The Fall (11 page)

Dallas’s eyes widened when the DJ put on an old school rap mix and she dragged me to the dance floor. I watched her move her hips seductively as she brushed her ass against my front, pulling me closer to her, her hands behind her on my hips. I snaked my arms around her, brushing my fingertips over her middle and she molded into me. She leaned her head back as I cradled her and I saw the want in her eyes. I brushed my lips against her temple as she continued to sway with me. We danced, glued together in a sweating, needy mess through three songs before taking a break, walking out to my porch with a fresh beer and some much-needed fresh air.

“This is fun,” she said, looking up at the night sky from the porch, her mascara smudged. I moved in front of her, wiping the smear away with my thumb.

“You look so beautiful. There wasn’t a guy in there that didn’t wish they were me. Thanks for coming.”

Jade eyes beckoned me, and I leaned in and slowly took her lips, and she kissed me back without hesitation.

This was it.

“I want you to take me upstairs,” she whispered, as I pulled away.

“What?”

“You heard me, Dean. I want you to take me upstairs,” she said wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me so I was a whisper away from her lips.

“I’m not going to take you upstairs and just screw you, Dallas,” I said as my dick disagreed, raging in my shorts underneath the thin sheet.

I wanted this woman.

I needed this woman, and I’d be damned if she hadn’t just stolen my thunder again by making the first move. “Not tonight, not like this.” I was fighting for control. Every fiber of my being wanted to do exactly what she asked me to. I’d planned on telling her everything about how I felt. I didn’t want our attraction getting in the way of the truth. I wanted her to understand that before I laid a hand on her. She deserved it. She was worth the wait.

“I’m aware of what I’m asking, you ass.” She looked at me seriously as she leaned in, taking my lips slowly as I groaned in frustration.

“This is not a random hookup, Dallas, all right? You mean more to me than that. You are a lifetime girl.”

“What?”

Her lips parted and I couldn’t resist. I went in. I’d already waited three years to deliver this kiss, and I wasn’t waiting a fucking second longer. I took her mouth greedily as she latched on to me desperately and moaned. My body lit fire as I tasted her, unable to hold back. I gripped her head, plunging my tongue in over and over again, tasting her, savoring her every whimper, her every reaction. When I pulled away and I could finish a sentence, I continued my explanation.

“Lifetime girl,” I whispered as she opened her eyes slowly, drawing a long breath, just as effected by our kiss.

“What does that mean?”

“You aren’t a girl to just screw, Dallas. You are a girl to fall in love with. I have always thought that about you, but I couldn’t be with you the way I wanted to.”

“Oh please, that was just an excuse for you to be able to sleep around. Newsflash, I’m no longer innocent and haven’t been for some time. I don’t need you to marry me. I need you to take me upstairs.”

“We are more than a quick screw, Dallas,” I defended.

“Not to me,” she said defiantly. This wasn’t her. This was the hurt fifteen-year-old that I’d rejected three years ago staring up at me. She was scared. I understood it.

As much as her sharp words stung, I could no longer ignore the fact that I needed her beneath me. I closed my eyes and opened them, no longer a man in control.

“You can’t handle what I have to give to you,” I growled as I studied her.

“Try me,” she said coyly as she gripped me firmly through my pants. Throwing her over my shoulder, I walked her around to the back door as she laughed as I flew up the stairs. When we reached my room, I paused as I set her on her feet and she walked in, taking a look around. She noticed I wasn’t next to her and turned to look back at me.

“Shut the door, Dean.” She moved to take off her dress, and I shut it quickly, turning back to her. She was now bare to me in only heels and underwear. Clearly, she and I had two completely different ideas about how this night would go.

I damn near hit my knees at the sight of her.

Unwrapping the sheet from around me, I locked the door behind me as I admired her beautiful body. She took a few steps toward me and I met her in the center of the room. The second I had that door locked, it was time to let her know she was no longer in control. I pulled her into a kiss that had her breathless as I backed her into the wall. Devouring her mouth, I felt her melt into me, completely consumed. She ripped her lips from mine, looking up at me with absolute hunger. I stoked the fire by cupping her breast and taking her nipple in my mouth, laving it until it was tight and peaked under my tongue. She moaned as she arched her back, offering me more, which I took greedily. I looked up at her as I stroked each peak with my tongue spurring her on.

Releasing her from my mouth, she looked down at me in surprise.

“Is this what you want, Dallas?”

“Not quite.” She took my hand and brought it to her center. I felt her heat through the top of her panties and groaned as I again pushed her back against the wall, spreading her legs and stroking her over the soaked strip of lace covering her. She looked so fucking beautiful as she panted, desperately grinding into my hand.

