The room otherwise looked lived in. Not neat as a pin, but not too cluttered either. There were a few paintings on the walls, pictures on a dresser, and a dirty clothes hamper against one wall. A normal apartment-sized closet was open, and Rex could see quite a few clothes hanging inside, both civilian and her naval uniforms.
But it was the smell that again had him pausing to inhale deeply. Lavender and cotton.
Following the scent, he stood in the doorway to the small bathroom attached to her bedroom for a moment, observing Avery without her being aware. Her hands were propped on the counter and her head was lowered. Her eyes were closed, and she was standing stock still. Rex could see a bottle of lavender-scented lotion on the counter, and spied one of those liquid air fresheners plugged into a socket on the other side of Avery, which was probably where the fresh scent of newly washed clothes was coming from.
As good as the room smelled, he only had eyes for Avery. She looked exhausted. Tired and beaten down, when she should’ve been refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
“Did you sleep at all?” he asked quietly.
Avery didn’t even jump. It was obvious she knew he’d been standing there all along. “Not really.”
She didn’t elaborate.
“Why not?” Rex pushed.
“I just couldn’t,” she hedged.
Rex stepped into the room and came up behind her. Since they were about the same height, he couldn’t see her eyes, so he leaned a little to the right and met her gaze in the mirror. He saw pain and frustration there, but didn’t want to push. He grabbed the brush sitting on the counter and gestured to her hair with his head. “Do you mind?”
Avery shook her head.
Rex slowly began to run the brush down her already silky-smooth hair. “It’s soft,” he said after a moment.
Avery let out a huff of laughter. “Very different from the first time you saw me in that cave, huh?”
“Yup,” Rex agreed. “You got a hairband?”
She frowned, but leaned forward and grabbed an elastic tie from the counter and held it over her shoulder to him. He took it and, without a word, began to expertly French braid her hair.
“If someone had asked me how this morning would go, you braiding my hair wouldn’t be what I’d have guessed,” she said with a tired chuckle.
“You might have noticed I like to wear my hair a little long,” Rex said, answering the question he heard in her tone, but hadn’t asked. “I went through a phase where it was much longer than this, and I realized how much easier it was to keep it pulled back in a braid when I worked. So I taught myself by watching videos online.” He smiled. “And got a ton of crap from the guys. Nowadays, I pretty much just keep it longer on top.”
“You don’t braid your beard?” Avery asked with a smirk.
Rex tied off her hair and leaned forward, putting his hands on the counter next to hers, pinning her in. Their eyes met in the mirror once more, and Rex rubbed his beard against the side of her neck without breaking eye contact. “Nope. I’m not into the Viking look, although if you wanted to try it, I wouldn’t stop you. I’d let you do just about anything you wanted to me, I think.”
She didn’t respond, just blinked.
“You nervous about today?” he asked, trying to get to the bottom of why she hadn’t slept well.
Avery shrugged. “Not really. I mean, I’m just looking at pictures. If I had to actually look at people in person, I might be a bit more stressed about it.”
Rex was frustrated that she wasn’t telling him what was bothering her. “Your talk with your sister went all right?”
“Of course. She cried a little, but was very glad that I was home safe and sound.”
“You upset that your parents are here?”
“No,” Avery said immediately. “I love them, and I know me being taken captive was extremely hard on them. I think we all needed to be able to see and touch each other to make sure it was real.”
Rex could understand that.
“How’d the meeting go this morning?” she asked before he could delve any deeper into what was bugging her. “Is Phantom on his way to Timor-Leste?” She smiled as she said it, letting him know she was kidding.
Rex chuckled. “No. But I imagine it’s only a matter of time.” He told her what their commander had said, and how Tex would be looking for more specific information on any possible sightings of a red-haired American wandering around the countryside.
“What I went through was bad,” Avery said. “But I can’t help but think that if Kalee is still alive, what she’s going through is worse. I can’t imagine no one knowing I was alive and needing help. It was one thing for me to take one day at a time because I knew someone from the army or navy was looking for me. The United States might not negotiate with terrorists, but I had no doubt that I wasn’t going to be left out there forever. I’m guessing Kalee probably thinks she’s on her own, that no one is going to come for her.”
Rex loved Avery’s huge heart. He hated the thought of Kalee not knowing anyone cared if she was alive or dead. If she only knew how much Phantom really did care. It might’ve started out as caring because a mission had failed, but it was obvious it was more than that now.
Avery took a deep breath and turned to face him. Rex didn’t move back though, so they were practically touching when she rested her ass on the counter behind her.
“Cole?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
And just like that, Rex’s good intentions were shot.
He’d planned on taking things very slowly with Avery. Taking her out on a couple dates, getting to know her, then easing into intimacy between them. Every time he was around her, however, it was harder and harder to fight their chemistry.
If Avery wasn’t going to hold back, he had little hope of taking things slow. He was too attracted to her. He admired her too much. He would still try…but he could give her this.
“You can do whatever you want to me,” he told her honestly.
Because she was about his height, Avery didn’t have to go up on her tiptoes or anything to reach his mouth. She simply leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. Once. Twice. Then she pulled back and bit her lip uncertainly.
Rex held himself back by the skin of his teeth. He didn’t want to freak her out or do anything that might startle her. But when he saw the uncertainty in her eyes, he moved without thinking. One hand went to the back of her neck to hold her still, and the other palmed her cheek. His mouth dropped to hers…and he didn’t ease into the kiss. His tongue came out and licked along the seam of her mouth, and when she immediately opened for him, Rex tilted his head and plunged inside.
Amazingly, he felt goose bumps break out on his arms as she kissed him back. She wasn’t compliant and submissive in his arms, she gave as good as she got. Her tongue dueled with his and pressed back into his mouth. He groaned and shifted closer to her.
They were plastered together from hips to chest, and he knew his erection was pressing into her lower stomach urgently. He would’ve been embarrassed, but she pushed back against it as if encouraging him.
Taking a breath, Rex lifted his head a few inches. He kept his hands where they were and felt her fingernails digging into his back, and he wished he wasn’t wearing his uniform so he could feel them on his bare skin.