A Safe Place to Fall (Places Book 1)

by Barbara Doyle

  A Safe Place to Fall

  Barbara C. Doyle

  This Book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A Safe Place to Fall

  Copyright © 2017 by Barbara C. Doyle

  Kindle Edition

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Artist:

  Emily Wittig Designs and Photography

  Edited by:

  EAL Editing Services

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

  —To her—

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  1

  I was going to regret this in the morning.

  Not the drinking part of the evening, because at least I could blame my soon-to-be poor decision on the amount of tequila I drank. I was referring to the fact that I was about to have mind-blowing sex with the sex god himself, Nate Evans. Also known as my brother’s best friend, and best man at the beautiful wedding ceremonyI knew there were rules against hooking up with your brother’s best friend, but Nate came onto me, and it would have been rude to just ignore him. Wouldn’t it? On a normal day he’s hard to ignore, but when he’s wearing a tux that fits his structured athlete’s body there is no keeping your eyes off him. One look and you were ready to drop your panties right there at the reception.

  Luckily I managed to contain myself while the party was still going on. For a while it was easy to focus on my brother Aaron and his new wife Katie. They were the perfect couple, and for once I actually got along with one of his dates. Now that they were married I could officially claim sisterhood and do everything I always wanted to do with the sister I never had.

  It was when Aaron and Katie decided to disappear in the crowd of people when I couldn’t use them as a distraction anymore. Then it was just me and Nate at the bar alone, and the four shots of tequila in me was egging on some not-so-innocent thoughts.

  He slid over to the stool next to me, letting his perfect gray eyes travel over the empty shot glass in my hand. He had his back to the bar, stretching his arms out so his elbows leaned against the edges of the counters to hold him up. The material of the tux hugged his impressive biceps beautifully.

  That’s when I knew I was done for.

  “So much for never drinking again,” he mused, looking at the crowd of people dancing to the country music playing.

  I smiled. “I’m pretty sure the last time I said that was three years ago when I visited you at college. And I’m absolutely sure that whole situation was your fault to begin with.”

  He held his hand over his heart like he was offended. The smirk on his face made the dimple on his right cheek appear, and contradicted the innocence he was trying to pass off. We both knew it was his fault I got alcohol poisoning that night.

  “Blair,” he gasped. “How could you say such a thing? I was simply trying to help you understand the dangers of alcohol consumption.”

  I laughed. “So that must have been why you and your stupid frat buddies were all chanting ‘chug’ while passing me glasses of all that alcohol. It’s all starting to make sense now.”

  He chuckled. “You didn’t think they were stupid when they were passing you free alcohol. It seems like our lesson didn’t stick though.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Guess not,” I replied, putting the glass down on the counter.

  He called the bartender over and ordered two shots of whiskey. He looked at me with a grin on his face, and pushed one of the shots toward me. He picked his up and winked.

  “Isn’t encouraging drinking going against your lesson?” I doubted playfully. I wasn’t going to refuse a free drink, especially one that Nate bought me.

  So we both took the shot, but he took his more gracefully. My head was already spinning from the tequila, and I hadn’t had whiskey before. Growing up with Nate, I knew it was his favorite though.

  My face puckered, and my throat burned as I slammed the glass on the counter. I could feel the drink burn its way down into my stomach, and I knew he was enjoying every second of my reaction.

  “Quit acting like a girl,” he teased.

  “I am a girl, if you hadn’t noticed.”

  His lip twitched, and he turned his head a fraction away from me. Quietly, he murmured, “Believe me in that dress it’s hard to deny.”

  I looked down at the red lace cocktail dress I wore. It was the only thing in my closet that was nice enough to wear to the reception. The maid of honor dress I wore during the ceremony was pretty, but I practically tripped on it because it was too long.

  “You don’t like the dress?” I asked, returning my eyes on him. It wasn’t like it was slutty by any means. The neckline hung low enough where it was a little revealing, but it wasn’t like my boobs were hanging out. And the length was short, but it clung to my body so it didn’t rise to reveal the thong I wore much less my ass.

  He cleared his throat. “Trust me, Blair,” he said in a low tone. He ran his palm against his thigh. “I like the dress more than I should.”

  My inner goddess jumped with joy. It wasn’t every day I got a compliment like that from him. I always assumed he saw me as Aaron’s dorky little sister. Apparently I needed to dress like this more often.

  I smiled at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  He looked at me with distant eyes. “It is.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Bartender,” I called out. I put three dollars on the countertop. “I think I need another drink. Make it a margarita this time?”

  He happily took my money and went to work making my drink. I ignored the way Nate was looking at me like he wanted to scold me. He had a tendency to substitute for my brother when he thought I was making stupid choices.

