Chapter 29

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S potting a pair of pants tossed over the back of a chair, I lunged for them, pulling them on with a speed that would’ve put a cheetah to shame.

As I swung the door open, I was fucking blindsided by the sight of Raven standing there with a look that screamed ‘don’t fuck with me’ and an attitude to match.

Her hair was shaved on one side, the other side spilling down in dark curls cascading down the other in this edgy, ‘I-don’t-give-a-fuck’ way.

She had this intensity in her eyes that could make even the toughest motherfucker piss their pants. But despite all that, there was something about her that always rubbed me the wrong way.

I knew for a while that she had a crush on me, that much was fucking obvious, but I’d never felt the same way. Not even close. She looked at me like I was some prize to be won, but no matter how many hints she dropped or how hard she tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to see her in that way.

Nor did I want to.

And there she was, standing in my doorway with that look on her face as if she was about to confess her undying love for me.

I forced out a gruff ‘Raven’ making it clear that I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.

She looked me up and down, her gaze taking its sweet time, like she was inspecting every inch of me.

I usually wouldn’t give a shit about a woman seeing me half-naked. Hell, I’d fucking encourage it—I knew I looked good, my muscles rippling and my body honed to perfection from years of training and trauma. I wasn’t some prude who only wanted to be seen by Red, but for some reason, in this moment, that was exactly how I felt. Uncomfortable.

What the fuck did she do to me?

As Raven watched me, I didn’t feel proud. I felt exposed, like she was seeing parts of me that I only wanted Red to fucking see.

I braced myself for the onslaught, already dreading the awkward conversation that was about to fucking ensue.

And I was not prepared.

Raven launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around me in a hug that I definitely did not fucking ask for. I stood there stiff as a board, feeling like a trapped animal as she squeezed the life out of me. It wasn’t welcome, and it sure as hell wasn’t mutual.

“It’s good to see you, asshole,” she chirped, her voice all fucking sunshine and rainbows.

I gritted my teeth, trying to find the words to tell her to back the fuck off without being a total asshole. “Didn’t know you got back from the mission,” I grunted as I attempted to peel her off me.

I didn’t squirm, although my skin crawled at the unwanted contact. Raven backed off, her face going red with embarrassment as she stammered out an apology.

“Shit, sorry,” she mumbled, her eyes darting away from mine like she’d just realized how fucking awkward she’d made it. “I forgot that you don’t like to be touched like that.”

Yeah, no fucking shit.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and just gave her a nod.

“Yeah, well, you remembered now,” I grumbled, feeling the awkwardness settle over us like a cloud.

I let out a heavy sigh, steeling myself for the inevitable conversation that was about to follow. I racked my brain for a way to steer it in a direction that might actually benefit me.

Sure, Raven was a pain in my ass most of the time, but she was also a Special Forces Operator, which meant she had access to all sorts of intel that might just come in handy for my own investigation.

Might as well try to extract some information out about her mission. Who knows, maybe it would be mildly interesting.

“So, how was the mission?” I prompted, knowing very little about it. “Herat, right?”

Raven’s face lit up with a fervor only soldiers get when they’re talking about the kill. "Yeah," she said, her voice gaining momentum. “We were dropped into the middle of nowhere. Our objective was to track down this terrorist cell that had been operating out of some remote village in the mountains."

I leaned against the doorframe, doing my best to seem engaged even though the only thing I wanted to do was slam my head against the wall.

“And did you find them?” I asked, trying to mask the eagerness in my voice.

She nodded, a grim smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Fuck yeah, we did,” she replied confidently. “Took us weeks of surveillance and intel gathering, but we finally took down their leader and dismantled the whole operation.”

I forced a smile, feeling like a fraud as I pretended to be impressed.

Come on, Raven, throw me something useful.

“Sounds like a hell of a mission,” I muttered, hoping she’d spill some useful information without even realizing it.

She laughed, a sound that grated on my nerves. “You have no idea,” she confidently said. “We were outnumbered, outgunned, but we made it work.”

Déjà fucking vu.

Hold up.

Outnumbered and outgunned—those same words had been circling my head ever since my own mission went to hell. Now here she was, spitting out the exact same thing.

Coincidence, my ass.

Something was going on. Both Raven and I had been thrown into enemy territory with the odds stacked against us, like we were disposable pawns. Someone higher up was pulling the strings, sending us out on what looked like suicide missions, and I wasn’t buying that it was just bad luck.

But who? And why?

I nodded, not quite sure what the fuck else to say. As much as I wanted to shout my suspicions from the rooftops, I knew better than to fucking jump the gun.

This shit was too important to fuck up with a knee-jerk reaction. I needed proof, solid evidence, before I could even think about confronting whoever the puppet master was pulling the strings.

