“And the hostage?”
“She died.”
“I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t imagine how it would feel to lose two men on his team and be injured himself, all for nothing. No rescued hostage. A completely failed mission.
She didn’t doubt that he blamed himself for that failure. “You were betrayed.”
He nodded. “It was a variable we hadn’t considered. Never again.”
She guessed at his underlying meaning. This training session had been designed to throw unexpected curveballs at the team. But then a bunch of armed mercenaries showed up, lobbing the ultimate curveball at Xavier and the SEALs.
He cleared his throat. “Lieutenant Flyte, the guy who saved my life in Belarus, is second-in-command of the platoon that’s here now.”
And that was what he’d been about to say before. His former teammate was here, not as a trainer, but as a SEAL. “Do you get along?”
“Chris is… I don’t really have words that don’t sound hokey. He did the impossible. Kept his head when the op went FUBAR. He’s a hell of an operator and one of the greatest men I know. He can be pigheaded when he thinks he’s right—which is always—and a total pain in the ass when he really is right. I owe him my life, and he ranks with Jae as one of my closest friends.”
Again, she heard what he didn’t say. Lieutenant Chris Flyte was in danger now, and again, Xavier blamed himself.
She did the only thing she could think of. She set down her mug, rose to her knees, then turned and straddled him. She took his mug from his hand and set it to the side, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. His arms slid around her waist and pulled her tight. She tucked her head down so their necks were skin to skin as their bodies fit together like a puzzle.
With her eyes closed, she held him, breathing deeply. And he held her back as rain softly pattered on their shelter.
The embrace was pure warmth and comfort. She was afraid, while he was hurting—physically and mentally. They were on a small life raft for this brief moment in time, hiding from the danger while it was too light out to emerge from their safe shelter.
They needed this nurturing break. A salve for open wounds so they could return to battle, not whole, but at least a little better off.
Eventually, she raised her head and cupped his face in her hands, the stubble of his beard a gentle abrasion on her palms. His eyes were damp as he said, “Thank you.”
“We’ll find a way to save them,” she said.
“We will,” he confirmed. “You’re amazing, Audrey.” His voice was husky and deep as he added, “I can’t wait to take you to Hawaii so I can wine and dine you and try to convince you to give me another chance.”
Truth was, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t need to wine and dine her to get his second chance.
He ran a hand over her belly, then slid it around to her lower back. They both wore thermal underwear that went from wrist to neck, not revealing, but still skintight. The covering over his muscled body resembled a comic book hero’s costume.
“I desperately want to kiss you right now,” he said, “but I also don’t want to ruin the moment. I know this was an embrace, not a come-on.”
She smiled and lowered her head, brushing her lips softly over his. She lingered there, warm lips meeting sweetly. Her heart bloomed with a gentle heat.
This felt right.
She probed his lips with the tip of her tongue, and his mouth opened. From that moment, he took over the kiss, transforming it from sweet warmth to spicy heat.
His hand cupped the back of her head, holding her mouth to his as he devoured her with his deep, stroking tongue.
Between her legs, she felt his erection thicken, and she rocked against him, generating a delicious friction that penetrated their layers of long underwear.
They kissed like that—rocking their pelvises together as his tongue caressed hers—for a long interval. Neither of them made a move to remove clothing or initiate an intimate touch. It was a burning-hot kiss, a temporary respite, and nothing more.
She felt his hand relax at the back of her skull by slow degrees as the intensity of the kiss lessened and the rocking of their hips subsided. She raised her head and met his gaze. His eyes were hot with desire, bringing back memories of their one delicious night together.
“I suppose it would be a bad idea for us to take this any further right now.”
He nodded. “We can’t take the risk of losing ourselves in the moment.” He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “But you’ve given me something to hope for.”
She brushed one last kiss over his lips before climbing off his lap. As she settled at his side again and picked up her mug of tea, she said, “You’ve given me something to hope for too.”