Page 20 of Haze of Obedience

She glances at her feet then me.

I don’t wait and wipe her feet until they are clean.

“Thank you,” she says.

"I'll let you change." I gather the other guys. They give each of their targets a shirt, and we leave so they can change.

After enough time has passed, I go in. Vanessa is on the bed next to Zoe.

"What are you doing here?" Zoe asks.

"I'm going to sleep. Move over," I tease.

"Move over? No."

I throw my backpack on the floor next to her. "I'm kidding. But stop talking so I can sleep."

"You stop talking. No one asked for your input in our conversation."

I snort. "Whatever."

The tent becomes quiet. I believe the women are all asleep. Every guy is next to his target, but I'm sure that none of us are sleeping. We've trained our bodies to stay awake during missions. Our job is to protect our targets, and resting is a luxury we don't get.

Several hours pass. There's a rustle then Hunter whispers, "Shh. You're okay, Flower. You rolled off the bed."

I assume that Vanessa is going to roll back on the air mattress, but instead, muffled whimpers fill the air.

Are they...?

Zoe is facing me, and her eyelids fly open. I put my finger on her mouth, so she doesn't freak out.

She moves her face closer to mine. Her eyes get wider, and she laughs quietly.

I slide her on top of me and cover her mouth.

The beating of my heart thumps against hers.

I swallow hard when she stares at my lips, then eyes, then back at my lips.

I shouldn't do it. It's not professional. She's mine to protect, not take from, or put in any awkward positions. But I can't control myself. I remove my hand and glide it through her hair to the back of her head and kiss her.

She ruins me.

Her soft lips taste like sugar, and her tongue dips into my mouth, flicking against mine, stirring every ounce of testosterone in my body, and making me feel like a man.

A man that she wants, and needs, and was created exclusively for.

It's an awakening that anything until now hasn't been real. Anyone previously was a mere practice session, so I had a sliver of a chance to handle the real thing.

And the zing of fire fluttering in all my cells is something I've never had happen in all my forty-two years.

My other hand slides on her naked ass, and she grinds against my hardening erection. But when my thumb strokes her ass cheek, it's as if I startle her. She pulls back, breathless, and crawls back on the air mattress and under the blankets.

I'm about to apologize, but she closes her eyes and lays flat on her back.

I study her face all night, cursing myself for taking advantage of her. At one point, a tear drips down her cheek.

I wipe it away, but she never opens her eyes. When morning comes, I'm not sure if she's sleeping or faking it, but when Ryker motions for me to follow him, I join him and Hunter outside of the tent.

The first thing I do is give Hunter a hard time, but all I'm wondering is what I can do to make up for putting her in that position.