Fall to Pieces (12 page)

Sadie looked over at her father, saw the
frustration and shame burning in his dark eyes. He was a man who
never questioned himself, was always sure of every decision.

She remembered growing up, being hurt by some
of those actions, those decisions. How she'd wished to see her
father eat his words, to have to admit that he was wrong.

Now that it had happened, she didn't feel at
all vindicated. She just felt sad and sorry. "Assuming your doctor
says it's okay, we could use your help around the barn and meeting
with the buyers," she said.

Suddenly the thick tension in the room was
too much for her to bear. She declined June's offer of dessert and
headed for the front door, feeling like an anvil was crushing her
chest.

She leaned against one of the thick columns
of the portico and inhaled deep breaths of air scented with hay and
horses. The sky was streaked with pink the tops of the mountains
glowing under the evening sun.

She'd missed this, living in San Francisco.
The mountains, so huge and forbidding but also giving her a sense
of security. The sky so clear and blue it almost hurt to look at
it.

What if they couldn't save it?

We'll take car of it.

Dylan's voice, so strong and sure, popped
into her head. For some reason tears stung her eyes and wouldn't
stop flowing no matter how hard she tried to swallow them back.

Sadie didn't know if it was the arguing with
her dad and Pete she was crying about, or the fact that the only
person who seemed willing to follow her lead without question was
Dylan.

"Look at you, kicking ass and taking names."
As though she'd summoned him, Dylan appeared on the porch next to
her. "I kind of like this tough side of you."

Sadie gave a watery chuckle followed by a
sniff and turned to face him. "It's all an act. Don't believe it
for a minute."

###

Dylan had faced down Taliban warriors
shooting at him with AK 47's, but that wasn't nearly as scary as a
crying Sadie Thornton.

Going on instinct, he pulled her into his
arms and gently patted her back. "Hey, now, what's this about?" he
asked, trying to keep his focus on comforting her, rather than on
how good she felt pressed up against him, her head resting
trustingly on his shoulder.

His eyes drifted closed at the feel of her
arms twining around his waist. His hand drifted up her back,
fingers coiling in the thick curtain of hair spilling over her
shoulders. How easy would it be to tip her head back, bend his
mouth to hers.

A loud sniff against his chest brought him
back from the edge. "Sorry," she said in a muffled voice. "I'm not
usually this emotional about stuff." She tipped her head back and
gave him a wobbly smile.

"You know what you need?"

"To win the lottery?"

He laughed and couldn't resist giving her
another squeeze. "You need to take a break and get your mind off of
all of this."

"Oh yeah, what do you have in mind?"

His brain flashed to an image of her, spread
out on his bed while he did all manner of distracting things to her
naked body. He shoved it out and took a step back before she could
feel the effect the all too vivid image had on the lower half of
his body.

"I was thinking a drink and a decent meal
might be a good start."

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I
don't feel like going into town, not when I'm such a mess."

To the contrary, even with her face blotchy
and her eyes red from crying, she still looked beautiful. He kept
the thought to himself. "I've got you covered."

He took her hand in his and led her on the
short walk to his cabin. He dropped her hand as he opened the door,
resisted the urge to snatch it back up almost immediately.

He walked over to the freezer and pulled out
a bottle of vodka. "I don't have any tonic, but I'm pretty sure
there's some OJ in here." He rummaged around the refrigerator until
he found the carton. "Unless you want it straight?"

Sadie shook her head. "That tough girl stuff
is all for show," she said with a laugh.

He poured a generous amount of vodka in two
ice filled tumblers and topped it off with the juice.

She took a sip and gave a little gasp. "If
this doesn't mellow me out, nothing will."

"I guess I better get you something to soak
it up."

"It's okay, you don't have to," she said as
he turned back to the fridge.

"Can't have you accusing me of getting you
all liquored up so I can take advantage of you." He mentally
cringed as soon as the words slipped out.

