Fall Back Skyward (Fall Back #1)(24)

“You moved. . .here?”

He straightens, his lips pulling into an easy smile. The look is so alien on his face, it’s disturbing. “We just got here.” He turns to look at me and clears his throat. I’ve never seen him nervous. A red flag is waving madly inside my head.

Who is Maggie to him?

“Eleanor, go inside. I’ll be there in a second.” The hard edge in his voice returns, and with it, the coldness that always sends me running. The faded scar running diagonally across his right cheek tightens as he narrows his eyes at me in warning when I fail to follow his orders.

My curiosity prompts me to swivel on my heel and directly face Maggie, momentarily ignoring my father. It’s a stupid move and I might pay for this later, given the muscle twitching on my father’s hard jaw. I’m too intrigued to care about the repercussions. Maggie eyes me warily, clutching her heaving chest with one hand. Her fingers fiddling with the silver necklace around her neck with the other.

I retrace my steps down the path and stop in front of Maggie. “I’m Nor.” I stick my hand out to her in greeting.

She hesitates at first, her gaze shifting briefly to my dad and then back to me, nervously. “Margaret Holloway.”

I step aside when Mom joins us. They shake hands, but I don’t miss the tension, which has heightened rather quickly in the past five seconds.

Turning away, my thoughts spinning, I head back to the porch then grab the two boxes and straighten.

“Oomph!” A set of hands grab my shoulders to stop my backward descent. “Watch where you’re—” I manage to utter the words, but my body does that annoying shivering thing again, making me aware of the body plastered to the front of me.

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

The shock of hearing him speak jolts me upright, bringing me face to chest with him. His voice has a somewhat husky, breathy quality to it, and it softly curls around some consonants. I can’t really describe it, but I can definitely say it needs a little getting used to.

God. He is tall. And his gaze is completely focused on my mouth.

“Eleanor?” Cole says.

I look away, flustered by his attention and mumble, “I’m good.”

I feel his hand on my cheek, turning me to face him, the entire span of his palm covering the left side of my face and right there, I decide I love his hands. Big and strong and calloused. Those hands are made for doing things like carrying heavy stuff and gently cupping faces.

“I need to see your lips to understand what you’re saying. Are you okay?”

Oh crap.

“Sorry. Yes, I am.” I quickly take a step back, moving away from his space so I can bring my racing heart under control. “Thanks for . . .um. . .breaking my fall.”

He nods and drops his hands before spinning around and striding purposefully down the porch, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He leaps over the little fence that separates our houses and disappears through his front door.





I NEED TO GET MY shit together. How can a girl I’ve never met before shake me to my very core like Nor does?

I take off toward the little white fence which separates our houses and hop over it, leaving Mom, Josh and Nick to get acquainted with our new neighbors. Besides, I’m not sure what to think of the way Nor’s dad, Stephen, was staring at me. Scary as shit. I wonder what he said to Nor’s mom. She clearly seems afraid of him.

Right off the bat, I don’t like him. But that doesn’t stop my fascination with his daughter.

Nor.

Other than their height, she resembles her mother right down to the freckles on her nose and the red hair. It’s jarring how similar they look. She’s the shortest of the three sisters.

Once I’m inside my room, I shuffle to the window and just stand there, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

I’m not disappointed.

She steps out of the door with Josh in tow. He’s leaning close, staring at her. Smiling easily. Checking her out. Shit. He’s flirting with her. I know his moves and I know when he’s interested in someone. I notice him blatantly checking out her rack, and then pretending to cough into his folded fist. I roll my eyes in irritation.

I can’t blame him. Nor has the most amazing tits I’ve ever seen on a girl. I lick my lips, my throat suddenly parched and bang my head on the wall twice to get my thoughts in line. If Mom got wind of my thoughts, she’d glare in disapproval that I forgot my manners. But Jesus. . .my eyes couldn’t stop gawking at her bra and the soft rise of her boobs.

Nor laughs at something Josh says. If there was a time I’d have wished to be able to hear a sound, it would be now. I would have sold my soul to the devil to hear her voice. Her laughter. I settle for watching her speak to Josh. The way she slants her head to the side as she listens to him, giving him all her attention. I stare transfixed at how her hair falls over her eyes, and then her hand, fragile and small, sweeps it off her face.

My eyes take in her little, hot body. She can’t be more than five feet tall.

The breeze sweeps the yellow dress she’s wearing, tangling it around her hips and ass, framing her curves.

Holy. Shit.

New neighbor boner alert.

I’ve never met a girl like her before. She makes me feel both guarded and aroused at the same time.

My gaze drifts to her arms as she lifts them up above her head in a stretch.