Page 147 of Silver Elite

I scramble off the table, searching for my discarded clothing. He watches for a beat as I get dressed, then reaches for his own pants. I do my best not to look at him. I can’t get distracted by his naked body. I can’t allow myself to…wantagain.

“I meant what I said,” I tell him.

“And what was that?”

“When I walk out the door, this doesn’t happen again. So I hope you got it out of your system.”

“Did you?” He tips his head, pensive.

I meet his eyes and say, “Yes.”

—

When I return to the barracks, I head directly to the lav. I should take a shower, but I don’t want to wash him off me. I can still taste him.

I’m startled to find Bryce at the sinks. She’s changed out of her skimpy dress into a long-sleeved white sleep shirt and gray cotton pants.

She glances at my reflection in the mirror. “How did it go?”

I nod. “Good. You?”

“It was…” She smiles. “Exhilarating.”

Swallowing, I shift my gaze away from hers. “Yes. It was.”

Chapter 33

“This is your starting zone,” Ford says a few days later, pointing to the holoscreen. “And these two corridors over here—they’re the danger zone. You don’t want to be there when the timer goes off.”

Today’s drill is called Fallen Soldier. I’m paired with Lyddie, and we’re supposed to run it twice. The first time, I’m going to be injured and she’ll need to get me to safety. The second time, we’ll switch roles.

I wish I could concentrate, but all I can think about is Cross Redden moving inside me. His teeth biting into my shoulder as he finished.

My body clenches and I smother a curse, forcing the memory out of my mind. Jim told me never to dwell on my mistakes.

“The charge you’ve set will explode precisely forty-six seconds after I say go. The enemy tossed some smoke bombs into the hallway, so visibility will be low. Oh, and you’re not allowed to carry your fellow.”

“You want us to, what? Drag each other across the floor?” I say in irritation.

“Do whatever you need to do. Just make sure you’re out of the danger zone before the charge goes off.”

Sounds easy enough. Except when your fellow is deadweight and you have less than a minute to complete the op, it’s a lot harder than it seems. Throw in smoke so thick you can’t see three feet in front of you, and two hallways to try to navigate before you reach the designated safety zone, and this exercise is damn near impossible.

On Lyddie’s turn, we don’t even make it five feet before the timer goes off.

Fail.

We switch roles, returning to the starting zone. When Ford barks “Go” over my earpiece, we snap to action, entering the smoke-filled hallway. Lyddie gets on the ground, fulfilling the role of fallen soldier.

I have no idea where I’m going. Can’t see a damn thing. I’ll need to feel my way against the wall and somehow also drag Lyddie while searching for the escape route. It’s one thing to see the two hallways laid out on the holoscreen; it’s another to navigate them while completely blind. We’ve barely made it down the first hallway when I notice the countdown on my wrist source revealing we have fourteen seconds left.

The smoke grows thicker with each step, making it harder to breathe, but I refuse to give up. “Come on,” I urge Lyddie.

“We’re not going to make it, Wren.”

The countdown reaches zero.

Fail.

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