Remy by Susan Bliler Page B

fingers.
    Staring down, he was careful not to crush her.  Hell, when he’d tripped her he didn’t really expect her to fall, so he’d had to move really quickly to ensure she didn’t hurt herself when she went down.  Now, staring at her as she kept her eyes pinned over his shoulder, he noted how the deep-green of her eyes was darker around the edges, fading to a near-hazel in the center, little flecks of gold erupting in time with the roiling emotion he scented coming from her.  Fear, frustration, anger. And…something else.
    “Why don’t you look at Walkers?” he demanded.
    She didn’t hesitate.  “I’m trying to make a habit of not forming bonds.  It’ll save me heartache should anything happen to a teammate.”
    The scent of her lie was bitter, like marigold.  His hand tightened around her throat and the scent of fear spiked.
    “You know I can scent the lie.  Why try?”
    She struggled beneath him, and he growled from the exquisite friction caused by her slight framed pinned beneath his.  It reminded him of fucking her.
    “Stop!” he commanded, fighting back a wave of arousal.  It took all his strength to keep a full erection at bay.  As it was, he was half-hard where he rested in the cradle of her thighs. 
    “A lie is less humiliating than the truth,” she spat.  “Get off of me.”
    He didn’t budge.  “And the truth is?”
    Harlow snapped her eyes to his, then attempted to turn her head away, but he wouldn’t allow it.
    “I need to know if you have an aversion to Walkers, Ms. EnemyHunter.  I’m not letting you near my team until I know you’re willing to accept them. If you can’t even look them in the fucking eye, then I find it difficult to believe that you’d take a bullet for one of them.”
    “It’s not them, it’s you!”  Her delicately-flushed cheeks paled with the admission and this time, when her angry eyes met his, he saw them flash with resignation.
    “Meaning?”
    “I don’t look at you because it reminds me of what we did.  What we shared.” 
    Just that fast the becoming blush was back, burning high on her delicate cheekbones.  This time when she jerked her head to the side to avoid his gaze, he allowed it.
    “I’m… attracted to you, as if you didn’t already know, and it’s bad form.  I don’t want to be the stereotypical recruit who’s infatuated with her instructor.”
    The air bloomed with the sweetness of her honesty.  He couldn’t help but query in a husky tone, “And are you?’
    Harlow’s gaze jerked back to his.  “Get.  Off.  Of. Me!”
    Remy rolled to the side, capturing her wrist as he moved.  Standing in one fluid motion, he pulled her up, steadying her with his hand at her lower back. She quickly jerked out of his grasp and rounded on him.
    “I’m going to do my job, and I’m going to do it professionally, which means I’m going to keep my distance from you!”
    “I’m the lead on your team,” he smirked.
    Harlow dropped her eyes, turning away to mutter in a barely audible whisper, “And that’s all you’ll ever be.” 
    She was heading for her barracks before Remy could reply and it irked him that she thought she could simply dismiss him and… them!   Frowning, he made to follow after her.  She wasn’t in charge of how their relationship progressed, and she sure as hell wasn’t in charge of who he…  He stopped himself.  What am I doing?   There was no Remy and Harlow, and it had to stay that way.  She was right.  He was her instructor, her Commander, and aside from a relationship being improper, there were more pressing issues, like the fact that she was Mason’s sister.   A sister, he’d vowed to never touch!  

Chapter 13
    Monroe’s hand absently pressed the intercom button on his phone as it buzzed.  He’d been pouring over invoices for hours. While it was Mason’s job to ensure finances were in order, every once in a while, Monroe liked to double-check to ensure there wasn’t anything