Page 252

Story: Men of Fort Dale

He would not take advantage of an injured man who’d already dealt with enough for one night, not even if that man looked damned good on his couch.

“No,” Carter finally admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “Worked on a team, different teams. Seen enough action to give me some scars, yeah.”

Marco hummed thoughtfully. “Not on a team now?”

Despite thinking that Carter naturally looked irritable, Marco still spotted the shadow that flashed over Carter’s face.

“No.” One word, but Marco saw the tension in the man’s jaw.

Right, bad topic.

Marco eased back in his seat, tapping his knee. “So what do they have someone like you doing at the fort?”

“Whatever they tell me to do. Usually bullshit.”

“Kinda feels like you’d be pretty valuable to give training.”

“If I wanted to babysit a bunch of FNGs and chair sitters, I would.”

Marco didn’t think that was quite how it worked, but he wasn’t going to start an argument over it. “Well, I suppose it’s a good thing you don’t do medic work. Then again, your bedside manner might make people want to heal faster.”

Carter scowled, but Marco only chuckled. It didn’t help that he was imagining Carter working alongside Dean. Admittedly, Dean had a lot of experience dealing with grumps, but he wasn’t sure if the man would tolerate it in his workspace. Marco was sure that for all his surliness and intimidating presence, he would meet his match in Dean, who was smaller and friendlier but, when riled up, had the attitude of a pissed-off mongoose.

“Why are we playing twenty questions anyway?” Carter asked. “Is this how you get a date?”

It was Marco’s turn to raise his brow. “I feel obligated to point out that you’re the only one who’s mentioned us dating or sleeping together. More than once, for the record.”

Carter scowled, and Marco thought he was starting to pick through the man’s expressions a little easier, though how he didn’t know. He suspected that particular scowl was thoughtful.

Marco shrugged. “Eh, I’m a curious sort. Call it a personality fault.”

“Maybe I will,” Carter grumbled.

“Or the fact that I have a stranger sitting on my couch, and I want to get to know him better.”

“Why?”

“Why shouldn’t I? Youarea stranger, after all.”

“Says the guy who invited a stranger back to his house.”

“Not the first time I’ve done it.”

Carter’s head jerked up, brow stitched together suddenly. “What?”

Marco blinked innocently back at him. “What?”

He continued to hold his expression, keeping his eyes wide and his smile soft. Marco honestly couldn’t tell if Carter was scandalized by whatever thought had flitted through his head or if he was just confused. Not that it was cleared up when the scowl returned, throwing shadows over his bruised features.

Silence fell between them, and Marco plucked his phone from beside him. He wasn’t reading anything in particular but didn’t want to get caught staring at Carter again. The man was a bit of a dick, but he was also clearly willing to risk himself for the sake of a stranger. It was a strange combination, but Marco was intrigued by it all the same.

Carter broke the silence with a grunt. “You live alone?”

With how low and rumbly Carter’s voice naturally sounded, Marco could have easily taken his words as a danger signal. Then again, considering how his stomach tightened at the sound, he could have taken it as a turn-on.

“Yeah,” Marco said, not looking up from his phone. “After living with other people for years, I told myself I wasn’t going to live with another person again unless I was desperate or dating them.”

“Weird.”

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