Sappho's Commando

FIVE (ISELEN POV)

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I growl quietly, angry and frustrated, while the doctor rubs her pelvis against my butt for a second and she leans her hand on my bare waist for balance before walking away.

I know it's not her fault, Ruby's not torturing me deliberately, even if she smirks mischievously every time our skins touch and I have to hold my breath. The aisle between our bunkbeds is very narrow and it's impossible for us to move without putting our hand on a delicate area of a mate's body accidentally. Everything is small in this ship: there's no privacy in cabins, we almost sleep one on top of another due the narrow bunkbeds, we take showers in a tiny bathroom, we change clothes while our arms graze each other, we have to sit very close while eating... Living together these past week was a big challenge.

To be honest, all the girls are hot, their bodies are perfect and toned, but none of them affects me the way the doctor and her colourful tattoos do. In the beginning the situation was funny and I used to joke about it but the tension is growing between us each passing day, it feels like some kind of electric connection that gives off sparks when we're close, and I fear it can affect our job too. I don't want to even imagine what the Valkyrie would do to us if that happens. I put my T-shirt on with abrupt movements and turn around to grab something from my backpack without noticing that Ruby's behind me and her breasts touch mines again. My nipples get hard immediately, I can see them through the cotton fabric.

"Woman, do you want to kill me?" I grumble and she stares at me angrily with those gorgeous eyes that look like bright gems.

"Did it ever occur to you that you're the one killing me instead?" she asks quietly. Time seems to stop while we remain standing, facing each other, breathing heavily. My eyes are fixed on her plump lips and the temptation to kiss her is so strong that makes me feel dizzy.

"Fuck! The heater is broken again and the shower water is colder than a penguin's ass." Nora walks in the room wrapped up in a towel, interrupting us abruptly when our heads were getting closer, and Ruby Rose bursts into laughing suddenly, sitting on the bunkbed wiping her tears away from her cheeks. "Well, the penguin joke was not that good." The Italian girl looks at us confused because I'm laughing too. This situation is surreal.

"Girls, girls, girls!" Tara walks in the room, jumping excitedly. "I managed to persuade the boss to let me go out for a reconnaissance flight with the NH90 helicopter in about 15 minutes. Who wants to come with me?"

We don't even think for a second, pushing each other in the narrow aisle to take our boots and equipment, we all want to get out of this damned frigate even if it's just for one hour. Our bosses thought it was a wonderful idea to send us to the Horn of Africa in order to protect oil tankers and freight ships, fighting pirates off the coast of Somalia. It was supposed to be some kind of training with live ammunition. But it was a quiet week and we did nothing apart from training in the gym, eating and fighting for the little free space available in our cabin.

The rest of the crew looks at us like we're weird creatures, cautiously, not getting too close, I guess they don't understand why we're here. Neither do us, to be honest. They all have tasks and daily obligations, they're used to the lack of space, lack of privacy and life conditions in a navy ship, and they don't have time to become friends with a group of women that became the bosses' favourite unit. We're a new toy for big shots, with no perceived utility apart from bothering busy sailors that bump into us in every room and corridor of this frigate while we're grumbling bored.

Someone in the headquarters thought that he was rewarding us by sending us to this ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean, we deserved it after rescuing the hikers in the mountain and getting to the hospital in time to save the life of the guy who got lost in the avalanche. The truth is that I've never met a faster pilot than Tara in my life, I thought we'd crash against one of those tall mountains but the ride was as smooth as she promised. And the Valkyrie was ecstatic when we gave her our formal report, despite she tried to keep her poise as usual, she was radiating happiness when the Supreme Allied Commander Europe congratulated us in person.