I hold onto her for longer than is appropriate. Until she shifts uncomfortably on her feet. Fear races across her eyes, and shehastily pulls her hand away, erasing my touch on the fabric of her trousers.
I clench my empty hand, resisting the urge to reach for her, and demand that she never pull away from me again.
I have to fix whatever is wrong with me before I do something I regret.
chapter
twenty-four
Haven
I’m going on my first mission tonight.
The energy underground is electric as we gear up. I slide on my gloves and strap my gun to my hip, tucking a second one in my black boots. I’m the last person in the armory. Until Ender enters.
He’s wearing a fitted black t-shirt and a bulletproof vest. The fabric squeezes around his biceps, strangling his flesh and revealing the ink on his skin. He looks annoyingly good.
I have the urge to ruffle his hair to ruin his immaculate appearance, but I’m afraid that will only make him look more sexy.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Ready.” I hold up two thumbs.
“This isn’t a school trip,” he says gruffly. “Put your damn hands down.”
My smile drops, and I glare at him. What is his problem? He seems more grumpy than usual.
“Where’s your vest?” Ender asks.
“None of these fit,” I say.
Ender picks one from the row of vests and tosses it to me. The weight of it almost makes my knees buckle.
It’s still bigger than me, but it’s the smallest one in the collection.
“I’ll have one ordered for you,” Ender says. “This will do until then.”
I reluctantly put on the vest. It’s a good thing we’ve been training to run with backpacks full of weights, or this would have seriously slowed my pace. The straps are thick and hard to work closed.
Ender lets out a frustrated sound and crosses the small room when my fingers fumble for a second time. He swats my hand away and begins to close them himself.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” I say.
“If I waited for that, we’d be here all night,” he says evenly.
He yanks the tie hard enough to make me stumble forward. My fingers fall flat on his waist, and my heart stammers.
“Easy,” I say breathlessly. “This isn’t a damn corset.”
Ender yanks the second strap.Harder. My fingers sink deeper into his flesh.
“You were saying?” he asks innocently.
“Asshole.”
I shove him away, and he walks to the door with a pep in his step.
He is the worst person alive.
