Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

I don't own The Brave or any of it's characters... But I wish I did!

Chapter 16

Jaz and Dalton were up early and went and sat out on the jetty to do some early morning fishing while the sun rose. They had both slept deeply, with a weight off both of their shoulders from their conversations the day before.

Jaz had grown to really appreciate fishing. It was so relaxing, and she felt like she could actually call it a hobby, at least one she would like to continue. She felt like she had Hossein to thank for that. If not for him, she might never have suggested fishing to Dalton, and she might not have persisted in really getting the hang of it.

She smiled to herself just thinking about it. The world definitely worked in mysterious ways.

A couple of hours later, they went back to the cabin to find that McG had surfaced.

"How was that bed, buddy?" Dalton asked him.

"Amazing. We need to get mattresses like that on base." McG practically purred.

Dalton and Jaz exchanged laughs, remembering Jaz saying almost the exact same thing when she had first arrived at the cabin.

Over breakfast, McG filled them in on what his plans were for the rest of leave. He was heading back to Montana for a little bit to see his Mom again, before he would reunite again with the others at Preach's house. After that, he hadn't quite decided.

Jaz thought about seeing Captain Xander Martin in DC in a couple of weeks, which McG was going to help facilitate. Obviously if Xander was based in DC, she would need to think about where to go after being at Preach's for the long weekend. She couldn't very well commute from the Blue Ridge Mountains every day. She knew that she desperately needed the help; needed to talk to someone about… well a lot of things. But the thought of not being at the cabin with Dalton saddened her more than she thought possible.

They decided to spend the afternoon hiking once again. Dalton never got sick of exploring these mountains and he was glad that Jaz and McG seemed to feel the same way.

With Dalton and Patton leading the way, they set off in a different direction than usual. It was another warm day, so they all had their swim suits on underneath their clothes, in case they came across somewhere suitable to cool down.

They chatted as they walked, teasing each other constantly and Jaz took lots of silly photos to send to Preach and Amir.

"I wonder if Amir has driven Hannah crazy yet with his neat freak ways." McG wondered aloud.

"You think she'd rather a slob like you?" Jaz threw back.

"A slob maybe, but not like me. Never thought of Hannah that way." McG clarified.

"Well that's one less thing to worry about then." Dalton said dryly, joining in on the conversation. "Maybe we shouldn't speculate on his love life too much, it's none of our business." He added as an afterthought.

"None of our business? We spend eight or nine months living on top of each other in Turkey, it's definitely going to be our business." McG reasoned.

He had a point there, and both Jaz and Dalton knew it. Secrets were very few and far between in Incirlik, and mostly for good reason. Their bond as a team is what made them one of the best, and secrets between team mates could lead to mistrust in the field, which in their field, could easily mean losing their lives.

Jaz and Dalton exchanged the quickest of glances to acknowledge that this was yet another point to think about. They were struggling as it was to keep whatever was going on between them from their team while they were stateside. In fact, Amir had already caught on to them, which meant they weren't doing the best job at it.

"Doesn't mean we need to harass him about it though." Jaz followed up.

"What? Jazzy, you're going soft on me. I'm gonna need to get Preach on the case."

"Preach is a believer in true love, so good luck with that." Dalton shook his head and chuckled.

He knew Preach was a massive advocate for exploring a connection with someone. He'd been the one dropping hints to Dalton for as long as he could remember, and had also encouraged Dalton to invite Jaz to the cabin. In Preach's defence, it had been a good move. Dalton doesn't have any regrets about the last few weeks, in fact maybe he needed to thank Preach.

"Ugh, you're all going soft on me." McG groaned good naturedly, making Jaz and Dalton both laugh as they continued walking.

They kept walking for a bit longer until they could see a lake in front of them, which was going to be a welcome relief to their sun warmed skin.

It turned out to be a bit of a touristy hot spot with change rooms, a café and water sport facilities.

They decided to hire stand up paddle boards and didn't waste any time getting out on the lake. Patton even sat at the end of Dalton's board, soaking up the sun and loving the splashes of water as others passed by.

After a little while and being who they were, it of course turned into a competition as to who could reach a buoy out in the middle of the lake quickest.

"Loser cooks dinner!" McG yelled as they started off.

