Written in the Stars (22 page)

“Oh, Mason...”

“But, baby, I'd rather let you go than keep you trapped in a cage. So I want you to promise me, right here and now, that if you have the urge to go...if you
need to go
to do new and challenging things, that you'll do it. And don't look back.”

She swallowed hard, wishing she could give him reassurance.

“I won't lie. It will be super shitty. But I'll survive.”

Grace closed her eyes and felt tears leak out of the corners. When Mason wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs, she grabbed his arms and looked at him. “You know that what you just said is the most oddly romantic thing I've ever heard, much less been told?” And she wasn't joking. Mason was telling her that he'd put his own happiness on the line rather than hold her back. How could she ever leave a man who loved her that much? The thought made her heart constrict, but at the same time she knew she would have to go or shrivel up like leaves in the fall. “I don't know if I can leave you, Mason.”

“I want you to promise me, Gracie.” When she turned her head to the side, he cupped his hand on her chin and gently guided her back so she had to face him. “Promise.”

“This is the oddest thing ever. You want me to promise to leave you. I think we are both weird enough to somehow make this work.”

“You are avoiding my request.”

“I know. Okay...okay.” Grace finally gave him a jerky nod. “I promise,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Are you happy now?”

“Now? Yes. And that means that if you do end up staying that it's what you really want to do...not
have
to do. Does that make sense?”

“Unfortunately, it makes perfect sense. You haven't known me all that long, and I feel as if you understand me more than I understand myself. And that's not an easy task.”

“Well, we aren't going to think about you leaving tonight. Deal?”

She nodded.

Mason leaned in and kissed her, softly but thoroughly. “I need a shower so I can make love to you.”

“Take one here,” she said, clinging to his wet shirt.

Mason nodded. “Get something to eat, and then join me in bed.”

“Okay,” she said, and watched him walk into the cabin. Warm and tingling happiness washed over her. She hugged her arms to her chest and smiled. The little seed of hope that she'd planted in her heart just sprouted and grew stronger.

Grace looked at the stack of takeaway boxes and smiled. She opened one and ate a few finger sandwiches and then munched on slices of Brie on crackers. A biscuit with a thin slice of country ham melted in her mouth.

The sound of the shower running brought an image of Mason naked with soapsuds slithering down his amazing body into her brain. With a groan she closed the lid and popped the leftovers into the fridge. Eating could wait until later...much, much later.

We've Got Tonight

M
ASON
LET
THE
HOT
WATE
R
PELT
HIS
SHOULDERS
AND
sluice down his body. While soaping up, he hoped that Grace might decide to join him, but that was probably wishful thinking. Having her hands, slick with soap, sliding over his body would be pure heaven. Mason made a mental note that when he built his dream house he'd have a walk-­in shower with double heads.

Mason squirted some coconut-­scented shampoo into the palm of his hand and then scrubbed his head, thinking he was going to smell like a girl. Damn, she had lotions and potions and strange-­shaped scrubbing things dangling from shelves hooked over the shower nozzle. Mason had a sudden image of Gracie in her naked glory scrubbing her body with that big white puffy thing on a rope and he became instantly hard. He glanced through the sheer shower curtain, hoping again that she might feel the need to wash his back...and his front and every­thing in between. He just wanted her touching him anywhere, everywhere. He wanted her slick, soapy body sliding against him while he...

“Damn!” Mason turned his face up to the spray and chuckled, thinking that he should turn the water to cold. Oh, but, God, when he'd spotted that goofy pointed hat floating in the water, his blood had run icy-­cold, and fingers of fear had gripped his heart and squeezed hard. Out of instinct he'd waded into the murky water, crazy with heart-­thumping worry. When he'd thought to look out toward her cabin and saw lights, he'd nearly sunk to his knees with relief. Once he'd settled his heart rate down, it was in that moment that Mason knew he'd fallen completely ass-­over-­teacup in love with Gracie Gordon.

Not only had Gracie saved the brewery, but she'd awakened the need for him to have a woman in his life. He wanted a soft place to land, a hand to hold, lips to kiss, but he wanted a family too. He longed for the kind of love that his mother and father shared...not perfect, but strong enough to make it through the tough times. And the one thing his parents could always do was make each other laugh, sometimes at silly things that Mason didn't even get.

