Chapter 5

5

SCARLETT

A blare startled Scarlett from her rest. Hurriedly, she threw off the comforter and got dressed. That alarm meant she was needed for something urgent; the faster she made it to the briefing room, the better.

Reaching the large planning room, Scarlett saw several other officers awaiting orders. Ros was not there yet, though it likely wouldn't be long before her arrival.

General Carson strode through the doors, pointedly not looking in Scarlett's direction. She was stern. Gray eyes impenetrable. Her short gray hair immaculate and neat. The sharp angles of her face set as though in granite. The softness Scarlett had seen inside was nowhere to be seen. The pure lust Scarlett had seen in Ros's hungry gaze was completely gone.

The last several days had been the same. Scarlett missed the general's eyes on her. She liked being able to look at the older woman and see that she was being looked at too. But since that kiss, Ros had been fastidiously avoiding her gaze, and Scarlett was pretty sure she was being dodged around the base as well. That or before their kiss, Ros had been surreptitiously seeking her out.

Ros reached the front of the room, and Scarlett watched as she quickly did a head count, making sure all the senior officers were present. An imperceptible nod followed; they were all there then.

"Listen up. An avalanche has hit Fort Kirk. Communications are down, and many soldiers are in need of rescue. You will each be leading your squadron to assist in the evacuation. Captain Bennett, with your background, you will also be leading a team of engineers to try and get the base operational again. Once you have succeeded, you will rejoin your squadron in the evacuation efforts."

She addressed me directly and still wouldn't look at me. Is this how it's going to be between us now? I almost wish I hadn't kissed her at all. Better to have that unfulfilled spark than whatever this is.

"I will be running point from here," the general continued. "Several heat source imaging cameras will be operated from the helicopters going with you, and I will be communicating with each of you when we find the locations of trapped service members."

A nod from each officer confirmed their understanding.

"Good. Now, go brief your teams."

Scarlett saluted and left the room, her mind pulled between thoughts of the mission and Ros.

Scarlett felt a tug on her arm and spun round. Lieutenant Colonel Izzy Oakley was beside her, a concerned expression across her face. Izzy had been a close friend of Scarlett's since they'd met at a joint training exercise. "Scar, you okay?"

"What? Yeah, of course. Just thinking about the mission, you know?"

"No, there's something else. You've been on missions before. You're never like this."

"I'm fine, Iz, honestly. It's nothing. Just in my own head."

"Yeah, tell me why I don't believe you, then?" Izzy replied, obviously unconvinced by Scarlett's weak excuses. "Give me the truth, Scar."

"It's dumb. It's the general."

"Carson? Why? What's she done?"

"No, nothing like that, Iz. I'm just all flushed around her, that's all."

"You have a crush on the general?" Izzy laughed.

Scarlett sighed; she could feel her face red with mortification. Maybe getting it off her chest would help her concentrate on the mission. Izzy didn't need to know all the details, though, and Scarlett didn't think she could survive the embarrassment of telling her about the kiss.

"Yep, Izzy, I have a crush on the general."

"Oof, I mean I can see where you're coming from, but good luck getting past that stony exterior. I've never seen a fortress that well guarded. Stay focused out there today, soldier." Izzy gave her a hard slap on the shoulder before heading out the room, leaving Scarlett alone with her swirling thoughts.

She was almost hanging out the side of the chopper when Fort Kirk came into view. Nearly the whole site had been buried. Any deeper and no one would ever know an army base had existed at all.

Teams of junior soldiers were working to dig out paths to the buildings. They wouldn't be able to get in to fix anything or pull anyone out if the doors couldn't open, of course.

Lamp posts had been bent almost in half, and the few windows visible above the snow line had been smashed—whether by snow, rescuers, or those trapped inside, she couldn't tell. It would take a lot of time, effort, and money to get this base running properly again. But that was the risk of positioning all these bases in the mountains.

They hit the ground running, and Scarlett glanced over her shoulder ensuring the engineers were following her lead. Lieutenant West was leading the rest of the company in the opposite direction to look for anyone trapped under the snow or inside buildings.

Scarlett headed for the back of the main building. She saw the power grid off to the side, poles bent and snapped and cables hanging loose, crackling in the frigid air. That was not something she could fix with a small team of engineers, though.

The base had been cut off from communications for hours, and restoring the lines was crucial for the rescue efforts, both for those trapped outside under the snow, but also those trapped inside buildings; the doors would not open without power.

