“I know.” I had no excuse.
“We took you in. We protected you. We treated you like family and you left us with a note.”
Treated me like a family. Those words sent a stabbing pain through me. I thought I had been family? I cleared my throat and spoke, “I was wrong. I thought that’s what I had to do.”
“By a note?”
“I had to leave. I would always be a problem.” I was pleading with him. “You manipulated Logan because of me.”
“I manipulated Logan because I was scared that I would lose my brother. I thought Miranda would realize what button she pushed and she would throw that in his face.”
“I know. Because of me.”
“No.” He shook his head and took another step closer. “Because of me. I chose that action. Whether because of you or another girl, I made that decision to do what I did.” He paused a moment. “I was wrong.”
My gaze jumped to his and I frowned.
He softened. “I was wrong to do what I did. I should’ve brought it up to Logan that night. We could’ve hashed it out, but it never had anything to do with you.”
“It was feelings for me--”
“He doesn’t have feelings for you.”
I stopped. “What?”
“Or he does. I don’t know.” He shrugged, regret flaring over his face for a moment. “That’s Logan’s issue if he does, but I assumed and I was scared. I f**ked the family up, Sam. You leaving through a note, that hurts, but it was because of me that you even felt you had to do that. This whole thing is my fault.” He stopped, took a breath, and lifted a hand to cup the side of my face. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m so goddamn sorry.”
At the feel of him, my eyes closed. I was home again. His touch made me feel that I struggled against throwing myself at him. I wanted to bury my head into his chest and let everything go. He was home.
He stepped forward and bent so his forehead rested against mine. “I’ve been so angry that I couldn’t apologize to you the right way, but I couldn’t get to you. It hurt. It really hurt that you were scared to talk to me and I couldn’t fix this.”
He cupped both sides of my face, and my hands lifted to hold onto his arms. I felt that he was shielding me again. Him and me. No one else. I murmured, “I wasn’t scared to talk to you. I was scared of myself. I wouldn’t be able to stay away if we talked.”
“You were?”
I nodded, my head moving his at the same time. “Logan showed up at school today and chewed me out. He said I was being stupid and I screwed the family up.”
“No, that was me. All me.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “Logan’s pissed because he can’t fix it. He didn’t do anything to f**k this up so he can’t fix it. He yells at me every day.”
“He does?”
“Yeah.” He cracked a grin, pulling away. His thumb brushed one of my tears away. “He was really mad when I decided to give you space.”
“He was?”
“Yeah.” His eyes darkened, and he dipped down to kiss my cheek. It was soft and lingering. It sent my heart racing. He added, still against me, his lips brushing my skin, “I was going to start trying again, but I figured you were staying away for a reason. I hadn’t given up. I was just waiting. Hell, I planned on showing up in your bedroom one of these nights.”
I grinned at the idea of that. It would’ve been over. The image of him in my bedroom would’ve destroyed any resolve I had against him. I would’ve crumbled, apologized over and over again, and then begged him to take me back. At that realization, I was humbled by my own stupidity. “I’m so sorry, Mason.”
He pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me, and he held me there. His head dipped to my shoulder and he pressed a kiss there. I shivered at the sensation. Then his hands left and grabbed under my legs. He hoisted me up in one movement. My legs opened, wrapping around his waist in one movement and I felt him walking further into the clearing. When he got to the middle, he knelt down, and laid me on the ground. Holding himself above me, he brushed some of the hair behind my ear and smiled.
There it was again. His love. I saw it and everything clicked back into place. Closing my eyes, I knew he was leaning down to kiss me. I didn’t see it. I didn’t feel it, but I knew he was going to, and when he did, when his lips touched mine, everything fled away.
It was the two of us. Once more.
His lips opened over mine and I answered. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I drew him down to me. The need to be with him was being fulfilled, but I was starving for more. I would always need more of him.