Tasha slid her tray down the line, selecting items from the buffet. She tried to be thoughtful of Fug’s time, especially now that she and Derrick were involved, and not have her waiting on her hand and foot every evening. She picked up her tray and turned, looking over the mess hall for an empty table. Sitting alone in a corner was Dan. He was eating, but she could tell something was bothering him.

When he’d slapped her down in her quarters, it had royally pissed her off. Over the next few days, that anger had mellowed, but she’d made it a point to not be overly friendly with him. If he wanted to be strictly professional, then she would give him what he wanted.

Then today, when Angela had put the moves on him, she’d seen that look again, a look that said he was seeing a ghost. She’d been thinking about it since. There was more to Sergeant Daniel Thames than that he was a woman-hating asshole, and her annoyance with him had diminished even more. At least now she knew it wasn’t only her.

As she thought about it, she realized that Rich and Thom were fucking every woman they could get to open their legs, and Derrick was giving Fug the hard one every chance they had. But Dan seemed to stand apart from that. It was pretty clear he didn’t have a problem with women, not in the traditional macho bullshit attitude way that said a woman’s place was in the home with her legs spread. But there was obviously something going on.

“Mind if I sit down?” He looked up and smiled before a chair slid magically out from the table as he pushed it with his foot. “Thanks,” she said as she sat.

“I’m surprised you even asked.”

“Why? Do we have a problem?”

He looked at her a moment. “No. Do we?”

She smiled as she began pushing her food around on her plate. “Not as far as I’m concerned. I thought you had a house here on base. Why are you here?”

He smiled slightly at her. “I do, but I didn’t feel like cooking.”

“I thought you looked a little down. You feeling okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He paused and held her eyes. “Sorry about the other day.”

She shrugged as she took a bite of her food. “No worries. I’m sorry for putting you on the spot.”

“Don’t be. I was flattered.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So why didn’t you take me up on the offer? I know you’re not married, and you haven’t mentioned anyone special.”

He stared at her a moment then looked at his plate. “It’s complicated.”

She decided to zing him and see how he reacted. “You’re not gay, are you? That would be a tragic waste.”

He stared at her a moment then realized she was teasing him and smiled. “No, not gay.”

“Holy shit! You’re not a virgin, are you? If you are, I promise to break you in easy.”

He chuckled. “No, not a virgin either.”

She watched him a moment. “So what’s up? Angela was practically panting over you today.”

“Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Anything I should know about?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, there might come a time when you’ll have to chat up a woman. I want to make sure you can do it.”

“Yeah, I can do it, but that’s really more Long’s game.”

“I’ve noticed. Did you know he and Fug were sleeping together?”

His eyes widened slightly. “No shit?”

“No shit.”

He paused a moment. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Why? What he does in his off-hours is none of my business, and frankly, none of yours, either. Why do you care? Is that the problem? You want Fug for yourself?”

“Of course not.”

“So why do you care?”

That haunted look came over his face again. “I don’t. Not really. But he needs to focus on the missions.”

“Dan…we’re not on a mission. Fug isn’t part of the team, so what difference does it make if Long is fucking her?”

He sighed. “None.”

“Do you have a problem with Gregg and Tesley bedding every woman they can get to spread their legs?” She watched him as he thought. She was putting it together. His hang-up wasn’t women, it was sex.

“No, I guess not,” he finally said.

“I’ll ask again. Is there something here I need to know?”

“No. I’ve got it under control.”

“I can see that, but what I’m asking is whether this…whatever this is…is going bite you or your team in the ass when you go into the field?”

“No. I said I have it under control.”

“And you can cozy up to a woman to get her to talk?”

“Yeah, if I have to.”

“Could you fuck her?”

“Is that likely to come up?”

She snickered. “Actually, no. I don’t think you’ll have to fuck some bitch so good that she’ll be begging to give you the launch codes. In real life, spies don’t spend the whole time jumping into bed with the enemy.” She paused as she watched his eyes. “But the question remains, could you do it?”

“Yeah, I could do it if it’s part of the mission.”

She nodded. “That’s all I need to hear.” She softened slightly. “If you need to talk, I can listen. Spies are good at that.”

He smiled a nice smile, warm and sincere. “Thanks.”

