Page 60 of Trusting the Fall

He brushes a hand over his cream chinos before extending it to Mason.

I smile when my eyes land on the tattoos that cover his forearms.

Little symbols for people in our family. A peach for his mum. A camera for Astrid. A lightning bolt for Thyra. A watering can for my mum. A fishing rod for my dad. And a Viking axe for me.

Another thing that makes me think of Claire. She joked once that I was a Viking, so that’s how I saved myself in her phone. Then she started to call me Lover Boy more often. With more affection. More meaning.

The axe is meant to represent strength and bravery. Tristan says that’s what I bring to our family. I’m the strength, the protector, someone they can all depend on.

I wish I could help Claire see all the ways I can offer that to her. I know she’s scared of what us getting closer might bring, but surely, she knows by now that while she can be vulnerable, she never has to be scared with me. I’ll always take care of her, and I’ll keep showing up and proving it until she’s ready to let go and fall into my arms.

“Hey, man. How’s your mum?” Mason asks.

I would join their conversation, but the woman who owns my attention even when she’s not around has just hypnotised me once again. Standing over by a pop-up ice cream stand in a soft yellow sundress.

Her tousled hair hangs on her shoulders, reminding me of how soft it is when my fingers are buried within the strands.

She’s laughing easily at a guy looking at her with stars in his eyes, and a red haze consumes me.

I’m up and out of my seat in the blink of an eye, storming over to where Claire stands, unaware of the raw possession flaring within me.

I zigzag through the crowd, my body on autopilot as it navigates the people, but my eyes stay locked on the bombshell almost within reach.

My steps slow enough when I approach that I don’t flat out bump into her, but she must sense my presence crowding at her back once I stop. Her neck straightens, shoulders open, preparing for defence.

“Fancy seeing you here, Bombshell,” I purr into her ear, my eyes narrowing on the guy who previously held her attention. I’ll be taking that now, thank you.

As I stand over her, letting her presence consume me, I feel her defences waiver.

Whether she means to or not, she leans ever so slightly into me, her back accepting the strength of my chest behind her.

Standing like this, her head perfectly fits under my chin, and I want to tuck her into my arms. Envelop her with my claim, showing her and everyone else here that she’s mine. Mine to protect. To praise. To earn. Maybe more, if she’d ever let me.

That brief pause of defeat is enough for me to chance winding my arm around the curve of her hip, drawing over her stomach and pulling her more firmly against my body.

When she accepts the encouragement to fall into me, I want to scream from the rooftops. Look at this woman. This beautiful, strong woman accepts my pledge to be the one she puts her trust in. She, at the very least, grants me the audition to try.

Smug satisfaction beats against my chest like a caveman when I see the guy notice where my hand falls and stays.

“Who’s your friend?” I ask, punctuating thefriendpart. All other positions have been filled as far as I’m concerned.

Claire’s hair tickles under my chin as she swivels her head to look up at me over her shoulder. I’m not prepared for the proximity of those whiskey eyes on me when I meet her gaze. The warm brown irises, filled with gold veins, look even more enchanting with the light dusting of gold shimmer over her lids. Her long lashes are coated in mascara, making her eyes look wide open and inviting.

“This is Matt. We went to school together.”

Mattlets out the douchiest laugh known to man and I put him firmly in the loser column.

“And we went to the school ball together,” he adds as he looks at Claire as if they hold some unique sort of bond just because they went to a dance together. “King and Queen of Heart City High.” I hate him.

“So you’ve always been a queen then?” I give a gentle squeeze of her hip, my arm bound around her waist, holding her tighter against me as I nuzzle into her neck. The giggle she emits would have gone unregistered if I didn’t feel the way her body shakes against mine.

“So, how is it you two know each other?” Second-best asks.

I hum in delight, taking advantage of the way Claire is lowering her defences with me right now.

I don’t want to push too hard in fear she’ll retreat, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. This is what it could be like if she were truly mine. If she’d let me have her out in the open.

I squeeze her hip again, this time with a flurry of quick bursts, earning me a squeal of delight.