4. Alexis

Chapter 4

Alexis

S printing through the desert while the temperature climbed ever higher was now on Alexis's list of the shittiest moments she'd ever experienced. As if that wasn't bad enough, she'd taken a bullet in the shoulder during the crossfire at the clearing. She couldn't be sure if it was a through and through or if she still had the bullet lodged in her but she didn't want to stress Kate by telling her until they were good and out of there. Luckily, it had been in the shoulder, and it hadn't seemed to have damaged anything too important. She tried to ignore the fear that if it had been two or three inches to the right, she'd be dead. It hurt like a bitch, and every step forward caused a searing jolt of pain that Alexis ignored. Hot, wet blood ran down her shoulder and over her side.

They didn't have time for pain or to stop and check the wound. They had to get as far from the clearing as they could and find cover before the sun came out fully. She pushed herself forward, unwilling to let a little bullet hole keep her from protecting Kate. The pain was nothing compared to what it would be like if she wasn't able to get Kate to safety.

The sand sifted beneath them as they ran, the cold wind biting. Alexis kept the rising sun at their backs and scanned their surroundings for any good cover. The terrain was slowly becoming visible in the morning light, the sky painted yellow and orange. The area didn't have many good options to choose from, and they only had minutes before their head start wouldn't do them any good, and anyone with a good vantage point and a pair of binoculars could spot them. It wouldn't take long before a sniper with even the most basic of skills would pick them both off without trying very hard.

To their right was the crumbling remains of a city, either ancient or destroyed by bombings, Alexis couldn't tell. There wasn't much cover, and it would be one of the first places searched by patrols. And they didn't have time to search for a good hiding place among the rubble.

They pushed on, running hard and looking for anywhere safe to hide, fear, adrenaline, and anxiety rising with the sun.

Suddenly, she spotted a dried riverbed that sloped down into a holloway. It must have been used as a road at some point after the river dried up, because she could see old wagon tracks and tire prints. It reminded Alexis of the entrance to the cave in which they'd found Sgt. Krantz' crew. She turned straight for it. At least they could take cover in the riverbed. The downward slope would provide them some cover against prying eyes. It wasn't ideal, but intuition told her they'd find something better than a ditch at the end of the riverbed.

Heat bathed their backs, and Alexis cursed as the sun finally broke over the horizon. She slid down the riverbed embankment, sending dirt and sand into the air. She could hear Kate sprinting and sliding along a few steps behind her, keeping up without much difficulty. At least her fitness was up to scratch. There was a small round opening at the bottom. It was only a few feet wide at most. She took the risk and slid down inside, freefalling for a few feet before her boots hit a cave floor.

Turning, she had a few seconds to glance up before Kate dropped down inside. She caught her around the waist before she could hit the floor, but the strain proved too much for Alexis's shoulder. Pain spread, stars danced in her gaze, and her knees went weak. She lowered Kate to the ground. A groan of pain escaped her as lightning shot through her shoulder.

Ignoring her injury, Alexis turned and surveyed their surroundings. They were in a small underground pocket about eight feet deep that couldn't be more than ten feet square. The floor was hardpacked dirt and rock, and the walls looked like stone, too. The entrance was on one side, and Alexis would bet it was due to erosion of the riverbed.

"Shit, I think this dried riverbed just saved our lives," she exclaimed with a chuckle, high on the adrenaline and disbelief that they'd found such a well-hidden shelter.

Alexis turned back, a massive smile beaming on her face, to find Kate stock still, her skin pale and hands shaking with tremors. Guilt surged through Alexis. She was attempting to bring levity to the situation, as she tended to approach danger with excitement and enjoyment the way many combat rescue officers did. Most people, Kate included, clearly didn't welcome danger the way she did.

"Oh babe, I'm sorry. Listen." Alexis paused and dropped to her knees next to Kate. She drew her trembling form into her arms. The urge to protect and shield her from the fear was overwhelming. Alexis's hand caressed Kate's back and arms and she murmured softly into Kate's ear. "As long as we weren't followed, we should be safe, at least until the sun goes down."

Kate nodded against Alexis's chest, and she drew back to meet her eyes. Fear swirled there, along with uncertainty and something else Alexis couldn't identify.

