Page 85 of Unmade

He gave me a smile, a warm and charismatic one, that reached his eyes. “It’ll be a long and gruesome year, but I’ll write to you every week.” He tossed his phone onto Alex’s bed before he came over and pulled me in for a hug.

A breath gusted out of me. He was so warm that it made me shiver, and the sensation rendered me a little useless. I managed to lock my arms around his neck, but that was about it.

Please don’t reject me at all.

“Oh—before I forget,” he said, releasing me again.No, no, no!I wasn’t ready! “I have something for you.” He opened the key box next to his front door. “Let’s see if you remember the lesson. What’s the main thing you leave behind when you go on an assignment?”

I knitted my brows. “Um, my identity.”

“Attaboy.” He came back to me and extended his keys. “Keep those safe for me until I get back.”

What the…

I held the keys in my palm, knowing immediately he was doing this for my sake. He could just leave these in the box he took them from or in his permanent locker that all operators had.

The silver key.

I saw it. The same one Alex had around her neck. It read “BB” at the center.

“Alex told me about the box of stuff for Vince,” I murmured.

“Ah. Yeah, it’s…it’s become a nice tradition.”

I bet. I smiled carefully and walked into my room, knowing just the place. Like in a hotel room, the bottom of the closet on the left side had a small safe. I left the keys there before I trailed back to Beckett.

“Don’t be too mad at your brother,” I said quietly. “It has to be difficult to put aside who you are that often. Maybe those tattoos helped him remember.”

He took a step closer and nudged up my chin. “I’ll get over it eventually. But you promise me right now you won’t put any information on your body. For as long as there’s been code, there’ve been code breakers.”

I nodded once. “I promise.”

“Good.” He made my night and flooded me with relief when he hauled me in for another hug, this time with his arms around my neck. Like a headlock, and he even pressed a kiss to my temple.

I sucked in a breath and hugged his midsection. The warmth was back. He was holding me. I’d felt his lips at my temple, even if only for half a second. Who did that? It couldn’t be platonic. I’d sure as fuck never had a drill sergeant hugging me, much less kissing my temple.

Heat welled up within me, one wave after another, until the sensation was surging through me like wildfire. I buried my face against his neck, right where his beard started. Second by second, I could feel my control slipping and my desperation taking over. It was no longer about me finding the balls to make a move. It was going to happen whether I wanted it or not, ’cause I couldn’t fucking stop myself.

With one hand roaming his upper back and the other dipping lower toward the waistband of his boxer briefs, I pressed myself as close as I could to him.

So far, no rejection. If anything—wait. He loosened his hold.Oh fuck, no, no, no. Never mind. He was just shifting his arms. He dropped them to my hips, allowing me to lock my arms around his neck instead, and I felt a tremor running through him. He let out a breath and dipped down just an inch or so, and that was enough to skyrocket my pulse.

I brushed my fingers over his skin, feeling goose bumps underneath my fingertips, and then I not-so-accidentally ghosted my lips closer to his mouth. His demeanor shifted. He was caving—but he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he grabbed my jaw gently and skimmed his nose down my neck, where he breathed me in and dropped an openmouthed kiss.

“Oh my God,” I mouthed.

That touch of his tongue against my skin set me on fucking fire.

Then he was right there, and he captured my mouth with his. It was slow but unyielding, no hesitation from him, none whatsoever, and I couldn’t describe what it did to me. He wasn’t rejecting me. He was kissing me.

I couldn’t fucking believe it.

A needy sound escaped me. His lips were just so warm and the best combo of soft and firm, and I loved the feel of his beard. But he didn’t seem to mind I got needy. Instead, he deepened the kiss, and I died a little. We tasted each other, just the tips of our tongues, and it wasn’t enough. I pressed myself impossibly closer, ready to fucking climb him.

“Jesus fuck.” He finally took control altogether. He backed me up against the doorframe, kissed me greedily, and slipped his hands down my underwear to grab my ass.

I moaned and took whatever he gave me. My fingers disappeared into his hair, and I tugged on it.

He seemed to like that.

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