Her words hit hard. “Ouch.”
Her gaze flew to his. “What?”
He shook his head. “It just hits hard. There are a few military guys who are deemed historical figures or people to look up to. When I dug into their pasts, it was bad.”
“Never meet your heroes. At least some people say that. I think it’s because we’re complex people. Sometimes people do great things in one area of their life, but are idiots in other areas.”
Bean nodded. She was right. He knew people who were great at their jobs, but sucked at being good humans. There were guys he knew in command who had it all together at work, but ended up in prison for beating their wives or doing unspeakable things to their children.
He wanted to be the type of man whose character was steady. It was why he’d delayed getting into a relationship. He didn’t want to screw up someone’s life just because he wanted more time partying with friends. Now that he was in his thirties, he wasn’t as into parties and doing wild shit. The wild shit he wanted to do now was stuff like go camping and wake up at the crack of dawn and drink coffee by the fire with his woman.
If he’d married back when he was younger, he would have screwed everything up badly. Now he had perspective. He wanted someone he could be himself with, someone whoaccepted and loved him, not someone to party with and forget half of what they did together. He wanted a real-life partner.
Right now wasn’t the time to ask Garnet what she wanted out of a relationship. Eventually, they would talk about that. He was going to make sure they had time together to get to know each other as soon as this chaos ended. They had Garnet safe, and he hoped she stayed that way.
Chapter 11
After she finished eating,Garnet stretched out on a couch. Bean found a pillow and lay down on the floor between the couch and the door. When he first told her he would sleep on the floor, she’d told him he could take the couch, but he declined, saying that he was good on the floor.
She felt bad but drifted off too quickly to insist they switch if he couldn’t fall asleep. She woke to the sound of him snoring. Slowly, she cracked open her eyes, watching him sleep. A thrill shot through her as she watched, warming her from the inside.
Brady had trimmed his beard recently, but it was growing back in dark and thick. He had tanned skin and dark hair. He had some wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled, but sleep smoothed out everything, making him look peaceful.
His body wasn’t bad, either. Earlier, he had body armor on, but he’d taken it off when they returned to the embassy. He had broad shoulders and muscles over his chest. She imagined his belly was trim. His legs were long, probably well-muscled.
He cleared his throat, and her gaze flew to his. “You slept well.”
She nodded, unsure if he was making a statement or asking a question. “I feel better. How about you? Did you get some sleep?”
“Best sleep on a mission.”
“Really? You were on the floor.”
He chuckled. “Usually on a mission, I’m sleeping on the ground with snakes and bugs crawling around. Here in the embassy, there is a Marine stationed outside the door. No one could attack without that dude sounding the alarm. I relaxed without fear.”
“Hadn’t really thought of that.”
“Sleeping on missions is risky. I’ve been on missions that last for a long time, like weeks, and I have to sleep, but there’s always the risk that I snore too loudly or someone sneaks up on me. If we’re in a jungle or out in the countryside, there are snakes, spiders, and other creepy crawlies.”
A shiver worked through her. “Ugh, I’d make a terrible soldier.”
His deep chuckle vibrated through her. “Few can do it.”
She sat up, stretching her arms over her head. “Well, I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. I’m just a normal guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re being very modest. Not much is really normal about you. I get it, you don’t want to have the focus put on you, but I am impressed.”
“And I’m impressed with you. You’re very smart.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out her toiletries. “I should brush my teeth before I start working again.”
He nodded. “I’ll make sure the Marine outside knows to watch the bathroom. I’m going to catch up with the guys on my team.”
“Have they made any progress?”
“Not sure. I’ll find out in a few minutes. I’ll tell you what I can when I get back up here. I’ll bring you some coffee.”
