Chapter 13
Blade didn’t get it.
Blue lips, chattering teeth, soaking wet—yet she still looked sexy as hell. Maybe it had something to do with the way her trousers sucked against her shapely legs, dripping river water on the bank. Or the way her oversized khaki T-shirt was glued to her breasts, outlining their generous shape, and showing him just how cold she was.
“We need to get you warm,” he said, gruffly.
“C—Can we light a fire?” she asked, trembling.
“No, too dangerous.” Both sides of the river consisted of populated farmland. They may as well send up a flare saying, We’re here! Come and get us.
Ideally, he’d have liked to have avoided the lush valley plains. Water meant agriculture which meant people. But, getting her warm was more important than moving farther inland. She was shaking violently. It wouldn’t take long before hypothermia set in.
He’d seen soldiers climb into their sleeping bags and be rendered unconscious from hypothermia during the night because their bodies hadn’t been able to generate heat themselves.
“We need to get out of these clothes,” he said, once they’d reached the outskirts of the farming area. “They’re only going to make us colder.”
Several fields separated them from the river, and like on the opposite side, they were all demarcated by handmade stone walls. Traditional mud dwellings dotted the landscape seemingly at random, but each farmer had erected his house strategically to watch over his crops.
Blade looked around. They’d be safe here. No smoke from the chimneys, no lights on inside the huts. It was still several hours until daybreak.
“Let”s rest up.”
He chose a spot where two walls intersected and formed a natural shelter. The corner faced away from the wind and looked out at the tree-covered hillside roughly a mile away.
“These are p-poppy fields, aren’t they?” Teeth chattering and body shivering, Lily gazed at the vivid splashes of color.
He tore his attention from her to the flowers. Petals ranged from the deepest reds to the softest whites and boasted every shade of pink between. Each bloom gyrated in the stiff breeze, strong and beautiful.
Kind of like her.
They weren’t open, however, their heads bowed in the darkness. In the light of day, they”d be quite spectacular.
Blade studied her again. He was concerned. Her body was losing heat faster than she could replace it. That’s why she was shivering so violently. It was the body’s way of creating energy to warm her up.
“Yeah. Poppies bring in more money than any other agricultural crop. The farmers guard their plots obsessively, particularly during the harvest. It”s not unusual to see armed guards on patrol around here.”
She peered through the darkness, her brow furrowed with concern.
“Don’t worry. It’s too early in the season.” Plus, he hadn’t seen anyone through the night vision scope. “Here, let me help you with your backpack.”
“I-I don”t think I”ve ever been this c-cold.” After he took it off her shoulders, she slunk down against the wall and hugged herself. “I can”t feel any of my t-toes.”
Even her words were stilted and slurred. That was a dangerous sign. Her body was slowing down, affecting her reflexes and coordination. She would continue to cool down unless she got heat from an external source.
One of the most effective ways to warm someone up in that situation was to put them in a sleeping bag with another person with a normal body temperature—and that’s exactly what he was going to do.
He just wasn’t sure how she’d feel about it.
Sitting next to her, he shimmied out of his backpack. He retrieved the sleeping bag—still dry, thanks to the black bag.
“Lily, you need to get out of those wet clothes and climb in here with me.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. She curled into a tighter ball.
He’d expected that reaction. Maybe his delivery was inelegant, but they were running out of time.
“It’s the only way I can warm you up. You’re becoming hypothermic, which means your body can’t heat itself. If you want to survive, you’re going to have to do as I say.”
“Can’t I do jumping jacks or something?”
He snorted but shook his head. “Won’t work. Your internal thermostat has shut down. You need my body heat.”
She swallowed. “You want me to get naked?”
“Leave your underwear on, if you like.” It would have been better if she’d removed it, but he didn’t think he’d be able to handle that, let alone her.
Keep it real,he told himself sternly. This was a life-or-death situation. He couldn’t rescue the hostage only to lose her to hypo-fucking-thermia in a freezing valley. Pat would string him up when he got back.
He was more scared of Pat than an almost naked Lily.
Turning her back to him, she peeled off her dripping trousers and was about to hang them over the wall, when he shook his head. “Too noticeable. Here, give them to me.”
He hung them over a couple of rocks. That way if any of the farmers looked out of their hut windows, they wouldn’t see the trousers flapping in the wind.
While she stripped off the soaked T-shirt, he undressed, and arranged his clothes where they had the most chance of drying. Out of modesty, he’d left his boxers on, but that didn’t stop him from feeling strangely vulnerable when he caught her staring at him.
“You okay?” Normally he didn’t give a shit about getting naked. It was part of life in the military. You showered, shaved, and went to the toilet alongside your fellow soldiers. Any modesty evaporated during the first few months of training.
This wasn’t a “normal” situation.
Her eyes raked over his chest, but she nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.”
He climbed into the sleeping bag, which wasn’t really big enough for two. It would be a tight squeeze, but that was the point.
Lily eyed it like it was an unexploded bomb.
She was shivering so violently now, he worried she’d break something. He growled, “Get in.”
She took a tentative step toward him, her hands over her breasts. That was all the farther she got.
“Lily, I’m serious. I’ve lost men to hypothermia before. It’s no joke.”
A blush crept into her cheeks, and he thought how wild and untamed she looked in that moment—naked, wild hair cascading around her face, bare shoulders, breasts catching the moonlight.
Fuck, she was exquisite.
