Page 75 of Fire and Rain
Anya glanced around. “Sean is going to feel like he’s having an affair with you in some other man’s bedroom.”
Eden might not have put it that way, but she definitely understood what Anya meant. “I can’t face sorting through this alone. Can you help?”
Anya drew her into a hug. “Of course. We all knew this day would come eventually. You and I can get started—after I finish my pastry.”
“Thanks, baby sister.”
* * *
Sean had hopedto get a moment with the commander, but it had been a busy morning with two cases before lunch, one to deliver mechanical parts to a stranded container ship and the other a medevac of a woman with chest pain from Akhiok to a waiting ambulance in Kodiak. And still Eden had never left his mind, not for a moment.
He walked from the operations center to the cafeteria, trying to keep the smile off his face, his body humming with sexual energy. There was just something about Eden that made her different from any woman he’d known. She was authentic, spirited, fun—and that was outside the bedroom. In the bedroom, she was everything a man could want.
I’m with the hottest AET on Kodiak Island, and he’s fan-fricking-tastic in bed.
Chuckling to himself, he entered the cafeteria, grabbed a tray and silverware, and chose the beef tacos. He spotted James and Zeke at a table with two other pilots. Trey was sitting with Dalton, Matt, Amanda, Rock, and Kai, so Sean went to join them. He wasn’t looking for trouble, but he also wasn’t going to walk on eggshells.
Trey looked up, grinned. “Hey, Flo.”
But the others said nothing, Dalton giving Sean side-eye.
Then Dalton stood, picked up his lunch tray. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
The rest of the new AETs got to their feet, looking torn but following his lead, leaving only Trey, who didn’t look surprised.
“Sorry, man. Dalton has been running his mouth all morning about how you’re getting it on with Koseki’s widow. I’d tell him to shut his piehole, but he outranks me. He said something about the two of you getting into it in the commissary parking lot.”
Sean ought to have known. “He walked up to me, accused me of sleeping with her, and then asked me if we’d had an affair behind Justin’s back.”
Trey gaped at Sean. “What thefuck? Everyone knows how tight you and Justin were. There’s no way you would have gone after his woman. What did you say to that?”
“Not much.” Sean couldn’t help but grin. “Eden gave him hell. I thought she was going to punch him.”
Trey must have seen something in Sean’s expression. “So, the two of you aren’t…?”
“We weren’t at the time.” Sean left it at that.
“At thetime?” Trey frowned. “Dude, that was yesterday.”
Sean poured hot sauce on his tacos. “Things change.”
“That explains the mood.”
“What mood? I don’t have moods.”
“Clearly, you haven’t spent much time with yourself. You had a smile on your face when you walked in.” Trey grinned, leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You and Eden?”
“If you tell anyone…” Sean took a bite and chewed, the flavors of cumin, chilis, tomatoes, and beef bright on his tongue.
Trey got an innocent look on his face. “I won’t say a thing.”
“I’m going to talk to Walcott as soon as I’m done here. I don’t want the situation with Dalton to impact mission readiness.”
Trey nodded. “Good thinking.”
Sean let it go, and they talked about other things. The storm system expected to blow through later this week. The new H-60 that had been flown in from Seattle. The upcoming wilderness survival training Trey was taking next week.
After lunch, Sean made his way to Captain Walcott’s office to find Walcott on the phone. He turned to go, but Walcott motioned him inside.
