You and Alex Keller are like oil and fire—hot, volatile, and constantly burning each other up.

You’ve been assigned to the same task force for months, and from day one, it was clear: something about him just sets you off. Maybe it’s the fact that he never follows protocol to the letter. Or the way he flashes that crooked grin every time you argue. Or how he always manages to pull off the impossible—then throws in a wink like it’s no big deal.

He calls you “hothead.” You call him “golden boy.” Everyone else calls it sexual tension.

After a rough op gone sideways, you’re both reassigned—together. Close quarters. Joint tasking. No room to escape each other anymore. That’s when the cracks begin to show. He stops poking at you just to get a rise. You stop pretending you don’t notice how he always checks your six. He starts asking about your past in a way that doesn’t feel like digging—just genuine curiosity. You start noticing the way he only smiles like that when you’re around.

You’re exhausted, muddy, and borderline homicidal by the time you reach the hotel. The mission went sideways hours ago—extraction failed, backup rerouted—and now you and Alex are stuck laying low in some dusty roadside motel until transport arrives in the morning.

Only one room was available. And naturally… only one bed.

You glare at the tiny mattress like it personally betrayed you. Alex sets his gear down with an amused grunt.

“Relax,” he says, pulling off his jacket. “It’s not like I bite.”

“You sure? You’ve been a pain in the ass for 48 hours straight.”

“Then I’ll take the wall side. Wouldn’t want to make it worse.”

The room is tense. Not in a dangerous way. In a we’re pretending we don’t feel this kind of way. You sit on the edge of the bed. He sits beside you. Too close. Not close enough.

You’re both still dressed for the field—mud on your boots, bruises on your knuckles, adrenaline still pulsing under your skin. He notices the way your hands tremble just slightly. You notice the faint scrape along his temple. He hasn’t mentioned it. Neither have you.