Marla is gone. Her ghost is gone. I finally feel free.
I kiss Hazel one more time. “I love you,” I whisper to her. “I won’t ever leave you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers back.
My heart leaps in my chest. Joy slowly floods back into me.
I haven’t heard those words in a long time. I haven’t said those words, either. But now, it’s right.
I never felt like this with Marla. I never felt like this in my entire life.
Hazel is bringing me back from the edge, back from the dead.
“I love you,” I whisper again, kissing her. She laughs and kisses me back, and now the moment is complete.
Now, the moment is perfect.21HazelOne Year LaterI walk into my bedroom and it takes my breath away.
It always does. I walk slowly around the perimeter, staring at the priceless paintings hanging all over the place. I’ve added a few over the last year, with Mason’s approval of course, but he’s been giving me more leeway.
Apparently, he trusts my taste.
I smile to myself and run my fingers down the front of a Jackson Pollock. I love touching a priceless piece of art like this, even though I know it’s damaging the work ever so slightly.
There’s something beautiful about that. Ruining it because you love it so much.
I adjust my dress and turn as the door opens. “Knew I’d find you here,” he grunts as he steps into the room.
Mason looks handsome in his tuxedo, perfectly tailored and fitted to his muscular, tall frame. I walk over to him and he kisses me with a little smile.
“You look good,” I say.
“You look better.”
“I know that.”
He smirks as I step away from him. “Are you ready for tonight?”
“Of course. Are you?”
“Always.” He stretches and flops down on the bed. “Although I’d rather stay here.”
“Oh, yeah?” I sidle up next to him and kiss his neck. “Why’s that?”
“You know why,” he says, and grabs me, pulling me on top of him.
I laugh as he kisses me and rolls over, pinning me to the bed.
“I’d rather stay here and fuck you in every way imaginable,” he says.
“Sounds very degrading.”
“It will be.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.” He smirks and kisses me before letting me go. He sighs and walks over to the mirror as I sit up and get to my feet. I adjust myself and make sure he didn’t ruin my hair.
“We might as well get going,” I say. “No use sitting around in here.”
“I know.”
“But you’d rather stay around here, brooding all night long?”
He glares at me, but smiles. “You know I don’t do that anymore. Haven’t for a while.”
“I know that. You just want to keep me all for yourself. Not that I blame you.”
He grins bigger and turns to come after me. I scamper away from him as he grabs for my hips and I hurry into the other room with him right behind me, laughing as I run. We tumble into his office together, well, our office now.
His desk is in the same spot, but there’s a second desk up toward the front where I do most of my work. I’m still his assistant technically, although I have more duties than just fetching him coffee.
Mainly though, I’m tasked with keeping my Daddy happy, and I’m happy to report that I’m very good at my job.
He catches me and drags me over to the little couch, pushing me down onto it. “Mason!” I say as he kisses me. I groan into his touch and wish we really didn’t have to leave at all.
Finally, though, he pulls away. “You know, I like to hear my real name on your lips sometimes.”
“Not as much as you like it when I call you Daddy.”
“Not nearly as much.” He grins and pulls me up to my feet, his arm around my waist. “Come on, little Hazel.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I whisper, kissing his neck.
We walk out of the office together and take the elevator downstairs. Rogers is waiting in the car for us, smiling as we climb into the back.
“Ready, you two?” he asks.
“Take us away, Rogers,” Mason says.
We ride together and I put my head on his shoulder as we glide through the city. Mason stares out the window, and I bet it’s still a little hard for him.
Ever since we made this official between us, he’s been getting out more and more. It was little stuff at first, just around the office, attending board meetings, that sort of thing.
Then it was going to meetings outside of the office. Then it was movies, dinner, dancing, all that stuff, until here we are. One year later, going to some big, fancy charity thing together.
I never pictured this in a million years. I intertwine my fingers with his, holding his hand tightly in mine. He smiles at me, kisses my lips gently.
We don’t have to talk. Sometimes, we spend all day without saying a word, although we rarely go more than an hour without touching. It’s little touches, a hand on a shoulder, lips brushing a neck. They say more than anything else.