Break My Fall

1. Dawson

Chapter One

Dawson

A waiter weaved through the crowd, carrying a tray of wine and beer. He paused beside me, and I snagged a pint of beer as the hum of conversation carried on around me. Usually, I was in my element like this. I could dive in, drink a little too much, party a little too hard, and flirt like there was no tomorrow. Preferably, a night like this would end with me in a warm and willing woman’s bed.

Lately, I’d been clinging to the concept of “fake it until you make it.”

An unmistakable voice drew my attention. “Oh my God!” Evie Blair exclaimed.

Following the sound, I saw Evie nudge some guy in the shoulder as he smiled down at her. By the angle of his eyes, I surmised he was catching a healthy glimpse of her cleavage. An entirely irrational streak of possessiveness jolted me. I didn’t get possessive, much less jealous.

Shaking the feeling off, I took a moment to absorb her. Evie was lovely although not in any typical way. Oh, she had glossy dark hair that fell straight down her back and stunning rich blue eyes. I couldn’t look into them for too long because it felt as if I were diving straight into the deep sea. I never knew if I’d be able to come up for air. With her slightly crooked nose, lopsided smile, and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, she was downright endearing. She was short with hips that swung with every step.

I dragged my eyes away from her, lifting my beer to my lips. I lowered it a second later and turned to set it on a counter along the wall behind me. I had no interest in drinking, and all my usual tricks were failing me.

“Hey, man,” a voice said from over my shoulder.

Glancing to the side, I found Wade Ellis standing there. “Hey,” I replied, forcing some semblance of a smile on my face.

“Not even drinking tonight?” he commented.

Shaking my head, I shrugged. “Nah. I’m here to support the lodge, but that’s about it.”

Lost Deer Winery, a premier winery in the Blue Ridge Mountains, was hosting a fundraiser for Stolen Hearts Rescue, an animal rescue program run by the same place where I worked.

I wasn’t up for conversation, and blessedly, someone else said something to Wade, and he turned away to reply. Glancing at my watch, I calculated I’d been here for a solid hour, so more than enough time. If necessary, I would claim I had a headache. And in a way, I did.

Turning, I clapped Wade’s shoulder as I passed by and started to weave through the crowd. I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was going when Evie’s voice caught my ears, dragging my gaze sideways to where she stood only a few feet away.

“Excuse me?” Her tone was sharp.

Without thinking, I veered closer, stopping at her side just as the man who had been staring down at her cleavage curled his hand around her upper arm. Her skin dimpled under his grip, deep enough I figured he’d leave bruises. I cut between them, shouldering the asshole out of the way.

The man’s dark gaze swung to me, his mouth opening as if to protest. I glared at him, and he snapped his mouth shut. “What the f**k, dude?” he muttered as he released Evie’s arm.

My eyes flicked down, noticing the red splotches left from his fingerprints on the soft curve of her bicep. “You okay?” I asked, glancing at Evie.

She looked up, a pink tinge cresting on her cheeks. “I’m fine.” She looked back at the man. “Back the f**k off, asshole.”

The guy simply snorted and shook his head before turning away. Another waiter walked past us just as a woman turned quickly. Her shoulder collided with the tray, sending three glasses of wine tipping to the side and splashing red wine all over Evie’s dress.

“Gah!” Evie exclaimed, jumping back.

Evie didn’t wear dresses too often. In fact, I didn’t know if I’d ever seen her in one. The dress in question was a light, shimmery cream fabric. With a fitted bodice, it fell to her knees in a twirl, the sweet curve of her hips tempting me to run my hands over them. I didn’t think it was meant to show off her curves, but with her, it was impossible for them not to show. She’d paired her dress with chunky black boots, which suited her perfectly.

Her dress was now stained red all over the front. Evie looked down and sighed, eyeing the wine stains running in streaks. With the waiter murmuring his apologies and the woman who’d run into the tray chiming in, Evie simply shrugged. “It happens. Leave it to me to take the wine tasting far more seriously than anyone else,” she added with a laugh.

A genuine smile stretched across my face for what felt like the first time in weeks. Evie had that effect on me. There was something so real about her it was hard not to smile.

The waiter interjected, “Ma’am, can I bring you a towel or anything?”

She shrugged. “Not much point to it. I guess I’ll just cut out early.” Her eyes scanned the room.

“Want a ride?” I asked.

I knew by chance she’d caught a ride here with Dani. Like me, Evie lived at Stolen Hearts Lodge where we both worked.

“You’re leaving?” she countered, sounding surprised.

For a good reason. I wasn’t usually wont to leave anything resembling a party early. I just couldn’t find the mood for them over the past few weeks.

I met her gaze and nodded. “I was on my way out when I passed by.”

“Okay.” She glanced down at her wine-stained dress. “My dress is ruined.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Come on,” I said, gesturing toward the exit at the back.

Evie fell into step beside me before stopping. “Wait a second. I need to let the girls know I’m leaving.” She spun away, weaving through the crowd and ignoring the glances at her wine-stained dress. She stopped beside Shay and Dani, pointing at her dress and shaking her head. Shay’s eyes met mine across the room, and I could sense her curiosity. I didn’t usually leave early for anything.

Within a moment, Evie returned to my side. “Okay. Take me home.”

Reflexively, I slipped my arm around her shoulders as we walked through the crowded winery. As soon as my hand landed on the curve of her shoulder, I became acutely aware of her silky skin. Her scent drifted to me, a hint of sugar and cream. I wanted to bury my nose in her hair. My hyper-awareness of her didn’t make any sense. Or perhaps it did.

“Shay and Jackson are gonna make gobs of money for the rescue,” Evie said just as we reached the door.

“I’ll say, and that’s a good thing. Jackson commented just last week that he’s thinking of expanding the rescue program.”

