Page 47 of What I Should Have Done

“Why are you guys always so excited to go do something like that?” I asked.

“Because it’s something I’m good at. Something we’re all good at,” he answered, walking toward the tent flap. But then he paused and glanced over his shoulder at me. An intense seriousness coated features that normally were as mischievous as he was arrogant. “You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not just to prove you’re a good sniper.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

His hands fell to his sides as he tipped his head up and looked away. “You’re the first female sniper to graduate from sniper school. That means something. Stop trying so hard to fit in with the boys. Own that shit.”

And he left me alone. The smile faltered on my face. Did he mean any of the blatant flirting, or was it all a ploy to simply help me become more comfortable with the team?

Because whether he knew it or not, I had no idea how to own that shit.

But there was a spark in me actually wanting to try.

Chapter 17

MIKEY

Seated, I leaned back against the tent poles, basking in the sunlight. Bernie and Duncan arm wrestled a few feet away on the ground, while Ford munched mindlessly on a granola bar. Scottie sat off to the side, doodling random designs in the sand. Waiting. All of us, geared up and ready to go, were simply waiting because the staff sergeant of the squad we were joining and Dom couldn’t agree on the right way to approach this mission.

Muffled voices respectfully argued with the colonel in his tent behind us. Our team had yet to even find out which soldiers were a part of the squad or how many. We had almost no details at all, other than our departure was delayed.

My gaze slid over to Scottie, her brows pulled tight. Creases indented between them were as tight as the rest of her expression. Something was on her mind. Something that I had to assume was a result of our earlier interaction.

I couldn’t blame her. What a fucking fool I’d been to so boldly talk about shit that she didn’t need to know. But the way she’d stared… If she’d only walked in a few minutes earlier. Squirming with such ill-timed arousal rising once again, I slid part of my rifle down to cover what I was struggling to conceal. If any of the guys noticed, I was fucked, but I couldn’t help it.

Suddenly, she plopped over onto her back. Sand sprayed up in a soft cloud around her and she groaned. “How long is this going to take?”

Bernie slammed Duncan’s hand into the ground as Ford bellowed, his belly bouncing a few crumbs from his vest. “The universal question. Why don’t you go in there and ask Dom?” Bernie teased with a smile as Duncan shook his hand out and posed with the opposite arm, ready for a rematch.

“Because I’m just a lowly corporal. Why don’t you go in there and ask, Lieutenant?” she snapped back.

“Feeling rather high and mighty are we?” Bernie taunted, and she raised a middle finger toward him.

“Fuck you, too, Crow.” Bernie grinned, wrapping his non-dominant hand around Duncan’s. “Why don’t you go wrestle with Mikey or something? He’s probably itching to spar with someone since no one agreed to be his partner this morning.”

I cocked a brow in her direction as she pulled her head up from the ground just enough to shoot Bernie a glare. Wrestling with Scottie didn’t sound bad at all, especially since it meant I would be able to touch her without fear of any repercussions.

“I wonder why nobody agreed,” she sarcastically replied, tossing a dig at me. Her narrowed gaze shifted to me, and I couldn’t help it. I winked at her. She rolled her eyes and plopped her head back down against the sand. Damn, she may not want this kind of attention, but I wasn’t going to stop. Not after seeing her reactions, not now knowing there was a small part of her that enjoyed them.

“It’s probably because word got around that he bites motherfucking ears off,” Ford casually said, tearing back the rest of the wrapper from his snack.

“I’m sorry, delight me with the tale of what you would have done differently in that situation?” I asked him, giving him the same eye roll that Scottie gave me.

Ford shrugged, his attention returning to Duncan and Bernie arm wrestling in front of him. “I wouldn’t have found myself in that situation to begin with.”

“Sure.” I shook my head and glanced back at Scottie. She pushed herself upright, inhaling deeply. Subtly raising my hand, I wiggled a finger, beckoning her to come closer.

Her cheeks turned a faint pink, and she shook her head.

Pursing my lips, I mouthed, “Come here.”

“No,” she silently replied, exaggerating the unspoken word with her mouth.

“Boo, hoo, baby,” I wordlessly said and balled my hand up, miming an infant crying.

She pulled her lips into a thin line, glanced around cautiously, and then finally crawled over to me. “What do you want?” she hissed, sitting up.

“Thumb war.” I grinned, and held out my hand.

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