Fighting for Flight (12 page)

I didn’t think her giggles could get any sweeter,
but her scratchy morning giggles are the best.

“Well, too bad, because you are.”

My smile widens at the compliment. It’s not that
I’ve never had a girl tell me I’m cute, but everything means more
coming from Raven’s mouth.

Her eyes move to my arm as her finger slowly traces
my tattoo.

“This is really beautiful. Ryan Allen Slade.” She
reads the scripted name. “Is it a tribute to your dad?”

“Yeah, he loved the ocean so I thought it fitting
that the cross rises up from it.”

Her fingers outline the swirls of waves then the
cross at my bicep, moving up to the sky and clouds. Leaving trails
of fire against my skin, her finger follows the pattern to the
angels at my left pec. She looks up at me, her piercing aquamarine
eyes heavy with sleep, her eyebrows raised in question.

“Katherine is my mom. Beth is my sister.” The words
come out rushed. I don’t want her to think the women’s names inked
on my body are past lovers.

“And why the blank spot in between them?” Her finger
brushes at the unmarked skin over my heart, teasingly close to my
nipple.

“I’m saving that for my future wife.”

She pulls her hand away like it’s been burned and
ducks her head. I curse myself for ruining the moment.

I roll to my back to expose my right arm and point
to the fiery phoenix.

“This one here I got for a two reasons. First one is
obvious.” We’ve talked about me being from Arizona and moving to
Vegas after high school.

She lifts her head and nods. I’m thankful to see the
awkward moment pass.

“Second is because after my dad died, I was
destroyed, like I’d lost everything, not just my dad. Then I
started fighting and . . .” I pause, remembering the lost boy I was
and comparing him to the man I am now. “It gave me something back.
Not so much reborn, but redirected. It gave me purpose, a reason to
wake up every day.”

Her thoughtful eyes study mine, her eyebrows pinched
in concentration. “You found a way to deal with your pain in a
healthy way that improved your life.”

“Yeah, I guess. Although sometimes it feels like
fighting found me, ya know? I could have gone either way. Jail for
assault or the UFL.”

She sighs and rolls to her back, eyes to the
ceiling. “If only everything were like that. It’s not easy to do:
owning and accepting the pain of our past, the heartbreak, our
misgivings, and using them for good. Make our lives better not in
spite of it all . . . but
because
of it.”

Her whispered words are directed at no one, and I
wonder if they were meant more for me or for her. I watch her
profile as she continues to inspect the ceiling fan.

It’s not the first time that the girl beside me has
knocked me stupid with something that comes from her beautiful
mouth. As I sit dazed by her brilliance, my mind attempts to piece
together what she’s been through. Being the daughter of a pimp and
a prostitute in Las Vegas couldn’t have been easy. Her dad was
hawking women’s bodies and profiting from it, even the mother of
his own daughter. Revulsion stirs in my gut.

We lie in silence for several long minutes, me lost
in thoughts of her, her just looking lost.

Huffing, she turns her head with a sweet smile. “I
need caffeine.”

And just like that, she’s back. These last few days,
Raven has opened up to me on her own, always changing the subject
when she’s done sharing. I want to know more about her, but I’ll
let her set the pace.

“Are you always this pushy in the morning?” I
tease.

A soft pink kisses her cheeks as she buries her head
in my chest. I run my hand up her back into her hair.

“I don’t think I’m pushy in the morning, but then
again, I’ve never slept over with a boy before.”

“Boy, huh?”

Rolling her to her back, I climb above her and bury
my face in her throat. Her hands slide into my hair, and she holds
me to her. I nip at her neck, eliciting a soft moan that vibrates
against my lips. It takes every ounce of my control not to flex my
hips into her accepting body. I pull up the hem of her t-shirt and
rest my hand against her ribs.

“Jonah, is that your phone?”

I ignore her breathy question as my fingertips brush
against the underside of her breast.

“Jonah, I think you should get your—”

I silence her with my mouth, swallowing her unspoken
words. She hums and tilts her head, allowing me to delve deeper. I
do just that, driving my tongue against hers. As slow as I can
manage, I move my hand up until it’s overflowing with the weight of
her breast. She presses into my hold, molding my hand against
her.