Her eyes canted up to mine as I held the door for her. “Really?” Answering her own question, she continued, “Well, it’s full all the time anyway.”

The door swung shut behind us as we stepped outside into the autumn air.

Fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains was definitely cooler than summer, a relief from the heat that hung over the landscape like a heavy curtain on the hottest days.

Our footsteps crunched as we walked across the gravel parking lot. I took a breath, feeling a subtle sense of ease inside. I hadn’t felt like myself for going on a month. Just now, though, I felt a little lighter.

Evie didn’t ask where my truck was and seemed content to follow me. I looked ahead. Lost Deer Winery sat on the hillside with a view out over Stolen Hearts Valley. The famous blue haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains was fading into the darkness, a mist shimmering above the mountain ridge in the distance.

The moon’s silvery light cast everything in an ethereal glow. I took a deep breath, inhaling the air, earth scented from the fallen leaves.

“Where…?”

Evie’s question trailed off when I slid my hand down her back, angling her with a gentle, coaxing pressure on her low back in the direction of my truck.

“Oh, there it is,” she said brightly.

Out of habit, I went to the passenger’s side and opened the door for her. Evie looked up at me, and I wanted to kiss her. With the moonlight on her hair, her eyes were a silvery blue, wide with surprise. “Well, geez, Dawson, I didn’t know you could be a gentleman.”

My laughter surprised me. Evie was easy to be with—so, so easy—and that was a gift.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” I countered.

As a smile teased her lips, she climbed in, tucking her skirt carefully around her legs. With her smile buoying me, I closed the door and rounded the front of my truck, my body humming with anticipation. Evie’s presence was a scattering of sparks on the fire banked between us. It had been there since I first met her.

Always.

I usually ignored it and deflected it with humor—because its potency frightened me a bit. With her haphazard beauty, her quirky personality, and her underlying sassy sweetness, she struck me as a woman who might not be satisfied with casual. As much as I wanted her, I hewed to what was safe so far.

During the drive, I felt her gaze on me and slid mine sideways when I came to a stop sign. In the dark cab of my truck, the air suddenly felt charged.

If only because Evie’s presence had nudged me out of the edge of darkness where I’d been mentally teetering for weeks, I managed to tease. “Enjoying the view, are you?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You are so cocky,” she said dryly. Her eyes were flashing, and I knew she enjoyed our banter as much as I did.

Looking away, I chuckled as I pressed my foot to the gas pedal, and the truck rolled forward. “I’m only cocky when it’s obvious.”

“What’s obvious?”

“That you were enjoying the view. I wasn’t gonna say anything about what the view might be. I don’t have an opinion on that.”

She burst out laughing, punching my shoulder lightly with her fist. “Let me guess. You rely on the women who throw themselves at your feet for an assessment of your looks?”

Sliding my gaze sideways again briefly, I winked before looking back at the road. “Oh no, I rely on the look in your eyes, sugar.”

“Jesus, you are too much,” she murmured. “How much longer is this drive?”

“Not much.” I turned onto the road that led to Stolen Hearts Lodge.

“Thank God. Seriously, though, what gives?”

“What do you mean?”

“You leaving a party without a woman on your arm,” she explained.

It was brief, but the sense of coldness that gusted through me was impossible to ignore. I shrugged, striving to keep my tone casual. “Nothing. Just tired. I am human, after all.”

“Oh, and here I thought you were a vampire,” she replied, her tone droll.

My laughter rumbled in my chest. Rolling to a stop, I parked in the area set aside for staff out behind the two renovated barns that comprised of the guest portion of the high-end adventure lodge where we worked. The parking lot was tucked in the trees, and several paths branched away from it, leading to the guest and staff cabins.

Evie was climbing out by the time I made it around the truck. I reached her just in time to catch her from stumbling. I had parked on the edge of the lot, and her boot slipped on the running board. My arm slipped around her waist as I commented, “Easy there.”

A gasp slipped from her lips when she collided against me. Every soft inch of her. Despite working together for two years now, I had never been this close to Evie.

Her eyes swung up to mine. There was nothing but the hazy light of the moon to illuminate the deep blue of her gaze. My breath caught in my throat, and every cell in my body tightened. She was pressed against me. I could feel the tight points of her n*****s through her dress.

I wasn’t sure if she expected me to move away, but I couldn’t seem to make myself do so. My eyes flicked down, snagging on her plush lips. The urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming.

Apparently, it was overwhelming. Before I was aware of what I was doing, I was dipping my head and brushing my lips across hers. They were soft and warm, and a little zing of electricity passed between us.

By the time my mind caught up to what was happening, I expected Evie to haul off and slap me, but she didn’t. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and arched into me.

Just as I was about to fit my mouth over hers and dive in, I checked myself. With another brush of my lips over hers, I forced myself to lift my head. I couldn’t step back just yet, though. She felt too good, and I was aroused as hell. I was certain she could feel my c**k nestled at the apex of her thighs. Because somehow, we’d ended up plastered together when all I’d intended to do was help her out of the truck.

My heart was thrashing wildly in my chest, and the way I felt left me in shock. I felt more alive than I had in months, perhaps in years, and I didn’t know what to do with any of it.

When I looked down, her eyes were closed, her dark lashes curled against her cheeks. I desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, and I just as urgently wanted to extricate myself from this situation.

Not because I wanted to be away from Evie. To the contrary. I wanted to carry her through the woods to my cabin, and that feeling was foreign to me. I enjoyed women, but I compartmentalized my enjoyment. It was nothing like this humming, driving need to claim her.

Her lashes swept up, her deep blue eyes locking with mine. My heart spun and stopped as though a compass finding its magnetic north.