‘Are you going to pretend you’re fine? Because I can tell you now that the macho soldier doesn’t impress me.’
‘So you think I’m trying to impress you? Do I need to remind you that I may not be your CO, but I am still a CO?’
She flushed but stood her ground. It was a trait he’d got to know very quickly. And one he liked. A lot.
‘As you wish, Colonel. But do I need to remind you that, CO or not, when it comes to medical issues I have ultimate authority, even over you?’
She was so damned sexy when she was being combative. As though she couldn’t bear to relinquish control any more than he could.
‘That doesn’t change the fact that I’m not discussing this here.’
‘So it is macho pride?’ She shot him another disappointed gaze. ‘I was beginning to think better of you. But, either way, you will show me that wound, Colonel.’
Unexpectedly, she marched up the corridor, unlocked a supply room door and held it open with a jerk of her hand to command him inside.
‘Or do I have to physically manhandle you in here?’ she muttered.
He’d like to see her try. He swallowed down a wicked grin. Scratch that, he wouldn’t like to see her try. He was barely controlling the impulse to pull her closer and kiss that defiant glower right off her delectable mouth as it was. Having her touch him, in any capacity, would be like striking the damn match.
He hesitated, then consented to enter the room, his voice low but clear.
‘It’s not about macho pride, as you call it. As you pointed out so succinctly yesterday, my men have already lost one colonel and morale is low. I don’t want it sinking even further because they caught wind of some rumour that their new CO had also been injured.’
A pretty flush spread up and over her neck as she realised the truth of his words. Ash wasn’t sure what was cuter, the Major mad at him or the Major embarrassed by him. Still, she recovered quickly enough. Or at least that was what she wanted him to think.
‘What’s more, injured on your first sortie,’ she pointed out shakily.
He couldn’t keep the wry tone out of his voice. ‘Indeed.’
Checking the corridor, she closed the door behind them and gestured to him to join her beside a clear countertop.
‘Take your shirt off, and whatever layers you’re wearing underneath, and let me see that wound properly.’
So clipped, so professional, but Ash thought he heard the faintest quiver beneath. For a moment he debated the wisdom of being in this claustrophobic room, half-naked and alone with a woman he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off, at least in the privacy of his own head.
And what about the scars?
He’d never worried about his scars before. He was an infantry soldier; other men who’d seen them knew better than to ask, and women who’d seen them had swallowed whatever superficial story he’d thrown at them.
But the Major?
Ash had a feeling she would be able to see right through him.
He locked his jaw irritably. Since when did it matter to him what she—what anyone—thought? Hooking his fingers under the layers, he pulled them over his head in one smooth movement before folding his arms, seemingly casually, over his chest.
With something approaching satisfaction, he heard the air whoosh out of her lungs, saw her pupils dilating as she backed up further. She was fighting it, this attraction. And yet, even as she did so, her eyes didn’t stop raking over him, with the results as real as if she’d actually raked her fingernails across his skin instead. His body burned up with desire.
They just had to get through this before he gave in to his baser instincts and, for the first time in his career on an active tour of duty, mixed his Army life with his personal one.
Every time he thought he was back in control, she slipped beneath the surface and unravelled all his iron-clad control like a kitten would toy with a ball of yarn. Suddenly, he didn’t want to fight it any more. He wanted to know how it would feel to give in—just this once—and steal one perfect kiss from those plump, quivering lips.
One kiss.
No, he’d survived ambushes, engaged in fifty-hour firefights and fought with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. He’d pick any one of those over letting this woman get close enough to sneak behind his armour.
Just one kiss.
It was a constant battle between his baser instincts and his brain. Only an animal couldn’t control their baser instincts, he warned himself contemptuously. Besides, this woman could hurt him more than any enemy could.
But just one kiss.
* * *
The man was magnificent.
Her heart couldn’t work out whether to race or to miss beats, her eyes seemed riveted on the well-honed physique to which even her imagination hadn’t done justice and her nostrils filled with a fresh, citrusy shower gel scent mingled with the undertones of leather. Ever since she’d mentioned the shower, standing back in that corridor, she hadn’t been able to stop mentally placing him under the hot flow of water as it cascaded over those broad shoulders and down that all too sculpted physique. His proximity was so damned consuming.
‘Can you see it from there, or are you going to come a little closer?’ Deep and sensual, his voice reverberated through her, body-slamming her and sending heat pooling between her legs.
‘I need supplies first,’ she hedged.
Another eyebrow quirk. ‘Without inspecting the wound?’
She felt decidedly rattled. Whatever had happened to ‘stick of rock’ Fliss, with Army Rules and Regulations stamped right through her? She scrambled for an excuse not to step closer until she was sure she wouldn’t do something as improper as running her hands over him.
But what would it be like to feel those beautiful muscles bunching beneath her palms? Those callused fingers grazing her soft skin?
‘I can tell from here it’s going to need suturing,’ she lied, coughing to clear her throat.
In all her years within the military she had never—not once—fantasised about a fellow soldier. Fliss stopped abruptly.
