Chapter 14
Jordan
My shoulders drooped as I cleaned up in the kitchen.
I’d eaten an early dinner and was planning on being in bed in the next half hour.
I was completely wiped from a week of taking care of the sick hawk.
I’d ended up working a few more night shifts as she’d relapsed.
She was finally on the mend, but it had been an exhausting rehab.
Staying by the new hawk’s side had been worth it, but I was paying for the lack of sleep.
As long as she kept improving we’d be able to release her in another few weeks.
It made me so happy knowing she’d be able to go back to living a wild, free life.
I paused in the act of wiping the counter as I thought about the soccer game and, more importantly, the man who’d lingered in my thoughts since.
If I was being honest with myself, he’d been on my mind since I’d met him.
I couldn’t seem to shake this attraction I had for him.
That’s why I’d given in and proposed this plan to get to know each other.
It was still risky and I should be running in the opposite direction every time I saw him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If anything, he drew me in closer. He was like my own personal black hole, sucking me into his vortex. It was dangerous.
Correction, he was sucking me in because he was dangerous.
I should have learned from Dan that handsome, charming men weren’t to be trusted.
But then again, I wasn’t sure Ricochet was all that charming.
At least not in a conventional sense. He didn’t have pretty words that eased all my worries.
He was blunt. Told me exactly like it was, or how he perceived it to be.
He came off as very…honest. Something I hadn’t experienced much with men of my age.
Thanks to my dad and brother, I knew exactly the kind of relationship I wanted with my future husband.
Men who were like them. Kind, caring, protective, and loved their women more than anything.
I’d just started to give up on finding it.
It didn’t help that I’d locked myself away like a princess in a tower.
Was Ricochet my prince? I frowned at that. He was no prince charming, but somehow it just seemed right. Maybe he was a fierce beast. One who’d rip past every barrier I erected around my heart. Time would tell whether I could truly trust him.
A sound caught my attention right before my front door was yanked open. A gasp tumbled from my lips as I reached over and grabbed the largest knife out of the wooden block on my counter. I was too far away to get to my shotgun.
“I thought I told you to lock this door.” Ricochet stepped into my home, shutting the door behind him.
The breath wheezed out of me, my heart thrumming inside my chest at a rhythm that was double its normal tempo.
“Ricochet!” I was still holding the knife out in front of me, but I slapped my empty hand to my chest as if that would force my heart back into a normal pace. “You scared the shit out of me.”
He was still scowling at me, his eyes surveying the room, when the sound of jingling echoed in the space. “You were supposed-” He froze, staring down at the floor in the living room. “What the fuck is that?”
I hurried around the low wall that divided my kitchen and dining room from the living room.
That was the only aspect of this home that I disliked.
I loved the open floor plan that was common here in Tucson, where one room bled into another with nothing in the way.
It hadn’t been an option and I’d loved this place too much to pass it up for one wall.
Hurrying over to Haze, I crouched down. “You’re okay, Lady,” I murmured to her.
Using a finger, I stroked her head. It was more for myself than her.
She merely tolerated the handling, but I loved that she let me pet and soothe her.
She fluffed out her feathers, eyeing the large man standing there gaping at us, before starting in on preening herself.
“That’s a fucking hawk.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the disbelief in his tone. Standing, I faced him. “She is. She’s a Harris Hawk.” I cocked my head at him. “I told you I worked at The Sanctuary. What I didn’t mention was that I’m a falconer.”
“You treat sick birds?” A look of fascination passed over his face as he moved closer to Haze.
“No, the veterinarians do that. Though we do go out and pick up injured raptors when people find them. Mostly, I fly them. Use them to hunt rabbits for sport. At The Sanctuary I take care of them, feed, water, clean their mews, and I teach the public about different types of raptors.”
“That’s pretty cool,” he said, crouching down near Haze. “Can I touch her?”
