Making a Play Page 10

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  I nodded and walked toward him and the food he’d set out. There were two different pizzas. One for meat lovers and one without meat at all. He was good at this. Thinking about little things like that. Although I loved meat. I’d be eating the meat lovers’. Bacon was my favorite, and I could see it on the pizza.

  I glanced up at him, and I caught a frown. I hadn’t expected that. “What’s wrong?” I asked right away.

  “The guy who delivered this is a friend of your brother’s.”

  Ah. He had thought about that too.

  I nodded. “I know. Rifle—I’ve met him,” I said.

  The small wrinkle on his forehead didn’t go away. “Should we expect Hunter to show up?”

  I thought about it a minute. I’d worried about the same thing. Ryker didn’t want tonight to be ruined either. He’d tried to make dating easy for me, and he shouldn’t have to worry about that. I reached for my phone, which I’d slid into the side pocket of my leggings.

  “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t,” I assured him.

  Ryker’s frown eased some. “Can you do that?”

  I nodded again, not feeling as confident as I was trying to be. It was possible Hunter would flip out.

  I am at Nash’s house with Ryker. He ordered pizza and we are playing pool. He knows dad won’t be okay with me dating him so he chose this for privacy. Nothing else is going on. Rifle delivered the pizza. He saw me here. Don’t show up and ruin this night for me.

  I reread it, then hit send. Then I looked back up at Ryker. “I texted him.”

  Ryker raised an eyebrow. “You know he doesn’t trust me.”

  I grinned then. “I know. But he trusts me.”

  Ryker chuckled. I wished I could hear that. Know what it sounded like. Without thinking, I reached out and placed my hand on his chest to feel it. The rumble in his voice. The vibration. He stopped, though, the moment my hand touched him.

  I lifted my eyes from his chest I had been observing and saw he was frozen. I’d confused him. He wasn’t moving, and I wanted him to laugh again. I needed to know how it felt. That’s all I could have. “I wanted to feel your laugh,” I explained, not sure he’d get that. It sounded odd to those who didn’t understand the deaf world.

  My phone vibrated, and I dropped my hand from his chest and opened the text from my brother.

  Ryker promised me he’d not try anything with you. I am going to trust him. But know this, I don’t care about his size or that he is a crucial part of the team. I will make him regret it if he does anything wrong. Anything that disrespects you.

  I wanted to be angry at Hunter’s response. As if I needed a protector. But I knew it was all because he loved me. He wasn’t trying to control me. He was worried about me. But he was trying to let me have a life here too.

  I glanced up at Ryker, who was very still. I wanted to laugh this time. There were no worries that Ryker was going to do anything that Hunter would disapprove of. At this point I was pretty sure I would need to work just to get kissed. He was more nervous than I was.

  You don’t need to worry about Ryker. He’s being so good I doubt I get kissed.

  I thought about not sending that but decided it would keep my brother away from here tonight. So I sent it. I lifted my gaze back to Ryker, who was studying my face for answers.

  “He said he is going to trust you.”

  Ryker let out a sigh of relief, and again I wished I could hear that. I wanted to hear him. This was new for me. I’d never craved the sound of someone’s voice before. I didn’t know what that was like, so it hadn’t been something I’d thought too much about. The cochlear could give me things like that. Then it could go wrong, too. Not work at all.

  “Good,” Ryker said.

  I thought about eating and returning to our game of pool but decided to be brave. Tell him what I was thinking. I’d trusted him with my voice, and although I had no idea what it sounded like, I knew it wasn’t perfect. I knew it was different. That was something I’d learned in the deaf school I’d attended. They’d encouraged us to use it but told us it wouldn’t always be clear to the hearing, since we may not be pronouncing correctly.

  “I wanted to feel your laugh. I can’t hear it. I wish I could. I’ve never wished that before. But I do with you.”

  His expression changed. His eyes held a softness inside their dark pools. His full lips parted slightly. I liked reading his lips, because it gave me a reason to study them. “That’s why you touched my chest?”

  I nodded but kept my eyes on his mouth.

