Page 48 of Fall Into Me

I studied him, and he let me. His expression was still open, and maybe for the first time since he got to town, he was hiding nothing. So, for right now, I decided to believe him. Even though almost every part of me was screaming at how reckless that was, how I knew what happened when I fell into him.

I knew it all, and I still believed him anyway. “Okay.”

It was like he knew that this moment was too much. That we were both missing whatever walls we’d built. If anything, I was grateful to see his cocky little smirk slip back into place.

“So, are you going to take us to the local make-out spot next?”

Gratefulness over.

“Andyou’ve ruined it,” I muttered, turning from him and walking back to his truck.

It was a very nice truck. I’d never known Fane Mackenzie to have such luxurious things, but I could admit that it was nice to see him doing well for himself despite it all.

“I might even let you kiss me again.”

I lifted my middle finger high over my head, keeping my back to him, glad he couldn’t see the way his laughter hit me. Like a punch to the sternum, sharp and unsteady. It was the painful stretch of a muscle unused for far too long. And yet, I leaned into it, because there was relief in knowing it hadn’t just been in my mind. It was as beautiful as I remembered. When it faded, I sank into the peace that it left behind, grateful thatthattoo was just like I remembered.

* * *

Fane ran ahead of me to open my door before we got back into his truck instead of making a comment (again) about how it must be weird for me to get into a car with real, working safety features. And I just said thank you instead of telling him to go sit on a cactus.

It was…nice.

It felt dangerous.

Itwasdangerous to be anything but completely uncivil toward him because if I wasn’t being an asshole, I was going tobe myself. That version of me didn’t hate Fane as much as the other version claimed to.

That tentative peace followed us all the way home. It made the silence that had settled around us not as heavy as it felt at the start of the day.

I stayed in the shower until my fingers pruned, desperate for the hot water to knead my muscles, to dissolve the knots that never loosened. But today? They felt worse. The day had left me wrung out, left with the realization that I was getting too comfortable with having him around. I expected him to fight me with reasons why changing the park would be better for everyone. Instead, I was met with an alarmingly understanding “okay,” and my door opened for me.

I was exhausted.

When I emerged, the smell of Fane’s Chili had taken over the house, weaving its way under the bathroom door and right into my stomach. By the time I joined him on the couch, my defenses had already begun to crack. A bowl of food already waited, being eyed with a severe sort of want by Jerry, whose tail started to wag guiltily when he spotted me.

I didn’t even care about the full-body shiver of delight that moved through me at the literal orgasm my taste buds were having.

“God, you suck,” I mumbled.

“Oh, yeah?” He sounded amused. He soundedwarm. Like I could slip right under his arm and close my eyes. He sounded safe.

I hid the way my stomach dropped and my chest squeezed with a feeling I could only describe as dread.

“Yes.” I nodded into my bowl, pushing past the discomfort of it.

“The insult doesn’t surprise me, but more context would be great so I can make sure I do it again.”

I shot him a halfhearted glare and shoveled another spoonful into my mouth. “You’re still such a good cook. It’s not fair.”

“Should I have lost that skill for some reason?” He pointed his sauce-covered spoon at me, right in front of Jerry, and didn’t even flinch as he started to lick it. “Did you do one of those witchy spells to make my dick fall off?”

I looked over at him with eyes wide and really did try to hide my smile. “You’re telling me itworked?!”

Fane laughed, unrestrained, and it hit me right where it hurt. It wasn’t just the sound—it was the way it tugged at memories better left untouched. The image of him dropping a kiss on my head, whispering something in that same warm, easy voice.

We both knew his dick had absolutely not fallen off. Lest we forget the way I’d all but dry-humped him out the back of Sunshine.

“Oh, you’re thinking of something dirty.” Fane narrowed his eyes on me.

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