Falling for Fallon (Oak Hill Series Book 2)

by S. J. Sylvis

  “So... things in my world are a little different from yours.” My ears perked, and thoughts were rolling around in my head.

  “Like... what?”

  She shook her long hair out. “Like…” She huffed. “Okay, so I’m just going to say it. Derek and I are kind of in an arranged marriage.”

  I raised an eyebrow but let her continue.

  “Basically, in our world—in our society—you only marry someone that is equally as wealthy as you or… at least from the same hemisphere. I mean, it has always been that way. I attended a high-end preschool, a private wear-plaid-skirts high school, and was only allowed to mingle with certain people that were in my family’s social circle. I was pushed into debutante balls from age fifteen to eighteen, my parents trying desperately to get me to wed some eligible bachelor of their choosing. I was taught proper etiquette at age five, forced into fancy dresses with large bows, and I was basically bred only to be a corporate wife. That’s just how it is in our family. My mother’s family, my father’s family, my grandparents’, et cetera. We only associate with those in our social circle, in our class. Otherwise, you’re considered trash.”

  I sighed, my spit feeling thick in my mouth. “So, you’re in an arranged marriage to some man who is in your family’s social circle?”

  Fallon sighed. “Yes. I’d been given the chance to find someone that I actually loved. My parents literally threw parties, which basically consisted of them courting me around and introducing me to all the guys my age. That started when I was in high school, when I kept bringing home boys that were deemed inappropriate. My parents forced me to mingle with sixteen-year-old boys who were trust-fund babies and nothing more. It was torture. Then, I went to college–a prestigious college of their choosing—and although it mostly consisted of people like me, there were some people I met along the way that taught me more about the outside world. Basically, my roommate sat me down and told me my family was insane, and although I agreed with her, it was kind of all I had ever known. I’d always just gone along with it. I mean, sure, I’d been difficult and rebellious, but I knew that, in the end, I’d do what I was supposed to. Because if not…”

  My heart was pounding in my chest. My mind was going a million different directions, confusion being the sole adjective I could use to describe what I was feeling. “So, basically, you couldn’t find a man you loved in your ‘inner circle,’ so your parents found someone for you. Derek?”

  Fallon’s tiny head bobbed up and down, her chestnut hair flying past her face. “Yes, and the thing is… I was fine with it.” She wrung her hands out and started to pace again. “I mean, I wasn’t fine with it, but I was indifferent. It was whatever. I knew it was coming eventually, but then…” Her light eyes flew to mine, and the only thing I wanted to do was crush her body to mine and kiss her senseless. I just wanted to take away everything she was telling me. “Then I met you, and… I didn’t know I could feel this way about someone. I was settling for Derek because I didn’t think there was much hope anywhere else. And then I met you and things started happening so fast, and now… I feel stuck.”

  My heart felt as if it were made out of flames. I felt feverishly protective all of a sudden. I took a deep breath, clearing the lodge in my throat. “So, what? What if you just say no? What are they going to do?”

  Fallon’s shoulders dropped, and she stopped right in front of me. I hated that her playful, flirty little smile was gone. I hated that she looked serious and almost fearful. “There was a time when my brother tried to get out of the family business. My father was dead set on both of my brothers following in his footsteps: to marry someone made to be a corporate wife—some type of eye candy to hang on their arm at functions and parties—while they ran the business and eventually took over. My brother, Samuel, didn’t want to be in the insurance business. He wanted to be a doctor.” Fallon shrugged while rolling her eyes. “My father flipped out. As if being a doctor was a bad thing or something. They got in a massive fight. I can still remember it. I was young, maybe twelve or so, but I remember the look on my father’s face when he told my brother to get out.” She peered up into my eyes, taking herself out of the memory. “My father kicked him out of the family, Emmett. I mean, he took everything: his car, his money. He wasn’t allowed back in our house. Nothing. He was starting his freshman year at college, and my father wouldn’t pay for his tuition. My brother had no one to turn to, because, of course, word spread to all our family and friends, and they just turned their backs on him.”

