Chapter Seven
Sienna watched the sunrise, and scanned the trees, even as her mind remained lost in her thoughts.
Theron had woken her during the night so they could switch shifts. She’d watched as the eastern rim of the ravine had slowly turned a faint pink, then orange, and then finally day had beaten back the night. He was asleep, sitting up and leaning against the rock wall behind her.
Right now, she didn’t even want to look at him.
I might play with good girls, but they don’t do it for me. His words had been echoing around in her head for hours. She was attracted to him, felt something deeper for him, but most of all, she wanted him to be happy. If she couldn’t make him happy…
She sighed. They all deserved to find some bright piece of shiny in this shitty world they had to call home. A part of her prayed that they would find a way to finally drive the Gizzida away, but another part of her knew what their odds were. And that meant they all needed to find some pleasure in the present—to help get them through…and perhaps because that was all the good they were going to get.
Dammit, she was melancholy this morning. It was time she turned her gaze away from Theron and let their relationship settle back into what they’d had.
Something made her glance up into the sky, and she caught a faint glimmer. A Hawk was incoming.
She turned around to wake Theron, and saw that he was already sitting up, eyes open and staring into the sky as well.
“Looks like our ride’s here.” Sienna stood, gathering their meager gear.
“Sienna—”
The low rumble of his voice scraped painfully over her skin. She shook her head. “No need to say anything, Big T. I heard you.” Loud and clear.
She strode out from under the overhang. She didn’t want to hear any excuses or apologies. She just wanted to get back to the Enclave and have a hot shower.
The Hawk hovered above the trees, and two zip lines dropped down to them. Sienna clipped one of them onto her belt. Moments later, she was zipping up toward the quadcopter, Theron right behind her. They both climbed aboard.
A blond head poked out from the cockpit. “Morning,” Finn Erickson said cheerfully. Then he raised a brow, clearly taking in their serious faces. “Rough night?”
“You could say that.” Sienna moved to one of the seats in the front row and dropped down, not looking at Theron. “We fought off raptors, fell down a cliff, bled everywhere, and spent the night outside.”
Finn winced. “Fair enough. Let’s get you home.” He ducked back into the cockpit.
She heard Theron settle in behind her, and then the Hawk was lifting up and banking left. She closed her eyes. Theron had drawn blood with his comments, and now she knew how he really felt.
It was a quiet trip back to the Enclave. Sienna managed to doze briefly, and before she knew it, they were lowering straight down through the retractable doors into the Hawk hangar bay.
She didn’t wait for Theron. Sienna leaped up and shoved the side door open. She jumped out, to find Roth waiting for them.
“Are you both okay?”
Sienna nodded. “Can’t wait for a shower and some decent food.”
Roth’s shrewd gaze switched from Sienna to Theron, and back again. “You sure?”
Sienna nodded. “Just scrapes. Everyone else is okay? You guys made it back in one piece?”
“Yeah. Still no word on the oura, though.”
Right at that moment, Sienna was too tired to care. “I’m going to check in with Medical. I’ll see you later.” She didn’t look at Theron as she strode out of the hangar bay.
Moving on autopilot, she stopped at Medical and let one of the nurses check her graze, then she headed back to her quarters.
She loved her room, and had made it as homey as she could. A while ago, she’d found a framed picture of the Rome skyline that she kept on the wall. In fact, there were a number of little knickknacks she’d collected. At first, picking things up while out on a mission had felt wrong. But now, she thought of it as a way to honor those who hadn’t made it. She had a cute little plush winged dragon, a beautiful carved statue of a ballerina, a set of candles she loved burning, and an action figure of some futuristic soldier from a game. His armor looked a lot like what the squad soldiers wore, and his tough face had reminded her of Theron.
She turned her attention away from her décor, and headed for her bathroom. She stripped off, and gratefully stepped under the hot water, thankful for the Enclave’s plentiful supply. She spent a long time letting the water beat down over her head. It helped her to not think of anything. To not think of the hot look in Theron’s eyes as he demanded she touch herself. The way he watched as she’d come…
I might play with good girls, but they don’t do it for me.
Ugh. She shut off the water, and toweled herself dry. How the hell was she supposed to grab some sleep now, when she knew she’d just see Theron in her dreams, watching as she touched herself. She’d just wrapped herself in a towel, when she heard the comm unit by her bed chime.
