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“Oh, he’ll be up to it. He’s as tough as they come.”
So are you.
Cannon studied her blotchy face. She’d been crying, but determination crackled off her like a Fourth of July sparkler. She needed to decompress before she wound up in the ER from hypertension. “Get some sleep. I’ll let you know if Paul wakes and wants to talk.”
“Oh no, Ford. No sleep untilwehave a conversation.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him into a break room. Once inside, she pushed both palms against his chest. “You were told to stay in that ambulance until you were needed.”
He backed her against the door. “Iwasneeded.”
“It wasn’t safe. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking about helping Paul and seeing for myself that your pretty ass, which looked damn sexy in your FBI gear, didn’t have a bullet in it.”
“You’re astubbornass and not a pretty one.”
“Liar.” He didn’t check his growl or his smile. If she wouldn’t rest, he’d gladly provide a way for her to dispel all that angry energy and channel her intensity into him. “You liked my ass just fine last night.”
Desire lit her gaze. It only flared for a second, but he caught it before she blinked it away.
“Last night is over.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “You promised you’d keep your tight ass where it was safe.”
“So you do like my ass. And you called me adirty old manfor liking yours.”
“Stop being a big pain in the…” She ducked under him and backed away. “You’re missing the point.”
“Oh no, Snow Angel. I understand perfectly.” He stalked toward her. “The point is, we both did things we needed to do.”
“But you didn’t have to. Going after Aidan isn’t your job. You should be saving people, not killing snipers. You took an oath to heal.”
“I’d shoot that fucker again without a second thought if you were in danger. Somehow, you wound up on my list of women I care about who don’t want my protection but get it anyway. I’d exchange DNA with Julia and take her pain, and I’d face Malgor so you don’t have to in a heartbeat.”
She backed up another step as if his admission rattled her stability. The crease of her knees hit a cot against the wall, but she didn’t flinch. “God, why couldn’t Bella have had her engagement party somewhere else?”
“If you start talking about leaving, I swear I’ll handcuff you to my bed. You’re not the only one worried here, Snow Angel. How do you think I felt when I heard an agent was shot? Even though I was assured it wasn’t you, I had to see for myself that you were okay.”
“I appreciate that, but it was risky for you to leave the ambulance prematurely. I didn’t want you in it in the first place.”
“I’ve spent enough time waiting for news about my dad and Julia. I wasn’t about to sit back and wait for word about you too.”
“And where would it have left your sister if the sniper had killed you?”
He jerked as if struck by a bullet. Julia hadn’t been on his mind when he’d run from that ambulance. Her bright eyes and strong voice from last night when she’d been excited about helping track Aidan popped into his mind. Maybe Easton had been right. His sister wasn’t going to break. He wouldn’t make the mistake of forgetting about her again, but she was okay. Hell, that was good to know because right now, the world narrowed to him and Rosalie.
Rosalie sank onto the cot. “Malgor watched the whole rescue go down. The rose he left confirmed that. I’m grateful but pissed that you put yourself at risk for me.”
He dropped to his knees and cupped her jaw. “You’ve made that last part very clear, but I don’t care that you’re mad.” Just like he didn’t care when Julia told him to stop acting overprotective. Except, this need to keep Rosalie from harm was different. It burned just as fierce, just as desperate, but hotter. It originated in the place where their bodies had become one and traveled up through the chambers of his heart and into his head.
She disentangled herself from him and rose from the creaky cot. “You can’t go running off half-cocked again.”
He grabbed her by the shoulders. “You’re right. I shouldn’t. God knows you don’t need me to. You’re the toughest woman I’ve ever met, but I can’t help who I am any more than I can help throwing you on that cot and sinking into you.”
She raised her chin. “And if I tell you not to? Will you ignore me again?”
He dropped his head, his face inches from hers, his breath ragged. “First, if I thought you didn’t want me to touch you, I wouldn’t. Second, I will always ignore your directives if I think your safety is at risk. Do you trust me, Snow Angel?”
Not a muscle moved in her body save for her lungs pushing out labored breaths, but he caught the shift in her eyes. She trusted him. Cared for him. God knew there were a hundred different things he should be doing right now, but he wouldn’t turn his back on her.
Not now.
