Caleb is a little shorter than Blake, but still tall as hell. He's got short brown hair, hazel eyes, and tattoos of tribal covering both his arms and shoulders. He seems more at ease than Miranda, and as Blake makes a joke, Caleb’s laugh is natural, where hers is over the top and forced.
Something about her annoys me.
"So that's everyone. You guys are welcome to relax, try and enjoy yourselves a little. I doubt anyone's going to try to kill me today. We've got food and beer, swimming, volleyball, and some other stuff," Blake says, drawing my attention back to him.
"Time to work for a living," Vlad whispers to Dresden and I as he joins us.
"Yes, standing around watching a bunch of wannabe frat boys is going to make our day so much fun." I roll my eyes.
An hour later Vlad, Dresden, and I sit at one of the picnic tables, watching Blake and Caleb wrestle. I'm surprised, he's fast and graceful. Most guys his size lack in both areas, which makes them easier to take down. If this were a real fight, Blake would've been able to end it at least twice. Still, in comparison to how we spar . . . they're pussies.
"Agent Unnami," Blake says.
Jax walks over from his post at the edge of the tree line. "Call me, Jax, sir."
"Jax. Your team ever wrestle?"
The entire team laughs openly. Blake and his friends raise their eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, did I say something amusing?" The irritation is heavy in his voice.
I stand slowly, Dresden and Vlad following suit. We walk forward, stopping a few feet from Blake as the rest of the team joins us. My eyes wander from his face to his feet and back. Meeting his heated gaze, that stupid fucking pull in my stomach happens again— I ignore it.
"We spar. Not that shit y’all were just doing." I give him a sly grin, only the right corner of my lips pulling upward.
He steps forward, his body only inches from mine— my limbs and back go taut as my breathing climbs, almost on the verge of a panic attack.
"What’re you implying, Agent Williams?" His voice is barely audible.
I swallow the lump in my throat. "I'm not implying anything."
"Lily. Why don't we give Mr. Mason a demonstration of your skills?" The smirk on Jax's face betrays the amusement in his own suggestion.
"I don't think we need to show off for him, Jax. I'm not sure his ego could handle a reality check." Dresden and Vlad laugh.
"I don't appreciate your smart mouth, Agent," Blake says tilting his head to the side.
"My smart mouth is the least of your worries." My tone is as sweet as I can manage.
"Lily, Rhett, remove your weapons," Jax says.
I shake my head as Rhett groans loudly.
“Why is it always me,” he asks with a little whine in his voice causing several of our teammates to snicker.
Blake and his friends form a semi-circle around the open grass area, and the rest of my team sprinkle throughout them. Rhett and I step over to the closest picnic table and he pulls off his jacket, un-straps his guns and knife and lays them on the table. He glances up at me, a nervous look on his face.
"You better take all your shit off, woman," he says turning to walk to the middle of the open area.
"You don't trust me, Rhett?"
"Of course I do, but I also know you very well, Lily."
“I have never used weapons against you!” I feign insult at his remarks.
“No, but that entire weekend you stayed at my place, I slept with the bedroom door locked and a gun under my pillow.”
I laugh as I crack my neck and stretch my legs. “Oh, don’t be such a pussy. You know I’d never actually hurt you, buddy.”