She hurried out and pressed a button. “Hello?”
“Heard you did some camping.”
The deep rumble with a touch of New Zealand in it made her smile. “Hi, Hemi. The camping was not by choice.”
“Can’t say I like the hard ground or field rations much, myself. Hey, you were down for teaching some of the teens climbing with me today. I’ll understand if you’re not up for it—”
It was just the distraction she needed. “No problem. Let me get dressed, and I’ll meet you in the gym.”
“You are a trooper, sweet thing. See you there.”
When Sienna strode into the gym, a group of teenagers were huddled by the climbing wall. Hemi was there, and should have looked menacing and intimidating, with his massive muscles and numerous tattoos. But the big guy was grinning, and some of the teens were joking with him. A couple of the girls were even eyeing his ass and giggling.
“Hi, Sienna.”
She stopped to smile at the young girl. Clare was a sixteen-year-old that Hell Squad had rescued from some underground train tunnels in the city. Sienna remembered that the girl had been painfully thin, and so timid when she’d arrived at Blue Mountain Base. But she’d started coming out of her shell since they’d arrived at the Enclave.
A boy of about the same age stepped up beside them. Leo was Clare’s best friend. They’d survived the tunnels together, and went everywhere together ever since. Leo had started to fill out, hinting at the man he was growing into.
“Hi, Clare. Hi, Leo.”
“You’ve been out on a mission?” Leo asked.
She nodded. “Yep. Theron and I had a small issue chasing down a raptor, and had to spend the night in the mountains.”
Clare smiled shyly. “I miss the mountains sometimes.”
“I know how you feel, Clare.” Sienna moved over to the climbing chalk and coated her hands. “Ready to do some climbing?”
Leo nodded. “Yes. I want to improve my skills. Hemi’s brother is giving me carbine lessons down at the firing range after this.”
“Tane?”
Leo shook his head. “Ah…no, he scares me a little. Manu.”
Sienna smiled. “Manu doesn’t scare you? He’s even bigger than Tane and Hemi.” And ran the firing range with an iron fist. He’d been a berserker, but had been injured on a mission and lost his leg. It had put him off the squad, but it didn’t keep the man down.
“Hemi and Manu are…less intense,” Leo finished. “And Theron’s been giving me boxing lessons. He’s a tough teacher.”
“He’s given me a few lessons, too,” Clare said. “He works with a few of the kids.”
That was Theron, spending time with these kids who’d lost everyone. “What’s with all the lessons?” Sienna asked.
Clare wrinkled her nose. “Leo wants to join the squads.”
Leo lifted his chin. “I know I’m not old enough, or had enough training. But one day. I want to help and I want to fight.”
Sienna squeezed the boy’s arm. “That’s honorable, Leo.” God, she sure as hell hoped they’d beat the Gizzida long before Leo was old enough to join a squad. She turned to face the group. “Okay, everyone. Time to warm up and get climbing. Let’s start with five laps around the gym.”
The room echoed with moans and groans, but the teens started jogging around the gym’s perimeter. It wasn’t long before she and Hemi had them all hooked up and climbing. She couldn’t believe that most of the teens were still pretty happy, full of smiles and jokes. Despite most of them having lost their families, despite everything they’d been through, they found some joy. Life still went on.
They were the perfect antidote to her bad mood. She corrected Clare’s form, helped another young boy, and called out some tips for those at the top of the wall.
When they all came back down to the bottom, she sent them back up again.
Sienna stood beside Hemi, eyeing his bearded face. No one would call him handsome, but the man exuded sex appeal in spades. He had his big, tattoo-covered arms crossed over his broad chest which was stretching his black T-shirt to the limit.
“Would you sleep with me?” she asked.
He made a choking noise and turned to look at her, his eyes bugging out. “What?”
“It’s a hypothetical question. I need a man’s opinion.”
He recovered his stride. “You sure it’s just hypothetical?” He waggled his eyebrows.
She arched one brow. “I know who you really want, Hemi, and it’s not me, but if you were unattached—”
“I am unattached.”
She snorted. “Okay, if you weren’t panting after a certain squad mate of mine.”
Hemi gave a single shake of his head. “Sweet thing, you’re a gorgeous, sexy woman. Whoever he is, he’s an idiot.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. “We can agree on that. On one hand, he thinks he’s protecting me and knows what’s best for me.” That just made her mad. “On the other…I know he wants me…but I don’t think he wants me enough.”
