Disappointment coursed through his entire body.
I know, buddy. I know.
The scent of her shampoo drifted across the narrow space between them. It was sweet and floral and caressed him like a lovers hand, as seductive as hell. His body begged him to change his mind, and he clenched his teeth against its coaxing.
For her part, Tessa lay stiff and silent beside him. Tense, too, huh? Was she as turned on as he was? He would bet his next paycheck she was. He could practically smell her arousal.
The standoff stretched out between them, and with every passing minute, he became more determined not to be the one who broke first. But he couldnt remember being this uncomfortable since junior high when a hole in a wall had been enough to turn him on.
Their shoulders bumped every time one of them shifted even the tiniest bit, sending him off into a new round of horny speculation, molar-grinding pain and reluctant refusal to give in.
This bed was entirely too small for the two of them.
Finally, in frustration, he muttered, Turn on your side facing away from me.
Why? she blurted.
That was an order. Just do it, he snapped.
She huffed and the mattress shifted beneath him. He rolled onto his side facing her and scooted forward until her warm, sexy body was tucked against his.
What the hell are you doing? she squawked.
Getting comfortable so we can both sleep. Now youll know where I am, and you wont lay there all night wondering if Im going to jump your bones. He tucked his knees against the backs of hers, threw his arm over the inward curve of her waist and pulled her back against his front. Wow, she felt magnificent against him. They fit together like two spoons in the same set of silverware.
Of course they did. The torture wouldnt be complete if they didnt.
His male parts bulged against her in no uncertain terms, but there was no help for it. He was not going to have sex with her tonight, but neither was he going to treat her feminine sensibilities with kid gloves. If she planned to live and work with men like him, this was part of the deal.
She felt amazing in his arms. He couldnt remember the last time hed done this platonic cuddling thing with a woman. Normally, he didnt stop to pay much attention to the finer details. The groupies just wanted to be bedded and then go on their merry way.
Maybe not so platonic, truth be told. His hands ached to roam across her satin skin, to test her curves, to make her moan. He needed to lose himself in her body, to plunge into her mindlessly, to find bliss and then oblivion. His jaw clenched. He could do this. He could sleep with her without having sex with her. It was a hell of a fight not to act on his craving, but he corralled his lust.
Go to sleep, he told her tightly.
By inches over the next few minutes, she gradually relaxed against him, which added a whole new set of temptations to his misery.
Get a grip, dude. Hed slept in war zones with mortars flying over his head and the deafening reports of shelling exploding around him. Hed slept with enemy forces closing in on him, and when completely surrounded by hostiles. He could bloody well sleep in a dark, quiet motel room in his hometown.
But he followed Tessa into sleep with great difficulty, ultimately having to resort to his sniper training to force his breathing to slow and deepen, to will himself to slide toward unconsciousness. She felt like a slice of heaven in his arms, soft and warm and relaxed. All the things his life was not.
He couldnt remember the last time hed slept with a womanactually slept with one. Most of his interactions involved horny, half-drunk sex and him leaving the womans bed immediately after, before anything more could begin to develop. No attachments, no feelings. Just physical release. That was his mantra.
But Tessa Wilkes had already busted through that boundary in a big way. Even if they were mostly negative, he had definite feelings about being here with her.
Torsten owed him huge.
He eventually surprised himself by drifting off to sleep. Maybe it was the companionship, or maybe it was how damned delicious Tessa felt in his arms.
He did wake up a couple of times during the night, tensing in anticipation of flashbacks from the night he should have diedthe mission hed been lucky to be medevaced away from with a destroyed leg and no future on the teams.
Nightmares were standard issue to men in his line of work. The shrinks said dreams were how guys like him worked out their emotional crap over killing people for a living. Whatever. He didnt run around spilling tears for his victims. They were bad people in need of killing.
But tonight the nightmares never came calling.
Nothing came to him except the sweet smell and quiet breathing of the woman snuggled up against him, filling the darkness with soft curves and comfort that lulled him back to sleep.
Too bad this was a onetime good deal. In the morning, he was going to unleash holy hell on her, and that would be the end of cuddles in the dark with Tessa Wilkes, wannabe Medusa and soon-to-be former trainee.