Chapter 3
Jordan
He was staring like he wanted to drag me back to his cave and lock me up. Strangely enough, that wasn’t a turn off like it would be with most guys. My core clenched and I had to bite the insides of my lips to hold in my gasp.
I’ve seen men give me this look over the last few years, but I’ve never been tempted to let one drag me off, until now.
Then again, I hadn’t ever met such a gorgeous, intense, guy like him.
I’d moved in next to Gwen a couple years ago and we’d hit it off right away.
She’d talked about her brother many times, but the man standing in front of me—still holding my hand—wasn’t what I’d pictured when I thought of him.
Gwen was grinning, her eyes darting between us as she pulled her kids in close and held them against her body.
She was caging them in so they couldn’t interrupt the moment that seemed to be happening between her brother and me.
My cheeks heated and I pulled my hand from his.
It wasn’t that I wanted to. His grip was strong and for some reason, I felt safe with him.
I’d known him for all of a minute, but I knew he was one of those types who were protective over their women.
“Ricochet,” I said after a few moments of silence. “That’s an interesting name.”
“Oh,” Gwen said with a laugh. “It’s Gage, but-”
“Ricochet is my road name,” he said, cutting his sister off with an amused look.
Frowning, I looked at the black leather vest he was wearing. It had patches on it, one of which said his name. My gaze drifted over to the road and I stared at the black and chrome motorcycle sitting there.
“I’m in a motorcycle club.” His voice was deep and sexy. Everything about him was intriguing.
“Oh. That’s nice.” I had no idea what that really meant. I’d never known anyone in a motorcycle club before.
He smiled at me, flashing white, straight teeth.
I wanted to throw caution to the wind and take a chance.
To cast aside any hesitation. What is happening right now?
I’d been on a hiatus from men for a couple years, ever since my ex and I had split, and things had been going great.
No heartbreak, no fear. Something told me that had come to an end.
“We’d better let you get to work,” Gwen said. She gave her brother a quick peek and, since he was still staring at me, wiggled her brows at me.
Narrowing my eyes on her, I fought back a laugh.
Gwen and I had become friends almost immediately.
She was so warm and open and I adored her kids.
“Thanks, Girl. I’ll call you later,” I told her.
My eyes landed back on Ricochet. I had to fight not to squirm as his pale blue eyes roved over me.
It should be illegal to look at another person the way he was. “It was nice to meet you…”
“Ricochet,” he offered, putting an end to the question of which name he preferred.
“Ricochet,” I said with a nod. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“You will.”
Swallowing hard at the promise in those two words, I began backing away. Relief rushed over me as soon as his gaze fixed back on his nephew and niece and released me from his sultry stare.
I hurried over to my own driveway and got into my car.
The drive to work was a bit of a blur as I thought over the morning.
If I’d known I’d end up meeting such a handsome man, I might have actually done my hair.
Instead, I’d thrown the dark tresses back into a high ponytail to keep it out of my way.
I might have put on some make-up. Instead, I’d just washed my face, thrown on my jeans and a suitable t-shirt and my comfiest sneakers before bolting out of the house. I was running behind, as usual.
Punctuality wasn’t what I was known for.
I pulled into the parking lot at The Arizona Wildlife Sanctuary, grabbed my badge and purse, and then hightailed it toward the entrance.
I loved working here. It was like an outdoor zoo, except it featured all the wildlife local to Arizona.
I’d worked here for years, but used to live further away.
One day I’d decided I’d had enough of the commute.
Driving over an hour each way was eating into my day.
It wasn’t that I had much of a social life, not since I’d sworn off men, but I still wanted some time to myself.
“You’re late,” Margie called as I raced past the ticket booth.
I gave her a wave, but kept going. Her laughter followed me as I ran into the park. After a quick stop by my locker to drop my things off, I grabbed my gear and headed out to my area.
As soon as I stepped into the mews, Scuff let out a series of soft chirps. He jumped from his perch and his beautiful wings spread as he soared over to me. He bypassed my gloved fist and landed on my shoulder.
Laughing, I brushed the top of his head.
His eyes closed as he enjoyed the contact.
“Hi there, Scuff. You’re not supposed to land on shoulders.
The parents get a little worried when you do that,” I admonished him.
“You ready for our show?” I glanced at my watch and grimaced.
There was only about five minutes before my show started.
With him riding around on my shoulder, I hurried and gathered the things I’d need.
Today’s presentation was a smaller one. There weren’t any other handlers helping me and it was just going to be Scuff and me out there. I didn’t mind. I enjoyed the time with my little friend.
I transferred him onto my fist and hurried out to the veranda area where I’d give my presentation. Gasps of pleasure sounded from the awaiting crowds. I smiled as kids tugged on their parents’ arms and pointed at Scuff.
“Hi there! Welcome to The Wildlife Sanctuary. We’re so glad to have you with us today. Scuff and I are here to teach you a little bit about hawks.” I waved at a little girl who squealed and held her hands out toward us. “Does anyone know what kind of hawk Scuff is? Say it nice and loud.”
The Sanctuary put a good amount of distance between us and the visitors when we were doing our shows, so I was mic’d up and they were all about ten feet away.
There were a couple half-hearted shouts from the kids, but no one got the right answer. I lifted my fist and sent Scuff soaring off to the perch that was placed high up to our left. The crowd ‘oooo’d’ and ‘ahhh’d’ as he flew. He was a gorgeous bird.
