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Jay loved to people-watch, and weddings were among the best places to do so. Everyone was dressed to impress and on their best behavior, at least until the open bar started serving drinks.

At one end of the room, the Marines stood talking.

Whatever they were discussing wasn’t a casual conversation.

Everyone else in the room laughed and smiled as they made idle chit-chat.

Not these guys. Ryden was right. Something was going on.

Jay might not have been military, but he’d worked with soldiers from every branch for over a decade.

It was in their stance, how they carried themselves, and their expressions.

Their eyes said more than their words ever could.

When the group dispersed, Ryden got stuck at the bar talking to one of the guests.

A few Marines left the room via the door everyone had come in from, but Martin had Jay’s attention.

The room had four doors. The first was the one they’d come in from.

Door number two was closed, so it was most likely some other available venue space.

The third door led outside to the covered walkway, and the fourth went to some kitchen or catering space since that’s where the servers were coming from.

It was also the door Martin disappeared through. What did the guy want with catering?

Checking that no one was watching him, Jay headed confidently to door number four. Over the years, he’d learned that people assumed someone was supposed to be there if they walked exuding confidence.

Walking through the door, he caught sight of Martin just before the guy disappeared through another door at the end of the catering area.

Where did that go? Jay quickly reached the door, pausing to listen.

He wasn’t about to barge in somewhere unfamiliar.

Not hearing anything, he cracked the door open and peeked inside.

He could always say he was looking for the bathroom.

The door led into a stairwell. He’d just stepped inside when he heard voices echoing from above.

As someone who spent much of his time talking on the phone, he had an excellent memory for voices, and the one quietly bouncing around the empty stairwell belonged to Martin.

The second voice was unfamiliar, and since he hadn’t heard any of the other Marines talk, he couldn’t say it wasn’t one of them.

Jay knew better than to wander off after some mysterious fake Marine alone, so he texted Ryden to let him know where he was and what he was doing. Then he snuck a peek up the stairs. It was hard to tell how far up they were. He stilled and listened intently.

“Everything’s ready,” Martin said. “This would have been so much easier if that asshole had just agreed.”

“Well, he didn’t, so we need to improvise, adapt, and overcome.”

Wait. Jay knew that mantra. The guy was one of the other Marines.

“How are we supposed to keep a low profile?” Martin hissed. “After this, we need to be ready to move fast. We can’t have that shit just sitting out there. We’re all dead if we don’t have the shipment ready to go in a week.”

The door opened, and Jay quickly stepped back, his heart ready to beat out of him. One of the other Marines walked through the door. He narrowed his eyes at Jay. Oh shit.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hi,” Jay chirped. He took another step back as the guy approached.

“I asked you what you’re doing here?” The guy grabbed Jay’s arm, and Jay did his best not to sound as scared as he was. This was bad. Very bad.

“I’m just waiting for my boyfriend. I wanted a little…

somethin’ somethin’ if you know what I mean, and since that sort of thing is frowned upon while in uniform, I thought, what’s the harm if no one sees?

” Jay replied, his voice low and throaty.

He ran a finger over one of the gold buttons on the guy’s chest. “It’s not every day my man gets to wear his panty droppers. ”

The guy was suspicious, and Jay could tell he was trying to decide whether he believed Jay. “Why don’t I wait with you?”

Just then, the door opened, and Jay had never been so happy to see Ryden. Talk about timing.

“Baby! There you are!” Jay pulled his arm out of the guy’s grasp, ran to Ryden, and jumped up, relieved when Ryden caught him.

He looked confused, so Jay made sure Ryden couldn’t put his foot in it.

Jay threw his arms around Ryden’s neck and kissed him like he’d been waiting his whole life for this.

Ryden caught on quickly, and after a heartbeat of hesitation, he shoved Jay up against the wall and kissed the ever-loving fuck out of him.

Holy shit .

