Cover Fire (Valiant Knox)

by Anastasi, Jess

  Seb picked a spot by a thick, square column holding up one side of a giant information screen, flickering alternatively with the flight schedule, advertisements, and information about the Valiant Knox.

  One detail he hadn’t firmed up with Jenna was exactly where they were going to meet, so he was hoping they wouldn’t have too much trouble spotting each other in the crowd. Part of him almost expected to see yet another different-looking, disguised Jenna turning up to greet him.

  Bren leaned against the column and crossed her arms. “So, how many years has it been since you’ve seen…what’s her name?”

  “Jenna,” he answered distractedly, scanning the crowd. “And I’m not sure exactly. A lot.”

  Bren made an uh-huh kind of noise in return, but he didn’t pay her any attention. A stream of people came out from the passageway leading to the shuttles, and the crowd shifted as people went forward to meet them.

  “Don’t you want to get closer? Will she be able to find you back here?”

  He cut Bren an exasperated glare. “Stop fussing. You wanted to tag along, so we’re doing things my way. Once the crowd thins a bit, we’ll find her no problem.”

  “Sheesh, did you put on your cranky pants this morning or what?” Bren muttered.

  “Since my morning was yesterday, because I spent all last night awake behind enemy lines, I wouldn’t be so quick to be making fun of me right now.”

  “Noted and disregarded.” Bren sent him a too-cheerful smile.

  Before he gave into the urge to not-so-politely ask his CO to get lost, he turned his attention back to the crowd. He still found it weird to remember she’d recently been promoted to CAFF. For ages they’d been equals, close friends since military academy, though she’d gotten her last promotion to lieutenant before him. Not that he begrudged her. She worked hard and deserved it, whereas he spent more time goofing off and generally not taking things seriously.

  The crowd thinned, and he caught a glimpse of dark honey-blond hair. Seb straightened, searching as a few people shifted, blocking his view. The group moved off and there was Jenna striding toward him, tugging a wheeled case behind her. His gaze was riveted. He couldn’t look anywhere else, couldn’t do anything except take her in.

  The ragged outfit she’d been wearing to blend in on Ilari was gone, replaced by a fitted white and black top gathered at her left hip, which gave way to a black, knee-length skirt with white lace trimming. Her hair had been clipped back loosely, but still fell softly around her face and shoulders. All in all, she looked gorgeous and fresh, fitting the girl-next-door image just as easily as he’d expected.

  When she got closer to him, a smile lit up her entire being, smacking him straight in the sternum. She released the handle of her luggage and ran the last few steps to him, landing against his chest with infectious enthusiasm.

  Closing his arms around her and hugging her to him came all too naturally. As did the kiss he dropped on her head. A subtle scent of creamy coconut laced his next breath, and his entire body clenched as his senses went close to overloading.

  Wow. Talk about temptation walking.

  Except this was simply another role she had to play. Letting himself get swayed by her in this guise would be the height of idiocy.

  “Seb! I’m so glad to see you.” Jenna stepped back, tilting her head up to look at him. Funny, but when he’d been dealing with her last night, he hadn’t realized she was just that little bit shorter than him.

  “Yeah, I got that.” He sent her a teasing grin. “I’m happy to see you, too, Jenna.”

  Behind him, Bren cleared her throat, loudly and not at all subtly. He dropped his hands from Jenna’s waist and stepped back into a half turn.

  “Jenna, this is a friend of mine, who also happens to be my commanding officer, Lieutenant Theresa Brenner. Bren, meet Jenna.”

  Bren stepped forward and held her hand out. “Nice to meet someone who’s known Seb longer than I have. Later, when we can get rid of him, you’ll have to fill me in on a few good stories.”

  Jenna shot him a smile that was nothing short of wicked, then looked back at Bren. “I’d love to do that, but more than a few of them would end up implicating me, so I might have to take most of them to my grave.”

  “Yeah, I can just imagine Seb leading you into all kinds of trouble.”

