Page 63 of Trapped for Christmas

Zeb couldn’t help but feel guilty. It had been his idea to come to Cherry Falls, and now they were trapped, but he also wouldn’t change it for the world. The longer they stayed, the more he could try to convince himself that when they got back to New York, Mason would still be his boyfriend. He knew Mason would never deliberately hurt him and had told Zeb he loved him, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking that people would think he wasn’t good enough.

He hated that he had so much self-doubt, but he’d been crapped on his entire life, so he felt like he couldn’t get his hopes up. Mason hadn’t said anything, which didn’t necessarily suggest he was embarrassed about Zeb, but they were in Cherry Falls, not New York. Their friends didn’t count, as they were good people. Most other people were complete assholes in his experience.

Zeb walked into the bed and breakfast with the cookies Mason had baked. After their nap yesterday, they’d had dinner, and then Mason had made love to him again. He had been expecting Mason to be rougher with him the second time, but he hadn’t been. It had been wonderful and overwhelming, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. His head was so fucked up right now. Mason had told him he loved him and said he wanted to be with him, but there was a part of him that still believed it was too good to be true.

“Zeb, what are you doing here?” asked Alison.

“Cookies from Mason,” he said,

“He always spoils us when he’s here, although that’s rare enough. We see Ryder more than him.”

“I’m guessing from the look on your face you’re not sorry about that?”

“Cheeky,” she replied with a smile. “Is Mason not with you?”

“He had to make some calls about the restaurant, since we can’t leave until Sunday, so he’ll miss the weekend service.”

“He works too much.”

“It’s a busy time of year. We probably shouldn’t have come.”

“Nonsense. He wanted to be here.”

Zeb nodded and forced a smile. It was his fault they were stranded, and Mason was just being nice about it because that’s who he was.

“Is everything okay, Zeb?”

“Yeah, fine. I’d better get going.”

“Sit yourself down in the lounge and I’ll make us some tea.”

Zeb wasn’t much of a tea drinker, although he’d had British tea that Charlie had brought over and he’d enjoyed that. Ever since then, everything had tasted weak, but he didn’t want to appear rude. Besides, it was freezing outside, and he didn’t want to go back to the cabin until Mason was finished with his calls. He’d just be in the way.

The lounge had a cozy vibe to it, even though it was large. There were probably enough sofas and armchairs for a dozen people. A roaring fire dominated one wall, and a large flatscreen TV was in the corner. There was a games table by the window, which seated four people, and bookshelves filled with a mishmash of titles. Most of them were fiction, and well read from what Zeb could see. He wasn’t much of a reader himself. Apart from books to help him get his GED, he’d barely read anything since he’d left home.

It was decorated beautifully for the holidays. A gorgeous tree with a multitude of colors dominated one corner. There were special ornaments to mark the time of year, such as a nativity scene, and a Santa in shorts and sunglasses, sunbathing on a lounger. Zeb also noticed some ornamental families of all kinds: a mom and dad, two moms, two dads, and one parent on their own with a child. He’d seen nothing like it. There were decorations outside and in the reception area, but they were different to this. Although they were still warm and welcoming, in here it was like a hug you never wanted to end.

Alison walked in with the tea and some of Mason’s cookies on a plate. He’d already eaten a gazillion of them. Mason didn’t do moderation with any of his cooking, but especially with baking. Zeb knew he’d lost weight when he was with Kaden, and Mason had noticed. It appeared he was on a mission to fix that, as he always made sure Zeb had something to eat. They had been burning a lot of calories as well. His ass was sore from the double dicking the day before, but it wasn’t something he was going to complain about. Once they were back in New York, Zeb didn’t know how much of Mason he was going to see outside of work.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” asked Alison.

“What do you mean?”

“You look like you’re bracing yourself for an impending attack.”

Zeb wasn’t sure what to say to that. In every relationship he’d been in before Mason, he’d felt tense most of the time, waiting for to the moment he stepped a foot out of line and suffered the consequences. That would never happen with Mason, the man would never physically harm him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have his heart broken. Inevitably, when he lost Mason, it would feel so much worse than if he’d just continued to pine for him, never knowing what it was like to be kissed by him and experience pleasure like he never had before.

“Has Mason done something to upset you?” asked Alison, a fierce look in her eyes Zeb didn’t think would be possible from someone who always seemed so happy and kind.

“No, nothing like that. Mason is perfect.”

Alison snorted. “He’s far from perfect.”

Zeb frowned, not liking what she was saying. “What do you mean by that?”

“He works too much, and he took, what was it . . . two years to wake up and realize he had the perfect man in front of him.”

Zeb’s jaw dropped. “How did you . . . Ryder?”