Page 38 of Her Marine
Journee slid into the passenger seat of Killian’s car. After their talk two days ago, she’d felt more at ease. She believed him when he’d told her that if she needed time away from him for one reason or another, he would give her that. All she had to do was tell him. That hadn’t been the case in most of Journee’s past relationships and after years of trying to talk about problems. It always resulted in a worse outcome than when they’d started; she found it easier to pull away if something was bothering her that she felt she needed to work through on her own. Not that those men even noticed when she did.
“Hey,” she greeted, putting her seatbelt on. “Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me now?”
Killian turned to look at her with a raised brow. “Is there a reason you were waiting outside when I pulled up?”
Journee shrugged. “I was excited and anxious to see where we were going. I couldn’t sit still. So, I just came outside.”
Killian stared at her momentarily before turning his attention and pulling away from her house. “No,” he responded to her question. “But it isn’t far.”
Journee nodded, leaning back in the seat. She assumed he thought that since she was waiting outside, she wasn’t quite over needing her space, but she was. Journee had told him as much. She honestly was excited to see where he was taking her because when he’d brought it up, she could tell he wanted to share whatever it was with her.
When they had dinner, he’d told her he wanted to take her somewhere, but it was late when they’d finished their talk and eating. So, they’d waited until she had the day off.
Journee listened to the sounds filtering from the radio as she took in her surroundings. Half an hour later, they were pulling into a parking lot. She looked up at the sign before turning to look at Killian.
“You’re going to teach me archery?!” she questioned excitedly.
“If you still want to learn.”
“I do.” Journee nodded before leaning over the console. Killian met her halfway, and she kissed him softly.
When she pulled away, the two got out of the car, and Journee took his hand when he came to the passenger side.
Killian led the way inside, and she looked over what they could do. There was a training area for beginners to learn how to shoot, and there were also different obstacles with scored targets for those looking to indulge in a bit of competition.
There were pictures of the different obstacles, and she’d been so caught up in looking at them and how elaborate the setup seemed that she’d missed out on the entire conversation Killian had with the attendant.
When he asked her if she was ready, she pulled her attention from the pictures and nodded at him before following behind him and the attendant leading them.
They ended up at the practice range like Journee knew they would because she had no experience. Only a couple of other people were there, and they were led to the furthest open area.
The attendant went over a few safety instructions. How to work the target area before asking if they needed anything else or anything to be explained again. When Killian told him they didn’t, he turned and headed back to the front, leaving them alone.
Journee watched as Killian pulled two different bows from the selection beside them after looking them over for a few minutes. She watched as he inspected them, and Journee would be lying if she said watching him do so wasn’t at least a little arousing. Then again, she figured she may have enjoyed watching the way his fingers moved.
At first, Journee had suspected her attraction to his fingers was because she imagined what he could do with them. Now that she knew what he could, it only intensified their appeal.
“You want to go first?” Killian questioned, and Journee shook her head.
“No, I’m a visual learner. I’d prefer you show me first,” she responded.
It wasn’t a lie. Journee had always been a visual learner. Picking things up, she saw far faster than if she’d read steps on how to do it. Though, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t also want to watch how his biceps moved as he manipulated the bow. It was a definite bonus.
Killian had removed his jacket and draped it over one of the chairs beside them, giving her an unobstructed view.
Journee watched him grab an arrow. She tried to focus on what he was doing. The form he was taking, whatever she would need to try to duplicate his actions, but she didn’t see any of it. She was too focused on how he took the arrow between his fingers before pulling it back. On the way his muscles flexed with the pull, too enraptured by the sharp cut of his jawline from his side profile. She didn’t see anything he did.
So, when he turned to look at her, and she asked him to do it again, Journee couldn’t be sure if it were because she planned on actually taking in what she needed to do or if it was just because she wanted to see those minute things that, shouldn’t have been as attractive as they were, again.
After his fourth shot, Killian placed the bow down, stepped into her personal space, and tipped her chin up. The amusement was evident in his eyes.
“You aren’t even watching, Tigress.”
Journee tilted her head slightly, smiling at him. “Oh, I am. I’m watchingveryclosely.”
She listened to Killian chuckle before he released her chin and stepped aside. Gesturing for her to take the spot he’d been in initially. He’d been right; she hadn’t watched him shoot the arrows. Journee hadn’t even noticed that he’d brought the target closer, pulling the arrows out before sending the target back. Except it didn’t seem as far away as it had when they first walked in.
Killian handed her the smaller of the two bows and an arrow. He guided Journee’s hands and arms, positioning her the way she needed to be, and his lips came to her ear on the opposite side.