“Then he’s a huge idiot. You want me to beat him up?”
She smiled at Hemi, even though she felt sad. “He said I’m a good girl and wouldn’t…be enough for him.”
Hemi’s face hardened. “Okay, now I really am going to beat him up.”
She blew out a gusty sigh. “I guess it’s time to give up.”
She felt Hemi’s gaze on her. “If you want my advice, sounds like it’s time to play dirty.”
Sienna turned to face him. “Mac said I should be myself.”
Hemi snorted. “Bet Mac suggested you ‘talk’ and ‘communicate’.”
“Yes. That’s what adults generally do.”
Hemi snorted again. “It’s not what guys do. Guys can turn into idiots, especially when they think they’re doing the right thing. Talking and being fair don’t get you anywhere.”
Sienna turned it over in her head. “You sound awfully wise for a big, wild berserker.”
He smiled, that slash of white teeth turning his rugged face somewhere close to attractive. “I can be wild and rough. But I know what I want, and I’m not one to beat around the bush about it.” His grin morphed into a scowl. “Even when the woman I want keeps running scared in the opposite direction.”
Sienna turned back, keeping an eye on the kids. Cam wasn’t a coward, but she was running from Hemi. Something told Sienna that she should put her money on the determined berserker.
“You sure this guy is worth it?” Hemi asked.
“He’s one of the good guys, but…I just can’t keep throwing myself at him.”
“Sounds like you need to let your inner bad girl loose. I don’t think this idiot has seen all there is to Sienna Rossi.”
She watched Clare attacking the last half of the climb. She needed to talk to the girl about improving her upper body strength. But she turned Hemi’s words over in her head. There were things she wanted to explore. She did have an inner bad girl. And Theron definitely hadn’t seen all of her. Hell, she hadn’t seen all of her. Just thinking about what he’d told her he liked left her curious and excited.
Maybe she could do both. Maybe she could be herself, and play a little dirty with Theron.
Once the kids were back on the ground, they gave them a few more pointers and finished the training. Sienna waved goodbye to Hemi and hurried to her quarters. She grabbed a few things before heading to the Enclave kitchen.
As she entered, she nodded to a few of the staff. They were used to her using a little corner of the kitchen. She’d made herself at home in the Blue Mountain Base kitchen and had no problem doing the same at the Enclave. The small cooking unit in her quarters wasn’t powerful enough for most of the meals she liked to cook. She repaid them by leaving some extra pizza bases and sauces in the fridges.
She banged around collecting the ingredients she needed and clicking the oven on. She made a mean Italian-style pizza. A family recipe passed down through her mama’s family.
“What are you doing here?” a loud voice boomed.
Sienna spun and faced down the big, dark-skinned man bearing down on her. Chef had run the kitchen at Blue Mountain Base. Her gaze skated over the empty left sleeve of his shirt that was tucked up near his shoulder. He’d been injured in their escape from the mountains and was still grieving from the loss of his boyfriend. The wide easy smile was gone but she was pleased to see him finding a place in the Enclave kitchen.
Sienna quickly rolled out the pizza dough. “Pretty sure that’s obvious, Chef.”
He made a grunting sound. “Our food not good enough?”
“Your food is divine, but as my nonna used to say prendere per la gola.”
Chef gave her a long look. “I don’t speak eye-talian, girl.”
“It means to grab someone by the throat, but the closest English saying is the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
Chef’s dark eyes warmed. “Someone caught your eye.”
“Someone who is a stubborn idiot.” Sienna pulled out the hottest, spiciest salami they had, and when Chef saw it, he graced her with one of his smiles.
“Well, good luck, then.”
“Thanks.”
“I meant him, girl.” Without another word, Chef stomped off, bellowing at someone else across the kitchen.
She made her tomato sauce and found fresh basil that she knew had come from the Garden—an area open to the sun at the top of the escarpment. After she was done, she popped the pizza into the oven, and leaned back against the cupboards.
Something about cooking soothed her. She’d learned to cook by her mama’s side, and from her nonna, too. Neither of them could understand why, when she was so good at it, that she didn’t want to make a life of it. They’d been even more bemused when she’d joined the Coalition Army. Just one of those contradictions again. No one seemed to truly understand her.
