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This time, it was Carter who bent forward, catching Marco’s lips with his. Marco turned into it, curling against Carter’s chest and giving a soft noise that made Carter wish he could throw everything else in his life to the side and stay right where he was. He needed to get moving, but he pulled Marco closer instead, pressing his nose into the man’s hair.

“You should probably go,” Marco said after a while. “Can’t have you getting in trouble because you stuck around here too long.”

“You worry too damn much,” Carter grunted, even though he knew Marco was right.

Marco laughed softly, the sound muffled against Carter’s chest. “Probably. But calling me out on it isn’t going to stop me.”

Not that Carter had any room to talk, and he knew it. He’d found himself more than once over the past couple of weeks wondering what Marco was doing and if he was being careful. It wasn’t that Carter didn’t have faith in Marco’s common sense, even if Carter had made comments to the contrary, but as he’d told Marco the other day, shit happened.

“By the way,” Carter said, reluctantly extracting himself from around Marco. “I’m still not done with you.”

“Oh, there’s a promise,” Marco said with a wide grin.

“I meant teaching you how to defend yourself,” Carter growled, getting out of bed and looking for his clothes. He should probably have taken a shower, but he thought his time had been better spent.

“Well, that’s less exciting,” Marco grumbled, planting his face in his pillow with a sigh.

“Just because I had a mental breakdown doesn’t mean I’m letting you off easy,” Carter told him, yanking his shirt on.

“You didn’t have a mental breakdown,” Marco complained. “You had emotions. They’re two different things.”

Carter scowled down at him. “Call it what you want, fuck knows I can’t stop you. But I’m still going to teach you more, so be ready next weekend, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Marco muttered.

“Good,” Carter grunted, buttoning his pants and turning to the door.

He was stopped before he made it beyond the bed when a warm weight threw itself at his back and wrapped around him. Marco chuckled, nuzzling into Carter’s neck and kissing him gently on the jaw.

“I promise to pay more attention and maybe do a bit of practice before next weekend, okay?” Marco told him, and Carter could feel the man’s smile on his skin.

“Good,” Carter huffed, turning his head to return the kiss, this time on Marco’s lips. “Now get back to bed. Otherwise, you’ll be useless and probably spend all day complaining about how tired you are.”

“So sweet,” Marco said with a laugh, flopping backward onto the bed and burrowing into the pillows and blankets.

“You’re so fucking ridiculous,” Carter told him, and even he could hear the fondness in his voice.

“Damn right,” Marco said.

Shaking his head, Carter descended the stairs to the main floor and headed toward the door, where he kept his boots. He looked up at the loft as he laced them up, still shaking his head. No doubt, Marco was probably wrapped around the pillow Carter had been using and quickly nodding back off because he hadn’t had his required eight hours sleep.

Again, the temptation to say ‘fuck it’ rolled through him. To kick his boots off, mount the stairs, and curl up in bed with the man who, for so many reasons, had become so much more than just a pretty face to Carter.

Being around Marco was like being wrapped in a warm, soft blanket. Conversation came easy to them, even if Carter felt like Marco mostly carried the conversations. The sex was beyond compare, and Carter had to admit that fast and hard or slow and gentle, he was beyond satisfied. And somewhere along the road, he’d found that he enjoyed not only sleeping with Marco butbeingwith him. His presence, whether awake and chipper or asleep and looking ridiculously vulnerable, Carter wanted to be around him as much as possible.

Something fluttered in his chest at the thought, and he opened the door gently, locking it behind him. Carter had no idea what love was supposed to feel like or how fast and hard it came on. But if he had to guess, that feeling was beginningto blossom in his chest every time he saw Marco’s soft smile or when his gut twisted pleasantly when he heard him laugh.

It should have scared the shit out of him, that sort of urge, the need to be around someone. Yet even as the fear threatened to crawl into his throat, he could see Marco’s knowing eyes and the warmth of his smile, and the fear evaporated.

Maybe it wasn’t love, but it sure as hell felt like the first strong strides of it finding a place in his heart.

He was morepleased than ever that he made it back to the Fort with time to spare. Carter had to stop by the barracks for a quick change of clothes, as even the slightest sign of his clothes being worn would have been caught by Sergeant Reynolds. The last thing he wanted was to give the man an excuse to come down on him even harder than usual.

Checking himself to ensure everything was perfect, he headed to where he knew Reynolds would be so early in the morning. He entered the building Reynolds used as his office and stopped short when he saw the door was open. It wasn’t like the Sergeant to keep it open, as the asshole liked to make people knock and wait before he permitted them to enter.

Carter swiveled to leave, annoyed that now he needed to go and find him. He stopped when he heard a soft noise, cocking his head to listen closely. Another noise, this time it was the soft rumble of a voice, though he couldn’t place it right away.

And again, the first noise, a soft, desperate whimper.