Now
Fresh off the memory of remembering Alec's arrogant self-introduction, Max smiled. Yes, it was true that she had named him, sort of. And he'd named her, too, sort of. Was it because she liked the way his lips came together, and the way his tongue hid behind his toothy smirk when he said 'Max' that made her choose that name? The idea that she was rolling around in his mouth? She couldn't say for sure, but she reveled in the fact that it took his whole mouth to say it. She really liked his mouth. He'd promised there were other things his mouth could do, and god, did she want to find out. Hard to imagine something better than that kiss.
She was so caught up in thinking about her handler's perfect lips that she turned the corner by the library and ran straight into a warm plane of hard muscle. Her head bounced back at the contact and a smile sprung up on her face as she realized she ran face first into a strong male chest. "Sorry, I-"
Beautiful dark skin reached out to steady her, and she cast her sight up to see it was Pete's large hands ensuring she stayed upright. For a millisecond, she remembered those relentless fingers, playing their way into her, chasing that oblivion, and then his baritone voice seeped into her reverie and brought her back to the present. "Max," he said in surprised… was that embarrassment? "Hey," he breathed out. He let his hands drag down to her fingertips before letting go. "Wow, how've you been?"
A wide smile split her face and she colored, replaying the memory of her time with him in the – she interrupted her own thought to look at the door from which Pete had just exited. The library. She met his eyes as he realized what she'd realized a split second prior. She couldn't see his blush, but she could feel the heat from it.
She could also tell by the way his eyes danced over her lips, her slender neck, the roundness of her breasts, that she still inspired desire in a man. Just not Alec, her mind supplied unhelpfully. Pete's eyes clung to her every curve a moment longer before he laughed somewhat nervously. She shrugged coyly.
If Alec was off fucking some stranger for information and it meant nothing, then she could scratch an itch and it could mean nothing, right? At least if she could abate this need for a sexual release at the skilled hands (or mouth or dick) of Pete, maybe she wouldn't be so focused on Alec. Maybe Brandy was right. Maybe fraternizing could be fun.
Max tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, mind made up. "Pretty good, Pete. How about you?" She could see he was still fit, maybe more fit than last time, since now his t-shirt seemed to be overstretched by his pecs. Maybe his last mission required personal training. He exuded confidence, and sheer animalism radiating from him.
"Real good, Max," he said, his eyes darkening further. His voice was shaky. He took a deep breath.
She guessed it was an answer to her question, as well as an appraisal. Her review of him was ongoing. His biceps bunched as he rubbed his palms together, nervous anticipation sparking as he snapped his head to the library's door, and Max gazed down toward the floor, her peripheral vision picking up the starting growth of an erection.
"Good," she managed. "So, uh, late night studying?" She glanced at the door.
He smiled then. His dimples danced around in her mind, calling her back to those times with Cale, when she had to imagine Pete in order to meet mission requirements. But those dimples made her long for the sarcastic smirk she so missed from her handler. Now those were some delectable lips, and she considered minutely how badly she needed to chew on them. Or the bottom one, at least.
She was carried away by her fantasies of Alec. Again. She shuddered and caught Pete's dark pupils expanding.
"Yeah, I uh, got tied up in a project," he said, rocking back on his heels. He peeked at the library door again and resettled on Max. "What about you?"
"Seemed like a nice night," she started. "I – couldn't sleep." Her brow raised as she pinned Pete with a hard stare. "Did you need any help with that project?"
Before Pete could answer, the library door swung open and out walked a gorgeous Latina with olive skin and dark hair. Her face was red, skin flushed, and when she caught Pete and Max standing in the hallway, a quick bolt of hurt flashed in her brown eyes. She looked between them, slipping on a mask of nonchalance.
"Uh, hi," the woman said, reaching out a hand. "I'm, uh, Annabel."
Max nodded and shook her dainty hand with confidence. "I'm Max." She chanced a glare to Pete and saw a guilty, anxious shift in his eyes. She nodded resolutely, having put it together. "Nice to meet you, Annabel." She ticked her head at Pete in goodbye. "Pete."
As she made her way back to her barrack, she took a deep breath and shook her head. Really? She was about to have sex with Pete in the library, right after he'd just given the business end of his body to Annabel? Christ.
