Rose had let him sleep longer than she should have.
Welsh knew it the minute he opened his eyes to find her curled against his side, the mic twisted between them. Not to disturb her, he pulled the mic from its squished position and put the receiver in his ear.
“Check-in, over,” he said.
“Guard has switched. Glitz, Heim, and Big Boss are resting. I’ve got point, and Cry Baby is watching the interior,” Snake answered.
“After your He-Man action last night, figured you could use the sleep,” Cry Baby interjected.
“Team is en route,” Tex added. “Mozart is about ready to slit you guys’ throat.”
“Wolf and his guys have been helping us a lot lately,” Welsh said.
Damned if it weren’t true. Wolf led his team with precision and deadly skill. They’d come to help the guys out more than once as they fought against the ISIS cell based out of Qatar.
“Gotta say, I’m happy the cavalry is coming,” Welsh added.
“Hooyah!” Snake affirmed.
“You’ve got about two hours before they converge on your location, and then you can plan to take back the mobile health area. They are aware they’ll need to help with recon. Heim has been cleared for med evac. If we have to knock him out, so be it. If he loses his shooting arm, his career is over,” Tex explained.
They didn’t need him to tell them that. Heim was their resident sniper and team leader. Big Boss’s addition to the team only shored them up for deep recon and maneuvers. But Heim was their heart, and they wouldn’t lose him.
“Then I’ll get some more shut eye,” Welsh said, and disconnected.
He didn’t know what they’d find when they went back to the compound. And someone would have to stay behind to protect Lacey and Rose. They couldn’t be anywhere near the action when things started. And just in case things went bad, Welsh would be sure she’d be safe and get out of there. He looked her over, the dark circles under her eyes breaking his heart. She shouldn’t have seen what she did, and he hated that he couldn’t shield her from it all. But she’d gone with him, never complaining once. He respected her more now than ever.
He traced her cheek with his fingers. Every mission was dangerous, and there was the possibility he wouldn’t see the next morning. It always gave him a healthy dose of fear, but now there was an added layer to it all. He had a woman he wanted to try to build something with. He couldn’t quite explain how he knew she was the one he wanted. Maybe it was her giving heart and no-nonsense way when she knew she was right. Or the way she faced danger—terrified, but with her head held high and willing to do what was necessary to survive. He wasn’t sure, but she kept the nightmares at bay. The night’s rest was the best he’d had in months, and he knew it was on account of her.
Thinking suddenly that he wasn’t so tired, he pressed his mic. “We got a water supply?”
“We got a temp fix in the bathroom. Luckily, things are run on septic and we were able to fashion a pump. If you need to get cleaned up, you can,” Snake answered.
“Roger.”
Welsh got up from the bed and lifted Rose into his arms. If he were going to face hell soon, he wasn’t going to do it without a taste of heaven. He wanted her to know just how serious he was about making something with her, if he could. His job was dangerous, but he’d do everything in his power to make sure he came back to her. He could promise that. She snuggled against his chest but didn’t wake as he carried her out of the room. Cry Baby’s dark head lifted from cleaning his weapon when Welsh came into the hallway.
“Down the hall to the left,” he told him.
“Thanks.”
“I got a message out to Vixen, too. She’s going to provide support as she can. Something about us still being on the asset list.”
Welsh chuckled as he continued to the bathroom. Tiffany “Vixen” Cannon, former SAS agent and now CIA, had connections all over the world. She scared the hell out of Tex, and that said a lot. If she had SAS on the line to provide support, their mission just got that much easier. The bathroom was small, with just a standing shower for bathing. Welsh spied the pump the fellas had fashioned where the showerhead had been. It’d be a little work, but at least they’d be clean.
“Rose.”
She blinked before stretching like a cat against him. “I take my coffee black, with none of that substitute crap. I want real sugar.”
Welsh chuckled. “How about a shower? Might be a bit brisk, but I’ll find a way to wake you up.”
Her sleepy eyes cleared instantly. “Oh.”
“Oh? Is that all I get?”
