Chapter 16
Hazard lay flat on his back in his bed, thinking about that moment in the closet with the captain. Ice had stared at his lips. Usually, someone stared at another person’s lips when they were thinking about kissing them. Which meant Hazard had no choice but to assume that Ice had thought about kissing him .
A light, shivery sensation danced low in his belly. He tugged his shirt up and put a hand on the spot, lightly trailing his fingers over the warm skin. Ice wanted to kiss him. What was he supposed to do with that information? Especially when he considered that his own attraction to his captain wasn’t fading. It was growing. And now he knew that Ice was attracted to him too.
He raised his hand from his stomach and roughly rubbed it over his face. Damnit, he didn’t need to know that. Handling his attraction to Ice was one thing. But handling it while knowing Ice wanted him in return was another thing entirely. Or maybe Ice didn’t truly want him. Maybe he’d simply been reacting to being enclosed in a tight space with a warm omega body. Hazard frowned. That wasn’t a great thought.
A knock came at his door, interrupting his mental crisis.
He sat up, making sure his shirt had fallen back down before he called out. “Come in.”
The door opened and the major stuck her head in to the room.
“Can I get your assistance this morning? I’m training some new enlistees on hand-to-hand techniques and I could use a partner.”
“Sure thing, ma’am. Let me get my boots on.”
“Great. Thanks, Hazard.” She left, closing the door behind her.
Thankful for the distraction from his thoughts, Hazard grabbed his boots. From long practice, he had them on, laced, and tied in no time. He walked out to the common room where Oritz was waiting for him. They left their barracks together, heading to the main PT building.
When they reached the wide, gray brick building the major was in front, so she pulled open one of the double doors, stepping aside to let him go inside first. They went down the brightly lit hall to the main gym, their boots hitting the floor in perfect synchronization.
As they approached, a multitude of scents hit Hazard’s nose. Nervousness from shifters. Sweat from humans. The rubber and plastic of sporting equipment. They entered a huge room, bigger than the average high school gymnasium. The walls were painted a light gray with a thick green stripe dividing it near the middle all the way around. Bleachers were on either side. They were currently empty. The floor was light brown hardwood, and the standard blue sparring mats took up several sections of it.
In the center of the gym, a group of about twenty-five soldiers milled around in a loose formation, talking while they waited for their instructors to arrive.
“Attention!” Ortiz called out.
The group immediately straightened up their ragged lines, feet snapping together, hands down at their sides and shoulders back to stand at attention.
Ortiz strolled over to stand in front of them. Hazard took up a position behind and to her right.
“Good morning, recruits. I’m Major Ortiz and I’ll be leading this training session today. Assisting me is Corporal Mitchell.”
“Good morning Major Ortiz! Good morning Corporal Mitchell!” the privates shouted in unison.
“Today, you will be learning more on hand-to-hand combat. First, the corporal and I will demonstrate. Then you will break off into two groups to practice. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Hazard moved into place so that they could demonstrate the moves for today’s lesson. Each move was explained with step-by-step by instructions. They taught each move slowly at first, then in real time. They took turns being the one utilizing the hold or strike and the one being attacked.
Once he and Ortiz went through them all they split the privates up into two groups. Hazard took his group over to left side of the gym.
“Okay, privates. Pair off. Let’s start with upper cuts. Attackers, you are not going full out. We don’t want any broken jaws today. Defenders, I still want you to make sure you block.” He clapped his hands together. “Let’s go!”
The young soldiers excitedly got started. Hand to hand was usually a favorite among recruits. After a few minutes of the first round of attackers practicing their upper cuts, he called for them to switch off.
“Switch!”
As Hazard watched the privates, a tingle of awareness suddenly slipped down his spine. Following the pull tugging at his chest, he looked over and saw Ice standing in the doorway. Their eyes met. Ice crossed his arms over his chest and leaned one shoulder against the doorframe. The relaxed pose made it clear he didn’t plan to leave for a while.
Hazard stood there frozen, staring at the captain until one of the privates, a slender African American omega with a honey gold complexion, raised his hand. Hazard jerked his gaze away from Ice to acknowledge the young soldier.
“Private Bell. Go ahead.”
“How are omegas supposed to win hand to hand combat if we come up against an alpha? They’re so much bigger and stronger than us. It seems pointless to even try.”
“If you give up in a fight because you’re an omega, you won’t survive for very long.”
Bell didn’t look convinced.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re bigger than the average omega.”
“True,” Hazard acknowledged that fact with a nod. “But I’m still not able to match the strength of a lot of alphas.” He looked over toward the entrance again. “Especially ones like our Captain Ice.”
The group turned and followed Hazard’s gaze to where the big alpha was still leaning against the doorway.
