13. CAMI

13

CAMI

T he fire licked around the logs in the hearth, lighting up the cabin with a golden glow. The snowstorm outside raged, but inside, everything felt cozy and still. It was strange to be so protected against the storm in a tiny cabin bang in the middle of it.

I sat on the couch, cup of red wine in hand, feeling myself relax a little more with each sip. The wine had been a good idea.

Across from me, Mason’s large hands wrapped around his cup, making it look like a plaything between his long, thick fingers. The firelight flickered over his sharp features, making him look even more rugged than usual. There was something about being here, in this small cabin with him. It felt safe. Comfortable. Like the rest of the world didn’t matter.

And right now, it really didn’t. As long as the storm raged on, there was nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing to do. It really was like we were trapped in a capsule that had removed us from reality.

I took a sip of the wine, letting the warmth settle in my chest. It was strong, smooth, and the tension melted from my shoulders. The nervousness I’d been carrying around since I came to Silver Ridge faded away and I finally felt like I could breathe again.

Why hadn’t I had something to drink sooner? But it wasn’t just the wine. It was everything about this cabin, about the rugged mountain man who sat next to me, closer than before.

I liked it. His warmth seeped into me and his big blocky form was comforting.

Mason seemed more relaxed, too. He didn’t seem so broody, like he was waiting for something to go wrong.

“This is nice,” I said, swirling the wine. “I don’t remember the last time I sat and just… enjoyed the quiet.”

Mason looked at me, his eyes intense. “There’s never really time to relax, huh?”

I shrugged. “I guess not. I’m always thinking about the next thing. The next event. The next goal. That’s the only way to move forward and grow, you know? Always keep moving.”

“That’s a very wise way of looking at the world.”

He leaned back in his chair, his large frame filling the space, but there was something almost gentle about the way he looked at me. “So, what are you working so feverishly toward, then? What’s the reason you don’t stop moving?”

I chuckled. “That’s the question, isn’t it?” I sipped my wine. “I haven’t really put it to words.” I thought about it, looking toward the fire while I thought. “I want… more than what I had before. If that makes any sense.”

Mason only nodded, keeping quiet so that I could fill the silence.

“I want a life I can share with someone. I want to build something that lasts, something that shows I was here. It seems silly to say but I want to have something to prove that I was alive, that I existed. I don’t want to fade away, forgotten.”

“I doubt you’re someone anyone can forget,” Mason said with a smirk. “You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You think so?”

“You’re the only one I know who would fight me in a blizzard.”

I laughed. I guess he was right, although that wasn’t exactly what had happened. I’d just been caught off guard by his large looming shape in front of me when I’d thought I was lost and alone, that I would be stuck out there forever.

Mason’s eyes softened as he listened, and there was something in his expression that made my heart skip a beat. “You’re strong,” he said. “Stronger than you think. Whatever you want to do… you can do it if you really put your mind to it. It’s just a matter of willpower.”

I blinked at him. No one had ever said that to me before. Not like that, in so many words.

Actually, now that I thought about it, not at all.

My ex-fiancé had always made me feel like I wasn’t enough, like I had to prove myself to him, to everyone. But Mason looked at me like I was already enough.

Like I didn’t need to change a thing. It was a new sensation and it made me shiver.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before.”

His brow furrowed. “Then they didn’t see you for what you are.”

A lump rose in my throat. It was this damn wine, making me emotional, making me say things I usually wouldn’t.

The air shifted between us, the atmosphere growing thick. Electricity crackled just beneath the surface and it was impossible to ignore. I suddenly yearned for Mason. I wanted him to touch me, to kiss me. I wanted him to cover my body with his, to slide into me so that we were melded together. The way he looked at me, the way his eyes darkened when I spoke, made me ache.

Mason shifted a little closer and slid his hand under my hair, cupping my neck. His thumb brushed my pulse and my breath caught in my throat. His eyes were drowning deep and filled with a lust that echoed mine, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

Mason was so much larger than me, so much more intimidating, but there was a gentleness about him. Something that made me feel like he could take me, he could break me, but he wouldn’t.

