Ice (Elite Forces #1)(5)

"Look. I saw him standing outside your tent when I left you. If you  didn't fuck him, then what the hell did he want?" He crosses his arms  over his massive chest, those tattoos begging for me to lick them.

"He wanted to know what happened between us." My power of speech stays just that, powerful and to the point.

"And did you tell him?" His voice grows quiet.

"God, no. I lied." His brows rise, challenging me to continue.

"That basically if you ever caught me doing it again, you would make sure I lost my rank." I shrug. He begins to chuckle.

"Don't fuck with me, Captain. Trust me, the consequences will be much  more detrimental to your health than being out here in the middle of  bum-fuck-no-where-land. And don't ever let me catch that bastard  sniffing around your sweet pussy again." With those nice parting words,  he leaves me standing in the dust for a second time.

"Commander," I say before he gets too far away. He doesn't turn around, just stops.

"If you ever talk to me or treat me like a whore again, I will spit out  every goddamn word you've threatened me with out here. I'll give it all  up. Don't do it again, or I'll fucking ruin you." And with that, I storm  past him. I hope the damn desert dust is flying into his slacked jaw.  Fucker.



There are ten of us standing at attention in the blazing hot sun. Sweat  dripping, bodies stiff, all of us waiting impatiently to hear details of  our mission.

You can feel the rush and the overpowering smell of the desire to  destroy and to make this mission our own personal bitch lying stagnant  in the stifling air.

Like the rest of my team, I'm standing here listening to our Commander  tell us how our unit has been handpicked, selected solely by him and the  higher up chain of command for this special operations unit; how each  and every one of us have excelled to be one of the best in our specialty  we've all worked our asses off for, how we have bled, breathed, and  even slept to become the best we could be.

I remain focused, eyes planted firmly ahead, toes pointed forward, until  Kaleb stands directly in front of the small space between me and  Captain Harris. It may be my own imagination, but something tells me  these two had their talk and punishment has already been given to my  dear friend. If I find out that is the case, I'll have to have words  with my sweet Commander again.

"Captain Harris. Both you and Captain Elliott will report to my office  no later than five minutes after dinner chow this evening. Do I make  myself clear?" My peripheral vision watches as he turns his neck,  waiting for both of us to answer.

"Yes, Sir." We both say in unison. I'd give anything to be able to  approach this arrogant asshole with a few more adjectives addressed  behind my appropriate answer.

"Now, for our mission. You're all well aware you've been brought here to  complete one thing. Once we do, you'll return home to your families and  loved ones. I really don't care who you have back home waiting for you.  You all will return safe. I have no intentions of leaving any of you  behind." He paces back and forth in front of us while he talks, his  hands folded neatly together behind his back.

He turns, stops, and looks every single one of us individually in the eyes before continuing.

"You're the best of the best. I know this. I personally handpicked each  and every one of you. I've done my research, and all of you came very  highly recommended for this mission. I'm sure I don't need to remind you  that this is confidential and this mission is of utmost importance. If I  tell you to do something, there's a reason for it, so don't ask  questions, do it."

His pacing reminds me of last night. Now, his black t-shirt is being  worn tight around his bulging biceps, and my eyes are drawn again to the  tattoos covering the rest of his arms down to just above his wrists.

He catches me watching and pauses directly in my view before he resumes  his pacing in front of the team. He really intrigues me more than I'd  like to admit. How am I truly going to be able to deal with a large  mission if I'm constantly drooling over this man? Stay focused, Jade.  Remember he's an asshole.                       
       
           



       

As he continues to talk, I get lost in him. I can't help it. His ass is  so perfectly fit in those fatigues. I've always been a sucker for a man  that's in extreme condition. His swagger is unusual for the Army.  Normally, everyone is so straight-laced and perfect in their posture.  He's more relaxed than I'm used to seeing.

"Follow me to my headquarters. I have a room set up where we'll be able to share the intel needed. At ease, soldiers."

I fall in behind the others and work to slow down my beating heart. We  file into a small room with a few tables and the most modernized  technology I've seen in a few months. Harris ends up right next to me,  and we both watch the Commander, taking in every detail he provides.

He spends his time showing us profiles of the enemy, including any  pictures available of their families. My heart aches at the thought of  any of the women or children getting mixed up in all of this, but often  these idiots throw them into our line of fire on their own. This is the  way they were raised, trained to kill the enemy. It's drilled into their  heads by the idiot cowards that lead this country. Some of these  children are given no choice. You either become part of their military  or you die. It's something I'll never get used to and thankfully being  an American, I'll never have to face that in my own country.

"Name is Maverick. Before the day is over and this mission officially  begins, you'll know everything you need to know about me." His eyes meet  mine, and we both smile just slightly. Harris slides his foot over to  mine and pushes on my boot until I turn to look at him. He wipes his  mouth, mocking me, and it honestly irritates me. I whisper to him, "Shut  the fuck up"... just before Maverick calls attention to me.

"Elliott. Did you have something to add to this briefing?"

"No, Sir." The 'Sir' comes out firm and loud. For some reason, I know  I'm in big shit for that. I'm going to kick Harris' ass for getting me  into this.

Maverick is silent as he stares in my direction. His eyes fall to my  feet under the table where Harris' boot is next to mine before I can  pull it away.

"Team dismissed for condition training. Everyone report back here at 1900 hours. Elliott, I need to see you in my office." Shit.





Chapter Three


JADE


I step inside the small room again; this time, it's even darker than it  was last night. He doesn't have the lantern lit and the sun will be  setting soon.

There's sweat still dripping from my body from being in the sweltering  temperature of the direct sun earlier, so I welcome the darkness.

"CLOSE THE DOOR!" The volume of his voice coming from behind me makes me  jump. I didn't realize he was in the room already. Harris held me up  after we were dismissed, and even though I was trying to beat him over  here, it's apparent I failed. I follow his order before standing at  attention while I wait for his direction.

He walks quickly toward me, looking angry with his mean glare and an  obvious frown on his face. He stops directly in front of me. I mean,  like one inch in front of my face. I'm not about to let him know that  his scent drives me insane. There's no hint of cologne, no soap.  Commander Maverick smells like all man. Pure fucking man. I stand solid,  preparing myself for whatever he spews at me next.

"Do you fucking think this is a joke?" The snarl on his face is  terrifying. I'm trained for shit like this, but damn it, why do I love  having him this close to me? I'd give anything to be able to bite on his  lower lip and dig my hands through his hair, but I won't. He has no  idea what's running through my head. Like I said. I. Am. Trained. For.  This.

"No, Sir."

"Then why are you teasing me?" What's he talking about?

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, Sir." It hits me then. Harris. Kaleb Maverick is fucking jealous.

He lowers his hand until he's touching me between my legs. All thoughts  of his jealousy are traveling away with the dust. He drags his fingers  across the front of my camos, stopping when he finds my clit, pinching,  agonizingly and slowly before he begins to talk again. "This is mine."  He removes his fingers, scaling them tortuously up my stomach, the other  hand joining in, until both of his hands start to palm my breasts and  flick both of my nipples into desperation before he breathes his next  words against my neck. "These are mine."

He slides his right hand up my chest, allowing his fingers to circle  around my neck. "This is mine." Then he tangles his other hand in my  bun, yanking out the elastic that's holding it into place. His fingers  pull harshly at the knots, sending slight pain into my scalp. He yanks  my hair back, causing my eyes to meet his as he towers over me. "This is  mine. I'm the only one who gets to feel your fucking hair as you slide  it across my skin."