  I swallowed, still staring down into Fallon’s eyes. “So what happened?”

  “He came back, because there was no other way. He’s now one of the top insurance men in the business, almost beating my father’s number of clients, and he married a pretty girl who fits into our family perfectly.”

  I clenched my jaw and crossed my arms over my chest. “So, you’re saying that if you say no, your father will do the same to you?”

  She let out a harsh laugh. “Yes. He just reminded me of that tonight. He knows I have nothing without them. He’s set me up for failure, Emmett. Sure, I have a college degree that he can’t take away from me, but even if I did just call it quits, I would have nowhere to go. No money. No car. Nothing. And then I’d turn out just like they figured I would. I’ve always been a disappointment to them, and for once, I just wanted it to stop. I wanted to stop being the terrible daughter they think I am. So I went on a few dates with Derek, and now wedding bells are ringing in the background.”

  I glanced away, running my hand through my hair. “Then what’s the sudden problem tonight? Why did you come running here?”

  Fallon bit her lip, wiggling it back and forth between her teeth. “He… um.” Her face turned bright red. “He kind of saw you and me at the gala a few weeks ago.”

  I choked on air.

  “He saw you under my dress.”

  Oh, fuck.

  My expression must have matched my thought, because Fallon smashed her lips together and faked a smile. “Yep. He saw you under my dress. So, basically, you can never show your face in front of my father… if ever given the chance.”

  I rolled my eyes. Her father didn’t scare me. He sounded like a piece of shit—one that I would love to step in.

  “Okay… so…”

  “Right, back to the story. So, basically, I’m stuck. I have nowhere to go. I’ve accepted it, but I just found myself hurt and frustrated, so I got in my car and came to you.” A small, barely there smile found its way onto Fallon’s face. “You somehow make things better, Emmett. You make me forget.”

  I desperately pushed down the feeling in my chest and tried to give her a solution—an obvious one. “Why don’t you just get a job, and you can stay with me until you get on your feet? You’re not alone, Fallon. You have us over here in Oak Hill.”

  Fallon put her hand up to her chin, rubbing it back and forth softly. I could see the million thoughts pilling in one after another behind her blue eyes, and I was hoping she’d just agree with me. It was clear what she needed to do. Marrying someone just because her parents said so was insanely out of this world. If her family didn’t love and respect her enough to stick by her side, regardless of her choosing of men or what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, then she was better off without them. It was like they were setting her up for a life full of emptiness, on purpose. Eventually, Fallon removed her hand and peered up at me through her dark eyelashes.

  “Emmett?”

  I took a step toward her. “What?”

  “I know you think I’m crazy right now and that my life is crazy, and you probably don’t understand my choices for marrying Derek… but… can you just make me forget for the night?”

  I took another step toward her and angled her chin up to meet my face. “The problem is, Fallon, you think you only have one choice.”

  Tears found their way to her eyes, but she rapidly blinked them away. She turned her head away from me, and it caused a heavy pit to form in my stomac
h. “I don’t, Emmett. I don’t expect you to understand. How could you? You weren’t raised like I was; you weren’t pushed into this life from the very beginning like I was. You haven’t been the biggest disappointment in your family since the day you spilled chocolate milk on your dress because you simply didn’t want to wear it. I’ll just go. I shouldn’t have tried to con you into making me feel better for something you don’t even understand.”

  Fallon started to pull away from me, but my hand dug into her arm. My face crumbled. I almost couldn’t take seeing her bottom lip tremble. “Stop.” Fallon’s face slowly turned toward mine, and I wrapped my other hand around her slim waist. I brought her body flush against mine, feeling the soft contours of her body. I whispered over her lips. “You’re right. I don’t get it… but I will make you forget for the night, because I think I’m just as desperate as you.”

