When We Fall (Take the Fall, #2)
Marquita Valentine
Chapter 1
Jase
I can’t stop staring at her. It’s like a sickness, or maybe an addiction. Either way, I’m f*cked when it comes to not noticing Piper Ross.
She’s one of those girls who gives off a don’t-touch-me vibe, but for a guy like me, Don’t touch means touch as often as possible. Don’t look means gazing at her with a hunger I can’t satisfy no matter how many women I f*ck. They’re not her.
And it pisses me the hell off.
Piper smiles when she catches me looking at her. It’s a sweet smile, full of innocence. I don’t do well with innocence. By the time I’d get done with her, she’d be as filthy as me. Which is why we won’t ever happen, no matter how hungry I stay for her. No matter how hot it was when she watched me with another woman while I imagined it was her mouth on my cock, not some coked-out stripper’s.
No matter—
“Hi, Jase,” Piper says, moving closer. There is a confidence in her walk I have never seen before. Her short pink skirt and white sleeveless top make her look exactly like dessert. Like some kind of erotic Neapolitan sundae. My favorite kind of ice cream. Mostly because I’m a greedy bastard who doesn’t think I should be confined to one of anything.
Instead of leaving like I should, I move over on the bench to make room for her to sit beside me. Though she won’t dare. She never does.
“Hello, Piper. Enjoying the party?”
“Yes. It was fun decorating and keeping it a secret from Rowan. Thank you for letting me use your house,” she says.
Piper might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, but she’s also the most timid. She’s gotten better. Now when she sees me, we can actually carry on a conversation longer than two words.
It’s not because she’s stupid, either. She’s a college graduate. She helps kids in her free time. The neighborhood she drives to is pretty shitty, and she’s volunteering at night now, so I’ve…well, I’ve been following her. To make sure she’s safe.
“Anytime you want, baby doll.”
Piper sits down beside me, her breast accidentally brushing against my arm, and I have to grit my teeth. “Sorry,” she mumbles, all that confidence melting away along with her smile. She makes to scoot aside, but I grab her thigh. Her bare thigh.
“Don’t apologize, and don’t move.” I flash her an easygoing smile. One that’s in direct conflict with my body. And my brain. My brain’s trying to figure out how to get her to straddle me so I can touch both thighs—to feel that hot, silky bare skin underneath both of my palms.
“Okay,” she says, her body going rigid.
I jerk my hand away. I have no business touching her. None at all. Obviously, she doesn’t want me to touch her, either, or she wouldn’t have that look on her face. The one that says You’re a disgusting pig.
“Didn’t mean to grab you,” I say gruffly. Normally I don’t apologize to anyone, but Piper’s different. She’s always been there for Rowan, even after I went to prison, which meant she was there for me, too.
Piper’s face flushes. “I—it’s okay. I thought I’d offended you or something. You know, with…I stumbled, and my—I hit you. And Rowan mentioned that since you and Giselle broke up that women were practically throwing themselves at you and you weren’t happy with that? So…yeah, good party.”
I can’t help but stare at her in amazement. She was actually concerned about me. Besides my sister, the only other person ever concerned about me is me. “Quit worrying about it. You don’t count,” I say, trying to put her at ease.
She glances away, her long, dark lashes fluttering wildly, like she’s trying to get something out of her eye. “I guess I don’t. I’m just your sister’s best friend and former roommate. So that makes us family. Or something.”
I have nothing to say to that, and I think the less I have to say, the less I’ll offend her.
Her tits rise and fall with a deep breath. The shirt she’s wearing is so sheer I can see the lacy camisole and bra underneath. The woman’s got curves, lots of curves. She’s soft, pretty, and feminine. Something I don’t come across too often in my world. Everyone I know is hard, their life and circumstances having made them that way.
Hell, I’m that way.
At twenty-six I’ve spent a good part of my life behind bars. Not exactly what normal people would want for their son.
“How’s business going?”
“Busy.”
“That’s good.” She nods, her small hands making fists in her skirt. “They’ve changed my schedule again at Head’s Up.”
“No more nights?”
She shakes her head and finally looks at me again. “No more anything after this week.”
“Oh?”
“My parents cut me off, so I have to get a job that pays money.” She takes another deep breath and I start to worry about her asthma. The girl wheezes when she gets nervous, which is normally her constant state around me. “Rowan and Seth are getting married soon, so I need to find an apartment, too.”
I gaze into her pretty eyes, all green and gold with a touch of brown. “Want me to have a talk with them? You don’t have to move out.”