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scream until there was no oxygen left in his lungs.
* * * *
The sharpshooter grimaced, then apprehensively touched his
shoulders from behind and gently rubbed them. I m sorry&
Slade felt the cowboy s hot breath in his hair. He looked at
the young couple again. You see that?
They were kissing.
I do. Reeve gradually wrapped his large arms about the
smaller man s neck and pulled him in close.
See, that s what I d classify as new love. Slade rested his
head back against Reeve s chest, then looked up. That s
definitely not us.
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No? The cowboy contently pressed his face to the
swordsman s soft hair. The man smelt good and Reeve nuzzled
him with a kiss or two. Then what exactly are we?
We re mature love. You see, I figure there s three phases of
love& new, mature and old. Slade wore a thoughtful smile as
the couple vanished inside the Delta. And we re still growing
together and learning& but we also share a certain amount of
confidence in our relationship that new lovers don t have. We re
not completely comfortable like old love, but we re strong for
one another. He looked straight into his blue eyes. I don t give
a shit who hits on me, Reeve, because they ll never be you.
You re irreplaceable. And I d never leave you for another man.
Thanks. You re getting real sappy in your old age, sweet
cheeks& it s different for you, but I kind of like it.
Slade enjoyed a kiss, then gingerly patted the sharpshooter s
face. I m sweating to death and you promised me a drink.
That I did.
They walked into a shady spot under the ruffling canopy of a
mobile drinks stand. Reeve exhaled and wiped the dampness
from his brow. He paid the girl and poked the swordsman with a
bottle of ice tea.
Slade intently read down a bulletin board that was propped
next to the drinks stand and opened the bottle. Would you look
at this, oh, and, thanks for the drink. He took a swig and wiped
his mouth.
You re welcome. The large man hovered over his shoulder
to read the latest announcement from the head of the Delta.
That s that dance Theresa was going on about. It s strictly an
officers affair.
Aren t they doing it to raise funds for one of the local
orphanages?
Yeah, I believe so, sweet cheeks, Reeve skimmed down the
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poster a little further then almost spit out the tea. Shit, it s two
hundred bucks a plate!
That s nothing. I paid six hundred, one night, at the Zone
and the band was crap. So do you want to go? It might be fun.
The swordsman hated dancing, but the cowboy loved it and he
was willing to go if Reeve agreed.
Six hundred well that s just insane, blade boy. He
swallowed eyeing the commander. Oh, you re serious&
Of course I m serious, cowboy. Slade pushed at the bigger
man s chest. Do you want to go or not?
I don t know&
He knew Reeve was balking because the tickets were
expensive and he was too damned cheap to pay. Don t worry,
I ll pay. It ll be my treat.
Well, since you put it that way and you re offering, I guess I
could force myself to take a shower and maybe shave for you.
Reeve flinched, chuckling when the other man belted his arm. He
swaggered backward for the gates. Hey, that s spousal abuse!
I m gonna have to talk to the counsellor about you, blade boy!
You re just a cheap bastard! Slade hollered, pointing.
Abuse I ll give you abuse, Reeve!
Everyone congregated at the gates looked at the scene. The
commander went pink in the cheeks and ducking with a hand to
shield his face, strode past quickly into the Delta.
Reeve fell into the elevator, laughing as Slade rushed up
beside him. May I help you, sir?
Slade elbowed him hard in the ribs and then pounced like a
lion. You bloody asshole! You never cease to embarrass the shit
out of me! He grabbed the t-shirt and the larger man s waist,
straining to lift him.
The sharpshooter grappled him, picked him right up and
flung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
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Slade cursed and drilled a fist into his backside. Put me
down!
The elevator door whooshed open and both men tumbled
into the confined space, mock fighting. There were three people
already aboard the elevator, who leapt back, staring. Sue s eyes
shot wide open and she looked to the general and the mayor of a
neighbouring city, Glendale. The general flashed an ugly frown at
Slade.
The cadet commander bumped the wall, then held his breath
when he realized they weren t alone. He stood rigid at attention,
gasping for air.
Reeve s laughter soon faded and he, too, saluted the two men
with a now solemn gaze.
The mayor shot the general an accusing stare. And you want
more funding& He disregarded the scruffy men as a nuisance.
I sure as hell hope your weapons expert, Mr. Igerman, is more
mature than this.
The general s features noticeably soured and there was an
inaudible growl. He didn t want to introduce Slade, though now,
it didn t matter. He motioned with a stiff hand, Meet our
weapons expert. Todd, this is Mr. Slade Igerman.
Polite as ever, Slade held out a hand, but the mayor refused.
It s nice to meet you, sir.
You can t be serious?
I am and he is the best we have.
The elevator jolted to a stop and Sue removed her finger from
the red button.
I have the CEO of the Traece Corporation coming to this
dump that you call a military base, Michael, and if we both play
our cards right, he ll give you all the weapons you need and my
city the jobs to build them. He abruptly turned on Slade. But if
the man s forced to deal with& He looked the swordsman up
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and down with contempt. Some two-bit chump who s still
sucking his Mother s tit, we re all as good as finished! This is a
serious business transaction, Michael, and I ve worked my ass off
to get this company to consider the Delta as its new spawning
ground to now lose it on account of a useless kid whose balls
haven t dropped!
The cowboy had heard all he could handle. Okay that s it!
He snarled and wound up to drill the guy in the face.
But Slade had a hand to his chest and slammed him into the
wall. Don t do it!
Terrified, the mayor ducked in a sweat. Oh my God and
who is this baboon!
Baboon! Reeve yelled. I m not a friggin baboon, asshole!
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