Page 109 of What I Should Have Done

Scottie giggled, hooking a bra strap over her shoulder. “You still have a small bruise from that, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Part of that fake blood was actually real ’cause it definitely ripped through some skin. Like damn, I hadn’t expected that,” I replied, pulling the fabric over my head.

“That’s what you get.”

Adjusting the hemline around my waist, I pursed my lips. “Are you going to forever hold that against me?”

She nodded with a gleeful grin on her face. “Absolutely.”

I narrowed my gaze suspiciously as she smoothed out a few wrinkles in her shirt. “Are you about to Pavlov the shit out of me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She smiled to herself, beginning to wrap her hair back up into the regulation bun.

“Hmmm. Sure,” I muttered, watching as her fingers worked through hair that had me boiling with desire once again.

“Let’s go find the guys,” she lightheartedly said.

“You should pee first, Miss ‘I might get a UTI.’”

“And you should shower, Mr. ‘I haven’t showered for seven days and let my girlfriend think I was dead,” she snapped in response.

“Girlfriend?” I grinned as her cheeks burned bright red.

“Shut up, Blondie. Let’s go,” she quickly stated and walked off in a huff.

I followed behind, giddy and humming quietly to myself. Ignoring the quizzical stares from passing soldiers as we emerged from the motor bay. Not a word was shared between us. The rest of the team wasn’t eating once we made it to the chow hall, so we stole some food and disappeared.

She raced off to the latrine, while I ignored the taunts from the team back at the tent as I retrieved my toiletries before a quick shower. Once I was clean and dressed in a new uniform, I whistled along my way back to the tent, excited to see Scottie even though it had only been maybe fifteen minutes.

Those seven days had been torture. I knew I was out fulfilling orders, accomplishing a mission. But not doing so with Scottie, not being with her, knowing she had to be in the most excruciating pain had been unbelievably agonizing. Yeah, I remembered what she’d said to me before the mission, but I also knew her well enough to know she hadn’t actually meant it. Though, it had hurt despite being aware she’d said it to simply protect herself.

How forever grateful I was that I’d made it home. And that I was able to see her again. To hold her again.

To love her. To fully, truly give in to everything we’d been fighting.

Ducking into the tent, I paused and sighed. Bernie, Ford, and Duncan all grinned as Scottie stood just an inch ahead of me. They pointed at our bedrolls. No longer was there a space between them.

Bernie wiggled his brows and then leaned down on his side, propping his head up on his palm with a bent elbow. “Hello, you two,” he flirtatiously said with a grin.

Chapter 37

MIKEY

As I leaned back against Scottie’s stomach, we’d accepted our fate and just rolled with it. She kneaded her fingers through my hair, sending waves of absolute bliss through my body.

“Btw, you got mail,” Bernie stated, digging through his stuff and throwing an envelope my way. It bumped against my leg, fluttering to the ground.

“Why?” Scottie grumbled. “Why would you do that?”

“Do what?” Bernie asked as I grabbed the letter and read the name on the return address.

“Why would you ruin me finally getting some dick by announcing that his crazy ex wrote him? Again.”

Ford spewed water all over his bed, coughing and choking on his drink as Duncan fell over backwards laughing. Bernie shrugged his shoulders. “You want to know what I’m wondering, is how come you’re still walking? With Mikey’s size, you should at least be sore.”

“Because we might have—” Scottie paused and narrowed her gaze. “Hold on. How the hell do you know this?”

“We’ve all seen it, Scottie. We’ve all seen all of the team’s dicks before. Keep up,” Ford said, coughing through his drink.

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