Page 10 of Knot Guilty

Eventually, I peel myself off the mat, walk out to my waiting Camaro, and make the short drive to my condo near the naval base.

My bag gets tossed on the sofa table with a little more force than is necessary, and my takeout dinner is dropped onto the kitchen bar. Silence greets me, and today, it’s unsettling. Damn Maxen.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I warn Gunny, my copper rosetail betta fish, as I walk past his bowl. “All men are crazy. You included.”

I pull a beer from the fridge and fill a glass of water from the tap. I down the whole glass before walking back out to sit at the bar, where Gunnery Sergeant Fish Tail continues to judge me while I eat.

With a mouth full of sweet and sour chicken, I complain, “Just who does he think he is? I wasn’t fighting back during that match because he wasn’t doing much of anything.”

Gunny glubs in his tank as though he’s not buying my explanation. I take a few more bites and look back up to see him still staring at me.

“Sure, I should have taken advantage and kicked his ass, but—”

The lazy fish gulps at the surface and spits out an air bubble, effectively calling bullshit.

“Fine. Take his side.”

I shove up from my seat and clear away the dinner mess. Next, I flop down onto the sofa and pull my boots off. The quiet is still getting to me, so I turn on the TV, going right to the History Channel.

The show about aliens that’s playing doesn’t exactly appeal to me. I flip through the channels, not paying enough attention to settle on anything. Several clicks later, a kissing scene from some chick flick catches my eye. Instead of blowing right past, my finger hovers over the channel down button for longer than I would have expected.

The couple on screen are obviously into one another. And why wouldn’t they be? The guy is hot, and the girl is perfectly made-up with not a hair out of place. She pulls out of the kiss and suggestively moves her body before taking the man’s hand to lead him somewhere more private. All with a finesse that I could never emulate.

I gouge my thumb into the channel change button to leave the scene and then again a few more times so I’m not tempted to go back. After my little moment of self-loathing, I’m right back to the aliens but can’t focus on anything the narrator’s saying.

That on-screen kiss after my two encounters with Maxen has me off-kilter. The worst part is recalling his deep, whispered voice so close to my ear while his body pressed against mine. Groaning out loud, I turn off the tv, tossing the remote back on the table.

It’s early, but I’m restless and decide to head to bed before I’m tempted to do something stupid. In my room, I strip down to my hipster panties and pull on a USMC tank top. I lie on top of my covers, letting the ceiling fan cool my skin, but the moving air does nothing to chill my heated blood.

Time ticks by, with me growing more frustrated by the minute. Damn Maxen and his mind games. And his eyes and his mouth.

The memory of his lips at my ear and his hot breath on my neck have me groaning. Maxen said he wants me. He’s convinced that I want him just as much, but there’s no way he can know that. Hell, I don’t know that. Any woman could be turned on by a smoldering look from a man with eyes like that.

Maxen was just playing more mind games. Probably.

But what if it wasn’t? What would be so wrong with finding out? This isn’t the military. You wouldn’t be breaking any rules.

“What if?” I whisper.

I make the mistake of imagining that mouth on me. Wonder what it would feel like if Maxen’s voice vibrated his lips all over my body. And shit… I’ve just messed up any chance of going to sleep any time soon.

Slamming my fists against the mattress in anger, I roll over to reach my bedside table and open the drawer. My vibrator comes to life with the press of a button, and I cross my fingers that the battery has enough juice for what I need.

I swirl the purple tip around one fabric-covered nipple and then the other. You’re only doing that because Maxen talked about your nipples. “Fuck.” I want my inner bitch voice to be wrong. So much so that I draw the vibrator away from my chest. I’m way too worked up to quit altogether, though.

I slide my panties off, and my knees fall open, exposing my pulsing core to the circulating air. The first touch of the vibrator to my clit finds things already slicked up, making me curse Maxen again. I can no longer deny what he claimed. Whether I want to admit it or not, my body desires him. Nevertheless, I push those thoughts aside and focus on the sensations the vibrator creates against my clit. It’s just me and my buzzy little friend, no infuriating, sexy bastards needed.

“You’d better not let Fate catch you watching at her ass like that,” Brock warns his team co-leader.

“Why? It’s a nice ass. Do you disagree?”

Brock chuckles at Maxen while looking around them for signs that anyone is reacting to their conversation. Plenty of grunts and clanging weights ensure their subject can’t hear their conversation. “I’m not touching that one. Just make sure you don’t let her hear you talking about her ass, either.”

Maxen finishes a set of curls and stops for a twenty-second rest. “Come on. Women love compliments.”

The look Brock passes his partner is one of complete disbelief. Resuming his handstand pushups, he warns, “You’ve been here long enough to know that one doesn’t.”

“Maybe not from you.”

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