Encounter with a Commanding Officer

‘I did want to mention it. But no, it isn’t all I wanted to say, Major.’ The emphasis of her rank was more to remind himself than her. ‘You were right about the men in my new unit. They are finding it difficult to assimilate replacements and, as you identified, because Camp Razorwire isn’t a warzone the previous CO may not have paid enough attention to it.’

The tilt of her head, the light in her expression, even the increased respect in her eyes all played to his basic male pride. Ash knew it yet was powerless against it, the raw sexual appeal too strong.

‘I’m glad you can see it too.’ She nodded sincerely. ‘They’re good lads; they just need someone who can talk to them in their language, someone who understands what it’s like out there on the front line, someone who can take them in hand.’

It was clear to Ash what she was being careful not to say. That Colonel Waterson had been on the front line a little too long before he’d got his commission and hadn’t handled the transition to flying a desk well. It was the same unsettling battle Ash himself was now facing, but seeing how failure to get the balance right had led to some poor decisions on the former Colonel’s part, with tragic consequences, Ash knew it was imperative that he found a way to accept the monumental change his promotion had brought.

‘Actually, I was hoping for your help in that,’ he announced, firmly quashing any doubts that, if he wasn’t yet playing with fire, he was most certainly toying with a full box of matches.

He didn’t blame her for her suspicious frown but he had to clench his fist to stop himself from reaching out to smooth it away. Her skin looked silky-soft.

What would it be like to touch his lips to her, taste her?

‘You want my help?’

‘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 determined 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.

He couldn’t keep the wry tone out of his voice. ‘Indeed.’

Checking the corridor, she closed the door behind them and gestured to him to join her beside a clear countertop.

‘Take your shirt off, and whatever layers you’re wearing underneath, and let me see that wound properly.’

So clipped, so professional, but Ash thought he heard the faintest quiver beneath. For a moment he debated the wisdom of being in this claustrophobic room, half-naked and alone with a woman he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off, at least in the privacy of his own head.

And what about the scars?

He’d never worried about his scars before. He was an infantry soldier; other men who’d seen them knew better than to ask, and women who’d seen them had swallowed whatever superficial story he’d thrown at them.

But the Major?

Ash had a feeling she would be able to see right through him.

He locked his jaw irritably. Since when did it matter to him what she—what anyone—thought? Hooking his fingers under the layers, he pulled them over his head in one smooth movement before folding his arms, seemingly casually, over his chest.

With something approaching satisfaction, he heard the air whoosh out of her lungs, saw her pupils dilating as she backed up further. She was fighting it, this attraction. And yet, even as she did so, her eyes didn’t stop raking over him, with the results as real as if she’d actually raked her fingernails across his skin instead. His body burned up with desire.

They just had to get through this before he gave in to his baser instincts and, for the first time in his career on an active tour of duty, mixed his Army life with his personal one.

Every time he thought he was back in control, she slipped beneath the surface and unravelled all his iron-clad control like a kitten would toy with a ball of yarn. Suddenly, he didn’t want to fight it any more. He wanted to know how it would feel to give in—just this once—and steal one perfect kiss from those plump, quivering lips.

One kiss.