Jeremy's looking at me with those beautiful blue-gray eyes of his, giving me a signal. I know that I'm not supposed to be focused on his face while we're in the line of duty, but everything about him intrigues me in a way that Mal never had.

His back is pressed against mine as we hold out our guns, ready to ambush the next group of enemies that comes near us. I can feel the warmth of his skin spread through his bulletproof vest to my back, and remember how he was like last night when he held me tight to him.

But I shouldn't let that distract me. I bite my lip hard—so hard that it draws blood, and Jeremy turns to me.

"Blaise," he says, his voice gentle, even in a situation like this. "You're bleeding."

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. "I'll be fine, Redbird. You just keep guard."

Jeremy knows that I'm a big girl. I don't cry under tough situations, nor do I ever give up. He continues watching for anybody that might come and attack us, and I can tell that he's readier than he's ever been.

And the enemies come, one by one. They wear ski masks over their head, but Jeremy and I both know that their identities won't matter anyway by the time we're done with them.

A bullet goes through one of their heads, and I recoil as my gun goes off to hit another man between the eyes. Blood splatters everywhere, and Jeremy's wiping his cheek off with his glove.

"Are you ready, Blaise?" Jeremy asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He grips my hand tight before shooting another opponent. They all cry out in pain for the briefest before they hit the ground, and then there's nothing but the sound of trickling blood.

I think they're all gone. Jeremy and I have been holding our breaths for a few minutes, and nothing has happened. I feel him relax behind me, and he puts his gun back into his holster before turning to look at me.

"Blaise," he breathes. Without warning, he kisses me hard, his bloodied gloves gripping my cheeks. I want him. Want him badly.

So I drop my gun to the floor and tug at his short hair, my hands balled up into fists. His tongue licks the outside of my lips and begs for me to let him in, so I open my mouth.

Before my hands can slide down to his belt or his fingers make their way up to my chest, Mal and Natara rush into the scene—a little late, to be honest, since we called for backup thirty minutes ago—and Jeremy and I quickly pull apart. He's panting and straightening out his ruffled hair, but I just let my friends see me as I am: horny and desperate.

"Are you alright?" Mal asks me as he picks up my gun and puts the safety on.

"Good as I'll ever be," I respond. Natara's observing the scene around her before giving the okay, and Mal leads both Jeremy and me out of the building.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Jeremy asks. His eyes are glaring into mine with a kind of sweet gentleness that I've never received from anyone before. Not even Mal.

"I'm fine, Jer."

He reaches for my hand and squeezes it twice. "You know, you don't have to put up this brave front when you're with me."

For some reason, his words struck me hard. I wanted to burst into tears and fall into his arms and have him hold me and comfort me and tell me that everything would be okay. I'm not sure why I wanted to do that, but I managed to keep control of myself.

"I'm not," I snapped back in a playful tone.

Jeremy knows I'm lying, but he doesn't say anything. When Mal isn't looking, he leans over and presses his lips to the corner of my mouth.

"You're beautiful," he whispers in my ear.

I felt something choking my throat. Nobody had ever called me beautiful. I was only "sexy" or "hot" and sometimes even alluring, but never beautiful.

Jeremy's making small talk with Mal right now, talking about what had happened and what he and I did to stop the criminals from doing whatever they were going to do. But I can't stop thinking about what Jeremy just said to me.

I think I'm in love with Redbird. I'm not sure. What started as a fling for both of us turned out to be something more for me, at least.

So it doesn't matter if he doesn't love me back right now. I can handle it.

I'm a big girl. I never give up.

I'm meh about this. Not my best work, but it's something.

Blaisebird IMO is better than Jeramy, and as much as I love Amy, it's KEMY ALL THE WAY.

Thanks for reviewing.