  My hands moved to her face. I cupped her warm cheeks, my fingers intertwining with her silky hair. Her entire body relaxed, and that was when I took the leap and kissed her breathless. My lips captured hers, and before I knew it, I was backing her against the shelf full of paper supplies. My hands roamed over her body as my mouth covered hers in a way that was almost forceful. I was losing control, and she was, too. She kissed me fiercely, her hands weaving into my hair, her tongue moving over mine like her life depended on it. My hands found their way underneath her long-sleeve shirt, and when I touched her warm stomach, a thrill went down my body. I nipped her lips with my teeth. I pressed my length up against her middle.

  I was completely smothered by her presence, her touch, her lips, her breath. I was becoming submerged in all things Fallon.

  I was overtaken.

  My body pushed against hers a little harder, and then we broke apart from the various paper supplies hitting us on the head.

  “Ouch!” she shouted when a large roll of paper towels hit her right on the crown.

  “Shit, are you okay?” I asked, putting my hand on top of her head.

  She forced out a laugh. “Yeah, I think.” Then she laughed again. “Did we just make it rain paper from our kiss?”

  A smile broke out along my face. I chuckled. “I guess so. Powerful things happen when we kiss, Fallon.”

  She rolled her lips together and looked so damn beautiful that I was three seconds from just taking her right there in the shop’s storage room.

  A wicked idea formed in my head, and I could feel my expression changing from playful to heated.

  “Let’s go.”

  Her brow crinkled. “Where?”

  I inched in closer, again, wanting her to feel how badly I needed her, even if only for the night. “To forget.”

  I grabbed her hand hard and pulled her behind me. We stepped over the rolls of paper towels and several boxes of gloves and whooshed out the door.

  I glanced once at Axe and then walked right through the threshold of the doors, welcoming the night air, still holding Fallon’s hand in mine.

  He knew not to ask questions.

  Axe knew me better than most, and right now, he knew I was on a mission.

  A mission to forget about all the shit Fallon had just told me. A mission to forget that she was marrying another man, someone she didn’t love.

  I was on a mission to change her mind.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Fallon

  “Where are we going?” I asked, trailing after a fast-paced Emmett. My mind felt stripped. I felt stripped. Not literally. My clothes were still fully intact—albeit crooked—on my body, covering my scorching skin.

  Emmett’s kiss tasted like regret, but a regret that I wanted to live with. I was going to be in so much trouble when it came time to part ways. I knew it, yet I just couldn’t stop myself.

  “Emmett!” I repeated. He was pulling me with such urgency that I almost tripped a few times. We rounded the side of a brick building, several yards away from the tattoo shop, and then he pulled me up a set of metal stairs. My boots clanked against each stair with the fast rhythm that matched my heart.

  “Emmett, slow down. I’m getting blisters!”

  He still didn’t answer me. Instead, he let go of my hand, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a key. I stood back, my entire body feeling jittery, and traced his movements with my eyes as he unlocked a door.

  As soon as the door was opened, he pulled me inside and shut it with his foot. The sound caused me to jump, but Emmett was right there in front of me. The room was completely dark, and I had no idea where we were, but I didn’t care. We could be at the gates of hell, for all I knew. The only thing I could focus on was the way my blood was humming and how my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

  The room smelled of him, like laundry and some type of cologne. I whispered, “Where are we?”

  “My apartment,” he answered, taking another step toward me. My heart climbed up to my throat, cutting off all the words that were trying to escape my mouth. “We’re here to shut out the world, okay? No more talk about Derek. No more thinking about your parents or how you’re a disappointment. No more thinking about the future.” Emmett paused and leaned in a little further. I could almost feel his skin on mine. “Let’s just be in the now, Fallon. Okay? Let’s just feel what we want to feel. Let’s just do what we want to do.”

  I gulped, feeling desire grip my entire body. I breathed against his lips, “Okay.”

  His lips covered mine with an urgent push. Emmett spun me around, lips still intact, and pushed me up against a wall. His hand wove into my hair as he tipped my head back. He placed another breathtaking kiss to my lips, his tongue erasing every heavy thought in my head. My mouth parted as he backed away. He took his one hand and ran it along my cheekbone all the way over to my mouth. The pad of his thumb lingered on my bottom lip for too long, and it felt like my insides were melting. Every part of me was melting.

