“Cool,” he said, strolling out, snatching his towel from the hook and throwing it over his shoulders rather than covering his bare ass. That alone was insanely distracting and wasn’t helped by the realization that I probably had a few minutes before someone came looking for me.
I strained my ears listening for the sound of the door being closed before I let out a breath of relief. I was clearly not as in control as I would have wished for a first introduction to everyone, so the only solution was to take care of myself quickly. At least then I wouldn’t feel like a walking bag of hormones, and it wasn’t like I knew the next opportunity I’d have for some privacy.
Considering I had been exposed to not one but two good-looking men, one of whom had been on full display, it didn’t take long to get hard as I stroked myself. I debated whether I should think about what had started this entire problem in the first place or respectfully make sure my brain didn’t start associatingmy teammates with anything sexual. That last point was enough to convince me to turn my attention to the memory of the last time I’d hooked up.
I had always been fond of older men, but that one had been the opposite. I had spotted him while having drinks, recognizing the way he moved and spoke as someone who was serving. It had taken only an hour of talking before we agreed to return to my apartment, and the debate over who was topping had been short-lived because I wasn’t nearly as particular as he had been.
I was remembering the feel of the rough stubble on his head when he went down on me when an extremely loud and irritated voice barked out, “What thefuck?”
My eyes snapped open, and I was dismayed to find that the whole goddamn outpost was apparently manned by the best-looking men. Except this one made the other two look average. He was big, not as bulky as Jake, but nothing to turn your nose up at either. Under the harsh lights, I could see his eyes were a dark, earthy green, and they were narrowed into furious slits. His hair had apparently once been a full shade of brown that made me think of cinnamon; now it was shot through with streaks of white, adding a little sugar to the mix.
Except the look on his face was anything but sweet.
“You must be Xander,” I said with a weak smile.
XANDER
With an irritated flickof my thumb, I scrolled through the email that had dropped into my inbox a week ago. I had come back to it repeatedly over the past seven days, and no amount of time had cooled my anger. My lawyer had done a great job of summarizing exactly what my wife, soon to be ex-wife, had changed from her side of the divorce. The last one had been bad enough, and we’d been working our way through it, but her lawyer had messaged mine and there was a whole new mess to worry about.
According to Robert, telling her she was ‘batshit fucking insane’ was not the right call, and he wouldn’t be passing that message along. I didn’t agree, but then again, maybe if I’d held back more often in the past, I wouldn’t be as up the creek as I was.
“Nah,” I grunted, tossing my phone onto the desk with a thunk that reminded me that, sturdy case or not, that shit was why I’d needed to replace my phone three times in a year. “Bitch would still try to wring me dry and then keep twisting either way.”
Under the anger, I knew that wasn’t completely true. She had once been the person I thought I was going to spend therest of my life with, back when she’d known how to make me laugh, and I’d known how to make her feel safe. She was a bitch, there was no way around it, but I was a prick, so it wasn’t like I could pretend to be faultless. Then again, I wasn’t trying to drain her bank account and steal all her belongings either, so I was somewhat justified.
A buzz interrupted my moody silence, and with a sigh, I turned to the intercom on the desk. I saw the light flash and punched it. “What?”
“Don’t give me attitude before I’ve even spoken to you today,” Cait told me wryly, and I bit back a sigh. She was damn good at what she did, and that included keeping the idiots at the outpost in line when I wasn’t around, but she was also a handful. “I don’t expect you to remember his name, but your new guy is here.”
Colin Bradford was his name. He was thirty-one and had been working as an EMT and part-time volunteer firefighter for a few years. His certifications, training, and experience, especially considering he’d started as a corpsman, were an impressive list, and I had snatched him up when the chance came my way. From what I’d been told, he was single, had no pets, and wasn’t tied down by family or friends. All in all, it made him a perfect candidate for long-term stays at the outpost, and I hoped he was slightly more intelligent than the idiots I’d been dealing with.
I didn’t mention that, though. “And?”
“And you should come and introduce yourself,” she finished, and I waited. “He’s fine. He seems to be unbothered by Jake, as far as I can tell.”
“God, don’t tell me they get along?” I asked with a wince. The history between corpsmen and Marines was a long one, and it was always a roll of the dice what you were going to get when they were together. I had sincerely hoped Colin was one of thosecorpsmen who had been a responsible member of his squad, rather than frequently going along with antics.
“He seems to have plenty of functioning brain cells if that’s your concern,” she told me in amusement. “Just…unfazed.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I muttered as I absently spun my phone in lazy circles on the desk.
“Met Reno too,” she said, and there was something in her voice that made me raise a brow. “Took that in stride, too.”
Now she had my attention. Reno was an idiot like the rest of them, but he only showed his idiocy when he was dragged along by one of the other morons. It wasn’t like him to do something noteworthy when left to his own devices. “Should I ask?”
“For the sake of your blood pressure, it’s best you don’t,” she said. “Which reminds me?—”
“I took my meds,” I scowled at the intercom, looking at the untouched bottle of pills.
“I’m sure you did,” she said in a tone that said she absolutely did not believe me. “Just like I’m sure you’ve cut back on your caffeine intake.”
I glanced at the empty mug that had contained my fifth cup of coffee. “You’re not my mother; I already have one of those, thank you.”
“Barely,” she said, and I stared at the intercom.
“I…excuse me?”
“You heard me.”