My eyes slid to his lips.

Mason moved closer, his thumb tracing my jaw and sparks shot through my veins. I was breathless, frozen in place as he leaned in, his presence overwhelming, his scent intoxicating. He was so close now that the warmth of his breath caressed my skin, the tension between us unbearable.

Then he kissed me.

It was gentle at first, his lips brushing against mine, testing, tasting. Something between us shifted, and he deepened the kiss, becoming more urgent, fiercer. His hand slid up, he cupped my face, pulling me closer, and I melted into him, my body reacting to his touch.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss grew hotter. It was like a dam had broken—all the tension, all the attraction we’d been holding back finally unleashed and heat washed over me and pooled between my legs. His body was hot, his arms strong when they wrapped around me.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless and flushed, I stared up at him, my heart thundering in my chest, my skin on fire. Mason’s dark eyes locked onto mine, and a fire burned in them, his raw desire matching my own.

“Cami…” he growled.

“Mason,” I breathed.

He shifted, pulling me off the couch and down onto the soft fur rug in front of the fire. I shivered and stared up at him. He was like a giant above me, his body so large compared to mine. He reached for the hem of my shirt, and slowly, deliberately, he pulled it up. All the while, his eyes were locked on mine, filled with hunger and need.

I lifted my arms and let him pull the shirt off, tossing it to the side. His hands trailed along my stomach and up to the curve of my breasts, and I trembled at his touch. I could barely breathe. I reached for his shirt and he paused long enough for me to lift it up and over his head.

His skin was like warm velvet and I couldn’t stop touching him. I traced the bundles of muscles under his skin—his perfect abs, his bulging pecks, his powerful arms. I traced the bear tattoo on his arm with my fingers.

“Bear?”

“That’s what they call me.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I guess living up here in the mountains, alone, is what does it.”

“I like it.”

His rugged appearance, the way he dominated and intimidated and yet gently handled at the same time turned me on. I’d never been so drawn to someone before.

Mason’s hands slid down my body, caressing my skin, and I arched against him, moaning softly with need. His touch was electric, my nipples tightening against the material of my bra, and I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust.

Mason unclasped my bra and slowly peeled it off, his eyes locked on my breasts. He stared at me as if I was a goddess, a vision from another world.

“You’re fucking beautiful,” he said.

He tweaked my nipples, rolling them between his fingers, tugged at me. It shot bursts of need to my sex, making me want more.

“Please,” I whispered.

Mason’s eyes filled with mischief at my begging, and he dipped his head. My breath caught in my throat as his lips brushed the tip of my nipple, the sensation so sharp and sudden that it made my whole body shudder.

I tangled my fingers in his hair as he sucked on my breast, the sensation sending jolts to my pussy, making it clench and swell. My heart was beating out of my chest, desire pooling between my legs, and I wanted more, so much more.

While he sucked on my nipple, making me moan and arch my back, he slid one hand down my body. His hands were rough and calloused, but his touch was gentle, almost teasing.

His fingers slipped to the waistband of my jeans, and he unzipped me. He moved to my other nipple, sucking it into his mouth so sharply that I cried out. When he slid his hand between my legs, my body stiffened, and I cried out again, balanced between the sensation of his hands on my sex and his mouth on my nipple. His hand was so hot, his fingers so skilled as he teased my clit, the fabric of my panties the only barrier between his fingers and my pleasure.

He moved up, his lips locking onto mine, his tongue sliding into my mouth, his kisses passionate, urgent, and intense. His fingers worked faster between my legs, rubbing my clit, and I cried out, the intensity of the moment nearly overwhelming.

“You’re delicious,” he growled in my ear.

He kissed me again as his fingers slid over my clit, rubbing faster and faster. I cried out and moaned into his mouth. The friction of my panties against my clit was almost too much to bear, and Mason worked me hard and fast. Electricity ran over my body, and I trembled, every nerve ending on fire.

Finally, he stopped moving, and I gasped for breath. I was so close to the edge, but he wasn’t letting me topple over. Not yet.

