Mission: Compromised Submissive (3 page)

Vice heaved the last tough box into the back of the truck and cranked the tie
downs tight. Tomorrow morning they would be back on the never
ending flight
,
smashed in like sardines in a tin. Unlike
commercial flights, there were n
o windows and the seating was c
l
au
st
ro
phobic. She would rather be surrounded by
insurgents
and have no ammo than be shoved in that damn plane again. Heading in to wash up, it was time for the traditional goodbye dinner
and dreaded it
. Before coming to the
ranch, Vi
ce had always welcomed taking off to go do what she
did
best. Now, she hated leaving everyone. With her emotions already in turmoil, she dreaded the night’s end.

On her way to the house, she spotted Hulk squatted down with Mac. He looked more at ease than she had seen him in a
while. “It looks like he’s as good for you as you are for him.”

Hulk looked up and actually smiled. It had been a rough last few days for them all, but he seemed to be having the most difficulty getting his head back in the game. Not many had noticed how bad his anxiety had gotten, but Vice did. He was showing more and more signs of PTSD. His temper had gotten so bad he was literally jumping on a reason to blow up. From the bags under his eyes, she would just about put money on
him
having similar nightmares
to what
plagued her each night. The thing was, until he was ready to ask for help, there wasn’t much anyone could do.

Watching the calmness for the first time, she smiled. Hopefully Mac was the prescription he needed. They had all heard how dogs were being used in therapy for so
ldiers
who
had battled with PTSD issues. Now, hopefully they would get to see it at work firsthand.

“Yeah, he is. I hope the flight tomorrow isn’t too hard on him. Hell, it’s all I can do to make it. Maybe we should get the vet to give
him
some sort of tranquilizer or something.”

“
Rock already took care of it. He got Ambien for the rest of us. I gotta say, I can’t wait.
That flight is hell and I’d rather wake up and be on solid ground. It’
ll be nice to get a good rest in before we land
. Who knows the next time we’
ll get a chance to sleep.”

Hulk let out a huff. “Yeah, but waking up without recollection of where the hell we are or how long we’ve been in the air is scary as fuck. Who
’
s to say they don’t highjack the plane and fly us to some remote
hellhole prison camp or something.”

“True. But, at least we will be well rested. It’s not like we can’t escape and kill the fuckers who tried. Come on. It’s time for supper. You can worry about whether to take the red pill or the blue pill later.” Hulk rolled his eyes at her lame movie reference but followed her inside.

Everyone
was gathered at the table, waiting
for Michael to lead their prayer. Michael and Romeo had grilled steaks, while the women prepared enough fixin
'
s to feed an army. Ironically, they were feeding a small army.
As they bowed their heads, each one went through their own list of things they were grateful for, and asked for protection for what awaited them. On the closing ‘Amen’, all talk about their departure was left unspoken. Instead, the family talked of things to c
ome and
reflected on the past. After the dishes had been cleared and the kids put to bed, the adults all took to the li
ving room for a night
cap and to hang out.
Vice lounged on the couch in between Juju and Romeo, while the others took up every inch of furn
i
ture and the floor.

“I
feel like the meat in a STD sandwich.” She gazed at both of the men beside her and giggled.

“Hey,
what’s that supposed to mean?”
Juju asked defensively.

“It means, I am sitting in between the two biggest manwhores and don’t want to catch the funk.”

“Well. That’s just insulting. I’ll have you know, we armor the tank before we enter the flank
,
” Romeo joked.

“Which makes you the roast between the toast.” Juju laughed.

Vice rolled her eyes. “Since when did you two turn into Dr. Seus
s
?”

“Poetry is a panty dropper.” Romeo grinned.

“Geeze.
Lucky ladies
,
” Vice said in full snark. She laughed them off, enduring a conversation that led to way more information than
she ever wanted to know.

The room was full of happiness, and great conversation. As Dom looked around, he felt a sense of calmness he hadn’t before. This was what it was all about. Knowing the women needed one last night with their men and none would break up the bonding, Dom stepped up. “
Bedtime. Let’s give Alaina and Bella some alone time with their men and call it a ni
ght.” He was answered by a round of “Roger” by the soldiers who were giving hugs to Mrs. Sanders, Michael, Vince, Violet, Bella, and Alaina. Tomorrow morning would be hard on them all.

Hulk hadn’t slept for shit. Every
time he would doze off, visions of Venus’s bloody and battered corpse would float through his dreams, begging for help. It was the same thing night after night. If he wouldn’t have passed out, he would have helped Venus out, and he would be gearing up to take on their mission with th
e rest of them. Why
?
He had asked himself that every day since.
It had gotten so bad
he had begu
n to see Venus while he was awake. Every loud noise made him jump and reach for his weapon that wasn’t there. He was living in a hell he couldn’t escape, and had to keep silent
or risk losing his career.

Hulk grabbed the last of his duffle
bags
and tossed them onto the truck.
When he turned around, Violet was standing right beside him. “Shit! Don’t you know not to
sneak up on people like that?” He had to uncock his fist that had immediately flew to the defensive posture.

“Sorry, I thought you heard me…
I was talking but you were a million miles away. Are you okay?”

Hulk groaned. He had been two seconds away from breaking her face. What’s next? Killing bunnies? No. He wasn’t okay. He was a trained killer who carried a high
-
powered rifle and couldn’t get his shit together. They were leaving in less than an hour, and his consci
ence
was eating at him. What if he put his team in danger? No
.
No. He was a soldier first
,
damn it! When his attention
dragged
back to Violet, he wanted to run. The look on her face said it all. Now, he needed some major damage control before she had him committed
into a comfortable padded cell.

“Sorry. I
was a few thousand miles away…
thinking of all the different s
c
enarios we might run into.”

“No problem. I should have left you alone…it’s just that…well, I was hoping you might come have a cup of coffee with me before you leave.” Violet fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, refusing to make eye contact.

It took Hulk a few moments longer to realize there was a hidden meaning in her friendly gesture. He could still see the concern twisting in her swee
t angelic features, but knew
he saw something else. Was she interested in him? Just before she turned and walked away, he found his tongue. “Sure, I’d love a cup. Thanks.” As they made their way back into the house, he pushed it a little farther. “Violet, listen. Um, would you mind a few emails or video chats while we are gone? I know everyone sends back group messages, but I was hoping maybe we could talk some. Alone.” And, there was the bomb. Either she would backtrack and give him a huge dose of awkwardness to leave with and pine over for the next who knows how long, or give him an outlet through the hell that faced them.

When Violet stopped mid
-
s
tep and turned to him, he parted his lips to
back track and almost fainted when she stepped up on her toes and kissed him. In one swift swoop, she had managed a smoother move than Michael Jordan going in for a slam dunk right at the buzzer. Thankfully, his instincts took over and before she could pull away, he had one arm snaked around her waist and bent down to meet her tiny stature enough
so
he had leverage to kiss her properly.
It didn’t take much tempting to
get her sweet
,
plush
,
little lips to part, and he didn’t give her time to second guess it. He dove in full force, consuming her from the inside out. To give her more to think about
,
he lifted her, pressing her against his chest. A whispered whimper echoed around their tangoing tongues, and Hulk swallowed each and every one like a starving animal. As quickly as it had beg
u
n it ended, leaving her swaying on her feet and him fighting for gravity. No woman had ever altered him with a single kiss until this moment. Without a word he laced his fingers through hers and led her in the house as if nothing had happened, but both seemed to have a new spring in their stride each step of the way.