The Colonel's Man (13 page)

“I knew it, I just fucking
knew
it. You couldn’t keep your hands to your bloody self, could you?”

“Hands…” Jason was still smiling when Drew’s tone cut through the sensual haze. “Wait what?”

“You.” Drew was not amused and it showed in the unimpressed expression on his face. “The colonel. Getting down and dirty. What did I bloody tell you?”

“Will you keep your fucking voice down?” Jason glanced around to see if there was anyone within earshot. “Yeah, you did, but I don’t rightly care man. It was beautiful and I’m not about to apologize for it.”

Drew’s eyebrow winged up. “Beautiful? You sure you didn’t take a knock to the head? That’s the first time I’ve heard you talk about a shag like that.”

Jason colored quickly but covered it up with a scowl. “Fuck you. Why the hell are you getting your nose stuck in my personal business, man? Fine she’s our boss but I’m not about to screw her over by crossing the line. I know my place and I respect her. But we’re both consenting adults and…and that’s it!”

“Why am I getting in your business?” Drew matched him scowl for scowl, squaring up in a way Jason wouldn’t have expected in a million years. “Because we’re onto a good thing here but you couldn’t wait to get our
boss
into the sack.”

“It’s not about getting her in the sack, okay?”
Jason yelled as his temper slipped. He counted to ten in an effort to control it. “It’s just…fuck! I don’t know man. Sure I was attracted, what kind of man wouldn’t be? But I’m not doing this just for the sake of getting my rocks off with a hot babe. She’s not like that.”

“Like it enough for you to be able to get her into bed. Christ, if I’d have known all it took was getting stranded, I’d have swapped places with you during the mission brief.”

A blood vessel must have burst in Jason’s head because all he saw was a world awash in red. His fist clenched tightly and a split second later, his knuckles connected with Drew’s jaw sending his partner into the dirt. His hand hurt like a sonofabitch. Drew’s jaw felt like it was made of granite and as hard as the rest of his stubborn head. He didn’t care about that now. His fist was still clenched tightly by his side; subtly shaking with tension and anger.

Drew didn’t bother to get up, staying sprawled in the dirt as he lifted a hand to his cut lip. Surprise rolled through Jason as his partner started to chuckle, then laugh, his face creased with amusement. “Thought so.”

The puzzlement was probably carved into his face but Jason was still pissed off despite the confusion.”What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You. In love. Never thought I’d see it,” Drew said as he held out a hand. “Are you gonna help a guy up or just stare with your mouth open like a guppy?”

Jason snapped his jaw shut with a click and shook his head as he grabbed hold of Drew’s arm and pulled him up. “Love? Maybe you’re the one who’s taken one too many hits to the head buddy.”

Just the concept was ridiculous.

Hell no he wasn’t in love. It wasn’t Jason Scott’s style to fall in love with a woman. He saw a nice smile and a fuckable body and he said and did anything to get what he wanted. Then once he got it, he’d leave before things got complicated. Drew knew his exploits very well so why the hell was the moron accusing him of being in love? With Arita Rhade of all women?

“I’m not in love.” He repeated for emphasis. “Don’t you ever say that again man.”

Drew didn’t let go as he expected, instead he gripped Jason’s wrist, looking down at him. “So you won’t mind if I have a go when you’re done then, will you?”

Jason’s scowl was even more murderous this time. “You can try, then you’ll know what it’s like to have all your internal organs outside your body. You like that?”

“This from a man not in love? She must be a great fuck.”

Jason seethed as he couldn’t think of anything to say so he went with the classic and shoved Drew’s hand from his wrist. “Fuck you,” he growled and stalked towards the shuttle doors, hoping that it was his turn. He never wanted to get a medical check more than he did at that moment or he’d be tempted to break Drew’s stupid neck.

* * *

Arita watched as Jason climbed into the shuttle, his face like thunder, and submitted with ill grace to the medical check-up. Tired, and slightly spaced from the sedatives and inoculations the medics had given her, no doubt on Hurst’s orders, she rested her temple against the padded side of her seat and watched him.

He was young, well…younger than her…and cute as hell. All that bad boy edge she liked, but found was fake in most of the men she’d been drawn to in bars and clubs. In Jason it wasn’t false, far from it. Given a few years and he’d be as good an operative as any she’d seen.

Better even than she was.

“You look ready to kill someone,” she commented as he stomped over to her when the medics were done, and re-arranged her so she rested in his lap. Quite why she let him, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to care that Drew and the others could see her leaning on him.

His cloudy expression dissipated at her words and a wry smile took over his face. “I don’t really like medicals. I hate being poked and prodded and its worse when their hands are cold enough to freeze my balls off.”

She shivered slightly. Jason grabbed a fatigue jacket nearby and draped her with it as he rubbed the warmth into her arms. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” she admitted in a low voice, something he’d have had to drag out of her mere days ago. Now though, he’d seen her at her worst. Sighing, she rested her head back against his shoulder. “Not now though, you’re really warm.”

She paused for a moment, struggling with how to phrase her words. “Thank you. For everything.”

His voice was meant for her ears alone and his words were like a soothing balm to her troubled soul as he whispered. “You never have to thank me. What I have, what I am, I give to you freely.”

She smiled, sleep already catching up with her as her eyelids drifted shut.

The next time she woke, she was being carried, safe and secure in a pair of strong arms.

“Huh?” She fought her way to semi-awake, to realize Jason was carrying her from the shuttle bay. “Jason, put me down. I can walk,” she insisted, her cheeks beginning to color as she looked around. The corridor was deserted but there was always the chance that someone would see them. Then the gossip would start.

