Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 9

Shit. Shit.

Double shit.

What had she done?

Why the hell was she draped around Blade Wilson? And why had she been kissing him like he was the last man on earth? Worse, she’d been enjoying it.

Heart slamming against her ribs, she recoiled like he was a poisonous snake.

“Sorry,” he said, immediately. “I don’t know what happened. I was asleep and then?—”

She held up her hand. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

His dark blue eyes turned smokey. “You kissed me, and I?—”

“I know.” She remembered that part, thank you very much. Heat flamed her cheeks. God, how could she have been so stupid. “I thought you were Joe.”

“I’m not.”

No shit.

She scooted away from him, shaking her head. Thank God it was dark in the cabin, and he couldn’t see her scorching cheeks.

“I shouldn’t have responded. It was a mistake.”

“Damn right it was a mistake. What were you thinking? Didn’t you know I was dreaming?”

“You were pretty insistent.”

Unfortunately, she remembered every vivid detail of her erotic “dream.” His hard body next to hers… His manly scent… His stubble…

Her muddled, traitorous brain had thought it was Joe. She”d wanted to believe it, wanted it to be him so badly that she”d practically sexually assaulted the guy. Only when he”d started kissing her back did she realize it wasn”t Joe.

Joe’s kisses had been soft and gentle, filled with tenderness. He’d kissed her like he was afraid she’d break if he was too rough.

Blade had no such qualms.

That’s when she knew.

“Okay, stop. I’m sorry. There, I said it.” She huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

“It’s okay. Really. Don’t sweat it. I’m sorry too.” His eyes flickered, and she could have sworn his lips threatened to turn up at the sides.

“Are you finding this funny?”

He sat up and pulled the blanket over his lap. It was then she realized he had a honking big hard-on, not that he seemed fazed by it. There was amusement in his dark blue eyes. This was more like the Blade Wilson she remembered.

“You have to admit, it’s a unique situation. Before I fell asleep, I didn”t think I”d be woken in hostile territory in such a friendly fashion.”

She gave him a blistering look. “It’s not funny.”

It was mortifying, that”s what it was.

And disturbing.

“I know. How about we put this behind us and move on?” Except his molten lava gaze said he wanted to do the complete opposite.

“Okay, fine.” She gave a stiff nod.

It would help if she couldn’t still smell him on her skin and taste him on her tongue. Her body tingled where he’d touched her. “Is there somewhere I can freshen up?”

“There”s a bucket of water in the corner.” He nodded towards the back of the cabin.

She got up, relieved to turn her back on him.

“I left some food out for you, so once you’ve washed up, you can have something to eat.” He hesitated. “Then we need to talk.”

“Talk?” She spun around. What was there to talk about?

He got to his feet and began folding up the blankets. “Yeah, about our next steps. The evacuation helicopter has gone, but we have a few other options.”

“Okay.”

She let out a shaky breath. For a moment, she thought he meant talking about what happened between them, but that was ridiculous. This was Blade, Special Forces operative and all-round tough guy. He didn’t talk about anything as sensitive as emotions.

Besides, nothing had happened between them.

Only a mistake.

It was too bad they’d missed the evacuation but good to know they still had options. She didn”t have a clue what they were, but she’d soon find out. After all, that was what he did.

Survive. Evade. Resist. Extract.

She’d heard Joe say it many times, particularly at the beginning of his Special Forces career.

Lily walked over to the bucket of water. It wasn’t so bad. This time yesterday her prospects had been bleaker. She never would have expected to be rescued, particularly by Blade Wilson, of all people. Now they were on the run from the Taliban, hiding out in an abandoned cabin.

Things were looking up.

If anyone could get them out alive, it was Blade. According to Joe and Pat, operators weren’t made much better than him.

Lily gasped as she stuck her hand into the bucket. It was icy cold.

“No heating,” was all he said.

No privacy, either. She glanced over her shoulder to check whether he was watching her.

He was.

“I”ll go outside until you”re done,” he said, and left the cabin without another word.

At least he had some intuition.

Left alone, Lily got to work. She needed this wash. It had been three days since her last shower, and she’d done a lot of miles in that time. God, she must stink. How could he have come near her, let alone kissed her.

Like that.

Stripping down to her underwear, she used the rag and a bar of soap that had been left on the shelf next to the bucket and got to work. She washed every inch of herself, including her hair, removing all traces of the last few days.

The traumatic hike at gunpoint to the village, the fetid mattress, the dirty cave, the escape through the tunnel, and the long walk here.

Added to that was Blade’s touch, his smell, and the way he made her feel.

At least the icy water had cooled her cheeks.

When she was done, she used one of the army blankets to dry herself. The fibers were harsh and scratched her skin, but she didn’t care. It felt glorious to be dirt-free.

Next, she shook her clothes vigorously, wincing at the dust that puffed out. They were dirty and stained, but she didn’t have anything else. She eyed out the backpacks. Pulling the blanket around her, she went to the door.

“Er, Blade?”

He spun around, his gaze locking on the blanket. “Yeah?” She saw his jaw muscles working.

“Is there a clean shirt or something I can put on? My clothes are disgusting.” She bit her lip, waiting for his response. He looked furious for some reason, his neck and shoulders so tense the veins were sticking out.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, in the packs.”

She stood back as he entered the cabin. He skirted around her, back to the door frame, keeping his distance like she had the plague. Maybe he thought she was going to kiss him again.

Well, no worries there. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“I would have washed them,” she said, “but there’s nowhere to hang them up, and I wasn’t sure how long we were going to be here.”

“Not that long.”

She’d figured that much.

He opened one of the packs and rifled around. With a grunt, he pulled out a plain, khaki green T-shirt. “Knew there was one in here somewhere.”

It was a man’s size, but she didn’t care. It was clean.

“Thanks.”

His gaze locked on her, heat radiating off him. She turned her back and a few seconds later, heard him go outside and close the door.

The fresh T-shirt felt amazing, but there was no getting around the dirty jeans, which she pulled back on, cringing at the dirt stains on the knees. Finally, she put on her tennis shoes, which used to be white but were now an interesting brown-gray. Her blisters were beginning to turn into calluses, so at least her shoes didn’t hurt her feet. She’d lost her jacket in Kabul and would probably never again see it or anything from her suitcase.

Lily opened the door to find Blade, rifle in hand, staring out into the forest. He appeared to be deep in thought. The sun beat down on his head, highlighting the natural blond streaks in his brown hair. His profile was strong and noble, his jaw glistening with golden stubble. She blew a damp strand off her face. God definitely knew what He was doing when He made this one. “Everything okay?”

He gave a tight nod. “So far, so good.”

She stepped outside and glanced up at the sun, still hot, but beginning to sag over the top of the hills on the other side of the valley. “What time is it?”

“Nearly two o’clock.” He didn’t check his wristwatch.

That meant she’d been asleep most of the morning. Strange, it had felt like no time at all. Her captors would definitely have cleared the rubble from the explosion by now and realized she wasn’t in the cave. They’d know the only way out was via the tunnel. Were they already scouring the hills, searching for her? Could they be making their way through the lush valley towards the cabin?

“Isn’t staying here giving them a chance to catch us up?”

“Yeah, but the alternative could get us killed. We’re too exposed during the day.”

“When does the sun go down?”

“Here in the woods, might be dark enough in another three or four hours.”

Three or four hours. That long. Knowing her enemies were on her trail made her on edge. Her instinct was to keep moving, keep running, but she had to trust him. He was the expert, after all.

“Okay.” She tried to keep her voice upbeat. “What did you want to talk about?”