While Mason couldn't picture Gracie living the white-­picket-­fence, two-­kids-­and-­a-­dog kind of life, he couldn't imagine not having her in his life either. In truth, just like his mother moving to Florida, Mason would have traipsed all around Europe or to the ends of the earth to be with Gracie. But owning the brewery tied him down, so leaving Cricket Creek wasn't an option for him, at least not for now. And he didn't want to leave. This was his home. But he'd live in a damned igloo, a tree house, a shoe,
anywhere
, just to be with her.

And now that she'd said that she loved him, hope was like a living, breathing
thing
dancing around in his chest.

Mason was going to take his mother's advice, chase worry from his brain, and live each day until the days ran together and became his future.

And tonight?

Tonight he planned to make slow, easy love to Gracie until the sun came up. Or at least until they fell into an exhausted sleep, and then they'd start all over again in the morning. With that thought in mind, Mason shut off the shower, stepped onto the cold tile floor, and quickly toweled dry. After wrapping another big fluffy towel around his waist, he looked in the cabinet and found some mouthwash. Finally, satisfied that he was once again presentable, even though he smelled a bit feminine, he decided he was,
yep
, still up for the task.

After breathing in the coconut-­scented, steamy air, he opened the bathroom door that led to Gracie's bedroom. The chilly air hit his warm skin, but nothing could even begin to cool his ardor. With a smile, he looked over ­toward the bed and spotted Gracie snuggled beneath the covers. Her hair fanned out over the dark blue pillowcase and her bare shoulders peeked above the matching sheet. Anticipation, hot and potent, ran through his veins.

This had been one helluva crazy roller-­coaster day.

The small lamp next to the bed cast a soft glow in the room. He noticed that she'd added some feminine touches to the basic bedroom...a candle here, a bouquet of flowers there, making Mason hope she planned on staying for longer than she'd first expected.
No,
he warned his worry gene.
Don't even go there.

Instead, Mason concentrated on what it was going to feel like to have Grace in his arms, to make love to her and to sleep next to her. He'd make coffee in the morning and cook breakfast before they headed off for a day at the brewery. Or perhaps they'd walk up to the bistro and have breakfast there, so Grace could chat with Sophia. When Mattie had renamed the bistro from Breakfast, Books, and Bait to Walking on Sunshine because she said falling in love with Garret made her feel that way, Mason had an eye-­roll moment thinking that she'd gone a little over the top.

Now he understood.

Mason walked over to join Grace, hoping she was naked, warm, and ready for him, but when he reached the edge of the mattress, he looked down at her beautiful face and realized that she was fast asleep. Disappointment slid like a rock all the way to his toes, but he knew that after the past few days, she must be so exhausted, and that although it was killing him, Mason wasn't about to wake her.

Mason stood there for a few moments and drank in the beauty of her sweet face. Tenderness washed over him, almost like a physical ache, and he longed to reach down and run his fingertip down her cheek and over her shoulders. He even reached out, but then pulled back, remembering that she suffered from insomnia and that sleep was precious to her.

And she was precious to him.

Mason eased his way over to the other side of the bed, telling himself that he was content just to sleep next to her, which was kind of a lie, but he told himself that anyway so he wouldn't be tempted to give her a gentle nudge. But if she did wake up, he would be at the ready. As quietly and gently as he could, he dropped his towel and slid between the sheets. The intoxicating scent of her perfume was almost his undoing, and he had to clench his fists not to reach over and pull her against his body. He silently lifted the sheet and peeked...Dear God, she was naked.

Maybe she'd be disappointed if he didn't wake her, the devil on his shoulder argued.
I sure would be,
Mason thought. He stared at the ceiling in indecision and then finally decided that he should just reach over and turn off the light. She was a light sleeper. Maybe his slight, oh-­so-­innocent movement would be enough to wake her up. Maybe he should just leave the light on. And maybe his worry gene should just shut the hell up!

Mason chuckled silently at the thought and then realized that he was making the mattress shake.

“Mmm...,” Gracie mumbled, then moved.

