The Hero She Needs (Unbroken Heroes Book 1)(22)

“I’m here, Boone. I’m listening.”

She wanted to know what haunted him, what hurt him. She wanted to hear it, so she could share it and help him let it go.

“Our team had split up. I was with my friends Julio, Miles, and Charlie.” His next breath was ragged. “We were ambushed. A fierce group of Taliban fighters took us hostage, put us in a cell.”

His heart was racing. She smoothed a hand over his bare chest. His breathing sped up.

She wanted to comfort him, tell him it was okay. But she knew that wasn’t what he needed right now.

“They wanted intel.” Another fast breath. “They took Miles first.” He shook his head. “They strung him up and tortured him. I still hear his screams.”

She squeezed her eyes closed. “I’m sorry.”

“They beheaded him in front of us.” His tone was wooden. “They took Charlie next.”

Gemma bit back a sob. She had to be strong enough for him, to help him. She held him tighter.

“I begged them to take me. Miles was engaged. Charlie had a pretty wife. Julio had kids. I had no one, and I wanted them to take me.”

Her hero. Ready to sacrifice himself.

“One of them held a gun to Julio’s head, yelling in Arabic. Taunting me because there wasn’t a damn thing I could do.” He dragged in a harsh breath. “After they killed Julio, they were getting ready to torture me. That’s when Vander and the rest of our team arrived.” His hand moved into her hair. “Mostly, I don’t understand why I made it back and they didn’t.”

She rubbed her cheek against his warm skin. “That’s a decision above all our pay grades. Life is life, Boone. Good things happen, bad things happen. We like to think we have control over it, but we don’t.”

“They had wives, kids. Kids who don’t have a father now.”

“If you hadn’t made it back, you wouldn’t have been able to rescue me. I’m grateful for that.”

She felt him stroke her hair.

“I’m glad, too.”

Suddenly, the bed dipped under another weight as Atlas jumped on.

“Atlas,” Boone growled.

“He was worried about you.”

The dog licked Boone’s face, fur tickling her face. She felt a smile curl her lips. Then Atlas dropped down and settled in beside her.

Gemma was now pinned in by the Hendrix males.

She liked it.

“Sleep now,” she said, softly.

He buried his face in her hair, and she closed her eyes and held on tight.





CHAPTER NINE





“Pick something.”

Gemma whirled. “Boone, this isn’t something that can be rushed.”

He’d woken early, with Gemma wrapped around him and his cock so hard it had been agony.

Eventually, he’d slid out of the bed and left her snuggled up with Atlas. He’d taken a quick shower, and jerked off, remembering the sounds she’d made when he tasted her sweet nipples.

But Gemma Newhouse didn’t just make him hard. She made him…feel. She’d listened as he’d poured out the festering pain inside him. She’d held him tight, helped ease that constant churn he felt inside.

This morning, she hadn’t looked at him any differently. She’d smiled at him as she’d dressed and given him a quick kiss before they’d set off.

Boone still felt a little raw. Kept expecting her to look at him like…

Shit. He didn’t know. He ran a hand through his hair. The truth was, she was exactly the same as she’d been yesterday. Sweet, smiling Gemma.

They’d driven for a few hours and had just stopped at a bakery to grab some breakfast. Except apparently Gemma needed to examine every baked good numerous times, before she’d make her decision.

“The muffins look good.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “But I bet the cinnamon rolls are delicious.”

“So get both.”

“Both will go to my already ample hips.”

His gaze dropped. “I don’t see that as a problem.”

She smiled at him and turned back to the glass case. “Ooh, there are scones, too.”

Boone stepped up behind her. “We’ll have one of everything she just said, and a doughnut. And one black coffee, and a cappuccino. All to go.”

The woman behind the counter smiled. “A man who knows how to keep his woman happy.”

Gemma slid her arm through his. “Oh, he does.” She lowered her voice. “If he’d listen to the woman, and give her everything she wanted.” There was heat in her gaze.

“Behave.”

“Maybe I’m tired of behaving. That hasn’t exactly worked out for me in the past. The best thing I did was go on Cake and Bake, and that wasn’t behaving. Or at least, according to my parents.”

He gave her ass a light swat. “Misbehaving gets you in trouble.”

She arched a brow. “Trouble sounds good to me.”

He wanted to kiss her. He let his gaze run over her pretty face and those freckles. It wasn’t just the face that tempted him, or the sweet body.

Gemma cared. She felt deeply. She’d comforted him after his nightmare and his confession. And she didn’t look at him like he was weird, or broken, or weak.