Page 3 of Falling for Fallon

Chapter Two

Carson knew FallonFoster belonged to them the moment he and Silas knelt beside her on the side of the road.Her gaze connected with his, and the earth shifted on its axis.It felt as though he’d been looking for their “one” forever.It seemed sappy and cliché, but it was true, nonetheless.When he’d least expected it, she’d appeared… walking along the side of the fucking road.He’d lost his heart between one beat and the next… then he’d seen the fading bruise on her cheek and lost his damned mind.

“Who hurt you?”There must have been something in the tone of his voice that alerted the beauty at his feet to a dangerous shift in his demeanor.Fallon’s pulse, so easy to see thundering at the base of her throat, kicked up several notches as she tried to scoot away from him.The quick movement made her groan as nerve endings numbed by adrenaline suddenly reawakened, and pain surged to the surface.

“We won’t hurt you, sweetheart… well, not unless you ask nicely.”Silas gave her what Tobi West called his panty-melting grin.Jen McCall referred to it as Silas’s get out of jail free card after he’d seen her buying a pregnancy test in a nearby community and alerted Sam McCall.Sam immediately blabbed to his brother, and both her husbands were on her like superglue.When she’d confronted Silas, he’d flashed her an unrepentant smile that made Jen laugh despite her best effort to remain pissed.

Carson watched as Fallon’s eyes widened briefly before she caught the underlying sexual innuendo.When she looked at the ground rather than answering his question, Carson shook his head in frustration.Damn it all to hell, he’d watched his mom make excuses for unexplained bruises and flat out deny their existence his entire life.After moving to college, Carson’s visits became less frequent when he could no longer deal with his dad’s abuse and his mom’s denial.

“Who hurt you, Fallon?”Carson had no intention of letting her off without answering.He hadn’t built a multi-million-dollar business by letting details slide.

“My ex-boyfriend.Note, I said ex… as in former.”Either Fallon was feeling the effects of a head injury, or they were getting a glimpse of her personality in an unguarded moment.Carson considered sassy women a bonus—you had the intellectual challenge and the bonus of a sweet ass to paddle.

“So noted.”Carson gave her a quick nod, letting her know he’d heard her, but it damned well didn’t mean he was finished asking questions.He admitted to being a tenacious bastard but also understood the value of strategic timing.“Why were you walking, Cher?This isn’t a well-traveled road.Catching a ride out here would be a crapshoot at best.”

“The odds of getting blasted with dirt are pretty impressive, and getting smacked by a monster mirror was a piece of cake.”This time, when she tried to get to her feet, he and Silas helped her stand.Keeping their hands on her until she was steady meant they were close enough to hear her muttered, “And being rescued by two hot guys was easy-breezy.”Silas looked at Carson, their gazes easily meeting over Fallon’s head.

“Where were you headed, sweetheart?”It seemed Silas was going to play the good cop and let Carson play bad cop.They were roles the two of them easily traded back and forth, so it wasn’t difficult for either to follow the other’s lead.

“Have you ever heard of the Prairie Winds Club?I was supposed to report to work there…” Fallon looked at her bare wrist and sighed.“Damn, I keep forgetting I left my… ummm, I mean, I don’t have a watch anymore.No matter, I’m sure I’m late.Crispy critters and alphabet soup, I hope I don’t lose out on the position because of a flat tire.”

“So, you’re the new bartender?”Carson watched as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth, her brows drawing together as she nodded.

“I did some—well, actuallya lotof bartending in college.It will take a while to straighten out some challenges with my pharmacy license.The stupid jackass I dated put the skids on my transfer.”

The last was whispered so softly, Carson would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking at her.His computer skills would make looking into her background easy enough, but Carson preferred she told them what they needed to know.No matter how justified the search, it would feel a lot like stalking unless he was convinced her safety was at stake.

The line between a Dom’s care and a submissive’s right to privacy was blurry at best and too often ignored for Carson’s peace of mind.He’d made millions using technology to gain information people wanted to keep private, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand the moral implications of using his skills to spy on a woman he was interested in.

“We’ll be happy to give you a lift to Prairie Winds and vouch for you about the flat, but I can assure you, the club owners’ only concern will be that you were on a seldom-used road in a car they won’t deem road-worthy.We were already headed that way.Kent and Kyle asked us to show the new bartender around the club.”

Silas was a born flirt.He blamed his upbringing, but his friends all insisted it was a personality trait.Carson had seen Silas’s charm turn on and off like a switch, so he was convinced it was more a tool than a trait.

“Honestly, no one should ever trade my luck for talent.I can’t believe I have been busted by a couple of dominants charged with giving me the grand tour of my new workplace.Seriously, how do Ialwaysmanage to stumble into these things?”

Carson couldn’t hold back his chuckle at her frustrated muttering—if they paid close attention, he had a feeling he and Silas would learn more from her self-talk than from a regular conversation.

*

Fallon would havefigured they were joking if she hadn’t recognized her usual battle with fate.Honestly, this was exactly the sort of thing that should send up all sorts of warning flags.She should call a repair service, get the tire fixed, then get back on the road.Sure, she’d disappoint her mom’s friend, Lilly West.She’d only met the woman a few times and liked her, but that didn’t mean she should ignore all the signs of impending disaster and stay.

“Cher, I’d suggest you push all those thoughts of running right out of your head.”

“Disappointing Lilly West is never a good idea.Remember, we’re talking about the woman who thinks blowing things up is great fun and should be an Olympic sport.”

Silas gave her a conspiratorial wink, making her wonder if he was joking or serious about Lilly blowing up stuff.Geez, Louise.You’d think that was a detail my mom would have mentioned.

The romance novels that filled Fallon’s e-reader focused on the dominant and submissive lifestyle.The men she’d dated were on two ends of the spectrum—those who were so meek, she hadn’t even considered mentioning the things she’d wanted to try, or they were wannabe Doms, who mistook controlling for dominance.Fallon had a habit of putting herself in poor company.Poor decisions… one of the traits she’d inherited from her parents.

Carson grabbed her backpack as Silas led her to the pickup.It was easy to see the two were used to working together.Their movements appeared almost choreographed.She briefly wondered if they shared their women.She was going to have to rein in her curiosity about kink, at least until she was no longer working at Prairie Winds.Gawking at the clientele was the fastest way she knew to lose a job.

As a pharmacist, Fallon walked a fine line between interacting with customers, making certain they knew she was concerned with their health, asking questions to make sure they understood the instructions, and what side effects they might experience as opposed to asking questions they considered intrusive and judgmental.

Getting involved with her boss had been an epic mistake.During her cross-country trek, she’d turned the promises to herself to make better decisions into a mantra—repeating it over and over, hoping it took root.The realization she could well be on the cusp of making another rash decision, Fallon stopped.The move was so sudden, the men took a couple of steps before realizing she was no longer beside them.

“Fallon?”The man who’d introduced himself as Silas paused, his expression thoughtful as he turned to her.

She didn’t know these men.Was she a fool for letting them lead her to their truck?There was something about them her heart trusted, but her head was screaming at her to remember the nightmare she’d just escaped.Fallon appreciated her strengths, but after the disaster with Hagen, she recognized her habit of trusting the wrong men.Silas and Carson exchanged a look she couldn’t interpret, and it took every bit of her self-control to keep from taking a step back.

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