“Damn it, Dallas, you feel so good.” I coaxed with my fingers, slipping them under her now useless panties and slid them into her. She gasped and threw her arm around my neck to keep from buckling. I thrust my fingers in deeper, palming the hard bundles of nerves as her body begged for release. She threw her head back, her chest heaving as she pleaded with me.

“Make me come, Dean.”

Fuck me.

I lost it at her words as I pushed into her with my digits, tasting her chest and neck until she fell apart against my hand, her head falling toward my chest. I quickly gripped her throat to keep our eyes locked as I milked every last drop from her. She trembled as I kept her pinned to the door, my grip firm on her neck, her breathing erratic. I lifted my soaked fingers to my mouth, sucking each one dry, and closed my eyes at her taste.

Perfect.

“I want you, Dallas. I’ve always wanted you,” I confessed as she watched me, open mouthed, chest heaving. I loosened my grip on her throat, massaging where my fingers had been as she reached into my shorts and gripped me hard in her hand. Stroking my needy dick, her eyes drifted down as she took me in.

“Well...I see you have been holding out on me,” she remarked as her eyebrow quirked. I leaned in toward her, rock hard and close to coming as she touched the evidence of my need for her.

Every scenario I had ever imagined, every dream I had ever had of her couldn’t compare to the beautiful sight in front of me. She was breathtaking and perfect and I was more determined than ever to make her mine. Unable to handle much more, I lifted her off her feet, wrapping her legs around me. We both moaned as her wetness met my hardness as I carried her to the bed. I stood and quickly discarded my shorts and boxers as she writhed with anticipation on the bed. I pulled a condom from my drawer and rolled it on as I eyed her. Her legs were open before me and my jaw dropped as she spread them a little wider, noticing the effect it had on me. Her hands drifted over her body from her breasts to the spot between her legs I had just been working on. She looked up at me with apprehension, as if she was asking permission, and I had to force my words out.

“Do it, baby. Do it. Jesus, Dallas,” I heaved out, trying desperately to stay in the game. My dick jolted as she reached her center and began to manipulate it. I stroked myself once, twice, and had to grip myself tightly to keep from going any further.

“Fucking sexiest thing I have ever seen in my life,” I said, watching her come with my name on her lips. I dipped between her legs, tonguing the exact spot she had just lost herself in and she shrieked in surprise, gripping my hair. Her moan fueled me as my tongue slowly explored her entrance, never stopping until I had her begging. Making my way up, I kissed her stomach, exploring her skin in slow lazy kisses, tasting all of her.

When our mouths met in a fiery kiss, I looked into her eyes and drove into her in one hard thrust. Once we connected, I paused, watching her lips part, and waiting for her eyes to find mine. Once she adjusted to my size, I wasted no time moving inside her. There was no holding back with her then. I was all in and was beside myself. Her feel, her taste, it was all too intoxicating. It was the first time I’d ever slept with a girl I loved and it was the best I had ever felt. I slowed my strokes, unable to keep the tightness growing in my chest from spilling out. A close confession of love was on my lips, but I wasn’t sure she if she was ready to hear it. As I moved inside her, capturing her gasps with my mouth, I couldn’t help the few words I let trickle out.

“I’ve always wanted you, Dallas. Can you feel it?
Tu tienes la mitad de mi corazón. She nodded her head, unable to hide the tears slipping down her face. I stole each one with my lips, trailing my kiss over her eyes, down her cheek, and back to her lips, where they remained for the rest of the night.

I took her slowly for hours, knowing why it had taken me so long to open that door. It would be impossible to close.

The next morning, I woke up alone and completely confused. When I realized she was really gone, I texted her.

For days I texted her.

Love doesn’t care if you were there for five years or five minutes, Laura. Once your heart decides to give itself away, time has nothing to do with it.- Room 212

Dallas

• Now
  

I peeked around the corner of the medical supply closet, watching Dean in his usual repartee with a few of the floor staff
.

All women...figures.

They crowded around him like a bunch of groupies backstage at a rock concert. Then again, I wasn’t doing much better stalking from a distance.

You’re not stalking him, Dallas. You are simply...curious.

I watched as Dean threw his head back and laughed with Miranda, a cardiologist who worked on a completely different floor. The rumor was that she was easy, and half the hospital staff had already gotten a crack at her. I narrowed my eyes as she finished their bout of laughter by putting her hand on his chest, oh...so...casually.

“Whore,” I whispered vehemently under my breath.

“Who’s a whore?” I heard Beatrice call from behind me as I jumped out of my skin and ducked into the closet. I quickly recovered, grappling for supplies as she followed me in.

