Page 4 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

“Girl, please.” She starts massaging her temples. “I almost killed you during your college years. You put us through hell with your bullshit independence.”

“I’m not explaining my reasons for that again,” I say, pointing at her. “Let’s stay focused on the present, please.”

“Fine. Please go on, princess.” She drains the last of her third glass of wine.

“Well we’ve been having arguments because Mason is overly protective of me, and it’s driving me a little crazy. For some reason, he feels responsible for my kidnapping—even though he wasn’t there. It’s made him start acting like my bodyguard as much as he acts like my boyfriend. He tries to control everything. And I’ve never been very good at being controlled.”

She takes a deep breath. “Yeah. That’s something Chase and I went through. First, you know that’s just part of who they are. That’s what they do for a living—SEALs protect people. They control people. It’s hard for them to do that at work and then completely turn it off when they get home. It took years for Chase to turn that down and he’s not nearly as alpha as Mason. You probably need to give him a break. But, bottom line, he’s never going to lose that completely. So you either learn how to live with it or the relationship isn’t going to work.”

That’s not the advice I wanted. I was hoping she would have a magic solution—like a pill Mason could take to turn down the alpha a little bit.

“And second,” she continues, “the reason he feels responsible for the kidnapping is precisely because he wasn’t there. He and his team worked the mission with you from day one. Then not to be there when the shit really went down—that’s a tough pill for these guys to swallow. Add in the way he feels about you, and I’m sure it’s enough to make his head feel like it’s going to explode. He thinks he failed you and failed at the mission. These guys don’t like to fail and they rarely do. It’s tough on them.”

“So what you’re telling me is that I’m the problem. That I need to let him control me because of the way he’s programmed.”

“I’m saying because of the way he’s programmed, he’s going to control things one way or another. Whether you can tolerate it is up to you. Do you think you can give him a little control here and there?”

“Yeah. I mean, I do already. There are areas where I don’t mind it at all.”

“Sexually.” She nods her head way too enthusiastically.

“Oh my God! I didn’t say that.”

“But the sex is great, right? You know what I’m saying. When they get all alpha and take control—”

“Mar! You’re like my mom. Stop it.” I bury my face in my hands and then peer through my fingers at her. “But yeah. It’s out of this world. Like crazy good.”

She makes a check mark in the air with her finger. “Knew it,” she says smugly. “And that’s part of what’s blinding you from reality. No judgment on that part though. Get yours, you know?”

“Oh my God. No more wine for you. You’re out of control.”

She stands up suddenly, swaying slightly. “I’m going to the bathroom. It will give you ample time to think about how right I am about everything.”

I watch her until the click of her stilettos fades away into the restaurant. I know she’s right about the blissful bubble. Since Mason moved here, we’ve survived on a steady diet of sex and surfing—absolutely no real-world problems allowed. It’s been breathtaking. But in the last few weeks, a few ugly issues have been trying to creep into our utopia.

Captain Culver—Mason’s old boss—called him last week and asked him to take control of his SEAL team again. The guy who replaced him was injured and won’t be back for months. Mason said no, but I can tell he wanted to say yes. He misses that life. It’s something I don’t understand—that absolute love for your job. My dad felt that way about the teams, too. He told me he thought about quitting every day after I was born. He never did, though. And sixteen years later, he died on the job. I can’t take another man I love dying that way. Mason knows that, but it doesn’t make him miss the job any less.

My old boss, George, has been calling me, too. He wants me to come back to the CIA. I have absolutely no interest in going back. I chose that career path only to find out who my mom was and who killed her. I spent eight years focused on almost nothing else. I know the truth now. I have no need to be at the agency anymore. And, more importantly, I have no desire to be there. My biggest problem is that I have no idea what I want to do with my life now.

Mason’s regretting his decision. I can’t make a decision. It’s all threatening the bubble. I hate when Mariel is right. But it looks like reality might be starting to set in. All I want to do right now is go home and cuddle up on the couch with Mason—maybe keep the bubble intact for at least one more night.

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