Soaring with Fallon (Big Sky 4)

“Finish what?”

“What you started in my bed this morning,” he growls before planting another kiss on me and leading me toward the building. “You shouldn’t feel insecure about any other women. They can’t hold a candle to you, sweetheart.”

“Well, okay then.”

We take the sidewalk around the administration building to the one that houses some of the injured birds. Noah unlocks the door, and I walk past him, hurrying down the row of cages to see my eagle.

“Well, hello there,” I croon, pressing my hands and face against the bars. He turns and looks me in the eyes, tipping his head to the side as I talk as if he’s listening to me. “You’re so gorgeous, sweet boy. Are you enjoying the royal treatment in here?”

“I was just going to feed him,” Roni says from behind me, startling me. “Would you like to help?”

I glance over to Noah, but he just grins. “I mean, you’re his human, after all.”

“True.” I look at the eagle again and smile. “Yes, I’d love to feed him.”

“Okay, come on.” Roni opens the cage, and we step inside. Noah closes it behind us. The enclosure is large, almost the size of a small bedroom. Roni carries a large syringe full of brown liquid and a plate with a pile of red meat.

“I’m going to start with some fluids and medicine,” she says in a soft tone. “Good morning, fella. How are you doing today?”

She gingerly lifts him, careful not to hurt his injured wing, and tucks his talons in her gloved hand. She makes it look so easy, but I bet it’s anything but.

“The fluids keep him hydrated, and the medicine will help him heal and not have infection,” she continues as she urges the rubber end of the syringe into his beak and slowly presses the liquid into his mouth. “Good boy. Very good boy.”

She hands the empty syringe to me, and I set it aside.

“There are forceps there,” she says, gesturing to the silver pair on the plate. “You can take a chunk of meat with it and offer it to him. He won’t hurt you.”

“No, he won’t hurt me,” I agree and offer him some meat. He watches me for a moment and then eats the morsel of food eagerly. “You’re a hungry little guy today.”

I croon and feed, reaching out to pet the back of his head. He doesn’t object to the affection.

“Oh, you’re so soft,” I say, offering more food. “And so smart. I wonder what you’re thinking.”

I finish feeding him, and Roni is patient as I continue talking to the eagle and petting him for a bit longer.

“Do you mind if I come to feed him more often?”

“Of course, not,” she says with a smile. “If you’d like to stay with him, you can. I have to go feed the others.”

“No, I have to work.” I watch as she sets him down, and I crouch next to him, whispering to him. “You have a good day, and keep getting better, okay? I’ll see you later. I’ll come more often, I promise.”

I follow Roni out of the cage and smile at Noah, who watches me with soft brown eyes.

“That was fun.”

“You’re a natural,” he says, dragging his fingertips down my cheek.

“I have to go to work,” I say and swallow hard. Whenever he looks at me like this, I want to strip naked and climb him like a freaking tree.

That wouldn’t be appropriate here.

“Can I come?” he asks, surprising me.

“To my yoga class?”

He nods.

“Don’t you have to work?”

“We have eight volunteers coming in at eight,” he replies.

“I’ve got this handled,” Roni calls from a few cages down. “I’ll call if I need you.”

“See?” he says and smiles. “I’ve been dismissed.”

“Looks like you’re going to learn some yoga today,” I reply with a grin. “We’d better get going.”

“I’m right behind you.”

Chapter Nine

~Fallon~

He wants to learn yoga.

I’m honestly surprised. Noah doesn’t strike me as the yoga type, not that there is a type, but most men think it’s a woman thing.

In reality, yoga is wonderful for anyone and everyone, and I’m excited that Noah is curious enough to take a class.

But if I’m being brutally honest, it makes me nervous, too.

“You need a mat,” I inform him and offer him one of mine. We just arrived at my studio in town. I don’t have any classes at the lake today. “And you’re welcome to set it out anywhere.”

“I’ll be in the middle,” he says, looking around the empty room. He walks right out to the middle, unrolls the mat, and then walks back over to me and cradles my neck in his hand before kissing the hell out of me.

“What was that for?”

“I won’t be able to do it for a while, so I’m getting it out of the way now.”

He returns to his mat, leaving me with a crazy smile on my lips and every nerve ending in my body humming deliciously.