by Payge Galvin
Another deep breath… and she pulled it open.
‡
The club was empty. Declan was in the side room, cleaning guns. He had a revolver disassembled on the table and was working on it, standing slightly turned away from her, just enough that he hadn’t heard her yet. She paused in the doorway to watch him. It was a good angle. Oh, hell. With Declan there were no bad angles.
Six feet tall, give or take an inch. Twenty-four. Chestnut brown hair that he sometimes tied back, but it wasn’t quite long enough for that, so he mostly just shoved it out of the way. Strong features. Her dad would say they were too strong and list the ways he could “fix” them, all the ways he could make Declan bland and boringly-perfect and model-pretty, the way only Seattle’s preeminent plastic surgeon could.
Jess wouldn’t fix a thing. The square jaw. The Roman nose. The widow’s peak hairline. And the parts she couldn’t see from this angle but had memorized. The hazel eyes that could warm to green. The lone dimple on his right cheek and the two small scars, one across his chin, the other bisecting his left brow. It was a gorgeous, imperfect face, exactly how a face should be.
Then there was the rest and “flawed” definitely wasn’t the word. From the neck down Declan Cavanagh was as damned near perfect as a guy could be. Tall and slender with muscles every place a guy could have muscles. Tonight he wore his usual outfit—snug worn blue jeans and a plain T-shirt. The color on the T-shirt varied from white to navy to the occasional black, but it was always plain and always fit just right. As did the jeans, sliding over slim hips, and quite possibly, the only ass Jess had ever found herself staring at. That ass was the first thing she’d noticed about Declan. Her initial view of him, when she’d walked into the self-defense expo after one too many “accidental” post-breakup run-ins with Chandler.
Declan had been putting out flyers on a table, bending to set them in an empty corner of the booth and she’d walked in and… Well, she was pretty sure she’d stopped in her tracks to stare. Worn jeans over a perfect ass, one arm braced against the table, biceps bulging, the edge of a tattoo mostly hidden under his short sleeve, hair hanging forward, brushed back with an impatient hand as he straightened. Then he’d turned, seen her and grinned. Not a “caught you looking” grin, but a genuine smile that lit up his eyes and flashed his dimple, and that was it. Jess fell in love. Well, lust. But hard-core lust.
“Hey, I’m Declan. Campus gun club.” He’d held out a flyer. “Free lesson with this coupon.”
She’d managed to take the flyer, but was ninety-nine percent sure she hadn’t actually said a word beyond a mumbled, possibly unintelligible, thanks before scampering into the expo. Later, she’d told Sami about him.
“Hey, you always wanted to learn how to shoot,” Sami had said.
“Um, no, I never—”
“Sure you did. You’ve told me that many times.”
“When?”
“Many, many times.” Sami spoke slowly, as if to a small child. “You have always wanted to learn to shoot and now you have the chance, so you are going to redeem that coupon. Got it?”
Jess got it. Eventually. A week later, she’d shown up at the club, only to have the forty-year-old guy at the desk say sure, he’d give her a lesson, then stare at her chest the whole time she was bending over to read the liability waiver. She’d been about to declare that she’d changed her mind when Declan had popped in, seen her and flashed that grin, saying, “Hey, you’re from the self-defense expo, right?” She’d nodded mutely, and he’d told the other guy he had an opening, so he’d take Jess. Thus began six weeks of lessons, during which she’d learned that Sami had been right—Jess had always wanted to learn to shoot and she enjoyed it very much, very much indeed.
Jess cleared her throat. Declan raised a finger without looking up. He slid the bore brush into the barrel and then glanced over, and when he did, she got that grin.
“Jess.” He set the gun down. Then his smile faltered as he grabbed out his phone. “Shit, did we reschedule our lesson?”
“No, I just…” She shifted her weight, hoping the heels didn’t give way under her. “You said if I ever wanted extra time on the range, I should swing by and see if you were here, so I’m… swinging by.”
“Right.” The smile didn’t reignite. Instead he cast a surreptitious glance at his watch.
“You have something tonight.”
“No, no. Uh, yes, actually, I do.” Another watch check. “But we could probably squeeze in—”
“That’s okay.” She took a step back. “Sorry, I should have called.”
“No, I said swing by, and we do have time. I don’t need to leave for a while. Just hold on.” He punched in a text and sent it, sliding the phone back into his pocket. “There. Done. I am officially yours for the next hour.”
Don’t I wish. Jess ducked her head and hoped she didn’t blush. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am.” He headed for the doorway. As he did, his gaze travelled over her. “Looks like I’m not the only one going out tonight.”
Now she definitely blushed. “Just for drinks later. With friends.”
A quick frown. “Not the friends who are also pals with Walker, I hope. The ones who keep bugging you to give him another chance.”
“No, I’ve stopped hanging out with them. It was clear they weren’t giving up.”
“Good. I mean, about hanging with them. Not about…” He shook his head. “You know what I mean. Let’s get you shooting.” He started in the direction of the gun locker and then stopped. “Hey, you want to do something fun tonight?”
Do I ever. “Sure.”
“How about we try a special kind of gun. My personal fave. Pull it out. See what you can do with it.”
There was so much she could say to that. So much that was certainly not what he had in mind. When she hesitated, trying to find her voice, he said, “Rifle? Distance shooting?”
