Page 67 of Worth the Fall

The door slammed, and I met Thomas in the kitchen and wrapped my arms around him like I’d been doing it forever. I buried my face in his chest as his strong arms held me tight against his hard body. His heart was beating fast, the thumping pounding out against my cheek.

Pushing up on my toes, I looked up at him and noticed those blue eyes raging like a storm. I reached for his neck and pulled him toward me without saying a word. My lips met his, soft at first before I felt him fully give in, his body relaxing and tensing at the same time.

My God.

Kissing Thomas was more sensual than I’d ever imagined, and there wasn’t even any tongue involved. We were both lost in a riptide of emotions, this kiss tethering us together. Our mouths connected, opened and closed, before I broke the kiss slowly, not wanting it to ever end.

“Thank you,” I said in little more than a whisper. “For defending me.”

“You know what happened?” One arm released me while the other kept its grip.

“I do.” I held up my phone that showed a still frame of him and Eli at the saloon. “There’s a video.”

“Shit.” He ran his hand down his face. “Are you pissed at me?”

His question caught me completely off guard. I thought he’d be freaking out that someone had recorded the whole thing and that half the town had probably seen it by now.

“Pissed at you? Are you kidding? I’m so turned on right now that the pants might melt right off my body,” I admitted with a sly grin.

I’d always considered myself a strong woman, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want a man who was willing to go to bat for me. I liked the wholeknight in shining armor, alpha maleschtick. It didn’t make me feel less than or weak in any way. It honestly made me feel empowered. Two people standing up for one another, no matter the consequences. As long as they had each other, that was all that mattered. Now, that was a partnership I could get behind.

Thomas stared at me like it was his first time seeing me. His eyes roved my body from my legs back up to my mouth. I felt naked under the weight of his stare.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” It was a warning, but I had no time to prepare before his mouth was back on mine, his tongue traveling inside.

Fingertips pressed against my throat before they moved to grip my chin, holding me in place as he took the kiss even deeper. There was this quiet desperation between us, but the kiss was anything but desperate. It was meticulous. And slow.

Thomas was taking his time tasting me, and I was loving every second of it. Our tongues met and danced, flicking and touching before pulling back, like some sort of game. He pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and bit softly. I moaned as I threw my head back, and his mouth was instantly on my neck, nipping and sucking before he was back at my mouth, claiming it like he owned it.

Like he owned me.

We stood in the kitchen, making out like a couple of teenagers until I grabbed his hand, and he flinched, breaking the best kiss of my life.

“Ow,” he mumbled under his breath, and I reached for his hand once more, only softly this time.

“Thomas, oh my gosh. We need to ice this,” I said through wide eyes. His knuckles were bruised and swollen. “Do you think it’s broken?”

He examined it a little and moved his fingers before shaking his head. “No. It will be fine. But ice would be good.”

I made my way to the freezer and pulled open the drawer. A few colorful ice packs sat in the bottom shelf, and I pulled one out, handing it to him.

“Thanks,” he said before laying his hand flat on the counter and putting the pack on top. “So, there’s a video, huh?” he asked with a smirk.

I stood next to him, our knees bumping into each other. “There is,” I answered uncomfortably.

“Can I see it?”

I grabbed my phone and pulled up the still image before pressing the play button. The image roared to life as a shaky camera tried to step in closer to where Eli and Thomas stood, but Matthew put a hand up, stopping the person abruptly. Matthew’s efforts had been in vain though. The camera zoomed in so that Eli’s face was clear as day, as well as Thomas’s back, which was completely recognizable in my opinion. The audio was the only thing muffled with the reactions from the crowd drowning it out at times.

Even still, I could hear enough.

The video ended with Thomas kneeling over Eli and Matthew helping him up. It looked like he’d said something to Eli, but the camera hadn’t picked that part up.

Nervous questions suddenly filled my head. What if Eli pressed charges? This was proof that Thomas had not only started the fight, but he’d also finished it.

Not to mention all the witnesses.

“Say something,” I begged once he finished watching it for the second time.