  He gave a soft smile. “I’d laugh again if I could, but right now laughing isn’t what I want to do.”

  “Oh,” I said, glancing up to meet his eyes and see if something was wrong.

  He took a very slow step toward me. His eyes holding mine with that same softness that said so much in the silence. I saw his arm move to my left just as his hand touched my waist. My eyes dropped to see his hand on me. I wanted to save that in my memory to think of later. I loved the color of his skin. It reminded me of a warm, deep, ebony. It was beautiful. Just like I was sure his laugh would be. His hand squeezed my waist with very little pressure, and it gave me a thrill. I wanted to memorize that, too.

  His finger slid under my chin and lifted my head back up to meet his gaze. My eyes went to his lips instead, in case he was going to say something. His hand kept the hold on my waist, and it didn’t make me nervous. That surprised me. His hand was big, like the rest of him. It should have scared me a little at least, but it didn’t. I wanted it there.

  His lips didn’t move. He said no words. Instead he moved even closer and lowered his broad shoulders and head to me as I stood on my tiptoes, knowing what was to come this time. Wanting it more than I wanted air. When his full lips met mine, I felt the sound I made. I hadn’t meant to, and in the moment I couldn’t worry what it had been or if it was loud.

  Whatever the sound came out to be, it made his hand squeeze me again, and I felt a vibration in his chest as I placed my right hand on it for support. Sliding it to the exact spot where I could feel any sound he might make, I opened my mouth just as his lips parted over mine. The mint from his gum was the first taste as he began to make my world spin from the pleasure. Kissing him this time was more powerful than before. He made me feel weak in the knees just as the electricity of this touch tingled throughout me. It was a confusing reaction, and I didn’t want it to end.

  I Liked Her Sassy

  CHAPTER 21

  RYKER

  This wasn’t my plan. I’d even sworn to myself I would wait until the end of our date to touch her. I knew touching her would lead to kissing her. Seeing that bare shoulder with those fucking adorable freckles the moment she walked out of her door tonight had made me want to kiss her. It was a miracle I’d made it this long. Seeing her study my lips like she wanted to lick them had been my undoing. I knew I had good lips. Females had talked about my lips most of my life. Aurora’s fixed gaze on them, and the desire in her expression had been too much for me. I was weak where she was concerned. If she wanted to nibble on my damn lips, she could. I was sure I’d let her do anything she asked.

  Hell, I didn’t know what this feeling was or what was happening. I just wanted to be with her all the time. She’d wanted to feel my laughter. Her explaining that to me had made my chest ache in an unfamiliar way. I wanted to laugh so she could feel it, but damn—nothing felt funny right now.

  Another soft moan came from her, and I knew I had to stop this before I couldn’t. I was going to respect her, like I’d promised. I knew she was innocent, just like I knew she had no idea she was making the sexy little sounds that were going straight past my heart and good sense to a much lower region she knew nothing about.

  Stopping was going to be like taking my arm and ripping it from my body. Her other hand came up to touch my chest. Her right hand fisted, and she had my T-shirt in her grip. She was holding on to me as if she could read my mind and k
new I was battling with my desire for her and being a good guy. She tasted like honey and smelled like coconut. I couldn’t get enough of it. No one should taste and smell this good. It was unfair.

  I reached deep and grabbed every ounce of self-control inside me before pressing one last kiss to her lips. She hadn’t expected the abrupt ending, and the confused look in her dazed eyes just about broke my resolve. I inhaled deeply, bent my head, and pressed my lips to her bare shoulder, taking in the softness of her skin for the briefest moment; then I let her go and stepped away. Needing to get enough space so her smell wasn’t fighting with my willpower.

  “That . . .” I paused. I needed to be sure how I explained this. I wasn’t clearheaded enough just yet for talking. Taking a few deep, slow breaths, I tried again. “That was amazing. But I didn’t bring you here to do that. I have to stop while I can.” I added the last sentence, realizing she needed it spelled out for her. As much as I needed to stop that, I also wanted her to know I didn’t want to.

