Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
I make quick work of getting cleaned up, resisting the urge to wrap my hand around my girth and pleasure myself.
I step out of the shower, dry off, and put on underwear and shorts.
I pull my shoulders back, trying to collect myself for what I’m about to walk into. The woman that makes me feel things I’ve never felt before is on the other side of the door, and somehow, I have to keep her safe… and keep my hands off her.
The toughest mission of my life isn’t in some foreign country, in a desert or some jungle. It’s in a motel room, trying not to touch the only woman I want.
CHAPTER 10
SKYLER
I stare at the ceiling, unable to go to sleep. The only sound in the room is the hum of the air conditioner, and the sound should be soothing, but it’s not.
It’s late, and I should be tired, but I’m not. I feel like there’s a live wire inside me, and my body is practically vibrating with it. Zach told me he wants me. He told me that he wanted a relationship with me when this is all over.
I told myself not to get my hopes up, but I can’t help it. I know it sounds crazy, but it is like all my dreams are coming true. I huff out a breath.
“Go to sleep, Sky,” Zach murmurs.
I roll and look over the side of the bed. The room is mostly dark, but I’m able to make out Zach’s figure on the floor. “This is ridiculous. You know that, right?”
He raises his arms, putting his hands under his head. There’s a sheet on the floor, and I had to insist that he take a pillow. “Sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow.”
“Zach. We’re both adults here. You can sleep in the bed.”
His voice is strained. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I sit up. “Fine. I’ll sleep on the floor too. This isn’t right. You’re here because of me. You shouldn’t be sleeping on the hard floor.”
He chuckles. “Sweets, this is luxurious compared to some of the places I’ve slept.”
That thought makes me sad. “I’m coming down there, Zach, if you don’t come up here.”
He sits up, grabbing his pillow. He walks around the bed and gets in on the far side, putting a huge gap between us. I roll to my back and stare up at the ceiling. Even though we’re nowhere near touching, I swear I can feel the shift in the air and the current between us.
“I bet this is boring compared to most of your missions.”
I think back on everything I know about Zach. He joined the Army when he graduated high school. For the last ten years or so, he worked with my brother for Walker and his Ghost Team. No one ever really talks about what the Ghost Team does, but just the small things I’ve gotten from Logan, I know they did a lot of dangerous missions and saved a lot of people.
Zach is quiet for so long I wonder if he’s going to say anything when he grumbles, “It hasn’t been boring at all.”
I roll to my side to face him. “Do you miss it? Going on missions?”
He blows out a breath. “Sometimes. I miss the thrill of it, but my therapist helped me see that it was time for me to move on.”
I struggle to ask the question. I don’t want to ask anything I shouldn’t, but I also want to learn everything I can about Zach. “Your therapist?”
He grunts. “Yeah, he helped me see a few things.” He pauses, and I see his chest rise and fall with his breath. “I was dealing with survivors guilt. Hell, I still am.”
I search my mind, thinking back to what I know about his past. I remember Logan telling me about the bombing a few years ago, but I don’t know a lot more than that. All I knew was that Zach was okay. “What happened?” I ask.
I’m holding my breath, waiting for him to answer me. I’m about to tell him to forget it when he starts to talk.
I lie silently, listening to him, trying to hold back the horror as he tells me the story of his past.
“We were on a mission in Afghanistan. It was supposed to be a simple mission. In and out. There was an IED that went off… Fuck, it was horrible. There were seven of us on that mission. Randall died. The other five are permanently injured and scarred. I’m the only one that walked away without a scratch.”
I reach across the middle of the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Zach. I’m so sorry.”
His muscles flex under my palm, but he doesn’t pull away. “I’ve lived with the guilt for years now and didn’t handle it the best way. I took every mission I could. I didn’t take any time off—the more dangerous, the better. It’s like I wished that something would happen to me… as if that would relieve some of what I was feeling.”