“Well, glad you made it back in one piece,” I said, knowing just how close you could come to not making it back from a hellhole like Afghanistan.

“Yeah...” she let out a long breath, like she had a story she wasn’t telling. “That makes two of us.”

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she started eyeing the space behind me, trying to get a peek into my apartment like she had any right to. I quickly sidestepped, blocking her view with my body, not about to let her snoop around where she didn’t fucking belong.

This was Red’s space.

And I wasn’t about to let anyone else invade it.

I eyed Raven warily, wondering what the hell she was really doing here. “Anyways, why did you come?” I asked, already fucking tired of this small talk.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot as she glanced around the hallway. “I was just wondering how you’ve been,” she said, her voice wobbling like she was trying to keep this bullshit conversation going.

I shrugged, not in the mood for idle chitchat. “Busy,” I replied shortly, hoping she’d take the hint and fuck off already.

“Maybe we could catch up later?” she suggested, and her voice was way too eager for my liking.

I gave her a stiff nod, already plotting how I’d avoid that like the plague. “Sure, maybe,” I replied, already regretting the decision to open the door in the first place.

I eased the door shut behind Raven, letting it close with a soft, final click.

Fucking cockblock.

I turned back to Red, hoping maybe we could salvage whatever the hell was left of our conversation before Raven came crashing in. But I found her already dressed, ready to make a quick exit and giving me the cold shoulder treatment.

“Where’s the fire, little one?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I watched her fuss with her hair like she was in a hurry to bolt.

She met my gaze with a tight smile, but her eyes didn’t quite meet mine. “I’ve got patients waiting, Rogue,” she announced tersely as she brushed past me. “Unlike you, I actually have responsibilities.”

And right then, I felt it. That invisible wall she was putting up between us, as if she was building a barrier brick by fucking brick.

It fucking stung, if I was being honest.

I told myself over and over again that I needed to keep my distance, that getting too close would only end in disaster. No matter how hard I tried to force myself to see Red as just another chick I hooked up with, it just wasn’t fucking working.

Every time I looked at her, my heart did this stupid fluttery thing, reminding me of the nights we spent tangled together, all heat and desperation. She wasn’t just a lay, and that scared the shit out of me.

I was craving her presence, not just her body.

Even if I was too stubborn to admit it.

“Funny how you didn’t seem too concerned about those patients when we were swapping saliva earlier," I remarked, giving her a slow once-over.

Red’s expression shifted, her eyes flickering away for a split second before she snapped back with that same brisk tone.

“Oh, like you were concerned about your schedule when that woman was here, Casanova.”

She was a damn fortress, keeping her walls up tight. And every time she looked at me with those fucking eyes, like she could see right through me, I felt myself crumbling.

I raised an eyebrow, trying not to let the smirk creep onto my face. “Jealous, are we?” I asked, throwing her own words right back at her.

“I’m just making an observation,” she countered, refusing to take the bait.

Observation, my ass.

I sighed, realizing this argument wasn’t getting us anywhere. Stepping closer, I kissed her hard, hoping to kill the tension.

It was unlike any other kiss I’d shared with a woman before, raw and primal, a desperate plea for her to understand just how much she meant to me.

For a second, she froze, probably caught off guard by how rough I was, but then she melted into it, her hands grabbing my chest as she kissed me back just as fiercely. It was fucking electric, intoxicating, and I never wanted it to end.

“We’ll pick this up later after training,” I muttered against her lips when she finally pulled away.

She stormed out, leaving me alone with the taste of her on my lips.

Damn, I couldn’t let myself get too attached. That was the cardinal rule of being a player, right? Never catch feelings. But fuck, it was getting harder and harder to stick to that with Red.

I stomped my way back into that bunker, feeling like I’ve stepped into the bowels of hell itself, with a bit of industrial flair thrown in for good measure. The air hung heavy with the scent of sweat, metal, and something that might pass for hope if you squint really hard.

Ah, home sweet home.

I leaned against the wall, smirking as I watched those pencil-pushers try to survive Pyro’s brutal training. Yeah, they might save lives out there, but in here, they were just a bunch of weak-ass losers.

What caught my eye—or rather, what didn’t—was the absence of Dr. Asswipe. Thank fuck for small miracles, was I right? Because if he’d shown up, I didn’t trust myself not to wrap my hands around his scrawny neck and squeeze until his eyes popped out like grapes.

I spotted Red training her ass off with some other chick who could barely keep up. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, catching the light like a fucking flame, her moves incapsulating all the grace of a goddess.

And that body... Jesus fucking Christ. Carved by the hands of the devil himself, all curves and edges that could cut me to pieces.

Her skin glistened with perspiration, muscles flexing with every strike she landed. I couldn’t stop staring, especially when her tits bounced, nipples poking through the soaked fabric of her sports bra.

I was in heaven.

