Price of a Kiss (Forbidden Men 1)

I grinned. And told him everything.

His mouth fell open. “You did what? But, you…she…how could you send him your new identity? Are you insane?”

He sounded a little too much like his landlady, so I scowled. Then I remembered I had sent that email, hadn’t I?

“Oh, that reminds me. I’d better check my inbox of that new account I set up this morning.”

I crawled to my purse I’d dropped beside the welcome mat and dug around inside until I found my cell phone. “I created it under the name Jeremy Walden. Need to check if I have any incoming messages.” As I clicked my way into the inbox, I winked at Mason. “And what do you know, I do.”

I turned the screen to show him the email from Patricia Garrison.

He gaped before sending me a stunned glance. “You faked her out.”

I tossed my hair and preened. “Yep. Now…how would Jeremy respond to this letter?” Tapping my chin, I contemplated.

“If you were a psycho stalker ex-boyfriend, what would you say?”

Mason scooted closer to be a part of the planning process. “Thanks?” he suggested.

“Perfect.” I kissed his cheek and got a little distracted, needing to kiss his nose next, then his mouth. Before I totally lost my focus, I pulled back, bit my lip, and started typing.

Thanks. I owe you one.

“There.” I pushed send and looked up. “That sounds like something he’d say. I’ll delete the account later, just to make sure she doesn’t reply.”

Mason appeared overcome. “This was dangerous, Reese. I can’t believe you risked so much just to free me from her.”

“Hey.” Cupping his face in my hands, I admitted, “I would risk it a thousand times over to help you any way I could.”

He pressed his forehead against mine. “I still don’t deserve you.”

“But I’m here anyway,” I teased, tipping my face so that I could flutter my lashes against his cheek in a butterfly kiss. “Whatever will you do with me now?”

Tugging me closer, he settled my body against his and brushed the hair out of my face. “I guess I’ll just have to cherish you with every breath I have.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Mason hadn’t shown up on my doorstep with a lot of forethought. He totally forgot to bring a fresh pair of clothes, or his school things, otherwise we could’ve washed each other in the shower—kind of like how we’d squished into my dinky bathroom on both Saturday and Sunday to have way too much fun with the soap—and gone to classes together on Monday morning.

But, I had a feeling there’d only been one thing on his mind when he’d driven over the night before.

Such a guy.

He rolled out of bed and left me with a lingering kiss, telling me he’d sit with me at lunch. Then he was gone.

I rushed through my morning ablutions, hoping I’d get to see him before our first class. But no. I slunk into Brit Lit, depressed because I’d missed him. I didn’t even realize Eva was absent from her typical seat next to me until halfway through the hour.

Yikes, I hope her breakup with Alec wasn’t hitting her too hard. She had enough on her plate as it was. I also hoped she hadn’t told her parents about the baby yet. I wanted to be with her, holding her hand when she did, and I hadn’t exactly been available the entire weekend to do much hand holding.

God, I had to be the worst friend ever. I texted her during my free hour, but she didn’t return my call.

I cringed, hoping it was only morning sickness keeping her from checking in and not anger over the fact I had totally blown her off for the past two days.

I thought of Mason all the way through calculus. We’d eventually gotten our math assignment done on Saturday, but I wasn’t sure he’d been able to concentrate very well on his equations. I hoped his being with me didn’t cause him to flunk.

Yes, I was beginning to worry about everything this morning. But something strange had me on edge. A feeling in the air, a freaky premonition that life was going too well. I wasn’t sure what it was. I just seriously wanted it to go away so I could return to the euphoria I’d been dwelling in for the last forty-eight hours.

When I stepped out of class, I automatically glanced around for Mason. Sometimes, we passed each other coming and going here because he had class in this room directly after I did. Today, I really looked forward to brushing by him—wink, wink.