Page 25 of Falling for Fallon

Chapter Thirteen

Watching Carson leadFallon into the bathroom made him pause his frantic striptease.Damn, she was stunning and completely unaware of the effect she had on everyone she came into contact with.He and Carson stood aside all night, watching and wondering how anyone so perfect stayed single for so long.Fate.It was the only explanation.

Her radiant smile lit up the entire bar, drawing people in without making the slightest effort.He’d never seen so many people linger around the bar.Ordinarily, the Doms were more than happy to send one of the club’s trainees for whatever they needed.Tonight Doms and subs alike seemed to make the bar the center of attention.Their reaction wasn’t difficult to understand.Fallon radiated positive energy.There was a certain mystical vibration moving around her others might not understand, but Silas’s background was different.He recognized energy shifts in people before anyone else detected a problem.Hell, it was one of the reasons he’d been so successful in security work.Being able to predict someone’s behavior in advance gave him an enormous advantage.

It had only taken him one look to recognize her as theirs.She’d looked up, and the world shifted on its axis—equal parts gut-punch and relief.Now, watching her pert ass walk from the room, he sent up a silent prayer of thanks for the chance to make her theirs.Keeping her safe was their first concern.He hoped like hell Lilly West could shine a light on Fallon’s parents’ background.Hagan Brody had mentioned the puzzle, but none of them wanted to solve it until Carl returned.Maybe they were being paranoid, but that damned Tom Hanks movie where a wrong answer destroyed the contents kept playing in his head.

Whatever Fallon’s dad slipped inside the cylinder had been important, or he wouldn’t have made certain she had it.The timing was too perfect, and Silas didn’t believe in coincidences.The Universe never takes a chance, son.His mother’s often-repeated words moved through his mind as he finished undressing.

Making his way into the bathroom, Silas was grateful he’d taken the time to come upstairs a few minutes ago to set up everything.A silver platter of fruit and cheese, surrounded by crackers and pieces of French bread, sat on a low table beside the sunken tub.Bubbles almost a foot high when he left had barely settled despite Fallon lying back against the edge.

Carson had piled her hair atop her head in some sort of fancy twist he’d done a hundred times before.The man had a family filled with women and claimed they’d all made him help them with their hair.Silas assumed the story was wishful thinking on his friend’s part until he’d spent a holiday with the rowdy crew and seen the ladies lined up for one of Cousin Carson’s fancydos.It had been the damnedest thing Silas had ever seen.

Silas slipped into the tub, settling close enough to pull her feet into his lap.Stroking his thumbs along the arched curve of her foot, Silas smiled at her soft moan of pleasure.

“Oh, my stars and summer gardens.I swear your hands are pure magic.”The melodic tone of her voice and interesting phrasing made Carson chuckle against her back.

“Cher, if you think Silas’s hands are magic on your feet, you’re in for a real treat when he pushes them deep into your heat.He’ll stroke them over your G-spot, launching you over the moon and into a space so drenched in pleasure, you’ll be convinced you’ll never be the same.”Silas watched the blush of arousal bloom over her heart, then slowly ebb its way up until her cheeks practically glowed.

“The rules for tonight are simple.Relax.Feel.Enjoy.”Silas and Carson knew she was exhausted, but she was also strung too tight to sleep.

He’d been damned proud of how she’d handled the conversation with Kyle West and knew Carson felt the same way.It took most people several encounters with Kyle to understand his communication style—Fallon had seen through his smokescreen immediately.She’d been patient and polite but hadn’t taken the bait when he’d tried to lead the conversation.The look of admiration in Tobi’s eyes was impossible to miss, and Silas was pleased to know her new friend knew exactly when to interject herself into the conversation.

“That’s right, Cher.Let us show you the sweet benefits and perks of having two men focused on your pleasure.”

Tonight had been torture.Silas and Carson had stopped by the bar a few times to check on her, but most of their evening had been consumed with their normal duties as Dungeon Monitors.One of the club’s newest members seemed to think Carson should spend the entire evening entertaining her.He and Silas played with the woman once, and she’d read more into the scene than they intended.Weeks later, she was still obsessed.When Silas asked if they had any connection outside the club, Carson had rolled his eyes.

