"Need some help?"
Angela hadn't known he was so close behind her, and Marc saw the hand flinching downward before she stopped herself. "I've got it."
Her tone was sharp, and he backed off, stepping through thick Bermuda grass as he went to get his own things. She was trying to keep the wall between them, and he would respect her wishes….for now.
It only took them half an hour to improve the cabin's temperature, using large sheets of plastic to enclose the area around the couch. They worked together in silence, Angela anticipating his needs as she had when they were kids. Once finished, they dug out warmer clothes and Marc tossed a plastic-wrapped pouch on her bedroll. "Thermal blanket. Used to a part of my sniper gear."
Trying not to frown at the word sniper, she tossed a similar looking package on the couch. "He left some of his things behind this year." Their similarity, from supplies to transportation, made them both sad. What a great team they would have made. It also had Marc a bit more uneasy about the future. Her man had sniper training, too. Great.
4
Angela tried to calm herself down. She knew Marc wouldn't hurt her, but still flinched as the door opened and Marc came back in from doing a walk of the perimeter.
"Ready for your first lesson?"
She nodded nervously, rubbing sweaty palms down her jeans. "In here?"
He motioned at the small area, very aware of how uncomfortable she was. "Warmer in here, more room out there. You pick."
"Outside," she chose, hoping the cold might distract her from her fear of being touched, of being hurt. She was already shaking.
Stopping at the foot of the steps, she drew in a deep, calming breath as he took off his gun belts and set them on the porch. It was lined in scraggily patches of weeds trying to grow - with little success.
Marc watched the fear in her eyes grow as he moved toward her. "We can start out slow."
"I can do this."
Marc circled her. "I believe that too. Just remember to think."
She nodded, and he rushed her.
Marc swung a leg behind her knee and gently took them to the ground. Not letting his weight fall on her, he tried not to think of her as a woman, but as a cadet to be trained, instructed.
Fear bursting through her mind like a rocket, and Angela struggled thoughtlessly.
Marc clenched his teeth in an effort to stay soft. She felt good! "Rubbin' that body against a man won't make him stop, Honey."