All I needed now was a hot shower, a good book, and a hot man. I’d come very near to an up-close-and-personal encounter with the Taliban: some life-affirming sex would be very welcome. I couldn’t see Sebastian among the sea of desert utility uniforms, but I hoped he’d find me later.
I dragged my sorry carcass to my room, dumped the body armor gratefully, then took my laptop and solar charger outside, and sat in the shade, writing my notes.
I could see a small flurry of activity going on at one side, with Marines hoisting up bits of rope and old jerry cans. My body was too weary to wonder what they were doing, and my brain was too stunned to care. But then I noticed that Sebastian seemed to be organizing the work party. After another ten minutes, he strolled over casually and squatted down next to me.
“How you doing, baby?” he said, in a low voice.
“Pretty damn good, Chief,” I replied, “considering I nearly got my ass shot off today.”
He chuckled quietly. “You are so fucking amazing, Caro.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Sebastian.”
We both noticed the speculative gazes we were garnering at the same time. He stood up abruptly. “We’ve fixed you up a makeshift shower.”
“Excuse me?” I said, certain that I’d misheard.
“The guys wanted to do something for you – they think you’re a ballsy woman. So they’ve made you a shower. You’ve got about two-and-a-half minutes of lukewarm water. How’s that sound?”
“What? How?”
I gaped at him and he smiled back.
“I just left some cartons of water out in the sun during the day. They got pretty warm: all we had to do was hoist them up and make a shower head. You’re good to go. Except you won’t be able to take off your clothes, but it’s better than nothing, I guess.”
“God, I love you!” I murmured. “But I think I love them, too!”
He snorted, but thankfully looked amused as I waved at the shower-building team.
“I’ll be right back!”
I hurried to my room and grabbed a small sachet of shampoo. I hadn’t thought I’d need it, but I was so happy that I’d included it in my gear after all.
The shower felt wonderful: washing the salt and dust out of my hair felt even better. I even managed to make a stab at washing my clothes while I was wearing them, before the water ran out. Then I sat out in the afternoon sunshine and let my clothes dry on my body, while I chatted to some of the guys, listening to their stories.
Captain Grant came out to check on me and I even managed to get a smile from him. I hoped the truce would hold – provided I managed not to oversleep again, of course.
Another box of MREs, four hard candies, and a really bad coffee later, I crawled into bed. If Sebastian came into my room in the night, he’d have to poke me awake with a sharp stick. My shoulders ached from wearing the heavy body armor all day. I couldn’t imagine how the guys must feel: their armor was even heavier, plus they had to carry their packs, ammunition and an eight pound rifle.
Their entire equipment and packs probably weighed more than I did.
And with that thought, I passed out.
Chapter 15
It was dark when I woke up; I realized I wasn’t alone.
“Hey, baby,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you – I just wanted to see you.”
He was sitting at the bottom of my mattress again. I peered into the dark, his outline faint against the darker shadow of the wall.
I rubbed my gritty eyes and reached out for him. “You’re too far away,” I grumbled, holding up my arms towards him.
He uncoiled himself from the floor, and tried to stretch out next to me, but his boots hit the door.
“Fuck,” he muttered, “they’ve given you a damn hutch to sleep in.”
“At least it’s private, Sebastian,” I said, running my finger across his stubbly chin.
He smiled. “Yeah, that’s something.”