Page 46 of Fall Into Me

Fuck. My list was on the stupid fridge.

I didn’t realize how close I’d planted myself. Originally, I felt like being toe to toe with him would make me more intimidating. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that was a stupid thing to assume, but I couldn’t very well step back now.

I wasn’t going to retreat, no matter how uncomfortable things got.

I cleared my throat. “Whatever, and don’t call me ma’am.” I turned my glare up to him, craning my neck as far back as I could go, just to see Fane staring down at me with a small smirk already in place. “And you’re driving.”

I turned on my heels and stalked to the front door, urging myself not to react outwardly in the slightest at his reply. Even when the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I could feel my heart galloping in my chest like a wild horse.

“Yes, ma’am.”

This was my last chance. I knew I was entirely on my own. The mayor was a dick that looked like he’d barely graduated from high school, and if what he said was true, then Fane was the be all and end all.

My one and only shot.

16

Calista

After

“What do you see?” I instructed Fane to park his truck right next to the park in the center of town, and I was sure we looked a little peculiar standing in the middle of it staring at the children’s playground.

This was very much atrust the processtour.

Fane’s hand shot up, and a very satisfied grin graced his face. Iknewthis was going to come back and bite me in the ass.

“Yes?” I sighed.

“Am I allowed to answer without raising my hand every time?”

“God, I just want to—” I cut myself off, opting to take a deep breath instead.

“Spank me?” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and my hand twitched at my side.

“Was that twitch because youdowant to spank me? Or you just really want to exercise your right to use your middle finger?”

“I’m sure you can figure it out.” I leveled him with my most unimpressed look.

“It’s both, isn’t it?”

I opted to say nothing because if I moved even a single muscle on my face, he’d know what I was thinking.

He was being too familiar. Too much like that person I’d binded myself to. I didn’t want to laugh or smile and joke. I didn’t want toplaywith this version of him that was cheeky and lighthearted and often made it a point to end every interaction with me out of my clothes and moaning his name.

“What do I see?” His features relaxed into something that resembled some type of seriousness when he realized he was going to get nothing more from me.

I watched him stand across from me, the bluebird day balancing him out. All bright and light where he was dark and mysterious. I have no idea how he did it, but he looked both out of place and like he grew right where he stood.

“Yes.” I could feel his surprise without needing to look at his face. In the last week, if Fane so much as blinked funny, I would have probably bitten his head off. When I wasn’t ignoring his existence, of course.

But not here. Not when this wasn’t about him and me, not when something so much more important hung in the balance.

“Grass?”

“Are youaskingme if you see grass?” I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and found him genuinely looking around the park with a crinkle between his brows. I couldn’t see his eyes hidden behind the darkened lenses of his sunglasses, but I could imagine the way they’d be tracking over every inch of the space around us like I’d walked him right into an active minefield andprovided him instructions on getting safely out in the form of a silent, interpretive dance.

“Grass.” It was a statement that time, and I couldn’t stop the roll of my eyes or the smile that wanted to crack through without permission. If I thought he’d miss it, I was sorely mistaken.

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