Shielding Gillian (Delta Team Two #1) - Susan Stoker Page 0,75

don’t want to ask me anything else?”

“I want to ask you a million questions,” Gillian admitted. “But now isn’t the time, and you probably couldn’t answer them anyway. Just please…come back to me. I can’t have found you now, only to lose you.”

“You’re not losing me,” Walker said confidently. “I wish I could tell you everything about where I’m going and what I’m doing, but I can’t. I can’t ever tell you. Even when I get back. You understand that, right?”

She thought she had, but now, faced with his first mission since they’d started dating, it was hitting home exactly how secret Walker’s work life was. She nodded. “I admit that this isn’t easy for me, but it’s harder for someone else out there. Someone who needs a champion. And maybe where you’re going isn’t a rescue. Maybe you have to go and take out a terrorist or something, but eventually, you’ll head to some foreign country to rescue a woman who thinks she’s gonna die. And then you and your teammates will be there, giving her another chance at life. I can deal with not knowing because I know what you’re doing is important. Maybe not to me, but to someone who might feel just like I did back in Venezuela.”

“Fuck,” Walker muttered, before leaning down and kissing her as if his life depended on it.

Gillian held on to his shirt and let him take what he needed. She’d give anything to this man; anything he needed from her was his. No questions asked.

The kiss gentled, and Gillian couldn’t help the small moan that escaped from deep within her as he nipped her lower lip then pulled back. “Give me your phone,” he ordered gently.

Feeling off-kilter from his kiss and the thought that he was leaving, Gillian did as he asked, unlocking it with her thumbprint before handing it over.

He clicked the buttons for a short moment before handing it back to her. “I put Fletch’s number in there. He’s Annie’s dad. He won’t tell you where I am or when I’ll be back, but he can reassure you if you need it. If too much time goes by and you panic, call him. He’ll make some inquiries and let you know what he can. Okay?”

She knew what he was saying. They weren’t married. The Army didn’t know anything about her. If Walker was hurt or killed on his mission, she’d never know. But his friend Fletch would.

Feeling thankful he’d given her some way to check on him, Gillian could only nod. The lump in her throat threatened to cut off her air along with her words.

Walker took her head in his hands and gently tilted it so she had no choice but to look at him. She loved how he did that all the time. Even more so because it was a very real possibility this might be the last time she’d experience it. She knew more than most how dangerous his job could be.

“I’ve never regretted anything more in my life than not knowing how it feels to be inside you.”

Gillian huffed out a small chuckle. “Then I guess you’d better make sure you come back in one piece so we can get on that, huh?”

He grinned, and Gillian’s knees got weak.

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m coming back, Gilly,” he said seriously. “I need you to believe that.”

“I do.”

He stared at her for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. I’m proud of you, you know. Watching you today has given me a new appreciation for what it is you do. You’re a jack of all trades and you’ve handled every crisis that’s been brought to your attention with ease. You’ve come up with creative solutions to issues that would’ve broken some other people when faced with the same thing. You’re able to pivot when needed, and you do it with a smile on your face. I’m fucking impressed, Di. You are Wonder Woman.”

“Thanks,” she whispered.

Walker leaned down and pressed his lips against hers once more. It was a chaste kiss, no tongue involved, but it was just as intimate as if he’d plundered her mouth once more. “Be safe,” he warned. “The seventh hijacker is still out there somewhere. I’m not happy that they haven’t figured out who it is or what his next move might be. Same rules apply when I’m gone as when I’m here. Don’t go out alone if you can help it, don’t take a fucking Uber, and let your friends know where