Page 9 of Secret Mission

Terrible thing to be noticing, but—he feelsreally good.Safe. Strong. All manly.

God. Please tell me I’m not lusting after King Pain in My Ass.

He puts his nose near my ear.

Oh my god.

Did he just inhale my scent?

“If I move, you wait here.”

As if it wasn’t already clear we’re as different as night and day, this is a defining moment.

He’s going to hunt. I want to run and hide. The wolf and the scared rabbit.

He must see the terror in my face and the instinct to flee because his next words come as a command.

“You will do exactly what I say. Are we clear?”

No.

Yes.

I don’t know.

I bite down hard on my tongue, forcing myself to lie still when everything in me is screaming to flee the instant he gets up.

He taps his thumb to a ring on his right hand and begins to talk.

Who is he talking to and how?

Whatever he says is in code or military jargon. It’s clipped and direct. Efficient and purposeful.

Somewhere in the distance, feet rustle against foliage.

Slowing his breathing, his keen, mesmerizing, blue eyes scan the jungle.

Gone is the anger he was showing moments ago, in its place is a focused warrior. Steady in the midst of chaos.

Only his jaw muscle flickers as another crack of gunfire splits the air, closer this time.

“Two,” he murmurs, barely loud enough for me to hear.

“Two what?” My whisper trembles.

He doesn’t answer.

His thumb brushes the ring again—some kind of signal, maybe.

Another rustle in the distance makes him shift slightly, his broad torso still keeping me pinned.

“Be still,” he orders, in a low, rough tone.

“Yoube still. You’re killing my clit,” I snap in an angry whisper, my words slipping out before I can stop them.

Burning eyes flick toward my face for a fraction of a second, something unreadable sparking there.

Then it’s gone, and he’s back to scanning the shadows, waiting for something.

---