Page 19 of Twister

He took a hard breath, suddenly overcome with the emotions from that situation—fear, gratitude, love, and respect. They had risked their lives for him, and if they hadn’t, he would already be underground in the big, permanent sleep. Something tightened in his chest, the same feeling he got when he’d been on the obstacle course, in that torpedo tube, and most recently, that enclosed space with Sadie.

He knew that whatever he was experiencing was directly tied to Haiti and his near-death experience. It was a matter of figuring out what it was that was fueling these episodes. “Panic attack. I’m getting them when I’m in enclosed spaces.”

“Obstacle course, torpedo tube.”

He gritted his teeth and growled, “Yes, but those were mild compared to the one I had with her. She saw me looking like a whipped dog.”

“Damn,” Dagger said. “Do you know why?”

“No, it started happening after I went back on active duty, but when I experience the attacks, it feels like I’m back under the rubble?—”

“In Haiti.”

“Yeah, it feels like that.”

“Do you think it’s a reaction to being trapped?”

“Yeah, something to do with it, all mental, but damned if I understand why.”

“So, Sadie?” he said with that wry inflection in his voice. “You’re punching above your weight there, buddy.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“You both shut the fuck up and go to sleep, or you’ll be facing some extra PT tomorrow.”

“Bring it on, Bondo,” Dagger said defiantly.

Bondo chuckled. “Get some rest, knuckleheads.”

Twister smiled at Dagger’s response. God, he loved these guys. “We’ll figure it out,” he whispered fierce and low. “I’ve got your back, and it seems Miss Sadie has all the rest.”

Twister laughed softly, then closed his eyes, working at trying to settle enough to sleep. He focused his thoughts on the woman he’d left in her room, perfectly ready to give him some relief. She was so close, but so far away, and he had half a mind to go to the john and take care of this distracting erection, but he didn’t want that kind of release, even if it would ease him physically, this fire in him needed her touch, her body, her mouth, and every other part of him he wanted to devour. No, he wanted to be buried so deep inside her when he came that he’d get lost in the best way possible. He was going to be on the edge for some time. Theydid have a job to do here, and they should really talk about what happened. Until the briefing in the morning, he had no idea what kind of schedule they were going to be assigned to follow.

Just because he could, just because he wanted to, and because he needed to, he thought about her, nothing but her at this moment. He wanted to believe that the kiss that had wrecked him like no other was something that she wanted to do, because she was just as attracted to him as he was to her, not because of sympathy or, God help him, pity.

He drifted, and his breathing evened out. Her eyes had been so reassuring, so soft and caring. Had anyone ever looked at him like that…ever? Not in his memory. But they were willingly shackled. Yep, they both had signed their lives over to the Navy, and from what he could tell, she loved it as much as he did.

When he woke up in the morning, his erection was still semi-hard, but most of that was probably due to morning wood, a healthy reaction. He got out of bed, feeling refreshed. The long bout of sleep was all he needed, but it hadn’t doused his desire for her one bit. He immediately got dressed for PT, anticipating seeing her, then reported for the daily oh-seven-hundred muster.

Some of the guys chuckled, and Twister turned to see Flash walking up clad in a pair of navy blue shorts with red, white, and blue stars on them. Brawler shoved him, and that started a shoving match up and down the line until Bondo snapped, “Officer on deck.”

They lined up outside the room in the hallway, and Twister couldn’t help glancing at Sadie’s closed door. He shifted as Tex appeared. “Listen up. We’ve been cleared to interact in the city, but with caution, especially after what happened at the airport yesterday. The attack was directed toward tourists, as Seven Demands weren’t aware we were even there. Vigilanceis the watchword.” There was a low murmur. “The Indonesian government has provided us with an excellent facility.”

“Do we know what’s happening with guard duty?” Shark asked.

“We’ll get all that information at the briefing after breakfast. No screwing around. You have two hours for PT, fifteen minutes for a shower, then fifteen for chow.” They started to move out, but Tex’s arm slashed out and stopped Flash in his tracks. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the breach in protocol, but I’ll let it pass since it’s the stars and stripes.”

“Yes, sir. Would be unpatriotic of you if you made me change.” Flash grinned slyly.

Tex chuckled. “Get out of here.”

They filed out of the building and fell into an easy cadence. This program they followed consisted of running a half-mile fast pace, squats for one minute, walking lunges for one minute, the fireman carry for fifty meters, followed by stretching for a minute. Then, running a mile fast, fifty meters slow. After that concluded, their legs burning, they reached the gym.

With sweat dripping off them, Twister entered the cavernous area. His gaze immediately went to the woman who was currently using her well-muscled arms to do pull-ups. He stopped as the guys bumped into him, some of them grousing for him to move as they filed around him, but he was transfixed on her compact body encased in nothing but a pair of tight black shorts and a black sports bra, her hair in a thick braid down her back.

Her skin glistened with moisture, accentuating her sleek lines as her arms, shoulders, and back flexed each time she did a rep. Everything about her was so sensual. He was knocked senseless by the way she moved with so much unconscious grace in such a tantalizing package. He could watch her all day.

“This isn’t a show,” Bondo growled, and Twister broke off his staring and headed for the area where the guys were lining up. Bondo led them, Tex right in the mix.

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