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Would the CO really kick me out? I wondered.

Returning without a story would not go over well with the website that had hired me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, I thought, images of Warren and Melvin running through my brain.

The two men were similar in some ways—both alpha males teetering on the edge of being alpha-holes or straight up psychos. But they had their differences too.

Warren was definitely the smarter of the two. Beyond his semi-romantic picnic on top of a hill in the Afghanistan boonies, something about him made me want to smile.

On the other hand, Melvin always got straight to the point. He was dumb, but I’d never had much luck with smart men anyhow.

What type of woman am I? I asked myself, particularly at the unnerving realization that I was even considering someone like Melvin—a man who had essentially tried to assault me. It was a question I worried I would never be able to answer completely, and it made me feel like something was wrong with me.

It didn’t matter though. I would be leaving without a story and wouldn’t get the opportunity to talk to either of them ever again. And I only had myself to blame. It was my fault for failing to get the story at their feet. But then again, if they hadn’t been such assholes, I might have been able to dig around enough to come up with something to save my ass.

Did the criminal conspiracy really go all the way to the top? Was I sitting on another scandal like the Iran-Contra Affair? The thought excited me. Had I been able to follow up on it, people would have finally seen me as a real journalist.

I closed my eyes, drifting through the land between waking and dreaming. As I approached sleep, someone knocked at the door.

CHAPTER 10

Rose

“What are you doing here?” I asked, finding Warren standing in front of me. I glanced around. “I’m supposed to be leaving soon.”

“It won’t be until the morning,” he said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I stepped back and he brushed against me on his way in. A tingle ran through tingle ran through my body.

Why did he have such an effect on me?

“You’re all packed?” he said, looking at the suitcases piled near the door.

“Yep.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You ready to talk more about the smuggling?”

“No,” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Then why are you here?”

“Earlier.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“This...” He stepped forward and put his hands on my waist. At the same time, his head came toward mine, tilting slightly.

I froze, closing my eyes, anticipating the moment our lips would touch. When they did, I felt as if Heaven had opened shop deep within my body. My heart sped.

Is this really happening? I thought.

I pulled back. “Pinch me.”

Warren raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I need to know if I’m dreaming.”

He smiled then kissed me again, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I swirled mine against his. As we kissed, his hands moved along my body, squeezing my breast through my shirt. I moaned, wanting more.

“Do you have a condom?” I asked between kisses.