Dear Soldier, Put Your Gun Down

Chapter 12 Holding Himself Back

Matt suppressed his fury and put a bottle of ointment on the table. “Apply the ointment on the bruises!”

Bang! He stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. Then, he dialed Felix’s number. “Inform

every member of the FALCON Team to gather at the training ground in the forest. We’re having an

intensive training program lasting three days!”

“Is Matt out of his mind? He wants an intensive training program right after spending three insane

nights with his wife on the plane,” Felix said.

Kevin Arnold responded, “There’s no point in speculating his decision now because it isn’t going to

make a difference. Samuel, I wished I could lie on the bed and rest like you.”

Samuel rolled his eyes at Kevin and snapped, “You wouldn’t be envious of me if you knew how it felt to

be bedridden for weeks.”

Soon, the members of the FALCON Team were ready to set off to the training ground in the forest.

Matt drove them crazy by giving them endless drills.

“Will we still be alive on the third day? Please send my body back home if I can’t make it,” commented

Woody Dittman.

Kevin, who was munching on bugs, responded, “Well, we don’t have many choices, do we? Anyway,

I’m going to stay loyal to Matt no matter what happens.”

Inspiration hit Felix at the moment. He beckoned the rest of the gang over and asked in a hushed tone,

“Do you guys feel like having a barbeque dinner in the city?”

The rest of the gang replied in unison, “Of course!”

“Listen, I have a plan. Matt is flipping out all because of Winona. We can distract Matt by helping

Winona and him patch things up.”

Woody smacked the back of Felix’s head and exclaimed in approval. “Felix, I know I can always count

on you for clever ideas. Now, just tell us your plan in detail. We’ll do as you say.”

“Let’s move Matt’s car away and take away all the resources before Winona gets here. It’s going to be

freezing at night in the forest, so the two of them will be forced to stay close to each other to keep

themselves warm. Things will happen naturally after that…”

Woody slapped his back and said excitedly, “Sounds great to me! Let’s do it!”

Kevin shook his head. “Count me out. I’m not going to betray Matt.”

The rest of the gang knocked Kevin out of consciousness and dragged him to Matt’s car which was

loaded with food, blankets, and torchlights.

At the same time, Felix sent a message to Herman asking him to bring Winona to the training ground.

Winona arrived half an hour later whereas Herman left in a hurry after receiving a message.

Winona couldn’t help cursing Matt for asking her to spend the night in the forest after torturing her for

three days. She could still feel a sharp pain in her inner thighs whenever she was walking.

Something fishy was going on. The training ground was unusually quiet, and there was no sight of the

members of the FALCON Team.

A familiar figure emerged in front of her at that moment. It was Matt, who was cursing under his breath

with a fishing pole in his hand.

“I’m going to teach that bunch of scumbags a lesson when I’m back!”

It dawned upon Matt what the members of the FALCON Team were up to when he saw Winona.

She limped her way over. “Didn’t you summon me here to take care of an injured member?”

“You’re fooled by that bunch of rascals.”

Without waiting for her response, he scooped her up from the ground.

“What’re you doing?”

“We have to find shelter for the night. I’m afraid those rascals will only be back tomorrow.”

After trekking some distance, Matt finally found a cave large enough for both of them. Once again, he

cursed the members of the FALCON Team for bringing away all the resources. They did not even leave

him a tent.

The temperature in the forest was dipping at night. To keep themselves warm, Matt collected some

branches and started a fire. He deftly removed the skin of some wild hares he caught and roasted them

over the fire. Other than that, he also grilled the fish he caught from the river.

Soon, the mouthwatering smell of roasted hares and grilled fish permeated the air. Matt tore off a leg of

the hares and handed it to Winona.

“This part is the tenderest.”

Winona, who happened to be hungry, started nibbling on the leg which tasted good.

Then, he placed pieces of fish on a clean lotus leaf for her. “Enjoy.”