  I just wanted to get drunk and make dumb choices. I was twenty-one after all. I was old enough to decide what I wanted, and right now a margarita was calling my name. I knew it would finish the trick and get me completely wasted before last call.

  “I don’t think you need another drink,” he informed me.

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t ask what you thought,” I returned casually. I leaned against the counter, feeling the whiskey start to kick into my limbs. I always loved how my arms and legs would start to tingle after drinking for a while.

  He cleared his throat. “Blair…”

  The bartender came over and put the drink in front of me. I thanked him and took a sip, still leaning against the counter for some support.

  “Blair,” he said firmly.

  I finally looked at him.

  His eyes weren’t focused on mine though. They were staring at my chest, where my boobs w
ere falling out of my dress. Liking the attention, I didn’t bother fixing them. He could stare all he wanted.

  His eyes darkened.

  “Like what you see?” I asked, turning toward him so he could get a better look. The way his jaw ticked made me wonder what he was thinking.

  He sighed. “What are you doing?”

  “Drinking,” I answered innocently.

  He eyed me. “Aren’t you going to fix…?”

  I laughed, almost spilling my drink. “Why would I do that when I’m getting attention from a sex god?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  He stared at me with wide eyes.

  Oops.

  I kept drinking, feeling myself slipping from control. It was too late to back away now. The word vomit had already started, and I set my eyes on my mistake tonight.

  Nate.

  “What did you say?” he asked slowly.

  I snorted an unattractive laugh. “Oh please. Like you don’t know you’re hot. Every girl wants to be with you. Why would I cover up when I’m finally getting some attention from you?”

  “Finally…?”

  I felt my cheeks redden. Drunk or not, he didn’t need to know that I’d been nursing a crush on him since I was in high school. I wasn’t his type of girl back then, and I doubted that changed now.

  “Blair, you need to be careful of what you say.”

  Too late.

  “Why?”

  His expression darkened. “Because people say stupid things when they’re drunk, and the people they’re saying those things to will make stupid moves because of it.”

  I leaned closer to him. “What kind of moves are we talking about?” I whispered, taking a slow sip, and licking some of the liquid that dribbled down the side of the glass.

  “Fuck,” he growled, grabbing my drink and putting it down on the counter. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my seat. He kept me from falling as he led us out of the ballroom of the hotel and toward the elevator.

  My heart sped up in my chest as he pulled me into the elevator and backed me against the wall as soon as the doors closed. His fingertips dug into my hips as his hungry eyes devoured the way I bit my lip. My dress started riding up my thighs as his hands ran up the sides of me. The way he looked at me made me purr like I was a damn cat, but I was so absorbed in the moment that I didn’t care how ridiculous I sounded.

  His hands stilled on my waist as he stepped into me. I could feel his erection press against my gut, making my insides spark awake. The alcohol flowing through my system clouded any judgement I’d usually have in this situation. The sober version of me would stop anything from happening instead of rushing into things. The drunk version of me didn’t give a damn. I was being adored by Nate freaking Evans.

  “Blair,” he whispered into my ear, rolling his hips into mine. I tipped my head back so it leaned against the wall, and his lips brushed my exposed throat. The soft trail of kisses he led up my throat to my jaw left me gripping his upper arms with desire.

  When the elevator stopped at our floor he stepped away from me and took my hand to guide us out. A group of people watched us with knowing smiles on their faces. It was probably my uneven breathing or the fact my dress was hitched at a weird angle on one side that gave us away. Either way I didn’t care, because Nate was currently walking us to his hotel room, and my imagination could only bring so many of my fantasies to life in so little time.

  After the door was closed behind us, he backed me into it. My hands immediately went to his arms, and my breath hitched. I stared at him as he looked at me with a clouded expression. His hands rested back on my hips, but he didn’t make any moves.

  His eyes searched my face as I stared at him like a moron. He had a good few inches on my five foot eight frame. The way he looked down at me made me feel so tiny compared to him, so young. We were only two years apart in age, so I tried wiping the worry out of my mind.

  When a minute passed and nothing happened, my subconscious started to get the best of me. Just moments ago we were getting hot and heavy like I always dreamed about, so what happened? Did my breath smell? Did I have something in my teeth? Or did he finally remember I was Aaron’s little sister; the girl who he practically considered his sister?

  I let out a shaky breath. “Nate?”

  He let go of my hips.

  No! I practically begged.

  He raked his hand through his hair like he was trying to figure something out. I knew what he looked like when he was thinking, and the last thing I wanted him to do was think. We were about to have a moment that my fifteen-year-old-self could only imagine having with Nate, and the way his eyes were distancing themselves from my face told me the moment was fading. And fast.