  He grabbed the handle of Jenna’s luggage. “Well, as fun as this isn’t, Bren, you’ll have to excuse us. Jenna’s had a long trip and I want to see her settled before our debriefing this afternoon.”

  Bren nodded. “Of course, I’ve got a long list of stuff I should be doing anyway. No one told me being the CAFF would involve so much paperwork. You know, I tried to offer the position back to Alpha the other day, and he laughed in my face.”

  “I’ll just bet he did. Sorry, but you’re stuck with it.” He shifted sideways and placed a hand in the middle of Jenna’s back. “I’ll catch up with you later this afternoon.”

  Once they’d moved away from Bren, Jenna patted his arm. “You did really well, Seb. Convincing your friends of a lie is always the hardest.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to get that.” He let the cheerful expression slip from his face, now that he didn’t have to pretend any longer. They joined a group of people waiting for the transit, and he glanced down at Jenna’s bag. “I see you’ve been busy.”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Not really. This was an emergency stash I had prepared, one of several throughout the ship, actually, just in case I ever ran into a situation like this.”

  He raised a brow at her in disbelief. “You were prepared for the possibility that your own people would try to kill you?”

  She glanced around guardedly and then sent him a quelling look. “No, not that specifically. Just in case I ever needed to go on the run suddenly. Of course, I thought I’d be jumping a shuttle off the Knox, not hiding out in plain sight.”

  The transit arrived, and once the way was clear of departing passengers, the group of people around them piled on. He started forward, but she grabbed his hand and shook her head. Okay, so apparently they were waiting for the next one.

  “Where are you staying? One of the hotels on the gen-pop level?” he asked as he stepped back.

  “Actually, I hadn’t planned that far ahead. I guess one of the hotels will have to do, though, I don’t like the thought of staying somewhere so accessible. Somewhere secure would be more ideal.”

  “The most secure beds on the ship are on crew level.” Even as he said the words, a crazy idea jumped up his mind. From the contemplative gleam in her gaze, she was likely thinking the same thing.

  Okay, he’d agreed to help her, but was this idea going beyond the call of duty? He really shouldn’t offer, it could make things too complicated. Yet he swallowed and took a short breath, the words coming up of their own violation.

  “You could stay with me. After all, I know what’s really going on. I can watch your back. There’s probably nowhere safer on the ship.”

  She nodded, the movement seeming unsure at first, but then becoming more assertive. “You’re right, there wouldn’t be anywhere safer. But opening up your home to me makes this a bit more personal than what you probably thought you were signing on for.”

  Seb shrugged as the transit returned. “I had no idea what I was signing on for, really. So you could pretty much tell me I need to dress up in a tutu and sing soprano, and I’d believe you.”

  “I’ll make a note of that for later in the assignment, maybe when I need some kind of distraction.” She grinned and glanced down. “I’m sure you’ve got the legs for it, too.”

  “Hell yeah. Once you see me in a tutu, your life will never be the same.”

  Jenna gave a short laugh as they got on the transit along with a few other people. He hit the button for the fourth crew level where his one-bedroom apartment was located. He had no problem camping out on the couch for a few days, since offering Jenna the bed was the gentlemanly thing to do.

  Call him cra
zy, but he liked the idea of having her close by. If she went off to stay at a hotel on the gen-pop level, he’d spend the whole time away from her worrying that she was safe. This way was easier, plus it would give them a chance to get to know each other better and take care of any small wrinkles in their fabricated history.

  Yep, his reasons were all entirely platonic and selfless, all for her safety and nothing to do with the way she’d felt up against him when they’d hugged before. Definitely nothing to do with the weird, tight tingle he got in his chest whenever he looked at her now, seeing a gorgeous, down-to-earth kind of girl, and not a fake-plastic bimbo like he’d first thought.

  Seb sighed as they arrived on crew level and his ID cleared the way for them. Maybe if he kept telling himself over and over to ignore those intriguing little things about her, eventually the too-interested part of himself might take notice.

  She sent him a grateful smile as they headed for his door, and the simple expression stabbed right through the middle of his chest.

  Too late for caution, because maybe he was already a lost cause.

  Chapter Seven

  Jenna followed Seb into his quarters, letting out a low sigh of relief as the door slid shut behind her, blocking the rest of the world out. She would never have suggested this, never would have invited herself into his home, no matter how pragmatic the idea might have been.

  Yet, he had offered and she couldn’t refuse, not when being around him was so easy, so uncomplicated. He reminded her of who she really was, who she had been before she’d become a CI agent. It had been a long time since anyone had looked out for her the way he had, and certainly, for many years now, no one had cared much about her outside of what she could do as an agent.

  That time alone in the dark of the maintenance hatch, after Seb had landed the shuttle and departed, had given her just enough quiet to really think. And yeah, it had been a little shocking just how lost she’d let herself get in the world of espionage, in the shadows of the war where most CI agents operated. She missed the carefree girl she’d once been, the one who hadn’t lived in the shade of death. Seb had exploded into her life and made her see she wanted that girl back.

  For a brief moment, she’d entertained the fantasy of what she would be now if she’d lived a normal life. Or even if she’d taken a different posting out of pre-mil training, instead of going into CI. Would she have met someone and gotten married? Someone like Seb who she came home to every night to share her life with?

  So maybe she could find the bright side of her own people trying to kill her. If she somehow managed to get out of this situation alive, she was going to find a new life, do something safe, something a regular, everyday kind of person would do. Have an actual relationship with friends and family, because the deepening isolation of the last few years had been one of the hardest things to endure.

  “We’ve got a few hours up our sleeve, and then I’m due at a debriefing about yesterday’s mission.” Seb set her luggage beside the couch and then continued into the small kitchen. “So, what do you want to do with that time?”

  She walked over and hopped up onto one of the stools bolted to the floor in front of the bench. “Actually, this would be a good time to decompress. I had a short nap in the shuttle, but we could both probably use a shower and some sleep.”

  He pulled two glasses out of a cupboard and then poured cold water. “Well, that’s a bit of a letdown. I thought you’d have this kick-ass plan to sneak into the command center, or maybe hack into the ship’s primary controls. Something very illegal and most definitely dangerous.”

  As she accepted the glass from him, she gave a short, humorless laugh.

  “Don’t worry. That stuff will come later. We’ve got plenty of time to get ourselves into unbelievable heights of peril.”

  “Then I won’t be disappointed.” Seb tilted his head back and took a long drink, then set the glass down and walked around the bench. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour. If you look to your right, you’ll see the shoe-box kitchen, where I have just demonstrated the types of beverages on offer. To the left, the sitting room with its single couch and one armchair, both made of the same lumpy cushions that ensure you won’t want to sit in them for more than five minutes.”

  He took her hand, tugging her off the stool and across the room to the short passageway with several doors leading off it.

  “Storage, which is so ridiculously small, you can’t even fit half your crap in there, bathroom, which has constant hot water, but funnily enough, a temperamental cold faucet. And lastly the bedroom, where you’ll be making yourself comfortable for the duration of your stay.”

  They stopped just inside the bedroom doorway, and she turned to look up at him. “I’m not sleeping in your bed.”

  He crossed his arms. “Well, obviously, I’m not going to be in it. I’ll take the couch. So, what’s the problem?”

  “It’s more than enough that you’re letting me stay here. I’m not going to take your bed as well. I’ll be fine sleeping on the couch.”

  “Seriously, you’re going to argue about this?” His brow lowered, and he sent her a slow-burning grin. “Well, if you insist, we’ll both sleep in the bed.”

  Heat flash-boiled in her veins, her mind oh-so-helpfully bombarding her with images of him reclining on the bed mostly naked, ending with her eagerly joining him.

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “I know you didn’t.” He leaned closer. “I just wanted to see what kind of reaction I’d get. Gotta say, that pink tinge to your cheeks has got me intrigued. Tut tut, Jenna, just what did you think I meant?”

  She crossed her arms. “You’re a tease. Anyone ever told you that?”

  The grin he sent her in return held no shame whatsoever, telling her he’d enjoyed the way he’d ruffled her. “Oh, I’ve been told a time or two before, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about it.” He shifted a little closer, and she backed up a step, bumping into the doorjamb. “Are you complaining, Jenna?”

  Just what was he playing at here? She tilted her head back, staring into his dark-amber eyes, her heart kicking up a few notches to drum in her chest. Having him so close, his teasing bordering on intimate, it was a temptation she shouldn’t be considering. The coming days would bring danger to both of them, and messing things up between them by getting involved would only end in disaster. Yet she’d been alone for so long, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d let anyone through her guard.

  Somehow, Seb had gotten under her skin from almost the first moment they’d met. And while logic dictated she keep as much impersonal distance between them as possible, she didn’t want to. In fact, her instincts were telling her just the opposite—to grab him close and not let go until she had to.

  But, did he reciprocate her burgeoning feelings, or was he just flirting, with no interest in taking things any further?

  Jenna gave herself a mental shake. She didn’t have the time or luxury to be standing around wondering if a boy liked her or not, as though she were some teenager with her first crush.

  “I already asked you once before if you ever take anything seriously. I guess there’s no point in repeating myself?” She set her hand in the middle of his chest, applying the slightest bit of pressure, but he didn’t move back. Warmth radiated off him, making her want to get closer like he was the damned sun and she’d been in the cold for too long.

  “And I’ll tell you the same thing I told you then. This is my serious face, can’t you tell?”

  She sent him an exasperated glare. “Your serious face looks an awful lot like your this-is-fun face. How am I supposed to tell the difference?”

  “You got me there.” He shrugged and brought a hand up to brace against the doorjamb next to her head, half trapping her closer to his body. “When the time calls for it, I’ll be deadly serious, and you’ll know it.”

  “Uh-huh,” she muttered, heavy on the sarcasm.

  Somehow, he’d gotten nearer still, and her next
breath was all Seb—lingering tones of his aftershave, mixed with the leather of his flight jacket and an undertone that was simply, undeniably male.

  The hand she’d braced against his chest curled into a fist, gripping a handful of his shirt as she breathed out unevenly. She’d been making duty her number one priority for so many years, she’d almost forgotten what it felt like to want something for herself. Except, this was the worst possible time that her long-repressed desire for something beyond herself could have to risen up. Distracted at the wrong moment, it could mean her death.

  Yet somehow Seb was closer, though she had no idea if he’d moved or she had. She tightened her grip on the front of his shirt, knowing she should pull away, but her body refused to respond to the command.

  His lips touched hers, the contact brief, tentative, but entirely consuming. And then her eyes slid shut as tingles shot through her body like a forerunner of electricity. Seb closed a hand around the back of her neck and quite simply took over. He yanked her up against him, deepened the kiss, and the tingles exploded into a shower of sparks, lighting bright, hot, little fires all throughout her body.

  Her breath stalled as he pushed harder against her, and then urged her back half a step until she came up against the wall behind her. Her insides were hitting melting point, all from what should have been a simple kiss. Yet there was nothing simple about the way he was kissing her, all dark heat and lush passion, like drinking at midnight on a beach in the tropics. Her head was spinning, the air seemed too thick to breathe, yet she couldn’t get enough of him.

  Seb cursed, and it took a long moment for her brain to register anything beyond the feel of him against her. But when her mind at last rebooted itself as he pulled away, she realized she could hear a trilling noise.

  He kept one arm at her waist, but used the other to pull out his personal comm.

  “What?” His voice came out gravelly, and more than a little pissed off, as he held the comm to his ear. His lips thinned as he listened to whoever was on the other end, and he glanced down at her. Shadows of concerned chased away the warm gleam in his gaze, and he let her go to turn away.