A Safe Place To Fall (The Fall Book 1) (9 page)

Needing a distraction he turned and put
the DVD in the player. He gave Chris ten minutes once he realized
what they were watching to find an excuse to leave.

Alone time with his girl would make this
chick flick well worth it.

It ended up taking twenty minutes for
Chris to remember he had three chapters he needed to read for his
class on Monday.

Lana nodded her head and snuggled closer
into Drew’s side. Their bowls had long been forgotten on the
coffee table.

“
I love how he wrote letters to his
wife though out their marriage,” she sighed. “It’s
so romantic. Men just aren’t like that anymore.”

“
Did I miss something?”
Where did he miss that the old dude had written a lifetime of letters
to his wife?

“
Sorry.” She looked ashamed.
“We’re not there yet. I read the book. Guess I kind of
jumped the gun with that comment.”

Well, at least he knew he was not a
complete dumb ass.

Thanks to this Nicholas Sparks guy he was
going to have to step up his game in the romance department. Was the
guy even straight?

Lana sighed. “I’m sorry.
Tonight was kind of selfish of me. I picked out the ice cream and
movie without asking you what you wanted. I’m not good with
this stuff.”

“
Hey,” he whispered, using
her chin to turn her head forcing her to look at him. “Do you
really think I care what flavor of ice cream you got? Or what movie
we’re watching?” Her eyes were wide and drew his head
down until a dime would barely fit between their mouths. “I
just want you with me.”

Her lips were warm and soft beneath his.
He felt more than heard her soft sigh as he deepened the kiss.
Sliding his hand to the back of her head into her hair he held her
close as their tongues did their dance. His left hand slid up the
back of her tank top of its' own accord.

Drew’s lips grazed her cheek as she
turned her head away from him. Her body stiffened and her hands
began pushing at his chest. Going beneath the clothes had been a
mistake.

His brain would've known that if it
hadn't completely shut down.

Not wanting her to get the wrong idea he
slowly removed his hand and trailed kisses along her temple. He sent
thanks up to the heavens when he felt the tension leave her body.

It took every ounce of willpower he
possessed to pull away and put distance between them.

“
I should probably get going.”
Her voice sounded shaky and those brown eyes were slightly glazed
over. She had been as affected by that kiss as he had been; she was
just scared. “Ricky will have a fit if I don’t come home
tonight.”

Drew really had no concern about Ricky’s
feelings. The knowledge of how far she could push his self-control
was the only reason he willingly walked her to the front door of her
apartment.

******************************************

Chapter 7

The next night Lana had her Criminal
Terminology book and tablet scattered across the coffee table in her
apartment. Metallica was blasting from her stereo. Instead of wills
and beneficiaries all she could think about was Drew’s band
playing this same song for her at that stupid party.

She was hopeless...Wanting what was being
offered to her, even though, she knew she could never truly give Drew
what he wanted.

Spending time with him the last few
weeks had been amazing.

At one point last night she had actually
been able to pretend that she was still a normal girl. She had even
enjoyed that amazing kiss. Then she had felt his hand on her bare
skin and Shawn’s face had appeared in front of her. The
rational part of her brain knew that it was Drew. That was the only
thing that kept her from fully losing her shit.

Taking their relationship to the next
level would be impossible until she got over what Shawn had done.
Not that she was considering the fact that they could be in a
relationship. They were friends. Friends who occasionally stuck
their tongues in each others' mouths. It was all just hopeless.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text
message.

Speak of the devil himself.

What are you doing
?

Thinking
about you again
. Yeah, she
could not admit to that one. Instead she typed:
Doing
my definitions for tomorrow.”

The response was almost instant. Did he
have his phone constantly in his hand?

Me too. Come over.

Going over there would be a mistake.
Wouldn’t it?

He was making it perfectly clear what he
wanted from her. If she kept encouraging him she would end up hurt
once he decided he was tired of playing with the damaged girl. They
both knew that was the only way this could possibly end.

Yet, she found herself replying with:
Okay.

She really was hopeless.

It was around 9 PM when Lana knocked on
Drew’s door. His laptop and text book were scattered on the
table along with a bowl of chips in a green bowl.

Yeah, she was focusing on those details
because he had come to the door wearing only a pair of sleep pants.

The dragon tattoo on his back was not
sexy at all. Nope, not at all. Maybe if she kept telling herself
that she would not be tempted to trace the tat with her tongue.

Lana gave herself a mental shake. How
could she want something like that when getting naked with him was a
big no- no?

“Do you want the top or bottom,”
Drew asked, sitting down on the couch.

Lana felt her face heat up at having
been caught in her thoughts. “Uh…”

“The definitions,” he
clarified. “Do you want the first fifty or the second set of
fifty? What did you think I meant?”

“Uh…”

Drew gave a knowing grin. “Get
your mind out of the gutter. I’m a good boy. That never
crossed my mind.”

Lana wanted to groan. She sounded like
a complete idiot. “The bottom.”

He laughed as he grabbed his laptop and
textbook. “I guess I’ll take the top
this
time.”

“Shut up.” Could she
embarrass herself more?

“You’re cute when you’re
all flustered,” he informed her.

“I already have twenty of my set
done,” Lana said, changing the subject.

Drew’s fingers were flying over
his keyboard as he looked at his text book. “I ordered a pizza
right after you said you were coming over. It should be getting here
soon.”