Her movements were fluid, her strikes precise, way better than our last training session. It was like she had transformed overnight, leaving me standing there dumbfounded, wondering where the hell she had learned to move like that.

I never knew she had it in her, to be honest. But now?

I couldn’t fucking look away.

I licked my lips, my mind slipping into a dirty little daydream of her pinned beneath me. My cock stirred, and I had to shift discreetly to adjust myself. Couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Just as I was getting comfortable, the door swung open and Raven strode in, her icy gaze sweeping the room.

“Alright, ladies. I am Sergeant Raven and from now on, I’m taking over your training.”

Red and her partner paused, exchanging a wary glance. I, on the other hand, was already mentally calculating how much more often I’d have to put up with Raven’s crap now that she got back.

I was already seeing too much of her as it was.

She began to put the women through their paces, showing off some new moves. I had to admit—grudgingly—she wasn’t bad at what she did. Not that I’d ever say that out loud.

“Come on, Ponytail,” she sneered, zeroing in on Red. “You call that throwing a punch? Even a blind squirrel could do better than that.”

She strode over to Red with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. Red’s shoulders tensed, her jaw set tight, as Raven spat her orders, lacing every word with that smug, holier-than-thou attitude.

Ponytail.

Just another little reminder of Raven’s superiority complex.

I stood there, seething with a fury so intense it felt like my skin might fucking melt off.

I watched with a scowl on my face, my eyes fixed on Raven’s stern expression as she corrected Red’s form, her movements a little too aggressive for my liking. There was a fine line between constructive criticism and just being a straight-up bully.

And Raven had fucking bulldozed right past it.

Her grip on Red was too rough, her touch more about control than correction. She yanked Red’s arm, twisting it like she was some fucking ragdoll, forcing her into what she deemed the ‘proper’ position. Red winced, the pain flashing across her face before she buried it behind a fake-ass smile.

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep that in mind.”

What really got my goat was the way Raven was talking to Red—like she was some kind of idiot who couldn’t even get the simplest thing right. The tone, the inflection, it was all just so patronizing.

My fists clenched involuntarily as I watched that sadistic bitch tormenting Red. She was taking it like a champ, but I could see the tension in her muscles, the strain in her face as she struggled to keep up with Raven’s demands. And it pissed me off to see her treated like that.

As much as I wanted to intervene, I stayed put, knowing that causing a scene would only make things worse for Red. Raven was a vindictive bitch, and if she caught even a whiff of the fact that I cared about Red, she’d make her life a living hell.

And I couldn’t bear the thought of adding to her burden. Red had enough on her plate without me adding fuel to the fire.

So instead, I focused on controlling my temper, channeling my anger into something productive, like picturing all the ways I’d love to wipe that smug grin off Raven’s face.

I was so caught up in the scene that I didn’t notice Pyro slipping up beside me until he nudged me with his elbow. “You know, Rogue, you’re not exactly being subtle.”

I turned to glare at him, but he just raised an eyebrow and jerked his chin towards Raven.

“You’re practically radiating hostility, mate,” he said amused.

I forced a shrug, trying to play it off. “I’m just interested in learning some new training techniques,” lied through my teeth. “Raven’s got some... unique methods.”

He laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that made me force a smile too. “Unique methods?” he repeated, leaning against the wall beside me. “You mean like being a condescending, patronizing bitch? Yeah, she’s got a real talent for that.”

I tried to brush it off, not letting him get under my skin. “Well, it’s always good to brush up on the basics. You know, pick up some new skills.”

Pyro snorted, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Come on, mate. You know Krav Maga better than anyone else in this base,” he pointed out, his grin widening as he saw the flicker of hostility in my eyes.

He saw right through me—he always did. And as much as I tried to play it cool, the truth was I was ready to tear Raven apart limb by limb for the way she treated Red.

Pyro wasn’t done though, cutting me off with a raised hand before I could even argue. “Look, I get it. Raven’s a pain in the ass. But try to make it less obvious that you want to rip her head off, yeah?” he advised, surprisingly earnest despite the hint of amusement in his voice.

I forced myself to nod. He was right, I had to keep my cool. For Red’s sake, if nothing else.

I grounded my teeth together, forcing myself to stay rooted to the spot. Pyro’s voice droned on in the background, talking about some visit he made to Viper who was supposedly recovering well, but I was barely even listening. My attention was glued to Red and Raven, watching them out of the corner of my eye.

My attempt at maintaining calm went straight to hell the moment I saw Raven trying to twist Red’s arm in some sick display of dominance.

And that was the last fucking straw.

Every ounce of restraint I had left evaporated in an instant. I was halfway across the room, marching over there to show that bitch what happens when you mess with what was fucking mine. But then, I heard a voice booming in my ear, freezing me in place.

“Stand down, Lieutenant.”