RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
AN EROTIC SHORT STORY
BY
LORIBELLE HUNT
*****
PUBLISHED BY:
Loribelle Hunt
Rules of Engagement by Loribelle Hunt
Copyright 2012 Loribelle Hunt
Smashwords Edition
Discover other titles by Loribelle Hunt at http://www.loribellehunt.com/.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Chapter One
“Hooah,” Sergeant First Class Janey Foster whispered. “Talk about being all you can be.”
“Roger that.”
Janey spared a quick grin at her friend, Maureen, before turning back to the field where a platoon was doing physical fitness training. PT, to the initiated. Which she was. She closed her mouth with a snap. It wasn’t as if she didn’t do PT every day with her own company. But none of them looked quite like these guys. Or maybe they did, and she just hadn’t noticed. They were her friends, her co-workers, her subordinates. It wouldn’t be appropriate to lust over them. The Army had very clear rules on fraternization, after all. Besides, her company didn’t do PT in the middle of the afternoon, in the baking sun, shirtless, sweaty, and in ACU bottoms and boots.
She raked the tallest one with an admiring gaze. He faced away from her, leading the formation. She figured him for the platoon sergeant. His back was broad and strong, his torso forming a perfect V down to a narrow waist. And that ass. Small and tight, made for grabbing. She wondered what he looked like from the front and stopped the half-formed wish that he’d turn around.
Frowning, she turned away and strode toward the building dispatch had sent them to. It had obviously been too long since she’d had sex if she was lusting over a stranger. Maybe she should do something about that. Tomorrow was the beginning of her three-day rotation off. A night out with the girls was just what she needed. Getting laid would be an added bonus.
They were halfway to the building when she heard the formation being dismissed, and she couldn’t help stopping and turning. Drooling. The platoon sergeant was jogging toward them, and she steeled herself against the sight of him up close, against the sound of his voice. That voice had been so commanding, so sure. Such a turn-on. The closer he came to her, the better the view became. The front was just as incredible as the back. Chiseled abs, hard, defined pecs and a face no one would turn away the morning after. He wore confidence like a glove, and everything about him screamed alpha.
He was watching her as he approached and grinned when he stopped in front of them, appreciation gleaming in his eyes. Her stomach fluttered, and she tried like hell to ignore it. That was not personal interest. She cleaned up fine, but in ACU’s, wearing the bulky vest and pistol belt that identified her as military police better than the small tab on the side of her sleeve, she was hardly a knockout. She met his eyes with a cool gaze of her own, reminding herself she was on duty and all business, but her mouth was dry, and those damned butterflies were persistent. No one spoke for several seconds. He broke the silence.
“Can I help you ladies?”
Maureen answered. Good thing, since Janey wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet just hearing his voice.
“I’m Sergeant Jackson. This is my duty officer, Sergeant Foster. We’re looking for Captain Tucker.”
His smile broadened. “You found him. Let’s go inside.”
He turned and led the way. Janey hung back, trying to get a grip on her libido. As an officer, he was off limits. That wasn’t technically true, since he wasn’t in her chain of command, but it went against her personal rules. She’d broken them once and had an obsessive, asshole ex-husband to show for it. Her eyes narrowed on his back. This guy seemed to be made of the same cloth. Definitely off limits, Janey.
The problem was as much as she repeated it to herself, her body stayed revved up, hyper aware of his every move as he pulled a door open and waited for them to precede him into the cool interior of his company headquarters. She shouldn’t have tagged along on this call, didn’t need to be here unless one of her MPs requested assistance or a major crime had been committed. But she’d had a boring week and was curious about what kind of case warranted dispatch sending out the patrol supervisor. She let Maureen take the lead.
“So what’s the problem, sir?”
He looked at both of them, arching a brow and making a show of noticing the differences in their rank, the E-5 taking control while the E-7 stood silent, but instead of explaining the situation to him, Janey stayed quiet, waiting. Finally, he jerked his head over his shoulder and said, “Follow me.”
