Catching Orion Read online

  “No, um, it’s okay,” I said as I took a step back to give Ryan more space. “So anyway, Uncle Frank entered me into the raffle but didn’t tell me until afterwards when he… I won.”

  “Why did he enter you?”

  “Because he’s a manipulative, nosy old bastard who wants me to be as deliriously happy with someone as he’s been with his husband for the past thirty years.” I couldn’t help but smile as I spoke the words. As much as I usually wanted to strangle my great-uncle for meddling in my affairs, I loved him like nobody’s business. The man had some serious boundary issues when it came to my relationships, but I knew it was only because he loved me. Still, when your elderly relative was giving you advice on sexual positions…

  I shivered as I remembered that awkward conversation.

  “No, he uh… he entered me because I just recently moved here after an ugly breakup and he thought it was time for me to get out and meet new people. Says I work too much, that sort of thing.”

  Ryan studied me a moment, but he must have seen something in my eyes that said how badly I didn’t want to talk about this stuff because he nodded and said, “I still don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

  God, this was going to suck, but I didn’t really have a choice.

  So I ripped off the Band-Aid.

  “Ryan, you were the other winner.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Ryan

  “UM, WHAT?”

  Yeah, that was the best I could manage. Part of it was the shock and part of it was that I still couldn’t take my eyes off the gorgeous man in front of me. He was even bigger up close. Muscles bulged everywhere and I doubted there was even an ounce of fat on him. The tattoos on his arms were an array of mesmerizing colors and shapes. There was ink on the back of his hands and along his fingers too. I was pretty sure he had at least one on his chest because I could see the edges of a design peeking out from the collar of his T-shirt.

  The fabric of his shirt was plain and paired with worn but clean black jeans and heavy-looking biker boots. He had several chunky rings on his fingers, along with a heavy chain-link bracelet on one wrist and a wide leather band on the other that also had a watch face on it. The bouquet of flowers he was holding looked positively dainty in his big hand. His hair was similar to mine in that it was a little longer on top than the sides, but his was light brown. He had a little bit of scruff on his face that made my insides go all tight as I considered what it would feel like on my skin.

  Get back to the program, you perv.

  Right… he was here for a… date… with… me.

  A date I’d apparently won in a raffle I’d never entered. Not to mention the fact that the huge man who should have scared the shit out of me but didn’t, had been chatting with someone who’d claimed to be me.

  “I’m sorry, Knox, I don’t know anything about this,” I said. “I swear, I didn’t enter any kind of raffle… I’d remember if I had. And I don’t have an account on that app.” I shivered as I considered the light, flirty messages that Knox and the person pretending to be me had exchanged. It was clearly someone who knew me.

  “It’s probably an asshole ex just messing with you,” Knox said. “But still, if you have a pen and paper, I can leave you my number and if someone gives you a hard time… anyone at all, you just let me know and I’ll take care of it, okay?”

  His voice was so low and growly that a shiver ran through my body… the good kind. The kind I’d only had once when I’d crushed hard on a boy in my math class.

  “No, it’s okay,” I forced myself to say. “It’s probably one of the kids I work with playing a joke or something… but they’re harmless.”

  “You work with kids?”

  I nodded. “I’m a counselor. I work at a shelter that helps kids from the LGBTQ community… lots of them come from the street because they were forced out of their homes or ran away.”

  “Wow, that’s incredible,” Knox said. The awe in his expression made me feel all gooey and delicious. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he took another step back from me.

  When had he moved closer to me again and how hadn’t I noticed? He was everything I feared in a potential date. But for some reason, I didn’t feel afraid. Yeah, I’d had that little hiccup when he’d reached for me, but considering the circumstances, that reaction had been pretty tame for me.

  “Well, anyway, I should let you get back to whatever you were doing,” Knox murmured. “I’d really still like to leave you my number just in case. Even if you just throw it away as soon as I leave—”

  “Okay,” I interrupted. Before I could stop myself, I added, “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

  I stood there frozen as I stared at him. I couldn’t stop looking at his warm, brown eyes. He had this “hard” face that was strangely beautiful, but something about his eyes just did me in. I’d been physically attracted to guys before, but those feelings had always been tempered by my past. And more than one guy had hit on me, some as big and scary-looking as Knox, but I’d always managed to find a way to dodge their advances and escape the situation. With Knox, strangely enough, escape was the last thing I wanted to do.

  And it was because of his eyes.

  They said things in a way I doubted his voice ever could. I’d never been big on all that romantic mushy stuff about a person’s eyes being the most attractive thing about them or them being the windows to a person’s soul, but suddenly that saying made a lot more sense to me.

  It was Fiona who interrupted the silence with a plaintive meow. We both looked down to see her staring at us. The chameleon in fur looked so innocent and pathetic as she made these mewling sounds that I knew were an act. But hell if it didn’t work on the man across from me.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Knox said as he crouched so he could pet Fiona. “Have we been ignoring the pretty little princess?”

  I found myself smiling at the way he made his voice go all light and soft, like he was talking to a child instead of a temperamental cat. My smart feline began preening at the attention and rubbed herself all over Knox’s hand, then his leg.

