Page 24 of Perfect Pursuit

“Damn it, Fallon, you know I care about you,” I roar.

“Ahh,” Fallon mocks. “Ethan Kensington can’t handle the guilt of wanting a younger woman. Got it now. Now I know why I’m a convenience for you.”

My voice is strained. “You are far from a convenience. Every time I’m near you, I…I feel this pull.”

“What a damn hardship that must be for you when you’re screwing your way through every eligible woman back home,” she drawls.

My jaw tightens. “There haven’t been as many as you think, and they’re not you.”

Fallon approaches me with a glint in her eyes. I know the next words out of her mouth are going to piss me the hell off. “Then you’re going to be fine knowing I let men make me come with their fingers.”

My fists clench.

“Mouth.”

I force my arms to relax at my sides. I know she’s deliberately trying to antagonize me and I’m falling right into her trap.

Then she slides her hands to my chest before she hisses, “Before they fuck me with their cocks. That is after I’ve sucked them off…Ethan!”

I whirl her around so her back is to my front. One of my arms is wrapped around her collarbone, the other forces her hips back against mine. With my back to the door, no one can see the position we’re in. My lips graze the patch of skin taunting me at the back of her neck.

She lets out a small moan before her whole body stiffens in realization at what I just did. She struggles to break my grip. “Ethan?”

“What, witch?” I want to spin her around and kiss her. Brand her as mine.

Her voice is riddled with unmasked agony when she forces out, “This isn’t the time or the place for this.”

Slowly, I let her out of my arms, ensuring she can stand. She’s right but there’s a part of me that physically doesn’t want to let her go. Unable to fully release her, I continue to grip her hand, leading her over to the farthest set of hospital chairs from the door. I drop into the seat and drag her in front of me. My head crashes into her stomach. As I suck in deep breaths, absorbing her scent as I do, Fallon lifts her hand to run her fingers through my hair. Finally, I admit, “You’re right.”

A sob escapes. “You’ll get used to saying that. Austyn has.”

A shudder runs through my body thinking the driver could have taken Fallon out just as easily as my niece. Her fingers in my hair soothe my craving to deliver pain, my need to be punished. She just eases the ache inside of me. I lift my head and drown in blue, finally admitting something to us both that I hope she remembers long after we leave this room. “No one is like you, Fallon.”

Her hand trembles as she pushes away a stray lock of hair from my forehead. “What do you want from me, Ethan?”

My hand stills hers. “I want you to be happy, witch.”

She rears back as if I’ve just shoved her out of my life. And maybe for a while, I need to. “What are you trying to say, Ethan?”

“I don’t want you to regret what you’re supposed to experience. I want to hear about it. I want to be your best friend, your confidant. Down the line, if…”

“If what?”

“If we find we’re still here…if that leads to more…” I let my words hang heavy in the air between us.

“I don’t understand. Why not now?”

Frustration twists my features as I think of all the obstacles we’d have to overcome to be together while she’s still twenty. “Because now’s not right.”

“That’s not just your decision!” she shouts.

Silence settles between us. Each passing moment where I don’t say anything to reassure her that she’s the one I want. Each moment of silence drives more of a wedge between us instead of demonstrating the desire I feel for her with a relentless force. Finally, I whisper, “I just…I need you to know… to understand…”

“What, Ethan?” When I don’t explain further, she sneers, “Right. Thanks for clarifying.” Fallon turns away, but I whip her back around and bury my face against her stomach.

“Everything in me wants to claim you as mine.” The words come out muffled against her sweatshirt, but by the way she’s no longer fighting to get away from me, she heard them.

The admission hangs between them, heavy and raw, exposing vulnerabilities neither of us is prepared to confront. Outside, the world buzzed with life, oblivious to the silent battle raging within the confines of the hospital waiting room.

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