CHAPTER NINETEEN

Ally

I change into dry clothes and sit on the couch warming myself up by the fire, waiting for Mason to emerge from the shower. He still had some speckles of paint left on his face when we came back inside. I pick up my phone and send Spencer a text. She won't see it until the morning, but I can't wait to update her on this turn of events.

Ally: Dr. Dickbag … more like Dr. Big Dick.

I decide to add an eggplant emoji so I get the message across. Spencer is going to scream—I wish I was there to see her face.

Ally: P.S. If you ever want to move to Heartwood, remind me to introduce you to Dr. Big Dick's brother.

I lock my phone as I hear the door to the bathroom creak open.

I thought Mason was hot when I was riding on top of him, but as he walks out of the bathroom the sight of him in nothing but a towel is making me weak in the knees all over again. His body is still glistening as he dries his hair with a hand towel, leaving his damp waves mussed. Just asking for me to bury my hands in them, pull on them.

I'm drenched again just looking at him now and remembering the feeling of having him so deep inside me. A shiver runs through my body, thinking about his words in my ear. That's my girl.

Since when did Mason think of me as his? Sometime in the last few weeks, Mason has shifted from someone who wanted nothing to do with me to a man who puts me at the centre of his universe while he fucks me.

"You're looking at me like you want to eat me for dinner." Mason laughs.

"Maybe I do," I say. Mason walks over to where I'm seated, the look on his face intense as he whips the towel off from around his waist.

"I prefer to be enjoyed as a dessert." He chuckles, and my heart melts inside my chest. No matter how serious Mason could be in one moment, his sense of humour peeks through his tough exterior. It's one reason that my heart is softening towards him.

Mason leans over me on the couch, the position making it impossible for me to ignore what is hanging between his legs. Mason is huge. Like, huge . I can't wrap my mind around how I took it all or how good it felt.

He kisses me, and he effortlessly summons the slickness between my legs with a flick of his tongue on mine. Mason has crept into my heart, unbeknownst to me. That asshole from the café has drawn me into his deep brown eyes and shown me what lay beneath the surface. He's letting me see him. Beneath the mask that he wears for everyone around him, Mason has a heart of solid gold. He feels deeply, he loves deeply, and if I lived a thousand lifetimes, I wouldn't forget what it felt like to be loved by him.

The thing is, Mason sees me, too. He sees a strength in me I didn't know was there, and he knows how to coax it out of me. He gives me space to speak my mind. His little trick of making me tell him what I wanted from him was clever, and now I'm craving the high I got from my boldness again.

"Are you going to keep making me tell you what I want?" I bat my eyelashes at him.

"As hot as that was, it's my turn now." Mason shifts his body from where he leaned over me and kneels on the floor, turning to face me. He leans into me between my legs, and I place both my hands on either side of his face, drawing him into a deep kiss.

"And what is that, Dr. Landry?" The flesh between my legs swells almost to the point of pain, needing the relief of Mason inside of me again.

Mason takes his time answering me, and my breath catches in my throat as he lowers his head, kissing and licking a teasing trail down my belly.

"I want to watch your pussy as you come." He rips my pants off again, gripping my thighs, spreading me open, and baring me to him. The ache between my legs is unbearable now as he grabs a handful of my ass and pulls me towards the edge of the couch.

Mason is drawing this out as his eyes take in my body, and it's excruciating.

"You're perfect, Ally," Mason murmurs as he kisses the insides of my thigh, starting at my knee and trailing higher. A shiver runs through me at the way his stubbled jaw brushes the fleshy part of my thigh.

"Wait," I say, pushing him away from me, confusion crossing his face. I twist myself over on the couch to reach the drawer of the side table and feel around inside until I find a small bullet vibrator.

"Jesus, how many vibrators do you have hidden around here?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Mason, I like good vibes." I flick it on and move it down between my legs.

"What are you doing?" Mason asks, looking up at me from where he's perched by my crotch. I'm still spread eagle in front of him.