Mason smiled, thinking,
Yes!
She was awake. His disappointed dick responded with immediate glee, and he waited for her to reach over and put her hand on his chest or maybe dip downward to cup his...Oh damn, she was still asleep. Perhaps he should just say her name super softly so that she wouldn't know that he actually woke her up. “Gracie,” he said in a voice not even loud enough to be considered a whisper, and held his breath, waiting. Hoping.

Gracie inhaled a sharp breath, but then started snoring. Not a loud snore, just a cute-­as-­hell little snore that made him smile. But then he frowned. Dammit! He resigned himself to just go to sleep and to hope that morning came really, really fast. With that decision made, he leaned over to turn out the light.

“W-­what are you doing, love?” Gracie asked in a husky, sleepy British voice that was just about the sexiest thing he'd ever heard in his entire life. No, not just about; it
was
the sexiest sound ever made.

“Turning out the light.”

“You fancy making love in the dark?”

“No.”

“Then you don't want to make love to me?” She sounded perplexed, still half-­asleep.

“Is this a trick question?”

Gracie leaned toward him and put a hand on his chest. Ah, now they were getting somewhere. “No, love, truly, what's going on? Do you plan on rolling over and going to sleep?” she asked in the same husky voice.

Mason laughed. “Baby, you were sound asleep.”

“I was
not
. I was resting my eyes while you showered.”

“You were snoring, sugar.”

“No possible way. I don't snore,” she said firmly, but then paused and asked in a small voice, “Do I?”

“A cute little rumble that I find totally adorable.” Mason tried to give an example, but his snore sounded way worse than she did, and her eyes widened.

“Oh no!” she cried, as if snoring was the worst thing in the world. “That's...horrible!”

Mason laughed harder.

“Stop it.” She shoved his shoulder. “It's not one bit funny. I need to get some of those strip things to put on my stupid nose. Or maybe one of those machines. Would you quit laughing?”

Mason tried to control his laughter, but it was as if the tension of the day and his guilt over hurting her feelings came pouring out of him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed this hard, and he simply could not stop.

“I think you've gone stark-­raving mad.”

Mason swiped at tears. “Oh God...,” he said in a voice weak with laughter. “First I wade into the river after your runaway hat and now this.” He shook his head against the pillow and then raised his index finger. “No,
first
I tried to flirt with that crazy bunch of ladies to get you to notice me.”

“Well, that was pretty funny.” Gracie started laughing with him. In fact, she laughed so hard that she snorted and was mortified again. “No, I did
not
just snort.”

“You snort and snore. I'm telling everyone.”

“No!” she wailed. “Don't you dare.”

“I'm going to Tweeter it.”

“Tweet,” Grace corrected, and laughed harder. The mattress started shaking as if in the middle of an earthquake. “Oh, dear God,” Gracie said, wiping at her own eyes.

“Thank you,” Mason said, and then reached down and took her hand.

“For making you laugh?” she asked softly.

“For coming into my life.”

Gracie squeezed his hand. “I can't really take credit for that, now, can I? It all started with Rick coming here to undo the mess that Garret found himself involved in. Rick found lovely Maggie. Garret fell in love with Mattie. And I've fallen in love with you. Funny how life works, you know?”

Mason came up to his elbow and smiled down at her. “Yes, it is.” He leaned down and kissed her gently, tasting her lips, exploring her mouth, while he trailed his fingers lightly over her soft skin. She shivered, arched her back, telling him with her body how much she wanted him. He cupped her breast and moved the pad of his thumb over her nipple, knowing by now what drove her wild with need. Mason moved his mouth to her neck, kissing, nuzzling, while letting his fingers trail lower until he found her sex. When she gasped and parted her legs, Mason dipped his finger inside her silky folds, finding her wet and ready for him. He tossed the sheet aside, pausing for protection.

Grace reached up for him and he entwined his hands with hers. He kissed her while he entered her body, and her fingers squeezed him hard. Mason moved slowly, pulling nearly all the way out and then inching back in until she wrapped those long legs around him and urged him to go faster, harder. When she cried out his name, he kissed her and thrust deeply, finding his own heart-­pounding release.

Mason rolled sideways, bringing her with him.

“Well, I can tell you one thing. I'm wide awake now,” Grace said with a low chuckle.

“Good, because, baby, we've only just begun.”