Chapter 16

Secrets Versus Lies

The humid air forces moisture to build on my golden skin as I huff out my exhaustion inside my tent. We're far away from the secret attack. With my mission having been a success, now we're following down the lead the United prisoners were originally chasing before their capture.

We'll have to leave in less than twenty minutes, and I've barely had an hour's worth of sleep, thanks to this fucking humidity mugging up my senses and my comfort.

I check my secret phone for the hundredth time, but there's not a text or a call from my masked mystery man. We're still too deep in Unaligned territory for me to turn on my normal phone. I wish I could fucking talk to Jase right now. I wish I could tell him how I made it through a mission without being a liability.

He keeps seeing me at my worst. He only seems to know the damsel in distress instead of the badass tracker who just found and freed thirty prisoners. Granted, I did have some help on finding their whereabouts, but I still found the hideaway no one else would have without spying on them.

I pull my shirt up while rolling over to my stomach. The sticky sweat wraps my body in its relentless clutches, and I groan for my heated discomfort. Then I gasp as I feel chilled hands sliding against my dampened skin as the scent of sex and candy invades me. I never heard anyone get inside my tent.

I flip over to see the pale eyes staring into mine, and suddenly his lips are pressed against mine as he falls between my parted legs.

"Hey," he murmurs against my lips, his smile forming.

"Hey," I almost giggle out while trying to stay quiet enough to be courteous to the other campers.

He smiles bigger as his lips claim mine, and I giggle more despite my attempt to be silent.

"I'd do some incredibly scandalous things to you right now, but we'll be leaving soon. General Marks and some captains are already up and about," he huffs, and I pout a little as I stare at his teasing stance between my legs.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I finally ask when the initial shock wears off.

He smiles softly as he stares into my falsified hybrid blues.

"I came as soon as I heard about your Culligan Parchment maneuver. I'm impressed with your knowledge of United policy," he teases while flopping down beside me and pulling me into his wonderfully chilled body. "I'm also impressed with your very successful mission. Where did you get such Intel?"

Mmm. So much better than the sticky heat.

"Where were you when I needed an icebox to cool me down? I've been sweating like a human all damn night. I've been so miserable, and I've barely slept at all," I say while basking in in his deliciously cool body, intentionally avoiding answering his question.

"If I had known you were going back into the field, I would have come sooner. Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do? Captain Fricks said you showed up just hours after I left."

"Why is Captain Fricks telling you what I did and when I did it?" I grumble, my crankiness being caused by the heat, not by him.

"Why are you deliberately avoiding answering all my questions?" he suspiciously inquires.

"I'm not. I'm just too tired to think right now. Besides, you said you agreed with the commander's decision to keep me grounded. I only assumed you'd try to talk me out of it."

He sighs out, and then his incredible icy breath finds my brow to offer me even more relief from the sweltering heat.

"You shouldn't be this affected by the weather, baby. I know hybrids are different, but no one else here is suffering as much as you are. It was the same when we were in the cold weather."

I hate our weather. Scorching hot one day, blistering cold the next. They shouldn't have ever fucked with mother nature to tint the sky, because now she's a bitch.

"I've always been this way." Maybe I feel it more severely because I'm not just a hybrid.

His lips purse as he thinks that over, and then he pulls his shirt off to expose his fucking-hot-as-hell body. My mischievous grin grows as my excited inner hybrid stirs.

Change your mind?

He lets a laugh out, and then he pulls my body to him.

"No, I just want to cool you down. It'll work better this way."

I pout again, and his scrumptious breath finds its way into my mouth before his daring tongue joins it.

Mmm.

He smiles through our kiss, and I wrap my leg around his waist to feel his erection meeting my center.

Are you sure I can't change your mind?

His breath comes out a little shakier, and then he groans under strain when he feels the desirable need as badly as I do.

"Everybody up. We're leaving in ten minutes," General Marks snaps.

Fuck.

Jase lets a laugh escape, and then he pulls his shirt back on before running his lips across mine once more.

"I missed you," he sighs out while I start changing my clothes.

"Well, I'm back in the field now, so maybe you can miss me less," I sweetly interject, even though I'm fighting the overwhelmingly potent desire to tangle my body around his, and tell him how excruciating it has been to go without him for even a second.

He smiles and I roll my eyes for my mind's big mouth.

