Chapter Fifty-Nine

That evening, Rory emerged from the steaming shower room of the old military barracks.

Having left Nina asleep in their quarters with Westlake and Jericho guarding her, Rory had spent the better part of the evening with the base’s commander, Colonel Richard Johnson, bringing him and Admiral Creighton—who had joined in on a conference call—up to date. The colonel was a good man, brusque but intelligent and willing to cooperate by allowing them to stay on at the base, under the protection of the U.S. Army.

Now, with midnight rapidly approaching, Rory was exhausted, and nothing sounded better than some serious shuteye.

But despite his fatigue, his thoughts kept creeping over to what had happened—and what might have happened—between him and Nina.

The real Nina.

Because that was who he had almost made love to.

Lena’s words came back to him. Did he regret the decision he’d made? Did he wish he’d gone ahead and made love to Nina?

Hell, yeah.

Yet after all she had gone through, the last thing she needed was another complication. Especially an emotional one. He knew that.

It would have been so much easier if this thing between them had been just plain sex, but it wasn’t. He might not know what exactly she meant to him, but there was something between them that he couldn’t deny.

The problem was, no matter what he kept telling himself, it didn’t feel like he’d made a mistake allowing himself to get closer to her. Not deep down where it mattered.

A sigh escaped him.

He needed sleep. Badly. It was no use thinking about this stuff now, anyway. There wasn’t a blessed thing he could do about any of it until this mission was over. Until she was no longer his responsibility, he’d just have to keep it professional.

Dressed in clean shorts, he was about to crawl into his bed when a soft moan stopped him dead in his tracks.

A glance at Nina showed her in throws of what appeared to be a nightmare. He hesitated. Did he really want to deal with this now?

Watching her writhe and moan, he knew he couldn’t let her suffer like that.

“Nina.” He reached out to touch her shoulder.

Flinching away from his touch, she woke, blinking up at him in momentary panic. Then she recognized him and breathed out a shuddery breath as she clutched at his hand.

“You’re okay now.”

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he was helpless as she clung to his hand, hugged it close. “It was him, that awful Lopez again. So nasty,” she murmured in that all familiar drawl. Even now, still caught in the aftermath of her dream, she was undeniably Thyra. She shuddered dramatically, clearly struggling to escape the bounds of her nightmare.

“Please.” Her eyes met his. “I don’t want to be alone.” The soft words sounded serious, and her voice trembled with vulnerability. So unlike Thyra, and yet still her, in a way. It touched him deeply.

That look was all it took to sway him. He was too tired for a debate anyway. They’d already shared a bed without succumbing to temptation. It hadn’t been easy, but he knew it could be done. But then again, for all he knew, he was just too damn tired to think clearly.

Reluctantly, he nodded, switched off the light, and climbed into bed with her.

She cuddled closer immediately. One lithe leg locked over both of his, and her arms slid over his chest and around his neck. Still she trembled.

“Hold me, sugah.” Her dulcet tones wrapped around him. “Don’t let me fall.”

He wrapped his arm around her and drew her close. It was strange how familiar it already felt to hold her this way, even when she was Thyra. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I won’t. I’ve got you.”

“Whatever happens, don’t let me fall,” she pleaded, her hold on him close to painful.

Her gaze locked with his, and he felt himself drown in the dark intensity swirling in their depths. Whatever this was about, clearly it was important to her. More important than anything else had ever been. More important than anything she’d ever asked of him before.

It demanded a promise he couldn’t hold back. A promise to the only person who mattered. Nina. For no matter what, she was, and always would be, Nina.

“I won’t let you down,” he vowed, meaning it. “I swear I won’t.”

Stroking her back, he tucked her close and propped his chin onto her crown. “Sleep,” he said. “It’s been a long day.”

Tomorrow would have to take care of itself, one way or other. There was nothing he could do now, no matter how much he wanted to.