The Price of Mason (Forbidden Men 10)

So we restarted on the third movie, even though I didn’t remember a thing about the first two. Between the sixth and part one of the seventh, we took a break for food. While Reese was scouring the kitchen for a quick meal, I emptied the condoms from my pockets, having a feeling we wouldn’t be using them any time soon. I dropped them on the magazine table by the door and wandering over to the kitchen area where she was fixing us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“Can I help?” I asked, coming up behind her so close my chest rubbed her back and I could reach under her arm to dip out a scoop of peanut butter with my finger.

She jumped, not expecting the move. I knew I’d just startled her, but to me, it felt almost like a rejection. She sent me a tense smile over her shoulder and said, “Thanks, but it’s okay. I’m almost done.”

Which felt like more of a rejection.

I stepped back, giving her space and then hopped up to sit on the counter a few feet away so I could watch her work. “I never asked you what you wanted to be called.”

Glancing up as she slapped the first sandwich together, she wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What do you mean??

??

I shrugged. “It’s weird to me that your name really isn’t Reese. But then I got to thinking, maybe it’s weird for you when I call you that, since you’re…you know, Teresa.”

Yeah, even saying Teresa felt funny. She wasn’t Teresa to me. She’d always be my Reese. But for her, I’d learn to call her whatever she wanted.

She just smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m more used to Reese than Teresa too since that’s what I’ve been called for as long as I can remember. I could never pronounce Teresa right when I was learning to talk, I guess, so it sounded like I always said Reesa when anyone asked me my name. Then Reesa eventually became Reese, and now here I am. One hundred percent a Reese. Although, I have to admit, I am used to signing Teresa. So it is a little awkward to write Reese on official documents, not to mention the Randall part.”

“Teresa…Nolan, right?”

She nodded. “I have no idea why I chose Randall for the new last name. I think it just sounded good with Reese so I went with it. And you know…” She paused thoughtfully, tipping her face to the side as she bit her lip. “If…when…all this with Jeremy is over, I think I’ll just keep Randall for a while. It’s grown on me.”

When she smiled, I smiled back softly, only to grow serious when she handed me my PB and J.

Watching her take her first bite, I asked, “Do you ever get scared, you know, worrying about him coming for you?”

With a roll of her eyes, she continued to chew until she swallowed and finally answered, “Only all the time.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Really. Wow. I could never tell. I mean, there might’ve been small instances once or twice where you looked briefly haunted, but the moments would vanish so quickly they never put up any serious red flags for me. You usually act so unconcerned about everything.”

“Trust me. I’m way more on guard these days than I ever was before. I keep everything locked and secured whether I’m home or not. I never had mace or whistles or flashlights hanging from my keychain until him. And I even took a self-defense class this summer. I’ve definitely changed how I do a lot of things now.”

“That’s good.” I nodded, glad to know she still kept vigilant and on guard, no matter what.

She sent me a strange look, so I flushed and kept talking. “I mean, it’s always good to be safe and prepared, not just for that guy, but anything that might happen.”

She studied me a moment before smiling and nodding. “Too true.”

Then she took my hand and tugged me off the counter. “Now let’s get back to our marathon.”

* * *

After we finished the last movie in the series, Reese decided we should start with the first one since I didn’t remember anything from it.

We watched half of it together before my butt began to grow numb from sitting in front of the television for so long. Catching my wince, Reese stood and stretched, yawning and reaching for her remote to turn the movie off.

As she arched her back and strained her hands above her head, the front of her shirt pulled taut over her breasts, causing the hem to lift and reveal a line of flesh at her abdomen. My dick twitched as I watched the mesmerizing sight, and I wondered if she’d jump again like a startled doe if I grasped her waist and pulled her down onto my lap.

Before I could attempt it, though, she glanced at me, and said, “Your family’s going to forget who you are. You better get home soon.”

I blinked. What? Was she kicking me out? It felt a hell of a lot like she was kicking me out.

“O…kay,” I said slowly, even though the guy in me wanted to whine and stamp my feet and complain that we hadn’t even used any of the condoms I’d gotten earlier. They were still sitting by the front door, neglected. My poor cock felt neglected. And now she was kicking me out.

Dread and panic swelled in my throat. She must still be upset about whoever had texted my phone when I’d been out this morning. Or maybe she was feeling some of the guilt oozing off me because not telling her about Jeremy was definitely eating at me. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t sense some kind of tension from me.

I was so torn up with it that I couldn’t even argue when she found my shoes on the floor and tossed them to me.