A few days had passed since the kiss in the hallway. Casual conversation happened between Andria and Jax, but it was nothing more than question/answer sessions and weather chats.

She sighed as she picked at her breakfast at the breakfast nook table. Jax sat across from her reading the news and sipping his coffee. She sat the fork down and cleared her throat.

He looked up at her and sat the paper down.

“Can we talk?” She folded her hands in her lap and sat straight. “I feel like we need to clear the air between us.”

“Sure,” he started and moved his cup away. “Let me start?”

She hadn’t expected that, so she nodded.

“Right,” he said and cleared his throat. “Look, this is how it is. I’m here to do a job. The job is to keep you safe at all times. It’s what you’re paying us for.”

She did not like his matter-of-fact statement, but nodded for him to continue.

“But Andria, I won’t lie. You are a very beautiful, very sexy woman. If this were any other situation or circumstance, we would not have stopped the kiss in the hallway.”

She blushed and her mouth opened. She had this speech planned about how it was a mistake to have kissed him, and apologize. But this? This was not expected. She could only stare at him.

He lifted his brow and chuckled. “Andria?”

“Umm,” she said and pulled her hair behind her ears. She turned to the side on her stool and was still at a loss for words. She nodded and stood from her seat. “I need to, umm, get dressed.” She walked by him and she gasped when he grabbed her arm.

“Look, I’m sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable, but I promise, I will not slip up again.”

She held her breath for a moment, then pulled on the bravery deep inside herself. She exhaled and turned to face him. “What if I want you to?” Shit, did she just say that? His eyes widened and he let her go.

She walked out of the room as fast as her feet could carry her. Shit, she really did say that.

Crap!

She closed her bedroom door and leaned against it with her palms.

What the fuck do I do now? Go out there and say just kidding? Crap!

She pushed off the door with a sigh and decided to get dressed. Pulling on a white button-down blouse, denim jeans, and white wedge sandals, she went to her bathroom to brush her hair and braided it. She smeared on lip gloss and applied mascara to her lashes.

Pushing on her sunglasses, she could at least avoid eye contact with Jax. She jumped at a knock on her door.

Crap!

Walking to her door felt like walking the Green Mile. She grasped the handle and held it, then with a deep breath, turned it and opened the door.

Jax leaned on the frame and raised a brow to her. “You meant that?”

“What?” she asked and tried to act as casually as she could. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. She looked to him, then to the floor.

“You know what,” he said in the sexiest tone.

He melted her and her panties. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel his body against hers, naked, in her bed, in the shower, anywhere.

She looked up and nodded. “Yes, I did.”

He grinned a sexy as hell, lopsided grin. “Good. That’s what I thought.” He turned away from her and left her space.

Her mouth dropped open from the abruptness. “Excuse me?”

“What?” he answered and stepped back. “Changing your mind?”

“No, but…”

“No buts. I just wanted to know. Now get yourself ready to roll. I’m taking you to learn how to fire a weapon.”

The blood drained from her face at the news. They would be back on base at Quantico. She would hold a firearm. She would fire it. She had never fired a weapon before beyond Nerf toys. Maybe they would do more self-defense training.

The idea of self-defense didn’t sound so bad. Maybe the weapons training wouldn’t be either. He would probably stand behind her, put his arms around her to show her how to hold the gun. Maybe all of that didn’t sound so awful.

She smiled and left her room. “Let me grab my purse.”

* * *

Arriving on the training base, Jax escorted Andria inside. She looked at her surroundings, taken aback having never been to a gun range. The place was quite organized, clean, and air conditioned. To their left was a desk with someone checking people in and out. Jax stepped over and signed them in. To her right was an open area with weapons taken apart and a few people learning how to put them back together. In front of her, in the distance, was a guarded room.

She leaned in to Jax. “What’s down there?”

He grinned. “That’s the weapons room. In there, we’ll get you fitted for what would work best for you. My guess is a revolver.”

“Revolver. Isn’t that the gun with the trigger you pull back and squeeze to fire?”

He nodded. “Something like that. Right concept, wrong wording, but no worries. You’ll learn a lot today on gun safety, handling, and firing.”

“I’ll learn even about firing? Isn’t it as easy as pulling the thing back?”

“The trigger?” he asked. She nodded. “Yes and no. You only ever point a gun at someone with the intent to shoot them.”

