Page 28 of Specter Bred

"...Yeah." The corner of his mouth twitched. "I get it."

Maeve finally noticed the three of us standing outside the dorm.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"We'll let Graves know what you said," Cutter added with a smirk, jerking his chin toward her.

Maeve's gaze snapped to him.

"Sir," she replied stiffly, giving both instructors a curt nod.

They returned the greeting before continuing down the hallway.

Maeve waited until they were well out of earshot before turning toward me.

"What the fuck was that about, Hayes?" she demanded. "Why were Alvarez and Cutter outside our dorm?"

"They just wanted to congratulate us on the shooting assessment," I said with a shrug.

Her eyes narrowed further.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

There was absolutely no chance I was telling her they offered me a room reassignment. Maeve Archer would shoot the messenger, bury the body, and somehow convince everyone else it had been justified. I wasn't eager to become a casualty.

She pushed past me and headed for her wardrobe, rummaging through neatly folded uniforms until she found the one she wanted. Then she dropped her towel.

My eyes snapped downward immediately. But not before I glimpsed toned shoulders, the powerful lines of her back, and skin still damp from the shower. I cleared my throat and focused very intently on a crack in the floor.

Maeve snorted as she pulled a uniform shirt over her head.

"You know, I don't give a flying fuck if you look at me, Hayes. It's just a body."

"What can I say? Mama raised me to be a gentleman."

She barked out a laugh.

"A Southern gentleman and a Boy Scout."

"Exactly."

"That's a terrifying combination."

"I've been told."

Maeve shook her head as she reached for her boots.

"I've spent my entire career in locker rooms, barracks, and shared quarters with men. They all stare."

"Can't really blame them."

She paused and looked at me.

I shrugged.

"Most men weren't raised with my mama's manners. Men, especially Alphas, rarely exhibit much self-control around a gorgeous woman.