Page 42 of Protected By The Green Berets

“Then why are you manhandling me?” Apparently waking up on the ground in the desert made me a bit cranky in the morning. “I mean, thank you for the help, but-”

“Just wanted to get my hands on you, Mouse,” he responded as he swung up into the saddle behind me. “We’ll try to remember to treat you like another one of our teammates as often as we can, but you can’t blame us for wanting to touch you.”

The argument died on my tongue. He had a point. Not to mention I wanted them touching me as much as possible. “Okay,” I told him. “I’ll try to be more patient.”

His teeth nipped my earlobe and I sucked in a breath as my core ached in response. “Good.” A shiver raced down my spine.

What the fuck was it about that damn word? Every time they said it to me with those low, rumbling voices it made my insides melt. Shaking my head, I watched as Keller mounted his camel and got us under way.

“No moping.”

“I’m not,” I told him in an indignant tone.

Alden’s chuckle vibrated through me. He had me plastered against him as much as possible. His body felt good against my own. Hard to my soft—well, softer.

“He’ll come around.”

So he’d been more awake for this morning’s argument than I’d thought. I bit my lip, staring at the back of Keller’s head.

“He doesn’t have to,” I whispered, though it hurt to say the words. “If he doesn’t want to be a part of this, it’s okay.”

Alden tensed behind me. “He does. He’s just being a stubborn jackass.” He hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Do you want him to be? A part of this?”

I sighed. “I don’t even know whatthisis, Alden,” I admitted. “Are we just…having fun? Passing the time?”

His arm tightened around my waist. “We’re not having fun, Z. This is serious for us.”

“Is it?” I asked, turning so I could look him in the eye. “Because from what Rush said this sounds like something you guys like to do.”

The look on Alden’s face would have made me laugh if this wasn’t such a serious topic. They had the ability to break my heart. If they did, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to pull myself together again. That’s how deep I’d gotten in with these men. Considering I felt this way after a little over a week, I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen by the time we left Iraq.

“What the fuck did he say?” Alden snarled, glaring at Rush ahead of us.

“He didn’t mean to. He just alluded that you guys had shared before.”

Most of the tension bled out of Alden’s body. “Oh. That. No.”

The one word responses made me smile. “What does that mean?”

“We’ve fucked women before. Together,” he clarified.

I wasn’t sure if I was turned on, jealous, or an odd combination of the two.

“We’ve never had a relationship with one before. We’ve never wanted to share that way, until you.”

Cupping his cheek, I grinned at him. “That’s what you want? A relationship with me? Because it’s what I want with all of you,” I hurried on to say before he could answer. I didn’t want them thinking that I was only doing this because they wanted it. I was ready to dive into this new experience with them.

“Yeah, that’s what we want. I can’t claim to know how we’ll make it work once we get home. I can only promise you that we’ll do our best.” His huge hand encircled the back of my neck, and it made me feel safe, cherished. “We aren’t letting you go anywhere.”

“I’ll try too,” I promised him. Bouncing up, I brushed a kiss over his lips. I turned before he had the chance to deepen it.

“Keller will get on board,” he told me quietly.

“I hope so.”

“You might have to tell him that,” he cautioned. “In fact, you might have to make him.”

It grated a little to have to be the one to go to him, especially since he was the one who made me think he didn’t want me. But I was willing to set my ego aside if I needed to in order to get what I wanted. I nodded and we fell into silence for the rest of the ride.

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