Team: Echo (7 page)

“
I may be a commitment-phobe, Daisy, but I am always sure of
you,” he said with a slight smile. “And divorce isn’t in my
vocabulary when it comes to you. I don’t think I could ever give
you up once I have you. I’m a possessive bastard D so be sure you
want that in your life permanently.”

“
I couldn’t be more sure of anything if my life depended on
it. I love you Mikhail and I want forever with you. You are my
rock, you are my soul and I’m damn well keeping you,” she muttered.
“So what do you say about us ditching the kids, getting a hotel
room and celebrating?”

“
We can if you’d like, but I need to let them know we’re
leaving or god help us all,” he said softly. Digging in his pocket
he held out the keys to his truck. “Why don’t you go hop in the
truck and I’ll let them know we’re ditching them?”

“
Sounds like a plan to me.” She took the keys from him and
smiled. “I love you Mikhail, now hurry your ass up and please tell
the boys not to break Penny. She’s going to be my maid of honor at
our wedding you know.”

“
God help us all,” he muttered, waving her off to the truck.
He didn’t move though until she was safely ensconced. Only then did
he turn and go back into the bar and towards the table. Signalling
Penny he leaned in. “D and I are ditching you guys, she wants to
get a hotel room for a private night. Are you good with these
guys?” he asked her, feeling a little bad for leaving her alone
with the other males.

Penny nodded. “I might act drunk but I’m not. It’s always
been D that couldn’t hold her booze.” She smiled at the big guy and
said, “Enjoy your night alone. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your men
too much,” she teased. “And congrats, I’m happy for you
Mikhail.”

Sighing he nodded and walked back to the main door and
outside.

“
What’s that about?” James asked from behind her, handing her
the glass of water she’d requested when she turned. “Is everything
okay with him and Daisy?” he frowned in concern, looking from her
to the door where Mikhail had vanished.

“
Yeah, I think D let the cat out of the bag that it’s him that
she’s going to be marrying legally and not Gareth. Not sure that
the big guy is at all happy with that but he would give D anything
she wanted,” Penny shrugged. “Gareth is perfectly fine with it, he
said as long as he gets to marry D in a private ceremony that he
was totally happy with it. I just hope that Daisy can convince Mik
that he’s worth it.” She shrugged again and turned to look at
James, grinning. “How about you? You think that he’s going to pass
out on the alter?”

“
If she gets him there not a chance in the world,” James said.
“If she ever ends up having another of Gareth’s kids, then they’ll
both pass out cold. Mik has a thing about women in pain and crying,
puts him into some sort of tailspin and is literally the only thing
in the world that can knock him six ways of Sunday on a
mission.”

“
Right, so if she gets knocked up again we should all make
sure that there are airbeds under the boys so that they don’t hurt
themselves on the way down?” she teased. “But you said Gareth’s,
why not Mikhails? Has he been fixed or something?”

“
As far as I can say on any authority is that he can’t have
kids. Rumor mill says he was injured and he’s now sterile but he
has never said one way or another. All I know is if you ever
mention it, don’t look him in the eye or you’ll feel like gutting
yourself,” James said with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure he wanted at
least one rugrat of his own at some point in his life and now he
can’t ever have any. He gets this look that just kills
you.”

“
Poor guy,” Penny said softly. “If only miracles could
happen,” she murmured. “Now, are you going to dance with me again
pretty boy or do I need to go and find myself someone else to dance
with honey?” She didn’t want to think about D and her men; she
wanted to think about the men she was with instead.

“
Aww, you think I’m pretty,” he batted his lashes at her.
Taking the empty glass from her he handed it off to a passing
waitress and grabbed her hand. “Let’s get down and dirty girl,” he
said, hauling her towards the floor with a hoot and a holler in
time to the music with the rest of the bar.

Penny moved with him, their bodies seemingly feeding off of
each other as they twisted, turned and laughed. She grabbed his hat
from him again and shoved it on her head, moving up close to him
when a slower dance came on. “Dance the slow dance with me pretty
boy?”

