Page 61 of SEAL's Spitfire
“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe now.” He grabbed a tissue from the bed tray and wiped away her tears. For such a huge man he was so gentle with her. It was like a fairytale come true.
Sniffing back the rest of her tears, she tried to smile.
“You’re adorable even if you are doing a great grape impersonation.”
“A grape?”
“Yup. Your face is all purple and swollen.”
“I’m surprised you recognized me.”
“Are you kidding? I’d know you anywhere, Spitfire. I can’t believe you survived all they did to you. I saw the video.”
The video. She’d forgotten about that. “Oh fuck. Did they put it on the internet?”
“Afraid so. Don’t worry about it. It was obvious you made it under duress.”
“I hope my family doesn’t see it.”
“I called Tex when we got back to base, and I asked him to make it disappear. If anyone can make that happen it would be him. I also read him the riot act for sending my woman into a war zone. Mel got on the phone and almost ripped me a new one for thinking I could tell you what to do or give her husband a hard time. So, I guess we’re even.”
“I spoke to her, she seemed really nice. Maybe one day we can meet them?”
“Definitely. But one step at a time. You need to heal before you worry about anything else.”
“I know. Do you think they’ll make me stay here long?”
“Only until they’re sure you’re stable. It wouldn’t surprise me if you were headed to Germany by tomorrow.”
“Why Germany?”
“Ramstein Air Force Base. They’ll be able to give you better medical attention. Then you’ll be debriefed before they send you home.”
“Debriefed?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds. They’ll just want to know everything that happened. That you can remember. Don’t hold anything back, because they’ll find it out anyway. And don’t worry about Tex, you won’t get him in trouble.”
“Oh good. I was worried about that. Will you be going with us?” His hand resting on her arm tensed, and she had her answer before the words left his mouth. She should have known he wouldn’t be able to. He had to go where they sent him.
“I’m afraid not. We’re actually leaving today. Jake, our team leader, and the captain put it off as long as possible so I could see you. I was so worried you wouldn’t wake up before I had to go.”
“I’ll have to thank them if I ever meet them.”
“You’ll definitely meet the whole team.”
“Can you hold me before you go?”
“Are you sure? Moving you around is going to hurt.”
“Yes. I but I don’t care. Who knows when we’ll see each other…” The tears gathered in her eyes. What was wrong with her? She’d never been this weepy in her life.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. No tears. You’ll see me again soon. I promise.” He moved closer and slid his arms under her legs and shoulders and rotated her until she was lying across his lap, careful not to pull on her IV, and wrapped her in his arms. “Better now?”
“Yes.” It hurt like hell, but she wasn’t going to tell him. His warmth made everything a thousand times better, and even in as much pain as she was, the desire to have all of him pulsed inside her.
Her head rested in the crook of his neck and with his arms wrapped around her, she felt safe for the first time since she’d left home. Safe, and warm, and thoroughly loved. They might not have actually made love yet, but she could feel it, the truth of his love for her. They stayed that way until the nurse came in.
“You shouldn’t be moving around yet, Ms. Henley.”
