8 Mile & Rion by K.S. Adkins Page A

would bring him back to me. Seconds went by and though he didn’t move he didn’t respond either.
    “Loyal,” I whisper to his ear after kissing his cheek and pressing mine to his. “It’s me. I’m okay. Look at me, Loyal.”
    The moment his eyes cleared and focused on me was one I would remember for the rest of my life. Because in those precious seconds, I saw the real him. He was scared, he was in combat mode, he was a warrior and no matter what it took to make it happen, he was going to be mine.
    “Under fire,” he says looking panicked, but I squeeze him tighter.
    “We’re not under fire, we’re playing airsoft with pellets and we’re okay. It’s just a game, Marine. It’s just a game.”
    When the panic left him he sunk further into me. When the reality of what he’d done hit him, I saw embarrassment cross his face. I knew I needed to make this better for him so I tried my best to do so. “You saved me,” I tell him. “You still got it, Marine.”
    He blinks but stays silent, still unmoving. I hear Pagan call ‘game’ so we needed to get up and get moving. “Game’s over,” I tell him kissing his lips. “We won, the castle wasn’t breached. Let’s go grab some lunch, okay?”
    “Did I hurt you?” he asks quietly with his eyes never leaving mine.
    “No, you didn’t hurt me,” I tell him honestly. “But if you like me on my back we can play cops and robbers at the house later.”
    “I thought it was---”
    “I know,” I tell him softly. “You protected me, Loyal. Thank you.”
    Moving off of me he stands up looking around seeing the castle and the woods for what it truly was. A game. “Fuck,” he mutters, offering me a hand. “You play. I’ll go wait in the car, I don’t belong out here.”
    I can’t let him quit. He’d hate himself for it later so I up the stakes a bit. “Then where do you belong?”
    “In the dessert, the ocean or---”
    “Last time I checked I have someone gunning for me, Loyal. I can’t think of anyone better at protecting me than you. If you leave, I’ll be a sitting duck. Who’s better than you are?”
    “No one,” he growls approaching me. Then he backs me into the wall of the castle with his nostrils flaring and his breathing heavy. “You ain’t supposed to know your charge. You ain’t supposed to give a shit. Your job is to rescue and protect then move the fuck on. How am I supposed to move the fuck on from you?”
    “You don’t have to,” I whisper to him. “I wasn’t asking you to and I had hoped even after, you’d stay…for me.”
    “I got nothing to offer you, Rion,” he growls again. “Look at me! Had any of those idiots got to close to you I’d have killed them with my hands, do you get that?”
    “I---”
    “Do you? No you don’t,” he says gripping me tight. “I’d have killed anyone that got close to you. That’s who you want? A killer?” Before I can respond, he pushes me away. “You deserve better than that. Because with me that’s what you’re signing up for.”
    Grabbing him back and switching positions, I let him have it. “I want you god dammit. However I can have you. Let me choose, let me make up my own mind. You want me too. You fight it, but you fucking want me. Now get your shit together and show me how a Marine would win the next match because you are playing. I won’t leave your side. Teach me, show me how it’s done and when we get home?” I growl covering his dick with my free hand, “I’m going to show you how it’s done.”
    When he starts to harden under my palm and his mouth crushes mine, I wanted to fist pump that shit out. He’s a warrior and fighting is what warriors do. “I want you under me, safe” he growls into my hair.
    “Then you’ll have to take out the enemy first,” I tell him, smiling. Then taking his free hand, I place it between my legs. “And once that’s done I’ll be your reward.”
    “All of ‘em?” he asks, rubbing me.
    “All of ‘em.” I agree and then