"I love it when you think like that."

"I don't always like that uncanny ability of yours," I grumble under my breath while climbing out of the tent.

He follows me while letting a chuckle escape, and his fingers lace with mine as we walk toward the congregating crowd. General Marks is looking over a map with several men, and Jase leans over to my ear.

"What's this general like?" he whispers.

I shrug, my mind flashing back to the detail we just completed.

"He's a good man, but he's possibly too ambitious. I just hope he doesn't take unnecessary risks."

"Has he already?"

"Not yet, but he will. I've seen that sort of desire before. He wants to make a name for himself, and it forces the mind to risk safety for fame. I could be wrong though."

He seems to be studying my observation - his body beside me but his mind distant - and then a guy calls for his attention. He smiles while trying to pull me with him. Reluctantly, I surrender, but I tune out the chipper guy's voice as he speaks to my full blood.

A devious smirk emerges as my plotting mind goes to work. I stare at my full blood's face as he engages in idle conversation. He's smiling, close to introducing me, and then I let my fantasies break free.

I show him my body handcuffed to a bed with his body pounding into me. I show him the chills I would feel, the heat I would exude, and the moans I would cry out.

He coughs as though he has just strangled on air, and he cuts his eyes toward mine to scold me for my little game.

"You alright, man?" the guy asks.

"Yeah," Jase grumbles. "I just… anyway, what were you saying?"

I tune it all out again, and this time I show him his body tied down as my scandalous mouth goes to work. My imagination reveals my lips forging trails on his gloriously cool body, stopping just at his erection to wrap my lips around it.

Before I can complete my dirty little mind game, his lips are actually pressed against mine, startling me out of my fantasy world as he clutches me too tightly. I feel his erection pressed against me, and I smile behind the successful seductive ploy.

"Damn you," he whispers.

"I'll just leave you guys alone for a bit," the guy awkwardly chuckles out, and I smirk while pulling Jase's shirt to lead him while I walk backwards in front of him.

He scoops me up, and I let a laugh escape when he passes my tent and heads into the wooded area.

"We don't have time. We're about to go and I have to take apart my tent," I giggle out.

"He's about to make an announcement," Jase murmurs with a smoldering tone.

"Attention, United soldiers, we'll be leaving in thirty minutes. Sorry for the delay, but two of our vehicles overheated. The repairs shouldn't take long," General Marks says to the attentive crowd.

Mind reader.

Jase smirks and then his lips start to devour mine as he twists me to straddle him while he walks. My hands tangle in his hair as we leave the prying ears, and I feel the wind at my back as he rushes us away.

Want me all to yourself?

"I want to make you scream," he murmurs so crudely, and that's all it takes for the weight of my stomach to slap me lower as the painful throbbing commences.

I feel a rock slapping against my back as he presses me against the oversized boulder protruding from the ground. The roughness lightly scratches against my back until he drops me to the ground to peel my tight jeans off.

I quickly flash him an image of me in his arms, pressed against this rock, and screaming his name, just the way he likes for me to.

"Fuck," he murmurs while jerking me back up.

He slams me into the rock so hard that the fragile piece of the earth cracks behind me. I moan out as his lips crush mine, and then I feel his body joining mine as he surges in with such gasp-worthy force.

I cling to the back of his neck as my visions come to life, and my head drops back while his vicious pace punishes me for my scandalous tease.

His hands grip me so tightly it almost hurts, and I let out an erotic whine as I gasp for air. His teeth grit together as he continues his ferocious pounding, and I just revel in his divine power that is owning my body.

I could stay like this, live this way, be his for eternity. No one has ever made me feel like this before. I'm desperate to feel him all day everyday.

His breaths coat my lips with his sweet taste. His cool touch heats up as he burns through to his core. His body tries to cool down, but I think mine has set it ablaze as my cries become louder, needier, and full of ecstasy.

One last thrust from just the right angle is all it takes to force me into an earth-quaking, glass shattering scream, his name an unintelligible cry on my lips. He follows behind me, grunting as he pushes into me deeper one last time.

His body cools as his ragged breaths find my neck, and I fall limply into his hold. He squeezes me tighter, making me smile from the endearing embrace - our makeshift afterglow cuddling.

"I love you," he murmurs so softly, and I grin against his neck as I kiss it.

"I love you."