“Scuff is a Harris Hawk,” I told them. “Harris Hawks are one of the most common hawks here in Arizona. The most interesting thing about them is they are the only hawks that are social. They live in groups and have hierarchies and actively hunt together. This isn’t something you typically see with raptors. ”
I ran through my spiel, letting Scuff soar and dive and entertain the crowd while I gave them facts about his species.
At the end there was a segment of time set aside for questions and answers, then it was time for me to wrap it up.
The disappointed faces as I said goodbye made me want to stay out there for another hour, or as long as the kids wanted to see us, but it was policy and Scuff needed a break.
I waved again to the kids and made my way back to the mews.
“You did so well, Buddy,” I told him as I held my gloved fist up to his perch.
Raptors could be as different as dogs, personality-wise.
You could end up with some like Scuff, who truly seemed to enjoy being around you.
Others could be mean and ornery and only want one thing from you—food.
I treated all the birds here at The Sanctuary with the respect they deserved.
I knew which were looking forward to me coming by and which to avoid.
There was one red-tailed hawk who needed to be put in a separate enclosure while her living area was cleaned out.
She wouldn’t hesitate to attack anyone coming inside, even just to feed her.
Scuff hopped up onto his perch, his dark eyes watching me as he waited for his reward. I gave him a dead quail and watched as he tore into his meal.
The way he’d just been watching me brought blue eyes back to my mind. Maybe that was why I’d felt an instant connection with Ricochet. He watched me the way the birds did, all intensity, interest, and curiosity wrapped into one smoldering stare.
I tried to get him out of my mind as I went around and fed the other birds who called The Wildlife Sanctuary their home.
Most of the animals here would stay for life.
They were unable to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild, so we kept them here and taught people about them.
Sometimes we got lucky with the birds and could release them.
It was always a happy day when that was the case.
“Hey, Theo,” I called out as I tossed a dead mouse into her habitat. The Great Horned Owl gave a hoot as she watched me deliver her meal, then descended on it, quick as a flash. She stood over the mouse, watching me with slow blinking eyes. “How are you today, Lady?”
“One of these days I swear they’re going to answer you.”
I jumped at the voice and laughed as I turned. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, Pumpkin. Didn’t see you earlier.” He arched a brow at me.
Giving him a guilty grin, I shrugged. “You know me.”
“Yes, I do. We have a staff meeting tomorrow. Don’t be late,” he cautioned. He adjusted the glove he was putting on. He had his own show starting up soon.
The crowds were usually bigger during the summer when the kids were out of school, but the weather was perfect right now.
People were happy to walk around outside while the temperatures were cooler, so many were making good use of the gorgeous day.
It wouldn’t be but another few months and the days would start heating up in preparation for summer.
“I won’t miss it,” I promised him.
“Wish I could stay and chat, but everyone is eager to see Iggy.” He stepped into the red-tailed hawk’s enclosure to get her. We currently had three red-tails, one owl, three Harris Hawks, a Cooper’s Hawk, and a Rough-Legged Buzzard.
I leaned against the mesh wire separating Iggy’s mews from the hallway. “Everything’s good?”
“Yup. Your mom is good. Still coming hunting on Sunday?”
“Of course.” I smiled at him. Our family took our raptors hunting every Sunday, usually followed by some kind of meal. We rarely missed it. Falconry was a sport we all enjoyed and it kept us close.
“Good.” He closed the door to Iggy’s area and then leaned over and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “See you later, Pumpkin.”
“Have a good show.” My dad was the reason I’d become a falconer.
He’d started into the sport when I was a senior in high school.
As soon as I’d graduated, I’d taken my own test to become an apprentice falconer, and two years later I was hired here, working my dream job with the birds that I loved.
I’d been here five years now and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
Dad had helped me secure the job, but I’d worked hard to prove myself so that they’d want to keep me on. I moved around, cleaning out the mews my father hadn’t gotten to this morning, making sure everyone who didn’t have a show scheduled for the day had their meal and plenty of fresh, cool water.
By the time the clock hit quitting time, I’d completed all my tasks.
There was a part of me that wanted to find an excuse to go home and knock on my neighbor’s door.
Instead, I pulled into my driveway and went inside my house.
It wouldn’t be fair to take time away from Gwen and the kids, just because I found her brother to be drop dead sexy.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t see if I could bump into him here and there while he was visiting.
Shaking my head, I reminded myself sternly that I was on a hiatus.
It didn’t matter if there’d been enough sparks to start a blaze, I wasn’t supposed to be intentionally spending time with men.
Checking my phone, I saw that Gwen had texted me. I’d been so busy at work this was the first chance I’d had to look at it. Her text was filled with heart emojis and she claimed to never have seen an actual flame between two people before.
I rolled my eyes and texted her back before I started making dinner.
If I wasn’t careful my best friend was going to end up trying to hook me up with her brother.
If I was being honest, there were only two reasons I was hesitating.
My hiatus from men. And the fact that if something went wrong it could affect my friendship with Gwen.
I wasn’t willing to lose her. Fine, there was one more since I was being so honest with myself.
The intensity he showed frightened me as much as it fascinated me.
The man was gorgeous and any woman would be taking notice, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the challenge that Ricochet represented.
As much as I’d like to get on that ride, it wasn’t a good idea.
I kept repeating that to myself most of the night.
By the time I climbed into bed it’d been a steady mantra in my mind.
It didn’t stop the heart pounding dreams.