Page 28 of The Soldier

I push my chair back.

“Roger that. Better go sharpen my pencils then.”

Aka get my weapons ready and pack.

Here we go again.

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I END UP doing a solid two-hour workout in the BHS gym first. Cole, an Army Ranger, hits me up to spar with him.

He’s lighter on his feet than me and a few years younger. When he darts down then to the left as I swing, Cole darts his leg out, taking me down.

“Fuck.”

“Getting old, grandpa?”

I leap up and drop him to the mat, my arm up against his throat. “Got a few years left in me yet, Ranger.”

Cole snorts, but his face is turning red so I let him breathe.

“You working in the black ops team now, I heard.”

“Wow, it’s like fucking gossip girl around here.” I head to the bench press and lie down.

Cole hands me the bar and I do a few reps. When he drops it back in the cradle he asks another question. “Speaking of...you banging the brunette?”

I sit up as I’m hit over the head with a rage of unexpected possession. I reach over and pick up my towel then wipe myforehead before replying. That kiss said a million things Trina will never admit.

I don’t date men in uniform.

How true that is, I don’t know.

Cole is a good-looking guy. He’s a Ranger and for all I know Trina is lying and just doesn’t dateme.

Fuck, when did I get so insecure?

The fact is the moment I kissed that woman—hell even when I nipped at her glossy raspberry- coated lip—she became mine.

For now.

So yeah, I’m claiming her. There’s no way I’m standing back while she sleeps with any of the guys here. If she wants to play games with me that’s fine, but we play them alone.

Together.

I stand and meet him head-on. “Trina isn’t up for grabs.”

“Does she know that?” he challenges me.

I resist the urge to grab him by the shirt and shove him up against the wall and growl. Like a goddamn wild animal.

“Mitts off her, Cole, and make sure the rest of the crew stays away.”

Trina visits most Fridays, along with the other girls, and because I’ll be out of the country I want the team to know I’ve staked a claim.

If Trina found out about it, I’d lose my fucking head. But hey, I might, before I get back on US soil, so it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

She might be too stubborn to call me, but I saw the lust in her eyes. I felt the hungry heat in her kiss. The way her pussy lifted to press against my cock.

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