Page 103 of Duty Compromised
“Ben and Lydia Harrison!” Briggs’s voice cut through the night. The Pioneer Guard’s second-in-command sounded almost pleased. “Come on out. Time for evening devotions.”
Evening devotions. My jaw tightened. Freeman used them to break people, to test loyalty in ways that had nothing to do with faith. I’d watched it happen. I wouldn’t let it happen to her.
I traced my thumb across Lydia’s knuckles, then higher, finding her wrist where her pulse hammered against my fingers. “Remember what we practiced.”
“The part where we convince thirty armed militia members we’re madly in love, or the part where we don’t die?”
“Both. At the same time.”
More footsteps. Closer now. They were surrounding the barn.
The barn door rattled. Someone was working the lock.
“They need to believe we were in here for a reason.” I slid my hand from her hip to the small of her back, pulling her flush against me. She gasped at the contact, and I felt every curve of her body pressed against mine. My body reacted instantly, betraying me. Heat flooded through me—shame and desire tangled together in a way I couldn’t untangle. “A married reason.”
“Ben—“ Her protest died as I tangled my hand in her hair, tilting her head back.
“I know.” I pressed my forehead to hers, our breath mingling in the space between us. “I’m sorry.”
Sorry for what I was about to do. Sorry for how much I wanted to do it. Sorry for the way my body responded to her every time we shared that bed, every time she changed in front of me thinking I wasn’t watching. Sorry I couldn’t be the man who could keep her safe without putting her through this.
The door clicked open.
I crashed my mouth into hers just as the door swung wide, flooding us with harsh LED brightness. But the kiss wasn’t just for show—my tongue swept into her mouth, demanding, and she moaned against me. Her fingers dug into my chest. I kissed her like I’d been starving for it all week, like I wanted to memorize the taste of her. Because maybe I had been. Maybe this was the excuse I’d been waiting for, and that made me the worst kind of bastard.
My hand tightened in her hair, angling her head for deeper access. My other hand grabbed her thigh, hitching it up around my hip. She rolled her hips against me, and I groaned into her mouth, the sound torn from somewhere deep in my chest.
“Well, well.” Briggs’s voice cut through everything like a blade. “Seems the newlyweds got distracted.”
I pulled back slowly, keeping my breathing ragged, my lips swollen. I shifted, turning us so my body blocked her from their view, one arm still wrapped around her waist. “Can’t a man have five minutes alone with his wife?”
Lydia was panting behind me, and I could feel the heat of her skin where my hand splayed across her bare back. The cool air made her shiver against me.
Briggs stepped into the barn, flanked by four other Guard members. All armed. All watching us with expressions I didn’t like. Jolly’s growl returned, and I felt the tension coiling through his body. My own tension mirrored his—ready to strike, needing to strike, knowing I couldn’t.
“Five minutes?” Briggs smiled, his eyes trying to look around me at Lydia. “Miller says your wife was near the communications shed thirty minutes ago. That’s a long time to be looking for privacy.”
“I was looking for Ben.” Lydia’s voice came out wrecked, thoroughly kissed. She pressed closer to my back. “Got turned around. This place is bigger than it looks in the dark.”
“Is that so?” Briggs took another step forward. Jolly’s growl dropped lower, more warning than threat.
“Control your animal, Harrison,” one of the other men said, hand moving to his sidearm. But his eyes weren’t on Jolly—they were on Lydia, on the way her chest rose and fell with each breath.
“Jolly, heel.” My command was sharp. The dog moved to my side but kept his eyes locked on the threats. Good boy.
Briggs studied us for a long moment, taking in Lydia’s messed hair, her swollen lips, the way my hand hadn’t moved from her bare skin. “Freeman wants to see you both. Now.”
Freeman. The man who’d orchestrated bombings in three states. The man who was planning something that would make those look like warm-ups. The man who liked to watch.
“Of course,” I said, keeping my voice rough. “Just give us a moment to... compose ourselves.”
Briggs’s smile grew predatory. “Actually, Freeman wants to see her first. Alone. Just the way she is.”
Every muscle in my body went rigid. My hand tightened on Lydia possessively before I could stop myself. Over my dead body. The thought came unbidden, instinctive, and I had to force it down. Had to think tactically. Had to remember the mission.
“That’s not?—”
“Not what?” Briggs interrupted. “Not acceptable? You questioning Freeman’s authority, Harrison? Or maybe you don’t trust your wife alone with other men? That doesn’t sound like the devoted couple you’ve been selling us.”