  Emmett took his knee, very slowly and deliberately, and pushed it in between my legs, spreading them out farther and farther until I was all but resting on it. “I need you to be in the now with me, Fallon.” His hand trailed over my neck and collarbone. My exposed skin broke out in goosebumps, and heat began to spread everywhere. I felt dangerously sensual around him. He made me feel like I was his, and I wanted to prove it to him.

  “Do you hear me?” he asked, whispering into my ear.

  I couldn’t even speak. I was almost afraid of what would come out of my mouth.

  He paused his hand just over my breast. Both of my nipples hardened, and I wanted his hands on my body so badly that it physically ached.

  “Answer me, Fallon. I need you to know that, for tonight, you’re mine and I’m yours.”

  My mouth opened and I breathed out, “I hear you.”

  His head slowly moved up to mine, the town lights outside the window showing just a small glimpse of his face. His eyes were dark and intense. His jaw was set in a firm line. And, my God, I’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “Do you understand that you’re perfect the way you are?” Emmett started, his voice gravelly. “Do you believe that?”

  I wanted to answer him. I wanted to tell him I believed what he was saying to me, but the truth was… I didn’t. My family tried to change me every chance they got. I put on a charade in front of my mother, dressed appropriately, and acted as if I were the Fallon Addington I was meant to be, but it was all for show. I did it to please them so they’d be happy with me. I wasn’t perfect, and they made that very clear.

  “Do you believe it?” Emmett leaned in closer to my ear, his breath feeling like a whisper in the wind. It drove me absolutely mad with need. It was like he was teasing me, creating this gigantic buildup that wasn’t needed. I was already wound so tight I thought I might combust.

  “You make me believe it,” I answered him breathlessly, hoping it was that little push he needed to continue on with what we were doing.

  He pulled back, his eyes captivating me, and said, “Good.”

  The next thing I felt was the roughness of his ha
nds ripping away at my clothes. He tore my shirt up over my head and threw it on the floor. Next came my tank top and the unbuttoning of my jeans. I had never felt so out of control in my life. In between him ripping away my clothes, I did the same to him. I smashed my lips on his, kissing the very life out of him while I undid his jeans. They fell to the floor, and he kicked them away, along with his shoes. I pulled my mouth away from his, my lips already feeling swollen, and pulled his t-shirt up far enough that he could pull it over his head. I got a tiny look at the ink covering his chest, but he didn’t give me much time to gaze. Instead, he rushed at my body again, fiddling with the denim covering my hips. He shoved my jeans down and over my butt, hurriedly pulling them off my legs.

  We were both near naked. Me in my bra and underwear, him in only a tight pair of dark boxer briefs. Emmett picked me up and carried me a few feet, his strong hands digging into the flesh on my ass as he laid me down on a soft surface. It was hard but plush, and I assumed it was a rug of some sort.

  Emmett took no time in waiting. He pulled the straps of my bra down, and I arched my back up slightly, allowing him to unhook the back. My breasts felt heavy and tight, like I needed some type of release to make the pain go away.

  I whimpered when his warm mouth landed on my nipple. I felt tingles all the way down to my middle, heat spreading throughout.

  Emmett’s mouth left my breast, and he pulled back to stare down at me. “I wanted this to go slow, but I just can’t wait anymore, Fallon.”

  I nodded my head feverishly, my eyes wide. I spread my legs out far, indicating that I wanted him just as badly as he wanted me.

  This was the best sex I’d ever had, and we weren’t even doing it yet.

  Emmett quickly crawled over to his jeans and snagged them up, pulling out his wallet. I heard the foil of the condom wrapper, and he was over to me in less than five seconds. He pulled my panties down quickly and threw them over his shoulder. He was on top of me, the tip of his dick already trying to make itself at home inside of me. Emmett’s mouth descended upon mine, and I could feel—just by the way he kissed me—how badly he wanted me, too.