Come to think of it, she had never in her life fantasised about anyone.
She hadn’t been able to see what purpose a fantasy served. No one before had ever set her pulse racing or filled her with such a raw need that her whole body actually trembled at the thought of their touch.
And then the Colonel had come along and she’d stood in that tent and felt as though she’d been hit by an armoured tank. Being in the field with him and seeing him in action, working with him in such harmony as though they’d known each other for years, had only intensified the attraction.
She’d seen a fair few heroes in her role as an army trauma doctor, but the Colonel was the stuff of action films. And he had something more, something harder, some inner drive. She’d been given a taste of what he was capable of, how loyal he was, and the physical attraction had expanded into something more.
It frightened her even as it excited her.
He’s just a man.
She tried to push the tumultuous emotions from her brain but, even now, he dominated the space, his backside resting on the countertop, his long, powerful legs stretched out in front of him, one ankle crossed casually over the other. Her heart hammered so fast she was surprised he couldn’t hear it. She wanted to look away but she couldn’t tear her eyes from his body. The tiny room practically pulsed with his dark, powerful energy, sliding under her skin and into her veins to flutter wildly at her neck. His eyes slid to her pulse as if he could read her thoughts, swiftly followed up with his lips thinning as if in distaste.
It was a rejection she recognised all too well.
Hurt cut through her. Enough to kick-start her sense of self-preservation. What was she thinking, imagining a guy like him could really be interested in someone
like her?
Focus, Fliss.
‘Right, let me inspect the wound,’ she bit out, shaking back hair which wasn’t there and advancing as confidently as she could, hands outstretched.
He braced himself. Only a fraction of a second but she didn’t miss it. Heat suffused her cheeks. He could read her silly schoolgirl crush and was embarrassed on her behalf. It was all she could do not to turn and flee.
Hauling her eyes to his shoulder, she saw where he’d tried to bandage the seeping wound, not wanting anyone to know about the injury. But, as neat a job as he’d managed, the damage beneath was clearly too deep. Carefully, she reached out and peeled away the dressing. At least her hands were steady, which was more than could be said for the rest of her.
‘Jeez, what did you do?’ she cried out, her eyes darting to his in horror.
‘What does it look like? I tried to suture it.’
‘Yourself? Without anaesthetic?’
He shrugged, ignoring the second question.
‘I’m usually right-handed.’
‘Yeah, because that’s why it’s bleeding.’
She stared into those shale-hued eyes and felt herself teetering oh-so-close to the edge. With a supreme effort she pulled herself back.
‘I’ve had worse.’
She didn’t doubt it.
‘How did you get it?’
‘Sliced it on some rusty metal when we were breaking down the door to that compound.’
She clucked her tongue, relieved at the banality of the exchange. At least it was keeping her mind distracted whilst they were so dangerously close to each other. She prattled on quickly to stop her voice, and hands, from shaking.
‘So you’re going to need stitches and a tetanus, but you weren’t intending to come to me. What are you, some kind of idiot?’
‘Careful, Major.’ His low voice rumbled through her. ‘I’ve let a lot slide because you’re kind of sexy when you’re bossy. But don’t push it.’
He was right; it was no way to speak to a superior. Certainly no way Fliss would ever have previously dreamt of speaking to one. But nothing about him had her acting like normal and, despite her best efforts, he disconcerted her, leaving her jangling nerves needing an outlet.
Wait... He thought she was sexy?
Belatedly, her eyes snapped to his, her tongue flicking out to moisten her parched lips. His gaze pulled down to the movement.
‘And that doesn’t help.’
‘What doesn’t?’
Was that breathy sound really her voice?
They had inched closer. She hadn’t noticed it, but they had. Now the soft caresses of his shallow breaths tickled her cheek.
‘Tell me how it is that you don’t have a boyfriend or partner somewhere, worrying about you?’
Pain sliced through her more than she’d have wished. But, like every time before, it was about the sense of rejection rather than losing Robert himself.
What was so very wrong with her that the people who were supposed to care about her didn’t think she was special enough for them to stay?
She took a step back from Ash, as though putting physical distance between them might ease the feelings of inadequacy. What if she told him and it caused him to think less of her as a woman?
‘Who says I don’t have someone?’ She’d meant it to sound nonchalant but it just came out brittle, cold.
‘If you did have someone, you wouldn’t be here now,’ Ash pointed out, unperturbed. ‘You certainly wouldn’t have allowed yourself to respond to me the way you do. However strong the attraction, you’d have shut it down back in your CO’s office the other day.’
He was right; she would have.
‘Fine,’ she snapped. ‘There’s no one.’
‘But there was?’ he pushed, perceptively.
‘It’s none of your business.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘What about Simon?’
‘Simon?’ Fliss stopped her inspection and shot him an incredulous look.
‘Your CO.’
‘Yes, I know who he is.’ She shook her head. ‘There’s nothing...like that going on.’
‘He wouldn’t mind if there was.’
