I wanted to thank everyone for the sheer amount of positive feedback over the course of this story. It means a great deal to me and urges me to keep writing. Before you ask, I do have plans for future chapters and I do believe this story may take a drastic turn sooner or later. That turn might break one or two of the game's rules. It'll make for an interesting story nonetheless. Tremendous thanks once again to every reader whether you stopped after the first chapter, only read the smut scene, or have kept with this story since the beginning.

Blinding light filled my eyes and my hands shot up to protect them.

"Rise and shine," came Meghan's voice. She bent over to kiss me but I swatted her away, still sensitive to the light. Irritated, I sat up and wiped my eyes. Everything around me was blurry but coming into focus. Meghan was bare-chested on one side of the room but to my disappointment, my vision hadn't cleared before she put on a bra and shirt. "Hurry up," she said. "Breakfast is in a few minutes. I'll meet you down there."

She opened the door to leave but stepped back in. "I left your clothes by the dresser."

I yawned in acknowledgment and she left. I let my body sprawl out on the bed. What a night. We would surely have to do this again. A smirk spread across my face when I remembered Meghan's curves… her passion. The incident with her and James was well behind me now. I loved her and I was confident that she loved me. Isn't that all we needed?

I quickly threw on my clothes from yesterday and headed downstairs. As I expected, I was the last one there. With my breakfast, I sat next to my fellow Russians. I ate in silence at first and listened to their conversation. Although it was nothing important or sensitive, they still spoke in Russian.

"So," said Finka, mouth half full. She swallowed. "Elena said that she heard something in Meghan's room last night in the early hours of the morning."

"And?" I tried to sound innocent.

"...And when she stopped by she saw a pile of clothes that belonged to a man. As far as I know, you're the only man who would have his clothes in her room." Finka took another bite.

I just scoffed and continued eating.

"Oh come on, Max," Timur said. "You were the last one down here. There's gotta be something going on. Spill it."

I glanced up at them and sighed. I wasn't going to be able to hide it forever. "Ok, we… you know…"

"You had sex?" The whole table erupted in joyful laughter. I didn't know whether to be ashamed or proud. Timur slapped me on the back.

Tachanka took a drink and said, "You are a lucky man, Maxim. Meghan is a very beautiful woman." While the others were still laughing and talking he leaned in close so he could whisper. "If I were you I would not let her go." He smiled and returned to eating.

"How was she?" asked Glaz.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"In bed."

I felt my face flush with hot blood.

Fuze slapped his arm. "That is not something you ask."

"I'm curious." His face had a beaming smile but Shuhrat held his glare.

"Relax, brother." I place my hand on Shuhrat's shoulder. I turned to Glaz. "She was fine. Maybe one day you become lucky enough to find yourself a woman."

Finka snickered and Tachanka chuckled. Fuze kept his plain face while Timur's face turned rosy and he glanced away. My joke probably cut a little deeper than intended but he would get over it. Our conversation carried out the rest of the breakfast hour and we headed out for training. Today was just a refresher for CQB or Close Quarters Combat. This meant we'd have to get physical.

The sun was shining and the air was hot. I took off my shoes and rolled up my sleeves before walking onto the mat. The hot foam warmed my feet promptly. My first opponent was Finka. A vivid memory of our previous training experiences flashed in my head. Hopefully, neither of us would end up in the infirmary. Other operators waiting for their chance to show off their skills stood around the mat, watching. Lera stepped onto the mat and stripped off her top, leaving her in a tight fitting tank top and combat pants.

"Ready yet, Gopnik?" she sneered.

I lowered my center of gravity and we circled each other. I knew how she fought and I have no doubt that she knew how I fought as well. I threw fist over her head.

Lera gave me what I wanted and lifted her arms, exposing her stomach. My fist feinted and I lunged for her gut. I threw her over my shoulder and she landed on her back with a hard thump. She grunted as the wind was knocked out of her and I pinned her to the ground.

"Well done, Mr. Basuda!" exclaimed Montagne. He was the supervisor of this mat. "Again."

We repositioned at either end and went at it again. She landed a few blows on me but I got the leverage advantage and sent her to the ground. Lera scowled and wiped sweat from her face.

"Come on," I jeered in Russian. "You can do better than this."

She replied by turning her head and spitting. Lera's fist came right at my face but I blocked it with my forearm and took her other fist to my gut. I snatched her arm with an iron grip and threw her into the side crowds. They pushed her back in and she came swinging.

Her attacks were fueled by rage and easily dodged. As she flew past me I pounded my elbow into her face and she collapsed to the ground.

"Enough!" Montagne shouted.

I reached down to help her up but spat blood on my foot and joined the crowd. Lera stood there with arms crossed and a thin smear of blood on her cheek. Her expression seethed with anger.

I stood next to Elias while Rook and Bandit brawled. They traded blows but the Frenchman's bulk gave him the clear advantage and soon the win. Mira and twitch fought after them.

"I bet Elena could kick your ass," Elias snickered to me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You saw what I did you Lera, right?"

The German shrugged. "True. Anyway, I heard you and Valk ruffled the sheets last night."

"What's it to you?" I said in a harsh tone.

"Just glad you finally took my advice." He raised his arms as if he was surrendering.

My arms folded. "I can handle my relationship by-"

"Elias!" the burly mountain said. "You're up." I watched with amusement as he and Seamus fought. The two were evenly matched, however. Carrying shields and swinging hammers both rewarded iron muscles so it was really a match of who could move faster than the other.

