“Wasn’t mine. Nope. Definitely didn’t lose it anywhere.”
“I guess the shoe that was in there as well doesn’t belong to you either? Size eight, pink?”
“I’m a size seven.”
“Right. So you also wouldn’t know why there was an extra blanket in with the puppies and the goat was wearing Arwen’s collar?”
“Who’s Arwen?”
“The dog with the litter.”
So that was her name. A bit strange for a dog, but okay. “How would I know? I guess you must have forgotten you did that last night. By the way, you must have also braided the pony’s hair.”
His lips twitched and he tilted his head. “Yeah, must have forgotten about that. My bad. That was a great idea I had there.”
I tried to hold back the smile that wanted to form. “It was. It must have been a damn good braid to last this long.”
He nodded, his lips tilting up in a smile that lit up his whole face. “I’m known for my braiding skills.”
I started laughing and flopped back into the couch. “Fine. I was out there, snooping. But all I found was a new barn and happy animals. No body parts or blood anywhere in sight. It was a bit of a letdown really.”
He nudged my side. “Guess you haven’t been to the basement then.”
“So why do you have so many animals?” I couldn’t help but ask.
He grunted noncommittally. “I didn’t want any animals. Love dogs and used to have a cat. But I work a lot, so it didn’t seem fair to them. I found Loki on the side of the road when I was driving home one night. His leg was broken, and he looked like he’d been to hell and back. Was only a puppy. Got him to the vet who fixed him up. Nobody came looking for him, and it was either me or the shelter. So I took him.”
That was a decent thing to do. I was impressed, but no way would I say that out loud. “What about the rest of them?”
Mason settled deeper into the couch. “The donkey, Lola, belonged to the guy I bought the farm from. He was going to get rid of her. But she’s old and nobody wanted to take her. So she stayed. The pony, Wilbur, is from the circus. Knows heaps of tricks and is an escape artist. So always make sure you latch the gate properly. He hurt his leg when the circus visited last summer, and it looked pretty bad. The vet remembered me and asked me to keep him in the barn until the circus owners decided what to do with him. That was a year ago and he’s still here. Arwen is one of my buddy’s dogs. He didn’t know she was pregnant until she gave birth. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment, so he asked me if I could take her. The horse, Fable, was dropped at my doorstep one night. No idea who left her there, but I kept her.”
Oh no, it was official. Mason Drake was a good guy—I was in so much trouble. I loved listening to him talk. I creepily watched his mouth the whole time he told me about his animals. I was also ready to reassess my life choices after listening to him. I had no home, no animals, no job—not really, since the one I currently had came with an expiration date—and no money. Mason was only a few years older than me and had his life together, more than anyone else I knew. It’s possible I could have grossly misjudged him.
“And now you’ve just taken in another stray,” I said and pointed to myself.
“Not exactly a hardship.”
I blushed and busied myself with putting away the empty containers. Dumping them all back in the bags, I carried them to the kitchen and heard Mason following.
Once I put away our leftovers, I threw the empty containers in the trash. The warmth at my back made me hold on to the edge of the counter. He was standing close enough that if I leaned back slightly, I would be flush against his front.
He trailed a finger up my arm, his touch light, his intentions clear. Did I really want to go there again?
I answered my own question when I turned around and tilted my head back. “Don’t start this if you don’t intend to go through with it.”
He leaned down, his lips a breath from mine. “I plan to go through with it all right. The question is: Are you willing to see were this is going?”
I lifted my hand and slowly curled my fingers on the nape of his neck to hold him in place. I needed this kiss as much as my next breath. Instead of wasting more words, I got up on my tippy toes and closed the distance between us.
I felt the velvet warmth of his kiss down to my toes, my body instantly ready and aching at the contact. I was not usually this easily turned on, but Mason managed to get a response from me by just breathing in my vicinity.
He took charge, and I kissed him back with urgency, taking the kiss deeper, opening up to him and struggling to hold back my moans every time his tongue touched mine.
His hands moved under my sweatshirt and skimmed my sides until they stopped just below my breasts. We broke the kiss and he stepped back. “Let’s take this to the bedroom. I want to do it right this time.”
I nodded, incapable of denying him. Didn’t matter where he was taking me, I would have agreed as long as he was there with me.
He held my hand again as he led me up the two flights of stairs to his room on the third floor. I hadn’t been up there before and was curious what it was like. When I walked in, my eyes went wide, and I tripped on a pair of shoes. The bedroom took