I can feel rather than see his smile, and then he reluctantly lowers me to the ground. My wobbly legs pose a bit of a problem as I try to steady myself enough to pull my pants on.

He laughs when I'm forced to hop sideways with one leg in my jeans as he buttons his back up.

Ass.

He only laughs harder, and I can't help but grin instead of playing angry.

"Let's get back. I'm sure by now they've sorted out the overheating issue."

"That's odd, considering the vehicles are electric and solar charged. I've never heard of anything but the gasoline fueled vehicles suffering such things," I murmur thoughtfully.

He smirks, secrets spreading around in those bemusing eyes, and then he shrugs.

"I suppose it worked out for us."

Oh yes. Yes it did.

He laughs again before taking my hand in his, and I finger comb my hair with my free hand as we walk back a little slower than he blurred me down here.

"So, you're on our mission now?" I muse while leaning into him.

"Of course. You're back in the field, so I'm back on your detail."

Good.

"How is it you can just shift details whenever you want?"

"I'm just good like that," he cockily releases.

I giggle like some fool girl, but I don't care. I love the way he makes me feel. He's just so amazing in so many ways. I'm almost worried it's too good to be true, but I dare not overanalyze it.

"I'm not too good to be true, baby. I just happen to love the hell out of you."

I blush, my giggle returning, and then I huff when I see the campsite ahead. Someone has been kind enough to dissemble my tent, and it just forces my cheeks to redden all the more. I'm sure they saw me engulfed in a body-burning, head-spinning, passionate kiss while being carried into the woods.

"You have to stop worrying about everyone noticing your sex life. You're a hybrid," he lightly scolds while tucking a stray strand of my hair back into place.

"This coming from a full blood?" I tease.

"Full bloods don't view sex as scandalously as they once did. Get with the times, old lady."

Ha.

He smirks before giving me a wink, and then we load up to head out on the road. I'm so excited to have him back on detail with me .

The dark trail between two wooded areas is definitely not comforting. We've been on the road for hours. Jase is driving to keep anyone from being suspicious, since we're on night stalk - no headlights - and I'm not supposed to have night vision.

"Stop," I whisper as I see something drawing my attention.

Jase does as I ask, and I climb out to go investigate. I bring the flashlight with me to keep others from asking questions, and I get sick when I see the several tread patterns imbedded in the soft mud we've stumbled upon.

General Marks walks up, and he whispers, "What's going on? What did you find?"

I shake my head, worried this ambitious general is about to prove my early characterization of him correct. I almost pray I'm wrong about him right now.

"There are too many. We need at least fifty more people just to contend. We don't have enough gifted hybrids with us, and everyone with them could be," I answer in my nearly muted tone.

"How far ahead are they?"

"These tracks are barely an hour old, and they're driving fairly slow," I murmur while checking the different impressions.

The treads match some of the others, but they're wrapped over them, meaning there are even more than I thought.

"They're too close for us to lose now. We started tracking this group because they are high up in the ranks. We need to take them out."

"General, we need more people. If we go in there, we'll be willingly stepping into a slaughter house," I object a little louder.

"You shouldn't belittle our capabilities," he growls, his night eyes aglow and burning with fury.

"I'm not belittling our capabilities, I'm pointing out the fact we don't know theirs. We need more gifted hybrids to face this many. If they have level fives or higher, we won't make it out with our damn lives."

"Ms. Banner, you forget your place. You track, and I make the calls. We took an oath to eliminate a threat whenever we can."

He starts to walk off, but I dart in front of him to halt his stride.

"General, we won't be eliminating a threat. They'll kill or capture us. They'll have a general of the United as a bartering chip. We can't give them that leverage," I rebut, trying to force him to be reasonable.

"We're going, Ms. Banner. Now get in the damn car and do your fucking job," he snarls out, and he blurs away from me to start ushering everyone back into their vehicles.

"Are you sure about this?" Jase whispers.

"Positive. These are the scorpions, Jase. They'll fucking rip us to shreds with these numbers. There were just a few dozen of them back at that hidden base. We were lucky there weren't any gifted hybrids. I can smell hybrids right now, strong hybrids."

His jaw tenses, and he makes his way over to the general.

"General Marks, Sir. I think we should follow at a safe distance and call in reinforcements, Sir," Jase says very formally.

"I don't really give a damn what you think, Lieutenant. I'm not letting them get away."