He was doing this for Joe. For Pat. If he didn’t, she was going to die. That much he knew for sure.
All he had to do was stay focused—on the situation, not on the rise of her breasts or the curve of her butt.
He exhaled, low and hard.
Not an easy thing to do.
Wordlessly, she climbed in beside him. Fucking hell, she was freezing.
All inappropriate thoughts flew from his mind as his training took over.
“Come here.”
Back to him, she snuggled closer, and he wrapped his arms around her. Might as well have been hugging an ice sculpture but for the waves of intense tremors assaulting her body, draining her of energy.
He drew her closer, spooning her tightly. She fit perfectly into the outline of his body. “You’re okay now. I’ve got you.”
Because his body was cold too, it took a while for him to start generating heat, but he was nowhere near as frozen as her. He absorbed her tremors, willing his metabolism to kick in. When it did, his body temperature rose and finally, through transference, she began to thaw out.
He could tell because she began to relax. Her muscles untensed, the shivering slowed, and the frantic shudders grew less frequent.
“How’s that?” he whispered in her ear.
“It’s working.” He was glad she was recovering, but damned if he didn’t want her to stay exactly where she was. She fit so snuggly against him, her buttock curved into his groin, her back arched against his chest.
Fuck. Far too snug.
Holding Lily, her soft curves nestled against his body, was driving him crazy. Needing a distraction, he calculated how long they could safely stay here before they had to move on.
If the enemy deduced they”d crossed the river, which was a distinct possibility, they were very exposed, lying here naked less than five hundred yards from the riverbank.
“Once you’ve warmed up, we should head out.” His voice was huskier than he’d have liked.
“Oh, okay.”
Was that disappointment?
“It’s too dangerous to stay here for long. We need to put some distance between us and the enemy.”
He felt a lingering tremor and stroked his hand up and down her arm. He didn”t mean to, it was a natural response, but as soon as he’d done it, he knew it was a mistake.
She gave a soft moan that reverberated through him like a 20,000-ton freight train. He felt his cock surge to life and froze, praying she hadn’t noticed.
“Blade?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He tried to ignore the throbbing in his boxers.
Here it comes.
“Do you really think we’re going to get out of here?”
Now that he hadn’t been expecting.
You’re a dick, maybe. Get a hold of yourself, definitely. But that… no.
He breathed deeply. “Yeah, I told you we would.”
“I know, but I wasn’t sure if you were trying to pacify me or if you really meant it.”
He frowned. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
“Yeah, that’s what Joe said.”
He froze. “What?”
“He said you’re one of the most honest men he’s ever met.” She hesitated, and he felt her adjust her position, wriggling her behind into his crotch.
Don’t do that.
Please, don’t do that.
“Even with women.”
That made him pause. “What did he mean, with women?”
It was news to him that Joe had spoken to Lily about him. It wasn’t like they knew each other. Then again, he and Joe were best buddies, so of course Joe would talk about him and the unit when he was at home. With her.
Suddenly, Blade envied Joe for what he’d had.
Lily. To himself. Every night.
Then he remembered the nightmares. What she’d said about Joe trying to strangle her. He grew angry. Joe should have said something, dammit. If he was suffering from PTSD, he should never have been on that mission with them. If he hadn’t, he might still be alive.
Tension radiated through his body, and he had to force himself to calm down. He focused on Lily’s newfound warmth, her softness, the swell of her breast that he could just feel underneath his arm.
Now he was hot in a different way.
Maybe it was time to move. Get the hell out of this sleeping bag. Get away from her.
“He said you might have a different woman every time you’re on leave, but you never lied to them.”
“I didn’t.” And he hadn’t had a different woman every time he was on leave. There were a handful he’d had fun with who understood how he operated. No complications. No strings.
“I couldn’t afford to be distracted.” He tried to explain, hoping she’d understand. Hoping she wouldn’t think he was a womanizing prick. “A serious relationship would have been a distraction.”
“Joe had me.” Her voice was a whisper.
“And you were the last thing he thought about when he died.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
Blade ground his jaw. “No, but I didn’t want to worry about leaving someone I loved behind, or wondering what they were doing when I wasn’t around. I didn’t want to think about them when I went into battle.”
He wasn”t doing a very good job of explaining this.
“Clarity of thought is everything on a mission, like when you’re operating behind enemy lines. You can’t afford any lapses in judgment. One mistake and that’s it. You’re dead, and so is your team.” He ground his teeth, feeling on edge.
Ironic how that’s exactly what had happened.
One mistake.
His.
Not a girl, though.
“I get it,” she said softly.
He didn’t respond, letting the waves of regret wash over him. Joe, Blaster. Stitch.
Lily’s voice cut through his lamenting. “Didn’t you get lonely?”
“No.” Not then.
“What about now?”
He hesitated. “I think you’re good to go.”
He shifted position, and cool air thrust between them. The closeness had gone, and along with it, the right to ask personal questions.
Lily sat up, her eyes lingering on him thoughtfully.
“Get dressed.” He tugged on his wet clothes. “We’ll warm up once we start moving. You won’t have a problem now your metabolism has kicked in again.”
Lily got up and pulled on her clothes. She turned her back but thrust her perfectly rounded butt at him when she bent over to pull on her pants.
God help him.
What had he just been saying?
He let out a long, slow breath. The last thing he wanted was to be a hypocrite, but this woman was one hell of a distraction.