DeathWeb (Fox Meridian Book 3) by Niall Teasdale

Since Pieter Vos had died in a bunker in the region of Dallas, there had been no one in her bed for more than a night. She had once told Terri that she did not prefer men, that there was simply a statistical imbalance in the partners she had had, but here she was, maybe falling in love with a girl. And Marie was a girl, almost a decade younger than Fox was. Would she tire of the experiment?
    ‘Dollar for your thoughts,’ Marie said.
    ‘Oh… I was thinking about… huh, sex and old-fashioned things, and that you’ve really got the hang of that, considering you’ve not been eating pussy for very long.’
    Marie giggled. ‘Thank you. I’m a quick study.’
    ‘You are, and this is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but we should eat. And not each other. Food.’
    ‘Yeah. Good point. I think I’m getting hungry.’
    ‘Javen sent an enquiry concerning your plans for an evening meal about six minutes ago,’ Kit put in, appearing beside the bed. ‘I could contact him if you wish Sam to join you.’
    Fox looked down at Marie. ‘Up to you.’
    Marie gave a shrug. ‘Why not? Guess I’ll have to put clothes on.’
    ‘Something anyway. Kit, let Sam know we’re going to sort some food out now.’
    There was a short pause, Fox crossing to the shower during it, and then Kit said, ‘Sam is bringing a bottle of white wine.’
    ‘We’ll do pasta then. Let him in when he gets to the door and tell him we’ll be out in a minute.’
    ‘He’s going to know exactly what we were doing,’ Marie commented, her cheeks colouring.
    ‘You really think he cares?’
    Stepping into the shower behind Fox, Marie’s brow furrowed a little. ‘No, I guess not. I still find it odd that you two have never…’
    ‘Banged like a barn door in a hurricane?’
    ‘That.’
    ‘We value the friendship. He spends his working life entertaining all sorts of people. Sometimes he even enjoys it. I’m the girl he doesn’t need to worry about impressing, the one he can be himself with.’ She gave a little shrug and began running soapy hands over Marie’s back. ‘Of course, even when he’s not trying, he’s damn sexy.’
    ‘No argument here. But so are you.’
    ‘Thanks.’
    ‘It’s different though. Different sexy.’
    ‘Thanks, I think.’
    Marie giggled. ‘Sam’s smooth, strong, elegant, really attractive. You’re more like… You’re not as smooth. You’ve got sharp edges. You’re a dangerous kind of sexy.’
    ‘Right. I guess I can live with that. Rinse off and I’ll turn the dryers on.’ A ‘dangerous kind of sexy,’ huh? Well, Fox had to admit that she had a few edges that no one had ever managed to rub off. Not the Army, nor the UNTPP, and definitely not NAPA, which had possibly sharpened a couple. She was, she supposed, a dangerous woman: combat trained, physically enhanced, lethal with a gun. Then again, the same was true of Sam, but he just glossed it over better.
    Leaving Marie to figure out what to wear, Fox pulled on a bodysuit and walked through into the lounge where Sam was busy cracking the seal on a bottle of wine. He did gloss over that lethality well, but to Fox it seemed quite obvious. She could see the long, supple muscle shifting under his skin and recognised the training his body form represented even if Marie just saw a fit, attractive, oriental man. He was an attractive man, no doubt about it, and Fox pushed the usual physical reaction to him aside by pulling up her catalogue of recipes, filtering on pasta dishes and available ingredients.
    ‘Calabrese?’ Fox asked, heading for the cupboards under the kitchen counter. ‘It’s quick and easy, and I’ve got a good substitute for the cheese.’
    ‘Sounds good.’
    ‘Sam… Do you ever get any urge to drag me into bed and show me what I’m missing?’
    Sam paused having poured out two glasses of wine and looked at Fox, apparently deciding to give the question some serious thought. She was tall, in fact they were about even in height at five