Our team included me, Rhys, my colleagues Stuart, Michael, Xander, and Ben, plus their respective partners, David, Freda, Laura, and Ben’s friend Nick because his wife was pregnant and couldn’t play. My colleagues and their partners could not have looked more overjoyed to be on Rhys’s team.

It was hard not to roll my eyes.

“Walkie-talkies.” Jackson handed me a bag and kept another for himself. “To communicate with your team. And your flag.” Ben took the bright red flag from our boss; Jackson held onto a bright yellow one. “First team to capture the other’s flag wins. We’ll split up. Yellow team goes east, red team west. We’ll both choose a team leader and where to hide the flag.” He grinned cockily. “May the best team win.”

“Yeah!” Yellow team shouted, following it up with lighthearted ribbing that my teammates responded to. Rhys and I stayed silent, although he smirked in amusement, listening to what must’ve sounded like tame banter compared to the insults he’d exchanged with opponents in the ring.

“Let’s go,” Rhys instructed our team as the yellow team departed.

We followed him and took off through the woods to the west side of the compound. The paintball face mask and visor were a little uncomfortable, and the gun was a foreign object in my hands.

“I vote Rhys as team leader,” Stuart said as we came to a stop. “Any objections?”

Xander chuckled. “None at all.”

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.