Hazard raised his voice to be heard over the noise of grappling from the other group. “Care to join us, sir?” Hazard asked.
At his invitation, Ice straightened and strode into the gym. The scent of nervousness from the privates spiked. They skittered out of the way to make room for the captain as he cut through their midst, watching him walk past them with awe on their young faces.
It was easy to see why they were intimidated. The alpha was a menacing presence, the sheer size of him enough to make anyone wary. He was taller than everyone else in the room and dressed all in black with a stark white wolf skull mask covering his face. He walked with a lethally confident swagger that left no doubt that he could break bones and incapacitate anyone foolish enough to move against him.
Captain Ice Anderson made Hazard feel something too, but it definitely wasn’t intimidation.
Ice stopped when he reached Hazard’s side. He recrossed his arms over his chest and stared at the group of soldiers.
“It’s not always strength and size that wins fights,” Hazard continued. “Although those things do give some people an advantage. That’s why you have to learn how to use whatever advantages you have. Being smarter than your opponent. Faster. Having better technique. And if all else fails, bite that motherfucker.”
The last made the group laugh. Private Bell relaxed, laughing along with his fellow recruits.
“Ice, what do you say we give them a little demonstration so they can see how an omega trained to fight can hold up against an alpha opponent?” Hazard asked with a grin.
Ice turned his head to look down at him.
“Love to.”
The soldiers who’d been training with Hazard all stepped back to give him and Ice more room on the mat. They squared off, just as they had the first time they’d sparred. This time, Hazard had the knowledge that his quick in and out attacks weren’t going to work. He’d have to rely on his skill and his mean streak. As soon as they started, Hazard punched forward in a quick jab, aiming for a throat strike. He almost connected, but Ice batted his fist away at the last second.
“Fighting dirty, Corporal?” Ice asked in his rough voice.
Hazard winked. “Whatever it takes to survive, Captain.”
“Then do your worst.” Ice’s dark eyes gleamed, eager for the challenge.
From there it was on. They grappled and fought, Hazard using both clean technique and dirty moves to try and get the upper hand. Both of them landed several kicks and strikes that were sure to bruise later. Hazard grinned, already looking forward to them. He loved the soreness from a good fight.
Ice caught him with that nasty arm twist again. Using his speed and flexibility, Hazard reversed the hold. He caught Ice around the neck and swung around to jump on the captain’s back. Then, holding onto Ice’s broad shoulders for balance, he let his legs drop so that he could kick him in the back of the knee. It caused Ice to stumble and fall. Hazard used his weight to push him all the way down to lay flat on the floor. He ended up stretched out on top of him.
Hazard laughed softly and whispered in Ice’s ear. “This is an interesting position. I’m on top. Does that make me the winner?”
Ice growled. Hazard felt the vibration of it in his chest.
“We’re not done yet.”
Ice flipped over, but before he could get to his feet Hazard wrapped his legs around Ice’s thighs, crossing his ankles to keep them locked. Another growl came from behind the wolf mask. Ice furiously bucked his hips in an attempt to throw him off. But Hazard held on tight, so instead of dislodging him, the move made him bounce in Ice’s lap. At that, heat curled through Hazard’s belly. Ice’s cock was beneath him. Soft, but still impressive in size. He shouldn’t notice, but he was in spot where it was impossible not to. It took intense will power to keep his mind focused on their sparring and off the thick shaft nestled right between his ass cheeks.
“I’m still on top, sir.”
Hazard grinned with wicked triumph, even though he knew he wouldn’t hold the dominant position for long. And he didn’t. Ice grasped his biceps and yanked with his impressive strength. Hazard didn’t have any choice but to release his leg lock as he went flying over Ice’s head. He tucked to flip and land on his back, the breath rushing out of him with a grunt when he hit the floor.
He didn’t stay down for long however, because Ice was already up and gunning straight for him. Hazard shot to his feet, but he wasn’t fast enough to evade Ice’s long reach. Before he knew it, he was caught up in a bear hug. The hold was tight, leaving him little room to breathe. Still, it was clear Ice wasn’t using all his strength in the hold. If he did, Hazard would have several cracked ribs by now.
Remembering how he’d gotten free last time, he started to strike Ice with his knee. But Ice must have remembered too because he adjusted his stance to avoid the knee strike just in time. Determined not to lose, Hazard twisted and kicked trying to get loose while he thought of his next move. He was cursing the fact that he couldn’t do a headbutt thanks to the hard shell of Ice’s wolf mask when all of a sudden the brown eyes behind that mask went wide and started to glow. Ice’s grip loosened slightly, but rather than trying to squirm free, Hazard went still.