Alexis wanted to say something, anything that would make it better, make them safe. She knew there wasn't anything she could say to accomplish that, so she went with the only thing she could promise.

"I'll protect you, Kate. I'll do everything I can to get you home and keep you safe. This is what I do. I'm very very good at this. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Kate's face was inscrutable, but there was a slight quiver in her jaw. Alexis rubbed soothing circles into her arms with her thumbs. She had never felt the desperate need to soothe and calm someone before, and it was all-consuming.

Suddenly Kate's brown eyes narrowed, and she pushed Alexis back firmly and grabbed her by the arms, immobilizing her.

"Holy shit, you're bleeding. You're wounded," Kate accused. The tone of her voice betrayed her fear.

Alexis shrugged and winced as the movement pulled on her shoulder. A little V appeared between Kate's brows and her small, agile hands began removing Alexis's tactical vest and shirt to get a better look. Alexis wanted to kiss the small juncture between her brows, smooth away the stress there.

Kate removed the top carefully folding it in half and laid it across Alexis's lap, her hands skimming the tops of Alexis's thighs. Every touch and gentle graze sent electricity through Alexis, ramping her up a bit at a time. Alexis hadn't ever thought being treated for a gunshot wound would be a turn on, but Kate's exacting and precise movements were driving her crazy.

Now Alexis sat in only her sports bra- her shoulder injury bared to Kate's gaze, Kate whipped gloves out of her pocket and gasped. Blood smears spread from her shoulder down to her side indicated there'd been at least minor blood loss.

"When did this happen?" Kate asked, her tone procedural. The tender look in her eyes was gone as a distant professional glimmer took its place. Alexis hated the distance Kate had thrust between them, but she answered anyway, just to keep Kate talking to her.

"When I realized you and I wouldn't make it to the helo, I tried to drop to the ground as the enemy fired on us. I'm pretty sure I was hit then. I didn't notice it until we started running. It's not as if we could have stopped anyway. And besides, it's just my shoulder. This is minor."

One stern brow arched in disapproval, and Kate's words came out deceptively calm as she began to clean the wound.

"Minor? You aren't the medic here." Her tone gave Alexis the impression that Kate didn't agree with her.

Alexis sucked in a breath as Kate probed the wound with gauze. It seemed to Alexis that Kate was as distressed by Alexis's injury and the pain it caused as she was.

"I didn't restock my pack when we left the cave earlier. I don't have a lot of supplies. Luckily, the bullet was through and through. But Alexis…" Kate's voice faltered, almost a whimper.

The whimper tugged on Alexis's heart, and she wrapped her arms around Kate's shoulders, pulling her in closer.

Slapping some fresh gauze over the wound and securing it with tape, Kate cleared her throat and continued, clearly attempting to put space between them. "The bullet almost nicked your artery. I genuinely don't know how it missed. By all accounts, based on the trajectory of this wound," Kate said, while pressing her hands over the entry and exit wounds, "the artery was in its path. With the running and exertion after the fact, it's a miracle you didn't bleed out."

Silence descended upon them. The only thing Alexis could hear was the pounding of her own heart and Kate's soft breaths tickling against the skin of her throat. The warmth from Kate's hands seeped into Alexis, who had cooled from the brisk temperature. Kate's words rang in her ears on repeat, and the very real fact that she'd almost died occurred to Alexis. Her insides turned to ice, and she tried to swallow the lump that had appeared in her throat.

"What?"

Kate shook her head, unwilling to repeat it out loud.

"You'll be okay. The pain will be a distraction, but this wound won't keep us from moving on when the sun goes down."

Kate's voice was professional, but Alexis could hear the wavering sadness in her tone and see the tremble of her jaw. It had been close—obviously too close for Kate's liking.

Alexis nodded, unable to speak. Normally, she kept herself pretty guarded, staying irreverent and keeping things fun. That way whenever she wanted to leave, or someone else wanted to leave her there was little to no pain involved. If you didn't get attached, you didn't get your feelings hurt.

But she could have died. And if Alexis had died there in the clearing, what would Kate have done? Would she have been able to get to the helo without taking fire? The idea of Kate having to traverse the valley and reach the next extraction point on her own had anxiety rolling through her.