"Alright, team," she called out, her voice firm and clear despite the harsh winds. "We need to clear a path to those communication lines. The avalanche has buried them under several feet of snow, and there's no telling what kind of debris we'll find underneath. Safety first—stay vigilant for any signs of shifting snow or potential secondary slides."

Her officers nodded before they turned, issuing orders to their own squadrons.

They began the arduous task of digging through the snow. Not one to sit on the sidelines, Scarlett joined them, her shovel biting into the frozen mass over and over. The dig was tiring work, but it kept her warm at least. As they worked, the sounds of shovels scraping joined the already cacophonous array that filled the air—the mountain groaned and rumbled, helicopter blades whirred, the shouts of soldiers and the barks of search and rescue K-9s mingled together in a chaotic orchestra.

A twisted antenna poked through the snow, its form bent and crushed. Farther down, there were the mangled remains of a thick cable, its casing torn open by the sheer force of the avalanche.

Scarlett crouched near the exposed cable, pulling a multimeter from her pack. "Let's see how bad the damage is," she muttered to herself, connecting the device to the cable. The screen flickered to life, showing no signal at all—completely dead.

"Signal's down across the board," she reported to her team. "We've got physical damage here, but we need to check for electrical shorts and any possible interference further down the line. Start testing the other cables and keep an eye out for anything that looks like it might've been damaged by the snow or debris."

While one of her lieutenants oversaw the cable repairs, Scarlett moved her focus to the relay station. It was still partially buried, its metal casing heavily dented. After excavating it from the snow, she pried open the access panel. The wiring and circuit board looked untouched, but a single reading told her the power supply was unstable, likely damaged by the impact.

"We're going to need to replace the supply here. Get me a new unit from the cache, and we can get this thing back online."

Within minutes, a new power unit was delivered and Scarlett supervised her engineers as they carefully installed it—reconnecting wires and properly grounding it. It powered to life with a gentle hum.

Scarlett's radio crackled; the transmission lines were back up.

"Command, this is Captain Bennett. Do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Captain. Looks like we're back online."

Scarlett allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction and pride in her platoon. But the work was not done yet; there were still hundreds of soldiers awaiting rescue who were trapped beneath the ice.

"Alright, soldiers, we've got people buried under tons of snow. We'll be rejoining the rescue teams now. I want each sergeant to take their team and fan out. All officers stay ready to receive comms. General Carson will be relaying location info from the heat imaging."

With a squad of her own, Scarlett headed to the west of the base. General Carson's voice crackled across the radio.

"Captain Bennett, imaging is picking up several hot spots in your vicinity. Marking the coordinates for you now."

Scarlett couldn't help the slight flutter in her chest at the sound of Ros's voice, but she quickly shoved it aside. This was no time for distractions.

"Copy that, General. We're ready to move on your command."

"We've got a heat signal about a hundred feet to your east, approximately six feet below the surface. Another group is showing up about 150 feet north, but they're deeper—maybe twenty feet down. Prioritize the closer one first; I'll keep the coordinates coming."

Scarlett waved her team forward, moving toward the first set of coordinates. The snow was deep, but they trudged through it. As they reached the designated spot, Scarlett stopped, her breath coming out in controlled huffs as she gauged the best approach.

"Here's where we dig," she said, planting her shovel into the snow. Her team followed suit.

Scarlett's shovel met something solid. She dropped to her knees, scraping the snow away with gloved hands, and undercovered fingers pointing up at the sky. This soldier had at least remembered some of their avalanche training then. With any luck, they'd have remembered to dig an air pocket too.

"Got ‘em," Scarlett yelled, her team falling in beside her.

Her team helped her clear the remaining snow, and soon they uncovered a soldier. His eyes were closed, frost clinging to his eyelashes, but he was breathing. Scarlett gently shook him, and his eyes fluttered open. "We've got you," Scarlett reassured him, her voice firm but kind. "You're safe now."

The rest of the team worked to pull him out with the medics on standby while Scarlett turned her attention back to the radio. "General, we've got one out. Moving to the next coordinates now."

Ros's voice was a steady anchor in the chaos. "Good work, Captain. The other group is deeper; expect harder digging. We're seeing at least five individuals down there. Proceed with caution."

