Page 36 of Ricochet

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

What was the likelihood that Delta team had a job the morning after Jax’s wedding? Brock wouldn’t do that to the team—though emergencies of national security importance knew no holidays. Colin glanced at his cell phone. The screen had been dead since he woke up, and if he had any interest in a promotion within Titan Group, rookie mistakes like that wouldn’t fly.

Yet, hehadn’t moved. For at least an hour, Colin had been aware his phone was dead, and his boss would rip him a new asshole. He’d thought about Brock’s lecture and the sure-to-follow spiel from Jared. But having Boss Man and his team leader tear into him was worth the sacrifice when it meant Adelia could stay here, draped like a sweet lover who was somehow wrapped in innocence he didn’t see often. Lastnight, he’d learned that there were many layers to the woman who’d once tried to kill him. He liked knowing the Adelia the rest of the world didn’t see.

The night had been filled with a connection he didn’t expect and wasn’t ready to walk away from, even if he could come back another time. They had an uncrossed barrier that was left unsaid, but he respected her boundaries—not that he plannedto try anything beyond a kiss on the community center’s roof. He’d needed her and wanted to be alone. Maybe, after her moment of running off the dance floor, she needed him too.

The morning calm was his favorite part of the day—a clean slate to start over, and the cool air felt fresher. Most times, Colin could think more clearly.

But that wasn’t the case right now. His mind crept back to thewedding-reception trinket that caused a chain of reactions, from kissing Adelia to letting his phone die.

Damn it. If Brock was trying to get a hold of him, Colin’s ass was in trouble. A dead phone didn’t matter. His only hope was that the powers that be wouldn’t schedule a job off-the-cuff the morning after a Titan wedding.

Even if Brock didn’t call, Colin would never tell a soul that he’dbeen awake and ignoring a dead phone because he’d chosen to wait for the sunrise and watch Adelia sleep.

She stirred as though she could tell he was watching her and stretched her suit-jacket-covered arms. Her pink lips rubbed. She yawned.

“You waking up?”

“Mmm, maybe?” She curled against him, and Colin let his palm drift over her soft curves.

If someone had told him years ago that thiswas ever a possibility, it wouldn’t have been a serious conversation. Somewhere over the course of Ryder and Jax spending time with their wives, which meant their teams interacted with Mayhem—and Adelia—he’d seen that they were real people not a group to be lumped together as a gang. But still, Colin had to wonder what kind of life Adelia had with Mayhem. He should be thankful, considering what herlife could’ve been like, and now he knew Mayhem, he knew it wasn’t just Harleys and days filled with partying. But the organization sold guns and drugs, and Colin couldn’t picture the woman in his arms holding a .45mm handgun, which meant his sense when it came to her was dead wrong.

Her eyelashes fluttered as her hand found his, interlocking their fingers. “Hi.” She stretched against him andpurred like a cat.

She might throw him off, but for the moment, he was cool with it. “Morning.”

The sun caught her soft, brown-sugar eyes, and her sleepy grin lit with a contentment that couldn’t be hidden by her smudged eye makeup or any other telltale signs of their late night. “We had a slumber party on a roof.”

She giggled and didn’t scoot away as she woke, instead staying pliable.

Ifan award were given for potentially odd morning-after conversations, they were candidates. Nothing had happened between them other than a night of kissing that he wouldn’t forget. That and sleeping on a roof, which wasn’t anywhere near the worst or most uncomfortable place he’d slept, but he could blame his job for that. But clearly, something had happened between them last night, and Colin had noidea what it was.

“You’re just looking at me,” she finally said.

He tilted his head. “Last night was… different.”

And he liked different. For the first time, he’d done the unexpected. What he wanted to do, what felt great for him—and them—and that difference had him buzzing better than any round of sex he could remember. That was the only thing he could think of, and they had barely touchedone another.

Her eyes went back to his, and the pink of her cheeks had lightened. “In a fun way.”

He lifted his chin in agreement.

The corners of her lips quirked. She lounged languidly, making no effort to sit up. “What’s the opposite of crashing a wedding?”

He chuckled. “Us.”

Birds flew in the distance, and he watched a car drive down the road. There hadn’t been many so early in the morning.

“I can’t believe we didn’t leave.” Adelia shivered.

Colin rubbed her shoulders and tucked his jacket around her. It swallowed her whole. Colin draped an arm around her side, flexing her closer as she moved back to where she had been the evening before and rested her head against his chest.

“Do you make a habit of sleeping on roofs?” she asked.

He hummed and searched the roof as though thescenery might strike him as familiar. “Nope. This is a first for me.”

She laughed. “Me too.” Her eyes rounded. “Ugh, I used you as my mattress.”

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