Semper Mine (Sons of War #1)(46)

Riley and I pause poolside. He squats and watches the two trying to kill each other.

“Thirty seconds?” he asks, glancing up at me.

“Should be enough to wear them down.” We’ve been through drown proofing a million times, so we know about how far we can push ourselves as well as newbies, before there’s a real danger of death.

Katya, can you let anything go? Though I’m starting to think there might be a reason for her anger towards Brianna. The comment the first day about scars and short-sleeved polos makes more sense, given what I know of how self-conscious Katya is about her back. Still, it seems really … childish to be fighting over something like that.

With Katya, there’s no real way of knowing.

“You want help?” Carson asks as he joins us.

“Nah. We got it,” Riley responds.

Coughing, cursing and thrashing, the two women are a little more determined than I expect two civilians with no sense to act. They slow as they struggle, the drag of the water taking a toll on both. Both have tried to drag each other under.

I glance at my watch.

“Thirty,” I report.

Riley dives in, and I push off my shoes before following his lead. As the token Marine and SEAL on the team, we’re more accustomed to water drills than the others. A swimmer by birth, I feel in my natural state in the water and can hold my breath long enough to outlast everyone in any class I’ve been in.

I open my eyes underwater and swim the few strokes between Katya and me then emerge behind her.

Riley is waiting behind Brianna. At my nod, he snatches her while I grab Katya haul her away.

Katya shoves at me.

“Stop!” I snap.

She mutters something but goes limp. I drag her to the side of the pool and haul myself out before I pull her out with me. She’s panting and rests back against my chest. I raise one leg to help prop her up. Brianna is pushing Riley away across the pool. She staggers to her feet, shoots a furious glare in our direction and marches away.

“Bitch,” Katya whispers.

“That’s all you got?” I respond.

“I won. I think.”

I shake my head and lift her wrist. It’s still bandaged. I have a feeling it’s going to need a medic before the end of camp, if she continues to agitate it.

“What happened this time?” I ask.

Katya twists her head to meet my gaze. “None of your business.” And then she smiles, tired but satisfied.

“What happens later is on you. Remember that,” I warn her.

She rolls her eyes. “What? You gonna kiss me again?”

Is she daring me? There’s a gleam in her eyes that makes me think she is. We hold each other’s gazes, the intensity of our mutual attraction undeniable. I start to think we won’t make it through camp without f*cking, even though I really think it’d be a huge, huge mistake.

“Was this about the Jenna incident?” Riley crouches down near us. “She was going off about it last night.”

She looks towards him, releasing me from the spell that settles between us whenever we’re together. “It was about a … few things,” Katya says vaguely. “She had that coming.”

“Civilians,” Riley mutters.

“Go get cleaned up.” I nudge her with my knee.

Riley stands and offers her a hand, pulling her up.

With a lingering glance at me, Katya leaves. I watch her until she disappears behind the door leading out of the pool area.

“Petr know you’re f*cking his sister?” Riley asks with his normal bluntness, confirming the instinct that’s telling me what’s between us is getting stronger.

“I’m not,” I reply.

“Coulda fooled me.”

I eye him.

“Not prying.” He holds up his hands, grinning. “She’s hot. With a temper like that, she’ll be a wild f*ck. Just saying … she’s Petr’s sister.”

Carson nears, as if interested in my response. I climb to my feet.

“Because she’s his sister is why I’m not,” I say carefully. “That’s all I’ll say about it.”

Riley nods. Carson is smiling. They know my tone well enough to know they need to drop it.

“Hey, guys. What’d I miss?” It’s Harris.

I face him, my mind growing quiet the way it does before I punch someone. It takes me a minute to remember that Petr gets to deal with this shitbag.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little talk.

“You got a minute, Harris?” I ask casually with a smile.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Come on. Let’s walk and talk.” I start towards the gate. “We’ll be back in five, Riley.”





Chapter Sixteen: Katya


My wrist is killing me as I walk back to the dorms. It’s not the pain that’s at the forefront of my thoughts. It’s the way Captain Mathis looked at me after I asked him if he’s going to kiss me again later.

Because I really want that to happen, whether or not I should. I can’t get over the way he kissed me last night and hugged me. Almost like he was concerned and definitely like he’s attracted. I know we both feel what’s between us, even if we don’t talk about it. I’m not sure how to handle it, given that we sit on opposite ends of the spectrum in pretty much everything.