‘You’re crazy,’ Fliss snorted, wondering where that had come from. ‘Besides, I don’t do that.’
Before she could think anything else, however, Ash had slipped one arm around her waist, the other hand closing around her wrist, his legs parting as he pulled her in between them. She was far enough away that there was a clear gap between his body and hers, but so close she could almost feel him.
‘Good to know,’ he muttered.
She should push away. But she didn’t. She couldn’t resist him. Her body literally ached with the need to press against him. But, if she did, she was afraid she might forget all her principles entirely.
‘I... I just said. I don’t do this,’ she choked out.
‘Do what? This?’
His thumb pads stroked the inside of her wrists, causing her pulse to lurch yet again, and Fliss wondered if he could feel it. The silence hung between them, his heartbeat drumming steadily, strongly, beneath her palm as invisible threads seemed to wrap around them.
She was frozen. She knew she should pull away but she couldn’t.
Someone was going to get hurt and she knew exactly who. But, even as she struggled to pull away, eyes the hue of mountain shale bound her tight, as entrancing and as perilous as a fathomless mine shaft. If she got too close to the edge she would tumble, and there would be no climbing out.
And still she didn’t move away.
Slowly her hand lifted involuntarily to rest on his chest.
Another inch closer and his breath rippled over her lips, sending electricity zinging around her body. He was going to kiss her and she wasn’t going to do anything to stop him.
So very close.
Fliss fought to harness her galloping heart as one hand still held her wrist as the other brushed up her body to cup her ribcage, his thumb grazing the underside of her breast whilst only barely touching.
And then, leaning forward, he brushed her lips with his own.
A small squeak escaped her lips.
‘Oh.’
She was pretty sure she’d never squeaked in her life.
The heady mix of citrus and leather intensified and Fliss couldn’t stop herself from wondering what his skin might taste like, how it would feel to graze her body against his. Her breasts felt strangely heavy, aching at the idea. But that was nothing compared to the flames licking around other parts of her body. It was like nothing she recognised.
Sex before had always been pleasant but perfunctory. She had a feeling pleasant was the last adjective a woman would use when describing sex with the Colonel. Her body shivered suddenly at all the adjectives she could imagine.
‘What are you doing?’ she murmured.
‘I’ve no idea,’ he admitted, running his thumb over her bottom lip, and then chasing it with his tongue. ‘I just know I keep trying to resist you but then I find myself crossing the line I’ve always drawn in my head.’
Molten heat bubbled up inside her. The idea of pushing a man as virile as this over any line was exhilarating. Could he really want her that badly? It offered an odd sense of power. Almost a validation as a woman. And right now that was something she was sorely lacking.
Frightened of talking herself out of it, Fliss abruptly closed the gap between them. His evident arousal let her know in no uncertain terms just how badly he wanted her. Fire whipped through her and she shifted against him, hearing the moan in the back of his throat as he lifted his hand to cradle the back of her neck, his other hand cupping her backside as he pressed her even more tightly against him.
Instinctively, she pa
rted her legs slightly, rocking against him, revelling in his low groans and her own soft sighs. And then he slipped his lips from hers, kissing along her jawline to the dip beneath her ear as his hand dropped from her neck to her breast, cupping it in one solid palm as he raked a thumb over the nipple. Even through her uniform it sent another hot stab rushing to her core. But she wanted so much more.
‘Colonel...’
‘Given the circumstances,’ he murmured, his words trailing over her lips, ‘I think calling me Ash might be more appropriate.’
‘Ash...’ She rolled the name around her tongue, liking the way it felt on her lips.
Finally slipping her wrist out of his grasp, she flattened her palm on his shoulder, careful to avoid the wound she hadn’t even got around to dealing with yet, and let her palm graze down over his body.
It was even more incredible beneath her touch. Muscles bunched and tensed as she teased him, and he got his delicious revenge by dropping white-hot kisses into the hollow of her neck. She traced lower and lower, until she felt the edges of scars.
They went on for ever.
Surprised, she pushed back from him, her legs staying where they were but enough to dip her head to see. His whole body had tensed, his grip that little bit tighter on her body.
‘What happened?’
‘Grenade,’ he answered simply.
So that was how he wanted to play it?
‘Must have been some grenade.’
‘I’m still alive,’ he bit out. ‘Body armour took the brunt of it.’
She could tell that wasn’t exactly true and, in any case, body armour caused problems of a different kind. But Fliss said nothing; instead she traced the scars, the damaged tissue, the skin grafts. Up to his pectoral muscles, across his abs towards the line of hairs to his belly button, down over his lower abs until it dipped down beneath his waistband, where she couldn’t trace it any further. Then her hands skimmed over to the insides of his forearms.
Small, circular scars, too regular in shape. She’d seen it before, but on a guy like this?
She snapped her head up to make direct eye contact.
‘And these?’
Ash thrust her away from him so fast she almost stumbled backwards. He made no move to catch her, only folded his arms across his chest, those biceps bulging all the more, and glowered at her.
Encounter with a Commanding Officer Page 4
