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CHAPTER 16
Evan
On Friday morning,like every other morning that week, Red and I woke up at sunrise in each other’s arms. I’d become accustomed to it far too fast. And when she rolled over on top of me, I didn’t give a damn about how quickly I’d fallen for her.
“Happy two-week anniversary,” I whispered into her hair that smelled like strawberries and her.
“Not until tonight.” She propped herself up and stared down at me. “At precisely 2015 hours, I will expect something spectacular from you to mark the occasion.”
“How about fireworks?” I rolled to position her under me. “I’ll give you a preview right now.”
After sleeping beside each other all night, neither of us needed much foreplay to start our engines or our days, but we took our time anyway. There was something about sunrise and gentle lovemaking that seemed to go together. I kissed the freckles on her shoulders, the ones I’d memorized already, and brushed my lips over the silky skin at the nape of her neck. I lingered over her tightly puckered nipples while she wriggled under me and made sweet little noises.
She rolled back on top of me and took over exploring. She skimmed her fingernails over my chest and kissed the ridges of the muscles in my belly. By the time she rolled the condom onto me and slid me inside of her, my world was enveloped in golden sunlight, soft pink skin, and tangled red hair. I wrapped my hands in the long strands and pulled her angelic face closer to mine, kissing her the same way she was taking me inside her, long and deep and slow.
And then we climaxed together, hers starting a fraction of a second before mine. Warm and wet and sweet, she tightened around me while I pulsed and throbbed and exploded in exquisite sensation.
We lay still for a long time afterward, not speaking, not yet ready to relinquish our last moments of tranquility before the start of the work day. This morning, she stirred first. She kissed my breastbone, then pulled away from me. I groaned with the sense of loss.
“Pre-mission medical checks start in half an hour, and TJ is at least letting me do those.” She hopped out of bed, suddenly full of pep.
“You have a lot of energy this morning.”
“Sex with you is better than mainlining coffee.” She winked and disappeared into the bathroom.
I climbed out of bed and stretched, infused with some adrenaline myself. But sex with her wasn’t the only stimulant coursing through my system. Two weeks. That seemed as good an occasion as anything to share what I had decided last week, what I had probably decided after our first night together if I were being honest. But it would have to wait because duty called.
* * *
Samantha
Enteringthe medical bay on mission day always sent anticipation coursing through me, and today was no different, despite being sidelined.
“Knock, knock,” Li said from the doorway.
“Come in, Tactical,” I said.
Li was dressed in the standard HEAT-issued ops outfit. With her height and stealth, she always looked like a Ninja in her gear. Kessler was right behind her, looking beautiful as ever in a mid-thigh-length black dress with a scoop neckline and pleated skirt. I glanced down at my own outfit of black jeans and a short-sleeved black knit top, and realized I’d dress in solidarity with the ops teams, like I always did on mission days.
Li took in my outfit, too. “Is TJ taking you along with mobile HQ after all?”
“No. Old habits die hard, I guess. How’s everyone feeling this morning?”
“Rested, hydrated, and fed,” Li said.
“Not to mention conspicuous, cranky, and depressed.” Kessler glanced at Li. “Or maybe it’s just me.”
I motioned for them to both sit so I could check their vitals in person to make sure the baseline matched up with the feeds their bio-watches were sending me. “Talk to me, Kessler,” I said.
“Where should I even start, Doc?”
I almost choked up when she called me Doc. The entire team reverted to it when we were in the field. It was an honorific, but the way my team used it, it also felt like an endearment. And today might be the last day I heard them use it.
“I’m going to a funeral,” Kessler continued. “For a kid. And lying to his nearest and dearest while I’m there.”
“It’s part of the job,” I reminded her.
“I know.” Kessler sighed. “I guess it’s harder than I thought it would be to know you won’t be taking care of us today.”