"I know you'd never do that to me," Sadie
said.

Did she sound almost forlorn? Nah, he thought
as he pulled out packages of deli meat and cheese.

"Besides, who says you'd need liquor?" she
said under her breath.

He pretended not to hear. No matter how many
nights he'd fantasized about her, what Sadie needed right now was a
friend. Not random sex with him that would just complicate her life
further.

Since when have you ever worried about how a
woman would feel after you fucked? She's obviously willing. And so
are you.

Dylan ignored the little voice as he
retrieved condiments and a loaf of bread. It was true. He'd never
given much concern to how his sexual partners might feel when he
made it clear that he didn't want much of a relationship beyond the
bedroom.

But Sadie made him feel different. Lust, hell
yes, he was seething with it. But he also genuinely liked her.
That, combined with the memory of the funny, awkward girl who'd
followed him with her adoring gaze back in high school made him
feel something more, something new.

Like he wanted to protect her.

Especially from himself.

He turned around to find her looking at him,
challenging him to respond to her whispered declaration.

"I've got turkey and some swiss cheese. What
else do you like?"

Disappointment flashed in her eyes as she
answered. "Light mayo, heavy on the mustard, and lettuce and
tomatoes."

He quickly assembled the sandwiches, put them
on a couple of plates and brought them over to the low table in
front of the couch. He switched on the TV as she settled in next to
him.

He scrolled through the channels, trying to
focus on the titles in the guide and not how small the couch
suddenly felt.

"Ooh, the Avengers!" Sadie said as the movie
title appeared next to one of the movie channel.

"Really?" he said, pleasantly surprised as he
scrolled down and pressed the enter button. The action exploded on
the screen as the small cabin echoed with the sounds of Thor and
Iron Man duking it out in a German forest.

He turned down the volume a couple of notches
and turned to find Sadie, rapt. "I would have figured you more for
a rom com girl, or that Nicholas Sparks shit."

Sadie waved him off, her eyes never leaving
the screen. "Who needs the
Notebook
when I can have Chris
Hemsworth and Chris Evans on the same screen. Talk about a
chrissandwich!"

He forced his jaw to unclench telling himself
there was no reason to get all bent out of shape at Sadie joking
about a threesome. "Who?"

"Thor and Captain America? I'm pretty sure
Deck has worked with both of them."

Probably, not that Dylan would remember. He
was usually more interested in the actresses his brother got to
train. "That guy?" he said, sneering at the screen, "In his cape
and that stupid long hair?

Sadie ignored him and took a bite of her
sandwich.

Dylan was quiet as he worked on his own
turkey and cheese. When Sadie gave a little gasp and shifted in her
seat at a shot of Captain America, he couldn't resist commenting.
"What's up with them all wearing leotards?"

Sadie polished off the first of her sandwich
and washed it down with the rest of her screwdriver. "I imagine
it's to make them more aerodynamic when they fly through the air.
All I know is I like the way it shows off... everything."

Dylan snorted, gathered up his empty plate,
and the two empty glasses—perhaps flexing more than necessary—and
headed to the kitchen to refresh their drinks.

Sadie took the refill and thanked him.

"This feels like it could turn into a gay
porn any second."

She punched him in the arm. "Shut up. Look
there's Scarlet Johannsen. Equal opportunity eye candy."

He chuckled and settled back against the
cushions. He let go of his anti-Chris crusade and they watched
quietly, sipping at their drinks.

All the while, he was acutely aware of
Sadie's presence on the couch next to him. The warmth of her body
emanating from her skin. How good she smelled. How easy it would be
to turn, lay her back against the cushions.

The space between them shrank, and he could
feel her thigh pressing against the outside of his. His mouth went
bone dry and he wondered if Sadie was actually making a move.

And if she was, what was he going to do about
it?

Her palm slid over his thigh, the touch
searing him through the worn fabric of his jeans, making his cock
jerk behind his button fly.

Holy crap, she
was
making a move.