“What if it’s an emergency?” She breaks the kiss to
speak before pulling me back to her lips.

I smile at her eagerness before sucking her full
bottom lip into my mouth. Her hands slide from my neck down to my
chest as she explores my body with her touch.

“You taste fucking fantastic.” I trail my tongue
from her lips to her neck with every intention of tasting her
breasts.

“The phone. It could be . . . a family emergency.”
Her clipped words come out between needy pants. Her hands run up
again and into my hair sending the opposite message of her
words.

I’m kissing her shoulder, her chest heaving against
mine. There isn’t much that could drag me away from her willing
little body. But she’s right. And I’m pissed.

“Fuck.” I kiss her hard and suck her tongue deep
into my mouth letting her know there’s more to come. “Later.”

With a quick push up, I’m off the bed. She whimpers,
her face flushed, a shy smile tugging on her swollen lips. Her face
is free of makeup, and her hair is tossed around the pillow in a
wavy halo.
Seriously gorgeous.

“I’m going to kill whoever that is.”

Her laughter fills the room making it hard to stay
mad. I follow the sound of my ringing cell phone to the living
room, hoping the distance from Raven will calm my racing pulse and
dull the throb in my pants.

Nabbing my phone off the table, I check the caller
ID.

Yeah, he’s dead.

“This better be good,” I growl.

“Oh shit. Either you didn’t get laid last night, or
I interrupted your morning piece of ass.”

My teeth grind together and I grip my cell. Blake
has no idea how close he is to a beat down.

“Blake, you ever talk about Raven like that again, I
will rip your balls off and shove them down your throat. I won’t
tolerate anyone disrespecting her. We clear?”

Is he fucking laughing? What the hell.

“No shit, man.” The way he says it, I’m surprised he
doesn’t follow it with a “Duh!” He chuckles. “Pretty obvious after
watching you two last night. Oh, and for the record, I
approve.”

“Great. Don’t know what I’d do without your
blessing.” I force sarcasm into my words, but can’t suppress a
smile.

“‘The Assassin’ settles down. I can see the
headlines now. Women around the greater state of Nevada flood the
streets with tears.”

“I’m not settling down. We’re just hanging out.” I
grimace at the sour taste of those words from my mouth.

“Right, dude. Whatever you say.”

Subject change, ASAP. “You called for a reason?”

“Well, besides calling to find out if you dipped
your—”

“Blake.” My tone is heavy with warning.

He’s laughing. “Training today is moved to
eleven.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, and, Jonah, I want details.”

“Keep dreamin’.”

His laughing is coming through the phone in loud
bursts. “Just hanging out, my ass!”

“You’re an asshole.”

Hitting end, I toss my phone to the kitchen island,
making it skid. I grab the coffee pot and turn to see Raven leaning
up against the kitchen doorway. She tilts her head, flashing me a
sexy half-smile. How long has she been standing there?

“Let me guess . . . Blake?”

“Yep, Blake.” I fill the coffee maker with water.
“How’d you know?”
Or better yet, how much did you hear?

“I heard the a-hole part when I walked in.”

Good.
I’m glad she didn’t hear the part about
us just hanging out. I know it’s more than that, but Blake’s nosey
ass doesn’t need to know.

“He really knows how to get you going, huh?”

“It’s safe to say Blake knows how to get everyone
going.” I scoop coffee grounds into the filter, spilling some on
the counter. “Except you, you actually laugh at him.”

Most girls who laugh at Blake are trying to get him
take them home. No way Raven has feelings for Blake. Jealousy, mean
and ugly, twists in my gut.

“He’s funny.” She says it like it’s the most obvious
thing in the world.

I stop what I’m doing and turn to her, arms crossed
at my chest. “How funny?”

She shrugs and comes to me from across the kitchen.
“Really funny.”

The urge to beat the snot out of Blake comes out of
nowhere. A need to protect or mark what’s mine overwhelms me.
Something primal and male pushes my feet to move across the room
and make a point.