To her surprise, Matt had removed all the bones for her. The flavor of the juicy fish which burst in her

mouth was amazing.

After making sure that Winona was full, Matt fed himself with leftovers which comprised of meats that

were stuck on the bones.

The flames illuminated his handsome face and the reflection of the fire was flickering in his brooding

eyes. Beguiled by the sight, Winona’s pulse started racing.

“Matt, let’s do our best to get along with each other.”

Matt was adding more branches to the fire when he heard her. His hand froze before he responded,

“Okay.”

“Why is he pretending to be a reserved and quiet man now when he’s usually talkative?” Winona

wondered.

“Matt, I’m actually…a rather selfish person. I’ve never really cared about anyone other than myself.”

she confessed.

But now, I’ll try my best to care about you and treat you with love.

Smiling craftily, he scoffed, “Benjamin Larson would be heartbroken if he heard this. After all, he’d been

your partner for years.”

“Well, my relationship with him only existed for the benefit of our families. We do have feelings for each

other, but it isn’t romantic. If I leave him, he’ll just marry another girl from my family. His wife doesn’t

have to be me.”

“Your guess is spot-on! Your fiancée is going to marry your younger sister in a couple of days.”

Matt stared intently into her eyes when he said that. To his delight, there was no sign of disappointment

in her eyes.

“Can you please be serious for a while?” Winona wrapped her arms around him from behind. “I’ll try to

fall in love with you. And you start trying too, okay?”

He stiffened when he felt her arms on his waist. After a moment of silence, he sighed, “I will.”

The truth was, he had already been in love with her for a long time. Sadly, she did not remember who

he was.

That was beside the point at the moment. Now, he just had to focus on making her fall irrevocably in

love with him.

He spun around and run his fingers through her silky hair. Clasping the back of her head to keep her

still, he claimed her lips in a domineering manner.

Immediately, Matt felt a burning desire for her body. When his fingers were trailing her bare skin, she

nestled against his chest and said breathlessly, “Not tonight.”

Matt pursed his lips contemplatively. Indeed, she deserved a break after going through the three insane

nights.

He gave her ears a gentle kiss and relented, “Fine, I’ll spare you tonight. However, I’m not sure how

long I can last.”

Winona threw him a baleful glance. “Matt Snider, there is a very important rule you have to follow if you

want a relationship with me.”

He rested his head on her shoulder. “What’s that?” he asked with a smile

“Don’t force me to sleep with you.”

At that juncture, his erection was pressing against her bottom. Smiling slyly, he teased, “Well, I’ll lie on

the bed and wait for you to get on top of me in the future then.”

Winona was left speechless.

There was simply no way to reason with him.

When it was time to sleep, Matt made her lean her body on him so that she would not be hurt by the

pebbles and sharp branches on the ground. Then, he removed his coat and draped it on her to keep

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The coat had a faint smell of a mixture of tobacco, soap, and sweat—it was a masculine scent that

belonged to Matt. Winona fell soundly asleep with her nose filled with his scent.

Early next morning, Herman and the members of the FALCON Team arrived to fetch them home.

Everyone was overjoyed to find Matt and Winona interacting intimately with each other. Their life would

be easier as long as Matt stayed in a good mood.

Before Matt drove off, he left an instruction that threw them in a state of abject despair. “Winona had to

suffer the freezing night in the forest because of you guys. All of you are to carry out another three days

of intensive training here as punishment!”

Everyone looked dispirited.

Herman, who wore an aggrieved expression, pleaded, “General Snider, I’m not part of their plan! I’m a

victim too!”

“Matt, how can you not appreciate what we’ve done for you?” Felix protested.

Kevin spoke eagerly, “Matt, I was loyal to you until I was knocked out of consciousness by them!”

Woody seethed, “Felix, it’s all your fault!”

Everyone exchanged a glance and quickly reached a consensus—they would beat the crap out of

Felix!