Page 45 of The Soldier

“Ughh. See, this is why I don’t date men in the military. Fine, I don’t care. Let him die.” I spin away and head out the door.

“One kiss, huh?”

I glance back at Ryder's smiling face. My own lined with worry. I hesitate, then ask quietly, “If he needs you...”

“I’ll go.” Ryder nods firmly. “But Trina...”

I wait.

“Marshall was a Green Beret. In the Special Forces. He’s a highly skilled operator. We might give each other shit, but Josh doesn’t employ anyone who isn't still the very best.”

I swallow.

Emotion overwhelms me suddenly, and I try to push it away but have to look down before I say my next words. “I never told him, you know.”

“Yup,” he replies simply. When I glance back up, Ryder has crossed his arms. “So, when he gets home, make sure you do.”

I nod.

But it’s a lie. As I walk back down to the others, I know I can’t. If I let myself get involved with that gorgeous big giraffe, I’ll go out of my mind worrying about him all the time.

I thought he did private security. Bodyguard stuff. What is he doing going offshore on operations?

I hear a door bang shut down the hall and spin. Ryder steps up beside me in the doorway, and we stare at Josh’s closed door.

“Fuck,” Ryder growls and his words send a shudder through me.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MARSHALL

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You haven’t experienced true darkness until you’ve been in the desert. Here there’s no electric pollution to provide the light we’re used to in cities. It’s just the moon and the stars.

Tonight, it’s a week past the new moon so there’s little help fromla luna.

When I close my eyes, I imagine I’m lying next to Trina, her long toned legs twisted between mine and she’s panting after I’ve made her scream.

From pleasure, for the record.

Instead, I have sweating men lying next to me. I wouldn’t survive out here on my own—probably—so I’m not completely unhappy about it, but I’m keen as hell to get home.

The past three days have been a fucking disaster. It all started during the briefing. Colonel Rockingham introduced me as Green Beret, Sergeant Adams, and explained that I was here on a private assignment.

He was explicit in his orders that everyone was to assist me.

“Can we get a bit more information than that?” Rogers asked, getting a few raised eyebrows for his effort.

The colonel slowly turned in his direction and I could see he’d been digging for patience. I wasn’t surprised. Miller has likely pushed everyone’s buttons, as he seems to do everywhere he goes.

“You want to do my job, Lieutenant Miller?”

“Yes sir,” he replied, and a few guys laughed.

I didn’t.

His response had been disrespectful, and it was only because I had context and a history with Roger that it reminded me how much I distrust the guy. I might not have anything solid to back up that feeling, but I trusted it.

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