Chapter 40

Royce awoke to the unfamiliar feeling of someone sleeping with him in his bed. It was a good feeling. Warm. Peaceful.

He looked down at the omega curled up against his chest. As an alpha, his normal body temp was cooler than omegas who usually ran hot. He didn’t want to burrow under the blanket like he usually did in the mornings, because he had the toasty sensation of warm skin pressed against him. It was... nice.

Moving slowly and carefully so as not to wake him, he brushed his fingers over Dylan’s buzz cut. The black hair was as soft as down. He continued to stroke the soft hair while he lay there enjoying the quiet.

Eventually Dylan was pulled out of whatever dreamland he was in, green eyes opening to blink sleepily up at him.

“Good morning,” he said in a husky morning whisper.

“Morning.”

“How long have you been awake?”

“About five minutes.”

“Hmm.” Dylan closed his eyes again. “Then it’s only fair that I get my five minutes of cuddle time before we get up.”

A smile tugged at Royce’s mouth. “That seems fair to me.”

“Good.”

They lay there, comfortable and cozy, the room gray and hazy as dawn light slipped in through the blinds. Royce resumed brushing his fingers over Dylan’s hair while Dylan traced gentle circles on Royce’s chest with the tips of his fingers.

“You know...”

“Yes?”

“We can have more mornings like this.”

“Can we?”

“Mmmm. Absolutely. We don’t have to put a label on it. We can simply enjoy each other. Our lives are day to day danger and death. Why not allow ourselves a little something nice in the storm of all that violence?”

“We still have the problem of our ranks,” Royce pointed out.

Dylan pressed a kiss to his shoulder before he looked up at him. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t give a shit about that. Being with you makes me happy and I’m not going to give that up just because we have different insignia on our chests.”

“If we’re caught we will have consequences.”

“Then we won’t get caught. We don’t have to advertise what we’re doing. No one has to know. And if they guess, guessing isn’t proof.”

Royce thought about it for a moment. What Dylan said was true. They didn’t have to flaunt their relationship outside of the privacy of their rooms. As teammates, they were always together anyway. No one would notice anything different about that.

“Okay.”

“Really?” Dylan pushed himself up on one elbow and looked down at him in surprise.

Ice nodded. “Yeah. We do this casually with no labels. No one knows about it. And if either of us wants to end it, it’s over no questions asked. Can you accept those terms?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then get your ass out of my bed.”

“What? Why?”

“You need to get back to your own room before the major or Jax wakes up. Give them plausible deniability.”

Dylan snorted. “After the way Ortiz sent us off last night I’m sure she already knows.”

Royce arched a brow. “Are you really protesting five seconds after we set the rules?”

“Ugh, fine.”

Dylan laughed and rolled out of bed to pull on his clothes. Royce shamelessly watched him, eyes caressing supple, golden skin over firm muscles until it was all covered up by a wrinkled tuxedo. Once Dylan was dressed, he started from the room.

But before he made it two steps away from the bed, Royce reached out and caught his arm. He gently tugged him down until they were face to face. “Last night was amazing,” he said before he pressed their lips together in a slow kiss.

Dylan smiled when he pulled back.

“Last night was everything.”

* * *

After the undercover mission, they were held on base for days while the intelligence team poured over the intel they’d been given and continued searching out Cortez. Hazard was tasked with overseeing training drills for the same group of privates he’d worked with during the now infamous sparring match with Ice. They were finishing up breakfast when he asked Ice to join him.

“Want to come along while I torture the privates for a couple of hours?”

“I have a report to submit. But I’ll come and join you once it’s done.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Their fingers brushed as Hazard passed by him on his way out but they didn’t do anything more than that. Whatever this was between them it was secret. And even if Ortiz and Jax suspected what was going on, as they most likely did, they weren’t going to act like a couple in front of them. Like Ice had said, plausible deniability. They didn’t want to get their squadmates into trouble.

Hazard made his way to the training ground where the privates were waiting. “Fall in,” he said sharply.

The soldiers quickly got in line and stood at attention. Hazard decided to focus mostly on partner drills, keeping it chill and fun to help the privates bond with one another. He teased and joked with them, watching with satisfaction as the tension melted from their faces. They all worked hard, but with a cheerful, good-natured mood that made it seem as if they were simply having a strenuous day on the school playground.