“I don’t have that much computing power first thing in the morning. You’ll have to deal.”
He laughed, a weight lifting off his chest. After the previous night, he wasn’t sure how she’d wake up. Bad situations affected people differently. “How about you let me do all the work, then?”
“If you’re normally like this, I’ll have to keep you.”
“That’s the plan, baby.” He winked at her.
A pretty, red blush spread over her skin. “You’re serious?”
Welsh released her legs and held her against his body as she slid to the floor. First, he removed his flak jacket, then his uniform top before tossing it aside. Next, he disarmed and placed his weapons carefully on the bathroom sink.
“I will be on mission tonight,” he told her. “But today I just want to have you. I’m cashing in the raincheck and giving you something to look forward to when I get back.”
“This is all so sudden,” she hedged.
He gripped her hand and placed it over his heart. “I’m not asking you to tell me you love me, Rose. I just want a chance.”
“I saw what you did last night. You’re a hero, and I am so proud of what your job is, but it’s dangerous. You could never come back to me. I travel with MSF, and we could go months without any contact. Is that any sort of relationship?”
“It is if we want it. Look, it doesn’t all have to make sense now, but in a matter of hours I’ve got to walk out of here and see who can be saved at the compound. I know you feel the connection between us. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
Worrying her lip with pretty, white teeth, she curled her fingers into his shirt over his chest. She was quiet long enough he worried he’d pushed her too fast and stepped back to let her go.
“Look—”
“I’ll give you a chance,” she rushed out.
Time froze. The sun streamed in through a clogged window and dirt and grime darkened her face, but her eyes were alive. He read hope, desire, and fear warring back and forth between them, but she stood her ground. He’d never seen a woman more beautiful than her at that moment. Slowly, he gripped the bottom of his shirt and lifted it to toss over his head. Rose stripped as well, exposing her supple skin to his hungry gaze. By the time they were without their clothing, he was hard as a rock, and he had to taste her.
He lifted her off her feet and stepped into the shower. First, they needed to rinse off. He used one arm to pump the water over their bodies, swallowing her screech as he took her mouth in a blistering kiss. Her mouth was soft and warm from sleep. The frigid water washed away the night’s hell, desire taking its place. Rose wrapped herself around him, locking her knees around his waist and her arms behind his head. He pumped more water, and the alternating cold from the water and heat from her was an explosive mixture. Nipping at her bottom lip, he sucked her tongue into his mouth and slammed her back against the wall, the need brewing in him igniting in one fell swoop.
Welsh had been lost, dragged under by rage and hopelessness as their team was targeted, ripped apart, and sown back together with missing parts. They laughed and fought together, but darkness swelled inside of each of them. The saving grace for some had been the women in their lives who had saved them. But Welsh realized, with Rose’s heat surrounding him, her floral scent seeping into his skin as he crashed against her desire, that he’d been afraid. He hadn’t had anything but his job to hold on to, and the lines had blurred over the last few years. Friend could be foe, and the unknown variables rose to massive adversaries they couldn’t fight with a bullet alone.
But Rose quieted it all.
He ground his cock against her pussy, sucking in a breath at the pleasure. More cold water, hotter skin, and the bite of her nails in his shoulders—each sensation pushed him higher. Welsh broke their kiss and sucked his way over the curve of her neck and down to her breasts. Like a coordinated move they’d planned ahead of time, Rose leaned back, presenting her breasts to him. He took one turgid nipple into his mouth and sucked, her muddled cry spurning him on. Bracing her tighter against the wall, he pressed one hand between their bodies and fingered her clit. The cool nub warmed under his touch, and she cried out. There, that’s what he needed. He played with her more, forgetting to pump water over them as he got lost in her flesh. He palmed her free breast and fingered the nipple, dragging his fingers over her skin in a rake to spark her nerves. He touched everywhere he could, withholding that last, blessed fucking glide until he felt like his head was about to explode.
“Inside me, Welsh, now,” she begged.
“Not yet. I’m not near ready enough yet.”