Page 74 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

“It’s okay, doll, I’m here.”

Adam.He’s back.

Summer swallowed a whimper, tried to slow her galloping heart. She was covered in a film of sweat, the image of Mark twisting in the flames fresh in her mind.

She shivered and took a deep breath. The instinct to pull away was strong. Pull away and climb out of bed, retreat into the bathroom where she could be alone and fight to get a grip on herself. It’s what she’d done in the weeks following the stillbirth. What she’d conditioned herself to do in response to an emotional crisis.

But now she realized that by pulling away from Adam before, she’d made them both miserable. She refused to make that same mistake again.

Though it went against her ingrained instinct to withdraw and curl into herself, she rolled over to face him and moved straight into his waiting arms.

And the instant they closed around her, she felt safe again.

****

Adam bit back a groan of sheer relief and gratitude when Summer reached for him rather than pull away. That single gesture hit him right in the heart and meant more to him than she’d ever know, because he’d been bracing for her to push him away again.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, one hand cradling the back of her head as she tucked her face into his chest, her fingers digging into his skin. It felt so good to feel her arms around him, to know that she needed and trusted him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, sighed deeply. That must have been one hell of a nightmare if it had woken her from a dead sleep, and he could imagine all too well what it had been about.

“I got you,” he murmured against her hair, holding her tight. God, he wished he could make this all go away for her.

He hated that she’d been through all this, that she’d been scared and cold and fearing for her life, wondering if she’d ever get out alive. There was still a faint tinge of gasoline beneath the scent of her shampoo, reminding him of how close she’d come to dying. It made him want to crush her to him and never let her go.

He’d fuckingloathedleaving her earlier, had rushed back here as soon as he could. Thank God they hadn’t been called out for the op. That was the only reason he’d been allowed to leave.

In response she pulled in a deep, shuddering breath, and let it out slowly. Her body remained tense against his, but at least he didn’t think it was because she couldn’t bear his touch. She’d come to him willingly, needing comfort. He’d give her all that and more, whatever she needed.

To his relief she burrowed in closer yet, hooking one leg over his, as though she couldn’t get close enough. The unspoken trust and need for comfort turned his heart over and brought all his protectiveness to the surface.

“It’s okay now,” he whispered, smoothing his hand over her hair. He’d never forget the sight of her in that fucking cage, or the look of pure terror on her face when that fire had started right in front of her.

Her fingers flexed against his chest, restless, edgy. “When did you get back?” she asked, her voice rough and groggy with sleep.

“About an hour ago.” He’d left the operations center as soon as he could, after finishing up the most critical reports and meetings. The other guys were still there but DeLuca had let him go early so he could get back to Summer. It was already one in the morning now.

“Didn’t even hear you come in,” she murmured.

Taya had told him Summer had taken the sleeping pills, so he wasn’t surprised she sounded so groggy. “You were fast asleep when I got here.” He’d slid in beside her, careful not to wake her, and just stared at her in the faint light seeping in from around the edges of the blackout blinds covering the windows. She’d slept peacefully until now.

She sighed and relaxed, her body melting against his. God, it felt so damn good to hold her this way. The only thing better would be to peel his shirt off her so she was naked. He was already hard against her abdomen, but sex had to be the last thing on her mind at the moment so maybe it was better this way.

He was just thankful that the feel of his erection against her stomach didn’t make her pull away. Whenever they did have sex again, he didn’t want it to be because she was looking to escape the fear and trauma. He wanted it to be because she couldn’t bear to be without him a moment longer, the way he wanted her.

“Glad you’re here,” she mumbled, her heart still racing against his.

“Me too.” He stroked her hair again, savoring the feel of her, wanting to calm her, make her feel secure again.

During the meetings he’d heard details from her boss about what happened during their captivity that would give him plenty of sleepless nights for the next while. Apparently Summer had somehow managed to disarm one of the captors and then killed him with his own weapon before turning it on Hadad. If not for the vest he’d been wearing, she would have killed him before Adam and his team had burst in.

Dammit, he wished he could have protected her from all that.

He was worried as hell about her mental and emotional state, considering what she’d already been through. But then he thought about that video message she’d put together and he was amazed by her resilience all over again.

Did she realize how strong she truly was? How brave and incredible she was, to come up with all that under that sort of stress? He wasn’t going to bring all that up now though. Not when he knew she needed sleep, and time to deal with everything.

“Think you can go back to sleep now?” he whispered instead.

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