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“You’re SUCH a gloater, Sinclair.” Because he was a wonderful kisser. Even now, Sky could feel her lower body tightening with anticipation. She saw the glint in Cal’s eyes, knew that tonight, he was going to love her. Her lower body flexed with anticipation. Hunger flooded her. Sky swore that Cal was the most sensual, sexual man in the world. And she could hardly wait to move into his arms tonight, be one with him again, feel his maleness, his power and his tenderness that he always shared with her.
Cal shrugged. “Not gloating. I just knew you were the woman for me, was all. And I’m not the type to give up, even if you ran from me. I could tell by the way you kissed me back in the hospital that you liked me one helluva lot, Sweetheart. And based upon that kiss, I wasn’t about to let you get away.”
Alex smiled. “Then, you must teach me your techniques, Cal, because I want to use them to lure beautiful Lauren into my arms.”
Groaning, Sky shook her head. “Men,” she muttered, getting up. She chose the smallest bake potato left on the plate. “You two are truly hopeless…”
CHAPTER 3
June 2
“What do youthink?” Sky ask Lauren as she slowly turned around, showing off her wedding dress. The seamstress stood nearby, angst written in her face. Lauren was in her usual black t-shirt, jungle colored green Camo pants and black, polished combat boots. Her red hair was a lush cascade around her proud, drawn back shoulders as she critically examined the white satin sheath dress.
Lauren’s green eyes narrowed, and she put up her hand, asking Sky to stop. Her long, slender fingers nudged a few of the blue and pink beads across the top of the bodice. “Hmmm, okay. They just jostled out of position was all,” she murmured, smiling up at Sky.
“So? Is it okay?” Sky worriedly touched the slender sides of the satin sheath. It was a simple design, the pink and blue beading across the top enhancing the color of her turquoise eyes. She saw Lauren step back, finger on her chin, critically giving the dress a final inspection.
“Perfect, Sky. You look gorgeous. Cal is going to think he died and went to heaven,” and she gave a husky laugh, a wicked look glimmering in her emerald eyes.
Sky saw the seamstress give her a look of utter relief, eyes rolling heavenward, silently thanking someone in prayer. Lauren was hell on wheels when it came to details. After all, as a sniper, details could either keep people alive or get them killed. Lauren’s oval face and high cheekbones gave her eyes a slight tilt. To Sky, her friend looked exotic, one of a kind. Lauren dropped her hand and nodded to the seamstress, thanking her for all her hard work and efforts.
The seamstress beamed, hands clasped to her bosom, absorbing her sincere praise.
“So?” Lauren baited. “Let’s have a mid-afternoon appetizer together. Your favorite place?”
“You got a deal,” Sky murmured, stepping off the dais, running her hands lovingly down the satin fabric. She felt elegant in the dress; like a fairy tale princess come to life. Cal certainly treated her like a queen, no question. “Give me ten minutes to get changed?”
Lauren hooked a thumb across her shoulder. “I’ll wait for you out in my Jeep. I’ll check my emails and texts.”
Sky nodded, following the seamstress into the large dressing room. “Meet you there,” she called over her shoulder. It amazed Sky that even though Lauren was wearing military combat boots, she couldn’t hear her walk across the shining pine floor of the boutique. Did they teach all black ops people how to walk silently? They had to, Sky decided.
At three p.m., the best restaurant in Alexandria was fairly emptied of lunch patrons. Sky sat in a brown leather booth across from Lauren. Her friend had stretched out her long legs, her boots hanging off the end of the bench seat. The music was quieter, and for that she was grateful. Lauren was drumming her fingers on the wooden table in thought.
“What are you thinking about?” Sky asked, sipping her coffee.
“Oh,” Lauren groused, “the surprise of seeing Kazak at your place earlier. He’s the LAST person I ever expected to see at your home.”
“Mmm,” Sky said.
Lauren sipped her black coffee, scowling. “I think Jack is making a mistake opening up our company to foreign black ops nationals.”
“Maybe there’s a need for them? People want a contractor in more than just the USA. And they want to hire someone who knows that country’s language and customs?”
“I guess.” Lauren grumped. She pushed some of her thick red hair off her shoulder. “He was SUCH a horse’s ass at that meeting yesterday. He was slobbering over me like I was a prize hunk of meat to be eaten.”
Sky quelled her smile at being right about Alex’s staring at Lauren. “Do you know why he’s our friend, Lauren?”
“No,” she said, her mouth moving into a grimace. “I can’t even begin to imagine how you all met.”
The waitress arrived with their order of deep-fried artichoke hearts with ranch dressing. Lauren sat up, gleefully grabbing an artichoke heart and dipping it in the dressing. Sky proceeded to tell her why Alex was so important to her and Cal. When she finished with the explanation, Lauren’s face had grudgingly softened just a tad.
“He’s a better operator than I thought.”
“He’s also a good person,” Sky said.
“Jack said he was a trained combat corpsman. That’s something we can always use in our ranks during a mission.”
“He fought and protected me from Vlad.” Lauren knew that Vlad had hounded her since she was sixteen years old, and almost raped her at age seventeen.
