Chapter Thirteen #2
“I can find my own way around.” She turned and walked toward the couch, hoping he’d follow and not make her beg him to take it easy. “But right now, I’d love to just relax with you.”
“I think that’s nurse code for sit your ass down.”
A laugh burst from her lips. After a somber few minutes, it felt nice to have him joke with her. “Can’t confirm or deny. That would be giving away trade secrets.” She smiled over her shoulder and curled up by the arm of the couch.
He sat beside her, so close that their outer thighs nearly touched.
“You know, Bentley might be blood, but you have two other brothers in all the ways that count. Red didn’t hesitate to swoop in and make sure I had everything I needed at the hospital, just because I was with you.
His fear for you when I first spoke to him on the phone was so raw.
So intense. And then there’s Jude. I have a feeling he doesn’t show much outward emotion, but his love language is through protecting what and who he considers his.
” Sully nodded, fully engaged with what she was saying.
It was like that every time she spoke, even if it was nothing important.
He always made her feel as though she had his undivided attention.
“I’ve never heard Jude described in that way, but you’re right.
He might not be able to show much on the outside, but he will burn down everything in his path to get to someone he cares about.
When we were in Mexico, he tracked us so closely it felt like he was with us.
” Sully relaxed into the sofa, resting his head on the back of the chair, gaze still fixed on her face.
He was gorgeous, yet so approachable. His rich, harvest gold eyes were intense but would instantly saturate with warmth when he looked at her.
It made her feel special in a way she never had before.
Then there was the dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose, an almost delicate contrast to sharp cheekbones, square jaw, and masculine physique.
The air thickened between them as she realized she was staring.
His pupils had expanded, darkening his eyes.
“How did you meet?” If her staring didn’t fan his ego, the breathless note in her voice certainly would.
“I know you and Red have been on the same team for years, and you were on a team with Iron, but I don’t know how you met Jude.
” She was grateful that Sully had the good manners not to call her out for staring.
“Before I knew Red, he was severely injured on a mission. Shot three times in the back. Jude led the SEAL team who got Red out of Sudan. Around that time, my team had a mission that didn’t go as planned, and Iron was sent to the same military hospital.
He and Red were roommates on the recovery floor.
That’s when I first met Red. I was shocked as hell when nearly five years later, we were assigned together.
We happened to be on a mission when Jude’s team was ambushed and were in the right place at the right time to help.
Jude and another SEAL were the only survivors.
That’s when he got out and started working for the Department of Homeland Security in San Diego.
We were stationed in Coronado and stayed friends. ”
“You’ve all been through so much.” She let her head rest on the back of the couch, too, mirroring Sully.
It felt incredibly intimate to sit together like this, faces angled close, eyes locked.
“Have seen and done so many things no one will ever know about. Been under stress and experienced pain most people, including me, can never understand. I want to thank you for all the sacrifices you’ve made, but it feels totally inadequate.
I hope you know the world is a better, safer place with men like you, Red, Jude, and Iron in it. ”
“You might not be part of the military, but you make the world a better, safer place too. Going into remote areas to offer medical care that would otherwise be inaccessible? Gaining the trust of people you’ve never met? I respect the hell out of that, Jane. I respect the hell out of you.”
She didn’t know what to say. Couldn’t express how much his words and actions meant to her. Before she could try, he lifted his hand toward her face, then paused.
“What is it?” She searched his face and didn’t like the way his forehead wrinkled with uncertainty.
“I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to assume anything.
I need you to lay it out for me. What you want.
What you’re comfortable with. And I need you to know I’d never take advantage of this situation.
Would never, ever hurt you or take something you didn’t offer.
I also don’t want you to misinterpret my caution.
I’m intensely attracted to you. Keep catching myself about to touch you and stopping myself. ”
The warmth that had settled low in her belly pooled between her hips.
“I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were that type of man.
If you did something that made me uncomfortable, I’d just tell you.
” They continued to stare into each other’s eyes as the tension built between them.
She offered him a slow smile, and his lips instantly curved in return.
He moved his head to rest closer to hers, so close their noses brushed.
Their lips met, the contact feather-soft at first, a languid exploration that was both serene and sensual.
His tongue played against hers and she drew him in deeper, loving how their connection seemed to surge to life.
How a kiss could give her so much peace while making her body come alive was a complete mystery.
The living room faded away until there was nothing in her mind and heart but him.