  Lucky girl.

  God, what was wrong with me?

  I watched as Knox lifted Fiona in his arms. My cat, who usually reacted to strangers about as nicely as she did when I was trying to brush the tangles out of her long white hair, began purring so loudly I was sure the neighbors would hear.

  The little hussy.

  Great, now I was jealous of my cat.

  My eyes drifted to Knox’s muscled arms as he cradled my cat against his big body. It was several long beats before Knox stepped forward and handed me my cat. Our skin came into contact during the transfer and my already stiff cock began filling even more in anticipation. Heat flooded my body as Knox towered over me. I dug my fingers into Fiona as Knox’s thumb came up to brush at my forehead.

  Well, not my forehead exactly, but the little lock of hair that was always falling over it.

  “Why don’t you go get something for me to write my number on?” he suggested, his voice thick with… something. “I’ll wait here.”

  I nodded dumbly but didn’t move. It was only when Fiona tried to get back to Knox that I awoke from my aroused stupor.

  “Be right back,” I practically yelled before I darted around him and back into the apartment. I shut the door behind me, but mostly just to keep Fiona from running back out to Knox… okay, okay, and maybe to keep myself from inviting him inside to wait.

  Fiona let out a pathetic little meow when I dropped her on the kitchen counter so I could look for a pen and notepad. “I know,” I grumbled. “I know!”

  Not surprisingly, my girl followed me back to the door when I found what I was looking for. Knox was once again leaning against the stairwell. As he moved toward me, I felt the muscles in my stomach tighten. The wall was just behind me and all sorts of naughty images of Knox pressing me up against it had me going even hotter inside.

  Damn, why hadn
’t I thought to pull on a pair of jeans or something while I’d been in the apartment?

  There was no wall-pressing of any kind as Knox took the pad and pen and jotted his number down as he balanced the flowers in the crook of his arm, then handed the items back to me. He held my gaze for a long beat, then reached up to straighten my glasses, even though I was pretty sure they weren’t crooked.

  “Take care of yourself, Ryan.”

  “Yeah, you too,” I said in a strangled whisper.

  He turned his back on me to head for the stairs. Fiona began to follow, but I knew she wouldn’t go past the steps. As infatuated as she might have been with the beautiful man, she craved the safety of her home more. It was something my girl and I had in common.

  But the farther away Knox got, the more the pain in my chest began to radiate out and my breaths got harder and harder to take. “Knox,” I called before I could consider what I was doing.

  “Yeah?” he asked as he turned. Did he actually look hopeful?

  “What did we win… in the raffle, I mean?”

  He smiled. “A session at one of those painting and wine classes.”

  I nodded.

  “Night, Ryan.”

  “Night.”

  The second he turned, I blurted, “I like wine.”

  Knox stilled, then looked over his shoulder at me. “Me too,” he said.

  “I, um, can’t paint for shit but I’ve always wanted to learn,” I added lamely. That was partially true… I couldn’t paint. But I also had no desire to learn.

  “Painting is good,” Knox said nervously. “Teaches you good…” He paused for several seconds and then finished with, “Hand-eye coordination.”

  I barely hid my smile when it looked like he rolled his eyes at his own response.

  “Everyone needs more of that, right?” I said, feeling a little more relaxed as I accepted what I’d started. I could do this. I would do this. “More hand-eye coordination.”

  “Absolutely,” Knox said as he moved slowly back toward me. He scooped Fiona up as he went. “I mean, good hand-eye coordination helps you drive and do other stuff safely, right?”

  It was the most ridiculous conversation I’d ever had with anyone in my life.

  And I was loving every second of it.

  “That’s right. So maybe we should go… for safety reasons. If you want to, that is.”

  “Oh yeah, I want to,” Knox said as he petted Fiona. My eyes got stuck on his strong hand that was so incredibly gentle on my finicky feline. Fiona looked like she was in seventh heaven.

  I nodded. “Okay, so we’ll go… together… to save lives and stuff.”

  “Right, to save lives,” Knox said with a cute little smile that softened his entire face. He handed me Fiona again.

  “Okay, we should go,” I said. I began walking forward when Knox slowly reached out to grab my upper arm. Sparks radiated throughout my entire body.

  “As much as I love your cat… and your outfit… I don’t think Fiona will love my Harley. And I really don’t want to spend the evening killing every guy who looks at you.”

  His thumb was rubbing little circles into my skin, rendering me mute.

  My clothes, right.

  Because I was in my pajamas.

  “I’ll go change,” I croaked.

  Knox nodded. “I’ll wait out here. Bring a jacket, okay? It’s chilly. And here, these are for you.” He handed me the pretty flowers.

  Daisies.

  Just a handful of plain white daisies that still managed to make me tear up a little. I’d never gotten flowers in my entire life. I knew I should have thanked him, but all I managed was a quick head bob and then I rushed inside.

  I hurried to my room and deposited Fiona on the bed, then ended up sitting down on it myself.

  “Oh god, what am I doing?” I whispered as I clutched the flowers to my chest.

