Page 51 of Being Bold
“Come on, Herc, get on the damn sled or I’m leaving your ass.”
“Geez, everyone’s so pissy this morning.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not looking forward to riding butt to nut with you. The sooner we get there the better.”
Herc grinned. “Afraid you might like it?”
She didn’t get to hear Romeo’s response because Bo shook his head and started their sled. After revving the engine, he hit the gas. He was clearly not in the mood for their goofing off. Although knowing Bo, she wasn’t sure that was ever his thing. The one time she’d heard him laugh, he’d seemed surprised by the sound. As if he rarely did it.
Her heart squeezed a little. He needed some fun in his life. As far as she could tell, he’d spent far too long separating himself from anything remotely resembling joy.
Wrapping her arms around his chest, she clung to him and to the hope she could change that.
???
Bo
Bo glanced around the inside of the “cabin” Duke procured for them as a safehouse. It was near an airport and far enough outside Bozeman for privacy, but calling it a cabin was like calling a diamond a rock—a gross understatement. This houseput his actual cabin to shame. There was nothing rustic or small about it.
He blinked and shook his head. A twenty-foot wall of windows let in natural light while giving you panoramic views of the snowy landscape and mountains in the distance. They must’ve been tinted, otherwise it’d be blinding as the rays bounced off the fallen snow.
A state-of-the-art kitchen branched off the main living space with a counter large enough to seat ten people. Not to mention the house had six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an attached three-car garage. The place had to cost a fortune to rent, but with Tactical Operations & Protection footing the bill, Duke never shied away from lapping up the luxury.
“Wow, airman. You don’t go for subtle, do you?” Herc’s comment was punctuated with a grin when he opened the stainless-steel refrigerator. “Thanks for stocking up.” He pulled out a chocolate protein shake and started glugging it.
Duke answered with his ever-present cocky smirk. “Go big or go home, my man.”
Selene chuckled, and the sound sent ripples over his skin. He was as far away from her as possible. She perched on a stool at the kitchen counter, listening to his team with a soft smile on her face. Like she’d lucked out and gotten a ticket to her own personal comedy show.
Bo hoped the physical distance would diminish the emotional shit he couldn’t stop. Like jealousy, protectiveness, and hunger. He was so damn hungry for her.
She wore a turtleneck for fuck’s sake, leaving zero skin exposed. Still, the material molded perfectly to the curves he’d had his hands and mouth on mere hours before. He cursed internally when the thought made him half hard. His sex drive hadn’t been this bad since he’d hit puberty.
Which is why he couldn’t stand to look at her. Bo grumbled softly so no one could hear and turned away. Not as if he weren’t acutely aware of her presence.
Romeo entered the kitchen and started arguing over bedrooms. Bo let his team’s bickering drown out in the background as he stared through the windows.
He engaged with the guys as little as possible. It’s a wonder they put up with him. He was always there but separate . . . like he was afraid of getting close to people again.
Makes it harder when you lose ’em.
Bo rubbed absently at the tightness in his chest. He was no stranger to loss—first, his parents in an avalanche when he was a kid. Then the grandmother who’d raised him succumbed to old age right before he joined the Navy. And most recently . . . Nugg. His brother from another mother. That one haunted him because he could’ve prevented it.
“Hey, Bo!”
He turned, realizing they’d called his name several times. “What?”
“Which room you want, man?” Duke asked, adding, “Herc took the one closest to the kitchen, Romeo’s got the one all the way in the back, I’m taking the loft upstairs, which leaves the one off the den and the two in the center of the hall.”
Which one was Selene in? Because that was the one he wanted. Of course, he couldn’t fucking say that.
With a grunt, he told them, “Doesn’t matter.”
Duke dragged a hand through the brown waves on top of his head as if unsure he should push the issue. “You sure?”
“Is Victor coming?”
“Yeah.”
