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I could easily rip off her clothes and fuck her right here, right on the hard, cold steel of the plane’s belly, refusing to let her go until she cried out my name.

That’s exactly what she deserved.

Right after I paddled her rounded bottom for driving me absolutely nuts.

A grin spread across my face as she rubbed more vigorously, the action shifting her body weight up and down. My guess was she was creating friction in her sweet pussy. How did I know?

Because I gathered an incredible whiff of her raging desire.

“We’re coming in for a landing, kids. Best you strap yourself in since we’re rolling into a storm.”

As usual, Stone’s timing sucked.

I turned my head, glaring at him.

The man was smiling as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Damn him for always being right.

CHAPTER 17

Juliette

“Try and keep him in line, Juliette. It’s going to be tough. But he does have a few weaknesses that might help you,” Stone said as we stood just outside the airport. He’d walked with us outside, his flight ending in Dallas. The destination told me nothing about where we were going and I hadn’t asked.

“Oh, yeah? Tell me,” I answered as I slyly glanced toward Kage. The two men were close. That was easy to see. But there was something between them. A tension. Maybe a secret. I’d felt it almost from minute one.

“He has a thing for pancakes smothered in peanut butter before being slathered in maple syrup.” Stone grinned as if he’d just unveiled the biggest secret of the year.

Kage fisted his hand, playfully sticking it in his friend’s face. “Fuck you.”

“Back at you, buddy.”

“That sounds…” I started. “Disgusting.” Stone and I laughed together and I could tell by the look on Kage’s face his buddy was telling the truth. “Five million calories to boot.”

“Hey. When you’re short on supplies and need some heavy carbs and protein, it ain’t bad.” Kage rolled his eyes as if furious, but I caught a slight twitch of his upper lip. It was good to see him more relaxed.

It was good to be alive.

I shuddered from the awful thought, the quick image of the two soldiers holding me captive forcing an irregular beat to my heart. I was free and safe. Kage was going to keep me that way. I bit my lip as the two men continued bantering. The air was sticky, the sweltering heat making it difficult to breathe.

Maybe that was the pressure I felt. I’d yet to talk to my dad. I didn’t know what to say or how he’d react. Now that I was back on American soil, I didn’t know what to think or feel any longer and that bothered me. I shook it off when I noticed the two men shaking hands.

For a few precious, brief seconds, I’d felt closer to Kage by massaging him. The activity had been nice, comforting to me and he wasn’t complaining about his neck hurting any longer. But as soon as Stone had caught us, Kage had returned to his prickly self.

“Thanks for your help, buddy,” Kage said.

“That’s what brothers are for. Maybe that’s something for you to remind yourself of every so often. Remember. Never out of the fight.” The way Stone issued the last few words was different. They meant something to both of them, either a private motto or maybe something from the time spent in the military.

While I wasn’t certain, the look they shared was so private, so connected that I knew in my heart the two men would do anything to help the other.

I didn’t really have that. Sure, I had my girlfriends, and they’d had my back with ugly breakups, commiserating with me regarding horrible bosses, but this was entirely different.

And I was jealous.

“Take care, Juliette. Seriously. Don’t allow the demons to become a clusterfuck in your life. Then the monsters will have won.” Stone held out his hand for a shake and I couldn’t help myself, throwing my arms around him.

He stiffened at first, obviously shocked. “Thank you for helping save my life.”