“I said more,” I piped, gathering as much as I could to keep my hands busy. “What are you doing here? This isn’t your floor¸” I said in a rush, scorning her in vain.

“I’m covering for someone, and I could say the same for you, honey. You aren’t fooling anyone here. Since when do you stock up on anything?” she said as a knowing smile graced her face as I turned crimson. Beatrice is what I liked to call the housemother. She governs the hospital as if she is watching her grandchildren with adoration in her eyes and a sharp tongue. Lines filled her caramel skin and were complemented by her soft brown eyes. Her scornful, southern voice reminded me of every lead actress in a mother role in a good movie. And if this was a movie, she looked like a female version of Morgan Freeman with tiny sporadic black moles around her eyes and nose. I found them adorable. I took in her kitten-covered scrubs and shook my head.

“Fine, I’m busted,” I said, putting the supplies back neatly and shaking my head.

“I knew he was trouble the minute I laid eyes on that man. What’s the story?” she asked, slowly crossing her arms over her chest as if we had all the time in the world. “And if I may say, he’s as handsome as any man I’ve ever seen.” She tilted her head back and peeked out of the closet and I quickly jerked her back in with both hands, making her scream out in surprise.

“There. That right there. That’s the story,” I said quietly. She was talking normally and apparently didn’t realize we were on a stake out. She halted my nervous hands with a hand on my shoulder. “Stop, Dallas, and tell me what’s going on.” She typically only addressed me as Dr. Whitaker, but like with every other governing force, once they use your name and that particular tone, it was time to spill it.

“When we were kids—not kids, college—we...dated, and we were...we ...” I nodded at her to catch on for herself without me having to say the words. She didn’t bite. I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness.

“You?” she encouraged, shutting the door behind me, pinning me with her intrusive stare.

“We dated...well, we met in high school,” I said, looking anywhere I could to avoid those damn Oprah-I’m-going-to-make-you-realize-shit-about-yourself-and-have-an-epiphany-so-you-will-cry-on-my-couch-eyes.

“We dated in college for a year, that’s it,” I said dismissively.

“That’s not it. If it were, you wouldn’t be in the closet calling Ms. Miranda a whore and watching his every move.” She chuckled, raising her brows.

“I got lost in a memory, I’m fine. The way things ended, I just ...” I finally gave her a pleading eye.

“Ms. Dallas, listen, if you care for the man and he’s making it obvious he cares for you, why not talk to him?”

I felt like an idiot standing in the supply closet being talked to like I was ignoring the most obvious solution. I narrowed my eyes at her. “It’s not that simple.”

“All right, all right,” she said, opening the door slowly behind me. I did an about face and burst out of the closet as if my ass was on fire and ran right smack into Dean.

Perfect.

“Dallas,” he said, gripping my hips so I could regain my bearings. I whipped back quickly to stand, noticing Dean eye Beatrice over my shoulder with a raised brow. Beatrice just gave him a smile and grabbed the first thing available on the shelf, making it completely obvious we were up to no good.

Dean turned to me as I tried my best to ignore his delicious smell of wood and sea. I caught myself just before I took a whiff and jerked my arms out of his grasp.

“Sorry,” I said quickly and took a step away. He took one step forward, his light blue eyes penetrating mine.

“What did I just bust you doing?” he murmured with no regard at all to my personal space. He inched closer and I felt my spine start to tingle.

Don’t look into those eyes, Dallas. Trouble, trouble.

“Nothing, just girl talk,” I said, giving Beatrice big eyes as she lingered. She made a small “hmpf” sound and walked off with her lips twitching in amusement. The same amusement gracing Deans smooth full lips at the moment.

This man should not have this much effect on me.

“Okay, well, bye. I—”

He cut me off when his finger swiped my lip to remove a strand of hair that was stuck in my lip gloss.

“Sure, you have to go,” he said, holding his tablet at his hip, his eyes still peering into mine, his lips twitching as he fought a smile. He knew
very well
his effect on me.

“Stop looking at me that way,” I barked.

“What way?” he asked, his tone implying he was clueless, his broadening smile telling me he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Like you’ve seen me naked,” I snapped, my hands on my hips, my center and resolve melting simultaneously as he continued to stare at me with hunger.

“I have...repeatedly,” he said softly as a small shiver made its way across my shoulders.

“That was years ago,” I snorted, my eyes challenging him. The tall, dark, insanely handsome bad habit I used to have was now getting under my skin and I needed to put a stop to it.

Nothing good had ever come out of it.

“I’ve known you a long time, Dallas,” he spoke as he leaned into me.

