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“Yeah, yeah. You can solve everything.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Cleo said. “ELVIS is more than capable of overseeing things. And we can always pick the shorter jobs.”

Hunter grabbed her hand. “I don’t want you out there. It’s not safe.”

Fire flared in her eyes, and she eased her hand away. “Like I said, we’ll pick the short jobs and plan everything. Or have you gotten too used to sitting behind a desk? You’re afraid to go out in the field because you’ve lost your edge?”

Hunter growled softly. “I can guarantee I haven’t. But you’re missing the point. I—”

Cleo shook her head. “I’m not. I appreciate your concern, but you’re overstepping the mark. We’re both trained and ready for field ops.”

“The ship would be vulnerable without you on board.”

“Incorrect. I can guarantee—”

“You’re not helping, ELVIS,” Hunter grumbled.

Cleo sighed. “You go stir crazy stuck on this ship. You should jump at the chance to dust off your weapons and get out there.”

“I don’t. I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, you’re convincing no one about that. Don’t worry about me. I could do with a break from being ordered about by High Command, and we can go exploring. It could even be fun.”

Hunter grabbed his sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth. It wouldn’t be fun, putting the woman he cared about in harm’s way.

And he did care, more than he should. Cleo acted like nothing ever happened between them, and that one, mind-blowing night was forgotten about.

It had changed everything for him.

But when the orders came in from High Command, giving Cleo the command of the crew, and Hunter was to be her partner, she’d pulled him aside, explained she didn’t mix business with pleasure, and that was it. The door was closed in his face. Hunter never got a chance to be with her again.

And it had been over a year. He sometimes felt like he was going insane being so close and not being able to touch her.

“So, are we good?” Cleo said.

“I wouldn’t say we’re good,” he grumbled. “I don’t agree with us leaving the ship.”

“We went with Ash and Georgia on the mission to find the white tails. Nothing bad happened then.”

“Because we were the pilots. We didn’t have a ground task. This will be different.”

“We’re going on these missions,” she said. “We need this. I need this.”

Hunter tensed in his seat. “You’re not happy in your job?”

“The job is fine, but I miss the carefree days when I got to go out with a backpack and a weapon and lose myself in some wild terrain.”

The thought of Cleo at risk and vulnerable sent a chill down Hunter’s spine.

She passed him more food and flashed him a smile. “Let’s do this. ELVIS can look after the ship. We could even have fun together.”

He arched a brow. “What kind of fun are you talking about?”

Her warm smile instantly faded. “Not the kind you’re thinking about. I’ll greenlight it and inform the rest of the crew. Then we can pick the missions we go on.”

Hunter scowled, but there was no way he’d talk Cleo out of this. When she set her sights on something, she never gave up.

He was exactly the same, and he was determined to get Cleo back. He’d had a taste of paradise and needed more.

Hunter needed Cleo in his life and in his bed for good and wouldn’t stop fighting until he’d achieved that.

THE END

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