the man was. She felt safer with him than she’d felt at any other time in her life. “I wish I could stay like this forever.”
He brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. “We should take a seat before we’re thrown across the room.”
She sighed and nodded. Then she took his hand and led him to the couch.
Dash sat first and pulled her down into his lap. When he winced, Sunny leaped to her feet at the same time as they hit a dip in the road that sent her flying back into his arms.
“Oh, Dash, I’m sorry.” She pushed against his chest and stared into his face. “You have to be hurting, and here I am sitting on you.”
He laughed and pulled her closer. “I don’t feel the pain. But I feel something far better.”
Her cheeks heated. She could feel the evidence of his desire pressing against where her bottom met his lap. “As tempting as that sounds, I’d feel terrible if you bled out on me because I was too selfish to check your injury.”
“I told you. I’m fine. It’s just a flesh wound.” He tried to pull her back into his arms.
Sunny pushed away and stood, holding onto the wall beside her. “If it’s really just a flesh wound, why is it still bleeding?” Sunny gave Dash a narrow-eyed glance.
“Think of it as pushing all the impurities out of my body.”
Sunny snorted, reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. “Now, you can either drop your pants or let me cut away the fabric so I can see what we have…”
“I knew you couldn’t resist seeing me naked.” Dash winked and reached for the button on his camouflage trousers.
Sunny wanted to tell him she wasn’t that interested in his naked body as she much as she wanted to make sure he wasn’t grievously injured. But that would be the truth and a lie. She wanted both. The thought of seeing his magnificent body without a thread of clothing made her weak in the knees.
“Just drop your drawers unless you want me to cut away your trousers with you in them.” Sunny held up the scissors with a maniacal look in her eyes.
“I kinda of need my pants,” Dash said. “I don’t have a spare anywhere near this convoy.”
“Then I suggest you drop them.”
Dash glanced toward the guys up front.
“If you want some privacy, we can take you back to the bedroom,” she said.
“That would be better,” he said.
“I would think you couldn’t be shy around other men. Not in the Army. Don’t you all shower in the same shower tent or barracks?”
“We do,” he admitted. “But we don’t normally have a woman in the mix. That changes the whole dynamic.”
“You’re stalling and those pants aren’t down.” She leaned toward him with the scissors.
“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands. “In the bedroom.”
“Go on back. I’ll bring the first aid kit,” Sunny said.
As Dash hurried into her bedroom, Sunny reached under a cabinet for the first aid kit. With the emergency medical supplies in hand and anticipation filling her body, she made her way carefully to the back bedroom.
Dash wasn’t in the bedroom. Sunny found him in the bathroom sitting on the closed toilet, his trousers down below his knees.
Anyone else would have looked silly. But Dash was anything but silly. Thick thighs peeked out from beneath his uniform jacket.
Sunny’s core tightened.
“Do you have a wash rag you don’t mind getting all bloody?” he asked.
His request spurred her into action. She found a clean washcloth in a cabinet, wet it in the sink and applied it to the bullet wound. Dabbing gently. “You really need to shower and let the water wash over that hole. It would be better than a rag, pushing the germs deeper into the injured area.”
“Seriously, it’ll be all right until we can get to the next stop. I can shower then and seek medical attention if I need it…after your concert.” He winked.
“Before my concert,” she narrowed her eyes, “or I’ll refuse to sing until you get it taken care of.”
“You have a mean streak, don’t you?” he groused.
She laughed. “Only when it counts. I’d hate for our country to lose a perfectly good Delta Force operative because he was too stubborn to seek help when he needed it.”
“Fine. If we get to the FOB in time, I’ll shower and seek medical attention for my booboo.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Satisfied?”
“Not quite. For now, I