“So?” I said, still trying to mask my arousal with contempt. He leaned in closer, and the second his chest brushed mine and his breath hit my ear, it took everything I had not to moan. “You don’t really want me to stop, Dallas. In fact, I’m willing to bet you want me to do a lot more.”

“I’m not the girl I used to be. Do you need me to continue to remind you?” I said, knowing I had exactly thirty seconds to get away from this man before I proved myself wrong.

Twenty-nine...twenty-eight...twenty—

He started to speak again and I raised my hand in protest. “Let me just stop you right there. I’m not curious like
those
women are—” I gestured over his shoulder at our female audience that were trying their best to hear our conversation “—because I’ve been there, Dean. I’m not falling for your shit, because I already have. I don’t need to be reminded of what we did, because I was there, too. But maybe I should remind you of how it ended.” He stood a little taller then as the recognition crossed his face.

“How exactly did it end, Dallas?” he said his voice growing less intimate and more distant. It was all I needed.

Nineteen...eighteen...seventeen...sixteen—

“Badly,” I said, turning to walk toward the elevator. “You were there, too,” I whispered, thinking he wouldn’t hear me.

“Yes, I was,” he said softly. I paused mid-stride, but didn’t look back. I didn’t have to. I knew he was still staring at me.

Three...two...one.

I walked into Mr. Carson’s room, waiting on Dr. Pierce to give the results of the chemo. If it had shrunk just another few millimeters, there was a good chance he would live to fight another day. Against my better judgment, I was fully vested in Lance Carson. I couldn’t stand to see his wife in so much pain. I knew the odds were against him. I also knew that with cancer anything was possible. It was a nonbiased killer, but carefully executed medicine and with the help of divine intervention, it could all turn around.

“Dr. Whitaker, have you ever thought about branching out to oncology?” I scanned Mr. Carson’s hopeful face, praying to God I had made the right decision in telling him to take another round of meds. He had gone through so much during this round of chemo that I thought we would lose him...
twice
. Still, he sat in his bed smiling at me.

“No, I’m opening a general practice with my sister.”

“Plans change. You should think about it. And no matter what comes out of his mouth, I am thankful that you made me fight.” I turned to Mr. Carson, who gave me a quick wink and took in a deep breath, waiting on Pierce to give the verdict.

“It worked.” Dr. Pierce nodded at me with appreciation as he walked into the room. It took everything I had in me not to burst in to tears. In the case of Lance Carson, I was heavily involved.

I saw Mrs. Carson’s face light up and she let out a scream of delight and hugged her husband furiously. I watched, unable to speak for fear my voice would betray my emotion.

“You saved my life today. Think about it, Dr. Whitaker,” Mr. Carson said over the shoulder of his wife, who was sobbing.

“I will go set up your surgery,” I said, quickly excusing myself.

“Thank you.” Mrs. Carson threw her arms around me, stopping my retreat, and sobbed into my jacket. I hugged her back fully with my warning.

“We aren’t out of the woods yet. We still have to get the tumor out. Stay optimistic and I will see you both shortly with the orders.” I walked out of the room, dodging all of the awe-filled stares, including Dr. Pierce.

“Beatrice, it worked! Schedule him for surgery right away.”

“Well done, doctor.”

“Thank you!” I beamed, my chest full.

I had been spending more and more time in the oncology department of the hospital. I hadn’t mentioned it to Rose due to the fact I didn’t want to tell her I was becoming more interested in that particular field. It would interfere with the plans we have had for years. I couldn’t do it to her and I wasn’t so sure this wasn’t just a phase. I had been interested in several other fields, as well. Still, I couldn’t deny this felt much different. I walked quickly across the street to meet her for coffee. Dallas Memorial was situated minutes from her campus. I walked into Starbucks and stopped dead in my tracks as I watched her. She was beaming at her phone as she texted someone. I could see it on her instantly. When she realized I was watching her, she quickly pocketed her phone and came toward me. It seemed my baby sister was hiding something of her own. I gave her a knowing smile and she shrugged away my interest. I turned my attention to the young barista in front of me.

“I’ll have a caffeine-free, frothy, cold, chocolate thing with chocolate shit on top, please.”

I heard a puff of air escape my sister. “Are you serious? I’m sorry, ma’am.” She turned to the young girl at the counter, who was laughing hysterically at my order. “She’s not fit for public. She will have a decaf, chocolate Frappuccino with whipped cream and extra drizzle, and I will take a chai tea, please. Dallas, go get us a table.”

“Thanks, Rosie, I never know how to order this crap.”

“It takes brains, Dallas. Take your damn drink, will you? I don’t want people knowing I drink this poison.”