McG led the charge early, and with his long limbs and greater reach, it looked like he would easily reach the buoy first. Never wanting to count Jaz out of course, they kept a close eye out for her, knowing what a pocket rocket she was.

Dalton started to pull alongside of McG, leaving Jaz still bringing up the rear, and all of a sudden Patton leapt from Dalton's board onto McG's and nearly caused it to overturn.

This in turn caused McG to reach his paddle out for balance, completely taking out Jaz on her board, causing her to fall in the lake with a big splash.

Laughing out loud, watching McG struggling to keep his balance, Dalton gracefully paddled to the buoy claiming victory, whilst flexing his biceps to McG to celebrate.

"Hey, no fair! You and your dog ganged up on me… what the…?!"

Jaz came up behind McG's board and took his legs out from under him, causing him to splash in the lake, joining her.

"What the fuck, Jaz?" McG came up spluttering.

"Pay back's a bitch hey pretty boy?" Jaz grinned at McG, and at the same time tilted her head towards Dalton.

Reading her mind, they both swam towards Dalton's board and as he saw what was coming and yelled out, "No, no no…" they combined forces to push him off his board.

As he came up spluttering, they both laughed their heads off, until he disappeared under water again, only to come up right next to Jaz, lifting her fireman style over his shoulder and then dumping her back in the lake.

Jaz made her way to the surface again, only to be standing right in front of Dalton, "Hey, that was a team effort," she exclaimed, but couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, but McG is a lot harder to lift." Dalton explained. He stood just watching her as she tried to pull all her hair out of her eyes. He loved the spark in her eyes and happiness on her face. Momentarily forgetting where he was and who he was with, he couldn't help but reach his hand out and tuck some of her wet hair behind her ear, as he smiled down at her tenderly.

She returned the smile, with the same tenderness on her own face, before they both remembered McG was just metres away. Quickly looking over at him, they saw he was guiding his board, with Patton still sitting on it, back to the shore.

"I'm going to grab a drink, meet you at the café. You're cooking dinner tonight Jaz, lasagne please." He called over his shoulder.

McG thought he would make himself scarce. He saw the moment between Dalton and Jaz, and he didn't think it was the right time to call them out on it.

"These two idiots must think we're all blind." He muttered to himself as he made his way through the water, making sure to smile to a group of ladies as he did so.

"Lucky we've got the ingredients for lasagne already." Jaz said to Dalton as she watched McG head back to shore.

He just looked at her, studying her face.

"What?" She asked self-consciously.

"Nothing. Just, ah – no bikini today huh?" Dalton said in a low voice.

Jaz felt herself blush slightly. "I thought it might be best to leave it until we are alone again."

Dalton slowly nodded his head and gave her a heated look, "Probably a good idea." Turning around quickly to see that McG was still walking out of the water with his back turned, he turned back to face Jaz and surprised her with a quick but tender kiss on her lips.

Jaz opened her eyes wide in shock, but returned the kiss. She couldn't not. It was as if every time Dalton was in close proximity, she lost all control. Still, she was surprised Dalton had kissed her with McG so close.

"Risky." She said, looking around Dalton to see where Mcg was.

Dalton smirked at her with a twinkle in his eye, "But worth it."

Later that day they headed back to the cabin, glad they had managed to cool off in the lake before the hike back.

Since Jaz was cooking dinner she managed to snag the first shower and did so quickly, throwing on some clean clothes as quick as she could so she could get the lasagne ready.

Jaz stood at the kitchen bench, chopping vegetables and listened to McG sing very loudly to himself while he was in the shower. Luckily, they were all used to it.

Dalton was outside, clearing some rogue branches away from the cabin when he caught sight of Jaz through the kitchen window and just stopped for a moment. He caught himself in a wry smile as he remembered doing just this the day after she had arrived at the cabin. He couldn't believe then that she was there in his kitchen, and cooking of all things. He couldn't believe that she was still here now. And he couldn't deny how much he loved having her there, and how sexy she looked, even concentrating on chopping the vegetables.

Just as she was starting to chop the last onion, Dalton appeared next to her in the kitchen and asked if she needed any help.

"Do you mind getting the mince out of the fridge for me?" Jaz asked without lifting her head, concentrating on the slippery onion on the chopping board in front of her. She might be good with weapons, but her worst self-inflicted cuts had come from chopping vegetables, which seemed a little bit ridiculous considering their jobs.

