The Unseen Enemy Series

Chapter 25

The next morning, Dean woke up at six o’clock, right on the dot. Years of military training had completely f****d up his internal clock, and he couldn’t sleep later than six, no matter how tired he was, or where he was, or what time he went to bed. It was better than a year before, though, when he had been awake at three every morning. For him, six a.m. was decadent sleeping in. He knew the boys were the same – if he called any of them right now, they’d be wide awake already.

He studied Emma’s face in the sunrise. She looked a bit pale, and she had shadows under her eyes. Well, he hadn’t let her drop off until after midnight, so she probably needed some more sleep.

Dean closed his eyes again, letting his body relax back into a light doze. When he opened them again, it was almost eight o’clock and Emma was still out. She was breathing softly, her hands clutching the bedsheets to those creamy breasts. He smiled and carefully climbed out of bed, trying not to wake her.

He grabbed a fresh pair of boxers from his closet and headed into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised to see that he looked well-rested and relaxed. Apparently Emma had a positive effect on him in more ways than one.

In the kitchen he started the coffee and opened the front door to let in the morning breeze. It was a mild May, and the summer promised to be a hot one. And with Emma in the picture, it was sure to be sultry and steamy, too.

He heard a noise outside and he grinned. He poured a coffee and stepped out on the porch, looked to his right. Sure enough, Dallas was over there on his front porch, staring at the Rocky Mountains in the distance. In his hand he held what was probably his fifth coffee of the day.

“Mornin’,” Dallas said. “How you doing?”

“Good. You?”

“Huh. Not bad.” He c****d his dark head. “So. She sneak out again this morning?”

Dean sipped his own coffee. “Nope. That’s one of the things we agreed on, remember? No sneaking out.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”

“She’s still sleeping.”

“Uh-huh. Poor little thing all tuckered out?”

“Shut it, Foreman,” Dean said. “I’m serious, now.”

“What?”

Dean stared over at him, kept his voice pitched low. “Enough with the wisecracks, OK? Emma is not some meaningless f**k, you get me? She’s not my girlfriend and never will be, but she’s more than some random chick from Shooter’s. I don’t want you making fun of her. She doesn’t deserve that.”

Dallas blinked, astonished. If Dean had suddenly sprouted a second head, he couldn’t have been more shocked.

“Hey, man, I’m sorry,” Dallas said. “I didn’t – I’m not trying to insult her, I swear. I’m just… making conversation. The way we always do after we bring chicks home.”

“Yeah, I know what you’re doing. But Emma isn’t some chick I brought home to get laid – I invited her here to spend the night. Big difference.”

“Yeah.” Dallas was still staring. “Yeah, of course it is. Won’t happen again.”

“OK. Let’s forget it.”

“So.” Dallas cleared his throat. “You working today?”

“Nah. I took the day off after Emma said she’d stay over last night. Jim wanted the extra hours, and I didn’t want to kick her out early.” A movement caught his eye and he turned to look into the house. Emma was standing there in his t-shirt from last night, her hair tousled, her eyes clear and warm.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” Dean replied. “You want some coffee?”

“Yeah, please.”

“OK, one sec. I’ll be right in.” He turned back to Dallas. “See you later, man.”

“Sure thing.”

Dallas watched Dean go into the house and shut the door behind him. Puzzled, he sat back down and stared out at the street, thinking about Dean’s anger at Dallas’ careless words, and he knew good and well that whatever his friend said, that little brunette pocket angel wasn’t some casual fling. Maybe Dean didn’t know it yet, but it was damn clear to Dallas that Emma was something special.

Goddammit, Dean. Careful, man.

Inside the house, Dean was pulling Emma close to his bare chest, running his hands over her naked ass. She moaned and reached up for a kiss. His hands moved around to the front of her body and his hand touched lightly between her legs.

“So,” he said. “Coffee now? Or coffee later?”

His large finger slid between her folds, stroking her heat. She closed her eyes.

“Don’t you have to go to work today?” Her voice was tight.

“Nope.” He pushed into her slick channel. “Day off.”

Her eyes opened. “Really?”

“Yeah. Sometimes it’s good to be the boss.”

Carefully, he pushed her down onto the sofa and spread her legs. Slowly, making sure she knew what he was going to do to her, he mouthed a gentle kiss on her taut bud. She arched and opened herself to his mouth, already dripping wet and aching to come.

“Later,” Emma said. “Definitely, coffee later.”

Dean growled and lowered his head to her.