Page 29 of Lucky Charm
They could manage a fire fight, might even win seven against fifty if luck was with them, but with Doc’s safety paramount, that wasn’t the way to go. They had no safe place to leave her, and, in his experience, shit happened wasn’t only a saying. Shit happened.
If they could duck, cover, and move like hell, that would be better. Four miles west and the storm passing, they should have radio contact for extraction.
If they could time it right and get those four miles unseen.
He lay still, feeling Cait’s chest gently rising and falling against his. Her breasts lay cradled against his bare chest, her arms against his hips. She placed a light fluttery kiss on his neck – in that spot. The one that had driven him wild during their night together.
God, he needed her safe. The emotion filled him, seeping out his pores and into the tight way he held her. He examined every possible strategy. Flexibility – doing the unexpected – and doing it lethally was what they were good at. Everything was on the table to get Doc back to Bagram.
He wanted time with this woman. He wanted to make love to her, to probe the depth of that mind, that strength, that vitality and to dwell in that lusciousness. Ideas flashed, some previously discussed, some not. Nothing went unexplored except staying in this hellhole of a cave. That wasn’t an option.
“Hunt?”
Her whispered voice blew across agitated nerves. “You’re awake.” Whether she was aware she’d kissed him, he couldn’t tell.
She swept her hair from her face, eyes barely open. “Now I need to pee. Are we moving out soon?”
Suddenly, the in-your-face reality of having to help a woman use their makeshift restroom smashed into his deep-seated need to care for her in every way. An audience was not in his scenario, but he couldn’t kick the guys out of the cave to make her more comfortable.
Cait still had her eyes closed – whether from embarrassment or illness or maybe both. Honestly with the way he was raised, he had no smooth or charming skills. He was full of rough edges encased in a tough hide. He studied the layout of the cave and realized there wasn’t any solution that wasn’t awkward.
“Don’t move for a minute. I’ll get the restroom area set for you and then we need to walk you around a bit. If you can’t move, we gotta prepare for another choice.”
“I can’t move around by myself, Hunt.” She opened her eyes. A soft misery was there. Ah, so it was partly embarrassment. “I’ve let you down.
“You haven’t. Not by a long shot. Lot of stuff thrown at you, and you’ve hung in there. Lean on me. I’ve got this, honey. I’m taking care of you. I’ll help.” He stifled every bit of the sexual attraction sitting in his gut, all those soft, touchy-feely feelings from having her against him skin-to-skin. He was going to do what he needed to in support of this woman’s strength. She was going to need a whole ton of grit to do the rest of what they had to do, and she should do it with respect from all of them.
“I’m going to clear the guys to the front for privacy, and then I’ll help you. We’ll get you moving, Doc. I promise.”
He rose, grabbed his pants, socks, and boots, and forced on the less than warm gear. If his tone was a bit brusque when he barked out orders – and to a man, it raised a few brows – he didn’t care. Hewasn’t going to explain any of his thought process about Doc. The whole idea made him uncomfortable as hell.
He hadn’t truly taken care of anyone since Gramma Virginia before he’d left Montana to join the Navy, and she’d been dying. He figured it would have made him some kind of shit if he hadn’t paused and done right by the woman. She’d taken him in when he’d left his parent’s mountain at fourteen, given him work, kept him in school, and she’d been good to him until the day she died.
He’d taken care of teammates and held a few while they’d died. A woman was a whole different ball of needs, and Doc had him in knots. It killed him to have her vulnerable, and it was his responsibility to get her back on her feet and out of here alive. If he kept to his job parameters, he wouldn’t get stuck in this morass of emotion that was about feelings and fucking. Geesh. As problems went, he was uniquely getting assaulted on several fronts, and he didn’t like it. He glanced over at Quaid and caught the man studying him. Bastard.
Doc moaned, and he jumped. Carter started toward her, but he waved him off. She was one tough woman, and if she was groaning, she was miserable.
She washisto manage.
Professional, asshole. Leave her with her dignity intact– that might be the only thing he could guarantee with this mission. His brain wanted to shift to analyze that gone-to-hell factor, but he wouldn’t let himself.
He pulled his under armor over his head, added a second thermal shirt and made his way to her side. “Okay, Doc. We’re getting up now.” He reached for a space blanket. “First, I’m going to wrap you, and I’ll get you to the back to use the facilities. Then I’m going to help you get dressed and start moving around. Can you do that?”
Her baby blues were wide and dilated, her skin translucent. Her hand shook when she reached for him. She looked like a damn fairy who’d had her wings broken, and that pissed him off.
“I’m ready.” Her husky voice and sweet pink tongue licking her lips sent a whole different message.
Swearing in his head, he stifled all the turmoil and focused on the steps.
∞∞∞∞∞
She was weak and shaky.
She was weepy and disoriented.
She was pissed and uncomfortable.
And – she was embarrassed.