“No dice ma’am.” He smiled at her, seemingly pleased with himself as he shook his head. “This marine is taking you to your quarters and to bed so you can sleep.”

She struggled but he had her tightly and whatever she’d been given had sapped her energy.

“Damn you, and bloody Hurst. You’re in it together, I’m sure you are.” Her grouch was light as she gave up the fight and rested her head on his shoulder. Being carried, being looked after felt…nice. “I could order you to put me down.”

“Now now, paranoia is the product of a mind deprived of rest. You’re not thinking straight so I’m overruling you ma’am.”

He chuckled as they walked into a lift that was miraculously empty of occupants. He gave the computer their destination and with an imperceptible lurch, the lift was in motion.

“Besides you should be grateful I’m carrying you. Since I have a bad back, I’m going well above and beyond the call of duty here.”

“Bad back?” Worry threaded through her and she wriggled again. “No, seriously Jason, put me down. I don’t want you hurting yourself and I’m way too heavy.”

“No you’re not. You barely register.” He assured her then grinned. “And I’m sure the bad back is temporary. Probably from all the sexual calisthenics we’ve been doing for the past two days. I’m not a contortionist like you.”

She flushed to the roots of her hair as the lift pinged and the door slid open. “I’m sorry about that. Hurst’s given me something to take the edge off, so you’re safe now. I promise.”

He looked disappointed as they stepped out of the lift and onto their deck. “Damn. And here I was hoping to see you unleashed again. Hurst’s a jackass.”

She looked at him sharply. “It’s not fun for me, Jason. Imagine having no control over it, needing it so much that…” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “Normally I leave the ship, go to one of the trade outposts. I can pass it off as a one night stand, no questions asked. But it’s still damn embarrassing.”

She felt him stiffen as they neared her quarters. “So that’s all I was then? Just a warm willing body?”

“Huh? No…
no!
” Her voice was sharper than she’d meant as they reached her quarters and the door slid open in front of them. “
If
you’ll recall, I was trying to stay away from you!”

Jason said nothing other than ordering the computer to turn on the lamps until they reached her bed. When he deposited her into the giving mattress, he pushed her back down as he hovered over her.

“And now I took advantage of a woman in distress? Bullshit Arita. All that what we did down there? All we said? You’re trying to tell me you’d have done that with just any man who was stuck with you?” He ground out. “That had that branch gone through my side of the windscreen instead, you’d have let Mendes hold you in the drop-shuttle on the ride back? Carry you to your quarters? Try something else, I’m not buying it.”

He was furious, his eyes glittering as he threw each accusation at her. Anger combined with frustration and the hard edge of need as her emotional state ate away at whatever Hurst had given her.

“No! Not any man, you bloody great idiot. Just you! Anyone else I could have controlled it, hunting until exhaustion then I would have collapsed.” He still loomed over her, his nearness doing things to her body that should be illegal. Desperation filled her. She needed him to understand.

“You don’t get it, do you? I’ve wanted you since you cut me down from that bloody pipe but I had a handle on it. Then we crashed and I was…you were…
fuck,
” she ended miserably, closing her eyes to escape his piercing gaze. Nothing she said was going to make this any better. She was just making it worse.

His rough hand brushed softly against her cheek, fingers caressing her face and tilting her chin towards him. It was a silent command. She opened her eyes and gazed into his face.

“You still want me.” It wasn’t a question. “You’re still mine… and I’m still all yours.”

And just like that, she lost the battle. Turning her head, she kissed his fingers. “I’ll always want you.”

A half a second after he pulled the trigger of his rifle, Jason had the satisfaction of watching through his scope as his target’s head exploded. The satisfaction was short lived as the enemy forces responded with several well placed shots at his position, forcing him to duck and take cover.

The mission had gone to hell in a hand basket not long after they landed. Intel had gotten it wrong again and this time the enemy seemed to know they were coming. The drop-shuttle had taken a direct hit from a surface to air missile not long after they disembarked. What was left of their escape plan was now in a thousand pieces scattered all over the desert.

The entire situation had turned from bad to worse when the damned weather changed and a sandstorm blew in making sure that any further support from the ship would be impossible. He checked his comms and the static that greeted him reminded him that the fuckers had set up a jamming array; a pretty big one too since it managed to defeat the Alliance comms systems. Somewhat easy since the atmospheric distortion field made communication hard enough already. There went calling for evac or for an orbital strike.

The sandstorm had managed to help them a little bit though. The city streets had been a death trap and they managed to navigate their way to a decently defensible two storey building atop a low hill. Unfortunately it didn’t count for much since they got the short end of the stick again on numbers and firepower.

They were surrounded. No way out.

“Will you bastards just
fuck off.
” Arita snarled from the other side of the room as she laid down a quick barrage of automatic fire. Jason spared her a glance. She was cut, bleeding from the left side of her lip from when a stray bullet had chipped the wall next to her, and a hastily wrapped field dressing covered her left thigh. Just a glancing wound but the sight of her injured still made his guts churn.

At least the comms for the team were still working.
“Drew, how’s it going at the north side?”

“Bad. At least a dozen foot-mobiles setting up a perimeter. Thermals show they’re digging in for the long haul. I don’t think they’re going away anytime soon.”

Fuck.
“What are they packing?”

“Standard assault rifles, a light machine gun, at least one of them with a grenade launcher. These guys mean business.”

“Wow I’m flattered. Normally they usually reserve the grenade launchers for when they’re really scared.”
He chuckled over the comms.

The north was blocked off; the south and east were houses and by now pretty much garrisoned. The west was open desert but in this storm, they wouldn’t last out there. They’d get swamped or just as easily get lost along the way and end up right in the middle of the enemy stronghold. Not a good idea.