Carson Scott might refer to himself as an internet jockey, but his resume was damned impressive—not as notable as his bank balance, but still worthy.Coming from a family whose work ethic far exceeded their ability to turn their efforts into cash, Carson took the lessons and left the swamps of East Texas as soon as he could convince a college admittance board he could handle the workload.Acing all their tests before he was old enough to drive caught the attention of one of the college scholarship committee members.

Dell West was so impressed with Carson’s taped interview, he’d anonymously funded the young man’s education.Dean and Dell signed Carson as a contract employee before he’d decided a diploma wasn’t worth the time spent listening to professors droll on about outdated technologies and politics.When he’d argued Dean and Dell should wait to see where he found employment, they’d explained all the reasons he should be independent.Over the years, Carson heard about other instances where the elder Wests quietly helped people become successful.He and Silas vowed to do the same and were looking forward to reaching the point where those opportunities presented themselves.

“We’re from neighboring boroughs.Her family has an over-inflated sense of power and confuses forced compliance with adoration.”

Carson’s response to his inquiry about Nancy Dressler prompted more questions than it answered, but at the time, Silas hadn’t seen a reason to push his friend for an explanation.After this evening, Silas was more than interested.All evening, the woman had pursued Carson relentlessly despite being told no.When Carson refused to explain, Nancy changed tactics.

Standing to the side of the club’s cavernous main room, she’d simply watched.Silas had to give her credit; she was shrewd.She’d quickly locked in on Carson’s interest in Fallon.Her eyes narrowed, and Silas felt as though a cold wind had blown through the damned room.Watching the play of emotions on Nancy’s face, Silas could almost hear her mind spinning with possibilities, and the crease in her brow gave him the distinct impression it would not bode well for Fallon.Making a mental note to discuss the issue with Carson, Silas focused on the woman sitting in front of him.

“Seeing you surrounded by bubbles is a delight, sweetheart.”The soapy froth was quickly diminishing, revealing her taut, pink nipples.Silas was eager to see how much pressure it would take for Fallon to come from nipple clamps.Damn, she was going to look amazing in silver and turquoise.

“Your talented hands are wasted working security.”Silas nodded his thanks; her compliment assured him she was enjoying his touch.“When I was in college, I usually walked to work.It wasn’t far, but the walk home after my shift at the bar was brutal.”

“You walked home after work?Alone?”

Silas smiled to himself, knowing Fallon wasn’t just pressing one of Carson’s hot buttons—she was jumping up and down on the entire keypad with both feet.

“Driving didn’t make sense since I would have had to park so far away, it was actually safer to walk from home.Parking garages in college towns are dangerous.The one I would have had to use was almost the same distance as my apartment, and the neighborhood was nuts.”Fallon must have sensed the tension running through Carson.As a born and bred southern boy, Carson’s need to protect the women in his life was second nature.Add in his sexually dominant personality, and you had a man guaranteed to make their New York subbie crazy.

“Your boss was okay with that arrangement?”Carson’s jaw was set, and he was speaking through clenched teeth.

Silas understood the other man’s frustration, but he felt like his friend was beating a dead horse.

“It wasn’t my boss’s decision, Carson.I know you think I was being careless, but you’re wrong.After I lost my parents, I was more safety conscious than I’d ever been.Yes, I know it was an accident, but that didn’t stop the niggling feeling something wasn’t right.”

“Always listen to your gut, sweetheart.Instinct is rarely wrong.”Silas and Carson would keep a very close eye on her until they were convinced she was no longer in danger.Until they knew what was inside that damned puzzle, it was going to be difficult to let her out of their sight.

Skimming the tips of his fingers up the inside of her leg, Silas was pleased to see her eyes widen as her pupils closed in on the outer ring of color.Within minutes, the three of them were climbing into the mammoth bed the Wests commissioned when they first built the apartment over the club.They’d always planned to share a wife and had left the master suite empty until she made her way into their lives.

“You know what we want, Cher.If you have any reservations, now is the time to voice them.Your safe word will always work, but it will end play until the next day.Use the word yellow if you feel uncertain.That gives us the chance to take a break and address your concerns.We looked over your club information, and everything we’ve planned for you aligns perfectly with your interests.”

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