Minutes felt like hours as they dug, their breaths coming out in sharp puffs. Scarlett's muscles burned, but she didn't let up. Finally, they broke through to an air pocket beneath the snow, revealing a cluster of soldiers huddled together, their faces pale but alive.

"We've found them," Scarlett reported, a wave of relief washing over her. "They're all alive."

The team carefully began extracting the soldiers, wrapping them in thermal blankets and administering basic first aid. Scarlett's hands moved on autopilot, her training kicking in as she checked each person for injuries.

"General," Scarlett said into the radio, "we've got five more out. Requesting immediate medevac for hypothermia and minor injuries."

"Helicopters are en route," Ros responded, her voice filled with calm authority. "You did good, Captain. We'll have them out of there in no time."

As the helicopters hovered above, lowering stretchers and rescue personnel, Scarlett took a moment to glance up at the sky, the snow still falling lightly around them. The roar of the helicopter blades filled the air, and she could feel the vibration through the ground as the medevac team touched down.

"Captain Bennett," Ros's voice crackled through the radio one last time, soft but filled with the weight of everything left unsaid, "we're bringing you and your team back to base. You've done enough for today."

Scarlett allowed herself a small smile, the tension in her shoulders easing ever so slightly. "Copy that, General. We'll see you back at base."

The base was eerily quiet in the late hours of the night, the stillness only interrupted by the hum of generators and the rhythmic footsteps of soldiers out on patrol. Inside the dimly lit control center, Scarlett sat, finishing up her report of the day's activities. The mission had been a success, and the adrenaline that had fueled her through it was beginning to give way to exhaustion. Still, there was a restlessness within her that she couldn't shake.

Just as she finished and was ready to leave, the door creaked open and General Ros Carson stepped inside. Scarlett's heart fluttered as their eyes met. Ros looked as composed as ever, her uniform pristine despite the day's chaos. But there was a softness to her eyes that Scarlett had never seen before.

"Captain, you did some excellent work today."

"Thank you, General."

"If you're not too tired, there are some details I'd like to go over with you."

"Not at all, General. I'm at your disposal."

"Good. My office?"

Without waiting for a reply, Ros turned on her heel, leaving Scarlett to scramble out the room after her.

Memories of the last time she'd been in the general's private rooms spiraled through her mind. After Ros's reaction, she hadn't thought she would even consider inviting Scarlett into her personal space ever again.

Reaching the office, Scarlett entered to find Ros already hovering over mission reports piled neatly across the desk.

As they picked through the reports, Scarlett noticed the way Ros's hand lingered near her own on the table. What did it mean? Had she changed her mind or was it involuntary? Scarlett could feel the heat radiating from Ros, the proximity quickening her pulse. The tension between them was palpable, a magnetic pull bringing them closer and closer. The words on the page became a blur as Scarlett found herself only watching Ros. How her hands twitched as if wanting to move while she spoke. How her tongue danced over her lips to wet them. The promise she'd made to herself to keep her distance shattered under the slightest strain.

Ros closed a file and straightened, turning to Scarlett, her expression unreadable.

"You did an excellent job today, Scarlett. I don't know what we'd have done without you there."

Hearing her first name tumble from Ros's lips sent a shiver down Scarlett's spine. Tentatively, she took a step forward, bringing their bodies closer together.

"It was a team effort." Ros's eyes met her own, searching. All the walls she had built crumbled to dust in an instant. Without thinking, Scarlett reached up on her toes and pressed her lips against Ros's.

Once again, the general froze, and Scarlett pulled away. Had she misread the energy between them again? Once might be forgivable, but twice in a row? Ros would not be forgiving of that.

Scarlett wished the ground would swallow her whole. She wasn't long for this base after all. And just as she was earning the respect of her troops, she screwed it all up over some crush.

She couldn't help the hunger she had for the icy general. She craved Ros's attention and she craved Ros's strong hands on her body.

When Ros responded by deepening the kiss with a hunger that mirrored Scarlett's own, all her doubts and fears vanished.

Their kiss became more urgent, more desperate, as weeks of pent-up tension and unspoken feelings spilled over. Ros's hands, which had always been so controlled and deliberate, now gripped Scarlett's waist, pulling her closer. Scarlett's fingers tangled in Ros's cropped silver hair, her body pressing against the older woman's, craving more of the warmth and closeness she had been denying herself.