"I always use a vibrator." I hesitate. "I like some action … on the outside, too." I don't have to tell him this. Mason already knows how I liked my clit played with. I don't bother telling him it's because Nate refused to pleasure me with his mouth, how I would make use of the vibrator while he pumped his fingers inside of me.

"Wait, did Nate make you …?" Realization dawns on Mason's face.

"Yeah, don't most guys hate … doing this?" I cover my face with my hands to hide the blush creeping across my cheeks. I just gave myself away that I've never known the feeling of a man's tongue on me.

"I am not most guys." Mason grabs the vibrator out of my hand and tosses it aside. "You're all mine today, and I want nothing more than to taste your sweet honey on my tongue."

My heart skips a beat.

His deep brown eyes peer up into mine, never breaking contact as his tongue connects with my slit, pushing into it slowly, relishing it. Mason closes his lips around my apex, taking a long, deep suck on my clit.

" Fuck, Mason. " Is this what I've been missing out on all this time? His soft, wet tongue makes smooth, languid circles and my whole body shudders. I just about lose myself to him as he inserts a finger, followed by another, into my opening. His mouth is still working on my sensitive bundle of nerves as his fingers glide in and out. Mason must have aced his anatomy class in med school.

This is all I need from Mason, to be at the centre of his attention, even just for a moment. To be all that exists for him right now. Not the clinic. Not the rest of his responsibilities. All I need is for him to put it all aside and be with me.

A warm tingle spreads from the concentrated spot between my legs to the rest of my body, right through my limbs, down to my fingers and my toes. Right as I think that the pleasure is going to take over, erupting through my muscles, Mason removes his mouth. He does exactly what he said he wanted to do and fixes his eyes on my pussy as he slides his fingers in, my walls contracting around them. He brings me down off the cliff for a moment, curling his fingers within me, hitting the spot on my front wall that keeps my orgasm building.

Mason reaches his hand up and under my shirt, flicking his finger over my nipple, the waves of sensation from multiple points of contact on my body making me squirm and shake.

He doesn't take his fingers off my nipple as he goes back to swirling his tongue around my clit, flicking it in a quick, pulsing rhythm.

The pleasure winds tight within me and all of my muscles clench at once, a sudden burst of sensation as my hips buck against Mason's mouth. It rolls through me like waves crashing on the shore repeatedly as Mason flicks my sensitive nipple while he drives his fingers deeper. I let out a loud cry as the final wave crashes over me, my body clenching and releasing over and over.

Mason removes himself from me and comes up to rest next to me on the couch. I close my eyes, letting the afterglow of the earth-shattering orgasm envelop me as he brings my head to his chest and buries his face in my hair.

"Ally, I …" Mason starts to speak, but his voice trails off as his phone vibrates on the old wooden coffee table in front of us. I can't help but notice the name that comes up on the screen. Simone Mitchell. Is that who's been calling all week? Some other woman? It would certainly explain the secrecy. My heart pounds in my ears.

"Sorry, I need to get this," Mason says, getting up and pulling on his jeans as he heads outside onto the porch. What is Mason hiding? He can't have another woman in his life, not with the amount of time he spends at the clinic. I'm pretty sure I've seen him every day this week, and anytime he isn't with me, he's at the clinic. Unless he's not. Doubt creeps over me and I'm suddenly nauseated. I've only just considered that maybe Mason is worth more of my time and energy than I initially thought. Now I'm not so sure.

I can see a pattern taking shape the same way it did with Nate. The mistrust, the racing thoughts. I had no proof that Nate cheated, but I never trusted him once we finished filming the show. He was always full of secrets, including who he was at his core. Nate had used me for my status as a nurse, whatever status that was. He needed me to make the public think he was a much kinder person than he actually is.Having a nurse's favour was one way to do that.

Mason is quick with this call, and he comes back into the cabin with a smile on his face that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, I just realized that tonight is movie night. I kind of snubbed Winnie, but I promised her I would watch a movie with you to make up for it." Mason is trying to evade talking about whatever the call was about and whoever was on the other end.I know it wasn't Winnie.

"Sure, your pick." I'm still riding the high of having Mason thrust into me until my vision went black, so I don't press it. Yet. Although Mason makes me feel more brave, this is a confrontation I'm not ready for. Not when I've only just accepted my feelings for him.

