Once all his questions were answered, Darren put down his notes and shot the warden a contemplative look.
“Go ahead then, Mr. Howe. What other reason did you have to request to see me?” Aiden encouraged, reclaiming his position behind his desk.
Darren propped his elbows on his knees. “May I speak freely?”
Aiden’s lips pressed in a line as he glared at his holoscreen. “I suppose you could,” he said after a few seconds of charged silence, training his gaze back on Darren.
Goosebumps rose all over Darren’s arms from the intensity in those hazel depths. “Where did you serve?” he posed, the question seeming to catch Aiden off-guard as he tensed a little. Maybe Darren had guessed right then, and they’d been part of the same division without him ever taking proper notice.
Since the forming of the Global Nations, all registered citizens, regardless of their biological gender, were required to do two years of military training between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. They could usually pick which division they joined unless they happened to have an aptitude in a skill valuable to the GN’s Special Forces, in which case they were automatically enlisted to the corresponding division. It was an exception to the rule rather than a regular occurrence, but Darren was sure that if anyone would have been recruited by one of the military’s prestigious corps like he himself had been, it would have been Aiden Kesley.
“Anti-terrorism and homeland security,” Aiden replied, arching an eyebrow expectantly.
Darren had been right about Aiden being a specially appointed recruit. Just not the division. “Figures.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Mr. Howe?” Aiden shot back, a hint of a challenge lurking in his tone.
“Well, I thought we might’ve served in the same division since you kind of look familiar. Guess I was wrong… but it makes sense.” He gave the warden a once-over accompanied by a sultry curve of his lips on one side.
“How so?” Aiden demanded, keeping his expression almost neutral. If not for the slight wrinkling of his nose, he’d have pulled it off.
Darren thought about his next words. He wanted to press some buttons, to see the way the warden responded so he could get a better idea of how to play this. “You don’t strike me as someone who has seen much field action,” he settled for, maintaining a casual and friendly tone. He considered adding a ‘no offense’ but left it out.
“Your presumptions are incorrect,” Aiden clipped, clearly not impressed by the indirect jibe. He hadn’t raised his voice though, or thrown Darren out, which gave Darren the confidence to push a bit more.
“So, you have then?”
Aiden angled his chair a bit to the side, as if to face Darren more properly despite the desk in his way. “Perhaps not as much as you,” he conceded with a scrutinizing once-over that lingered on Darren’s mouth for longer than was necessary. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass if I wanted to.”
“Oh? You sure have confidence for someone who just confessed he hasn’t spent a lot of time in the field.”
“Are you purposely picking a fight, Mr. Howe?” Aiden posed sharply.
Darren pulled on his piercing, squinting as he held Aiden’s stern gaze. “I’m just curioushowyou’d kick my ass.”
Aiden’s attention dipped to Darren’s lips again. “Hard.”
The low voice Aiden pulled on him went straight to Darren’s cock. It gave an approving twitch just in time as sparks crawled down his spine, ushering him to get up and bend Aiden over that desk. “Mhm.”
“I am not sure there is any point to this conversation. If this is all, feel free to head back,” Aiden said, breaking eye contact to stare at something on his screen.
Darren wasn’t about to let him off the hook so easily, not when he could tell he was getting under the warden’s skin. He wasn’t sure if it was the flirting or if he’d hit a nerve by bringing up the Nations’ Special Forces, but whatever it was, he was going to make the most of it. This kind of back-and-forth was one of Darren’s favorite games, a staple of his persona that got him what he wanted nine out of ten times.
“I just find it hard to believe.” He drummed his fingers against his cheek. “But it would be easy enough to find out…”
Aiden shifted in his chair, now frowning at the screen. “I’m not falling for your silly game,” he said preemptively, clearly catching Darren’s drift.
“A quick demonstration won’t hurt anyone.”
“I won’t get in a fight with you, Mr. Howe, just to prove you wrong.”Oh, Aiden really thought he could win, didn’t he?“If that’s what you came for, I suggest you take your leave before I have you pay a visit to the isolation chambers.”
“How about arm wrestling then? It’s harmless,” Darren reasoned, holding back a chuckle at the glowering look Aiden threw him.
“Have we reverted back to grade schoolers, Mr. Howe?”
“Backing off?” he challenged, hoping he wasn’t overstepping yet because he was having a lot of fun teasing the stuck-up warden.
Aiden folded his arms, a muscle jumping along his sharp jaw. “What’s in it for me?”
