Page 13 of Trusting the Fall
A fiery little bombshell commanded me to her will, and with a smile on my face, I’d get on my knees before her again. Goddamn, would I get on my knees again. I’d fucking live there for another taste of her. She made me fucking putty in her hands and I can’t find it in me to be bothered by that.
I’ve never struggled with the ladies, but I’ve always been selective about who I spend my time with. And I’ve never been with someone with that level of tenacity.
Thinking back on my past partners, I realise they’ve always been eager but also more on the reserved side, like a daisy. Soft, noticeable, delicately feminine. My Bombshell, however, was a rose. Striking, demanding attention, covered in thorns, only letting you touch her where she wanted to be touched. Perfectly content to stand on her own, but soft and blooming under the guidance of praise and appreciative hands.
I’ve never found it so fucking hard to walk away from a woman before. I easily could have spent more hours lost in her.
Once I extracted myself like a fly from the honey that was the warm, plum taste that lived on her skin, I spent the rest of the day in a daze. I skipped out early from family dinner with my parents, sisters and cousin and fell into bed before eight. Mum waved me off, none the wiser, with a kiss on my cheek. But Tristan knew better.
When I make it to the staff kitchen, I find Westley absently dunking a tea bag in his thermos, scrolling on his phone with a haunted gaze.
“Morning,” I say, strolling to the sink to rinse out what’s left of the previous coffee and flick on the kettle to reheat.
“Hey, boss.”
“You good?”
He blows out a breath. “Might need to take some leave soon. Found out from my brother that our baby sister is pregnant. Her high school boyfriend, so they’ve been together a few years, but he’s always been a no-hoper. In with the wrong crowd. But Callie’s too nice to realise when she’s stuck in a bad thing.”
I wince. “Your family is still living down south?”
“Trevally Falls.” He nods. “It’s just Caspian and Callie.”
“Just let me know when you need to take off, and we’ll figure it out.”
I slap his shoulder in a friendly gesture as I dump two teaspoons of coffee into my mug and top it with the scalding water.
“Strong coffee there, boss.” I can hear his amusement as his tone shifts from morose to light. “Come to think of it, you’ve been leaning hard on caffeine all week.”
I’m too tired to argue but also too fucking happy to disagree, so I offer him a grin as I stir up the black coffee.
“Worth every sleepless minute.” I salute him with my mug and head back to my desk.
Guys filter in, checking the whiteboard for their tasks for the day, and I get lost in the monotonous job of filling product orders and reviewing budget reports for our open projects.
It’s just after lunch when I feel my eyes going cross-eyed, and I realise I’ve been behind my desk for six hours without a scrap of food.
I stand and stretch my arms over my head before picking up my phone and wallet and heading downstairs to visit the cafe across the street.
The weather’s sitting in that comfortable zone of warm sunshine and cool winds.
September in Heart City brings the start of spring and today is a day I can appreciate the beauty in the peace. I stop along the sidewalk, waiting at the traffic lights until it’s safe to cross. People walk with ease, soaking up the warmth, pausing as they pass the nursery on the corner. The sweet smell of roses dances in the breeze, filling my senses and reminding me of the night I spent with that gorgeous blonde the other night. I roll my lips together, hiding the smug smile that feels like a secret only I’m lucky enough to know.
The slug from the week normally hits hard by now, but I can’t find it in me to feel down. Not when I think back to my night withher. I haven’t had a night like that in a while. I doubt I’ll have one like it again for quite some time.
I cross the road once the pedestrian light flicks green and walk straight into the open doors of the cafe. I place my order for a beef sub and yet another coffee, then take a seat. I’m about to flip through the discarded newspaper on the bench when my phone lights up with a call from Mason Heart.
We did our apprenticeship at the same building company about eight years ago. His family is one of the richest in Australia. Hazel Heart, his grandmother, is worth billions, thanks to the mining company she and her sister inherited. By extension, so is Mase. But he’s the nicest, most down-to-earth guy you’ll ever meet.
“Hey, Mase.”
“Duuuuuuude. My hangover from Saturday totally killed me this week. I swear my sister purposely speaks in a higher pitch when she knows I’m sleep-deprived.”
I chuckle. I can’t have been at the bar for more than five minutes before bumping into my blonde Bombshell. Mase had already been there for a half hour.
We managed ten minutes of grinding against each other on the dance floor before she whispered in my ear that it would be a lot more fun to dance without our clothes on. I couldn’t follow her fast enough out of the club into a waiting Uber.
“Yeah, man. I can relate to that. Managed a sleepless night myself. A good one, though.”
