“I have.” He answered without hesitation and without apology. “Every kill I’ve ever made was directly related to the country’s safety.”
She could respect that. “And Roman’s team?”
“Is totally different. We’re civilians. We’re sent where we’re needed for non-military-related issues that need a quick and permanent solution to a problem the government and few security teams will take on. But we are not dispatched to neutralize.”
Neutralize. Such bizarre language. Language she was sure felt like second nature to Ian. She had so much to learn about this man. She wondered if she’d get the chance. Or if she even wanted that chance.
“This is my first mission with them. After my mom died, I tried to go back. Everything I told you about that is true.”
“Are you going to stay with the team?”
“I don’t know. I think it depends on how pissed Roman is about me stepping over the line with you.”
She had so many questions. They rose in her mind like bubbles, but fatigue popped them before she could ask them. She had to focus hard as the exhaustion dragged at her.
“Have you been married?”
“Never.”
She nodded, and he waited, focused and determined. But Savannah was too tired to talk. “Pull up your pant leg. Let me see your knee.”
“Can’t. Too swollen.”
She sighed and rested her head against the sofa. “God, what a mess.”
Ian wrapped his arms around her and dragged her close. “As long as you come out of this okay, I don’t care what else happens.”
She put a hand against his chest and looked up at him. “Don’t say that. You scared the shit out of me today.”
He sighed and stroked her jaw with his knuckles. His gaze was so warm, so loving. When he looked at her like this, Savannah felt showered in affection.
“I know you’re worried about Jamison,” he said, “and we still have to get out of this, but when this is settled, I want to sit down with you before you make your next big life move. If you’ll let me, I want to be part of that move.”
She couldn’t quite believe he still wanted her after he’d seen all her flaws, all her weaknesses, all her mistakes. And they had some hard talks ahead to hash out his lies. But she agreed those talks were best saved for later.
She eased up and kissed him. “I can agree to that.”
She loved the feel of him sinking into the kiss. Loved the low groan in his throat, the pressure of his lips, the slide of his tongue. She kissed him until she couldn’t breathe.
She pulled back. “Think the water’s warm yet?”
“Shower by flashlight?” he asked with a grin.
“Together. Definitely.” Then she remembered his watch. “What if the team finds us?”
He smiled. “They can wait.”
She stood and offered her hand to help him up. Ian turned on the shower, and Savannah found towels in a bathroom cabinet. She tossed them onto the shower enclosure. Ian leaned against the sink and pulled her between his legs. “You know this isn’t going to feel as good as you think, right? Hot water on open wounds isn’t fun.”
She nodded, snuggled close, and laid her head against his chest. The ache in her heart over Misty’s involvement with Hank and the passports snuck in. Then her worry over Jamison.
Even though she knew she had to be driving Ian crazy asking about Jamison, she couldn’t keep herself from saying, “What do you think Sam has Jamison doing now?”
“I think Sam’s passed out and Jamison’s watching cartoons, eating everything in the mini fridge and calling room service.”
She laughed. Fatigue made her punch drunk, and the image she created in her mind of Jamison and Sam kept her giggling. Savannah welcomed the moment of relief.
“He’s probably making swans out of towels by now,” Ian continued. “Reading the Bible. Ordering movies. Hell, I hope he didn’t find the porn.”