"Some of them are hungry. They want to make names for themselves the way Jas and Bren have. And don't forget the money."
He'd bargained hard with the other sector leaders when it came to defining profit, hard enough that the men would have their chance to get wealthy, if they worked for it. "Yeah, but money won't do 'em a fuckload of good if they get their brains splattered on the walls by moving too fast and being careless."
"Relax." She slipped behind him on the couch and started rubbing his shoulders. "No one's getting splattered, because you're going to make them understand that wisdom is better than speed."
He snorted but closed his eyes as her fingers dug into a knotted muscle. It hurt, the kind of pain that came with relief on its heels. "I have my doubts that some of them will understand, but they'll damn well obey either way."
She worked his muscles harder. "The first option's easier."
"If everyone's thinking on the same level. God love some of the guys, Lex. They're good and they're loyal...but they're not all Jasper or Bren or Mad."
"So, you pair them up with ones who'll stop and think. The buddy system. You've been doing it for years, haven't you?"
"I suppose..." He leaned forward as Lex's hands worked lower. "But I don't want anyone over there at first except the guys I can trust to keep their heads. We need recon. Intel. If I stuck Six in front of a map, do you think she could figure out what was where?"
Lex brushed her lips over the back of his neck. "Doubtful. She'd do a lot more good on the ground."
"You think she could handle that?"
"She wants to be useful. Let her."
Inside knowledge of Trent's operation and what might be lingering in Three could save him time and headaches. And it wasn't like he'd have to feel guilty about sending her--she stuck to Bren like a burr as it was, and no one would get past him to hurt her.
Lex's lips touched his skin again, and Dallas relaxed into the caress. "Nice to have a second brain to figure this shit out when mine gives up."
"You need sleep." She slid her arms around him. "You've been going nonstop for days. You barely rested when we were in Two."
Sleep. It beckoned with a sharpness that only made his growing erection more ridiculous. "I was thinking about it more seriously before you wrapped yourself around me."
Lex climbed off the couch with a short laugh and pulled at his hands. "No sex until you've slept at least half the night. If you wake up in the middle of it and want to fuck me numb, you be my guest."
"Someone's feeling bossy," he grumbled, but he couldn't sound irritated. There was something fucking adorable about Lex when she was like this. He'd seen it with Noelle before, the open affection, the teasing...
Too bad it only made him harder.
"And if you can't sleep..." She moved in close, pressing her body to his as she spun him around so he backed up against the edge of the bed. "I know how to fix that, too."
That perked up his mood and his dick. Amused, he sank to the mattress and lifted his arms so she could drag his shirt over his head. "You gonna read me a bedtime story, Lexie?"
"Better." She dropped his shirt, slid to the floor, and reached for the laces on one of his boots.
He grinned and extended his legs to make it easier. "You're gonna read me a dirty one?"
"Or make one up. This story..." His boots hit the floor, one and then the other. "It's about a king and his concubine."
"Does she have to tell him a story every night?"
Lex threw back her head and laughed. "You want me to be your Scheherazade?"
Of course an educated woman out of Sector Two would understand the reference. Dallas hooked his foot behind her leg and tugged her closer. "Could you think of a thousand and one filthy stories about what the king and his concubine get up to?"
Her fingers curled around his belt buckle and pulled it free. "I'll show you instead." She rose, off her knees, and leaned over him. "The first night, she stripped him naked and danced for him."
More than willing to play along, he lifted his hips without looking away from her face. "Watch the goods, love. This king's been hard since you started touching him."
"If you're waiting for me to complain, you'll wait a