Fighting for Flight by JB Salsbury (easy readers TXT) 📕

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