to leave.

Mason and I slipped away upstairs to our shared bedroom before we could be waylaid by any last lingerers.

We held hands as we climbed the stairs and neither of us had to speak to know what was coming next.