“
Absolutely sugah,” he teased with a heavy Southern accent.
Taking her hand he pressed it to his chest and wrapped his other
arm around her. Leaning in he rested his cheek to her temple and
moved slowly back and forth throwing in the occasional lazy
turn.

“
I usually don’t dance slow dances.” But his body against
hers, it felt nice. If only her back wasn’t so cold. “This is kinda
nice though.” She had one hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes
as they swayed to the music. “I’ve had fun tonight, have
you?”

“
I always have fun when I get to go out for a few hours and
just enjoy. I don’t even care if there is dancing as long as I have
time to just sit back and kick up my heels,” he told her. Lifting
his head he stilled for a moment. “What’s up Dieter?”

Putting his hands on her shoulders the large man leaned in.
“The others are heading back to the house. We’ve got one truck here
for us three unless Penelope wants to head back now,” Dieter looked
down at her. “Do you wish to remain for a little longer or leave
now?” he asked with a crooked grin.

Penny turned and went easily into Dieter’s arms and sighed.
“I think that the three of us should finish off this dance then we
can head back. It’s a shame to let a good song go to waste, don’t
you think?” She felt James’s hands on her hips and smiled. “If you
are okay with it?”

“
I’m good with it,” James said, pressing in closer to her.
“But then again we have the gorgeous girl and they are all riding
home together. That would be a win-win in my book. Hell, any
book.”

“
What is this book you’re talking of?” Dieter asked, moving
with Penny around the floor. “Do you know this book he’s speaking
of Penelope?”

“
The book that’s in his mind, of checks and balances. He’s
saying that it’s good because you boys get to ride home with me,
the sexy pretty one while the others had to ride home together,
belching, gassy other ones,” she teased.

“
Ahh, that makes much sense,” Dieter nodded and smiled down at
her.

“
It’s amazing where the language gap kicks in,” James
chuckled. “He’s got an amazing amount of American slang and yet
every now and again my German cohort gets stumped.”

“
German is a good language, no weird crap,” Dieter said.
“English never stays constant and is always changing, very
confusing to those of us who have it as their fifth
language.”

“
It’s true. English is one of the hardest languages of them
all to know and learn. Even more so when you toss in all of the
slang and what not.” She looked up at Dieter and smiled. “I know a
little German, not a great deal but I’m willing to learn
more.”

“
I like you,” he grinned down at her. “We will teach you more
and you hopefully will not have that horrid Southern accent to go
with it,” Dieter shot an annoyed look to James. “Some people should
not be allowed to butcher the languages of others as well as their
own.”

“
I will have you know, Penelope, I speak seven other languages
fluently and without an accent of any sort to betray I’m American
let alone Southern,” James said laughing softly. “Or I can annoy
the locals and play the dumb hick tourist.”

She grinned and shook her head. “I speak several languages as
well but I seem to pick up the local nuances with it. It’s a gift I
guess,” she said with a shrug. “That’s what made me so good at my
job, I could fit in practically anywhere as a natural born citizen
of the place.”

“
Well that’s just plain impressive,” James said, squeezing her
hips as he pressed closer to her. Stopping when the song ended he
looked down at her. “You want another drink before we head out or
did you want to leave right away.”

“
Water only, I’m at my limit for booze. I’m feeling warm and
fuzzy and that’s as far as I go.” Anymore and she would be
stripping these country boys and licking them from top to bottom
and that just wouldn’t do, not at all. Taking Dieter’s hand in hers
she led him back to their table while James went to get their
drinks.

Sitting down Dieter pulled her onto his knee with a grin.
“You are a beautiful woman, Penelope,” he said to her. “Might I ask
why you do not have a man out here threatening to do us bodily harm
for dancing with you as we were?”

