Page 44 of Jacked and Jaded

She’d done it when she was sixteen and it had disturbed the fuck out of him. That was a really big reason he’d fought his attraction to her even after she was of legal age. He’d had a hard time looking at her and not seeing her at sixteen, so he’d avoided being alone with her.

His plan would have worked if not for two reasons. The first was when she’d caught him at home alone. He’d been drinking and watching porn when she showed up. One thing led to another and they’d had sex. It had been the best sex of his life despite her limited sexual experience, although that’s not what he’d said at the time. It bothered him how much he liked seeing her naked and sprawled out in his bed. She looked like she belonged there, not just one night, but every night. The second thing to enlighten him as to his feelings for her was seeing her in the hospital and knowing he’d almost lost her forever. She could have died. Both events had really shaken him up.

The sound of someone knocking on his door grabbed his attention. “I think she’s here, bud.” He set his nearly empty bottle on the counter as he walked past the kitchen and went to answer it. He checked the peephole and smiled seeing her standing on his front porch all nervous and shit.

Opening the front door, he greeted her. “’Bout time, babe. Thought me and Ryke were going to have to come get you.” He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her inside, waving at his dad as he drove off on his bike.

“Sorry. Had to wait for Maverick to give me a ride.” Calliope had a light blush to her cheeks that was cute. The ride wasn’t long enough for it to be caused by too much sun or too much wind on her face, so he thought it had something to do with meeting Ryker for the first time.

Watching her smooth her hair back from her face where the helmet must have pulled strands free from her low ponytail when she took it off, he imagined Calliope was getting tired of depending on people to take her where she needed to go. He was sure it was a pain in the ass, but she also saw the need for it, too. Until enough time had passed that it wouldn’t draw the police’s attention when Clint disappeared, they were stuck.

She was wearing a short summer dress that matched the color of her turquoise eyes. Her shiny black hair in its low ponytail allowed him to get a good look at the big, skinny, silver hoop earrings she was wearing and her smooth, slim neck. Shit, he wanted to nibble that neck so bad, he could barely stand it. Later, he promised himself. He’d do that and more later. After he put Ryker down for the night. He loved the way the short, form-fitting dress showed off her long legs. Her wedged flip flops made her normal five-foot-nine-inch frame even taller. Even with the shoes, she was still shorter than him by a few inches. It wouldn’t matter if it made her as tall as him as long as she wrapped those pretty long legs around his waist while he hammered her hard into the bed.

He led her into the kitchen, where she set her purse on the island as she hopped up on one of the barstools. “You want a beer, soda, water?”

“Water will be fine, thanks.” Damn. She’d worn mascara and eye liner, making her eyes pop. She normally had dark, thick lashes, but when she applied even this minimal makeup, she was breathtaking. If she kept worrying her bottom lip, there wouldn’t be much lip gloss left on the lip. Son of a bitch. He was going to have to kiss her if she didn’t stop.

He set the water in front of her and watched as she immediately picked it up and drank from it. It was his turn to bite his bottom lip. He was trying not to laugh at her, but his girl was cute when she was nervous.

“I’m grilling pork chops. You want to come outside while I’m doing it? You can meet Ryker and get it over with so you can relax.” He pulled a plate of pork chops that he’d already seasoned out of the fridge and led the way. He set the meat on the table and got his son’s attention. “Hey, Ryke. This is Calliope. Come over and say hello.”

Ryker stopped what he was doing, got up and went to stand at his dad’s side. “Can you say hello?”

“Hi.” Ryker stood with one arm wrapped around Jackson’s leg and a finger pulling at his bottom teeth. He tended to be a little bashful until you got to know him, then he talked your ear off. That he was blaming on Ryker’s mother.

Calliope leaned forward to get herself closer to Ryker’s level. To watch her now, she didn’t act the least bit nervous. “Hello, Ryker. It’s nice to meet you.” When his son tried to hide behind Jackson’s leg, she spoke again. “I have something for you. It’s in my purse.”

That got a grin from Ryker. Jackson leaned down and pulled his finger away from his son’s mouth. “If you want it, you’ll have to talk to her.”

“Do you care if I bring him inside and give it to him?” Calliope stood and faced Jackson.

“Sure.” From where he stood, he could see Calliope pull something out of her purse and hand it to Ryker. It looked like some type of toy from the packaging.

Ryker came running outside waving it around. “Wook what Liope got me!” Apparently, Calliope was a bit much for his son to spit out.

“Hold it still so I can see it.” Jackson dropped into a squat in front of him. He had to latch onto Ryker’s wrist to get him to hold it still long enough to see what it was. Another motorcycle. Oddly, this one looked a lot like Jackson’s. Ryker had been wanting one for a long time, but they’d never been lucky enough to find one in any of the stores they frequented. “Nice. Where’d you find it?”

“I found it at bike shop across town and had Tom pick it up for me.” Her smile when she looked at his son was beautiful.

“Ryker’s been looking for this one for a while now. It’s just like mine. We just got him one like dad’s the other day.” Ryker went to fetch it and held it up so she could get a look at it.

“It does look like Maverick’s bike.” Calliope laughed and handed the bike back to Ryker.

“Have a seat while I get this toy out of the package.” He took a seat next to her, turning his chair so they sat knee-to-knee. He pulled a knife from a scabbard on his side and got the bike out in no time. Ryker stood next to his chair, bouncing up and down, barely able to contain his excitement. “Did you thank Calliope for your toy?”

Ryker ran over to Calliope and threw his arms around her the best he could. Jackson watched her eyes close as she hugged his son back. Seeing the two of them together only confirmed what he’d believed all along. They were going to be a family. Sooner, rather than later. Calliope better hold on because he wasn’t wasting anymore time. He was going to make her his and she was never going to leave Redemption again. “Thank you, Liope.”

“You are so welcome, Ryker.” Her eyes followed him back to the rug where he’d been playing.

“I’m going to get these started.” He opened his grill and pushed the foil-wrapped potatoes over to make room for the meat.

“Mmm. What is that wonderful smell?” Calliope asked from his side.

“That would be the greek seasoned vegetables.” He pointed to a foil packet on the other side of the grill.

Calliope’s stomach growled. “Sorry. I’m hungry. Getting a whiff of that just reminded me how hungry I am.”

It didn’t take long for Jackson to have dinner finished and placed on the table. He cut up his pork chop and put some on Ryker’s plate. He followed that up with a little bit of the baked potato that he’d added butter and sour cream to and a spoonful of vegetables. Ryker sat on a booster seat at the table, his new motorcycle within his reach. He ate everything on his plate but balked at the vegetables.

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