No Regrets, No Surrender(25)

“Tell me about the explosion.”

Thank you.”I don’t really remember it. A buzz. Running. Bright light. Then I was in Germany.”

“What was your assignment?”

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose. Her eyes burned, but she stemmed the tears before they fell. “My FET team presented to a group of local girls and their mothers about educational opportunities. We’ve been gaining momentum in the outlying villages, particularly those where the women had to run everything anyway. City women are harder to reach, but the task is to bring those villagers in, set them up, and create an environment that local women will want to participate in.”

“What was your role in this assignment? Specifically?” His pencil scratched on the notepad in front of him.

“I was the closer. Roxy, she engaged, handled opening arguments, and revved up the crowd. Stormer delivered the facts, the statistics, and set the playing field. I made it emotional by encouraging them to apply the information and the ideals to their own personal goals. If I hooked one girl, she usually brought two or three with her.”

James took more notes. “How did you know who to hook?”

“I watched them. You can tell a lot from body language, how a person leans forward, or withdraws. Similarly eyes are great storytellers. The girl who wants to know more, squints. As though in a personal struggle between culture and curiosity. The one who showed the most interest was the one I went after.” The tension in her shoulders eased.

“What is your success rate?”

“Twenty-eight percent—up from twenty-four last month.”

“How often do you hold those meetings?”

“We tried for weekly. We moved the locations frequently, to make it easier for those traveling, and we spent the intervening week visiting villages with information about the meetings.” She was thirsty.

“Are you in love with Logan and Zach?”

“Yes.”

The word escaped before she fully acknowledged the question. Her lungs squeezed. Jerking her gaze up, she focused on the doc, but he simply added another note to his legal pad.

James stared at her steadily. “Why, is that a problem for you?”

The air in her lungs whooshed out. “Because I can’t be in love with two men.”

“Is that a regulation somewhere?” He lifted a brow.

“Yes.” Cold prickled her neck.

“Where?”

“I….” She trailed off. It was a rule. One man. One woman. A ménage was a fantasy.

“Gunny?”

“It’s just an impossible situation. I don’t want to talk about it.” She looked back at the windows, hands fisting together in her lap.

“Why did you join the FET team?”



***



“I hate being out here.” Zach drummed a cadence against his thigh, pacing back and forth. They had fifteen minutes more before her session ended. His stomach tied in knots. He’d damn near fucked her in the shower and again when he had her out of it. His job involved taking care of her, not himself. But all he thought about during his second shower was how wet she’d been against his fingers, how responsive to the lightest touch. The provocative allure of her moan as she came apart for him echoed in his ears.

His balls ached thinking about it. He’d palmed his dick in the shower, jerked off to the thought of her. But thrusting into his own grip didn’t come close to sheathing his cock in her pussy or feeling it clench around him.

“Dude, sit the fuck down.” Logan sprawled on one of the sofas. He propped his bad leg up on a table and leaned his head back, eyes closed.

“How can you relax?”

“I didn’t get the boner in the shower.” The dry comment didn’t help. “And pacing out here doesn’t make the time go faster—it just irritates the shit out of you.”

“Says the master of waiting.” He couldn’t help the frustration. How Logan compartmentalized the bad shit never failed to amaze—or annoy—him.

“Yep. You learn patience when you have to rely on someone else to wipe your ass. Walking’s a real bitch of a lesson too. Sit down.” Logan didn’t look up.

Zach flung himself down in a chair, the leather seat bouncing once with his weight. “I almost screwed up.”

“You didn’t hurt her. Hell, an orgasm probably felt damn good at this point.”

“That’s not the point. It was a shower, but….”

“But she’s entirely fuckable, and you aren’t the only one who can’t wait. Just give yourself a break, man.” Logan sat forward and slid his leg off the table where it thumped to the floor. “Seriously. I’m not entirely sorry I lost that coin toss because I want to work my way over every inch of her body. Carrying her is hard enough. Naked….”