As promised, Ice joined him once he was finished with his reports. Hazard smiled, warmth blooming in his chest when the big alpha strolled up to stand at his side. He was happy to see him. Happy that his lover had come to spend time with him.

“Hey, Captain.”

Ice nodded a greeting. “Corporal.” His greeting was short as always, but his dark eyes shone with a smile as he looked down at Hazard.

The drills continued, now with both of them barking orders and critiquing the young soldiers. Hazard bit back a laugh as the privates either shook with fear when Ice approached them or pushed themselves to the limit to try and impress him.

After they finished tactical partner carries, Hazard whistled to call them all back over to him. “Alright, newbies. Drop and give me fifty push-ups. In unison. Do the last five one armed with your non-dominant arm. Then finish out with wind sprints. Private Bland, set the pace.”

“Yes, sir!”

The privates hit the ground in two lines and started their pushups.

“Down! Up!” Bland shouted.

“One!” the privates shouted back.

Hazard strolled up and down the lines, checking everyone’s form. He came across Private Bell when the count hit forty.

“Glad you’re back to normal, Corporal Mitchell,” the omega said from his spot on the ground doing push-ups.

Hazard tipped his head down to glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He knew exactly what Bell meant, remembering the whispered complaints from his last time training this group.

Bell grinned, his honey-gold eyes shining in the sunlight. “Nothing, sir. Just glad you found your smile again.”

His gaze slid to Ice as he spoke, making it clear where he thought Hazard had found his lost smile. He was right of course, but Hazard wasn’t going to confirm that for him.

“Down! Up!”

“Fifty!”

At the other end of the line, Bland had finished the push-up set.

“Go run, you pup,” Hazard snapped with pretend exasperation.

“Yes, sir!”

Hazard shook his head in amusement as the young omega jumped up and took off running with his unit. “That one is going to be trouble,” he said to Ice.

“Sounds like someone I know.”

Hazard pouted. “I hope you don’t mean me.”

“Can you think of anyone else who gives me as much grief as you do?”

Hazard turned to face the captain, keeping his voice low so no one else could hear him. “You weren’t complaining I was giving you trouble when I had your cock in my mouth the other night.” He watched as Ice’s dark gaze became molten with the fire of arousal. Knowing that there was nothing his lover could do about it in that moment, Hazard sent him a devious smirk. Satisfied that he’d gotten the last word, he turned back to watch the privates run.

Ice wasn’t satisfied letting him have the last word, however. The alpha moved in close. He kept his eyes on the privates, but leaned down so that the rough whisper of his voice slid directly into Hazard’s ear.

“I didn’t complain because when you’ve got my cock in your mouth is the only time you’re not giving me trouble. Maybe I need to put it there more often. Starting tonight.”

After dropping that lust inducing bomb, Ice stepped away from Hazard to shout at the privates.

“Pick up the pace! I run faster than that with my knees hobbled together!”

Hazard was left standing there, heat swirling in his belly as he pictured exactly how he would suck off his lover tonight. He had to physically shake himself to get his mind back on the training.

Jax arrived as they were finishing up. He stood with them, watching as the privates jogged off the PT field. They were all clearly tired but in good spirits. Hazard gave them positive reinforcement, high-fives and claps on the back as they passed. Ice did the same with nods of approval and the occasional low-voiced good work for those who’d been exemplary in their efforts. Every bit of encouragement brought forth smiles and nods of thanks from the tired troops.

“You two are in a good mood,” Jax said. “And by that I mean Hazard is clearly in a good mood and Ice doesn’t have the aura of an impending killer snow storm around him. What’s changed?”

Hazard looked at his squadmate with big-eyed innocence. “It’s a nice day,” he said with a wave toward the shining sun. “Who wouldn’t be in a good mood with crisp fall weather like this? Speaking of fall, I think they’re serving apple cider in the mess hall today. Want to go with me to get some, Captain?”

“Sure. I love apple cider.”

Jax’s mouth dropped open. “Ice loves apple cider. That’s not a sentence I thought I’d ever hear or information I thought I’d ever know.”

Hazard laughed. “Surprises are good, Corporal Jackson. They keep you on your toes,” he said as he and Ice set off for the mess.

A second later, Jax shouted behind them.

“Wait up! I love apple cider too.”

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