Page 7 of Reese’s Protection

I jumped and smashed my hip into the corner of his workbench. Wincing in pain, I offered him a weak smile as I turned and took the mug of hot chocolate from him. The fall weather was starting to get chilly, so it was the perfect time for chocolate. “Thanks.”

He nodded sharply, a strand of hair slipping from his bun to hang against his cheek as he took a sip of his drink.

“You like it?” He pointed at the coffee table he’d made.

“Fuck yeah, it’s awesome. I’m guessing it’s for the club.” I blew on the hot chocolate as steam curled upward. I didn’t know much about the Kings of Men, but I’d heard rumors. Knox was good friends with one of the bikers called Jester, and I’d seen the hulk of a man a few times but never talked to him. They didn’t seem as bad as the cops and news made them out to be.

“Yeah. It’s a prize for some contest the pres is holding.” He drank his chocolate with ease, and I cringed. Wasn’t it burning his mouth? Clearly not. Or he had the strength of a god, which was entirely possible, since he was built like one. “You want to tell me about your ex?”

I froze. “What about him?”

His eyebrows rose. “Everything. What do I need to know?”

I brushed my thumb around the rim of the mug and considered his question. I’d thought I’d known Jeremy when I’d moved in with him, but it turned out what he’d shown me was a facade. He’d been sweet and charming but turned into a head case who blamed everything on me.

If he was late to work, it was my fault.

When his mom was scandalized by my tattoos, it was my fault. Well, at least that one had some basis in reality. I did have tattoos.

Hell, he even blamed his sister’s husband’s cheating on me, and all because I talked to Mal one time when Jeremy wasn’t around. Apparently, that meant I’d convinced Mal to have an affair.

“He was nice. Once. Everyone fawned over him, and I thought I was lucky to have his attention.” I raised the mug to my lips and slurped, grimacing as the hot chocolate scalded the inside of my mouth. But the burn also felt nice—it took me away from thinking about Jeremy for a few seconds. “But then, things changed. He started yelling and accusing and all that shit. I put up with it. He was having a hard time at work.”

The muscle in Knox’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t interrupt.

“His crap-itude continued for months, and Layton tried to convince me to leave multiple times. I couldn’t. Every time I thought about it, Jeremy apologized and told me he was really sad, as if that was an excuse.” I shrugged, my chest squeezing around my hammering heart as the memories rolled through my mind, a personal horror movie playing out. “When my aunt kicked me out at eighteen, she ranted that men shouldn’t be weak and should take care of themselves, and I guess that got locked into my brain. I stuck with him because I thought I shouldn’t let some shittiness get to me.”

Layton’s words were a loop in my head. “You need to leave him, Reese. He’ll resort to physical violence next. I’ve seen it and what it does to a person. Please let me help you.” I didn’t accept his support until it was nearly too late.

“Then, Jeremy hit me. I knew it was only the beginning, so I called Layton and he came right over. I didn’t even pack all my stuff. I grabbed what I could and just got out of there.” My grip on the mug tightened and the warmth against my palm reminded me I was here, away from the man who’d nearly broken me. “He accused me of cheating with Layton as I left, shouted for all the neighbors to hear, not that it was anything new. They’re used to his outbursts. I went with Layton and never looked back.”

Knox cleared his throat. “When did he start stalking you?”

Was it really stalking? I didn’t know. Sometimes I worried I was being dramatic. Jeremy had done a good job of making me feel like I didn’t really know what was happening around me. I didn’t trust my instincts as much as I did before him.

“This is the second time this week I’ve run into him. The first was on Tuesday. I thought it was a coincidence.” I sipped my hot chocolate, then forced myself to look at Knox. “I don’t think it was, especially not tonight. He hates clubs, says they’re too loud, and well, you saw. He fucking tried to drag me out of there.”

“Right.” He set his mug on the workbench behind me and crossed his arms. “Then you’re staying here until he gets the message.”

“I don’t⁠—”

He held up his hand, and I stopped talking. “I’m not going to force you to do it, because I’m not Jeremy, but I’m asking you to stay. For Layton and you. Like I said, I want my brother safe, too.”

How could I say no? I didn’t want anything to happen to Layton, and I didn’t know what Jeremy was capable of. “Okay, I’ll stay here. But does the offer tomorrow still stand? Will you fuck me if I still want you to?” My gaze slid down his chest, covered in a tight-fitting white shirt, and over his broad shoulders. The muscles in his arms flexed, and my mouth watered.

Crickets on a cracker. I needed this man more than a fish needed water.

He chuckled, a sound I didn’t think I’d heard before, and it startled me into stepping back in surprise. The mug nearly slipped out of my hands and I caught it at the last moment. Hot chocolate splashed over my jeans, and I hissed, slamming the mug on the workbench and hopping on one leg, as if that would help me get rid of the hot liquid seeping through my pants.

“Motherbleeper.”

Knox rushed forward. “Take them off.”

“If this is your way of getting me out of my pants, all you had to do was ask,” I said, before I could stop running my mouth.

He cocked his head, a smirk pulling at his delicious lips. “You’re the one who spilled hot chocolate on yourself. You wanna get out of them or not?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”