19
Drew emerged from the bathroom with a towel secured around his waist, his skin still rosy from the heat of his shower. He rubbed his short hair dry with a hand towel as he sauntered over to the king-sized bed he’d claimed. Joe was stretched out on the other king bed, focused on his laptop and seemingly not paying attention to Drew, which wasn’t unusual. Joe behaved as if he wanted to ignore Drew out of existence—or at least out of his and Finn’s lives. But for now, Joe was stuck with Drew because he wasn’t about to let Joe go to Pakistan alone.
Joe had flown them to Dulles while Drew contacted Herc about getting them on the first available flight to Pakistan. He didn’t bother hiding that he was asking Herc for help; they had the resources, so they might as well use them. If anyone could pull strings on their behalf, it would be Herc, but the earliest they could leave was on a nine o’clock flight the next morning, so Drew arranged for a hotel room as well.
Fortunately, there were plenty of shops in and around the hotel, so Drew could buy clothes, toiletries, a carry-on, and a charger for his phone. Joe had stopped by his house and picked up everything he needed on his way to find Emani, but Drew only had his wallet, passport, and the clothes on his back, and while he was no stranger to roughing it, he felt like he’d done his fair share already during all the years he’d spent deployed in the desert. These days, he intended to enjoy the comforts of air conditioning, clean clothes, and regular showers.
“Bathroom’s all yours if you want it.” Drew loosened the towel around his waist and let it drop as he reached for a pair of black boxer briefs on the bed, not thinking twice about flashing his ass. He’d left body modesty behind in boot camp, and besides, if Joe saw anything he’d never seen before, he could throw his hat at it.
Joe glanced up, though if he was surprised to find Drew naked he didn’t show it. Instead he perused Drew’s body in an almost clinical fashion, one brow raised. “Thanks. I’ll shower in a few minutes.”
Drew wasn’t sure whether to be amused or offended by the dispassionate appraisal, but he settled on amused. “Like what you see?” he asked, unable to resist teasing Joe just to see if he could get a reaction.
Joe frowned and then shrugged.“You have a good body, and you know it,” he said. “I was a little curious, that’s all.”
“Not bad for forty-four, eh?” Drew smiled wryly as he got dressed in the boxer briefs, a pair of gray sweatpants, and a Museum of Air and Space T-shirt. “Of course, I have to work a lot harder at it now than I did a few years ago.”
Joe sighed quietly and then looked back at his computer screen. “Finn seems to like it. I guess that’s all that matters.”
“He hasn’t voiced any complaints so far. I don’t have any complaints about his either.” Drew tossed his damp towels back into the bathroom and then went back to stretch out on his bed. “I haven’t gotten to see yours yet, though, so I can’t venture an opinion.”
Joe looked up again, and there was a flash of something in his eyes. Drew wasn’t sure if it was pride, or temper, or maybe even challenge, but it wasn’t as cold as the expression Joe normally showed him. “Why would you even care?” he asked. He closed his laptop and then put it aside and rose to his feet. “I don’t have anything I’m ashamed of.”
“I care about as much as any gay man cares when looking at a hot guy,” Drew said with a little shrug. “You’re an attractive man when you’re not glaring at me like you wish you could kill me with your brain.”
Joe grimaced and then ran a hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath in Russian about not losing his temper. “Look, I’m trying to make the best of things, okay? I realize you aren’t out to sabotage me with Finn, and you proved that you can be trusted. I don’t want you dead, because yeah, that would hurt Finn, and Finn has suffered enough because of me. But this isn’t easy. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you really want. I don’t even understand why you’re here. I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m not even sure I need your help.”
“I’m here because Finn and I agreed we don’t want you going on this mission alone,” Drew said in the patient tone he usually reserved for small children—or grown men who acted like small children. “What I want…. Well, there are layers to that.” He leaned against the plump pillows and stacked his hands behind his head. “In the short term, I want to eliminate the threat to you and Finn. I’m here as your partner, not your babysitter, and while you may not think you need help, Finn and I do. As for not knowing me, that could change on this little road trip. I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”
There was no mistaking the look of cold anger on Joe’s face. “Don’t patronize me. You may have been an XO at Lawson & Greer, but you sure as hell aren’t my boss.”
“No, I’m not your boss, but I know a brat when I see one,” Drew said. Given that Joe already hated him for existing, he didn’t see how he could make things worse by being blunt. Hell, maybe Joe would come to respect his straightforward approach. Stranger things had happened.
Instead of giving Drew a glare or an icy reply, Joe’s head rocked back as if Drew had slapped him. His face turned white, and he abruptly spun away, walking quickly toward the bathroom as though he couldn’t tolerate being in Drew’s presence for another moment—or maybe because he was trying to hide something he didn’t want Drew to see.
Drew watched him go, deciding not to say anything for now. He got the sense that he’d stepped on something painful, and he intended to apologize, but Joe might be more receptive after a little time and space. Instead, he picked up a book from the stack on the nightstand. They had a long trip ahead of them, so he’d bought several books to keep him occupied on the flights.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Drew heard water running in the shower. It ended a short time later. After another short pause, Joe walked out of the bathroom completely naked.
Drew knew Joe was a big man, but naked he somehow looked even larger. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, emphasizing his washboard abs and the defined bands of muscle on his arms and legs. He had a full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm, a design made up of stylized flames and flowers, which terminated in a mandala-like sun on his wrist. Down the left side were a series of Oriental characters, which, knowing Joe, probably had some deep, hidden meaning.
Seeming as unconcerned about his nudity as Drew had been, Joe crossed to where he’d left his small travel case on a chair. He took out a pair of black briefs and donned them, not rushing but apparently not trying to put on a show, either.
Drew let out a low wolf whistle, hoping to ease some of the earlier tension with a little levity. “Nice ink. Nice lots of things, actually.”
“Thanks.” Joe continued to dress, pulling out a black tank top and a pair of black sleep shorts. “Your ink is nice, too.”
“Thanks.” Drew watched Joe get dressed, enjoying the play of hard muscle beneath skin. “If you ever want a closer look, just let me know.”
“You’ll need to keep them covered in Pakistan,” Joe replied. “Tattooing is a sin. To some, a major one. I have a waterproof pigment I use to cover mine.”
“I should be okay as long as I wear long sleeves and pants in public, right?” Drew closed his book and put it aside. “Or do I need to get something to cover up mine as well?”
Joe glanced in Drew’s direction. “You should be fine, just don’t roll up your sleeves if you get hot. For all the time you were in the Middle East, did you go out away from camp much?”
“Nah, too dangerous,” Drew said. “We didn’t stray far from camp in small groups, much less alone.”
“Mmm.” For a moment Joe looked thoughtful. “I’m going to be honest. I’m not sure what in the hell to do with you when we get to Islamabad. I can pass as a native, since I speak the language fluently. I was going to try to get back in along the same channels I used in my previous mission, but you won’t be able to go with me. They don’t trust foreigners.”
