Enemy Within (Unseen Enemy Book 1) by Marysol James Page B

on AML for her to read, or exhort her to keep thinking positive. These guys would ply her with beer and then send her off to have sex. Perfect.
    She had come to know them over the past couple of months, since it seemed that Dallas’ place was some kind of unofficial club house. Jim and Chris spent lots of time hanging out on the front porch, drinking beer and enjoying the blazing summer heat, talking about nothing much, or not talking at all.
    Secretly, she was fascinated by the guys, by their clear-yet-unspoken bond. Emma had been able to piece together quite a bit of their backstory, since she had discovered that Chris was most chatty in the kitchen, Jim relaxed best on the porch, Dallas actually dropped his joking tone if she had a morning coffee alone with him, and Dean was strangely and sweetly open and vulnerable after sex.
    She knew that Dallas was a kind of odd-man-out, in that he hadn’t been a Ranger with the other guys, but he did have some kind of specialized skill that had brought him in to their unit often. If she had to guess, and based on his unflinching powers of observation and his amazing ability to sit still and silent for long periods of time, she’d say that he had been a sniper. But she wasn’t about to ask. She wasn’t going to ask any of them anything about their time in Afghanistan. She knew that none of them were anywhere near over what they had done or seen, and she wasn’t about to open that box of nightmares.
    So here she sat on Dallas’ porch, her body unwinding and letting go of her tension. The guys were all looking at her, watching her relax. When she settled a bit deeper in to the chair, Dallas decided to tease her a bit, just to test the waters.
    “So, darlin’. How was your trip with my favorite redhead?”
    Emma grinned at Dallas. “It was OK. Wait ‘til you see the pictures for the new perfume campaign this winter.”
    Dallas leaned forward. “Tell me.”
    “I can’t. I signed a confidentiality agreement. But Olivia? Looks amazing .”
    He almost groaned aloud. “Stop teasing me, Emma, I beg of you.”
    She took a sip of her beer and grinned again. Next to her, Dean relaxed completely. He was happy to see her, he realized. He’d spent the whole day in a fever of impatience, so much so that Jim had noticed at work and started looking at him funny.
    Fuck me. I missed her.
    He was mostly quiet as Emma and the guys talked. He was wild with needing to get her back to his place; he wanted to be buried deep inside that curvy little body. He watched her with his friends, saw how she gave them her full attention when they talked to her, as she always did.
    With Emma, he always got the feeling that she saw and heard far more than a person meant to show or say. Those blue eyes just looked past the skin, somehow, went deeper. But it wasn’t off-putting or invasive; it just felt like she was connected to you. He knew the guys liked it, too. Even Jim, one of the most suspicious men Dean had ever known, dropped his guard around Emma and talked easily.
    After an hour, Chris got to his feet. “OK, guys. I’m off. Early shift tomorrow.”
    “Yeah, me too.” Jim stretched. “I’ve got an extra shift in the morning.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Emma said, her eyes dancing. “Why is that?”
    “Covering for the boss.” Jim looked innocent. “Seems he needs the morning off tomorrow.”
    “Huh.” Emma contemplated that. “I wonder why that is.”
    “Said he had something to do… didn’t go in to details, though.”
    “Alright, everyone hush up,” Dean growled. “Let’s go, baby.”
    She stood up and gave the guys hugs goodnight. Dallas looked troubled when he hugged Emma and he held her for a few seconds longer than usual.
    “You take care, darlin’.”
    “Always, Dallas. Goodnight.”
    Dean took her hand and helped her down the stairs. When they got to his place, she sighed. She had come to really like it here; it was comfortable and familiar and she felt all her stress just