  Her eyes widened, and damn if there wasn’t a flash of want in those green depths that made me groan with frustration. I was glad she couldn’t hear me. She would never know this was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Someone needed to give me a goddamn award. Beer would be good right now.

  “We need to eat,” I blurted out, and had to stop looking at her swollen pink lips and flushed cheeks before we ended up on the sofa. I wasn’t a saint. Although, at the moment, I was feeling saintlike.

  I moved to the bar and grabbed a plate, anything to keep from touching her again. I turned to hand it to her. She was still standing in the same spot, watching me. Slowly she walked over to take the plate, and a small smile touched her lips as she reached out for it. It didn’t reach her eyes, and I could tell it was forced. Shit. I was not doing this right. I didn’t let her take the plate. I set it back down and mentally slapped myself for making a mess of this. Tonight wasn’t supposed to go this way.

  I started to reach out and touch her arm but stopped myself. The way she felt, getting her too close meant I’d smell her again. Not a good idea. “You look upset. I didn’t stop the kissing because I wasn’t enjoying it or didn’t want to. You . . . or touching you.” I was stumbling with my words again, and it was so damn frustrating. She was struggling to read my lips. I could see it in her expression. I focused on her face and slowed down my rambling.

  “I want you, Aurora. In every way. More than I have ever wanted anything in my life. I want to be near you, talk to you, see you smile, get to know all about you, what kind of pizza to order you, what your favorite drink is, all of it. I want all of it. But I also want to lay you down on that sofa over there and cover you with my body. I’m not going to. Not tonight. I want to do this right with you. You’re important to me.”

  I’d said that all as slowly and clearly as I could instead of just letting my thoughts fall as they came and confusing her. I still wasn’t sure if I’d been talking slow enough for her to follow. Maybe I needed to text it to her. Her eyes stopped studying my lips when she was sure I was done talking, and she lifted her gaze to meet mine. We stood there for a moment without words. The only sound I heard was our breathing, which was slowing as we calmed down from the mutual attraction.

  “I like bacon on my pizza and thick crust. I drink water most of the time, but I love Cherry Coke.” The corners of her lips lifted slowly after she said it, and her eyes twinkled, matching the teasing grin that had spread across her lips. Jesus, I was sunk. It had happened that quick. That easy.

  “Where did you learn to play pool?” I asked her, liking the lightness of her mood.

  She pressed her lips together then to keep from laughing, and I wished she wouldn’t do that. I wanted to hear her laugh. She was still holding back on me there. “Dad. He bought us a pool table for Christmas when I was five. When they moved, he left it. I would play when I was missing Hunter.”

  I had a feeling those memories weren’t good ones. She wasn’t frowning, but I could imagine her dad moving out and taking her twin brother with him had been hard on her. Not only was the man a bigot, he was selfish. Both parents were selfish, for that matter. They hadn’t been thinking about Aurora and Hunter. Their children’s needs hadn’t come first.

  “Let’s eat, then I’ll see just how good you are.”

  The cocky, self-assured grin made me want to grab her and kiss her some more.

  She closed the space between us, and I tensed, trying to make a quick decision, when she reached around me and took the plate I had set back down. Then she winked at me before turning her attention to the pizza. I stood there grinning like a damn fool. I liked her sassy. No, I fucking loved it.

  She took two pieces of the meat pizza. I went to the fridge and grabbed her a bottle of water since there was no Cherry Coke. Although there would be next time. I’d be sure of it. Then I took a beer out for me. When I closed the fridge, I looked back at her sitting on the barstool, and it hit me I was driving her home tonight. This was all new to me. I had to make smarter decisions. To think of someone other than myself. I wanted to be better. I’d never cared about what anyone thought of me. I had always been living my life and doing it my way. Not anymore.

  I opened the fridge again and put the beer back, then grabbed a second bottle of water. When I closed the fridge this time, I was smiling. Turning to see her watching me now, I liked how she made me feel.

  “If you didn’t have to drive me home, I wouldn’t care if you drank the beer,” she said. I hadn’t realized she’d caught me. “Do Nash’s parents not look in the fridge?”

