Read Online Fighting for Flight by Jb Salsbury - Free Book Online Page A

voice didn’t crack under the pressure.
    “Hey, Jonah.” Raven tilts her head, motioning to her
friend. “This is my friend, Eve. Eve, this is Jonah.”
    “Hi, Jonah.” Eve shakes my hand and peruses the
backyard. “Nice digs.”
    “Thanks. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the
guys.”
    I direct the girls to walk ahead of me with the idea
that I can place my hand on the small of Raven’s back. It’s a
gentle way of claiming her in front of the guys. It’s either that
or plunge my tongue down her throat in front of everyone, and
something tells me she’s not quite ready for that.
    She brushes past. Her delicate pear fragrance fills
my lungs. I bite my lip and lust saturates my brain. My fingers
burn to bury themselves in her hair and pull her to me.
    I place my hand where the slope of her spine flows
to her ass and nearly stumble over my feet. There, on the backdrop
of her perfect olive skin, is the tattoo that has been taunting me
for days. A flock of blackbirds serpentine from her shoulder,
dipping below the fabric of her dress. From the scale of the
tattoo, I’d say the birds start at her hip.
    The view evokes images of her laid out naked before
me. Running my tongue along my lip, I imagine what it would taste
like to kiss her from one end of her tattoo to the other. To feel
her skin, warm, soft and sweet against my lips. I’m already hard as
a rock, and I haven’t even seen her in her bikini yet. I go over
baseball stats, trying to ease my raging need.
    “This is my friend Owen.” Raven rakes her sunglasses
up on her head. “The pierced one is Rex, and the one who looks like
he just jumped off a tractor in Idaho is Caleb.” She nods through
the introductions. “Guys, this is Raven and her friend, Eve.”
    I watch closely as my friends size up the girls.
It’s not wasted on me that they seem to find the two women
attractive. But they linger a little too long on Raven’s eyes.
    “Damn, girl. You got some wicked peepers.” Owen’s
observation has the rest of the guys agreeing in grumbled
affirmations.
    A familiar blush lights her cheeks. “Thank you. It’s
nice to finally meet you guys.”
    “Finally?” Rex’s shit-eating grin tugs at his lip
ring. “How long have you and Jonah been hanging out?”
    Raven’s attention slides to me, her eyes wide. “Oh,
we’re not hanging out . . . er . . . we work—”
    “What would you girls like to drink?” I redirect the
conversation and smile at the relief I catch in Raven’s expression.
Why does it feel as if we’re hiding some deep, dark secret?
    “Water would be great,” Raven answers and Eve
nods.
    “You girls up for baseball?” Most girls wouldn’t be
interested in the game, but, then again, most girls aren’t car
mechanics.
    “Baseball?” Raven scrunches up her nose and shakes
her head. So damn cute .
    I motion to the loungers set up poolside. “Would you
rather get some sun?”
    She studies the double lounger and looks at Eve.
They both smile big. “Yes, please.”
    I set them up with towels and a lounger, placing
them close enough so that I can admire Raven, and go back and forth
from them to the game easily.
    With a fresh beer in hand, I relax against the bar
and settle in for the game. So far so good. I have a girl, a
date , over at my house. The guys are being semi-respectful. The
girls are laughing and talking comfortably. What could possibly go
wrong?
    “Let’s get this party started, motherfuckers!”
    Oh, shit. Blake.

Six
    Jonah
    My glare sharpens toward the sound of his voice, and
it takes everything I have not to punch something.
    “Fuck me,” I whisper to the floor.
    Blake isn’t alone. He has three girls with
him. Two of them I’ve seen before. One is the red-headed stripper,
and the other is the blond stripper I slept with a week ago.
    Girls I’ve slept with don’t come over. Ever. What
the hell is Blake thinking?
    I drop my head into my hand. Dammit. Blake
doesn’t know I slept with her. He was too busy