"Sir, if we follow them, they won't get away. Aria can keep tracking, we can keep following, and then we can attack with more sufficient numbers."

General Marks seems to be losing his patience now.

"Get in the damn car, Lieutenant."

I told you he was too ambitious. He wants to get this win with our few numbers so it looks like a greater feat.

Jase grips his head as the general opens the door, and then he says, "Stop. This mission ends now."

Everyone, including me, gasps at the severe disobedience Jase exhibits.

Jase, don't. He could have you court-martialed.

"Have you completely lost your mind? Who the fuck do you think you are?" General Marks blares, his voice far too loud not to have been overheard by opposing forces.

Jase's lips tighten to a thin line, and then he looks back at me with his glowing eyes stained with hesitance before turning back to face the arrogant general.

"Commander Jason Ericson," he announces while pulling out his secret badge.

Everyone gasps in unison, all mouths gaping open and eyes widening in shock.

My heart hits the base of my stomach before regurgitating back up into my throat. I feel sick, betrayed, and so fucking stupid right now.

"Commander Ericson, Sir. I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

"I know, General, but you did realize this was too risky to resume, and still you wanted to persevere. Now you've forced me to come out, making it impossible to continue my field detail without jeopardizing the mission. We'll have to call in another team and hope they can catch the trail."

Everyone looks as shocked as I do, but no one feels the betrayal I'm suffering. I rip the door open to the car, and I hide my tears as he joins me.

"Aria, I'm sorry, baby. I wanted to tell you, but-"

"But what?" I bark.

"You weren't ready," he sighs, and suddenly the car turns around to drive past the convoy as everyone else turns around to join us.

My tears fall feverishly down my cheeks, my blue contacts dissolving to nothing against the acid of my tears.

"My mother, Uncle Brazen, Aunt Angelica, and Uncle Grayson all know your identity, and no one said anything?" I sob out. "How the hell do you trust my entire family with your secret, but not me? How do you fuck me without telling me something like this, you stupid, selfish son of a bitch. I trusted you with my secret!"

"No you didn't," he quickly interjects. "Your dad trusted me with your secret, not you. I couldn't tell you who I was because you fucking hated the commander. You thought him to be a coward."

I scoff, "Now I know I was right. Only a coward can tell a girl he loves her, but not trust her enough to tell her something like this because he's worried she'll get upset."

"Damn it, Aria. I was worried I'd fucking lose you. I love you, and -"

"Love me?" I cry out in interruption. "Bullshit. If you loved me, you would have told me before we fucked. You would have told me when you were reading my thoughts and knew I was falling in love. I would have fucking accepted it because I do love you. Knowing you only revealed your identity because you had to… Fuck you."

I rip the door free from the moving vehicle, and he slams on the brakes as I roll out of the car and jump to my feet. He follows me out, and all the cars stop to watch our pathetic drama roll out under the night sky.

I grab my darkest sunglasses out of my bag and pull them up to hide my violet eyes, since I won't be able to stop crying long enough to replace my contacts.

"Aria, please get back in the car and talk to me, baby."

"Stop calling me baby, Commander. I have nothing left to say to you, Commander, Sir. I'll ride back with someone else."

At least now I know why I was fucking grounded. He didn't want me catching on to his fucking secret. I'm so damn stupid!

"No, I grounded you to keep you safe," he quickly inserts, despite the fact the prying ears of our group never heard my part of that conversation.

I stop and slowly turn around to face him before walking to be within inches from his body as I whisper, "I've been hurt. I've been on the cusp of death before. I've felt the devil's breath on my neck, and I've never been so fucking destroyed as I am right now. The only thing you should have done to keep me safe was stay the fuck away from me."

My slicing words show no mercy as the pain pronounces itself in his teary eyes. I turn away, my mind racing with all the damn obvious signs to slap me in the face for my stupidity, and then I jump in the backseat of a random hummer.

No one says anything to me. No one even moves. The air in the vehicle is almost too stiff to breathe right now. It's so quiet you can hear the pieces of my heart falling and shattering one by one. I just stare out the window with my dark shades to keep my violet eyes a secret.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, but the music is turned up in time to drown it out. I don't feel like hearing the findings of the masked hybrid right now. Let the fucking scorpions take me. Nothing can hurt me as badly as Jase has tonight.