Chapter 7
I’ve seen some weird shit. I’ve done a lot of weird shit, but I’ve got to say watching Camile sprawled out on my bed laughing her freaking head off is making me uncomfortable.
“You alright, ma’am?”
“No.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m not well.”
I reach for her forehead.
She knocks my hand away. Her laughing grows louder. More maniacal.
This goes on for an uncomfortable amount of time.
“Babe, you need a medic? We’ve got a designated one on the team. I can radio and get him in here. I’ll get you an IV.”
She sits up. Her shoulders heave with a heavy sigh. “No. I do not need a medic. I need you to leave me alone. You’re making me crazy. Do you see what you just caused?”
My right brow hitches up. “That’s a stretch.”
She adjusts her shirt, dragging the damn fabric over her tits. “Is it a stretch? I mean, you are the one that dragged me in here and started doctoring me because you don’t like my determination.”
“Whoa. I didn’t say I don’t like your determination.”
She pins me with her gaze.
Those eyes snare me.
She’s got soulful eyes.
An ache hits my chest. I’ve always had a thing for hazel eyes.
She jabs a finger into my chest, snapping me out of my trance. “You’re also going to try to force me to call my boss and tell him that I need to pull out. Try being the key word.”
I cross my arms. Something I do a lot. It helps me think. Also looks intimidating. Which everyone else seems to see. But not this woman.
Nothing intimidates her.
“Why are you disregarding personal safety for some bullshit company that thinks you”re expendable?”
That makes her flinch.
I’ve touched a nerve, so I hone in. “Clearly, they don’t value your life. I get your mission and all, but damn, they need to give your team protection. Otherwise, you need to quit.”
Her chin rises, her shoulders tighten. “This is how it works. FamFind doesn’t have the means to send armed guards. Now, I have a job to do.”
“So do I, and you’re keeping me from it.”
She stands up and yanks the elastic band out of her damp, copper-red hair.
My throat goes dry.
Fuck, that hair.
“Look, mister. I didn’t ask you to rescue me. I didn’t ask you to do—” She waves a hand around. “Whatever this is. So, you can just go about your merry way with your bunch of jarheads.”
“SEALs.”
A crease forms lightning fast between her brows. “You’re SEALs?”
I nod.
Something flickers behind her eyes. It’s quick. But has the hallmarks of concern. “Why are you here? Is this some kind of official military operation?”
“We’re here looking for a missing woman. Her father is concerned there could be foul play.”
The cogs in her head start spinning, and she stops working on her hair. “You’re not here because of the earthquake?”
“Yes and no.”
A frown snaps into place. “That’s cryptic.”
“That’s all I can disclose. I’m on a private rescue mission for a paying client who wants discretion.”
Her teeth start to nibble on her bottom lip.
God. Damn. My blood starts pumping. A raging river of hormones is coursing through my veins.
“So, you’re not here on Navy business?”
“I’m a field operative for a private organization now.”
Is that relief?
“Your other men?” she asks.
“Look. This is beyond the scope of what I should be talking to a stranger about.”
She huffs and pinches her lips together. “We’re hardly strangers. You did threaten to spank my ass.”
After that remark, she glances over her shoulder to the bed. “And you threw me on your bed.”
Fuck. I did. And now I can’t stop thinking about doing it again.
“Yeah.” I sound like a bear.
She watches me for a beat before her lips quirk. “What’s got your neck turning red, Beast?”
“Not a fucking thing.”
“A fucking thing? Right. Men are so predictable.”
My eyes drop, and my gaze locks on her nipples. Rock hard. Little gems beneath her damp shirt.
She clears her throat. Shifts her thighs.
Yes. She’s affected too.
Just what I don’t need.
Fucking adrenaline.
It’s a well-known phenomenon that people in high-adrenaline situations can get aroused. Put two people together and crazy shit happens.
She snaps at me. “I’m leaving.”
“Yes. You are. Back to the States.”