Ros pulled back slightly, her breathing heavy, her forehead resting against Scarlett's. "Scarlett, we shouldn't…" Her voice was filled with conflict, but even as she said the words, her hands remained firmly on Scarlett's hips, unwilling to let go.

Scarlett shook her head, her voice hushed but firm. "I know, but I can't stop. I don't want to stop. I want this; I want you."

They stumbled toward the small couch in the corner, their kisses growing more frantic with each step. Ros's hands roamed Scarlett's body, relearning the feel of another person so close after years of solitude. It was both overwhelming and liberating, a flood of emotions she hadn't allowed herself to experience in so long.

As they collapsed onto the couch, Ros's breath hitched. She hesitated, the gravity of the moment washing over her. This was more than just a physical release—it was a crossing of lines, a shattering of the discipline that had defined her for decades.

But then Scarlett's lips were on her neck, her breath warm and her hands sure, and Ros's doubts melted away. She let herself be swept up in the moment, giving in to the passion that had been simmering between them for so long. The sensation was both familiar and foreign, like rediscovering a part of herself that had lain dormant for years.

Scarlett's shirt was tugged frantically over her head, her bra unclipped with ease. Goosebumps prickled across her skin as cold air hit her breasts.

Head thrown back, Scarlett gasped as her nipple was captured in Ros's mouth, sucking and loving it with her tongue.

The number of silver buttons on Ros's jacket was driving her mad as she fumbled with them, half her brain rendered useless by Ros's ministrations.

Ros switched to the other nipple, circling round and round with her tongue. Scarlett arched her back into it, head hitting the back of the couch.

"God, yes… this feels so good…"

Ros grinned and reached out her hand for Scarlett to take. She stood, once more foraying into battle with Ros's buttons. One by one, they were unfastened, all the while Ros was doing her best to distract her—flicking, stroking, squeezing at her body.

The jacket finally fell to the floor, only for Scarlett to be greeted with even more buttons.

Ros chuckled at her expression. "Allow me."

Scarlett watched hungrily as Ros unbuttoned her blouse, one by one, each agonizingly slow. Scarlett couldn't take her eyes away as the blouse slid off Ros's shoulders revealing her lean frame.

Finally, she was finished and the blouse was on the couch.

Stepping closer once more, Scarlett spun her to face away. She danced her fingertips across Ros's shoulders, down her back, up her sides. Ever so softly, ever so slowly. All the while she lay gentle, barely there kisses along her long neck. She enjoyed Ros shivering under her touch and gooseflesh rushing across her skin.

Unclasping her bra, she moved her hands around to Ros's small breasts, cupping and squeezing, repaying the older woman for her earlier teasing.

Ros moaned and the sound of it sent shivers through Scarlett. Ros's nipples became hard under her fingers.

Leaving the embrace, Ros pulled her over toward a closed door.

Her bedroom.

Scarlett followed her in and her hair being released from its tie, followed by Ros pushing her onto the bed, and Ros slowly peeled her pants and her underwear from her. She looked up at Ros from under heavy lids. She felt more turned on than she could remember. She had wanted this so very much.

Seeing the frosty general like this, in a state of undress, looking at her body hungrily. This was an exquisite forbidden pleasure.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful, Scarlett." Ros's gaze cruised unashamedly over ever part of her body lingering on her breasts and then lingering again at the pubic hair between her legs.

Scarlett flushed, unsure how to respond to such earnest praise. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, desperate to be close to Ros.

"No. No, don't get up."

Head flopping back against the mattress, Scarlett lay back.

"Open your legs," Ros growled and Scarlett although feeling entirely exposed by it, obeyed eagerly and parted her thighs.

Within seconds, Ros was kneeling between her legs and dipping her head. Scarlett saw the silver flash of her hair and she couldn't contain the moan that escaped from her as Ros's warm mouth enveloped her pussy. Her tongue ran through her folds and encircled her already throbbing clit.

"Oh fuck…"

Scarlett thought she might implode there and then.

General Ros Carson was going down on her. Hungrily and enthusiastically. From swirls and teasing of her anus, to hungry licks of her pussy and then feasting on her clitoris as though it was the first meal she had had in years.

Scarlett felt Ros's fingers beginning to open her up and push inside of her as her mouth continued to work magic on her clitoris. Fingers, multiple fingers seeking out her G spot and beginning to fuck her. In and out.

"Oh, my god…"

The sensations washed over Scarlett, her core winding tighter with every stroke.

