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“Last time I checked, yeah.” I let my expression suddenly go very serious. “Unless you cross me, of course.” I scrunched my face at her, making my eyes very narrow. “Do that, and I’d have to bring the pain!”

Melissa made a muscle and pointed to it mid-stride. “I’ve got the pain right here, bitch!”

We laughed some more, then kicked up the speed for the last twenty minutes and finished our workout. I watched my friend as she snagged some paper towels and dutifully sprayed and wiped down our machines.

Melissa was the one true friend I had, and the only one who accepted my lifestyle without judgment. Of course she’d be my maid of honor. She was everything to me.

We grabbed our water bottles and headed out, parting ways at the parking lot. Before we did, Melissa laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Hey honey,” she said. “I want you to listen, and listen good.”

I tried to smile as I looked up at her. But it was hard.

“You’re over-extended. That’s all it is.”

“I know. Thanks.”

She looked me up and down and grinned. “And with all four of the guys home right now?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’re overextended in more ways than one.”

I stuck my tongue out at her as she laughed. “Ha ha.”

She leaned forward quickly and pecked me sweetly on the cheek. “Bye bitch,” she said, dropping her sunglasses over her eyes. Then she turned, whipped out her car keys, and began walking away.

Damn, I loved her. She really was the best.

“Until the next torture session!” she called over her shoulder.

Two

KYLE

We’d skipped our mid-week date, but it was one of those rainy nights where you really just wanted to be inside. One of those really cool storms that made you feel snug and cozy and safe under your own roof.

Besides, Sammara and I were alone in the house for once. And while I loved sharing my beautiful fiancé with my three best brothers-in-arms, having her to myself now and then felt like a forbidden treat.

“Mmmmm…” she moaned, squirming into the bed. “Right there…”

I twisted down with the heel of my palm, giving the small of her back just the right amount of pressure. Sammara was sprawled face-down across her own bed, breathtakingly naked. She squirmed beneath the touch of my oiled hands as they glided over the warm surface of her well-oiled body.

“You’re the absolute best at this,” she groaned into her pillow. “You know that?”

I laughed, making tight circles with my thumbs. “I’ll bet you say that to all the boys.”

She turned her head sideways, her golden hair falling over her perfect face. “It would definitely be in my best interests to lie,” she agreed. “But right now I’m telling—” She sucked in a sharp breath. “Ooohhh.. Yes!”

I listened to her moan a few moments longer before clearing her throat. “Right now I’m telling the truth…”

It was always hot, admiring her body. Especially prone like this, every last curve laid out at my fingertips. My gaze dropped again, back to her magnificent ass. She had a magnificent everything really, but I was gradually learning I was an ass man before anything else.

“Harder…”

I applied more oil, then more pressure. She jumped at both.

“Oh my God, Kyle…”

It was truly amazing, finding her the way we did. Plucking her from a seemingly endless sea of imperfect candidates, for our over-the-top, borderline crazy arrangement.

And yet the arrangement wasn’t actually so crazy. The four us shared a long string of failed relationships. Duties, extended tours, sudden deployments; these things were a way of life for anyone in the armed forces. They put a strain on even the best relationships, even the strongest of marriages.