Everyone else in the kitchen was busy, so she pulled out the pretty stationery she’d snagged from her room. Cam had given it to her as a gift. It was pink, and covered in white cherry blossoms. Sienna had spent some time putting some of her perfume on it so it smelled like lilies.
She picked up her favorite pen, thought of Theron, and started writing.
***
Theron’s knuckles were bleeding under his tape, but he ignored the pain and kept hitting the punching bag suspended from the ceiling in his quarters. It was the first thing he’d put in when they’d moved to the Enclave. Sweat poured down his face and chest. He’d been at it for an hour and a half. He was not going to think of her.
Or how she looked, touching herself. Or the little noises she made when she came.
Fuck. He hit the bag harder. Soon, his lungs were burning as he pushed himself close to his very limits. He’d always loved boxing. His dad had been into it, and had taught him. While the two of them had been beating each other up, his mom had been a runner. He still remembered her coming home from a run, cheeks flushed, a smile on her face. He wished he could just remember her like that, and not as a burnt, black corpse. He walloped the bag again, reveling in the pain and the way it served as a distraction. Boxing had always been an escape for him.
But he was finding no escape today.
Once again, he heard Sienna’s breathy cries in his ears.
Fucking hell. He slammed his shoulder against the bag, and set it swinging. He mopped his face with a towel, then dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups, air sawing out of him as he did. He wondered what his parents would have thought of Sienna. He snorted. He already knew they would have taken one look at her and loved her.
His arms were burning when the smell of pizza hit him.
Theron paused, chest touching the floor, and glanced at his door. Only one person made pizza that smelled that good. Then he spotted a slip of paper that had been shoved under his door.
Getting up, he strode over and yanked open the door. The hallway was deserted. Fighting back a shot of disappointment, he spied a pizza box on the ground. With a frown, he leaned down and snatched up both the folded piece of paper and the pizza. He dropped the box on his kitchen counter top and flipped it open. Salami, basil and cheese—his favorite. She always kept it simple.
He lifted the piece of paper up, and instantly the scent of it hit him. Sienna. He grabbed a slice of pizza and bit into it. Heat exploded. Damn, it was spicy.
He stared at the loopy writing on the paper and read.
Theron,
My mama always used to tell me il meglio ricolga il peggio. That means bad is the best choice. She told me that I’d understand one day, and now I do.
I hope you enjoy the pizza. I made it extra hot and spicy, which is just how I like my pizza. I know everyone likes to say I’m sweet, but that’s only one part of me.
I think of you. Not only your fierce determination when we head into a fight, or the time I know you spend teaching the Enclave kids to box, or the quiet, watchful, and steady core you have.
I have this fantasy of us in a darkened room. You have both of my wrists tied behind my back and you force me to my knees in front of you. You take out that big cock of yours and you tell me to get it hard. Tell me to suck it.
I love it. I love your deep voice and I love watching your reaction when I suck you deep. I love seeing how I make you feel.
I wanted you to know that there are parts of me I want to explore and delve into. Parts I need a man, the right man, to help me explore.
Sienna
He dropped the pizza back in the box, the spice still burning his lips. Dammit to hell. But the stinging in his mouth was nothing compared to the images now burned into his brain.
Theron turned, pressing his hands to the back of his neck. His skin felt hot and tight. He stripped off his workout gear and stood there, naked, arms at his sides as he waited for the ventilation to cool him off.
He had to get Sienna out of his head, and he didn’t know how.
But his blood was pumping thickly, making his cock rock hard. He dropped onto the bed. It was far too easy to imagine Sienna kneeling between his legs, just as she’d described. Those glorious curls of hers spilling around her bare shoulders. Her wrists tied at the sweet curve of her lower back. Her lips stretching wide as he fed her his cock.
With a groan, he dropped his hand down, stroking himself.
A new memory popped into his head. Of the Christmas party, when he’d come back to his room and stroked himself while thinking of her.
Now, he knew she’d been watching him from the door. Now, he knew that her panties would have been wet, her breathing coming hard and fast as she watched him.
Theron’s orgasm ripped through him, and he groaned as he came.
He flopped back on the bed. He didn’t feel any better or more relaxed. The orgasm had barely taken the edge off.
There was only one thing that could make him feel better. One woman.
His comm unit pinged, and, his jaw tight, he thumped his fist against it. “What?”
“We have intel on the oura,” Roth said. “Our mission is a go.”