She felt the fingers still fucking her, picking up in rhythm. Harder, faster. She liked it.

She felt her own moans increasing and her breath coming in short pants.

She felt her clitoris sucked deep into Ros's mouth and massaged by her tongue.

It all felt too much. All the sensation. Her mind began to flood with a kaleidoscope of colors and then all she could see in her head as her orgasm began to flood through her was those hungry gray eyes of General Ros Carson. Hungry like a wolf for her.

Scarlett's orgasm came and came throbbing and pulsing through her whole body.

"Oh, Jesus," she murmured. "That was incredible."

She let her climax subside and felt Ros's fingers sliding out of her before opening her eyes to see Ros, still situated between her legs, a pleased smirk across her face. Her gray wolfy eyes were dancing in the light. She looked beautiful and predatory and Scarlett liked it. Ros pulled her up into a kiss, and she could taste herself on Ros's tongue as she lost herself in kissing Ros. She wanted to please Ros in return so she flipped their positions, rolling Ros over so Scarlett was now on top. She rolled Ros one more time so that Ros was lying prone beneath her. Face down in the pillow. Scarlett lay on top of her with all her weight pressing down on her. Ros, however ferocious as a general was actually smaller than her and Scarlett enjoyed the feeling of covering Ros with her body and feeling her own breasts pressing into Ros's back.

She kissed Ros's ear, her neck. Kissing, nibbling, licking. She felt Ros shuddering beneath her and moans escaping her mouth. Deep guttural moans.

She likes this.

Scarlett did more of the same, her mouth, tongue and teeth working completely synchronized to tease Ros's neck shoulders and ears. All of her senses were alight.

Scarlett positioned her mouth exactly at Ros's ear.

"I can't wait to taste you," she whispered and Ros responded with a loud moan and a shiver ran right through her body.

"I want to push my tongue inside of you," Scarlett whispered, her lips to Ros's other ear.

Ros moaned again, her body beginning to writhe beneath Scarlett.

Ros's right hand started moving beneath her. Scarlett took her hands both of them and pinned them by the wrists with Scarlett's own right hand above her head near the headboard.

"No hands, General Carson," she whispered again in Ros's ear.

Ros's body was writhing again as though trying to find something to press down upon to seek out some pressure for her clitoris.

Ros was clearly very very turned on. A thought flashed through Scarlett's mind.

"Maybe you could come for me just like this," she growled into Ros's ear.

"Just thinking of what I want to do to you should be enough… shouldn't it?"

Scarlett paused watching the visceral reaction Ros's body was having.

"Just imagine my fingers pushing slow and deep inside you and beginning to fuck you…"

Ros moaned again, her breath now coming in short pants.

"I want to take you from behind, open you up, make you take all of me inside you until you are stretched and full…"

"Why don't you come for me?" Scarlett went back to sucking and licking at Ros's earlobe, at her neck, at her shoulder and pressing her body down into Ros's.

She felt Ros tense beneath her and cry out in climax. Scarlett felt Ros's orgasm screaming through the both of them. She smiled to herself and held Ros as she rode out the orgasm. She kissed her neck lightly and she noticed tears on Ros's cheeks as she finally rolled off her.

She didn't mention them. Ros didn't say anything either so Scarlett took her in her arms and just held her as more tears came.

It wasn't long before Ros fell asleep in Scarlett's arms. She wasn't entirely sure how they had ended up here, but she had to say, she liked it.

The early morning light had just begun to filter through the windows as Scarlett quietly dressed, careful not to wake Ros, who lay beside her in the peacefulness of sleep.

She turned to look at Ros one last time before leaving, her heart clenching at the sight. She was so strong and composed in the daylight, but now looked vulnerable and serene in sleep. The lines of worry and responsibility that usually etched her face had softened, replaced by an almost youthful calm. Scarlett wanted to reach out, to brush her fingers against Ros's cheek, but she resisted. They had already crossed one too many lines.

Scarlett quietly opened the door, taking one last look at Ros before stepping into the dimly lit hallway. The base was still, the usual bustle of soldiers and staff not yet beginning for the day. As she walked, Scarlett's mind raced. She longed to turn back, to return to Ros's side, but knew she couldn't. Their actions had been risky, reckless even, and the consequences could be severe. Yet the memory of Ros's touch, her kiss, the way she had held Scarlett as if she was something precious made it impossible to regret.