I slip into my leggings and hoodie again and settle back onto the couch, wrapping a thick wool blanket around my shoulders.

"One of my favourites tonight. You've Got Mail ." Mason surveys the shelf of movies next to the fireplace, pulling out a plastic box containing a DVD. No one has upgraded the cabin to Netflix yet. I give him a quizzical expression.

" You've Got Mail ? Really? You wouldn't rather watch like, The Godfather or something?"

"Nah. Those movies are overrated. Give me a rom-com any day." Mason pops the disc into the player.

"You don't strike me as a rom-com kinda guy," I say. Mason Landry is always surprising me.

"Oh yeah, big rom-com guy. I'm a sucker for Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. There's enough sadness in the world, I don't need to watch anything that doesn't make me feel good. Love stories are heartwarming. They give me hope, even if they aren't realistic." Mason shrugs and clicks the movie on and before he sinks into the couch beside me. "But keep this to yourself, Honeybee. My brothers would have a heyday with it."

I smile for a second as I rest my head on his shoulder. The thought of being the one person in the world who knows about Mason Landry's love for romance is comforting. But I know that there's more to him that I have yet to uncover.

I don't quite relax into him. There is still something unspoken between us nagging at me from the back of my mind. But I try to enjoy the movie with the knowledge that our relationship is much more comfortable than it was before, whatever it may be.

"Don't you think it's odd," I say, part way through the movie, "that people like this movie so much, but it's basically about two people cheating on their partners?" Mason cocks his head to the side, considering what I've just said.

"I wouldn't say they're cheating. They build a friendship, but not much more than that. Not right away,"he argues.

"Hm." I wonder what Mason's definition of loyalty is. Of honesty. I wonder if we have different definitions.

"It's kind of nice. They both part with their previous relationships on good terms. It shows that we can always choose to change the path of our lives. That you can leave something behind if it isn't serving you anymore, and it doesn't have to be a big fight." I don't have to ask what Mason is implying about my life choices.

"I agree. I left my past life behind me when I came here." I left a lot of things behind when I left the city, not just my life as a reality star, but all my friends and family, too.

"Did you though? Because it seems like someone didn't quite get the message." Mason gives me a knowing stare.

"I know. I need to tell Nate to leave me alone. No excuses, just the truth. It's just not that easy for me." I look down at my hands, folded in my lap.

"It seems straightforward to me."

"You're a man. It's easier to say what needs to be said as a man. You don't have to think twice about it."

"That's not quite true." Mason's denial of my statement leaves me wondering if there's more that is going unsaid between us than I realize.

"I was always taught that as a woman, I'm not supposed to ruffle any feathers. I watched my mom always being the one to smooth things over when someone was unhappy or when an awkward situation arose and someone was uncomfortable. I guess I've taken that responsibility on, too."

"That seems exhausting," Mason says.

"It is. It is exhausting trying to make everyone around you happy all the time."

"And impossible. Not without giving up on your own wants and needs, and that seems like a pretty miserable life to me."

"Isn't that what you do? Ignore your own wants and needs for the clinic?" My comment strikes a nerve with Mason as it lands and I see him flinch.

"That's not the same, Ally. I don't have a choice. I'm not ignoring anything. I'm doing what I have to do. You don't know what kind of horrible things can happen if I'm not invested." Mason's gaze drops to his lap as a shadow envelops his face. What kind of trauma does Mason have hidden away?

"Like what, Mason?" I ask, dipping my head to meet his eyes.

"It's nothing, Honeybee. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. It's my mess and I am the only one that has to deal with the consequences now." I don't want to overstep by asking for any more details. Mason isn't a sharer and pushing more would also push my luck with him.

I settle back into the couch beside him, and we turn back to the movie that's been on in the background.

Outside the cabin, the wind and rain have whipped up into a frenzy. Inside, Joe Fox is about to meet Kathleen Kelly in the park and reveal his true identity. Kathleen is quick to forgive Joe. I just hope I can forgive Mason for whatever he's still keeping from me.