Page 1 of Falling for Fallon

Chapter One

“It’s too fuckinghot for this shit.”Fallon Foster gave the flat tire on her junker car one last kick before surveying the desolate stretch of highway surrounding her.The jerky movement shifted the heavy backpack she’d shouldered off one side.Stumbling to maintain her balance, she cursed a blue streak when her hip slammed into the car’s solid fender.“Son of a fat fairy, no wonder this thing guzzles gas like a Sherman Tank… itisa tank.”Fallon rubbed the aching spot on her hip and grumbled, “Just what I need, another damned bruise.”

Fallon pulled the front strands of her jet-black hair into a ponytail on top of her head, leaving the rest of the thick mass tumbling down her back as she looked down the road, sighing in frustration.

“This is what I get for taking a GPS shortcut.This whole trip has been a special form of cruel and unusual punishment.Who knew the penalty for terrible taste in men was so severe?The Universe needs to get a sense of humor.”

She hadn’t seen another vehicle for so long, she wondered if she’d missed a road-closed warning.Fallon had never lived in a place where there weren’t cars and trucks surrounding her 24/7.Being all alone beside a highway was eerie.

“Might as well get a move on.”Rolling her eyes, she muttered under her breath, “Probably better stop talking to yourself, Fallon, before someone drops a net over you.Damn.”

Lost in thought, Fallon didn’t hear the roaring of an approaching vehicle until it was close… much too close.The newer model sports car swerved at the last moment, barely missing her.The speeding vehicle veered off the road, sending up a dust cloud so thick, Fallon stumbled back onto the road.There was no way she wanted to risk falling into the ditch.The grass was so tall, she couldn’t see the ground.Just the thought of getting too close was terrifying.This might be her first visit to the Lone Star state, but she’d seen enough westerns to be leery of thick prairie grass.

They have snakes in Texas, right?I’m sure they have rattlesnakes.And there are probably other poisonous things slithering around in that mess.

Fallon made the mistake of telling her ex-boyfriend she didn’t like the slithering creatures, and he’d made it his mission to turn her discomfort into full-blown terror.A month ago, she’d opened the door of her beloved sports car to find a snake curled up on the driver’s seat.After slamming the door closed, with enough force to make the small car rock side to side, she’d sold it for pennies on the dollar and bought the tank currently sitting fifty yards behind her.

My first mistake was getting involved with my boss.

Her life started spiraling out of control the moment she met Hagen Brody.Fallon worked her ass off to become a licensed pharmacist.It had taken her a year longer than her peers, but Fallon was debt-free when she’d finally walked across the stage to accept her diploma.Hagen’s family owned a chain of stores scattered across the northeast, and she’d been thrilled to land what seemed like a plum position.At first, Fallon had been flattered by his obsessive need to know where she was at any given moment, naively thinking it was sweet he appeared so concerned about her safety.By the time she recognized his controlling behavior for what it was, she was already caught up in a cycle of physiological abuse.

Fallon heard the engine and whine of tires on hot asphalt a split second before pain exploded in her left side, and her body flew into the air as her feet left the ground.She wondered how everything around her was moving in slow motion as darkness closed in around her.

*

“I hope theclub isn’t too busy tonight.Kent said they have a new bartender starting and asked if we’d show her around.It sounds like she’ll be working at the club until she gets her pharmacy license transferred from New York to Texas.”

Silas cast his friend a questioning look, wondering how the Wests had come on the woman’s radar.While the Wests were certainly public figures, pharmacists weren’t ordinarily on their recruitment list.

“I know what you are thinking.I wondered as well.Kent said this girl is the third cousin twice removed from Lilly’s hairdresser’s neighbor.”

“What the hell?”Silas had grown up in a hippy community, where bullshit and trash talk were more common than not, but nothing had prepared him for the nonsense Special Forces operatives spouted.There were times, it was almost impossible to separate fact and fiction.In the years he’d been a member of the Masters of the Prairie Winds Club, Silas discovered the more outlandish the tale, the more likely it was factually accurate.The place had a remarkably diverse membership.Prairie Winds Club members were a damned interesting group, and he’d come to think of them as an eccentric extended family.

“He was kidding… mostly, or at least I think he was joking.Hell, with Kent, it’s hard to tell, and Lilly is a wild card, so anything is possible.”

Kent and Kyle West’s mother, Lilly, kept her husbands and sons on their toes.Polyamorous relationships were nothing new to Silas—he’d learned at an early age, love didn’t always fit society’s definition of normal.

“Have you finished setting up Lilly’s computer network?”Silas was curious about his friend’s latest project at the elder Wests’ household.Carson kept his fellow Doms entertained with his stories about setting up the small network Lilly requested.The project kept expanding in scope and cost, but Dean and Del West just laughed when Carson presented the most recent estimate.Lilly’s husbands had shaken their heads and assured him the equipment was less expensive than heavy artillery and bail money.

Lilly West’s love for explosives and large weapons was well known.Her most recent adventure involved working with off-duty military officers she’d befriended.The group had blown up a small rowboat anchored in a lake near one of the local military bases.As it turned out, the mannequins in the boat were a little too life-like for the nearby group of drone enthusiasts who alerted the police.Lilly told Silas that Deputy Fife hadn’t listened when she and her friends explained they’d already secured permission from the proper authorities.

“I’m telling you, Barney is alive and well.He lives in the next county, and I hope Andy doesn’t give him a bullet.”

The major and two captains were released to the base’s commanding officer, but the over-zealous deputy insisted Lilly be held until her bond hearing.Del and Dean showed up with cash and an attorney.The young woman serving as Lilly’s legal counsel had only been with the prestigious firm a short time, but she was well known by everyone at Prairie Winds.Lindy Timish worked as a nanny for several club families and was considered under the protection of the men and women.The submissives admired her for standing up to the Doms when they tried to micromanage different facets of her life.The Dom’s adored her fierce spirit, and they’d continued interfering in her life more than she knew, but not as much as they’d wanted.

Silas might have felt sorry for the young woman if he hadn’t been impressed by the way she handled Cameron Barnes.Cam was considered one of the CIA’s most valued assets.He thought of himself as retired—the agency saw the situation differently.Silas worked with Cam occasionally and respected his work ethic and instincts.The man’s resources were second to none, and his network of contacts was so extensive, there wasn’t a chance in hell the agency would ever let him go.

Looking at Carson, Silas chuckled.They’d both heard the story of Lilly’s arrest from the spirited woman herself.Silas had been relieved the experience hadn’t dampened her spirit.

“I’m sure Lindy’s impassioned speech at Lilly’s bond hearing was a proud moment for Cam and CeCe.”

Carson laughed out loud at the understatement.

“Lindy is the only person I know who gains the upper hand with Cam.If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the two are related.”

“Chloe is going to give Cam a run for his money as well.After all, she’s had a hell of a role model.”Chloe Barnes was already testing the limits with her parents’ patience.She and her brother were both academically gifted, and their polar opposite personalities made the Barnes household challenging.

“Aside from the new bartender’s interesting six degrees of separation, what do you know about her?”Silas enjoyed playing at the club but wasn’t interested in settling down with one woman unless they could find one they both wanted.He and Carson had discussed sharing a wife; their only challenge was finding one who appealed to them both.It wasn’t easy to find a woman willing to meet the demands of two sexual dominants with different goals.

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