They walked through the building and out a back door into another parking lot. She immediately saw the problem. Maureen circled the car, a vintage convertible Corvette.
“Yours?” Janey asked.
“Yeah.” He stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage.
“Someone’s really got it in for you, sir,” Maureen muttered.
That was an understatement. Janey could see it had been an awesome car. Before someone took a couple of cans of spray paint to it.
“Piss anyone off lately?” she asked.
She could so see him doing that. He frowned at her, his expression making it clear he didn’t approve of… What? The person who trashed his car? Her? Her questioning him? Pushy women? She didn’t care. He wasn’t anything to her, no matter how attractive she found him.
“No more than usual.”
She had no idea how to respond to that, bit back a laugh and just nodded, turning to Maureen.
“Call CID. See if they want it. If not, hand it over to MPI and start questioning the area units.” She reached for the radio mike clipped to her shoulder. “I’ll get a couple of patrols out here to help out.”
The other woman nodded, already dialing her phone, and Janey turned to leave. There was no reason for her to stick around. If she did, she’d just spend her time salivating over a tall, dark, and broody man who was no concern of hers. He didn’t seem to notice her leaving, but caught up with her out front before she could get back in her car.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
She arched an eyebrow at the demanding tone in his voice, and the one in her head responded run, Janey, run.
“I’m the duty officer. I supervise. I don’t do cases.” She nodded her head at the building. “Sergeant Jackson and MPI will take care of this for you.”
Word had already come from dispatch to expect the Military Police Investigator, and there were more patrols en route.
“Oh.” He took a deep breath, and she ignored the way his chest filled out even more. Thank you, God, he’d put on a shirt, and she didn’t have to watch all that smooth skin in motion. “So you’re done here. What are you doing tonight? Have dinner with me.”
She blinked and struggled for words. She was tempted. Too damned tempted, and that would break her number one rule. No dating officers. Also her number two rule. No dating Air Assault. And probably her third rule. No sex on the first date. She shook her head.
“Sorry. I can’t.”
“Tomorrow,” he pushed, and she had to smile at his persistence.
“No. I’m afraid not.”
He looked at her hands. “Are you married?”
“No.”
“Living with someone? Involved with someone?”
“No,” she answered, fighting another grin. Did he ever give up? And why did she like that so much?
“Then what’s the problem?” He smiled a crooked, sexy little grin that she would’ve bet got him most women he threw it at. She almost sighed when she saw it. Instead, she opened the door to her car.
“I don’t date officers. Or men who jump out of helicopters for a living.”
“Technically, we rappel.”
She shrugged, feigning indifference. “Same thing, really.”
He cocked an eyebrow obviously not agreeing but getting back on subject. “Never?”
“Never.”
“Well, then. It was nice meeting you.”
He stepped back as she got in the car and started it, but he didn’t go inside. As she pulled out of the parking space and drove toward the exit, she met his gaze in the rearview mirror. The confident, sexy smile was back, and he gave her a two-fingered salute against his forehead. She sighed, afraid she wasn’t seeing the last of Captain Tucker, and was damned certain she wouldn’t be able to resist him a second time around.
* * * * *
The next evening she entered the club ready for a drink. She’d spent a restless night in erotic dreams of Captain Tucker and had awakened keyed up and unfulfilled. She squinted in the gloominess, letting her eyes adjust while she searched out Maureen and Tina. Threading her way through the crowd, she spotted them at a table near the back corner of the dance floor and groaned. Bad spot for sightseeing. She slid into a vacant chair and picked up the Coors Light they’d ordered for her, tipping it back for a long swallow.
“Are we hiding?” she asked when she set it down.
Maureen grinned and shook her head. “Admiring the gold.”
Gold. Their code word for officer—off limits! Lovely to watch, but not available. She looked around, wondering who he was, and her gaze clashed with Tucker’s a few tables over from them. He was sitting with a group of friends and paused in his conversation long enough to lift his beer in salute. She nodded in response and turned back to her table, suddenly trembling as she remembered the eroticism of that damned dream. She wondered if he was as skillful, as dominant, in real life. If he would command her response in reality like his dream self had done? She squeezed her eyes shut. No, don’t go there.
