Page 6 of War

Joey cleared his throat. “Hands off,” he warned in a low voice. “If we have to fire her because things get awkward between you two, we're only hiring men from here on out.”

I grinned. “That won't deter me.” As long as the person turned me on, I didn't care about gender. And I loved to irritate Joey.

Joey shook his head. “Whatever. Don't touch her.”

I made a serious face. Solemnly, I raised my hand and positioned my fingers in the Star Trek Vulcan salute. “Don't worry. I'll be a priest.”

Joey laughed. “Priest of what?”

I grinned again but didn't answer. Guess I'd used that before. I lowered my hand and stuffed my fingers into the pockets of the jumpsuit.

“Hands off her. I'm serious.” He snapped his fingers as the idea came to him. “Senior men. That'll throw a wrench in your game. Wrinkly, saggy balls and limp dicks. They'll be hired next.”

Small wrench. I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I'll behave.”

“You'd better.” Joey eyed the wall-mounted clock across from us. He gestured toward the hangar, which had changing rooms complete with showers. “Sorry to leave you guys early, but I'm going to hop in the shower. I have to be at class in half an hour to prepare for a presentation today.”

Despite his age, Joey took evening classes at the local college to earn a new degree. He planned to retire from skydiving soon and wanted to get a desk job to stay busy.

“Okay. See you tomorrow. Good luck.”

Joey nodded and pointed at me, mouthing “hands off,” then headed toward the hangar.

I pulled my hands out of my pockets, bringing a pack of Reese's cups in one of them, and took a seat in the chairs across from Amantha's desk. I waited to introduce myself to my newest co-worker. In the meantime, I opened the pack and peeled a wrapper off a Reese's cup to munch on it. They were my favorite candy. The hangar had a vending machine with them so I also had easy access, a huge plus to working there.

Amantha hung up her desk phone and beamed as she turned her attention to me. “Hi! Zion? It's so nice to meet you.”

A smile stretched across my lips. This woman's confidence amplified her gorgeous features. Her positivity was contagious. “Amantha. Interesting name. Not very common.”

“Same to you. How long have you worked here?”

“I've been a jump instructor for almost two years.” I used my free hand to gesture to the jump suit as though it explained everything.

Amantha's eyebrows raised. “You’ve leapt out of planes for that long?”

I nodded. “Part time. Three days a week for the past two years. My schedule’s pretty sweet. Monday through Wednesday here, Thursday and Friday off, then Saturday and Sunday at the mud racing track. Of course, I do fun stuff on my days off, too.”

“Fun stuff...” Amantha’s eyes trailed over me and she nodded. “You're a thrill seeker... Maybe an adrenaline junkie. You do whatever you can to get your heart pumping.”

I tilted my head to the side as I weighed the statement. I hadn't thought about it that way, but it was true. Not that I would admit it.

I ignored the statement and jutted my chin at her. “What do you like to do?”

Surprise crossed her face. “Me? I'm pretty predictable. Work, exercise, read, sleep, repeat.”

“A reader, huh? What do you read?”

“Smut. Absolute smut,” she answered with a straight face.

I laughed in surprise. I hadn't expected such a direct answer. Refreshing.

I said, “Nothing wrong with that. You know what you like. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

“Maybe I can.” She wiggled her eyebrows back.

I chuckled. She had spunk.

Amantha's desk phone rang.