Page 54 of Seal of Honor
Gabe led Audrey over to the bed. She looked wrecked, exhaustion bruising her eyes with dark circles. Had she slept at all while he was unconscious? He’d bet not.
Truthfully, unconsciousness didn’t count for sleep, either, and his own energy levels were also in the danger zone. He knew the fuzzy, disjointed feeling well, knew if he didn’t catch a couple of hours of sleep, he’d crash out and be of no use to anyone.
“This is all so messed up,” Audrey murmured, snuggling into the big bed on her belly, arms wrapped tight around a pillow.
“It is.” He tucked the blanket around her. “SEALs refer to situations like this as fubar. Fucked up beyond all recognition.”
Her lips curved in a hint of a smile, but it didn’t last long. “I’m not going to sleep.” Even as the words left her, she yawned.
“Try.”
She yawned again. Now that she was horizontal, she was fading fast and fighting it. “I shouldn’t have convinced you to stay here.”
Gabe thought about telling her that despite what Mena had said, the drug kingpin wasn’t going to let them leave until he was good and ready for them to go. Their surroundings were more comfortable, but substituting a castle for a prison didn’t change the fact it was still a prison.
Instead, he brushed back a lock of her hair. “Sleep.”
“Hmm.” Her eyes fluttered shut, and a second later, she was gone.
Wishing he were that pillow she cuddled so close and cursing himself for the unprofessionalism of that thought, he sat on the edge of the mattress and watched her for a long time. Her braid had loosened, spilling pale golden brown hair over the paler gold blankets. Her eyes moved restlessly behind their lids, and every once in a while, she made a small sound of protest and hugged the pillow tighter. He reached out, traced the curve of her cheek with one finger, and she settled again with a soft sigh.
Ah, hell.
He started to remove the pillow from her grip and caught a whiff of himself. Whew. He couldn’t subject her to that stench. Shower first, then sleep—with Audrey tucked safely in his arms for a couple of hours.
Sleeping together like that wasn’t unprofessional, right?
CHAPTER 18
When the bed sank and Gabe’s muscular arm slid under her, Audrey woke. His skin was still warm and dewy from a shower, and he’d shaved. His hard jaw felt baby smooth as he nuzzled her ear. He pulled her close, his natural male spice and some kind of flowery soap scent enveloping her. Yum. She wanted to bury her nose in his shoulder and breathe in nothing else, but that would require moving, and she was quite comfortable now that he was in bed with her.
Except for the blooming ache between her thighs. She wanted this man, and now that they were safe and closing in on finding her brother, maybe they could take a moment for themselves. A moment to indulge in the electric tension that had been crackling between them since they first laid eyes on each other. A moment to just… live.
She smiled without opening her eyes. “You smell like a garden.”
He grunted. “It’s the shampoo. Some girly designer shit. I had no choice.”
And he sounded really unhappy about that. Audrey stifled a laugh in the pillow, sure he wouldn’t appreciate it. “It’s nice.”
“I’ll be sure to order a bottle,” he said, deadpan.
She huffed out a breath in exasperation. “Do you ever get sick of being so sarcastic?”
“Do you ever get sick of being so contrary?”
She elbowed him in the gut—and, ow! About like jamming her elbow into a block of stone. But she still heard a satisfactory umph in reply. “I am not contrary.”
“Bullshit. You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known.” His voice was now a low growl in her ear.
Audrey lied perfectly still, the sudden shift in his tone bringing a rush of heat along with it. “I’m not stubborn. I’m determined.”
“And there’s a difference how?” His breath tickled her ear, and Audrey squirmed at the sensation.
“The difference,” she murmured, “is that stubbornness is a refusal to change your mind, while determination is a drive to achieve something.”
“And what is it that you want to achieve?” Gabe’s voice had grown softer, though the teasing edge was still present. He shifted so his mouth was hovering much too close to her throat.
Her pulse quickened. “I want to find my brother.”