“
Likely because men don’t really like me much,” she admitted
rather bluntly. “They don’t like a woman that can stand up for
herself, fight her own battles and certainly don’t like one that
can take them down to the ground if they even dared lay a hand on
me. That and,” she shrugged. “I was engaged once. Walked in while
he was fucking my best friend. That’s what got me bumped out here
to Texas and then forced onto this team. It is what it is I
guess.”

“
If you want we’ll kill him for you,” James said, sitting down
with their drinks. Sliding a beer to Dieter he handed her the
water. “Ve have vays of killin softly,” he wiggled his eyebrows at
her and grinned. “And it would look perfectly natural. Well, as
long as we didn’t take Mik along. Big ass hole in his forehead
wouldn’t be very natural looking.”

“
Yeah, not so much, but no. Let him live his life. It’s
amusing really because now he’s got three kids by the gal and he’s
pissed off to high heaven since his daddy made him marry her. It’s
actually funny really.” Taking a sip of the water Penny shook her
head. “Enough about him, why are two amazing looking men like you
not hitched?”

“
Damned hard to do with the military is your mistress,” James
told her. “That and all the classified crap we’ve done, dealt with
and otherwise had to put up with is not exactly the sorts of things
to build an open and honest relationship on. That and the fact that
most women get all weird when we mention bringing a buddy in on
love sessions.”

“
Ah, I had wondered about that. Do all of you prefer to double
up on the ladies?” What a conversation! If she were wearing panties
they would be wet right now, as it was her jeans were getting the
cream she was creaming. “It does take a certain kind of woman to
want two men, to be able to handle two men.”

“
Yes and no, we all like getting a woman sandwiched between us
more often than not. But we also all enjoy a quiet evening for just
two,” James shrugged. “Though, a woman that doesn’t even consider a
threesome around us is pretty much not even allowed past a certain
point. We like to have a woman that is open about her sexuality,
into new things and yet not afraid to say no when it’s too much for
her.”

Lifting her bottle of water she saluted him. “Good for you.
It’s good that you boys know just what you want and how you want
it. That is more than half the battle you know.” She loved the idea
of a threesome, never participated in one, but then again her
sexual wings had been clipped for a while now. “Here is to wishing
you boys luck in finding the girl you need.”

“
Oh, we’ve found her,” James said with a grin, looking to
Dieter who nodded happily. “She doesn’t know it yet but that’s
alright, we do like a good hunt.” Licking his lips he leaned on the
table and rolled his glass between his palms. “The hunt is
sometimes the best part. Stalking your prey, easing in close,
tempting, teasing, dropping innuendo until the fire is stoked high
enough to scald and then the almighty attack and tearing off of
clothing to get flesh to flesh.”

Penny grinned. “Well then, wow, is it getting hot in here?”
she fanned herself. “I think that it might be time to hit the road,
what do you boys say? Take me home will ya?” Damn to be the gal
that they stalked, it would be fucking awesome. She was sure that
these boys could play a woman’s body like a fiddle.

Getting to his feet James held out a hand to her and pulled
her up from Dieter’s knee. Tugging her in close he leaned into her.
“Do you want to become the hunted?” he asked quietly before nipping
at her earlobe gently and tugging.

Her knees turned to jelly. Steeling herself she looked up at
James and then Dieter, “Hell yeah,” she whispered honestly. “As
long as it won’t interfere with our working relationship.” Shit,
she should have said no. Why did she say yes? “Wait, no. I can’t. I
really. god I want to, so want to but I can’t. We work together,
what if everything went sideways and you boys ended up hating me?
No, we should just stay friends.”

“
We would never hate you Penelope,” Dieter said, putting his
hands on her hips. “Unless you were to run off, then we would be
quick upset and come after you. Likely have to spank your bottom
until you could not sit for a week but that would be fitting,
yes?”

“
Oh lord.” She bit her lip and closed her eyes. “Then I think
you should take me home, I like spankings, but not when I can’t sit
afterwards.” Sometimes she liked kink, sadly she hadn’t had much of
that in her life. “As long as you are both sure?”