  I needed to go out there and tell Knox I’d made a mistake. I could just tell him I had too much homework to do before my next class.

  But I didn’t move.

  Fiona carefully padded onto my lap and then sat down primly and stared at me. I could practically hear her encouragement.

  Okay, yeah, I was reading a lot into my cat’s eerie, silent expression, but it was a whole heck of a lot easier than admitting I wanted this.

  Really wanted it.

  And I had no idea why.

  CHAPTER 4

  Knox

  I COULDN’T BELIEVE it when Ryan actually re-emerged from his apartment, fully dressed. I’d been certain he would cancel on me.

  “Is this okay?” Ryan asked as he motioned to his clothes. The jacket I’d suggested he bring was clutched in his folded arms. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a lavender button-up shirt that made his light green eyes really stand out. He’d brushed his hair but that errant lock still crept over his forehead.

  And I itched to touch it again.

  “You look amazing,” I said. I glanced at my own outfit. “Sorry, this is about as dressed up as I know how to get—”

  “You look beautiful,” Ryan whispered, then practically choked when he realized he’d said the words out loud. “I mean… you, um, look fine. Good. Really fine and good.” His cheeks went bright red. “Shut up, Orion,” he breathed.

  “Is that your real name?” I asked.

  He looked both horrified that I’d overheard him and relieved at the subject change. I began walking toward the stairs in the hopes of keeping him moving forward so he wouldn’t change his mind and because I was so damn eager to have him relax and enjoy our date.

  “Oh, um, yeah.”

  “So your parents named you after the constellation?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer for a long moment. One glance at him and I knew I’d wandered into some shitty territory. Ryan confirmed it when he said, “I’m not sure… we never really talked about it, I guess. We’re not… close.”

  Fuck.

  Way to go, Knox.

  I struggled to find a different subject. “So besides Shrek and that sweetheart of a cat, what else makes Ryan Abernathy tick?”

  I was relieved when Ryan chuckled. “You fell for her act, huh?” he said as he sent me a sidelong glance.

  “Act? No way, your girl is sweet on me, for sure.”

  “Ok, next time she needs to be brushed, you’re up. We’ll see how sweet you think she is then.”

  I laughed. “I don’t know… I’ve got a pretty light touch,” I said as I blew a breath across my knuckles and rubbed them across my chest. “Kind of have to in my business,” I added.

  “What do you do?”

  I pointed at my tatted arms. “I’ll give you one guess.”

  Ryan grinned as he looked at the tattoos. “So I guess you’re going to put me to shame in the class tonight, huh?”

  “Doubtful. Painting a bowl of fruit isn’t really my thing. Add in the wine and it’s pretty much a crapshoot at what’ll end up on the canvas.”

  Another laugh from Ryan. “So why did your uncle enter a painting and wine class raffle for you? There must have been more exciting options.”

  “Not a clue,” I said. “He’s actually my great-uncle… he’s my father’s uncle. So he’s on the older side and I guess he thought it was perfect first date material.”

  “What would you have picked?” Ryan asked. “One of the hot air balloon rides?”

  I shook my head. “I like an adrenaline rush as much as the next guy, but not on the first date.” I glanced at him and saw that he was still looking at me expectantly. I sighed and admitted what my idea of a perfect first date really was. “A walk along the beach,” I said softly. “Maybe a little picnic on a blanket while we’re watching the sun set.”

  I smiled at his look of surprise.

  “What?” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “I like the outdoors and I like it just being me and the guy I want to be with. Getting to know him and what makes him tick…”

  “It’s nice,” Ryan responded.
“Just… not what I expected. Sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry,” I said as I came to a stop on the landing of the stairs. I tipped his chin up. I’d meant to reassure him that I wasn’t upset in any kind of way, but I got lost in his eyes. Before I could stop myself, I was running my thumb over his lower lip. His lips parted and my dick tightened painfully in my pants.

  I needed to let him the fuck go. But instead, I stepped in closer to him. His back was near the railing, but he didn’t move away from me.

  My mind screamed at me to release him, but my body was already pressing up against his.

  I tried to remember what we’d been talking about, but my mind was blank. I could practically see Ryan trembling, but I wasn’t sure if it was with anticipation or something else. When he still didn’t move, I tipped his face up even more and lowered my head.

  “You’re an onion,” he blurted just as I was about to press my mouth to his.

  “What?” I asked, so startled that I pulled back to put some space between us.

  “Oh my god, I’m sorry!” Ryan cried. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I was just thinking how Shrek said he was like an onion because he had layers and you have layers even though you look like…” Ryan’s eyes went wider than I thought humanly possible. “No, wait, no! You’re not an ogre! You’re not. You’re gorgeous and sweet and nothing like an ogre but ogres have layers and you have layers and Shrek had layers and he was sweet and kind even though people only saw him as ugly and dangerous and—”

  I kissed him before he could say anything else because I could tell he was starting to upset himself. He let out a little cry of surprise as my lips covered his. My intent had been to keep the kiss tame, but the second I tasted his sweetness, I was a goner. My only saving grace was that after a moment’s hesitation, Ryan started kissing me back.