Page 86 of Brutal Reign
Part of me is jealous as fuck, but the other…well, it’s getting hard just watching them. I can practically taste her strawberry chapstick on my own tongue as I reach down to adjust myself in my athletic shorts, stepping out into the hall with a grunt of frustration.
I don’t proceed to follow the other trainees out to the field, though. I linger outside the barracks for a few minutes while my best friend and my girl take their sweet ass time with each other before stumbling out with puffy lips and flushed faces.
Ace doesn’t look surprised to see me standing there, but River blinks her hazel eyes at me, brows pinching together. “Why aren’t you out on the field?” she questions.
“Was waiting for you assholes,” I grumble, my gaze unwittingly dropping to those plump, swollen lips of hers. I step closer and reach out for her face, bringing mine down right in front of hers and tracing the curve of her lower lip with the tip of my thumb. “Do I get a kiss before practice, too?” I growl, walking her back a step and crowding her in against the wall.
Her breath catches, her heated gaze locking with mine. She might’ve just had Ace’s tongue down her throat, but as far as I’m concerned, that was only a warmup.
I lean in closer until we’re breathing the same air, cocking a brow as I await her response. Deviance flickers in her eyes as she whispers, “Dare you.”
Fuck. Yes.
I slam my mouth down onto hers, forcing my tongue past the seam of her lips and kissing her hard. River’s lithe body melts against mine, her head tilting, tongue teasing my own. My dick thickens against her hip, wanting a lot more from her than a quick kiss in the hallway before practice, but shit, I’ll take what I can get. I draw it out as long as I can, then lip her lower lip as I reluctantly draw back, unable to contain my smug grin of satisfaction.
Copper shimmers swirl in her irises as she blinks up at me breathlessly. “We’re gonna be late for practice,” she pants.
“We’re already late,” I murmur.
“Yeah, well since it’s a lap for every minute, we should get out there sooner rather than later,” Ace points out, stepping right into our little bubble and bursting it. “C’mon, you two can suck face later.”
River’s cheeks redden as her wide-eyed gaze bounces between us.
“Fine, let’s go,” I grumble begrudgingly, slinging an arm over her shoulders. Starting forward, I guide her toward the double-doors at the end of the hall, Ace taking up his post on her opposite side.
Archer and Tristan are leading this morning’s session, the rest of our fellow recruits gathered around them as they go over the plan for training. The moment the three of us push through the doors and step out onto the practice field, both squad leaders turn to look our way, aiming disapproving frowns in our direction.
“Practice started six minutes ago,” Archer barks out, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. “You know what to do.”
Riv throws her head back dramatically, groaning in protest, but she knows as well as the rest of us that there’s no getting out of punishment laps. Accepting our fate, we head for the track,Ace and I matching our pace to hers as she starts off in a light jog… if you can even call it that.
Seriously, I can walk faster than this.
“You guys go ahead,” River mumbles, already panting when we’re barely half a lap in. She waves us off, and since past experience has proven there’s no point in arguing with her about it, Ace and I up our pace, breaking away to run ahead.
“What’s wrong?” he asks once we’ve built enough distance from River that we’re safely out of earshot.
“Nothing,” I lie.
“Seb,” he presses, turning his head to give me a hard look. Ace always knows when I’m out of sorts. He’s the one person I can’t hide from, which is a real pain in the ass sometimes.
I heave a sigh, the soles of my gym shoes pounding against the track as I maintain my pace. “I just don’t know how the fuck to be with her, man,” I admit, hating how fucking lame that sounds. “When I see how she is with you, I can’t help but get in my head about it.”
“I’ve told you before, you’ve just gotta talk to her,” he sighs.
“I’ve tried that,” I mutter wryly. “Every time we talk, it turns into a fight.”
Ace glances over at me, shaking his head. “It doesn’t have to. Just be honest with her like you are with me.”
“It’s not that easy,” I bite out, clenching my fists tightly as I pump my arms harder, upping my pace. “I’m always saying or doing the wrong fucking thing. She tells me to stay out of her shit, let her fight her own battles, and what do I do? Go get her stupid contact lenses back from Chandler.”
“I thought she thanked you for that,” Ace pants, picking up his own pace to match mine.
“She did, but I saw the look on her face. She wasn’t happy about it.”
“You sure you’re not just reading into things?”
“No,” I reply flatly. “But it wasn’tmeshe was cuddled up with this morning.”