Charlie tilted her head. “No?”
“No.” He lifted his chin at the door. “Let me help you.”
Charlie’s eyes widened.
“N-nothing like that, I p-promise.”
Charlie felt her breath speed up. “No, of course not.” She smiled and tapped her key card on the pad, then opened the door.
“Have a seat on the bed,” Ben told her. His voice wasn’t stern, but it was a firm enough command that she felt it land in her belly and travel lower.
Charlie sat on the edge of the bed. Ben knelt beside her and she stopped breathing.
Then he bent and untied her boots. He slipped them off her feet one by one, cradling her heels each time.
“You can breathe, Charlie.”
She inhaled quickly. “Right.” She laughed nervously.
“Lie down on your stomach.” That firm voice was going to absolutely ruin her panties.
Oh God, which pair of underwear am I wearing? How crappy are they?
No, no, no, you’re not taking off your pants. Even if he tells you to.
Uh-uh. If he tells me to in that voice, I’mtotallytaking off my pants.
Charlie scooted onto the bed and laid down on her stomach. She felt Ben pull her t-shirt up to just below her athletic bra. The hotel room air felt cool on her skin. She heard him rub his palms together briskly—a rough, sandpaper sound.
“I’m going to touch you now, Charlie.”
I’ve wanted to know how this feels for so longshe thought just before he placed his hands on her lower back. His hands felt rough but warm.
And then he started to knead her lower back.
Heaven. It feels like heaven.
Ben's hands moved with surprising gentleness for their size, working methodically up her spine. He found every knot, every tight spot, and eased them loose with steady pressure. She tried not to groan and failed.
“How bad’s the pain?” he asked quietly.
“It’s at zero now.”
She heard him chuckle. “Good. I can imagine you took a beating or two.”
“Or two, yeah, you could say that.” Charlie's voice came out muffled. “There was one time we were on the edge of a cyclone. Pitch black, swells at thirty feet. Our boat took a nosedive off a wave and hitting the water was like slamming into concrete. I cracked three ribs, broke a fourth.”
Ben's hands paused for just a moment, then continued their work. “Jesus, Charlie.”
“But there was a team waiting for extraction,” she continued, her words coming slower now as his thumbs worked along her shoulder blades. “On time, on target, never quit. We got them out.” She took a shaky breath. “That's what always mattered. In all those years serving as a Swick, I never lost a SEAL.” Her voice dropped. “Just Sean.”
“I know.” Ben's voice was soft, understanding. His hands moved to her shoulders, kneading the tension there. Charlie felt herself sinking into the mattress, her body finally releasing the tension it had been holding.
“Sean came ashore to help with casualties. One of the wounded was a dog handler. Sean took control of the dog while his teammate got the handler to safety.”
“Camo,” Ben said quietly.
“Yeah. Camo.” She couldn't finish the sentence. Didn't need to. Ben knew.
