Page 90 of Beautiful Disaster

I stare out the window again, loving how the area isn’t filled with strip malls and gas stations. Durango is pretty, but it has all those annoying things. LA was rampant with them.

“Come, Precious. The water’s ready,” Mason says after several moments.

We strip out of our clothes, and he gets in first. Once he’s seated, he helps me in. The water is perfectly hot, filled with the scent of lavender. I sit between his legs with my back to him. I didn’t realize how filthy I felt from flying until I started soaking in the tub.

Mason lathers a wash rag with soap, then gently scrubs my skin, starting with my back and working my arms. My eyes droop closed, and my body sags in relaxation. I yawn loudly as he chuckles.

“My poor, tired pet.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Very, but apparently not as much as you.”

Mason then uses the hand-held showerhead and drenches my hair. He dribbles some shampoo into it and gently massages my scalp.

“God, you’re gonna spoil me.”

“As well as you should be.”

My world vanishes, and all that’s left is the man I love and his amazing fingers.

Once my hair is rinsed of soap, Mason quickly washes his body, then pulls me against him. My head rests on his shoulder, and I close my heavy eyes as his fingers travel up and down my arms soothingly.

“Come on, Precious. We need to get out.”

I’m startled awake, not realizing I’d dozed off.

“Yeah, okay.”

I shiver because the water’s gone cold.

Mason quickly dries off, then he helps me out of the tub, drying me off, too. He lifts me into his arms, and I feel fucking loved and protected. I love being carried by him. It’s the only time I don’t hate being smaller.

We climb underneath the covers, and I roll over, my back facing him. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, kissing my head.

“Get some sleep,” he whispers.

“I love you,” I tell him because I can never tell him enough.

He kisses my head again. “I love you, too.”

I smile sleepily. Mason can never tell me enough, either.

I climb out of bed, careful not to wake Mason, and throw on some clothes and a hoodie. When I look out the window, I see familiar silvery hair roaming the grounds below alone and checking out the strangely shaped pool, as if they’d built it as an afterthought or something.

I’d planned to talk to Aleks privately on this trip before he got married to Julien, so now’s as good a time as any.

With a quick peck to Mason’s cheek, I head out of the building and go searching for Aleks, my best friend of nearly ten years.

I find him taking some pictures of the castle on his phone.

“Hey,” I say, shoving my hands into my jeans.

Aleks beams a smile my way. “Hey!”

I swear to fuck, I never deserved a friend like him. But this is my chance to right some things… I hope.

I rub my neck and look out over the rolling hills. “Can we… talk for a minute?”