“Sure, but go slow. She’s friendly, but these birds aren’t pets. They-” I broke off in shock as I watched Ricochet reach forward and press his finger onto the tip of Haze’s beak.
She arched her head back, then sent me a bewildered look. I was as surprised as her. “Did you just…” I trailed off, trying to hold in my laughter.
“Booped the snoot. I do it to all animals.” He told me, as though it was completely normal for him to touch the nose of a predator. He was now stroking his fingers down Haze’s chest.
She was being patient and letting him. That or she was still in shock over what had just happened.
“Her feathers are a lot softer than I figured they’d be.” He brushed her chest again, then stood and gave her some space. She settled back down on her perch. “Do you always have her in the house?”
“No. Her mews are out in the backyard, but since I haven’t been home much in the last few days I wanted to bring her in for a bit. She’s a really social bird and gets depressed if I don’t visit enough.”
“This is seriously interesting,” he told me, a glint in his eyes making me a little nervous, “but I’ll have to ask you about it later. For now, I want you to explain why you haven’t been locking your door?”
“I…forgot. It's a habit to just leave it unlocked once I get home. I’m still trying to change that,” I admitted to him.
“It’s not safe to leave it like that, Sunshine.”
Shaking my head in exasperation, I explained, “I’ve never had any issues. We’re far enough out here that no one usually messes with us.
“Until the day someone decides to,” he countered. He sighed, visibly trying to rein in his patience. “Do me a favor and please keep it locked.” He raised a questioning brow when I grinned at him.
“Something tells me you don’t typically ask so nicely for something.”
“Rarely,” he admitted.
I moved back into the kitchen, with him close on my heels. “Would you like something to drink? …Eat?”
“Naw, I’m good.” He leaned back against the counter. Somehow the open space of my kitchen seemed so much smaller with his broad shoulders filling it.
“What brought you over to break into my house?”
“Can’t break in somewhere where the door isn’t locked. That’s just called coming inside. Open invitation.”
Rolling my eyes, I conceded, “I get it. I’ll keep it locked.”
“Good.”
He shifted to move out of my way as I reached past him to put my now dry dishes away. His hand ran down my back as I moved past. Shooting him a mock glare, I scolded him. “Remember our deal?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Wanted to see when your next day off was.”
“Day after tomorrow,” I replied, bending down to put the pot I held away. It didn’t require me looking to know he was staring at my ass. My smile was sly as I pushed the pot all the way to the back of the lower cabinet.
“Wanted to see if you’d come with me.”
His voice was thick and deep. My lower belly clenched at the huskiness of his words. “Where to?”
“To meet my family.”
Straightening up, I frowned. My hands found their way to my hips. “Your-”
“My other family,” he elaborated. “They got back from a wedding a few days ago. Almost all of them anyway. I want to introduce you.”
“I don’t know, Ricochet,” I said. My nerves were already jangling.
“You already met, Kit,” he pointed out. “And Butcher and Toxic. It’s just a few more people.”
“It just seems to be moving fast…”
He didn’t try to force the issue. There wasn’t any whining or manipulation, a tactic that was Dan’s go to move. It was just another way he was proving he was nothing like my ex.
At some point you’re going to have to learn to trust again. Men and yourself.
My mother’s words of wisdom echoed through my head.
Because of all that, I relented. “Okay. I’ll go.
” It didn’t matter that my hands were suddenly sweaty and it felt like I was diving into the deep end.
What better way to get to know a man than to meet his family?
Speaking of, I needed to clear all this with Gwen.
My stomach began tangling itself into knots at the thought of us discussing me possibly having a relationship with her brother.
She’d heard all of my woes over the years, just like I’d heard hers.
She might not approve of me for her brother even though she seemed open to it the other day.
Maybe she’d changed her mind after the dinner.
Just the thought made an acrid taste pop up inside my mouth.
If nothing else, maybe meeting more people that knew Ricochet would help settle this internal debate that was warring inside me. It was incredibly difficult to be at odds with myself like this. Nothing before had ever prepared me to be so torn.