I caught Lera's sharp gaze on the other side of the mat but she quickly averted her attention. She'd get over her loss. Hopefully. Finally, it was round two for our mat. I was the first one up. My opponent was Ryad.

The Spaniard was fast and lean and almost got me but my training prevailed three out of the four rounds. We both came out with small cuts and bruises but unlike Finka, Jackal gave me a hearty handshake and a nod.

I watched the others fight in silence. Alas, round three came. I again stepped out onto the mat but no one opposed me.

"Max," said Montagne. "You've done exceptional so far. Congratulations."

I did a dumb little curtsey which earned me a few laughs and snickers. I even spotted Lera smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"I want you to choose your opponent this time. Someone on matched with your skill."

I glanced around. "So many options," I said with sarcasm. My eyes lingered over to the over mat when Meghan landed a fought furiously with Shuhrat. She blocked a leg and landed her knee, deep into my friend's gut. He fell flat on his back.

"Make a choice," Montagne snapped.

I gave him a quick smile. "Meghan." I said it loud enough for people around to here. "I want to fight Mrs. Castellano." The other operators glanced around and whispered. Montagne gave a childish smile and chuckled. My sweaty and bruised lover broke through the wall of bodies.

"I heard my name."

"I challenge you, Meghan. One on one." My lips broke into a cheerful grin and she loosened her muscled shoulders.

"Let's see if you can do better here than you can in bed," she jeered with a snake-like grin. Laughs and cheers came from the crowd. I don't think I would ever hear the end of this one. Montagne just lowered his head and rubbed his jawline.

I cracked my knuckles. "Not holding anything back."

"Neither am I," she replied.

She threw a low fist and I dodged but did nothing in retaliation. Sweat dripped from my face.

We traded blows but I caught her off guard by jabbing a hand at her sternum and throwing my leg behind her, tripping her. Meghan fell over and I got the point. We reset and brawled again.

My arm went too far to the left and with a swift swing of her elbow, my jaw went numb and I was sent backward. Meghan wasted no time and sent a hard punch to my ribs and used her raw strength to throw me to the ground.

I got up and wiped blood from my maw. The inside of my cheek stung horribly. Again.

She swung, I dodged and returned the blow. We battered each other to our heart's content. I tried to think of maneuvers but my mind was mottled from hits to the head and the ever-present pain all over my body.

Our arms locked and our faces were centimeters apart. I gritted my teeth a struggled to overpower her. Hot breath blew over both of our faces and our sweat mingled.

Come on! My muscles strained but to no avail. My grip broke and I began to fall. The last thing I saw was a shin flying at my face.

A dull thud and everything went black.

Light flood through my eyelids when I struggled to open them. I found myself in Doc's office… again. He sat at his computer on the other side of the white room. I shifted on the paper sheets and Gustave tilted his head.

"You took quite the beating," he chuckled. "Do not worry, though. You won't have to stay here long." Gustave came over and shined a small flashlight into my eyes. His stark eyes observed me closely. Satisfied, he smiled and slapped me on the shoulder. "You're good to go. Just take it easy for a day or two, yes?"

"What happened?" my voice croaked.

"Well, you got cocky and challenged your lady friend who then knocked you out. You didn't get any injury other than a sore skull but like I said, take it easy. Here, take this." Doc handed me a paper cup with water.

I sat up which caused blood to rush from my head, warping my vision and making me dizzy for a second. The fuzziness cleared and I accepted the water, drinking greedily.

"Alright," he said. "Get out of here so I can finish my work."

The day passed with plenty of people making jests about both what Meghan said about me in bed and her knocking me out. I deserved it but I took it all with a light heart.

Later in the day, Thatcher had us do paired cardio. He described it as a "Team bonding experience in which we get to see the beauty of England."

I walked outside where the rest of the team was waiting. Thatcher was pairing people up. He called me over.

"You and Lera will be running together."

I glanced over my shoulder at her and smirked. She didn't seem too excited about his decision but she sucked it up. I swear I saw a slight grin on her face that quickly faded.

"I'll see you all in two hours," Thatcher called over the group. We were off.

Lera ran with me at a moderate pace. We didn't take it too fast but enough to get us both sweating. Minutes passed and we soon separated from the rest of the team. Large maple and oak trees lined the trail and behind their thick branches, the sun was beginning to set.

I was out of breath and my legs were becoming sore.

"We should stop for a minute," I wheezed.

Lera halted and we stood in the quiet noise of the forest.

"What, tired already?"

I responded with an amused scoff and sat down on the trail. Cool evening air filled my lungs as I took large breaths. A thin line of sweat formed on my forehead. I glanced up at Lera while she held her hands behind her head and gazed at the tree line. She was a beautiful woman but I didn't have feelings for her anymore. I had Meghan.

"Seems like the perfect place to revenge," I said with a smile.

She cocked her head over her shoulder and gave me a confused look.

"The training earlier. You didn't seem too apt to even stand next to me after I beat you."

She grinned. "I was pissed but I'm over it. It's hard to stay mad at a guy like you." Lera came over and sat next to me. Her eyes wandered up at the sky, observing the reds and blues mingling before the sky faded into darkness. "So you and Meghan are a couple now?" she asked, still staring at the sky.

"It would appear that way. It's not like she told everyone we had sex or anything. Why do you ask?"

Lera shrugged. "Probably doesn't mean anything anymore... but I loved you at one point." Her face flushed with blood and turned a rosy pink. "Come on," she said, standing up. "We should get back to base."