Page 69 of Securing Samantha

“Did you hear your wife, Leo? She’s searching for your balls,” Saint yelled.

Leo stepped out to check on Catherine and Kassie pelted him in the ass. She fell over laughing and yelled, “Ha! I got you in the ass again.”

Leo laughed as he yelled “PITA” and chased her right into Chase who pelted her. Samantha threw one smacking Chase and hit Saint, knocking him out. The target dinged again; Catherine stuck her fist out of the slit at whoever threw it at her.

Victoria hit Chase again, knocking him out. “I thought you porpoises went to special training to make you faster,” she called. Chase laughed as he shook his head.

Whiskey ran across the field at the same time as Kassie. She started to retreat when his snowball hit her elbow. Victoria lobbed one in his direction, hitting him in the chest.

Samantha hit Leo as she turned the corner. Where was Whiskey hiding? Bryanna ran across the field and Shadow appeared out of nowhere, nailing Bryanna on the side.

“We’re SEALs, not porpoises,” Shadow corrected Victoria.

Victoria popped up and as if in slow motion she pelted him in the chest and threw another. Everything came to a standstill as Shadow tried to cover his parts a second too late. He yelled, “Nooo.” He went down, holding his sack.

A ball struck Victoria in the chest, making her duck and hide. Leo ran and threw one, smacking Samantha.

She darted for a new cover as Whiskey came around the bend, he wrapped his arms around her and twisted to the side to take the brunt of the fall when he realized they were going down. He rolled and gazed down at Samantha who held her breath. “It seems I recall us in this same position on the night we met, lass” Catherine caught him in the leg. “Yep, and you’re as smooth as Whiskey.” She batted her eyes innocently at him and giggled as he let go of her before she pointed to his chest showing a big, smashed ball. He grinned as he nailed Samantha in the leg. She took off running. Snowballs rained hell down on her, hitting her and making her out. She walked to the sidelines. Taco handed her a hot chocolate as Whiskey ran and hit Catherine’s target.

“Don’t you move until I come for you, Kit Kat,” Leo yelled.

The only two remaining were Ivan and Victoria. The field grew quiet when Ivan jumped thinking he surprised Victoria when all a sudden she threw up her shirt, showcasing her boobs. Ivan’s mouth dropped and she pelted him three times in a row with the snowballs hidden in the crook of her arm. He went down hard, and she landed on top of him laughing.

He stood and scooped her into his arms while whispering in her ear, causing her to giggle uncontrollably.

Whiskey stood behind Samantha while they waited for Leo to help Catherine down.

They traipsed into the team building. Chase helped Kassie out of her coat. Leo lovingly unwrapped Catherine. Lizzy already took off her outer layers and headed to the kitchen. Michael followed her. Samantha slipped off her gloves and went to unzip her coat and the zipper stuck. Everyone headed to the kitchen as she slipped off her wet boots and tugged at the stuck zipper. She muttered her annoyance as she tried to pull it up and down, but it didn’t budge.

“Samantha?” Whiskey’s voice made her glance up.

“My zipper’s stuck. I can’t take my snow suit off. I’m sweltering,” she told him exacerbated. He tried the zipper and when it didn’t budge he took her hand and led her to what she assumed was his room. A picture of LJ riding piggyback on Whiskey, smiling, sat near the bed.

“Stay right here,” he ordered. She surveyed his space. Always a neat freak, his room remained impeccably tidy. He went into the bathroom and brought out a bar of her soap. He rubbed it up and down the zipper, and it slid like butter the rest of the way down. She breathed a sigh of relief. He held a cool towel to her face.

“You’re flushed,” he softly explained.

She took the towel from him. “Thank you, it felt fine outside, but when we came in with the heat, I felt like a rotisserie chicken.”

“Your feet are soaked. Sit on the bed and I’ll grab a pair of dry socks for you.”

She moved to the edge of the bed and slid her wet socks off. She noticed the thin picture frame up against the wall of the bunk. It was the picture from their wedding day.

Whiskey knelt to dry her feet with a towel. She reached to take it from him and the socks. When he glanced up, he searched her face.

“What did I do wrong?” he softly asked. “Claire says I need to communicate my needs. I always seem to hurt you. I?—”

She cupped his face. “No. You didn’t hurt me. I don’t know why you’d want to keep our picture here. We hurt each other.”

“But we loved each other more,” he told her softly.

He helped her with the socks, and she blinked back the tears. His words echoed in her head while she tried to pull herself together. He stood and walked to the door. His gaze fixed upon the hallway leading to the kitchen. “Are you coming?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind, I’ll use the restroom and be right there,” She kept her voice even.

He nodded and left. She walked into the bathroom and let the tears fall. When she took a few breaths, she cleaned her face and headed to the kitchen. The smile on her face masked the emotions she felt inside as she enjoyed the time with their friends. Every once in a while, she felt the heat of his stare in her direction, and she refused to turn his way. She reminded herself she and LJ lived in New York, a new home, and a new life. Whiskey belonged here where she longed to be.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

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