"Sure." Dalton replied, and after retrieving the meat from the fridge, he came and stood right behind her and just reached his arm around her to place it on the kitchen bench.

Even though she was still concentrating on the onion, she didn't fail to notice the close proximity of which he was standing behind her. With the tiniest of smirks on her face, she thanked him as nonchalantly as she could, pretending to be absorbed with her chopping.

He took another small step forward, moving even closer to her so his lips were in line with the crook of her neck, "Anything else?" He breathed into her neck.

Jaz felt goose bumps all over her body with those two words and had to stop what she was doing for fear of cutting herself.

As soon as Dalton saw this, he smirked to himself and lowered his lips to her neck and pressed a hot, prolonged kiss onto the pulse point in her neck causing her to drop the knife completely and grip the kitchen bench with both hands.

Dalton stepped even closer to her so he was pressed right up against her back, and hearing the shower still running in the bathroom and McG still belting out the tunes, he pressed one hand flat on her stomach to hold her against him, ensuring she could feel how hard he was. He continued to kiss her neck, and when he heard her moan quietly he slid his other hand up underneath her top to caress her breast, nearly gasping when he felt that she was bra-less.

With her senses being overloaded and her nipple instantly turning to rock, she spun around quickly and launched her lips onto his while throwing her arms around his neck to pull him as close as possible.

His hand instantly found its way back to her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, while pressing his hips into hers, locking her against the kitchen bench. Her hips pressed back just as eagerly and they continued to kiss each other long, hard and deeply. McG chose that exact moment to end his musical repertoire and as they heard the water being shut off, they knew they needed to put an end to this, for now.

They both regretfully took a step away from each other, only for self-preservation, only to try and get themselves back under control before McG appeared from the bathroom.

With her chest still heaving, Jaz tore her eyes away from Dalton's and turned back to the chopping board to attack that onion again.

With his own chest still struggling to get back under control, Dalton took one last step towards her, put both hands on her hips, leant down and whispered, "To be continued…" into her ear, before going back outside with Patton. He was hoping some more fresh air would help with the extreme level of desire he could now only associate with Jaz. No one had ever made him feel what Jaz Khan did. No one.

"Fuck." Jaz breathed out to herself as she watched him walk outside. She couldn't believe how quickly things between them could escalate. While her mind wandered, she felt a prick on her finger and sure enough, when she looked down, she had managed to cut her left forefinger. She shook her head and held a tea towel against it to stop the bleeding. No one had ever made her feel what Adam Dalton did. No one.

"I've missed your lasagne, Jaz." McG said appreciatively after dinner that night.

They'd eaten on the small table on the back veranda, enjoying the warm night air.

"I hadn't noticed." Jaz replied sarcastically, after watching him down three serves.

Jaz had sent some photos of their day at the lake to their group chat earlier, and their phones all started vibrating as Preach and Amir responded.

Please tell me McG ended up in the lake – Amir

He sure did – Jaz

Jaz, please tell me you were responsible – Amir

I sure was – Jaz

Atta girl – Preach

Just so you all know, Top & Patton cheated – McG

Not our fault you have no balance big guy – Top

Patton was the only one that stayed dry – Jaz

Smart dog – Preach

Pffffttt – McG

Any of you booked flights yet? – Preach

I have – Amir

Of course you have – McG

None of us here have, but we will – Top

Can't wait, just let me know when you do – Preach

Will do – Top

In the meantime, make sure McG doesn't eat all your food – Preach

Too late – Jaz

A man's gotta eat – McG

"Man, I've missed Preach." McG said wistfully, looking down at his phone.

"Yeah, we all have buddy. It'll be good to all be together again." Dalton replied.

The three of them remained out on the veranda, just making idle chit chat, laughing at old stories and tried to figure out what to do the next day, which will be McG's last full day in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

McG called it a night after deciding once again to just let Dalton make plans, he hadn't let them down so far with his suggestions.

Dalton needed to grab something from his truck, so he walked around the cabin to where the truck was parked out front. As he retrieved what he was looking for and slammed the door shut, he found himself quickly pinned up against the side of the truck, and a set of soft, but determined lips, settled over his.