“What’s it going to take for you to back off, bossy?”
I open my mouth and some real nonsense spills out. “One condition. You do not leave my side. Day or night.”
What. The. Fuck?
I know I’ve crossed every line including the one that clearly demarcates the loss of my sanity when her lips part and she exhales a throaty whisper. “Day and night?”
“Yep.” I let myself look at her again. Really look. The tiny freckles. The slices of blue in her irises. Those lips. Looking at Camile is painful right down to my nuts.
She’s fucking beautiful.
Wild. Untamed.
“Poppy, those men will hurt you and hurt you bad, and you are dead wrong if you think I’m going to stand by and let that happen.”
“Poppy…” she whispers.
“Did you hear anything that I said?”
“I heard you loud and clear.” This time, she straightens her spine and jabs a finger at the bed. “You better be ready to sleep on the floor, you big monster, because that bed’s not nearly big enough for two.”
I beg to differ, but there’s no reason in hell for us to be in that bed together. “Copy that.”
“And you better not snore. I hate snoring.”
I chuckle. “I’ll try to remember that.” My throat goes bone dry. “You could solve all these problems by just pulling your team and going home.”
I regret the words as soon as they”re out of my mouth.
Idiot. Now that she’s been sassing me about sharing my room, I’m losing brain cells by the second.
Spitfire. Like a damned thorn under a bulletproof vest.
She turns my words on me. “You’re dead wrong if you think I’m?—”
I clamp my eyes closed and shake my head. “Woman, you’re gonna be the death of me.”
“Maybe. Now get out of my way. I’ve got work to do. So do you.”
When she swings past me, I grab her arm.
Her bones are delicate, but her muscles are honed. The urge to drag her to the bed is nearly my undoing.
Her hazel eyes widen and meet mine. “Why did you stop me?”
“To tell you to be careful.”
She looks at my body pointedly. “You’re guarding me, what could go wrong?”
“It’s me you’ve got to be careful around.”
Her pretty little tongue dances across her lips. “Don’t you know angry women are dangerous, Beast?”
“Apparently.”
The tension gets so thick in the room I wonder if we might set the place on fire.
I’m going to kiss her.
A crackle in my coms gear makes me jolt. “Beast, this is Storm, do you copy me? Over.”
Evan is looking for me.
Dammit. Damn. It.
My voice comes out thick and husky. “Copy. Go ahead, over.”
Camile blinks and watches my expressions intently, curious.
“We have a couple of developments. Over.”
My gut starts to crawl. Never a good sign. “What kind of developments?”
“First, Scout thinks he found someone that saw MZ in Santa Rosa the day before yesterday. Unconfirmed. He’s working on that. But the other issue is that someone set one of the FamFind trucks on fire. That’s fucked. The upside is the rebels are gone for the moment. Over.”
My gut was right. I process this info.
Camile can’t hear Evan’s voice. It’s inside my head, using bone induction technology from a microphone clipped on my tooth.
A fire.
I’m not sure if this makes me happy as hell or pissed on her behalf. Maybe this will convince her team to pull out. “Can you handle it? Over.”
Evan’s reply is quick. “We’re working on it. Over.”
“You got this under control for another fifteen minutes? Over.”
“Affirmative. Over.”
I drop my hand to Camile’s lower back and urge her back toward the bed. “In fifteen minutes, I’ll take you back to meet the others.”
“Fifteen minutes?” She narrows her eyes at me over her shoulder.
“Your brain needs to cool down.”
“Grrr. I am certain sitting here and looking at you isn’t going to do that.”
She’s not the only one that’s in distress. Looking at her isn’t going to cool my brain. Or any other parts.
If she sees the damage from the truck fire, she’s going to freak. That means her blood pressure is going up. Which means her overheated body is going to suffer even more.
Not happening on my watch.
“I’m serious. If I’m taking care of you, I’m not going to let you have a medical crisis.”
She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “What did your guy say?”
“Fourteen minutes. I’ll tell you then.”