Price of a Kiss (Forbidden Men 1)

“Good.” He slammed number five without a wince.

I had to admit; I was a little impressed. The boy was a fast learner. That or the Pine-Sol had already numbed his taste buds.

Two gulps later, I intercepted shot number eight, tugging the bottle out of his hand before he could pour. “Trust me, honey. That did the trick.”

He blinked at me, swaying a little. “Are you sure? I don’t feel—”

“Oh, you will, just as soon as the alcohol hits your bloodstream.”

“Good.”

When he nodded, trusting my word implicitly, I had to ask. “Now, why are we getting rip-roaring drunk again? Because of the almost-getting-caught thing or because I called your plan stupid?”

“It’s not stupid.” He scowled before adding, “And I’m getting drunk,” he jabbed a finger into his sternum, “because of earlier tonight. You’re staying sober to take care of me.”

“I am?” This was news to me. When I lifted my eyebrows, letting him know he should probably revise that last statement to sound a little more pleading and a lot less demanding, he merely sent me a sweet, goofy grin.

“Come on, Reese. Please. I just want to forget this evening ever happened. Forget what I am, forget who I am…who I…”

His words trailed off as his attention strayed to the frozen image on my television screen. “Hey, what movie is this?” Spotting my popcorn bowl, he snagged it off the coffee table, settled it into his lap and began to eat. Then he plopped his feet up on my coffee table.

Yeah, I think the alcohol was beginning to kick in.

Sighing, I slumped, defeated, onto the sofa beside him. Apparently, we would be watching movies together tonight while I babysat his cute, drunk ass.

Man, I was whipped.

A part of me realized I had to be the stupidest idiot ever to allow him to stick around. I was pretty much welcoming heartbreak. But another part of me said I was doing it for the security. Knowing Jeremy was actively pursuing me had me spooked. Even a drunkard in the house made me feel better.

But secretly, I was mostly just tickled he’d come to me—and no one else—to get drunk on and tell his personal, most private feelings to. I actually felt honored to babysit him.

“You might get a kick out of this movie,” I said, relieved for a conversation changer. “I was just starting a Harry Potter marathon when you knocked on my door.”

He perked up. “Really? Harry Potter?”

“Yep. I’m halfway through the first one, but I can start over if you want.”

“Yeah. That sounds great. I haven’t seen the movies either.”

Scrounging up the remote, I shook my head. “That’s so insane. I can’t believe you haven’t seen the movies or read the books. You’re like…un-American, or something.”

He cocked me a confused look. “How can it be un-American? I thought they were written by a British author.”

I sighed. He would remember that, wouldn’t he? “Well, then, you’re un…earthling.”

He laughed and tossed a kernel into the air in an attempt to catch it with his mouth. But he totally missed and the piece of popcorn bounced off his nose. So I had to laugh too.

“Feeling the buzz yet?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I didn’t get to bed until nearly two in the morning. After stealing a few more shots of gin, Mason passed out midway through the second movie, and since I was dead on my feet, I turned everything off. I removed his shoes, pulled his feet onto the sofa, and found an extra blanket to drape over him. Then I turned off the lights and stumbled to my bedroom.

I won’t lie. I watched him sleep for a good ten minutes before getting off the couch. But he looked so peaceful and loveable all cozied up with his head tucked down by his shoulder. Tempted to brush away the dark piece of hair that had fallen over his eye, I finally forced myself to retreat.

I cleaned up and changed into my sleepwear before crawling under my sheets, completely exhausted, and yet hyper aware of his presence still in my apartment.

Glad another person was close so soon after learning about Jeremy, I was able to drop off pretty easily. Sleep had just overtaken me when I was jerked awake by someone lifting my blankets and crawling into bed with me.