Page 13 of Fall Back
“It’s working out,” he bites out, his words strong and immoveable.
I’m not sure why he’s so confident, but I swear I feel a little bit of it seep into me, forging the feelings I have for this man intostronger stuff. He might be right that it will work out, but just in case, I hope he knows how serious I am.
Jared deserves to have someone listen to him when the days are long and hard. I’d be honored if it were me. No matter what else happens.
CHAPTER 6
JARED
The sun is just starting to go down as I lean against the side of my truck parked in the back of Big Sky Ink. In the last week since our first date, Carson and I have hung out as much as possible. It’s easy being around her and I find myself craving it and dreading whenever I leave her place.
Because I haven’t spent the night yet even though I want to. Desperately.
She’s all settled in and unpacked, but she still hasn’t let her brothers know she’s in town. I also heard her parents have pulled their RV back into their spot on Limitless land and are planning on staying until after Eden gives birth to their next grandchild.
If that’s true, then Carson is going to have a lot to answer for. But she doesn’t need me to tell her that. She knows her family better than I do even with the amount of time I spent with them growing up.
Getting to know Carson as the adult woman she is has been eye opening. There’s so much I’ve learned about her and I’m not sure how much of it I would have found out years ago if I had opened my eyes. But, then again, I don’t think it would have been the right time for either of us.
I was so damn set on joining the military and leaving Wintervale. Nothing was going to deter me and it’s not like I regret my years of service either.
Carson was just as determined to leave, but for different reasons. She needed to go out there and find her path while chasing her dreams. And she did it.
The fact that today is her first day at Big Sky proves just how far she’s come. She might be back where it all started, but she achieved what she left town to do. She apprenticed and became a tattoo artist, and she’s made a career out of her art.
I’m so fucking proud of her and deeply impressed. Not everyone could have left home without much more than a notion and the will to make it happen.
I haven’t asked her to yet, but I’m looking forward to her putting her art on me.
In the time we’ve spent together, I’ve discovered her sharp wit. She uses it as a defense when she needs it. Because she has a rather soft heart.
I’ve seen it when she talked about the people she worked with at Vibrant Ink. From the way she talks about them, it’s clear they became family to her. Tamping down the jealousy I feel isn’t always easy, but I manage. It’s not like any of them are here with her, though they text and call fairly frequently.
It’s not like I can be mad about people caring about my girl. She deserves to have people at her back and I’m glad she had it when she was in Denver. It makes me feel better about her being there.
And about her being back here.
Now I can be there when she needs me.
The backdoor of the shop opening has me looking up to find Carson pulling a clip out of her hair. The long dark strands fall around her shoulders and down her back, the vision making me swallow hard as my dick strains against the fly of my jeans.
Fuck, I want her.
I haven’t been with anyone in a while. But now my dick only wants one woman. The thought of anyone else touching me makes me feel gross. I’m also not going to rush her.
Even though we grew up together, we haven’t known each other as adults for very long. It’ll happen between us when it happens.
But I know it’s going to happen.
The tension between us zips and zings any time we’re close to each other. It’s distracting as fuck. I’m not the only one who feels it either.
Carson’s cheeks turn the sexiest shade of pink whenever she blushes. Depending on what she’s wearing, I’ll get a peek at her nipples hardening and begging for my mouth.
After Carson shakes out her hair, which does nothing to make the whole thing less sexy, she looks up and sees me. The way her brown eyes light up makes my heart pound in my chest.Knowing she’s as excited to see me, the same way I am to see her, settles something in my chest.
“Hey,” she greets me, “what are you doing here?”
“I wanted to find out how your first day went,” I tell her honestly.
