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“Fuck you,” I snarl, my expression mirroring his. I smile. My attitude gives nothing away about the fact that I want to beat his fucking ass, except I want him to know one thing. The shit we did last night will never happen again. Seriously? My little inner devil voice screams at me. One little—or should I say BIG—taste is all I get?” I roll my eyes at her and him under my sunglasses.
“Look. I saw him standing outside your tent when I left you. If you didn’t fuck him, then what the hell did he want?” He crosses his arms over his massive chest,those tattoos begging for me to lick them.
“He wanted to know what happened between us.” My power of speech stays just that, powerful and to the point.
“And did you tell him?” His voice grows quiet.
“God, no. I lied.” His brows rise, challenging me to continue.
“That basically if you ever caught me doing it again, you would make sure I lost my rank.” I shrug. He begins to chuckle.
“Don’t fuck with me, Captain. Trust me, the consequences will be much more detrimental to your health than being out here in the middle of bum-fuck-no-where-land. And don’t ever let me catch that bastard sniffing around your sweet pussy again.” With those nice parting words, he leaves me standing in the dust for a second time.
“Commander,” I say before he gets too far away. He doesn’t turn around, just stops.
“If you ever talk to me or treat me like a whore again, I will spit out every goddamn word you’ve threatened me with out here. I’ll give it all up. Don’t do it again, or I’ll fucking ruin you.” And with that, I storm past him. I hope the damn desert dust is flying into his slacked jaw. Fucker.
There are ten of us standing at attention in the blazing hot sun. Sweat dripping, bodies stiff, all of us waiting impatiently to hear details of our mission.
You can feel the rush and the overpowering smell of the desire to destroy and to make this mission our own personal bitch lying stagnant in the stifling air.
Like the rest of my team, I'm standing here listening to our Commander tell us how our unit has been handpicked, selected solely by him and the higher up chain of command for this special operations unit; how each and every one of us have excelled to be one of the best in our specialty we’ve all worked our asses off for, how we have bled, breathed, and even slept to become the best we could be.
I remain focused, eyes planted firmly ahead, toes pointed forward, until Kaleb stands directly in front of the small space between me and Captain Harris. It may be my own imagination, but something tells me these two had their talk and punishment has already been given to my dear friend. If I find out that is the case, I'll have to have words with my sweet Commander again.
“Captain Harris. Both you and Captain Elliott will report to my office no later than five minutes after dinner chow this evening. Do I make myself clear?” My peripheral vision watches as he turns his neck, waiting for both of us to answer.
“Yes, Sir.” We both say in unison. I’d give anything to be able to approach this arrogant asshole with a few more adjectives addressed behind my appropriate answer.
“Now, for our mission. You're all well aware you’ve been brought here to complete one thing. Once we do, you’ll return home to your families and loved ones. I really don’t care who you have back home waiting for you. You all will return safe. I have no intentions of leaving any of you behind.” He paces back and forth in front of us while he talks, his hands folded neatly together behind his back.
He turns, stops, and looks every single one of us individually in the eyes before continuing.
"You're the best of the best. I know this. I personally handpicked each and every one of you. I've done my research, and all of you came very highly recommended for this mission. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that this is confidential and this mission is of utmost importance. If I tell you to do something, there's a reason for it, so don't ask questions, do it."
His pacing reminds me of last night. Now, his black t-shirt is being worn tight around his bulging biceps, and my eyes are drawn again to the tattoos covering the rest of his arms down to just above his wrists.
He catches me watching and pauses directly in my view before he resumes his pacing in front of the team. He really intrigues me more than I'd like to admit. How am I truly going to be able to deal with a large mission if I'm constantly drooling over this man? Stay focused, Jade. Remember he’s an asshole.
As he continues to talk, I get lost in him. I can't help it. His ass is so perfectly fit in those fatigues. I've always been a sucker for a man that's in extreme condition. His swagger is unusual for the Army. Normally, everyone is so straight-laced and perfect in their posture. He's more relaxed than I'm used to seeing.
"Follow me to my headquarters. I have a room set up where we'll be able to share the intel needed. At ease, soldiers."
I fall in behind the others and work to slow down my beating heart. We file into a small room with a few tables and the most modernized technology I've seen in a few months. Harris ends up right next to me, and we both watch the Commander, taking in every detail he provides.
He spends his time showing us profiles of the enemy, including any pictures available of their families. My heart aches at the thought of any of the women or children getting mixed up in all of this, but often these idiots throw them into our line of fire on their own. This is the way they were raised, trained to kill the enemy. It’s drilled into their heads by the idiot cowards that lead this country. Some of these children are given no choice. You either become part of their military or you die. It's something I'll never get used to and thankfully being an American, I'll never have to face that in my own country.
"Name is Maverick. Before the day is over and this mission officially begins, you'll know everything you need to know about me." His eyes meet mine, and we both smile just slightly. Harris slides his foot over to mine and pushes on my boot until I turn to look at him. He wipes his mouth, mocking me, and it honestly irritates me. I whisper to him, “Shut the fuck up”... just before Maverick calls attention to me.
"Elliott. Did you have something to add to this briefing?"
"No, Sir." The 'Sir' comes out firm and loud. For some reason, I know I'm in big shit for that. I'm going to kick Harris' ass for getting me into this.
Maverick is silent as he stares in my direction. His eyes fall to my feet under the table where Harris' boot is next to mine before I can pull it away.
"Team dismissed for condition training. Everyone report back here at 1900 hours. Elliott, I need to see you in my office." Shit.
Chapter Three
