I knew what he was doing, and I hated to admit that it was working. West noticed everything about those around him, and this was his immature way of cheering me up—distracting me by being a brat, which made me want to dominate him, naked, like I had in the past.
A low growl vibrated in my chest as I stormed into the meeting room, my only focus on West, determined to put the sassy fucker in his place. Passion-filled heat slithered throughmy veins as I pictured slamming him against the wall and reminding him exactly who the fuck he was taunting. He wouldn’t walk right for days after I was through with him, and he would love every fucking second of it like he had before.
“Fucking hell.”
Chest heaving from the building frustration, I turned a death glare at the man following me into the meeting room, just now realizing he had been right behind me.
The former SEAL just glared right back, not giving two shits about my foul mood, as he passed. “You two need to sort your shit out.”
“What shit?” I grunted, working hard to slow my breathing.
Hudson huffed an incredulous laugh, likeIwas the idiot missing something. “Between the two of you, plus you and Juno, the constant fucking sexual tension around you three is annoying and distracting. Hell, Calista makes a joke about it when I come home worked up, knowing exactly who I’d met with.”
I shook my head. “Juno and me, sexual tension? I don’t think so. We’re more likely to strangle each other than fuck it out.”
I swallowed hard, knowing those words were a lie as I turned to find a chair far away from West’s antics and froze, finding a pair of big aqua eyes glaring at me from the doorway. My narrowed-eyed gaze slid to West, whose loose fist hovering over his lips did nothing to conceal the mischievous grin.
“What are you doing here?” I grumbled like the asshole I was.
Entering the space after Juno, Brandon rubbed his temples. “Langston,” he sighed, like I was trying his patience. “Stop being an asshole for two seconds. I asked her to be here for this.”
My gaze cut to Juno, who shot a smile over her shoulder at Brandon only for it to disappear when she noticed me watching her.
“And, West,” he continued, “stop fucking instigating his foul mood, because then we all have to deal with the result.”
“I think that’s just his perpetual mood. Grumpy asshole with a chip on his shoulder,” Juno said under her breath as she found her seat, setting the laptop she went nowhere without on top of the table in front of her.
“I’d rather be that than….”Fuck.
I adjusted my backward black Golden Knights cap in frustration. I couldn’t think of a damn thing negative to say about her, because as much as I didn’t trust Juno and knew she was trouble, the woman had no flaws. From the way the loose curls framed her face to the unique color of her eyes, that little nose that fit her other petite features, and those fucking suckable, kissable lips.
Lips I wanted everywhere.
“Care to finish that statement for the class?” West questioned, grabbing a chair with his good hand and twisting it around to plop down into the seat backward.
I flipped him off and jerked a chair out, praying it didn’t break as I carefully sat. At six foot three with a solid-muscle frame that came from a lot of hard work in and out of the gym, I’d broken a few cheap chairs just by sitting in them. It hadn’t happened only to me either. Miles and Liam both had chair legs fold out from beneath them in the past, so I tried not to let it bother me too much.
Gripping the sides of my hat with both hands, I twisted it back and forth while glaring at my best friend. Instead of responding to his comment, since I had none, I rolled my eyes and crossed my inked arms over my chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Juno studying me, gaze locked on the wordARMYstretched across my gray T-shirt.
A single corner of my lips twitched upward. Maybe Miss Trouble wasn’t so turned off by my asshole personality after all,or at the very least she liked what she saw physically. If I trusted her more, we could fuck out the simmering aggression between us, possibly curing the rolling tension that hadn’t faded since she stumbled into my life.
Our gazes clashed, and a spark of thrill raced through my veins as we stared at each other. It was then that I saw a glimmer of what West mentioned earlier. I didn’t see deception or malicious intent behind her gorgeous eyes, rather sadness mixed with fear and reservation.
Blinking her long black lashes, she jerked her attention to West, who instantly softened, a slow, shy smile curling his lips, which he knew was sexy as hell.He was upping his game, popping the dimples at her.
Brow furrowed, she studied his injured hand, resting on the table, before reaching across the worn surface to take it in hers. “How’s your hand healing?” Chewing on her lower lip, she carefully brushed the tips of her fingers along the soft cast. “I have nightmares from that day.” Her throat worked with a hard swallow, skin paling. “Remembering how much pain you were in and that there was nothing I could do about it but hold you.”
All the annoyance and frustration from earlier drained away. My arms went slack at my sides as I studied each gentle stroke along his cast. Hearing her mention that day, how it affected her, was like a punch to the gut with a dull sword. I wasn’t there for either of them like I should’ve been.
It happened weeks ago. West, our company’s resident fixer of anything with an engine, was working on the helicopter when something in the engine shifted, smashing his hand and fingers. I wasn’t there to offer my medic training help, but Memphis, Baylee’s new guy, had been an EMT back in Orlando and handled the situation, maybe even better than I could have.
Juno’s resulting trauma from the accident was from holding him as he screamed between going in and out of consciousness.
West’s was a memory of the intense pain, which had caused night terrors.
Then there was mine, even though I wasn’t there to witness it all or experience the debilitating pain. My distress came from being out on a run for The Nest’s doctor instead of with my best friend when he needed me most. I should’ve been there for him, but I wasn’t, and it ate me fucking alive every time I thought about it. About my friend in pain while I was out on the fucking boat without a damn care in the world.
“Langston,” Hudson said, voice loud and commanding, like it wasn’t the first time he’d said my name.
