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‘You were the one who noticed the men were beginning to close ranks, view others as outsiders.’ He shrugged. ‘You work with them on a daily basis and you clearly care deeply about your fellow soldiers. Why wouldn’t I want your help?’
He could practically see her mind whirling, trying to decide whether he was serious. Whether she should acknowledge the sparks which, even now, arced between the two of them. They made his stomach pull taut, his chest swell; she made him feel like a horny kid again, but he was deter
mined that if he ignored it long enough it would pass. It had to. He’d never allowed himself to be distracted from his Army career before and he wasn’t about to start now.
His rank and reputation were all he had left.
Rosie might not be dead yet, but realistically he’d lost the only mother he remembered a long time ago. Pain seared through him but he thrust it viciously away. Waiting for the phone call to confirm it felt like losing her all over again. It was just another version of hell.
He would control it. Just as he always controlled his emotions these days.
Dragging himself back to reality, he was just in time to see Fliss peering crossly at his right shoulder. He resisted the urge to twist away, knowing it was too late.
‘What’s that?’ she demanded.
He gritted his teeth. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘There’s a dark stain discolouring the fabric and it looks suspiciously like blood,’ she accused. ‘Did you think that just because it’s called multi-terrain camouflage pattern I wouldn’t spot it?’
‘It’s probably Corporal Hollings’s blood.’
The dark look she cast him actually made him ache. It was as though she actually...cared.
Something inside him cracked. The faintest hairline fracture, but it was there all the same.
‘What, after you’ve grabbed a shower and changed? Anyway, the line’s too neat for that. It looks as though someone’s tried to patch it up and it has seeped through the sides of a bandage,’ she said pointedly.
‘I advise you to lower your voice,’ murmured Ash, equally pointedly.
Her head jerked up sharply. He couldn’t blame her; she’d hardly been shouting but he had no idea who else might be around. She cast him a disappointed gaze.
‘Are you going to pretend you’re fine? Because I can tell you now that the macho soldier doesn’t impress me.’
‘So you think I’m trying to impress you? Do I need to remind you that I may not be your CO, but I am still a CO?’
She flushed but stood her ground. It was a trait he’d got to know very quickly. And one he liked. A lot.
‘As you wish, Colonel. But do I need to remind you that, CO or not, when it comes to medical issues I have ultimate authority, even over you?’
She was so damned sexy when she was being combative. As though she couldn’t bear to relinquish control any more than he could.
‘That doesn’t change the fact that I’m not discussing this here.’
‘So it is macho pride?’ She shot him another disappointed gaze. ‘I was beginning to think better of you. But, either way, you will show me that wound, Colonel.’
Unexpectedly, she marched up the corridor, unlocked a supply room door and held it open with a jerk of her hand to command him inside.
‘Or do I have to physically manhandle you in here?’ she muttered.
He’d like to see her try. He swallowed down a wicked grin. Scratch that, he wouldn’t like to see her try. He was barely controlling the impulse to pull her closer and kiss that defiant glower right off her delectable mouth as it was. Having her touch him, in any capacity, would be like striking the damn match.
He hesitated, then consented to enter the room, his voice low but clear.
‘It’s not about macho pride, as you call it. As you pointed out so succinctly yesterday, my men have already lost one colonel and morale is low. I don’t want it sinking even further because they caught wind of some rumour that their new CO had also been injured.’
A pretty flush spread up and over her neck as she realised the truth of his words. Ash wasn’t sure what was cuter, the Major mad at him or the Major embarrassed by him. Still, she recovered quickly enough. Or at least that was what she wanted him to think.
‘What’s more, injured on your first sortie,’ she pointed out shakily.
