The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

Needing to redeem myself, I gave her one truth. “Because if I’d told you the truth and you knew I’d stopped whoring myself out for money, I was scared you’d let me do things to you that I was dying to do.”

Blinking at me, Reese gripped her head in her hands as if trying to process what I’d said. “Okay, let me get this straight. You stopped your practice because you wanted me, and then you turned around and lied about it, making me think you were still doing it in order to keep me away.”

Yeah, sounded crazy, didn’t it? But that fit, because I’d lost my mind a while ago. “Maybe,” I said.

She scowled at me. “That makes no sense. If you stopped so you could have me, then why did you lie to keep me away?”

“I didn’t stop so I could have you. I know I can never have you.”

“What? Why can’t you ever have me?”

“Because,” I sputtered. “We just went over this. I could never deserve you. You’re too good for me. You’re out of my reach. You’re… You’re Reese Randall.”

“You’re wrong.” She shook her head adamantly. “I’m not. All you have to do is stretch out your hand, Mason.” She patted the center of her chest. “I’m right here.”

Oh, God. I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. But… “I can’t. I’m tainted.”

“No.” She stepped toward me.

Knowing that if she caught me, if she touched me, I’d give in, I darted past her and opened the door of the classroom before glancing back to take in her shocked expression.

“I thought we could just be friends,” I said. “But we can’t. I won’t be sitting with you at lunch anymore. I won’t be doing anything with you anymore. I hope you enjoy your date.”

I left the room, already regretting my decision.

But thinking about everything I’d done to her already, forcing her through my back-and-forth indecision, I knew it was better this way. She’d be much better off with—

Thinking his name seemed to produce Ethan Riker in front of me. He must’ve seen Reese follow me inside the building and then watched us enter the empty classroom together. He leaned against a wall at the other end of the hall, just waiting for us to emerge. When my gaze caught his, he sent me a dirty glare, then pushed away from the wall and stalked off.

I stared after him, wondering what his agenda was. Had he asked Reese out to get at me, or did he genuinely like her and want to date her? It seemed like a strange coincidence that we’d be into the same girl. But then again, this was Reese. Who wouldn’t fall for her?

One thing was for certain. I wasn’t going to let him take out my favorite girl without discovering the truth first.

I hurried after him.

Confession #25: Hey, I had to make sure he wasn’t going to hurt Reese!

Riker didn’t realize I was following him until it was too late. Glancing around when he heard me approaching fast, his eyes went wide a split second before I grabbed a handful of the back of his shirt and propelled him forward—a lot more roughly than I had Reese—into the men’s bathroom.

“What the fuck?” he started, scowling and shoving away from me as soon as I let go of him.

I glanced around to make sure we were alone before I shoved him into the wall. I had let him shove me around plenty when we’d been at the Country Club and I couldn’t shove back without risking my job. So I figured I owed him a couple.

“Just so we’re clear,” I growled into his face, “I never fucked your mother. Ever.”

“Get off me,” he spat, trying to push free, but I was having none of it.

“Not until you listen to me, asshole. She calls me, yes. She asks me to meet her places.”

When his face went pale and he turned away to block me out, I shoved him again, just to get his attention. As soon as he snapped a glare back to me, I added, “And then all she does is talk. Just…talk. Nothing else.” I paused before shrugging. “Well, sometimes she wants a hug.”

He opened his mouth, his face flooding with color, so I pointed at him, quickly explaining, “And when I say hug, I don’t mean some dirty euphemism. I mean a simple, plain, old-fashioned hug.”

Riker scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You expect me to believe that bullshit? I know what you are.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Oh, do you? Do you really? Because you obviously don’t even know your own mother. Think about it, brainiac. Do you honestly believe she’s the type of woman to pay some kid her son’s age to have sex with her?”

His face went even redder than it already was. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, “Why would she pick you, though, if talking and hugging was all she was doing? If she wanted to just talk to someone, she has a million friends she could—”