  “We can’t do this,” he said quietly, shaking his head. He swiped his hands down his face and groaned as he turned away from me. He dropped his key card on the nightstand next to the bed, and sat down at the edge of the mattress.

  I stayed where I was, too unsure of why he changed his mind. There were a lot of reasons that he could have, and my mind was coming up with the worst possibilities. What if he thought I wasn’t the type of girl he usually hooked up with? He always had a girl by his side, and last I knew he never turned one down. So what made me the one he said no to?

  “Nate I—”

  “You’re drunk,” he stated, standing up again.

  “Maybe a little tipsy but…”

  He walked over to me slowly, like he was trying to make sure nothing would happen if he got too close. Why was he being so careful with me? I wasn’t fragile, and I never had been. He should have known that from all the times we wrestled when we were kids. He might have always won, but I never backed down right away.

  He stopped a few feet away from me. “You and I can’t be like that with each other. You’ve been drinking and your judgement is clouded. I’m not going to take advantage of that, Blair.”

  I frowned. I actually frowned and gave him the puppy dog face. Like a child. No wonder why he didn’t want to sleep with me.

  I sighed and straightened out my dress. “For your information, I’m not drunk enough to do something shady. I’ve been in that position before, and I’m well aware of what’s going down. Or at least what almost did. Next time you make an excuse about why you don’t want to sleep with me, at least be honest.”

  I turned toward the door and stumbled. Nate hooked his arm around my waist, catching me before I fell to the ground. My ankle stung slightly from the angle it bent in the stiletto shoes I wore. I mentally grumbled to myself for looking like an idiot. All I wanted was to make a dramatic exit. Was that too much to ask?

  “I’d say you’re drunk enough,” he muttered, pulling me toward the king size bed.

  He stopped by the side of it and looked at me.

  “You can let me go now,” I told him, crossing my arms on my chest.

  “You might as well sleep here tonight,” he answered, pulling on the comforter so I could lay down.

  I looked at him like he belonged in a psych ward.

  “No.”

  He sighed. “Blair, don’t be stubborn.”

  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  Something crossed his expression, and his lips tipped up in a devious grin. “That’s funny considering only moments ago you were about to devour me.”

  My whole face heated up, and I was probably the same shade of red as my dress. He took my reaction as a victory and gestured toward the bed like that was supposed to convince me to stay. Why would I bother crawling into bed with a guy that was making fun of me? Nate always teased me, but this situation wasn’t like the other times. Jesus, I tried jumping his bones!

  “Blair, it’s not like we haven’t slept in the same bed before,” he pointed out, seeing that I wasn’t going to move.

  “We were kids.”

  “We’re kids at heart,” he replied causally.

  I eyed him. “You think I’m a child?”

  His eye twitched. “No. I de
finitely don’t think that. Now that’s settled, get into bed. It’s late, you’ve been drinking and your brother expects you at breakfast before they leave for their honeymoon.”

  The fact he was acting like my father pissed me off. Nate was always protective of me just like Aaron was, and I knew it was because of my past. I’d made plenty of mistakes that both Nate or my brother hated, and every time I got out of said mistakes they kept an even closer eye on me. I wasn’t their responsibilities though, especially not Nate’s.

  “Stop bossing me around!”

  He groaned. “Now I think you’re a child. Damnit, Blair, will you just let me get you into bed so you can get some sleep? Whining won’t get us anywhere.”

  My hand twitched with the urge to smack him. Why was I always portrayed as the whiny brat around him? Ever since we were younger he saw me as the annoying little girl who complained about everything. In reality, it was always him who made me so irritated. He always said certain things to me that raised a reaction, which was what he wanted just so he could tell me that I was immature.

  I turned to walk out of the room, but he grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the bed. He was gentle about it, but forceful enough that I ended up with my back in the bed and Nate looking down at me. I glared when he shot me a victorious smile.

  “Get under the covers,” he commanded.

  “No,” I answered stubbornly, becoming an unmoving statue on the bed.

  “I will move you,” he warned.

  I remained still and silent.

  He sighed, and suddenly his arms were on either side of me, lifting me up enough to move me over so I was on the right side of the bed. He yanked the blankets out from under me, almost making me fall out of the bed. I fell into his hard-muscled body, catching myself by placing my hand on his lower stomach. I hadn’t meant to make contact, but it was either catch myself on him or smash my head against the nightstand. I’d already embarrassed myself enough tonight. Adding a concussion to the events wasn’t going to help.

  I looked at Nate’s face, and saw his eyes closed. His body was tense under my hand, and his breathing was uneven. I’d seen him try controlling himself in a lot of situations, and the concentration he had in his expression told me touching him made him crazier than he wanted to let on.