Maureen leaned over and gripped her hand. “Hey, you okay?”
She forced a smile she didn’t feel. “Just peachy.”
Looking over her shoulder again, she met Tucker’s gaze and wondered if his attention explained the prickly feeling on the back of her neck. She had to get out of there.
“You know, I don’t think I’m up for this tonight. I think I’ll just go home and veg in front of the TV.”
They protested, but she was insistent and escaped in haste. Outside, the voice she’d been dreading and longing for stopped her.
“Running away?”
Reluctant to face him, she turned around in slow increments. He leaned against a lamp post with his arms crossed over his chest, and she tried to ignore the way her heart pounded when he looked her over with a possessive gleam in his gaze. He slowly straightened and approached, as if afraid she’d bolt. She was half tempted to, but the hot, dominant look in his eyes froze her in place, and not in a scary way. Her insides quivered, and lust surged through her veins.
“No.” She forced herself to answer, trying to inject confidence in her voice but failing miserably. She heard the tremble, the uncertainty in it, and so did he, she was sure. He stopped in front of her and lifted his hand, rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. She swallowed through a dry throat. “I’m not up for a party tonight. I’m just going to go home to bed.”
His nostrils flared, pupils widened. She could have kicked herself. It definitely wasn’t the right thing to say. Would he take it as an invitation? Was it an invitation? His hand moved to cup the side of her neck, his fingers stroking soft circles that made her toes curl in anticipation.
“Alone?” he asked.
“Yes.”
She clenched her jaw, ignoring the breathiness, the invitation in her voice. He leaned in, his mouth connecting to hers in the barest brush, the lightest graze. Longing for more, she titled her head and opened her lips under his. Her tongue darted out to trace the corners of his mouth. He groaned, and the hand on her neck tightened convulsively before he hauled her up hard against him. His other hand pressed against the small of her back, forcing her closer. He ground an impressive erection against her stomach. Ready and raring to go.
She reached up to grip his shoulders, holding him close, and angled her face to intensify the kiss. Her tongue pushed into his mouth, meeting his, and he seemed to snap. He took control, inhaled her, commanded her. She ground her pelvis against his and wished he’d reach for her aching nipples. Abruptly, he broke away and put a few feet between them. She felt the loss like a punch in the gut and took a step toward him, but he shook his head, warning her off.
“Not in the parking lot.”
Horrified, she looked around. She’d been all over him, a stranger, where anyone could see. Hell, she didn’t even know his first name!
“Come on. My truck’s over here. Let’s go home, baby.”
He held his hand out to her. She looked at it as if it were a snake, ready to strike, dismayed at how tempted she was.
“No.” She shook her head to emphasize the point. “I don’t even know your name. I don’t do this kind of thing. And you…” She groped for another excuse. “Jump out of helicopters for living.”
He grinned. “Well, at least we’re past the officer objection. And it’s not really jumping remember? It’s rappelling.”
That mouth did something to her—even when it wasn’t doing anything to her. Could she say no? Did she want to say no?
“And it’s Jake.”
He stepped closer to her, lifting his hand and grazing his knuckles down the side of her face. She wasn’t sure if it was the feather-soft contact or the carnal look in his eyes that made her knees knock, but she knew she wasn’t saying no. She’d never felt an attraction like this before, and she wanted like hell to explore it. She wondered if she was crazy, but she was pretty sure the Army wasn’t currently employing any axe murderers, and took a deep breath.
Unfortunately, that made things worse, lifting her breasts to brush against his chest and pulling his scent deep into her lungs. He smelled so good she did it again, trying to figure out what it was in the mix that was sexy and comforting at the same time. Masculine, musky, a hint of after-shave. She leaned forward, resting her lips on his neck, and swirled her tongue over his skin, wondering if he tasted as good as he smelled. He moaned and gripped her hips, holding her in place while she continued the exploration with her tongue, learning his skin, the taste and feel.