She nodded. “If you can’t talk to me, talk to one of the guys. I don’t know what’s eating you, but maybe talking about it will help.” He shook his head and she decided to drop it. “Have you been practicing your lifting skills?”

He smiled again, obviously relieved she was changing the subject. “When I can.”

“I hope so.”

“Why?”

“Because the next mission is going to be a doozy. You’re going to have to apply everything you’ve learned so far.”

“You’re not going to set us up again, are you?”

She grinned. “Nope. Want me to tell you what you have to do?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I want you to follow Fug for an entire day. Write down everything she does. I’ll ask her to do the same, then we’ll compare notes. If you lose her or she spots your team, you’re busted and you lose.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad.”

“You don’t know what I’m going to ask her to do,” she replied with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, hell.”

“Plus, I’ll give you a target at random, someone who’s never seen you but knows Fug. You’ll have to find him or her and drop something in his or her pocket or purse. They have to deliver it to Fug. If Fug doesn’t get it, you lose.”

“What’s up with using all these women?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, every rescue has been a woman.”

Tasha’s lips twisted into comic annoyance. “You’ve only done two live rescues.”

“Yeah, but they were both women.”

“The first time, Fug was convenient. I needed someone to go sit in the shade of an airplane for a couple of hours. I could have done it, but I wanted to watch you work. The second time, there was an ulterior motive.”

“Which was?”

“I wanted to see if you’d hit a woman. If I’d put a man in that room, I figured you have no problem trying to kick his ass. But a woman? There is a time for chivalry and a time to get dirty. This is an ugly business, and I wanted to make sure you were up for it.”

“How’d I do?”

“Great. I told Angela if she could keep you from taking her out of the house, I’d take her any place she wanted to go for dinner, on me. I wanted her motivated. Lucky for me, Rich ended up buying her a beer instead.”

“I think he had his own ulterior motive, rather than wanting to hear about the rescue.”

She giggled. “Yeah, I think so. He’s probably somewhere pounding the shit out of her right now.”

“Probably. So, will the others get that same surprise?”

“Yep, so keep what I told you to yourself. If they know it’s a test, it’ll skew the results.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

She smiled at him. “I’m glad we had this talk. It’s cleared the air a little.”

“Yeah, me too.”

She leaned in close across the table. “If you change your mind, I’m still willing to fuck you stupid, but I’m not pissed off at you anymore. Seeing you shoot down Angela today made me feel better. I’m glad to know it wasn’t only me.” She smiled at his bemused expression. “If not that, I’d like to take another crack at you on a run. I want to see if you beating me was a fluke. I even promise not to invite you into my shower.”

“I told you I was flattered that you did.”

“So you did.”

“I might even take you up on it if you offer again.”

She spluttered. “I’d be so lucky.”

She liked this Dan better. He was easy to talk to, fun to flirt with, and he was still as panty-wetting desirable as before. He seduced her without even trying, so he obviously had the people skills to pull pretty much any woman he wanted. Clearly, something had happened in his past, but so long as it didn’t endanger a mission, it was none of her business.

She had her own secrets, things that had happened she was still trying to deal with. Regrets were a bitch, and that was why she was still single with no prospects. She was more than willing to fuck the shit out of Dan, but she also knew the moment she started feeling close to him, she would turn into a raging bitch and drive him away, a pattern that had repeated itself more than once.

It was better this way. Enjoy a man for the pleasure he could give her, then move on before she began to have feelings. She wasn’t proud of the way she was, but she had accepted it, and most men didn’t complain. They were looking for the quick and easy fuck, just as she was. The problem was, she’d gone months without a man between her legs. She’d focused on getting these men trained, but lying in her empty bed at night, imagining Fug riding the hell out of Long, was twisting her up. Knowing Gregg and Tesley were getting sweaty most nights didn’t help either.

Then there was Dan. He was one of the most desirable men she’d ever met, and when she’d tried to get him to scratch her itch, he’d turned her down. Now that she knew it wasn’t her, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like woman, the allure of him had increased. Being a nosy bitch was part of what made her good at her job. She couldn’t stand not knowing a secret, and Dan’s secret was like catnip.