I close the space between us, grab both hands full
of her ass, and fuse my lips to hers. Her body tenses for a moment,
probably shocked by my sudden need, before her muscles melt against
mine. She clutches at my shoulders with a moan that settles behind
my ribs. I use my hold on her backside to lift her up on the
counter and step between her legs. The heat from her skin sears
mine as she presses in close. My hands tangle in her hair, gripping
tight and pulling back, opening her to me. Her body relaxes, giving
me control. I growl in victory before I break the kiss: no slow
sweeps of my tongue to bring her back, just a quick nip at her
lower lip.

“Wow.” She straightens out of my hold. With her
hands locked behind my neck, she leans her forehead against mine.
“What was that for?” She pulls back, her eyes searching my face.
“Wait, was that . . . are you jealous?”

She knows? Of course she knows. I acted like a
complete animal.

“I had to be sure.”

“Be sure?”

“Yeah. Be sure that I do it for you.”

Her eyebrows pinch together. “And?”

“Baby, the way you just gave yourself over to me? No
question.”

Her eyes grow wide and her face gets red, but she
doesn’t deny it. Yeah, I totally do it for her. Blake can live.

I run my thumbs across the heat of her blush. “Do
you work today?”

She blinks as if she’s just been released from a
spell before her shy smile is directed at me. “I’m on call.”

“I’ll finish up the coffee. You check in with Guy
and find out if he needs you in today. If not, I want you to go to
training with me.”

“Training with you?” Her hands tense behind my neck.
“I mean, won’t you get in trouble if you bring a friend?”

I tuck her loose hair behind her ear before cupping
her jaw, my thumb skating along her lower lip. My eyes follow the
path of my thumb, remembering what she tastes like. “Friend? Is
that what you are?”

She tries to drop her chin. I hold her face to mine,
locking her eyes.

“No, at least, I hope I’m more.”

“Yeah, baby, you’re definitely more. So, the answer
to your question is no, I won’t get in trouble if I bring you to
training. We can swing by your place, feed Dog the cat, you can
change and grab some of your stuff for the next couple days.”

A slight tremor runs through her body. “Days?”

I ignore her question. After last night and this
morning, with her sexy warm body pressed against mine and waking up
to her giggles, her throaty moans, and my hand up her shirt, she
isn’t going to be sleeping anywhere, but my bed in my arms from now
on.
Or as long as this lasts.

“Come to training with me. You’ll like it. You might
even pick up on a few things.”

“Don’t think I need MMA skills in my everyday life
at the garage.”

“True,” I say, twisting a piece of her soft hair
around my finger. “But it wouldn’t hurt to know how to break
someone’s arm.”

I laugh at her horrified expression.

“You can do that? Break someone’s arm?”

“Come to training and I’ll show you.”

A quick call to Guy confirms that she’s free for the
day. She had a hard time explaining why she was over at my house at
nine o’clock in the morning, but it seems he bought her excuse that
she was here working on the Impala. Their close relationship puts
me at ease. In the short time I’ve known Raven, I haven’t seen her
talk on the phone to anyone outside of Eve and Guy. She’s mentioned
that she and her mom aren’t close. I remind myself to ask her about
that later.

Ready for the day, me showered and dressed, Raven
properly caffeinated, we head to my garage. She walks to the truck
and waits for me to hit the locks.

“Which one do you want to take?” I motion to all of
the available forms of transportation.

Stunned, she looks up at me like a kid who just
walked through the gates of Disneyland.

“I get to pick?”

“Sure, if you want to.”

“Heck yeah, I want to!”

She walks to the Harley without hesitation and hits
me with the stupefying smile she did last night. So open, and
trusting but also something beyond that. Believing.

I try to ignore the tightening in my chest. “The
Harley it is. Grab a helmet.”

We climb on, and I try hard not to smile like a
complete jackass as she wraps her arms around my waist. The weight
of her head touches my back, and I could swear she was hugging
me.

There’s not a guy out there that wouldn’t list
having his girl on the back of his bike as one of the best feelings
in the world. Her knees are at my hips and the heat of her body at
my ass. Yeah, I’m smiling like a jackass all right. At least she’s
behind me so she can’t see it.

Raven