Jaz had watched him walk around the side of the cabin and after a split second decision, she got up and followed him. She couldn't get what happened in the kitchen earlier out of her mind, and if she didn't follow up on it soon, she felt like she would self-combust.

She pressed herself against him as she kissed him eagerly. His immediate response and how quickly he pulled her even closer to him, suggested he had been waiting for this moment too.

"To be continued, right?" Jaz had pulled away to whisper in his ear, before moving down to kiss his neck.

Dalton could barely hold it together. Not only did he have no control over his reactions to Jaz, but her seeking him out and initiating this little interlude was hot as fuck.

He kissed her back hotly and hungrily, bringing both hands to cradle her head and winding his fingers through her hair.

She kissed him back again and again, still pressing her hips into his, while he lowered one of his hands to reach up under her top and slide up her back, no bra strap stopping the journey. Knowing she had no bra on had made the late afternoon and evening a challenge for him. He had wanted to just rip her top off and bury himself between her breasts.

The hand running up and down her back, made its way to her front and slide up to palm her breast, making her kiss him even harder, if that was even possible.

He quickly spun them around so her back was now pressed against the truck and he whispered in her ear seductively, "You drive me crazy.

He continued to palm one of her breasts as he used his other hand to lift her top up so that he could suck her other nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the bud and she moaned in response and grasped his hair to hold his head close. He gave the same attention to her other nipple, before his lips landed back on her own.

Jaz's hands reached out for the button holding his shorts and with a flick of her wrist she had the button open and the fly all the way down. She reached in and took his whole length in her hand and she pumped it a few times before sliding to her knees.

Realising what she was about to do, Dalton lifted her back up so she was at eye level again, and she looked a little taken aback.

"Believe me Jaz, I want that so much, but I won't be able to stay quiet." He tried explaining. Even through his haze of desire, he knew that McG still wasn't that far away.

She nodded in understanding, and instead, wrapped her hand back around his cock and started to pump him up and down, slowly and deliberately.

"Oh god, Jaz. I want you so badly." Dalton panted, while his eyes rolled in the back of his head. He braced his hands on the truck on either side of her, for leverage and support. The feeling of her hand sliding up and down him, made him want to make love to her, right there and then. But they had waited this long, they could wait a bit longer until they were well and truly alone.

To ensure he didn't lose it completely, he quickly spun her around so she was facing the window of the truck, with her hands braced up against it for support. In that position he reached up under her top again with one hand, reminding her of their position in the kitchen earlier that day.

With his other hand, he reached around and flicked open the button and fly on her denim shorts and reached down to slide his fingers between her already very slick folds.

"Fuck." He heard Jaz breathe out and her hips immediately began to move against his fingers, her want for him was so strong.

He slide his fingers up and down her clit while he continued to fondle her breast with the other hand and just to add to her desire, he also started to kiss up and down her neck.

The sensations all over her body, along with the thrill of being outdoors and with McG not far away, all built up within her.

Dalton moved his fingers faster and he felt her start to almost collapse with desire.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to be quiet with this sensory overload, she turned herself around to face him. As his fingers immediately found her sweet spot again, she grabbed his head to hold against her as she kissed him hard and deep to drown out her release.

Her body shivered and shook from the stimulation Dalton had provided and he had to virtually hold her up so she didn't collapse in a heap on the floor.

Once the vibrations started to abate, he pulled back a little to look at her. The glaze in her eyes was starting to clear but her all over glow, especially in the moonlight, made him feel a small pang in his chest. He just couldn't get enough of her.

Once they had gone to bed and they were wrapped up in each other's arms, Jaz returned his earlier sentiment, whispering to him, "I want you so badly too."

She reached for him then, wanting to return the immense pleasure she had felt not long ago.

Dalton held his breath momentarily and had to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling so that he didn't throw caution to the wind right there and then.

They both had the same thought running through their heads: They both loved McG, but couldn't wait until they were well and truly alone at the cabin.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm posting it a little bit earlier than I was going to, as I'm away on a school camp (I'm a teacher) for 9 days. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can when I get back, but I have every intention of continuing with this story for a good long while yet! Thanks for reading and for the reviews - I absolutely love getting them.

Also, if you're on Twitter or Instagram, I'm thebravefan on both, come say hi :)