Brothers in Arms Read Online Free PDF

them.
    “Top already knows this,” Kellan said, telling Jonah he’d already confided in his first sergeant, “but I wanted you to hear it straight from me. I’m on terminal desk duty. I didn’t re-up, so I’m out in sixty days.”
    Jonah peeled the label off his beer bottle. “I can’t say I’m surprised,” he confessed. “I had a feeling.” Jonah wasn’t surprised, but he realized how disappointed he was.
    “I’ll leave it to you to spread the word among the men, but as a lot of you are getting out or just leaving Recon, it probably won’t matter much.” Kellan’s eyes never left Jonah’s face as he spoke.
    “Good officers are a rarity in the Corps, sir,” Jonah replied. “You know that firsthand. You’ll be missed.” That last statement was a more personal admission. He wondered if Kellan realized it.
    “I appreciate that,” Kellan said, and Jonah would swear he blushed slightly. Running a hand over his dark blond hair that would look burnished with red in bright sunlight, Kellan changed the subject. “I heard you got yourself approved for a special assignment, Gunnery Sergeant.” Kellan’s green eyes held a hint of pride, and his broad smile made something in Jonah’s chest tighten.
    “Yep, I get to go put Third Recon through special training, make them real Recon Marines,” Jonah said with a smile, again looking forward to the posting. “Two years in Okinawa. I’m so happy it’s not a desert.”
    “I bet you are,” Kellan said with a laugh. Jonah watched him take a swig of beer, unable to look away from his throat as he swallowed. He had to stop himself from swallowing in response to the sight.
    “What are your plans after your Honorable Discharge?” Jonah asked, taking a drink of his own beer, his mouth suddenly dry. He was aware of an undercurrent in the room. He just wasn’t sure if Kellan felt it too.
    “I’m not sure yet,” Kellan confessed, his expression growing serious. “I’m thinking I might go back to school. Get a job. I don’t know what the hell I want to do.”
    “You’ll figure it out,” Jonah said with conviction.
    Silence fell around them, and it felt electrically charged. Jonah waited for Kellan to look away, but he didn’t. This was so dangerous. Now he was ready to swear this tug and pull, this tension he’d felt since he’d met Kellan was mutual, but he couldn’t be sure. Chain of command and DADT had meant there was no chance of exploring any possibility, but now? Jonah was afraid to even wonder if that was the real reason Kellan had invited him here.
    Kellan took a deep breath. “I’m no longer your platoon commander, and the Corps can’t do shit to me,” he said, staring hard into Jonah’s eyes. “The only thing I have to lose is your respect.”
    Jonah stopped breathing. He suddenly had every answer he’d been looking for. “Can’t think of anything you could do to make that happen.” In case this was going where he hoped it was, he set down his beer. He watched Kellan do the same.
    He was never sure which one of them moved first. Jonah only knew he finally—finally—got to kiss Kellan.
    Jonah ran his hands over Kellan’s hair. It was growing longer since his discharge was imminent but not quite long enough for Jonah to get his fingers through, so he settled for cradling Kellan’s skull. He pressed past Kellan’s lips, licked deep into his mouth, and tasted him for the first time. The kiss was everything Jonah had expected, hot and sweet, flavored with beer and something that reminded him of Kellan’s unique scent. Jonah’s head spun.
    He felt Kellan’s hands on his back. One smoothed upward to cling to the back of his neck; the other drifted downward to grasp his ass. Jonah was tugged tight against Kellan’s body. He could feel Kellan’s cock pressed against his thigh and growing harder. He pushed forward into the hardness, grinding himself against Kellan’s solid body.
    He growled in frustration when Kellan broke the kiss,