The moment Alexis had opened the door to Colonel Williams's office and looked into Kate Cross's eyes, she'd been yanked out of her comfort zone and dropped into unfamiliar territory. Her piercing brown eyes had looked through Alexis, sending an electric shock through her entire being. Her soft blonde hair had been pulled back into a severe bun, perfect, without a single hair out of place. Her lips had parted softly in surprise when her eyes had landed on Alexis instead of Colonel Williams. Alexis was brought back to her original fear of what it would be like to be addicted to Kate. She wondered if it would be worth it to be addicted to something so tempting.

Kate looked into her eyes, and Alexis leaned down, completely mesmerized, her gaze locked on Kate's lips in the semi darkness. Adrenaline, fear, and visceral desire collided in Alexis, and she reached out to Kate to pull her into her arms, needing to hold her. Kate surprised her and leapt at her at the same time.

Arms thrown haphazardly around Alexis's neck, Kate latched on, wrapping her legs around Alexis's waist, and their heads leaned in together, finally closing the gap and letting their lips touch. Soft lips caressed and tongues slid together, and she moaned into Kate's mouth. Kate's hands skimmed along her neck, sending electricity skittering down Alexis's spine. A groan tore from her throat, and she instinctively bucked her hips against Kate. The lust was blinding, and Alexis just wanted to get her hands and mouth on Kate's skin.

A soft, lilting moan came from Kate, and Alexis felt her blood heat at the sound. They both needed this. After spending the last two days together taking fire, saving the crew, and her getting shot, the two of them needed some sort of release, and Alexis was determined they'd get it now.

Grabbing Kate by the back of her neck and securing her in her arms, Alexis rose to her feet. She took a few unsteady steps to the darkest corner of their hideaway and slid them down so that she was seated with Kate in her lap, her legs still wrapped around Alexis like vines.

Nearly frantic in her need, Kate sucked Alexis's lower lip into her mouth and caressed it with her tongue, urging her on. Alexis went to work on Kate's buttons, frantically trying to get her hands and mouth on her bare skin. The last button finally freed, Alexis pushed the uniform from Kate's shoulders and tugged the t-shirt from her beltline. Kate came to life, pulling the shirt over her head. She tossed it to the side, ripped off her bra, and went to take what was left of Alexis's uniform off, too. Alexis reached for Kate's hair, which was still pulled back from her face.

Alexis wanted to run her hands through the golden honey of Kate's hair, so she tugged on the hair tie until the gold curtain fell. Her blonde tresses surrounded them, and Alexis dragged one hand into her hair and pinned Kate's hips against her own before lowering her head to Kate's newly exposed breasts.

The chill in the air had Kate's nipples hard, and Alexis lapped at the left one with her tongue before sucking it into her mouth and nipping it slightly with her teeth. Kate cried out, thrust her breast further into Alexis' mouth, and bucked her hips forward, grinding her pelvis directly into Alexis's. They both moaned at the friction, and Alexis released Kate's neck to pull off her belt and unbutton her cargo pants. She tugged at the buttons and yanked the pants down just far enough to get what she wanted. Alexis cupped her hand and gently kneaded her palm into Kate's pelvis. She could feel the damp patch in Kate's panties, and she had to have more. Pulling the panties roughly aside, Alexis's fingers delved into Kate's wetness.

"Alexis," Kate breathed, and Alexis froze. Her gaze snapped to meet Kate's.

"Do you want me to stop, baby?" It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she would if that's what Kate wanted.

A whimpering moan tore from Kate's throat. "God no , don't you dare stop."

Lust burned through Alexis like wildfire at the pure desire in Kate's voice, and she resumed her mission worshipping Kate's breasts as her fingers slid and teased through Kate's labia. Luckily the wound was her left shoulder and she was right handed. Alexis's legendary sexual skills hadn't been harmed by her injury.

Thank God for that!

Kate bucked and moaned as Alexis' thumb began swirling in tantalizing rhythmic circles over Kate's clitoris.

"Oh god, Kate. You're so wet for me," Alexis groaned and kept up the pace. Kate bucked again and gasped, and Alexis slid her index finger inside her.

