Page 48 of Agency

The squad passes, and then Guti is up and tapping me on the shoulder as he hustles by, and I’m up and reversing to cover our rear. More alley, more splashing through dank and dark shit-and-piss water, till we’re at the next intersection. Freeman on point, he takes a knee like Guti previously had. Tompkins to the other side. Then my five men crossing ahead of me. Jenkins, then Smith, then Andrew, then Morgan, then Guti.

Then, the explosion comes back at us. The clay and brick shrapnel like bullets, faster than any eye can see, tears through the air at us. Then screams from my men, then my mouth opening to join their screams as I slam one hand over my ear just in time for the shockwave to slam into me like a brick-laden truck, and the gunfire erupts behind us—

I awoke in a cold sweat, my throat already raw from the panting. Heart pounding, stomach twisting, eyes going around the room as I tried to recognize something in the room that might be familiar.

Shit!

Where was I? Was morning already here?

Shit shit shit!

Then, Candice. The memory of last night with her, and the warmth and weight of her pressing into the mattress next to me in the early gray dawn. The way her pale, warm body had felt in the back of the SUV, the way her sweat-sheened skin had smelled as Andrew and I again took turns fucking her here in this hotel bed. The way she’d tasted after having my friend’s cock in her mouth, and how perfect her moans had sounded in my ears.

I closed my eyes and took long, deep breaths, pulling in the cool, air-conditioned oxygen of the room as I reminded myself that Iraq had been a lifetime ago. So cool, so dry, so far removed from that sweltering heat-box of an alleyway nearly a decade before. Long, deep, cleansing breaths that brought my heart rate back closer to normal.

Candice.

Goddamn, Candice. What a fucking godsend.

Just thinking about her had gotten my blood rushing again, but this time in a good way.

I rolled over, was snuggling in closer before I’d even draped my arm over her shoulders.

Then, her firm, well-muscled body. Her smell of cedar, spice, and mild sweat. Her bulk…?

“Morning, sunshine,” Andrew drawled, snuggling his naked ass back into me, making sure to wiggle as he did.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” I said, immediately pulling away at the same time I gave him a hearty shove in the opposite direction. “Goddammit, Andrew.”

“Awwwww,” he said, his voice slurring with sleep. “No snuggles?”

“Fuck off, man.” I sat up in bed and looked around the empty hotel room, blinking as I realized the only clothes I could find were ours. No luggage, no other signs of habitation. Just kicked off boots, discarded jeans and twill pants, and our shirts.

“Huh,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “You hear her leave?”

“Who? Candice?”

“No, the other smokeshow we both fucked last night. Of course Candice.”

“No. Maybe she’s bringing back coffee?”

“Yeah, probably,” I said. “And took all her luggage with her.”

“Seriously?” he asked, sitting up. The sheet barely covered his lap, and he didn’t bother to adjust the bed linens and hide the rest of himself as he stretched. He smacked his lips a little, let out a loud yawn. “Almost worse than a dine and ditch.”

“Thanks. Comparing me to a meal at a cheap diner makes me feel even cheaper than I already do.” Squinting in the dim morning light, I checked the time on my watch. “Shit. We should probably get going. Shift starts in a bit.”

“Yeah, probably,” Andrew replied, swinging his legs off the mattress. “I’ll be ready to get this shit over with.”

“Not as ready as Stella. She’s the one who’s been pretty much locked up in that penthouse for damn near the last month.”

“True.”

We got up and dressed, not even bothering to be ashamed of our nudity. Seriously, if you’ve played sports for any length of time, or been in the military, there’s not much you haven’t seen from other guys. Even cuddling by accident isn’t that big a deal.

“You don’t really feel cheap, do you?” Andrew asked as he pulled on his shirt.

“What?”