Update number five!

Are you getting sick of me yet? :) xxx

He stared around the room. It was definitely a storage cupboard, albeit a very tidy one, but had been turned into a makeshift den for the night. Besides the cabinet on which she was perched, there were two small wingback chairs, now empty after their most recent occupants had fled the room and a small table which was host to a tray covered in sandwiches. To her left were bottles of whiskey, brandy and several bottles of champagne wrapped in special ice jackets to keep them cool. On the floor lay a bucket filled with ice and water from which several beers protruded invitingly. Soap bent down and picked one up. He pulled the top off with his teeth. It was a trick that he had learnt in his first six months in the Para's. If you couldn't take a bottle top off with your teeth, you weren't a man. Lola smirked and raised an eyebrow at him as he made his way towards one of the chairs.

"Nice set up, you've got here, Lo."

She shrugged. "I was beginning to think that you were never going to show up."

He pulled a face at her.

"I didn't know even know that this place existed until thirty seconds ago when the Duchess suggested I use her invitation from last year."

Her face lit up. "You spoke to The Duchess? I haven't seen her yet! Is she still wearing that enormous diamond?"

He laughed. "I was afraid that she was going to take my eye out with it."

She laughed along with him, before a silence settled across the small space.

"I'm going to hazard a guess that Wallcroft forgot to mention this room to you?" she asked. "I came to your room before but you were in the shower. He said he'd let you know about our secret hideaway."

"He got a bit distracted with some gun innuendos." Soap smiled at her.

She chuckled softly. "Sounds about right." She pushed herself off the cabinet and moved to the other chair. "What do you make of it all then? Everything you've ever dreamt of and more?"

He nodded. "When I joined the SAS, I joined because I really enjoy talking to boring old men."

"Have you spoken to Lord Sinclair yet?" She rolled her eyes. "I swear to God, they could use him as a torture device. He'd have the Russians confessing everything within thirty seconds just so they didn't have to hear him drone on about Sussex anymore."

"Speaking of the Russians... I've heard you had a nice time."

She shrugged. "It's all part of the job."

The silence fell over them again. She was looking at him and he was staring back. The midnight blue of her dress made her eyes sparkle brighter than he had ever seen them before. She leant towards him and his eyes fell to the plunging neckline of her dress. The air was thick with unspoken words and tension. He had waited eight weeks to see her again and she wasn't disappointing. He looked back to her face and tried to read her expression as best he could. She had a small smirk on her lips.

"You scrub up pretty well." she grinned. "Very James Bond."

He brushed the cuffs of his jacket down with a smile and turned back to her. "You're not looking too horrible yourself."

He could feel the heat from her body. His eyes skimmed down her face to her bottom lip which she bit instinctively as if his gaze alerted her to something.

"I bet you missed me didn't you?" she asked. "I saw it in your face before."

He couldn't deny it could he? The Duchess' words rang in his ears. She was a rule breaker. She'd been looking for him too.

He shrugged. "I wouldn't say I missed you, but I definitely noticed you weren't there."

She laughed and leant in closer to him. "And they say romance is dead."

"Is that what you want, Lo?" he asked her, still smiling. His pulse was quickening and he found himself moving closer to her. "Romance? Hearts, flowers, the whole nine yards?"

She reached out towards him and ran her fingertips gently across the top of his hand and stared at him determinedly. "No, Soap. That isn't what I want."

The look in her eyes was unmistakeable and Soap noticed that her breathing had become more heavy. She moved her fingertips again and his whole arm jolted at her touch.

"What do you want then?" he asked, staring down at her lips. "Tell me what you want."

They were interrupted by the door to the room flying open. Lola jumped away from him as if she had been electrocuted. Wallcroft appeared, his face wild. He reached for the bottle of whiskey and unscrewed it with force before he necked back a quarter of the bottle. Spinning around his eyes fell on Soap and his face lit up.

"Mate! I completely forgot to tell you! We have a secret room that we go to to drink and eat things that aren't salmon puffs!"

Soap laughed. "So I've heard." he grinned.

Lola stood up quickly and resumed her perch on the cabinet. His eyes fell to her arse and his dick twitched as he imagined peeling the silk from her body. The spot where she had ran her fingers against his hand tingled.

"Good job we don't rely on you for any intel, Wallcroft." She said, reaching over to the bottle of champagne and pouring herself a glass.

"If you must know, we had a very intense conversation about gun size and I got a little bit distracted." he grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes as if she were only too aware of what "gun" Wallcroft was referring to.

"How's the old man doing?" she asked.

"Another three or four and I'd say we're good to go. Most of the golden oldies have started leaving now anyway." He turned to her. "Wellington has just made his dramatic entrance though." Lola grimaced. "He's asking for you."

She rolled her eyes and drained the glass in her hand. "If we put you in the dress do you think he'd notice?" She asked him.

"I think he would but then he'd realise just how much hotter I am than you and he'd start stalking me." Wallcroft patted her on the head. "And I already have too many stalkers on my plate to take another one. Sorry kid."

