Battered Not Broken by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ranae Rose
wouldn’t have come away unscathed.
He took half a step toward her, his gaze still locked with hers. The way his blue eyes shone was crazy – streetlights didn’t flatter anyone like that. Except for him. “Ally Rivera,” he said, all traces of his recent grin gone from his mouth, “if I sit down and have dinner with you, it’s going to be a date. So if that’s not what you’re offering, I’m going to have to say no thanks.”
The next breath of air Ally drew seemed too cold – it froze inside her lungs, turning her tongue into a useless weight in her mouth. She exhaled, but no words came out – only mist that billowed in the space between her and Ryan, nearly touching his chest, over which he’d zipped a plain black jacket. Several minutes passed before she regained the ability to speak. “I’m twenty-three. That’s a little too old to go on a date with a parental chaperone, don’t you think?”
“Ah,” Ryan said, “you’re spending the evening with your mother again?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s fine. I’d be happy to take a rain check from you. Have any nights coming up this week that you were planning to spend alone?” The way he said the word ‘alone’ made it sound like a curse word – one so bad it should be erased from her vocabulary forever.
She nodded. “Pick any night this week and it’s yours.” After all, she owed him. That was what she kept telling herself as her heart sped at the thought of spending an evening with him.
“Thursday.”
“Okay.”
“Think about what time you want me to pick you up. Then let me know next time you see me at the gym.”
“Okay. And hey…” A coherent thought actually managed to penetrate the haze he’d reduced her mind to. “How’d you know my last name?”
“It’s written on your gym bag,” he said, his grin returning.
He bid her goodnight and she stood frozen for several moments, watching him disappear. He moved with the same grace he harnessed in the ring. Did the same sureness and ease of movement flow in everything he did with that perfect body? The thought hit Ally like a physical blow – one that sped past her defenses and crumbled her former resolve not to be swept off her feet by a stranger, even a gorgeous one. She might not know where he was from, or what his tattoos said, but by rescuing Melissa, he’d given her a huge reason to trust him. And it had been a long time since any man had done that.
Chapter 4
Seven twenty-nine. Ally’s gaze was drawn toward the clock hanging on the kitchen wall like iron fragments to a magnet.
“Is that him?” Maria had abandoned the kitchen and stood at the front door, peering out the window like an aproned sentinel, a wooden kitchen spoon in one hand.
Ally drifted across the kitchen to peer over Maria’s shoulder – an easy feat, considering she was a couple inches taller. “I don’t know. I’d have remembered that car if I’d seen it before.”
A vehicle had pulled up to the curb, a muscle car painted electric blue from grill to bumper. A mustang. Ally didn’t know much about cars – she hadn’t driven one in years, and had never personally owned one – but it looked new, gleaming under a streetlight, and had to have some serious bells and whistles.
And it was Ryan’s. He rose from the driver’s side, shut the door and rounded the car, walking toward the house.
“Sports cars can be dangerous,” Maria said. “I hope he’s not a reckless driver.” But there was no note of conviction in her voice. Any real suspicion she might have harbored toward Ryan had probably evaporated a couple of nights ago when he’d come to Melissa’s aid.
It was a mark of how appreciated his heroics were that Maria was now willing to overlook his tattoos and his muscle car, which looked like it was made for speed.
“I’m sure he’s not,” Ally said. He had plenty of self-control in the ring. He wasn’t one of those guys that went half-crazy trying to beat the
He took half a step toward her, his gaze still locked with hers. The way his blue eyes shone was crazy – streetlights didn’t flatter anyone like that. Except for him. “Ally Rivera,” he said, all traces of his recent grin gone from his mouth, “if I sit down and have dinner with you, it’s going to be a date. So if that’s not what you’re offering, I’m going to have to say no thanks.”
The next breath of air Ally drew seemed too cold – it froze inside her lungs, turning her tongue into a useless weight in her mouth. She exhaled, but no words came out – only mist that billowed in the space between her and Ryan, nearly touching his chest, over which he’d zipped a plain black jacket. Several minutes passed before she regained the ability to speak. “I’m twenty-three. That’s a little too old to go on a date with a parental chaperone, don’t you think?”
“Ah,” Ryan said, “you’re spending the evening with your mother again?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s fine. I’d be happy to take a rain check from you. Have any nights coming up this week that you were planning to spend alone?” The way he said the word ‘alone’ made it sound like a curse word – one so bad it should be erased from her vocabulary forever.
She nodded. “Pick any night this week and it’s yours.” After all, she owed him. That was what she kept telling herself as her heart sped at the thought of spending an evening with him.
“Thursday.”
“Okay.”
“Think about what time you want me to pick you up. Then let me know next time you see me at the gym.”
“Okay. And hey…” A coherent thought actually managed to penetrate the haze he’d reduced her mind to. “How’d you know my last name?”
“It’s written on your gym bag,” he said, his grin returning.
He bid her goodnight and she stood frozen for several moments, watching him disappear. He moved with the same grace he harnessed in the ring. Did the same sureness and ease of movement flow in everything he did with that perfect body? The thought hit Ally like a physical blow – one that sped past her defenses and crumbled her former resolve not to be swept off her feet by a stranger, even a gorgeous one. She might not know where he was from, or what his tattoos said, but by rescuing Melissa, he’d given her a huge reason to trust him. And it had been a long time since any man had done that.
Chapter 4
Seven twenty-nine. Ally’s gaze was drawn toward the clock hanging on the kitchen wall like iron fragments to a magnet.
“Is that him?” Maria had abandoned the kitchen and stood at the front door, peering out the window like an aproned sentinel, a wooden kitchen spoon in one hand.
Ally drifted across the kitchen to peer over Maria’s shoulder – an easy feat, considering she was a couple inches taller. “I don’t know. I’d have remembered that car if I’d seen it before.”
A vehicle had pulled up to the curb, a muscle car painted electric blue from grill to bumper. A mustang. Ally didn’t know much about cars – she hadn’t driven one in years, and had never personally owned one – but it looked new, gleaming under a streetlight, and had to have some serious bells and whistles.
And it was Ryan’s. He rose from the driver’s side, shut the door and rounded the car, walking toward the house.
“Sports cars can be dangerous,” Maria said. “I hope he’s not a reckless driver.” But there was no note of conviction in her voice. Any real suspicion she might have harbored toward Ryan had probably evaporated a couple of nights ago when he’d come to Melissa’s aid.
It was a mark of how appreciated his heroics were that Maria was now willing to overlook his tattoos and his muscle car, which looked like it was made for speed.
“I’m sure he’s not,” Ally said. He had plenty of self-control in the ring. He wasn’t one of those guys that went half-crazy trying to beat the