Like a scene from a cartoon, he could feel an
angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.

Don't mess around with a nice girl like
Sadie,
said the angel.
You'll only hurt her.

Sadie's a grown woman who knows what she
wants. Who are you to deny her that?
said the devil.

What about your friendship?

Oh, that's right. She'll be really friendly
after you reject her. Girls love to be turned down.

Her palm shifted further, her fingers curling
into his inner thigh.

Jesus Christ, why did she have to keep
pushing it when he was trying so damn hard to do the right thing?
Why did she have to make it impossible for him to resist?

As though with a will of its own, his hand
found its way to her knee and slid up. His fingers pressed against
the supple muscles of her thigh, his blood pounding thick and heavy
in his groin at the thought of stripping away the tight jeans and
running his fingers over her bare, smooth skin.

Christ, how could he be this turned on at
such a casual touch? He took a deep breath, tried to get himself
under control.

If he was going to break down and give Sadie
what they both so badly wanted, he was going to make damn sure it
was good enough to be worth any heartache she might feel down the
line.

He turned, reaching out to cup her cheek as
he bent his head to hers.

His lips hovered above hers, so close he
could feel the warmth of her breath. Hers parted, and a soft sound
escaped.

Not the gasp of delight or moan of
anticipation he was expecting.

A snore.

So soft and delicate he would have called it
cute if he was in a mood to find anything cute at that moment.

She was sound asleep. Completely unaware of
their hands on each other or the fact that she'd cozied right up
against him.

Completely unaware that he'd already mentally
stripped her naked and was thinking of exactly how he was going to
position their bodies for maximum pleasure on the limited surface
of the couch because he wasn't sure he could make it to the
bedroom.

Not for the first round anyway.

He let out a pained laugh and pushed away to
the other end of the couch. She murmured in her sleep and slid over
onto her side, so her head rested on the opposite armrest. She
curled her long legs up on the cushion beside her, her sock-clad
feet pressing into his outer thigh.

He gently lifted her ankles so her legs could
stretch across his lap, wincing as she brushed against his still
rock hard dick, which hadn't yet received the message that there
would be no action tonight.

Sadie startled awake, unsure of where she
was. Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light cast from the single
lamp in the corner, she realized she was still on Dylan's couch.
She sat up, wincing as her neck protested, and reached for her
phone, sitting on the coffee table in front of her. It was after 2
a.m. She wondered what time she'd passed out, and hoped she hadn't
done anything embarrassing like drool on Dylan's arm.

A fleece blanket was draped around her
shoulders, and she felt a little tug in her midsection at the
thought of Dylan tucking it around her. She pulled it off and
folded it neatly before she pushed herself off the couch with a
jaw-cracking yawn.

She let herself out as quietly as she could,
casting a yearning glance at Dylan's closed bedroom door. For a few
seconds she let herself imagine him in there, his big, muscled form
stretched out beneath the sheets. Did he sleep naked?

She'd never know, she acknowledged as she
closed his door softly behind her and made her way across the
drive. Not unless she was willing to blatantly throw herself at
him. And even then, she wasn't confident he'd take her up on her
offer.

He'd been impervious to the signals—subtle
though they might have been—she'd attempted to send out earlier.
But let's face it, she thought, Dylan had never been one to wait
for a woman to send out signals. If he wanted, he went for it.

From what she's observed back in high school,
he'd rarely been turned down. She didn't imagine things were any
different now.

Sadie prided herself on being a smart girl.
She could do the math.

Still, as she slipped between her own sheets,
she couldn't stop herself from spinning a fantasy about what might
have happened if she'd been a little bolder. If, instead of falling
asleep next to him, she'd climbed on his lap and demanded he show
her all the ways he'd improved since that first time with Debbie
Fleming.

Or what if she'd crept into his room,
stripped naked and climbed into bed with him? Run her fingers down
those washboard abs until they closed around his rock hard
cock?