Page 35 of Stand Fast

Okay, he was still mad. Maybe if she apologized again— “Yes. But we’re together now.”

As soon as the words came out she cursed silently. Crap, she hadn’t meant to say that. She was supposed to be distancing herself from him, not giving him the green light to move forward in whatever this…thing happening between them was.

She rushed on. “And I really am sorry about all that. Truly.” She gazed up at him in earnest, hoping he would get over it. She couldn’t bear him being angry with her. Not after everything that had happened.

The anger faded and his expression softened. “Yeah. We’re together now,” he murmured, studying her face intently before settling his gaze on hers once more. “And if you think I’m letting you walk away from me a second time, you’re dead wrong,” he muttered, and brought his mouth down on hers.

Even though she was hoping for the kiss, the bolt of hunger that shot through her took her completely off guard. Her knees wobbled, her entire body melting until only the wall at her back and Zaid at her front held her upright.

He wasn’t gentle. And she didn’t want him to be.

As though driven by a need to claim her, reassure himself that they were both whole and alive after the attack, he plunged his tongue between her lips, taking total possession of her mouth. She didn’t resist, needing that same reassurance, because it was Zaid. The man who made her feel safe, who made her heart and body sing.

Strong hands curved over her shoulders and slid down her back, learning her shape, pulling her closer so that all her curves were melded with the hard planes of his body. Jaliya moaned into his mouth as sensation splintered through her, every nerve ending exploding to life, her nipples hard and aching, wetness forming between her thighs.

Even in her relative inexperience she recognized this for what it was: a claim being staked. If she’d been clear-headed and enacting her original plan to keep her distance, that possessiveness would have made her bristle. Instead it made her melt, and there was no way she could think with the feel and taste of him making her mind go blank of everything but the deep, pulsing need inside her.

Desperate for more of him, she clung to the hard planes of his back and shoulders as she stroked her tongue against his, letting herself get lost in him, in this moment. He made it way too easy to forget the rest of the world. To forget that they had only a short time left together, and how much it would hurt when he left.

When he broke the kiss to stare down at her a minute later, one hand cupping her nape, she was dizzy and weak, her body on fire as she gasped for breath. All she could think about was finding a private room where she could peel his clothes off and explore that hard, powerful body with her hands and mouth.

Holy crap.

Breathing hard, her heart knocking against her ribs, she playfully narrowed her eyes at him and tried to dial back the hunger roaring through her. “Still not sleeping with you.” The words were too breathless to be convincing, but she still felt the need to say them. Just so he didn’t think she was caving on her principles.

His teeth flashed white in the dimness as he grinned. “Glad you’re sticking to your guns. But I’m still gonna do everything in my power to change your mind on that.”

She huffed out a weak laugh, both relieved and disappointed when he released her and stepped back. Clearing her throat, she reached up to make sure her hijab was still in place for the meeting they had to hurry to. Wearing it gained her at least a modicum of respect from the locals.

She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly to calm herself. “Well. That was quite an eventful evening. Thank you for getting us out of there so fast.”

He stroked his thumb across her cheek. “I’m just glad you’re safe now.”

His words hit a deeply buried part of her that she guarded closely. The truth was, she wouldn’t have felt that safe with anyone else. Even while the bullets had been flying, she’d been scared, but she’d had complete faith in Zaid’s ability to get them clear of the threat. And she’d been right.

When he kept staring at her she flushed and struggled to gather her scattered wits. “Well. We’d better get to the briefing.” They all had more work to do tonight. Finding The Jackal was her team’s number one priority.

He nodded once and they crossed the base together while she stemmed the urge to reach for his hand, to link their fingers together just to feel connected to him. When they got into the briefing room, everyone was already there except for David and the two men he’d taken with him to question Barakat.

Zaid joined his teammates on the far side of the room to talk amongst themselves while Jaliya, Commander Taggart, Colonel Shah and General Nasar gathered around a table strewn with intelligence reports and satellite images. The reports coming back from her team said that Barakat’s intel seemed solid. A few helo crews were present as well, including SA Tess Dubrovski, who Jaliya had met twice before, and her copilot. They’d be flying the FAST and NIU teams to the insertion point.

When she had verified all the latest intel and had everything ready to go, she put two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle to get everyone’s attention. Barakat better not be playing them, or he’d be sorry.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” she began. “Since you’ve already been briefed on the latest intel, let’s get right to it. Our informant has identified the site of a drop scheduled to happen at oh-two-hundred hours, down near Kandahar, and our team has pieced together intelligence saying the same. If we’re right, this is going to be a big one. No word on whether The Jackal will be handling it himself, but if we can capture some of his men, we may be able to find out who he is and get a lock on his location.”

Right now there were just too many unknowns for them to narrow down their list of suspects any more. They needed a big break, and they were sure as hell due for one.

Using the maps and satellite imagery she outlined the village and the routes leading to and away from it, then spoke to the helo crews. The urge to look at Zaid was strong, but she squelched it.

“Your insertion point will be here,” she told the pilots, indicating a spot on the topography map on the table. “The teams will insert and approach the village on foot. You’re to fall back and wait within easy reach of the village. If all goes smoothly and the village is declared secure, you’ll extract them from there, along with any prisoners and contraband seized.”

Hopefully a crap ton of drugs and at least someone who knew The Jackal personally.

Commander Taggart took over from there, going over the operation in detail with his team while General Nasar and Colonel Shah watched on, saying little as one of Shah’s men translated for the NIU. “The NIU will take care of the arrests while you carry out the search and seizure,” Taggart told FAST Bravo.

Jaliya listened to his instructions while the low-grade buzz of nerves that always hit her prior to an operation she was involved with intensified in the pit of her stomach. Against her will, her gaze strayed to Zaid on the other side of the table.

He was focused on his commander, both hands braced on the tabletop as he leaned over it, the stance emphasizing the muscles in his arms and shoulders. Muscles that only a matter of minutes ago had held her tight against his equally hard body.

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