She shoved the thoughts aside. She had never thrown herself at a man, and she sure as shit wouldn’t start with Dan. She’d made her interest plain. The next move was up to him.

“I think I’ll be going,” she announced, sliding back.

If he was going to make a move, this was his opening. She gave him plenty of time, and she saw the desire within him flare, then get snuffed out like a flame. He was hurting, that much was clear.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, rising like the gentleman he was, but he didn’t offer to walk her home or give any indication he would try to take her to his bed.

“Tomorrow,” she replied before picking up her tray and moving away.

As she walked to her quarters, the mystery of Daniel Thames nagged at her. A love gone devastatingly wrong? Had a woman hurt him so badly he couldn’t give himself to another? The idea didn’t feel right. He hardly seemed like the kind of man who would hold such a grudge. No, there was more to him than that.

She settled into her quarters and watched Jessica Jones on Netflix. Since she didn’t have anything to distract her, she’d started working her way through the Marvel television shows at night. The scene where Jessica and Luke Cage were fucking so hard they broke the bed made her groan with desire. She’d like to try to break her bed with Dan.

She showered and tumbled into bed, but the thoughts of Dan continued to swirl. What had happened to him? She wondered if all he needed was a good hard fucking to break him out of whatever malaise he was in. She’d volunteered for that, if it was what he needed, but he would have to make the next move.

She recalled the run through the desert, his sculptured chest, muscular arms, and especially those goddamned six-pack abs glistening with sweat. She flooded with desire as in her imagination, Long and Tesley hadn’t joined them on their run. They pounded through the desert heat, his body glistening like an oiled Greek god. She was breathing hard and soaked with sweat when he’d grabbed her arm, dragging her to a stop before pulling her into a torrid kiss, their tongues darting and slithering.

Tasha moaned as her hand slid down her body to her womanhood, her fingers touching and stroking, her passions taking her as he began to strip her roughly in the desert. She was burning with desire, the Arizona sun no match for the heat that burned inside her, his every touch an explosion of pleasure as she unzipped his pants and snaked her hand inside. He was huge, his cock throbbing with his desire for her. She gripped him tightly, causing him to groan and bite her softly on the neck before he licked away the sting.

“Ah, fuck,” she moaned, her voice quiet as her fingers danced, pressing against her clit and causing her need to roar. “Fuck me,” she begged as she slid his pants down. He was perfect, standing in the Arizona heat with his enormous cock standing proudly erect as the sweat rolled off him in rivulets. “You fuck me so goddamn hard.”

He smiled, drawing her into another blistering kiss, sucking on her lips and tongue before leaving her mouth and kissing his way slowly down her body, his lips and tongue leaving behind a crackling trail of pleasure. As he lowered himself to the thick, clinging dust, his lips found her pussy.

Tasha flicked and stroked her clit as Dan’s mouth devastated her, his strong hands on her ass, holding her pussy to his skilled lips and tongue, preventing her from escaping pleasures she could scarcely contain. She moaned softly as in her imagination, her orgasm rolled over her, her body quivering as her dream became real. She groaned as she twitched and jerked, twisting her breast with her free hand as he continued to probe and pinch with lips and tongue.

She sighed as she came out from under her rapture, but her release wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. She plunged her finger into herself, stroking and touching as Dan’s huge cock plunged deep and hard. They were on the ground, the thick dust clinging to their sweat-soaked bodies and making their flesh slick. She wrapped her legs around his back and held him as he pounded into her, his strong arms wrapping her up as he took her lips.

“Fuck. I’m going to come,” Dan grunted as he drove into her with long, powerful strokes.

“Not yet,” she gasped, her fingers plunging furiously into herself, her orgasm rising within her. “Not yet. Keep fucking me.”

“I can’t hold it. You’re too good.”

“Not yet.”

Her hands slid over his sweat-soaked back, pulling him harder into her. Her orgasm hit her like a tsunami as Dan roared his completion, his body shaking with the power of his release, but still he fucked her as her climax stole her breath.

They relaxed together, their sighs mingling in the air between them as he kissed her sweetly and gently, on the lips. She smiled as she pulled her finger slowly from within her as his lips caressed her lips. She sighed again as the fantasy faded and she lay on the tangled sheets of her bed.

“Fuck… I needed that.”