Luke stood and she followed suit, getting ready to salute him, the way she would any other superior officer, but he extended his hand and she automatically took it.
“We wear civilian clothes to shed the army way. No saluting. From now on, we’re colleagues, perhaps even friends.”
She looked into his ocean blue eyes. I can’t be friends with you. That would be dangerous. Her career couldn’t withstand one more rumor of an improper relationship with a superior officer.
THREE DAYS INTO the unit and Alessa didn’t know whether she’d made the best or worst decision of her army career. Now that she had to do things the un-army way, the logistics job was much harder than she’d expected. It was easy to click through some databases and fill out paperwork, but a whole other task to rely on general internet searches and online contacts to set up the most basic arrangements. There wasn’t exactly an Expedia for safe houses and covert air transportation.
It was a challenge she welcomed, but it also left her little time to train with the team. She’d been stuck behind a desk for the better part of three days. The guys stopped by to see her and that made it even harder. They were kindhearted men who genuinely respected her, and no matter how many times she told herself she would prove them innocent, she felt disingenuous in her attempts to bond.
Tapping at the keys, she reconfirmed yet another one of the details for the team’s upcoming trip. Every logistic mattered. They were going into unfriendly territory without the cover of the army. If she overlooked even one minor point, she could jeopardize the team’s safety.
“You’ve been sitting behind a desk way too long.”
Alessa turned to find Luke leaning over her shoulder. He smelled of soap and coffee and looked entirely too fresh for the late afternoon.
“You’re right. Want to give me a field designation and hire someone else for logistics?” She was surprised that she managed to make her voice sound normal despite the fact that her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.
He eyed her monitor, then placed his hand over hers on the computer mouse and clicked to see the itinerary she’d been working on. He moved his hand before she could snatch back her own. She had barely processed the invasion when he pointed to the document he’d pulled up and asked her about their travel plans.
She answered his questions, miraculously focusing on the content of the inquiry and not on the lack of personal space between them. The heat from his body made her shift in her seat. This mission was too important for her to be distracted, and Luke was a superior officer. Pull yourself together, Parrino.
He pointed out some issues in her plans and she bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. Luke wasn’t wrong; he was catching some fine points she should have thought about.
“It’s a good start. Keep at it and you’ll get it,” he said encouragingly. Alessa nodded blandly but all she wanted to do was pull her hair out. With the things he’d pointed out, she still had a lot of work ahead of her, which meant she’d be behind the desk for a while. At least in Kuwait she got to go out on patrol once a day even when she was on primary desk duty.
“Why don’t you take a break and come do some exercises with the team? We’re in the pit.”
If Luke hadn’t been standing so close, she would’ve jumped up immediately.
“Thank you, I’d like that,” she said serenely.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched involuntarily. He immediately pulled back. She stood and followed him across the warehouse, but he stopped before reaching the pit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to touch... I mean...” He took a breath and she shuffled on her feet. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said finally.
“I like boundaries,” she said simply. Alessa shouldn’t have been bothered by his proximity. Personal space was a luxury you didn’t get in battle. She was used to the closeness of men, riding in trucks, staying in tight quarters. She and Luke were an officer and a soldier, nothing more. She wouldn’t have bristled if Rodgers had put a hand on her shoulder. She’d had full body contact with Rodgers when they were fighting and hardly noticed. In fact, she’d seen all of the team, minus Luke, in various stages of undress and it hadn’t bothered her at all. All the more reason to keep my distance from him. The last thing she needed was another Aidan situation.
When they stepped into the pit, Luke divided everyone into teams and paired Alessa with Steele. They would be practicing close-quarters combat. Alessa and Steele were the first team, so she only had a few minutes to warm up. Each pair would fight in the pit while everyone else watched from the outside to give them tips afterward. It felt like being in a fishbowl, but that was also part of the training. To focus on the fight despite distractions. She got into the exercise with gusto. It felt good to get rid of her pent-up energy and she quickly had Steele on the ground.
“Told you, man, she’s small but mighty.” Rodgers said in a gloating tone as they stepped out of the Plexiglas cube so the next team could take a turn.
“Okay, I want each of you to figure out how your partner got the better of you, then switch partners. It’s important to know your own weakness, acknowledge what your partner exploited,” Luke instructed. The guys had told Alessa that unlike Ethan, Luke spent a lot of time in running exercises himself.
They worked at the exercise for the better part of two hours until Alessa had pretty much kicked all of the men to the ground.
“C’mon guys,” Luke yelled. “I want at least one of you to find Parrino’s weak spot. Get inside her head.”
“She’s made of titanium,” Dimples quipped, his characteristic smile lopsided as he grabbed the side of his head that Alessa had slammed into the wall.
“Everyone has a weak spot, guys, and you need to find hers,” Luke said firmly.
“Oh, yeah? If you think it’s that easy, why don’t you do it?” Rodgers shot back. Alessa sensed that Rodgers had been a little hesitant on their second fight and she’d told him his fear was what made him an easy target. He’d been afraid of her based on their previous encounter, which made him tentative, and that hesitation would be the death of him in a real combat situation. She didn’t have the strength that the men did, so she got the better of them through lightning-fast moves.
“Yeah, Lieutenant, why don’t you show us grunts how it’s done,” Dimples jeered.
Alessa looked at Luke and smiled at the panic evident in his eyes. It would be fun to kick his rear end to the ground, put him in his place. She cracked her knuckles.
“What, you afraid to get whooped by a girl?” she taunted.
He narrowed his eyes, then gestured to Alessa. Luke stepped onto the rubber mat and held the door while Alessa stepped across the threshold, unable to contain the smirk on her face. Luke closed the door behind him.
He stepped toward her. The guys wouldn’t be able to hear them with the door closed but he kept his voice low.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
Of course not. Her stomach fluttered as she studied the stormy blues of his eyes. Fighting with someone meant close body contact. His proximity at the computer had been enough to supercharge her senses. Was she really ready for that again? He raised his brows, giving her a way out. All she had to say was no. She wasn’t required to do this training. After all, she was only the logistics person. Fighting him was a bad idea. A very bad idea.
“It’s on,” she said, chin raised.
His eyes darkened and he stepped back from her, his jaw set. There were no rules in this exercise. The idea was to take down your opponent by