Chapter 264

The love she felt for Mason was completely unexpected and nothing like what her past experiences had told her to expect from love. Love to her had always meant obligation and guilt and heaviness of burdens that she had to carry on the other’s behalf. This love, what she was experiencing now, was light and freeing and filled her with hope and joy. Cue the singing birds. Lisa giggled to herself as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She looked down at the marks Mason had made on her body. His marks. She traced around one with her finger, remembering what it felt like, remembering how he had shown her how he felt about her, how he knew what she needed, how he took care of her. Nobody had taken care of her before. Well, not that she could remember. She was so young when her parents died that she didn’t remember what it was like to be with them. What she did remember was the contempt with which her aunt had treated her. Lisa flopped back on the bed and closed her eyes. T