Lana’s eyes got stuck on Drew’s
bare chest and abs. From her vantage point on the floor across from
him she had a fantastic view. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip as
she thought about what it would be like to touch those abs. But how
could she even think about touching him when she froze whenever he
tried touching her skin?

Hopeless.
Hopeless
.

The man needed to put on a shirt. Maybe
then she would be able to concentrate on the words in her book. She
needed to be worried about the wills and estates chapter that they
would be covering in class tomorrow. Not wondering how his skin
would taste on the tip of her tongue.

“Stop that,” Drew demanded,
staring at her mouth as if it were the most interesting thing in the
world. “It’s too distracting.”

“Sorry,” she whispered. Her
tongue darted out across her lip.

Drew groaned. “Now you’re
just being cruel.”

Lana found it hard to pull her eyes from
those abs. There should be a law against being that damn hot.

Suddenly those abs were standing and
moving around the coffee table to stand right beside her.

Drew pulled her to a standing position
and brought her arms up to wrap around his neck. His hands found
their place on her hips pulling her against him. “I won’t
be able to do anything. Not before I do this…”

Her breath caught in her chest as he
lowered his lips to hers. His lips were warm, moist, and coaxing.

There are times a body can take matters
into its’ own hands without having the brain’s
permission. This was one of those times. Her hands made a fist in
his hair holding him to her, as he ravaged her mouth. A moan slipped
past her lips when she felt just how much she affected him.

Hands on her ass lifted her until she
was forced to wrap her legs around his waist. Even as her brain said
they were crossing a line, her body responded to his rocking against
the evidence of his arousal.

Then she was beneath him on the couch.
His lips trailing a fiery path down her neck to the valley between
her breasts hidden behind a small sleep tank then lower. Her head
fell back. Hips lifted refusing to lose contact with him.

Lana sighed as she felt his tongue trace
her belly button. Completely lost in the moment her eyes drifted
shut.

Suddenly it was Shawn sliding her sleep
pants down. It was Shawn teasing her most intimate places with his
breath.

“
No,” she whimpered, shoving
his head away.

Tear filled eyes watched Drew pull her
pants back up. He sat back against the couch, his breath coming out
fast and unsteady.

Embarrassed, Lana closed her eyes her
heart pounding in her chest. Parts of her body were screaming their
protest of unfulfilled desire. It was then she realized just how
messed up her head really was.

“
I’m sorry,” she
whispered.

Drew raked his hand through his hair.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” His other
hand trailed up her leg to her knee. “I never meant to take
things that far.”

Lana sat up as she tugged her tank back
down to cover her stomach. “It’s not you. I thought I
could..”

She grabbed her books from the coffee
table and tried to dart for the door.

He somehow made it around her and was
blocking her path. “Don’t leave. I’m sorry I took
things too far.”

She didn't fight when he took her hand,
tugging her closer to him. “This is impossible.”

Drew shook his head. “Nothing is
impossible.”

Lana backed away from him, pulling her
hand free. “I’m damaged.”

“
Aw, Honey.” He tried to
reach for her hand again, but she held her books tight against her
chest.

“
Don’t you get it?” she
cried, closing her eyes against the pity in his. “Every time I
close my eyes he’s there.”

His arms wrapped her in a hug. “I’m
not letting you push me away.”

Her gaze was focused on a stray black
hair around his collarbone. “I can’t even have sex.”

He chuckled. “We’ll keep
things above the clothes. You seemed to like that a lot.”

Lana’s face flamed.

“
But for now, we have some words to
define.”

Relieved she had not managed to ruin
things between them, Lana allowed him to pull her back to the couch.

Chapter
8

Drew sat on the end of his couch, his
right arm wrapped tightly around Lana. They were watching some
horror movie. It had been about a week since any unwanted text
messages had been sent to her phone. He could only hope the threat
was gone.

Lana squealed when the white masked
killer broke through an upstairs door. “Why do they always go
upstairs?” She dug her hand into his shirt in anticipation.
“I mean, really, does she think he can’t climb steps?”

Just then the killer slashed the scantily
clad woman’s throat.

Her “bimbo down,” was muffled
against his shirt.

“
What’s the point of watching
this if you’re just going to hide your face at all the good
parts?”

Not that he was complaining, he was all
for anything that had her pressed this close to him. However, having
her this close had him constantly shifting in his seat to position
himself better. His body reacted strongly when she was around. Just
hearing her voice would send his memory back to when he had her
beneath him on this couch.

There would come a day when she didn't
push him away when things got too heated. He had no doubt that her
body wanted him just as much as he desired her. It just got tricky
whenever her brain joined the party. Her memories of the rape were
too strong still. Patience was the key. One day she would be his
completely.

“
Everybody likes a good scare,”
Lana replied, turning to look at the screen once again. “As
long as it isn’t real.”

Drew tossed a piece of popcorn, from the
bowl sitting on his lap, into his mouth. “Still the blood is
the best part.”

“
You’re demented,” she
accused.

“
Maybe I’m secretly a
vampire,” he suggested. Popcorn scattered onto the floor as he
lunged at her. His teeth raked the surface of her neck where her
pulse beat a fast tempo. Not being able to resist, he traced that
vein with the tip of his tongue.