She growled under her breath and took the bottle of whiskey from his hand. She took three big gulps before turning back to Soap. The Duchess had mentioned a Viscount in their conversation. It must have been the same guy. Lola looked as though she would rather be heading back to Russia for another extended visit.

"Do you want any company?" he asked. Soap didn't like the idea of another man attempting to move in on Lola. It wasn't so much that he wanted her for himself, because he did, he really, really did, but most of all he wanted to protect her from the shitty men who felt they had some sort of ownership over her just because they bought a fucking gun.

She rolled her eyes and walked towards him. "If I can deal with eight weeks of Kamarov, I can deal with eight minutes of Wellington." she bent down towards Soap's ear. "Nice catching up with you." Her breath tickled his ear and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Wallcroft raised an eyebrow at him as Lola straightened up. She turned to him. "And you, you bloody cougar loving idiot..." She pointed at him. "Talk him through tonight because I'm willing to bet everything I've got that you've also let that one slip your mind."

Wallcroft looked sheepish. She shook her head at him with a laugh before opening the door and exiting the room.

"What's tonight?"

Wallcroft narrowed his eyes. "We'll get to that." he sat down next to Soap. "Did I interrupt something then?"

Soap shook his head. "Nope."

"Only, you looked very comfortable and you both sprang apart like two teenagers who'd just been caught kissing by somebody's mum."

Soap rolled his eyes. "You're joking aren't you mate?"

He hoped he was being convincing enough. Wallcroft was quite drunk which worked in Soap's favour but he was still a member of the SAS. It was their job to notice all those little things about people. The intensity between Soap and Lola was palpable. The air hung thick with the unspoken words and his hand was still tingling from her touch. Wallcroft shook his head as if shaking the image from it before he turned back to Soap.

"If you say so mate..." he paused. "Just be careful, eh? Whatever was..." He looked at Soap meaningfully. "... or wasn't happening isn't my problem, but you know what's at stake for her." He sighed. "And it will be her that all of this comes back on, not you. She and Price have the agreement and he's a man of his word."

Soap nodded and Wallcroft sighed and took another swig of the whiskey before he turned back to him with an animated grin.

"So, tonight!" He looked like an excited child. "Price hates this stupid thing so he always gets completely and utterly annihilated and one of us has to put him to bed." he paused. "Er, that's you this year..." Soap groaned. "Sorry mate, first year and all that. Plus, it's not that bad. He's actually a nice drunk. Very cuddly."

Soap laughed. He couldn't imagine anybody cuddling Price and living to tell the tale.

"So we put the old man to bed and then we all go out to the city." he grinned. "This is probably the one night out you'll get this year so make sure you use it wisely." he leant in towards Soap. "Personally, I like to find a nice, pretty girl and bring her back her and I get my whole fix for the year if you get what I'm saying..."

Soap got it. He wished he didn't, but he did.

"All of the lads do actually." he said, thoughtfully. "It's easy pickings when you mention that you're in the Army."

Soap laughed.

"Okay, so you find a nice girl, defile her and then what?"

Wallcroft looked at him. "I am offended, Soap."

"Why?"

"Because I do not defile anybody. I make sweet, sweet magical love." He started laughing.

"Right."

"Light a few candles, play some Barry White, rose petals... the whole works. I'm a gentleman."

"You're not."

Wallcroft eyed him. "Okay, you're right, I'm not."

"So when you're busy forcing yourself on the unsuspecting women of Central London, what does Lola do?"

"She just enjoys getting out and dancing." he responded. "It's her one chance of the year to go out and have sex with somebody but I don't really think a quick shag is her thing." he paused. "Although if I hadn't had sex in 6 years I'd be absolutely gagging for it by now."

Soap looked at him. He'd never really considered that she had been celibate the entire time that she'd been in the SAS but he guessed it made sense. The thought of potentially being the one to break that six year spell set off a plethora of butterflies in his stomach.

"Not that lads don't try, y'know? Normally one of us has to stay with her while the rest go off to find the girls." He looked at Soap sheepishly. "That honour is also yours this year, mate. Sorry."

Soap shrugged. Going out to find girls to sleep with had never really been his thing. He'd much rather spend the night with Lola. The atmosphere between them prior to Wallcroft's arrival had been positively electric. He was intrigued to see what happened when they were out together. Eager to see if she really had the balls to push it further. Wallcroft's words came back into his mind. This all fell back on her if it went wrong. As hard as it would be, he decided that she would have to be the one to make the move on him if anything were to happen. He didn't want her to ever think that Soap had pressured her into anything. It would be hard, he knew that, but he had to do it for his own piece of mind. A head appeared at the door.

"Price is done, man," he told Wallcroft.

Wallcroft looked at the watch on his wrist. "Bloody hell, the old man really went to town this year. I had him down for 10:30."

Soap looked at his own watch. It was 9:45. Wallcroft brushed himself down and turned to Soap. "Ready for phase one?" he grinned.

Soap stood up. "How do I get him into bed?"

"Same way as you'd get a girl into bed, mate." Wallcroft clapped him on the shoulder with a cheeky smile. "Tell him he's pretty, stroke his hair and talk about your deep and meaningful connection."

He exited the room and Soap followed. "I pity any girl that you talk to tonight." he muttered.