Page 30 of The Fall

“We dated…well, we met in high school,” I said, looking anywhere I could to avoid those damn Oprah-I’m-going-to-make-you-realize-shit-about-yourself-and-have-an-epiphany-so-you-will-cry-on-my-couch-eyes.

“We dated in college for a year, that’s it,” I said dismissively.

“That’s not it. If it were, you wouldn’t be in the closet calling Ms. Miranda a tramp and watching his every move.” She chuckled, raising her brows.

“I got lost in a memory. I’m fine. The way things ended, I just …” I finally gave her a pleading eye.

“Ms. Dallas, listen, if you care for the man and he’s making it obvious he cares for you, why not talk to him?”

I felt like an idiot standing in the supply closet being talked to like I was ignoring the most obvious solution. I narrowed my eyes at her. “It’s not that simple.”

“All right, all right,” she said, opening the door slowly behind me. I did an about-face, burst out of the closet as if my ass was on fire, and ran right smack into Dean.

Perfect.

“Dallas,” he said, gripping my hips so I could regain my bearings. I whipped back quickly to stand, noticing Dean eye Beatrice over my shoulder with a raised brow. Beatrice just smiled at him and grabbed the first thing available on the shelf, making it completely obvious we were up to no good.

Dean turned to me as I tried my best to ignore his delicious smell of wood and sea. I caught myself just before I took a whiff and jerked my arms out of his grasp.

“Sorry,” I said quickly and took a step away. He took one step forward, his light blue eyes penetrating mine.

“What did I just bust you doing?” he murmured with no regard at all for my personal space. He inched closer, and I felt my spine start to tingle.

Don’t look into those eyes, Dallas. Trouble, trouble.

“Nothing, just girl talk,” I said, giving Beatrice big eyes as she lingered. She made a slight “hmph” sound and walked off with her lips twitching in amusement. The same amusement gracing Dean’s smooth full lips at the moment.

This man should not have this much effect on me.

“Okay, well, bye. I—”

He cut me off when his finger swiped my lip to remove a strand of hair that was stuck in my lip gloss.

“Sure, you have to go,” he said, holding his tablet at his hip, his eyes still peering into mine, his lips twitching as he fought a smile. He knew very well his effect on me.

“Stop looking at me that way,” I barked.

“What way?” he asked, his tone implying he was clueless, his broadening smile telling me he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Like you’ve seen me naked,” I snapped, my hands on my hips, my center and resolve melting simultaneously as he continued to stare at me with hunger.

“I have…repeatedly,” he said softly as a small shiver made its way across my shoulders.

“That was years ago,” I snorted, my eyes challenging him. The tall, dark, insanely handsome bad habit I used to have was now getting under my skin, and I needed to put a stop to it.

Nothing good had ever come out of it.

“I’ve known you a long time, Dallas,” he spoke as he leaned into me.

“So?” I said, still trying to mask my arousal with contempt. He leaned in closer, and the second his chest brushed mine and his breath hit my ear, it took everything I had not to moan. “You don’t really want me to stop, Dallas. In fact, I’m willing to bet you want me to do a lot more.”

“I’m not the girl I used to be. Do you need me to continue to remind you?” I said, knowing I had exactly thirty seconds to get away from this man before I proved myself wrong.

Twenty-nine…twenty-eight…twenty—

He started to speak again, and I raised my hand in protest. “Let me just stop you right there. I’m not curious like those women are—” I gestured over his shoulder at our female audience that were trying their best to hear our conversation “—because I’ve been there, Dean. I’m not falling for your shit because I already have. I don’t need to be reminded of what we did because I was there, too. But maybe I should remind you of how it ended.” He stood a little taller then as the recognition crossed his face.

“How exactly did it end, Dallas?” he said, his voice becoming less intimate and more distant. It was all I needed.