“These are in the way,” he murmured.

“They are.”

I tried to wriggle out of my jeans, where I lay on my back on the furs, with Mason’s body almost covering mine. Mason sat up and helped me, tugging them off slowly, almost teasingly. My panties were soaked through, and when he tossed them aside, I blushed and covered my face.

Mason laughed, pulling my hands away. “You’re so beautiful, Cami.”

He took his time, running his fingers along the curves of my body, tracing the lines and shapes. He kissed my hip, then moved his lips to the other.

“Mason, please.”

He laughed against my skin. “Patience.”

But when his lips moved to the inside of my thigh, I moaned, and my thighs fell open for him.

I was so wet, so ready for him, but Mason continued teasing, kissing the top of my leg, his breath so close to my wetness, his fingers stroking my thighs.

He looked up at me, his eyes dark and filled with hunger. And then he gave me what I craved. He spread my legs open further, and his tongue slid out and brushed against me. My whole body jerked, and I cried out, his touch so soft and light that it made my entire body throb.

Mason chuckled.

“Please,” I whispered, looking down at him.

He held my gaze as he lowered his head, his tongue swirling over my clit, licking and flicking and driving me insane. It felt so good, the sensation rippling over my body, and I moaned and gasped.

He worked his magic, sucking and licking until I was sobbing with pleasure. He moved his hand down and slid two fingers inside me, filling me up, stretching me, and the sensations were overwhelming.

He curled his fingers and pressed them against a spot, a spot that drove me wild, and it pushed me over the edge.

I cried out, my back arching, my body shuddering. Sparks of pleasure rushed through me, radiating out from my pussy. My body spasmed, clenching, and I gripped his hair. My vision went white and all the while, Mason continued.

I cried out his name, shaking as the pleasure rolled over me.

Mason pushed up, an animalistic lust overcoming him, and he undid his pants, getting rid of them in a quick move. His cock was rock hard and huge, and it made me throb with need.

He crawled back over me, his body covering mine, and I shivered when his heat rolled over me. He kissed me deeply, his cock pressed up against my belly. Then he reached between us, guiding his cock into me.

When he slid inside me, filling me with his thickness, my entire body trembled. He groaned, and I dug my fingers into his arms. Mason pulled back and thrust in, his hips moving slow and deliberate.

His cock was so big and hard, his thrusts were almost too much to handle. His hand came up, and he cupped my chin, his eyes burning into mine. He was so intense, his lust so palpable.

We moved together, bodies grinding, sweat beading on our skin. The fire was still going, and the heat washed over us, mingling with the heat of our passion. Mason fucked me, his body rocking and moving over mine, his hands caressing me, and his lips locked on mine.

He kissed my neck and nipped at my ear, and I moaned, his cock filling me, his body pinning me down. He was in complete control, and I loved it.

I’d never felt so free before, so wild.

It was like I’d been holding back for my entire life, and only with Mason did I finally feel like I could just let go.

With Mason, everything was new and different. With Mason, I could finally be myself.

The pleasure built in waves, cresting and crashing, and my body trembled beneath his. He moved faster, thrusting into me harder, and I held on, gasping for breath. Another orgasm built inside me, stronger and faster than before, and Mason grunted and growled as he pounded into me.

When the pleasure finally overwhelmed me, I cried out and clutched his arms. My nails dug into his skin, and I sobbed with the ecstasy, my body shuddering, the orgasm rushing through me.

Mason grunted, his eyes squeezed shut, his lips pulled back into a snarl. And then he groaned and came.

His hips rocked as he released himself into me, his movements slow, his breathing heavy. We didn’t speak, we just clung to each other.

He stayed there, still on top of me, his cock buried deep inside me, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him.

Finally, he slipped out and rolled off me. He pulled the fur blanket that had been wrapped around my shoulders before all this started and pulled me onto his chest, wrapping us in the blanket in one swift motion. I lay on his chest, his heart beating against my cheek, and in the midst of the storm raging outside, I was calm, satiated, and for the first time since Dylan screwed me over, I was happy.