Page 39 of Protecting Josie
“Anything left for me?”
Josie could only stare at him. He was the same man she’d gotten to know, but he looked different now. He’d washed away the grime and had trimmed his beard. The freckles on his face stood out even more now that they weren’t hidden under all the dirt and blood. He still had bruises on his face, but he looked…
Untouchable.
What the hell had she been thinking to agree to go back to California with this man? He was so out of her league it wasn’t even funny. He was tall, muscular, and handsome, and she was…what was she? Short, plain, and skinny as a stick.
Her appetite disappeared in an instant.
But Nate didn’t seem to notice. He sat next to her after piling his own plate with food. Then he reached over and took her hand in his, eating with the other, all while bantering with his friends. No one seemed to care that he was holding her hand. They didn’t give him shit, simply went on with their conversations.
Josie’s head hurt. She was confused, tired, and overwhelmed with everything that had happened in such a short time.
“We’re losing her,” someone said quietly.
The plate in her lap was removed, and then Nate was urging her to lie down.
“You’re tired, Spirit, and it’s no wonder. Close your eyes. Sleep.”
A second ago, Josie had decided this man wasn’t for her. But now at the thought of him leaving her side, she panicked. She grabbed his wrist when he started to stand up.
To his credit, Nate didn’t pull away or ask what she was doing. He simply sat back down, then adjusted to lay next to her. “Come here,” he urged, pulling her closer.
The next thing Josie knew, her head was on his shoulder and her arm was resting on his belly. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her against him. “Sleep, Josie.Tomorrow will be another long day since we’ll be flying to Germany, then back to the States.”
Nodding, Josie wanted to stay awake to hear more details about what would happen next. But she couldn’t keep her eyes open. With the easy thumping of Nate’s heart under her cheek, she fell into a deep, healing sleep, secure in the knowledge that this man wouldn’t let anything happen to her while she was resting.
CHAPTER TEN
Blink slept the sleep of the dead. He’d needed it. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since before he’d been awoken in the middle of the night and told he needed to get to the base to leave for a mission to Iran within the hour.
And having Josie at his side only made his sleep all the more healing.
Looking down at the woman still sound asleep on his chest had Blink taking a relieved breath. She smelled like him. Like his soap. Her hair was still a disaster; it would take more than a crappy naval carrier shower to address it. But seeing her skin scrubbed clean, seeing the flush on her cheeks last night as she ate and drank to her heart’s content…it had gone a long way toward making what he’d been through seem like small potatoes.
He still couldn’t believe this woman had been rotting away in an Iranian cell, and no one knew. If he hadn’t beencaptured, she’d still be there. It was unbelievable. Unacceptable.
He hadn’t missed the way she’d tensed after seeing him freshly showered. And he thought he knew why. She’d gotten used to seeing him in soldier mode, complete with a scruffy beard and covered in days’ worth of grime. But if she thought she was going to back away now, she was wrong.
She was the woman Blink had waited for his entire life, and he’d do whatever it took to prove it to her. Whatever insecurities she had about the two of them together were bullshit. He could tell by her sudden unwillingness to meet his gaze, the way her mouth had turned down last night, that she was suddenly uneasy around him.
And it cut deep. But he’d make her comfortable around him again. Somehow. He was the same man she’d gotten to know when they were fighting for their lives.
He hadn’t lied, today would be long and difficult. There would be more questions, doctors would need to examine them, and then the long flight back to California. But he’d be right there by Josie’s side. Whatever she needed, he’d make sure she had it, and that she was handling all the attention she’d be getting.
She stirred in his arms, and he felt the moment she became aware of her surroundings when she tensed against him.
“Shhhh,” he murmured quietly against her hair. “You’re good. We have a few more minutes before we have to get up. I’m sure Kevlar’s alarm is going to go off here any moment. Then we’ll have to deal with Flash and Smiley being bitchy, because they hate having their precious sleep interrupted.MacGyver will be up and ready to go in seconds, which is just annoying, and Safe will be a zombie until he gets coffee, although it’s not the fancy stuff he likes. Preacher will be dressed and packed and bugging us to hurry the hell up, and Kevlar will be the last one to leave, checking to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind, like someone always does.”
He felt Josie smile against his chest. Then she lifted her head and studied him with a quizzical look on her face.
“Me?” he asked.
She nodded.
Blink shrugged. “I go with the flow. Not bringing attention to myself, not getting in the way. Watching the others, observing. My brother is the outgoing one. I’m the kind of guy who stands back and gets the lay of the land before acting. I’ve learned a lot by watching.”
Josie rested her chin on her hand as she continued to look into his eyes.
