Page 6 of Protected By The Green Berets

Colonel Williams gave each of us team leaders a chance to pick our own teams. Anytime someone new came in we’d all interview him and see where he’d fit best. My team was the smallest so far. Both Alden and I weren’t the easiest men to get along with and that made me picky as fuck about who I invited into my space. I didn’t have time for sensitive people who used words like ‘rude’ or ‘offensive’.

“Go home, get some rest,” I told Dallas, giving him a slap on the back. Dirt puffed off him when I did so. I wiped my hand off on my ACU pants. “Shower first,” I suggested.

The soldiers all grabbed their duffels and headed out to the parking lot where they had rides waiting for them.

Glancing at my watch, I jerked my chin toward the building where our office was. “Let’s get back and get this started.

* * *

Rush and Zinniawere already seated in our meeting room by the time we got back. I ignored her as I began setting up the PowerPoint.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched my guys with her. Alden took one of the empty chairs across the table from her rather than sit next to her. Rush was staring at her as though she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

He was still a young pup at twenty-five and had a bright outlook on life. In this case he wasn’t wrong. Zinnia Hart was a knockout. Blonde hair fell to her shoulders and her sage green eyes surveyed the room. She was about five-nine and fit. Her tits were just big enough to strain the fabric of her blazer and I longed to rip it off her.

I shoved those feelings aside and focused on my work. Like I’d said, she was a fucking distraction. Alden was busy scowling at the table and anytime she looked his way the scowl deepened.

Knowing my guys, both of them were as interested as I was, but the way they handled that interest was night and day. Where Rush was upbeat and happy to have her here, Alden was grim and silent and more than a little testy.

“Sorry I’m late! I-” Torque stumbled to a stop, his mouth stopping right along with his legs as he caught sight of Zinnia. “Holy-”

“Don’t. Finish. That. Sentence,” I growled at him. A narrow eyed look from me told him to be on his best behavior. Not that I had been around her. I’d gotten a lecture from the Colonel yesterday on the drive home.

He expected me to be a good influence and help establish a closer relationship with the CIA. It was a bunch of bullshit. We didn’t need a bunch of ghosts—nicknames the Agency Operatives were given—infiltrating our operations. We had this under control. Unfortunately for me—and my team—our higher ups didn’t agree. We were stuck with Zinnia Hart whether we liked it or not.

Torque grinned at me, then sat down next to her. “Hey there, Beautiful. I’m Torque.” He didn’t bother to offer his hand, or wait for her to extend her own. He snatched up her hand, pulling it toward his body, tangling their fingers together and holding it rather than shaking.

Zinnia’s eyes narrowed on his face then dropped down to their joined hands. She pulled back, glaring at him when he wouldn’t let go. “I’m Special Agent Hart.” Her tone was frosty.

I didn’t blame her. I kept defaulting to being a dick because I wanted to rip open her shirt and feast on her body. Alden was grim and silent. Now Torque was openly hitting on her.

“That’s a mouthful, Sweetheart. Do you have a first name?”

“It’s Z,” Rush said helpfully as he pulled a bag of peanuts out of his pants pocket.

“Z,” Torque purred, putting her hand against his muscular chest.

She was still fighting to get it back and was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. If I was any judge, I’d say he was three seconds away from getting punched in the jaw.

I sighed. Torque considered himself a ladies’ man. There was a reason for it, he was a fuck boy. But I didn’t need him putting the moves on our newest teammate.

“Torque. She’s the CIA Agent who’s joining our team,” I told him, trying to keep my aggravation with him in check.

“Even better,” he told me, flashing her a bright white smile that showed off his dimples.

I was impressed to see she wasn’t falling for his charms. Usually women melted under his attention. He was a golden Adonis, as one drunken woman had claimed. We, of course, had never let him live it down.

“Let her go.”

Torque finally looked my way and frowned. I folded my arms over my chest and raised a brow at him. He’d be a fucking idiot to ignore me. I hadn’t needed to state that it was an order, my tone told him that. He finally released her hand and Zinnia stood up, moving around the table to take the empty seat next to Alden.

I would laugh if this wasn’t my fucking life. I was in charge of this zoo—a zoo full of horny predators—and somehow we were all going to have to find a way to work together.

Alden looked horrified that she was sitting next to him. He didn’t have any issues with women, or women in the military, but he considered Zinnia—Z, I reminded myself—a civilian. It didn’t matter to him that she was CIA—in fact that made it worse because he had no love for the Agency—he didn’t think she was prepared for the mission we were about to embark on.

Blowing out a breath, I fought for control because I wanted to slam all their heads together and tell them to stop acting like a bunch of teenagers that popped Viagra for fun.

Why did she have to be so gorgeous? Those green eyes were glued to me as she waited for me to start the presentation. Her anger made her eyes bore into me, only serving to make me want her more. That fire she had was intoxicating.

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