Chapter 8 #3
“We’ll keep you safe, Sadie. We’re trained in this shit. You worked at McKay-Taggart for a while before you went to San Antonio, right? I’m guessing the operatives up there were just as protective of their spouses as we are with ours,” Fletch said.
Sadie nodded. She did know. Ian and the others always looked after their significant others.
And if she was being honest with herself, it was pretty awesome knowing she had someone to lean on, to help her make decisions about important things in her life, and who would stand up for her and protect her if push came to shove. “I understand,” she told Fletch.
He nodded and stood, then held out a hand to help her stand, and Sadie took it. Chase was by her side immediately, taking her hand from Fletch’s. She would’ve laughed but didn’t have it in her.
“We’ll see you in the morning,” Chase said. “You’re taking first watch?”
“Yeah. I’ll get Emily settled, and I’ll wake Ghost up in an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
“Later, Sir.”
As they were walking to their room, Sadie asked Chase, “Why do they call you ‘Sir’?”
“To make a long story short, other than Ghost, they’re enlisted and I’m an officer. It’s engrained in all of us to talk to each other that way. Even though I’m friends with them, it’s technically illegal for me to hang out and be buddy-buddy with them.”
“That is stupid,” Sadie said. “I don’t get it.”
“Think about it this way,” Chase tried to explain.
“If we have to go into combat together, I’ll be giving the orders.
They’re expected to carry out those orders without question.
If we’re friends, I might either not give the appropriate order to go into battle because I don’t want to see my friends hurt, or they might question my authority because of our personal relationship.
It’s a sticky situation, and the reason the no-fraternization rule is in effect. ”
Chase closed the bedroom door behind him as he finished speaking.
“Yeah, okay. That makes sense. But it sucks. Because I want you guys to all be friends. They’re all awesome people.”
“Yup. But when Ghost marries my sister, we’ll be legally related, so that means the Army probably won’t let us work together in any capacity.
And since he has no intention of leaving his team, that means I won’t have to worry about commanding Fletch, Truck, and the others.
So I have no heartburn about staying here tonight, or any other night, or with working with them to keep you safe. ”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, Sparky, that’s good. Now, why don’t you get ready for bed? We’ll talk, then we’ll see if we can’t pick up where we left off when Annie interrupted earlier.”
“You still want to?” she asked.
Chase leaned in, and Sadie inhaled his unique peppermint scent.
He brought his hand up to the side of her neck and she shivered as his light touch made goose bumps break out on her arms. “I still want to. Even though we were discussing ways to keep you safe downstairs, the only thing I could think about was bringing you back up here, laying you on this bed, and showing you exactly how much you mean to me.”
Sadie could only stare at him. She’d dreamed about hearing something like that from him almost since she’d met him. Now, she could hardly believe he’d actually said it.
“Go get changed. I left you something to wear to bed in the bathroom. I’ll go use the guest bathroom down the hall.”
Then, without warning, he moved in close and covered her lips with his own.
Surprised, Sadie gasped, and he took advantage of her shock, pressing his tongue into her mouth.
His kiss wasn’t tentative. Wasn’t a first-kiss, let-me-see-what-she-might-like exploration.
He devoured her. Holding the back of her head with his hand and not letting her pull away, not that she wanted to.
After the initial shock, Sadie moaned and gave him what he wanted. She opened wider and tilted her head, allowing him to consume her.
He pulled back after several moments of intense kissing and stared at her. He licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Go get ready for bed, Sparky.”
“Okay,” she whispered, but neither of them moved.
He finally huffed out a short laugh and stepped away from her. “Go on. If you don’t go now, I won’t be able to get control of myself and we won’t talk first.”
“Maybe we can skip the talk,” Sadie said hopefully. Making love with Chase sounded much better than talking about Jonathan.
“Talk first, then I’m going to make love with you for the rest of the night. I want to know where you’re the most sensitive, how and where you like to be touched, and what you taste like.”
“Chase,” Sadie breathed, her knees weak from the imagery his words evoked.
Without another word, Chase spun and left the room.
Sadie brought a hand up to her lips and traced them. Then she smiled and hurried to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
He might not have meant it as such, but that kiss was as good an incentive to talk as she’d ever had. She’d tell Chase about Jonathan, hopefully he would still want to be with her, then she’d finally have the man she’d been lusting after for way too long.
The day had kinda sucked, but if it ended with Chase inside her, she’d relive it in a heartbeat.