Page 33 of SEAL's Tempest
The stunned expression on her face turned to horror as she followed his gaze upward. Josh grabbed her arm and pushed her out of the way as a large chunk of plaster dropped from the ceiling on top of him. After hitting the floor under the weight of the debris, he shook his head to orient himself.
“Oh no, Josh.” Tempest’s voice rang with fear.
“I’m okay.” A stabbing pain near his shoulder blade made him suck in a breath while he struggled to push the rubble off his back. It slid off, revealing Tempest kneeling in front of him to help.
As he used his arm to help sit up, pain stabbed at his shoulder. and he groaned. He’d been through worse and would be through worse in the future.
Nothing mattered except making sure Tempest wasn’t injured. Thank God he hadn’t been knocked out. He’d promised to protect her, and he never broke his word.
Josh rose to his knees as Tempest threw herself into his arms, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Fuck. You’re going to be the death of me.” Josh wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Are you okay?”
“My God, Josh. You’re the one hurt; you could have died. But you saved me. I would have ended up bloodied and broken just like my mama, but you saved me.” Tempest’s voice broke as she tightened her arms around him.
She sounded like a frightened child, and he squeezed her tighter as she shook in his arms. The rumble of another explosion made the walls shudder. A shiver of fear slid over his spine. They needed to move away from the doorway. He was terrified more of the ceiling would come down on them, and he wouldn’t be able to save her.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt, baby?”
“I can’t breathe,” she said.
“What? Why?”
“You’re squeezing me too tight.”
“Sorry.” Josh eased his grip but couldn’t bring himself to let her go. He leaned back enough to see if she was hurt. His heart squeezed painfully as tears slipped down her dusty cheeks.
Gently wiping them away with the back of his hand, he said in a shaky voice, “You scared the fuck out of me. I thought you’d be crushed.”
“I’m fine. Really,” Tempest said, her voice stronger, sounding more like herself as she recovered her equilibrium. “Thank you for saving me.”
Then she leaned forward and kissed him.
Josh’s arms tightened around her as their lips met. Tempest was kissing him. It was the first time she initiated any intimacy, and it tugged on his heart.
“I’ll always save you, Tempest. Until my last breath.”
Her sigh made him smile. “We need to get out of here before the whole building comes down.” She stood up and grabbed the water from where she’d dropped it.
“I know. They’re working on it, no one wants to be here longer than we have to.” Fuck. Had they been hurt? A cloud of dust covered the camera, and he couldn’t see anything. It would take time to settle; time they didn’t have. The next explosion could be the one to trigger the self-destruct failsafe. He didn’t find the woman he’d been searching for only to lose her now.
“I hope they’re okay,” Tempest said as she stood next to him in front of the video monitor.
Josh nodded, then tried to raise Quinn on the comms. “Falcon 1, do you copy?” Only static answered, not that he expected anything else.
“I hate that we can’t hear them.” Tempest wrapped her arms around her stomach and walked over to the desk.
“I know. It would be a lot easier.” T
Quinn approached the camera and used something to dust off the lens.
“They’re okay, look,” Josh said.
“Thank God. I—”
“Don’t even think it. We’re getting out of here, baby. We’re going home, getting debriefed, and then I’m taking you to the nearest bed and making love to you until you pass out.”
Yes, she’d made him promise they were going to go slow, but the horse was already out of the stable. He had no intention of putting him back if he could help it.
