Page 28 of Dare to Fall

But instead, I said, “Yes.”

Garth

I had no intention of even talking to Eva Barnes, let alone dancing with her. I had downed another glass of bourbon just to keep my palms from twitching at the sight of her swaying her sweet hips back and forth. But all I got was a heavy buzz laced with thick desire. Song after song ticked by as I tried to concentrate on Lucas babbling about some new research project he wanted to start for leukemia. All the while, my eyes never left her.

She was an enigma, and I wanted to take all the time in the world to figure her out.

When I saw her last, she was dressed in some preppy sorority outfit that did nothing to highlight her dark and sensual features. It was as though she were dressing for someone other than herself. But the moment she walked through the doors of Bloom 31, I knew my eyes beheld the truest version of Eva Barnes. She walked with confidence in her tall heels and leather miniskirt. The way she danced told me there was a side to her that not many people got to see—a side that was free from anything that wanted to hold her down.

I knew she was trouble and that I should have stayed away, but the moment I saw her gorgeous face fall after that asshole turned away from her kiss, I couldn’t help myself. While their issues were unbeknownst to me, there was one thing I knew. There was no way in hell I was going to have her night be ruined because some douchebag turned her away. Something deep in my bones pulled me from the bar, and the closer I got to her, the more difficult it became to turn around.

As I stood behind her, the sweet scent of lilac filled my senses. A need so strong it took my breath away coursed through me while I watched her move in time with the music. She was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen, and I didn’t understand how anyone could have walked away from her when I was struggling just to breathe in her presence.

It took all I had not to kiss her deep red lips as my thumb grazed her chin. I knew she wasn’t mine, and I didn’t want to fuck with her head any more than it had already been tonight. So, I settled for a dance, unsure of what her response would be as her chocolate-brown eyes flicked back and forth between my own.

I could sense conflict in her as she mulled over what to say, and for some reason, it pained me that she could have said no. It was all new to me. The incessant need to be close to her when she was around. The intrusive thoughts of her witty tongue and long silky hair drove me mad when I wasn’t with her. None of it made sense. I hardly knew the woman, and she was clearly already involved with someone else. Yet, my body called to her—mymindcalled to her—in a way it never had with any woman before.

So when she said yes, I pulled her into my arms, and we danced. It started out slow, our bodies melding together with every beat. With the passing of every song, I could feel her hesitation fall away as her body moved sensually against my own. Her eyes were so bright against the darkness of the club, and every time I looked into them, I found myself drifting dangerously closer to her lips. Then, I’d remind myself that she wasn’t mine and this was only a dance.

As “Hurricane”by Halsey blared through the speakers, Eva finally let go of the last string of tension that was holding her back. Grasping onto my biceps, she leaned her chest back, hands threading through her hair while she ground her hips against me. My hands were firm against the small of her back as I took in the sight of what it was like to see her completely uninhibited.

It was breathtaking, watching her find herself in every passing beat of the song.

I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to spend eternity drinking her in, feeling the firmness of her curves as she leaned into me.

“Hey! What the fuck are you doing, Eva?”

My eyes snapped to the same guy who had rejected her in the booth. I pulled her up into me just as he reached out to grab her arm.

“Don’t touch her,” I growled. Eva was shaking against me, and it made me want to pummel the guy.

“She’smygirlfriend, asshole. Get your hands off her.” He reeked of marijuana, and his eyes were glazed over, hardly open.

I looked down to Eva, and that same conflict that had melted away reappeared. She looked between me and him, unsure of what to do.

Pulling her in closer, I leaned down to whisper into her ear, “You don’t have to go with him, Eva.” It was all I could say. The only words I could find.

But they weren’t enough.

“Yes, I do,” she said as she dipped out from under my arm and took a step toward him.

He swung his arm over her, and she teetered from the weight of him. I took a step forward, ready to catch her if she fell. The guy smirked at me as he pulled her in for a wet kiss. She didn’t pull away, but I could tell she was uncomfortable, because her entire body went rigid.

I’d never been a violent person, but watching her kiss him was like swallowing a hot iron rod. It burned in such an excruciating way it turned the entire world red. There was nothing I could do. She wasn’t mine to look after, so I had to believe there was a part of her that would win out and rise above whatever bullshit this guy was putting her through.

I knew the moment he broke the kiss and she turned to me, those bright-brown eyes now dulled with pain, the time for her to rise up was not tonight.

15

Beep,beep, beep.

My eyes creaked open, and I immediately squeezed them shut from the assault of the sun blazing through my window. Sharp pain shot through my skull as I leaned over and slammed my hand against the top of my alarm clock. I fell back into my pillow, rubbing both temples with my thumbs. The events of last night came flooding into my mind. As I watched Eva walk away from me on the dance floor, conceding to her drunk date, I decided to drown my irritation with more bourbon.

Lucas wasn’t exactly a help as he cheered me on, mostly so he wouldn’t look like a fool for doing the same thing alone. He had his own sorrows to drown, and I happened to be the perfect wingman as I glared at Eva’s date from across the club. I didn’t understand how someone who could hold the world in the palm of her hand could let herself be pushed around by a raging asshole.

The moment I saw him turn away from her kiss in that booth, I knew there was something wrong with him. And when he decided to aggressively reach for her arm, the only thing I wanted to do was whisk her away from the grief he caused her. My stomach roiled as I remembered the feeling of watching her walk away from me with bleak eyes.

Another stab of pain shot through my head, chasing away the memories of last night. I desperately needed coffee and aspirin if I was going to get through the day. Gently rolling over onto my side, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand to check my email.

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