“I’ll let you get some sleep.” He’d moved closer while I was lost in thought.
I hadn’t even noticed. His palm covered one half of my face as he cupped my cheek.
His thumb brushed lightly underneath my eye.
I had bags big enough to hold all my trauma and those of half the people living in Tucson.
If I wasn’t so exhausted, I’d be embarrassed that he was seeing me this way.
Though, it was only now occurring to me the state I was in.
My old sweat pants hung low on my hips and the shirt I wore stopped just beneath my breasts, leaving my stomach bare.
I hadn’t bothered with a bra since this was what I’d wear to bed.
My hair was tossed up in a messy bun and I’d long since wiped off the light coating of make-up I’d applied that morning.
“You look so damn good.”
My eyes widened at his compliment. How had he known what I was thinking?
“You have a really expressive face,” he told me, answering my silent question. “Bet you’re a shit liar.”
“I am,” I confirmed. “But I’m not a fan of lying or liars.”
“Good to know. I don’t ever plan on lying to you.
For instance, if you hadn’t made me agree to that stupid deal I’d be carrying you upstairs right now, Sunshine.
The things I want to do to your body have me hard as a rock.
” He leaned in closer, letting the proof of his words brush against my lower belly.
Danger!
I was milliseconds away from letting him do whatever he wanted.
He was waking my body up from a dormant state.
I hadn’t been this horny in a long time.
I knew hopping into bed with this man would be the end of life as I knew it.
Only, I wasn’t ready for that. So I did what came naturally, I deflected. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
He blinked at me, caught off guard. “Sunshine?” I nodded, hoping to keep him talking in order to give my raging libido a chance to ease. I eyed my freezer, thinking about dumping ice down my pants to cool off. “Because you chase the clouds away.”
My brows drew low as I mulled that over. “I’m not sure what that means.”
“Ask me again the day after tomorrow. If you’re still interested, I’ll tell you then.”
“What-” I stopped talking when his hands skated down my sides.
When he reached my ribs and coarse fingers ran over my naked flesh, I shivered.
Oh God. It had been so long since I’d been touched by a man.
Since strong hands had wandered over my body.
Every cell of my being was rejoicing in the feel of those calloused hands on me.
“Ask you later,” I managed to squeak out. “Got it.”
His fingers squeezed my waist in agreement, or appreciation.
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that this didn’t stop.
I longed to feel him touch me. My nipples were hard little points, straining against cloth.
My panties were quickly dampening beneath my sweats and all he had done was touch my sides.
I needed to get a grip. I just didn’t know how to while he was touching me.
“I’d better go.” He sounded as tortured as I was. At least I wasn’t in this alone.
As much as my body was screaming at me to make him stay, I nodded.
There was a reason I was doing this and it wasn’t just to put us through hell and back.
I couldn’t trust myself to be impartial.
Not when I was this insanely aroused by him.
I needed to make sure that he wasn’t like my ex.
Only then could I allow myself to imagine the things he said he wanted. To be his old lady. To belong to him.
I walked him to the door and the look he gave me as he stepped out into the night air nearly scorched the fuzzy socks I had on.
As much as I wanted him, I was afraid. Scared to let myself get involved and to allow feelings to grow.
That was a surefire way to get hurt. Dan breaking my heart had been bad enough.
Ricochet, given the opportunity, would shatter it.
He had the potential to destroy me on a level that there would be no returning from.
And how damn scary was that? I’d just met the freaking man and already I knew the consequences of loving and losing him would be catastrophic.
Leaning against the door frame, I watched as he bounded up over the railing in a single leap.
It didn’t matter that there were stairs nearby.
He seemed to take the jump as a challenge.
There was probably a metaphor somewhere in there that I could take some lesson from, but I was too damn tired and wrung out to analyze it.
Shutting the door, I locked it before I returned Haze to her mews and made my way up to bed.