  “Not yet they haven’t. Nash has gotten away with a lot this year, though. His accident changed things,” I replied, and walked over to her to place both our waters on the bar. I grabbed a plate and put two slices of each pizza on my plate along with some wings, then stuck a piece of the cheese bread in my mouth before sitting back down.

  I felt her gaze on me. I turned my head to see her smiling so big I was expecting that laugh I was still waiting to hear. I bit off the cheese bread that was in my mouth and began to chew while holding the other half in my hand. She watched me, and I watched her watching me.

  When I finally swallowed, I asked, “What?” not minding her watching me in the least.

  “I just liked watching you eat,” she said.

  I nodded my head to the plate in front of her. “I want to see you eat too.”

  Then there it was . . . she laughed. A real laugh and it was adorable. The best part was she didn’t even realize she’d done it. She was comfortable with me. I wasn’t the only one enjoying myself. This was mutual.

  I Missed You

  CHAPTER 22

  AURORA

  “By the smile on your face I’m guessing last night was fun,” Hunter signed to me when I walked into the kitchen the next morning to get my waffle.

  “Yes,” I replied with my voice.

  Hunter gave a nod. “Good.” He said the word, but his frown didn’t match what he was saying. I assumed he had hoped I would have decided I didn’t like Ryker.

  “I’m going to tell Dad about Ryker,” I said.

  Hunter shook his head no at me. His eyes flared with panic. That made my anger toward my father spike even more. I hated how Hunter feared standing up to him.

  “Yes,” I told him before he could argue. “I don’t want to keep him a secret. It’s not fair.”

  Hunter ran a hand over his face as if he was trying to think this through and needed a moment. I knew before I’d arrived that there was no conflict in this house. Hunter didn’t like conflict. He never had. If he’d been more like me, then I wondered if he would even be playing football now. Had that been forced upon him, or did he love the sport like he appeared to? He knew nothing else.

  “Could you at least wait until the game is over Friday night? We don’t need anything distracting us.”

  I started to say no, then paused and wondered if maybe I was being selfish about telling Dad. Hunter and Ryker both needed to wi
n this playoff game. If Dad was going to fight me on this, then his attention would either be taken off Hunter for once, or he’d take it out on Hunter, and I didn’t want Hunter to have more pressure on him from Dad than he already did. There was also the fact that it would distract Ryker with my drama, and he didn’t need that. Hunter and Ryker didn’t need me standing between them at the moment. Dad would expect Hunter to overcome all of that and win the game. This could all go so many different ways I couldn’t gamble on it.

  “Tomorrow night. Let us get through tomorrow night. If we win, and we should, then let’s talk about it before you decide to tell Dad. We could win State, and you know that will secure me getting a football scholarship.”

  He was talking and signing. The anxiety clear in his movements and expression. I was right in my assumption that Dad would make his life even harder. Hunter didn’t want to experience that, and I didn’t blame him. But one day soon he was going to have to tell our father no and be his own man.

  “Okay,” I agreed. Although Hunter already had scholarship offers from colleges. He wasn’t happy with any of them, or our father wasn’t happy about any of them yet. Maybe Hunter would make his own decision about where he went. I wished he would. Then I thought of Ryker and any offers he might have or where he wanted to go. Would it be far away?

  Hunter sighed, and we stood there not speaking, moving, or eating. I wasn’t that hungry anymore. But I would be starving before lunch. I began to move toward the box of frozen waffles still on the counter. Going through the motions of toasting one and putting the box up, I wondered if we were making a bigger deal out of all this than was necessary. I knew Dad was controlling. I just didn’t know if this was really going to be an issue for him. I was going by Hunter’s word.

  When my waffle popped up, I grabbed it with a napkin so as not to burn my fingers, then turned to get a bottle of water from the fridge. I knew Hunter was still standing in the same place. He hadn’t moved. He was waiting on me to look at him again. Which meant he had more to say. I thought about walking outside to his truck, but that would have been rude.