She raised her brows. “Wow, okay. I hope it never comes to that.”

“Always better to pack and not need than to need it and be empty.

He took her hand and led her through the room. She smiled at this.

It’s nothing, Andria. Just a simple gesture to lead you through the room, nothing more. Just breathe and smile. Be into this and learn what you can.

“What can we do for you today?” asked one of the guards by the weapons room.

Andria peeked around the man and took in the weapons in the room. From what she could see at this distance, the wall in view was nothing but guns.

“…and we’re here to learn how to fire and fit her for what works for her handling,” Jax said.

She missed the first part of the conversation, but nodded with a smile at the intent of gun learning.

“Have you handled anything before?” the man asked.

She shook her head. “No, this is all new to me.”

“I think we should go right to the revolver then. We have ones with hammers and ones without.”

“Let’s try both,” Jax told him and looked to Andria. “Sound good?”

She shrugged. “I…yeah, sure.”

He chuckled. “It’s okay. I’ll have your back through all of this. Right on the other side of the door is the firing range.”

“Okay,” she said in a small voice. Jax led her into the weapons room and she gasped. This room was no room, it was a fortress. Guns from small sizes to extremely large were lined up along the walls. There were no gaps, no windows, nothing but guns.

She swallowed hard and felt frightened. She stepped closer to Jax and slipped her hand around his inner elbow. She squeezed and felt the panic that rose subside.

“Are you all right?” he whispered to her.

She looked up into his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes. She held his gaze for a moment before answering. With a nod, she released the pressure on his arm. “Yes,” she whispered. “Just a lot to take in.”

He grinned. “Nothing in here is loaded, not until we venture outside.”

She nodded once more. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

Andria palmed the hammerless revolver. It was brushed silver, black rubber-like grip, and lightweight. She could use this gun.

After the instructions she received on the weapon, she pushed the release button and the barrel opened. She approached the table and picked up the ammo. One by one, she loaded the barrel, then closed it with a click.

She looked up to Jax. “Will you help me line up the first shot?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

Andria smiled and lowered her gaze, then turned to face the target down the firing range. A white sheet hung with a red outline on it.

He stood beside her and took her weapon. She watched him check the safety. “You can hold your gun one of two ways. First is the Weaver stance.” His right hand covered his left with the finger over the trigger. His thumbs sat one over the other. “The second is the cross stance.” He interlaced his fingers with his finger over the trigger. “Both are held in a similar way and will work. Use what is most comfortable for you.”

He handed the gun back to her. She palmed it in her right hand, her finger next to the trigger. She supported the gun with her left and looked to Jax. “Like this?”

“Yeah, that’s good. Now turn and face the target. Safety still on?”

She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“Good. Raise your arms shoulder level. Your left arm will be slightly bent more than the right.”

She nodded and held the weapon out. She smiled, she couldn’t help herself. She held power in her hands and she felt liberated. She felt empowered.

“You need to get your stance right.”

She felt his hands on her shoulders. She smiled when fear did not escalate, nor panic. She grinned and looked back at him.

“No, keep looking straight ahead.”

She turned back, a smile still on her lips. He pressed his body close to hers and felt his foot kick between her legs.

“I, umm, need you to spread your legs a little to support yourself.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, then nodded. She felt his hands on her shoulders slide down to her biceps, then to her elbows, down her forearms. Heat rose in her body and she exhaled a breath.

“When you’re ready,” he whispered by her ear, “turn off the safety. Line up the sight and fire. I’ll be right here. I’m not moving or letting go.”

She inhaled a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. She felt for the safety and flipped it off.

“There may be a kick back when firing,” he whispered.

She nodded, but had no idea what he meant by kick back. At the end of her breath, she closed one eye and lined up the shot. The sounds around her became quiet. She felt the breeze outside, felt Jax against her, but nothing else.

She slid her finger over the trigger, then gave it a pull.

Her arms jerked up and her body pushed back into Jax. Her eyes wide, she laughed. “Oh my God, that was incredible! Wow, and loud!”

He chuckled and moved his hands to her shoulders. “Well done. I think you hit the target as well.”

“Really?” she squealed.

He smiled. “Come on, do a few more rounds. Then we’ll see how you did.”

She grinned and turned back toward the target. She felt his presence again behind her, his arms around her, and she smiled. She raised the run and lined up her target, and fired.