Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

This was why Bella needed a life without men.

Because she was currently in a tiny plane, really high up off the ground, strapped to a stranger, about to jump out of the freaking plane.

All because Falcon had pissed her off.

“You don’t have to do this,” Falcon said, looking rugged, manly, and not at all scared. He was also strapped to an instructor, which was hilarious, but she was too scared to think anything was funny, so not hilarious.

“Seriously?” She looked at him. “If I were strapped to you right now, you’d be encouraging me to do it. And instead you’re trying to treat me like I’m small, just because you’re not the one protecting me.”

He grinned. “Maybe the whole thing was a ploy to get you to jump.”

“What?” Disbelief shot through her. “You manipulated me?”

His smile widened. “No, I didn’t. I’m not that clever.”

“You are that clever. But you’re not that mean. You’re just too much testosterone.”

Ralph leaned over her shoulder. “Five seconds count down.”

“Oh, God.” She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to do this. She was so stupid. She’d decided to jump out of a plane because a man she was paying to protect her had tried to protect her? She was an idiot. A full idiot. “I take it back. You can be overprotective. I’m not going to jump.” Wait. Was Ralph still counting down? “Wait, Ralph?—”

Suddenly, she was out of the plane, and on her way to her death.

“Holy crap! Oh my God!”

Falcon grinned as Bella leapt to her feet, screaming as Ralph began unhooking her.

“Was it fun?” he asked her.

“That was magical! I jumped out of a plane!” She was jumping up and down as Ralph did his best to unhook her while she was moving. “Did you see the skyline? And the ocean? I saw Nantucket! I freaking saw Nantucket from the air! And the Boston skyline! What the heck, Falcon!”

Falcon got detached from his instructor, thanking him as Bella jumped up and down, still shouting. Her face was glowing. She looked radiant, vibrant, and stunned.

He knew how that felt. He’d never forget his first jump. Absolutely fucking surreal.

Ralph finally got her unstrapped, and she threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Ralph! Oh my God! Thank you for not getting me killed! That was amazing.” She hugged him again, and then took off across the grass, sprinting toward Falcon.

He barely had time to brace himself before she flung herself at him. He caught her hips as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him. “Thank you so much, Falcon!”

He grinned as she hugged him. She was so energized, bouncing around, that he had to focus to keep from dropping her. “Feels good, huh?”

She pressed her palms to either side of his face. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for giving me what I didn’t know I needed. I appreciate you.”

He tightened his grip on her hips as a deep realization struck him.

Bella Hart was his whole world.

She was his everything, and that would never, ever change.

Which meant…yeah.

It did mean that.