Free The Colonel's Man by J. William Mitchell Mina Carter Page B

conversation with you, Scott.”
    Irritation, anger and something else crossed her face as she turned fully to him. Her eyes were furious as she backed him up against the wall, her finger prodding his chest.
    “We were undercover with a specific mission goal to fulfill. It needed to be believable so, by the spirits, we made it believable. I don’t know how your previous unit did things but here, we achieve the mission goals by whatever means necessary. Half shagging you up against a wall? Not a problem, I’d have gotten down and dirty with half that damn security team if it had gotten that list out of Julian’s clutches and kept our men and women out there safe. Do you have a problem with that?”
    He didn’t like being cornered and he shifted sideways so he leaned against the wall, helping with some privacy. Not that it helped much because they were already yelling.
    “Yeah!”
    The response was out before he could even think about it. The idea of her fucking the security team…his fist hit the bulkhead next to him with a force that would have been painful but he felt nothing. His rage had numbed him.
    “So you’re telling me that you would have let yourself get fucked by anyone, by all those men if it meant you accomplished the mission parameters? That’s very noble of you, lady!”
    She didn’t flinch at his anger or the sound of his fist hitting the wall, just got up in his face even more, her expression furious.
    “Noble has nothing to do with it. We… I don’t get it right, and people die. And you want to be pissy with me because you’re upset we went a little too far? I’m sorry if that offended your sensibilities…or that we didn’t have a younger model to soothe your male ego…but we work with what we’ve got and that means you’re stuck with me.”
    “Why are you so hung up with how old you are? I don’t understand that. It has nothing to do with why I’m pissed off.”
    “Well, what the fuck are you pissed off about?” She glared at him. “Because when I picked you and Michaels up, I thought I was getting two professional operatives.”
    Because you make me horny as hell and it's driving me insane! “Lady,” he snarled down at her. “Had I been any less professional, you would have died strung up like a pig in that warehouse. Or worse…”
    “Worse? I’d already broken his bloody neck and was working on getting myself out of there when you and your partner showed up. So don’t give me that!”
    He snorted.
    “Really? Pipsqueak like you hanging beaten, up three feet from the floor? And yeah worse. Someone who looks like you, who gets herself caught like that is certainly gonna be the main entertainment for a block party in that hellhole.”
    “So we’ve done the fact you think I was unprofessional in letting you touch me during the mission, and now we’re onto that I’m basically crap at my job? Is there anything else you’d like to throw into the mix, handsome?”
    He raised a finger and opened his mouth as if to raise a point but no sound came out. He dropped his head and shook it as he sighed in frustration. “Yeah, Drew’s right. I’m a dick.”
    “Yeah, I’d listen to your partner. He sounds like a sensible guy.” She sighed, and stepped back a little to consider him with a confused expression. “Now is there anything else you want to argue about before I go and argue with Admiral Buchanan?”
    “No ma’am.”
    He let out a breath and started back where he came from before. He had taken a few steps when he stopped and spoke over his shoulder. “Yes, there is. You look great in that uniform.”
    * * *
    Hours later, Jason had worn himself out in the gym, had three cold showers, but still couldn’t sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes all he could see was Arita in that sexy cocktail dress, or the image of her as she slowly stripped off the formal uniform.
    “Ugh. You, Jason, are a sick man,” he told himself as he pulled a pillow over his face. He needed to