Just a Bit Shameless (Straight Guys 8)

It wasn’t a companionable silence. Sam closed his eyes and feigned sleep, painfully aware of the man beside him. He thought he could feel Dominic’s gaze on him, but for all he knew, it was his imagination.

It was a relief when the cab finally dropped them off by headquarters.

“Do we really have to report immediately?” Sam said, without looking at Dominic.

“Yes,” Dominic said, stepping to the iris scanner.

It beeped and flashed green.

Sam followed him into the building, trying not to look like he was dragging his feet. He should have been excited. He had successfully completed his first field mission. He was going to be the object of envy at the training center.

The training center… It felt like it had been months since he’d been there.

It felt like it had been months since Dominic—

“Dominic” doesn’t fucking exist, Sam reminded himself angrily. There was only Agent 11, who soon would be off to seduce some other guy.

“Welcome back, A11,” Claudia said, flashing Dominic a smile. “How was your flight?”

“Good,” Dominic said tersely. “Is C in her office?”

“Yes, but she wants you to file your mission report and hand over the recovered data to the Intelligence department.” Claudia glanced at Sam for the first time. “Agent Landon must report in person. She’s waiting for him.”

Sam couldn’t see Dominic’s face, but he could see his shoulders tense up a little.

“Why him?”

Claudia shrugged. “C doesn’t explain herself to me.”

Dominic gave a clipped nod and glanced at Sam, something flickering in his eyes as their gazes met.

And then he turned and walked away.

Sam watched him go, his insides in knots.

As the lift doors closed after Dominic, Sam found himself staring at it stupidly, feeling lost and alone. He’d forgotten what it felt like. He’d actually forgotten.

“Sam? Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Smiling weakly at Claudia, Sam knocked on the door and entered Amanda’s office.

Chapter 15

“Hello, Sam,” Amanda said with a pleasant smile. “Please take a seat.”

He did, hoping he didn’t look as nervous as he felt.

What did she want from him?

“With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t understand why you’ve requested a mission report from me,” Sam said. “Surely Agent 11 can give you a better report.”

Amanda gave him another smile. “True. But Agent 11 doesn’t have to be here to submit his report.” She studied him for a few moments. “Sam, I’m going to be blunt with you. I requested you to come alone because I wanted to make sure you weren’t traumatized by the mission. Obviously you would have felt pressured in Agent 11’s presence and wouldn’t have been able to speak candidly.”

Sam stared at her. “What?”

Amanda gave him an understanding look. “You don’t have to be afraid, Sam. You can be honest with me if Agent 11 pressured you into doing anything you didn’t want to do during the course of the mission. You’re very young and inexperienced, and Agent 11 had no right to coerce you into anything, mission or not. I don’t condone sexual coercion of teenagers.”

Sam looked at her in disbelief before he had to drop his gaze to hide his anger. The nerve of that woman. Did she think him stupid?

Taking a deep breath, Sam met her eyes and said as calmly as he could, “I’m afraid I don’t understand, ma’am. Agent 11 was nothing if not considerate. He was an immense help and support to me when I needed it, and he definitely didn’t coerce me into doing anything I didn’t want. I’m eighteen, ma’am. An adult. A consenting adult.”

The woman’s smile turned a little strained. “I see. You may go, Landon.”

Sam had never left a room so fast.

“I don’t condone sexual coercion of teenagers,” he repeated under his breath, anger clogging his throat. If she truly didn’t condone it, she wouldn’t have fucking assigned a teenager to that mission. Not that he felt in any way coerced—far from it—but it was the principle of the thing.

Come to think of it, looking back, Sam could see the signs of a carefully laid trap. Never at any point in the pre-mission briefing was it explicitly said that he might have to perform sexual acts if needed. It was heavily implied, but it could be argued that Sam had just misunderstood her. Now Amanda could claim innocence and put all the blame on Dominic—if Sam voiced any complaints, which she had obviously expected. It felt good to disappoint her. Sam wished he could tell her what he thought of her, but—

A hand grabbed his arm and yanked him into a room he hadn’t even noticed. Sam’s yelp was cut short when he saw that it was Dominic.

“What did she want?” he said.

Sam glanced at the security camera in the corner of the room. Dominic followed his gaze and nodded. Taking Sam’s wrist, he led him out of the room and strode toward the lift.