Rhys assumed the role like it was a foregone conclusion. “Talkies.” He took the bag from me and handed one to each of us. “Everyone know how to use ’em?”

We all nodded.

My fake boyfriend suddenly frowned. “These are on a different frequency from the yellow team, right?”

He was so serious and into this.

It was not hot.

Okay, it was mildly warming.

“Yeah, Jackson plays fair,” Ben assured him.

Rhys gave a militant nod. “Ben, Nick, you’ll hide our flag and take the nearest position to protect it.”

Oh, all right, he was more than mildly warming.

“You radio its location to Xander and Laura, who’ll take up a secondary position as the first line of defense.” He turned to Michael, Freda, Stuart, and David. “You’re our offensive teams. The object is to take out as many of the yellow team as possible, while trying to find that flag. Parker and I are the third offensive team. We’ll take east, middle, and west respectively of the eastern perimeter. If you find the flag, you radio the other two teams for backup. Sound good?”

I’d been warm in my layers before but now I was hot.

As an organized, take-charge kind of woman, I really admired that quality in a man.

“Is this going to hurt?” Freda frowned, biting her lower lip. Genuine anxiety was bright in her eyes, and I wondered why she’d agreed to come if she was afraid to play.

I was participating because I had no choice.

Rhys studied Freda and then turned to Laura and Xander. “How would you feel being offense instead of defense?”

“I’m up for it.” Laura shrugged with a cocky smile. She was tall with an athletic figure and a natural energy that would’ve told me she was into outdoor activities if Xander already hadn’t. Her boyfriend nodded in agreement.

“Michael and Freda, you’ll be the first line of defense instead. That work?”

They nodded but Freda still looked concerned. Michael threw his arm around her shoulder and hugged her into his side. “We got this, gorgeous.”

She smiled gratefully and seemed to relax.

“Ben, Nick, go hide that flag,” Rhys ordered.

The guys took off and soon I was hurrying at Rhys’s side on high alert. “I would have to end up with you on the offensive side, Morgan,” I whispered.

He shot me a look over his shoulder. “I could have put you and Freda on defense, if you’re scared, Tinker Bell.”

“I am not scared.” My eyes felt huge behind my visor as I searched the woods. “But out of intellectual curiosity … does it hurt?”

“It stings.” Rhys grinned at me. “Don’t worry, Tink, I got your back.”

That’s when I realized I wasn’t worried. I, one hundred percent, believed Rhys could kick everybody’s butt and cover mine at the same time. A lurid image filled my mind suddenly and felt my cheeks heat. Dear God, we should have never kissed at his loft.

“I’d give a million bucks to know what’s behind that blush, sweetheart.”

Scowling at his cocky grin, I gestured with my paintball gun. “You just concentrate on leading us to victory, Morgan, and if you happen to use up all your paint on Creepy Pete, I won’t be upset.”

He shook his head, amusement curling the corners of his mouth. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

We ran from tree to tree for ages before Rhys drew to a halt. He lifted his fist up like they did in the army. A flutter of excitement filled my belly as he crouched down behind a large trunk and signaled me to hide behind him.

“Clearing ahead with a bunker,” he whispered. “Most obvious place to hide the flag because you can protect it.”

“Jackson wouldn’t go for obvious.”

Rhys nodded. “Still, let’s be cautious. It’s a good place to play sniper.”

Our walkie-talkies crackled, and Ben’s static-filled voice informed us where he’d hid the flag. We scrambled to turn them off, and I cut Rhys a sardonic look. “I’ve found a drawback to the walkie-talkies.”

Smirking, he peered around the tree, the line of his shoulders tense. It was ridiculous how hot his competitiveness was making me. I’d never thought of myself as a competitive person, but I really wanted to wipe that smug smile off Creepy Pete’s face by winning with Rhys.

After a few seconds, Rhys looked over his shoulder at me. “There are two man-made mounds acting as a barrier against possible sniper activity from the bunker, but they’re on opposite sides of the clearing. It makes more sense for us each to take a barrier, but if you want to stick with me, we can do that.”

I straightened my shoulders. “I am perfectly capable of independent combat.”

His lips twitched. “You got it, Tink. I’ll take west.” He gestured with two fingers. “You take east. On three …”

Even though my rational mind knew it was a game, my heart pounded as I launched out from behind the tree and separated from Rhys. Seconds before I reached the guard barrier, a popping noise filled my ears and yellow paint splattered on the ground near my feet. Adrenaline spiking, I lunged behind the barrier and looked across the clearing at Rhys. He was hunkered low like me behind the man-made mound on his side of the clearing.

“Turn your walkie on!” he yelled.

I fumbled to do so, hearing paint splatter against the barrier near my head. The angle of the shot suggested our attackers weren’t in the bunker. Lowering my belly to the ground, I switched on the walkie. “Rhys, they’re not in the bunker. Over.”

“I know. I missed the tree house behind the bunker. Sneaky bastards. Over.”

Trying not laugh at how seriously he was taking this, I asked, “What now?”

“You run toward the bunker while I cover you. Run to your left but don’t go in. The outer wall will act as a shield and I’ll need you to fire from that left flank position to clear a way for me to get to the bunker. Over.”

Despite my trepidation, I felt a thrill go through me that he trusted me to do that. “Got it. Over.”

“When I start firing, you move. Over.”

“Yes, sir. Over.”

“I’m trying to concentrate here, Tinker Bell. Don’t make this sexy. Over.”

Our eyes met across the clearing and, at his wink, I flipped him off, which only made him laugh. When he slipped his walkie-talkie into his pocket, I did the same and tentatively peered around the barrier to visualize my route to the left of the bunker. Realizing it would be easier to dart out from the opposite end of the barrier, I shuffled backward and let out a little squeal when yellow paint splattered near my hand. Tucking myself back into the guard, I crouched near the opposite end and glanced back toward Rhys. I could just make him out and no more.

“Now!” he yelled, and I lifted my head to watch as red paint balls soared through the air toward the tree house behind the bunker. It was well camouflaged. Red paint splattered against the walls and there was sudden movement as guns disappeared behind windows.

I was clear.

Pushing up off strangely trembling legs, I tore across the clearing toward the bunker as Rhys fired a few more paintballs to keep our attackers down.

As soon as I hid behind the bunker outer wall, he stopped.