She nodded and rose to use the bathroom before returning to slide beneath the covers. He held her and listened to the even cadence of her breathing, making certain she was asleep before letting go himself and sliding into slumber. As he drifted off, he knew her response to his declaration was the best he could have hoped for.

He also had reason to hope she might someday love him back.

Chapter Thirty-One

Audrey felt Xavier slide from the bed after a few short hours of sleep. She wanted to grab his hand, pull him back to bed, and make love to him again. Maybe even say the words back to him that he’d given her. But deep down, she knew their respite was over. He was back on duty and wouldn’t permit any more deviation from his role as special forces operator.

She wasn’t sure if she regretted not saying the words back to him when she’d had the chance. She’d been caught off guard and had yet to explore her emotions given the distance they’d traveled in the last two days.

Two days.

It had only been—she glanced at her watch—thirty-eight hours since she’d approached the basement door of the lodge. In that time, her entire world had changed. But not just hers. There was a platoon of SEALs who were missing team members. One was missing a finger, and another might yet die from a gunshot wound to the shoulder—so much like Xavier’s wound.

She heard him pull on his clothes on the other side of the bed-curtains, then pad quietly into the bathroom. A few moments later, the hall door closed behind her favorite SEAL, and she was alone again in the honeymoon suite.

Making love with Xavier had been exactly what she needed. It had bolstered her. Given her hope. Made her feel connected to him on a level she’d never experienced.

They’d been partners these last two days, and they would be again today as they set out on a hike that would be difficult under the best of circumstances.

The intimacy of the last few hours would sustain her in the coming journey.

Now she rose from the bed and used a washcloth to wash up in the bathroom. The water was icy cold and bracing, just what she needed after less than four hours’ sleep.

It would be enough, though. It had to be. And she wouldn’t trade the time she’d spent making love with Xavier for anything—certainly not sleep.

She donned clean clothing she’d borrowed from Danielle Baldwin, again vowing to make sure the woman knew that the items they’d taken from their home had been lifesaving.

All traces of Xavier’s scent had been washed away by the time she descended the stairs to the great room, where yet another meeting between the operatives was taking place.