Page 60 of Reckless: Collision
“Second principle,” he continues, now moving across a series of metal poles that definitely weren’t part of the original architecture, “is efficiency.” His body flows from point to point,making impossible jumps look easy. “Why go around when you can go through?”
“Pretty sure that’s my life motto.” I move closer to watch his technique, analyzing angles and trajectories. “Though usually with less chance of death.”
He laughs, the sound carrying that edge of beautiful madness that shouldn’t be hot but absolutely is. “You sure about that, Glitch?” With a move that defies several laws of physics, he swings around a pole and lands beside me. “Because I seem to remember you jumping between buildings.”
His scent slams into me with physical force, making my knees actually buckle for a microsecond before I compensate. Cherry tobacco wraps around my throat like phantom hands, while underneath lurks something darker—gunpowder and adrenaline and pure alpha dominance. The combination bypasses my conscious mind and activates muscle memory instead; my back arches slightly, thighs pressing together as my body recalls with perfect clarity how those hands felt pinning me against cool bathroom tiles, how those teeth scraped paths of electricity down my neck, how that perfect weight crushed resistance into surrender.
“That was different.” I step back before I do something stupid like taste the sweat on his neck. “That was survival.”
“No.” His eyes hold that feral gleam that says he’s riding the edge between control and chaos. “That was freedom. Same thing that calls to you now.” He gestures to the course he just ran. “Your turn.”
“You are out of your gorgeous mind.”
“Gorgeous, huh?” His smirk should be illegal in at least three states. “Flattery won’t get you out of this.”
“Fine.” I eye the section he just ran, mentally mapping each point of contact like network nodes. “But when I die, make sure my eulogy mentions how hot I looked doing it.”
“Deal.” His grin widens as I approach the first obstacle—a steep section with barely-there handholds. “Though maybe start with something easier?”
“Fuck easier.” The words come out sharper than intended, my natural defiance rising at his doubting alpha tone. “I got this.”
I take a running start, channeling every parkour video I’ve ever watched while procrastinating actual work. My first jump actually catches the hold I was aiming for, sending a surge of triumph through my system.
See? Easy. Just like hacking—read the system, find the exploit, execute with?—
My foot slips.
Time stretches like corrupted data as I scramble for a grip that isn’t there. The ground suddenly seems much further away, winter air whipping past as gravity reminds me why I usually stick to digital dangers.
Then solid warmth slams into me from behind. Jinx’s arms lock around my waist, his body curling around mine as we roll across the roof’s surface. We hit a guard rail with enough force to knock the air from my lungs, but his grip never loosens.
“Fucking alpha reflexes,” I wheeze, fighting the way my body wants to melt into his protection. “I had that.”
“Sure you did.” His laugh rumbles through his chest where I’m pressed against him. “You were totally about to execute a perfect recovery roll, right?”
I elbow him in the ribs, ignoring how his cherry tobacco scent makes my head spin. “Let go before I show you exactly what I can execute.”
“Make me.” The words come out more growl than speech, his alpha nature bleeding through. His hands flex at my waist, and for a moment I think he might actually?—
“Get off.” I twist in his grip, pushing away from temptation wrapped in leather and danger. “I don’t need your hero complex.”
He lets me go, but that feral grin says he’s enjoying this way too much. “Not trying to be a hero, Glitch. Just don’t want to explain to Ryker how I let his new favorite toy splatter on the lawn.”
“I am nobody’s toy.” The snarl surprises even me with its intensity.
Something shifts in his eyes—recognition maybe, or understanding. “No,” he says softer, that beautiful madness temporarily contained. “You’re not. But you are going to learn this right before you break something I can’t fix.”
“I don’t need?—”
“Smaller jumps first.” He cuts me off, moving toward a lower section. “Build the muscle memory before you try the shit that took me years to master.”
“Years?” I cross my arms, hating how my legs still shake from the near fall. “What, did you live up here or something?”
His laugh holds no humor this time. “Sometimes. When the voices get too loud, when the beast needs out...” He trails off, that darkness I glimpsed in the gatehouse bleeding through. “Movement helps. Keeps me human. Most days.”
The raw honesty in his voice hits harder than the fall would have. Before I can stop myself, I reach for him. “Jinx?—”
“First lesson.” He moves just out of reach, all predatory grace again. “How to fall without dying. Because you will fall, Glitch. The trick is getting back up.”
