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Married Before Midnight - Married Before Midnight by Sienna Quinn - Chapter 67
Author: Novels Audio
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Married Before Midnight
Chapter 67: A Kiss and a Lie
The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow over the lake, its surface shimmering like liquid amber. Olivia and Mason sat on the grassy bank, the adrenaline from their earlier encounter still humming beneath their skin.
Olivia’s hands trembled slightly as she pulled a handkerchief from her purse—a delicate lace-trimmed one her mother had given her years ago. "Hold still," she murmured, her voice soft but firm. Mason winced as she dabbed at the cut on his lip, the fabric catching the faintest smear of blood. His dark eyes flickered to hers, unreadable yet intense.
Olivia’s breath hitched at the proximity, at the way his lashes cast shadows over his sharp cheekbones. "Who were those men?" she asked, her fingers pausing just above his jaw. Mason hesitated, his gaze dropping for a fraction of a second before meeting hers again. "Rival contractors," he said smoothly. "We’ve been competing for a city construction project. Things got… heated." Olivia frowned, her thumb brushing the edge of his bruise. "They attacked you over a bid?" He gave a wry chuckle, though it lacked real amusement. "You’d be surprised how cutthroat business can be." She believed him without question. Why wouldn’t she? Mason had never given her reason to doubt him—not with his easy charm, not with the way he’d looked at her like she was the only person in the world since the moment they’d met. "You shouldn’t have stepped in front of me like that," he said quietly.
Olivia’s lips curved into a small smile. "I wasn’t going to let them hurt you." Something flickered in his expression—something she couldn’t quite name—before it vanished. His hand lifted, fingers grazing her wrist where it still hovered near his face.
The contact sent a shiver down her spine. "You’re bleeding too," he murmured, his thumb brushing the scrape on her elbow. Olivia hadn’t even noticed. The adrenaline had numbed the sting. But now, with his touch feather-light against her skin, she felt everything—the warmth of his fingers, the roughness of his calluses, the way her pulse leapt in response. Their eyes locked. The world around them seemed to still—the rustling leaves, the distant laughter of children by the water, even the breeze holding its breath. Mason’s gaze dropped to her lips.
Olivia’s breath caught. And then— He kissed her. It was soft at first, tentative, as if testing the waters. But when she didn’t pull away, when her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, he deepened the kiss, his mouth moving against hers with a hunger that stole the air from her lungs. For Olivia, it was like stepping into sunlight after years in the shadows. Every doubt, every whispered warning from her sisters, every lingering fear—gone. In this moment, there was only Mason, only the certainty that this was right. When they finally parted, her cheeks were flushed, her lips tingling. Mason’s expression was unreadable again, but his thumb traced her bottom lip, slow and deliberate. "Olivia," he whispered, her name like a vow. She smiled, her heart so full she thought it might burst. And Mason— Mason smiled back, but his eyes held something darker. Something triumphant. Because his plan had worked.