Kate whimpered. "Please," she begged, writhing. "I want you so bad."

The right breast, which had been neglected up until this point, was calling to Alexis. She released the left breast with a pop, causing Kate to cry out, and pulled the right nipple into her mouth, biting down softly. A shudder went through Kate, and Alexis used the moment to slide in a second finger while still swirling circles around her clitoris with her thumb. Kate tightened around her fingers like a vice and Alexis briefly wondered how long it had been for her. Kate's sexual hunger was all encompassing.

"Oh, fuck," Kate swore, her eyes closed in ecstasy, her face pinched in pleasure.

Kate ground her hips into Alexis's hand, riding the rhythmic thrusts of her fingers, drunk on the swirl of Alexis's thumb over her clit. Alexis knew her own pussy was wet- she was so turned on, and she ached to have Kate's hands on her. Time was suspended around them, and Alexis wasn't sure how much longer she could keep Kate on the edge.

An erratic thrust of Kate's hips was the first warning that she was ready to come before she gasped out, "No. No, no, no. Not yet. I don't want to come alone."

One moment, Alexis was in control. Kate had practically rode her hand while seated in her lap. The next second, Kate had pushed her down to the floor and was yanking her belt off and undoing the buttons on Alexis's cargo pants.

Electricity zinged through her as Kate right hand pushed its way into her underwear and slid immediately through her own wetness. Alexis cried out against Kate's breast, and Kate zeroed on her clit almost immediately. Kate had skipped straight to the point and began a punishing rhythm, nearly blinding in its intensity and threatening to send Alexis over the cliff. She was already dangerously close to orgasm from Kate's grinding needily on her fingers.

A whimper escaped Alexis's mouth, and she clamped back down on Kate's soft, perfect nipple and reached her right hand back between Kate's legs, pushing back inside her and resuming her rhythm. The more she swirled her thumb in time with her tongue, the faster Kate's fingers worked on her clit. Heat rose, and Alexis wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.

Kate's hips thrust erratically into Alexis's hand, and she moaned. Kate inserted one finger, and then a second into Alexis's pussy seeking out her G spot and pressed the heel of her hand against Alexis's clitoris. The world exploded, stars filling Alexis' vision, and Kate ground her clit into her palm. Kate was whimpering and moaning incoherently and Alexis realized that she was too.

Mmmmm.

Having Kate sexually was better than Alexis had ever imagined. (And she had imagined it.)

Kate's hunger, her eagerness was all consuming.

They came together, hard and fast, tremors running along their muscles, and Kate collapsed forwards onto Alexis's chest. Alexis was wrung emotionally dry after the day, and after she felt Kate come hard and then rest against her with both of their sweat slicked bare chests pressed together, she wanted to envelope Kate in her embrace and keep her safe, sated, and happy.

Silence filled the cavern, broken only by their ragged breathing. Alexis watched as Kate's eyes drooped and eventually drifted shut. Kate fell asleep on top of her, their naked chests still pressed together. She skimmed her fingers over Kate's naked back, dropped open-mouthed kisses at the junction of her shoulder and throat, and soaked in her presence.

It was clear to Alexis now that Kate had been actively avoiding getting near her, and Alexis wondered if there was a specific reason Kate was keeping her distance. She suspected trauma, the ghosts of someone from her past, were haunting Kate. Alexis wondered if she could free Kate from her demons.

They'd thrown caution to the wind, and Alexis had had her first dose of pure Lieutenant Kate Cross. Alexis's chest throbbed, breath whooshing out in a pained gasp, and she wondered if even just once with Kate was enough to get her hooked. Alexis ignored a second pang in her chest at the thought of losing her new lover. The reality of their situation was grim. Alexis's arms tightened and pulled her in closer. One thing she knew for certain—she couldn't let anything happen to Kate. At the least, she would protect her through the day so she could sleep peacefully, without a care in the world.

Alexis watched as Kate slept for a few hours. She stayed awake on guard duty, just in case they'd been followed or tracked. Alexis let her mind roam over all things Kate while she remained a silent, vigilant guardian. When Kate began to stir, Alexis let the darkness take over, and she fell into dreamless, exhausted sleep.