Page 44 of Her Tempting Protector

She was silent for a long moment.

“I think I might need to take a bit of a rest. When we stop at Wad Gala, I’m going to need to really examine Shada. Even with her restrained, this rough ride hasn’t been good for her.”

Cullen spared a glance from the rough terrain to Carys. She looked pale. She could say what she wanted about needing to rest up, but he knew what the problem was. It was his big fucking mouth. But to hell with it. He’d never been this drawn to a woman, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to put his cards on the table. He was planning on coming out of this alive, and maybe, just maybe, she was someone he could explore a future with.

She gave a big ole fake yawn, then gave him a fake smile. “I’m just going to rest my eyes for a bit.” She made sure the sling holding Adam was secure, then she leaned back and pretended to sleep.

Lyons, ever hear of subtlety?

* * *

“Wake up. We’re getting close to the city,” Cullen said quietly.

Carys sat up and wondered how she’d slept through the smell of Adam’s bowel movement. The boy sure could stink up a diaper.

Cullen chuckled softly. “You should see your expression. Adam let loose an hour ago, but you just slept on through. I was amazed.”

She immediately put her lips to the baby’s forehead and was not happy. He felt hot. She checked his fontanels, to see if he was dehydrated. She saw Cullen looking at her curiously.

“I’m checking his soft-spots, where the bones on his skull still haven’t fused. If they’re a little sunken in, he’s dehydrated.”

“Is he?” Cullen was worried.

“A little. Honey?” She shifted his little body back and forth and his eyes slowly opened. Too slowly. “There’s my boy.”

“Oh shit, I should have realized Bubba would have been hollering. I screwed up.” Cullen smacked the steering wheel.

Adam jolted at the loud noise and his little face screwed up in protest and he let out a cry. Carys smiled. He struggled in his swaddling and she unwound him so that he could move his tiny little fists. She sighed in relief. Anger was good. Very good.

“Are you going to stop soon?” she asked Cullen.

“Just looking for a good place,” he said.

She looked around and realized they were out of the desert and back amongst some trees. Off in the distance she saw lights indicating a city. “Is that Wad Gala?”

Cullen nodded as he parked the truck and turned it off.

“How far are we from Khartoum?”

“About a hundred kilometers.”

She unbuckled her seatbelt. “You need to change Adam, I’ve got to check on his mom. She and I are going for a potty break,” Carys sighed.

He put out his arms, “You got it. Come here, Bubba. Uncle Cullen wants to see what kind of present you got for him. I’m betting it’s messy, foul and green. You could be a cook for the Navy, now couldn’t you?”

Shada should have been awake by now. Adam definitely felt feverish. She was out the passenger door and opening the door to the back before she had a chance to process Cullen’s words. Laughter was bubbling up when she deftly unstrapped Shada. The man was just a little too enticing for her piece of mind.

Seriously? Enticing? Don’t go there. He just talked about his parent’s marriage.

Be cautious. Be wary. Heck. Be scared.

She looked at Shada’s swollen face and thought about her husband.

Bastard.She might be a doctor, but she wanted to kill him.

Then she thought about Cullen again. Okay, how could she be scared?

Admit it, you’re enticed.