The heat that exploded through Jay had him instantly hard. It was somehow hotter than the first time, and although it terrified him, Jay pushed his fears aside and returned Ryden’s scorching kisses. He moaned against Ryden’s mouth as they mauled each other.

Forced to come up for breath, Jay threw his head back, and Ryden moved his lips to Jay’s neck, licking, sucking, kissing.

By this point, Jay was panting, and he could do nothing about it.

Did he want to do anything about it? It didn’t help that he was having a really difficult time doing anything other than trying not to come in his pants.

“You should be reported for this,” the Marine growled.

Ryden pulled back. “And who’s gonna do it? You?”

The Marine glared at him.

“Unless ya wanna get an eyeful,” Ryden said. “I suggest you get movin’.” His voice was low and breathy, that drawl dripping with sex.

This wasn’t happening. How was this happening? What the hell had he been thinking? He’d gone from refusing to think about their innocent kiss to desperately wanting to do very naughty things to Ryden.

The Marine shook his head. “Get a fucking room or take off the uniform.” Upstairs, a door closed, and the Marine took off. Other than the sound of their panting breaths, the stairwell was silent.

“That was close,” Jay murmured, dropping his head onto Ryden’s shoulder until he realized he was wrapped around Ryden like the floor was made of lava. He slowly pulled back, and Ryden met his gaze. His lips were red and kiss swollen, and his eyes… He really did have stunning eyes.

“Does it freak you out?”

Jay frowned. “What?”

“My eye.”

Jay didn’t hesitate. “No, of course not. Have I ever given you the idea it did?”

Ryden shook his head.

“Good.” Jay reached up and ran his thumb under Ryden’s right eye without considering what he was doing. It was a foggy gray with a very faint, barely visible ring. Realizing what he’d done, he quickly moved his hand away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Ryden barked out a laugh. “Really? After what we just did?”

Heat filled Jay’s cheeks. “You, um…you should probably put me down,” he replied, breathless.

“Oh, right.” Ryden put him on his feet and cleared his throat. He smoothed out his uniform while Jay did the same with his clothes. “So, uh, we gonna talk about it now?”

“I overheard Martin talking to someone upstairs.” Jay relayed the conversation he’d heard between Martin and the other Marine.

“Not what I meant, but okay. Damn. They’re clearly up to something.”

“What do we do?”

“ We do nothing. I’m gonna talk to the Kings. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”

Jay folded his arms over his chest. “Why? Because I’m not a big tough Marine?”

“That’s right, you’re not. I don’t want you gettin’ yourself into trouble and gettin’ hurt,” Ryden growled.

The words stung, but Jay wasn’t about to show it. He threw his hands up. “There I go again, asking for it .”

Ryden flinched, the wind seeming to have gone from his sails. “That ain’t what I said.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s right. You said, ‘You keep teasing men the way you do, and you’re going to get yourself into more trouble than you can handle.

’ Those were your exact words.” Jay shook his head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to stay out of it.

” He stepped up to Ryden and poked him in the chest. “But make no mistake. The only one hurting me around here is you .” Jay spun and headed for the door, only to have Ryden grab his arm.

“Jay, wait. Come on now.”

“I got your message loud and clear,” Jay spat, spinning to glare at Ryden. “Leave the tough jobs to the real men. Apparently, I’m only good for fucking.”

“That ain’t what I said, damn it, and you know it!”

“Let. Go,” Jay replied through his teeth. “I’m going back to the office. Oh, and you asked me why I’m dressed up today? It’s because I’m meeting up with my date after work.”

Ryden released Jay like he’d been burned. “What?”

“In case you hadn’t guessed, you’re walking back to the office.” With that, Jay slammed through the door and headed for the exit.

That’s what he got for letting his guard down around that asshole. He should have known better. Ryden was just like all those other jerks. Well, Jay was done. He wasn’t going to fall for another muscle-bound prick who thought he wasn’t good for anything except looking pretty.

Screw them, and screw Ryden Foster.