“Sure.”
‡
After ten minutes of rifle practice, Jess decided she shared Declan’s opinion. This was so much better than pistol shooting. Probably not for the same reason he liked it, though. With the handguns, in the beginning, Declan had to get up close and personal, moving in behind her and getting her in position. Once she had the stance, he’d backed off, though he’d occasionally come in close to adjust her aim. That had been nice. Declan standing behind her, his hands on hers, his body so close she could feel the heat of it. There’d always been a gap, though, meaning all she felt was that heat. With the rifle? Oh, that was different.
“Look straight down the sight,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. He’d set up a table for her to lean over—best to start prone for stability—and he was right behind her, pushed against her ass as he leaned over her, getting her into position and holding her there and… and there were so many ideas for other things they could do in this position that she was having a very hard time concentrating on the shot.
Once he had her lined up, his hands slid to her hips, wrapping around them. “This okay?” he murmured.
“Uh-huh.”
“It’ll keep you steady.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Tell me if it’s uncomfortable.”
“Uh-uh. I mean, it’s fine.”
“Good. Just lean forward a little more. Right. Just like that.” His hands slid down as she moved and she found herself wishing—really wishing—she’d taken Sami’s advice on the skirt, because if she had, his fingers would have reached the hem by now and…
She bit her lip and tried to focus.
“This okay, Jess?”
“Uh-huh.”
His lips brushed her ear. “If I do anything that’s not okay, you just say so, all right?”
“Uh-huh.”
He shifted and pressed against her again, his crotch against her ass and—
His cell rang. A ring tone from a song Jess didn’t recognize.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ve, uh,
gotta get that. It’s about tonight.”
“Okay.”
His hands tightened on her hips. “I really should get that.” She was pretty sure she wasn’t keeping him from answering, but he seemed to be waiting for her to do something, so she straightened. He stepped back fast, mumbling, “Sorry, just give me a sec.”
He answered and Jess heard a woman’s voice say, “Where are you?”
Declan turned away and lowered his voice. “Didn’t you get my text? I’ll be there before eleven. Something came up here. At the gun club.”
“You haven’t even left?” The woman’s voice went shrill. “You were supposed to be here five minutes ago.”
Declan moved into the next room. Jess stood there, gripping the rifle tight before realizing she was still holding it and setting it down safely on the table.
A date. He had a date tonight.
Um, yeah. Single guy. Saturday night. What did you expect?
Okay, so he had a date. It happened, and there was nothing wrong with that. It was just lousy timing on her part.
Declan returned a minute later, pocketing his phone with one hand as he shoved back his hair with the other. His gaze moved to the rifle and stayed there, avoiding hers.
“Gotta run, huh?” She forced a smile. “No problem. I shouldn’t have dropped by without warning.”
“No, no. I told you to.”
“Well, next time I’ll call. Sorry if I made you late for your evening.”
He nodded, saying nothing.
She picked up the rifle. “I can put this away while you get ready. Your apartment is just in back, right?”
“Yeah, but I’m all set for tonight. Come on and we’ll put this away.”
As they walked to the gun locker, he said, “So this bar you’re going to, is it the campus one?”
She nodded.
“Isn’t that where Walker showed up last time?” he said, glancing over, his expression concerned.
“It is, but only because the girls I was with told him I was there.” Especially since she wasn’t actually going to a bar. The remainder of her evening would be spent in The Coffee Cave on a hot date with her Immunochemistry textbook. Good times.
“How about I swing by after? I’ll be done before one. I could come by the bar, have a beer, make sure Walker doesn’t show up.” He unlocked the gun-room door. “If you don’t mind me hanging with you and your friends. Or is it an all-girl thing?”
Even if it was, she’d have been more than happy to have him swing by and hang out. It was almost enough to make her set up a spur-of-the-moment pub night with friends. Except that, well, since she’d jettisoned the friends she’d met through Chandler and Sami had moved across the country, there were only a couple of names left to call and both were busy tonight.
“Girls’ night out,” she said, making a face, hoping it conveyed the right look of damn, I really wish it wasn’t so I could say yes. “But I appreciate the offer. It’s very sweet.”
Now he was the one making a face. He stood there, gaze lowered, thumbs hooked in his belt loops as he mumbled, “Yeah, well…” He cleared his throat and looked up. “If Walker does show, text me, okay?”
She nodded her thanks, then let him show her where the rifle went.
—◊—
Read the rest of Jess and Declan's story in Unfiltered & Undone, coming May 1, 2014 from Payge Galvin & Kasey Wolfe. If you want to be notified when future books in the series are released, sign up for the mailing list here.
Acknowledgements:
I feel like I’m at the Oscars! Okay, so first, a huge THANK YOU to you, the reader, for reading my book and (hopefully) falling in love with Cass and Dev’s story as much as I did. Second, thanks to my dear Unfiltered pals for giving me one of the best experiences of my life! I love you all. Finally, a giant thank you to all of the bloggers and reviewers who helped publicize Unfiltered.
And I’d like to thank the Academy.:)
Jane.
Table of Contents
About Unfiltered & Unhinged
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
A Note From Payge
Sneak Peek of Unfiltered & Undone
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents