Chapter nine
Simon Riley
There are rules.
Hard lines. Boundaries. Things you don't cross in a warzone.
Falling for someone you're supposed to protect? That's top of the list.
But Lilly Rose doesn't play by the rules. And worse—I don't want her to.
⸻
We're back at base, the tension crackling like electricity in the air. She's avoiding everyone, but not me. Not anymore. I catch the way her eyes find me across the tent, defiant and burning. And I've had enough of pretending I can ignore it.
We don't say a word when I pull her by the wrist into the supply room, door slamming shut behind us.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispers, breath hitching as I press her against the wall.
"Neither should you."
Her back hits the metal cabinet, and I cage her in, both arms braced on either side of her head. Our faces inches apart. The space between us practically vibrating.
She stares at me, pupils blown wide. "You gonna keep pretending, Lieutenant?"
I let out a low growl. "Not anymore."
And then I kiss her.
Not soft. Not slow.
It's hungry. Starving.
My hands grip her waist, sliding beneath her shirt, fingers tracing the warm skin at her lower back. She arches into me, a gasp caught in her throat. Her hands are on my chest, then in my hair, pulling me closer like she needs more of me, all of me.
"You drive me insane," I murmur against her lips. "You're in my blood, and I can't get you out."
"Then stop trying," she breathes.
Clothes shift, fabric rustles. My jacket hits the floor. Her shirt's half undone. The room's dim, silent, but it feels like the world is on fire. I press my forehead to hers, trying to steady the storm inside me.
"You sure?" I ask.
She smiles, wicked and soft all at once. "Simon, if you don't touch me, now, I'm going to lose my mind."
That's all it takes.
The kiss deepens. My hands are everywhere—spine, thighs, hair. She's warm and soft under me, and when she moans my name into my ear, something inside me snaps.
I've fought wars. Broken men. Stared death in the eye and never flinched.
But this? Her?
She's the fight I'll never walk away from.
Chapter nine
Simon Riley
There are rules.
Hard lines. Boundaries. Things you don't cross in a warzone.
Falling for someone you're supposed to protect? That's top of the list.
But Lilly Rose doesn't play by the rules. And worse—I don't want her to.
⸻
We're back at base, the tension crackling like electricity in the air. She's avoiding everyone, but not me. Not anymore. I catch the way her eyes find me across the tent, defiant and burning. And I've had enough of pretending I can ignore it.
We don't say a word when I pull her by the wrist into the supply room, door slamming shut behind us.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispers, breath hitching as I press her against the wall.
"Neither should you."
Her back hits the metal cabinet, and I cage her in, both arms braced on either side of her head. Our faces inches apart. The space between us practically vibrating.
She stares at me, pupils blown wide. "You gonna keep pretending, Lieutenant?"
I let out a low growl. "Not anymore."
And then I kiss her.
Not soft. Not slow.
It's hungry. Starving.
My hands grip her waist, sliding beneath her shirt, fingers tracing the warm skin at her lower back. She arches into me, a gasp caught in her throat. Her hands are on my chest, then in my hair, pulling me closer like she needs more of me, all of me.
"You drive me insane," I murmur against her lips. "You're in my blood, and I can't get you out."
"Then stop trying," she breathes.
Clothes shift, fabric rustles. My jacket hits the floor. Her shirt's half undone. The room's dim, silent, but it feels like the world is on fire. I press my forehead to hers, trying to steady the storm inside me.
"You sure?" I ask.
She smiles, wicked and soft all at once. "Simon, if you don't touch me, now, I'm going to lose my mind."
That's all it takes.
The kiss deepens. My hands are everywhere—spine, thighs, hair. She's warm and soft under me, and when she moans my name into my ear, something inside me snaps.
I've fought wars. Broken men. Stared death in the eye and never flinched.
But this? Her?
She's the fight I'll never walk away from.