Chapter five
Simon Riley
I shouldn't have kissed her.
I knew it the second our lips parted, when the weight of it hit me like a hammer to the chest. But now that I've had a taste, the damage is done. She's in my system. I can't scrub her out.
Problem is—warzones don't leave room for distractions. Especially not for a lieutenant and a medic who just crossed a very clear line.
She's avoiding me today. Smart girl. Doesn't speak unless she has to. Keeps her head down when I enter the room. Doesn't look at me during debrief. But I can still feel her.
She's always in the corner of my vision. Always in my head.
And I hate it.
After the briefing, I step outside into the dry evening air, the sky bleeding into a deep orange hue. Everything stinks—sweat, diesel, smoke—but somehow the silence out here is worse. It gives my thoughts room to scream.
"Something on your mind, Lieutenant?"
Her voice cuts through the haze.
I don't turn around. "Didn't think you wanted to talk to me."
"I didn't say that," she says. "I just didn't want to be talked at."
She moves to stand beside me, close enough that I catch the faint scent of her shampoo under the grime. Lavender. Doesn't belong here either.
"You're reckless," I mutter.
She scoffs. "You kissed me, remember?"
"I'm not talking about that." I glance at her. "You throw yourself into danger without thinking. You've got a death wish?"
Her jaw tightens. "I'm here to save lives. Yours included."
I step closer, letting the silence drag between us. "You shouldn't be here."
"You keep saying that," she snaps, "but I am here. I'm not some fragile thing that needs protecting."
"I know that," I growl. "But every time you walk into the field, I feel like I've got a knife to my throat. You make me forget what I'm supposed to be—cold, focused. Detached."
She's staring at me now. No fear. No hesitation. Just raw defiance.
"I don't want you to be detached," she says. "I want you to be real."
I shouldn't touch her again.
But I do.
One hand slips around her waist, the other cradling the back of her neck. This kiss is slower than the first—deeper. She melts into me, no more barriers. No more games.
When we pull back, her fingers rest on my chest like she's staking a claim. And maybe she is.
"I don't care about your rules," she whispers. "I'm not going anywhere."
I don't respond. I just hold her there for a second longer than I should, then pull away and nod toward the tent. "We've got a drop scheduled in four hours. Get some rest."
She doesn't argue.
But as she walks away, hips swaying just enough to taunt me, I realize something dangerous—
The girl I tried to keep at arm's length just became the one thing I'd kill to protect.
And if anyone touches her…
I'll burn the whole bloody world down.