Trey: Red, Hot & Blue, Book 1 by Cat Johnson

cleared his throat. “I need confirmation you’re on birth control.”
    Her eyebrows rose sharply. “Excuse me?”
    “I need con—
    “I heard what you said.” Gone was the casual demeanor, in its place one angry-looking woman.
    “Carly. It’s important.”
    “What was last night about? Really?”
    “The mission.” The lie flowed smoothly off his tongue, just like he’d been trained.
    “The mission? And that’s it?”
    Trey nodded. “The mission.”
    He saw the pain cross her face before she looked away.
    Swallowing hard, he tried to clear the lump from his throat. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you on any sort of birth control?”
    Her head swiveled sharply toward him. “That detail is not part of this mission.”
    “Yes, actually it is. We had unprotected sex in the course of this operation.” Twice.
    “Just forget it ever happened.”
    Forget about it. Yeah, not likely. He shook his head and let out a deep breath. “If you don’t answer me now, you’ll just have to answer the commander when we return.”
    The look she shot him was filled with hate. “Fine. I haven’t had sex in over two years, Trey. So no, I’m not using the pill or anything else for birth control. What would be the point since when I’m not ordered to by the US military, I don’t normally sleep around?” She returned to staring blindly at the same page open in her lap since this conversation had begun.
    She obviously hated him now. That was probably for the best. Safer for all involved. Trey could stay professional in the face of anger. If she cried, her tears would break him.
    “I’ll arrange to have the morning after pill waiting for you when we land.”
    Carly, still not looking at him, blushed bright red. “I’ll take care of things myself.”
    “I’m afraid standard operating procedure states in cases such as this—”
    She spun on him. “Exactly how long will the military be in control of my personal life from this one favor I was stupid enough to agree to?”
    “As soon as we land, we’ll go over the mission details with the commander at the base. After we get you the pills, you’ll be free to go.” Trey tried to make it all sound so routine, though nothing felt routine to him right now. “It’s for the best. The sooner you take it the better. Matt can arrange a prescription for you with Medical.”
    “Matt?”
    Uh, oh. That got her attention. “You knew he was on surveillance for this op. I told you before we landed.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “He wasn’t just listening to us on that thing in your ear, was he? He could see us. Now it all makes sense. Dance for me. Face the mirror. Spread your legs for me, baby. You were putting me on display. Tell me, Trey. How many were in the audience for your little lecherous peep show last night?”
    There was so much truth in Carly’s accusations, Trey felt sick to his stomach. “Too many and I’m sorry, but it wasn’t my choice and it was absolutely necessary.”
    That, at least, was true for the first half of the night. The second half she was totally right about. He was a letch. There had been no reason for him to make love to her in the dark after Jimmy had already been rescued except for the fact he’d wanted to. That was something he could never tell her. He needed to maintain a strictly professional relationship with her, then maybe she’d be able to pick things up in her life and with Jack as if nothing had happened.
    “Necessary?” Her voice reached a level that told him exactly how unhappy she was. “Why? Why was it necessary , Trey?”
    He hesitated, deciding what he could and couldn’t reveal. “We saved a man’s life last night, Carly.”
    She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Forgive me if I don’t understand how what we did last night saved a life.”
    Trey owed her an explanation, even if he was treading a fine line regarding the rules. “This information can’t leave this plane, but Jack’s brother was being tortured in