I swallowed, my throat catching with the action. “You terrify me.” The words were out before I could stop them. The brutal truth.

Mason froze, his fingers still at the back of my neck. “Why?”

I had nothing to lose by telling him the truth. Maybe it would scare him away, and I would have my solution. But the thought of Mason walking away was almost too much to bear. “You already mean too much to me. That gives you the power to destroy me. I’ve been ruined before, Mason. I don’t want to go there again. I don’t want to give someone everything, only to have them break me apart and spit on the pieces. I never want to feel that alone again. If I keep my heart to myself, that will never happen.”

Mason didn’t look away as I spilled everything in my head. He listened. And then he was quiet. “I don’t know how to ask you for a shot when you’ve been through so much. But that doesn’t change that I want it. So, I guess I just have to ask. Take that first step. Just one. We can go as slow as you want, and I’ll meet you wherever you’re at. Just one step.”

I felt a tugging somewhere deep inside. As if my soul wanted that step so badly, it was already on its way. My heart hammered against my ribs, almost seeming to rattle them with its force. The two halves inside me warred for supremacy. But it was the reckless side that won.

I took a single step forward so my body was flush with Mason’s. His eyes flared, the green in them almost seeming to shift to gold. He moved in a flash, taking my mouth in a hungry kiss. I lost myself for a moment, nothing existing but the press of Mason’s body, the feel of his tongue tangling with mine, the way my nerve endings woke with the promise of more.

My phone buzzed in my front pocket, making us both jump. I let out some sort of ridiculous giggle, my fingers flying to my mouth. My lips tingled. “Sorry, I should check it in case it’s Keisha.”

The hearings had started, but Keisha had warned us that staying away until we were required to testify might be the best thing. She was smart and could already tell that my father was using these legal maneuverings to hurt me. She didn’t want him to have that opportunity. She’d told me and Mason that she thought it would increase my dad’s frustration, and that those cracks in his veneer would eventually show in court. Keisha was clearly a master at the legal game, and I was thankful for it.