Page 17 of Taylor’s Warrior

A statement against which Taylor could not argue. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll call you when we get to the hotel, let you know we’ve arrived safely.”

“Make sure you do.” Charity paused. “It’s going to be all right, Tay. Have faith. Rhys’ll be bringing you home before we know it.”

Taylor had no doubt he would. She just hoped she was still breathing when he did it.

CHAPTER 7

After an unexpectedly good night’s sleep, followed by a hot shower, Taylor was ready to take on any challenge life threw at her, including the steak and eggs Rhys had ordered for her breakfast. She only had herself to blame—he’d asked, and she’d told him she’d have whatever he had. He was a man and former military, so she should have known it would be wall-to-wall protein.

“Don’t let it get cold,” he warned.

They were eating together in Rhys’ room again. Taylor stuck her fork into the pile of fluffy scrambled eggs. “I won’t.”

“I hope it’s okay.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” She popped the fork into her mouth and then cut a piece of the perfect steak. She was about to eat it when she realized Rhys was watching her. “What’s wrong?”

“You said it was fine. When a woman tells me something is fine, it’s usually time to duck and cover.”

“Sounds to me like you’re speaking from personal experience.”

He slanted her a look, the kind that said he was about to share.

“I forget exactly what started it, but when Cerys told me that—that she was fine—my parents got into an argument about whether they needed to take me to A & E or not. Turned out, she was decidedly not fine and chose to express it rather more physically than verbally.”

“Cerys?” Taylor told herself she was only mildly curious.

“The middle of my three sisters. Anyway, three rounds of parental rock, paper, scissors later, the answer to going to A & E was not. The duck egg eventually went down.” He touched a finger to his forehead.

“Ah. So, you didn’t duck. Or cover.” Taylor wondered exactly what he’d said or done to make his sister want to bean him hard enough for his parents to argue whether he needed serious medical attention or not.

“I did. Just not fast enough. Or far enough, depending on how you look at it.”

“Well, you don’t have to duck—or cover—this time.” She jabbed her fork in the direction of his plate and flashed him a sweet smile. “Don’t let your breakfast get cold.”

Okay, so this wasn’t what she’d usually have for her first meal of the day, but it was delicious and filling, and it would keep her going for hours.

There was also the small matter of the company. Her first sight of Rhys today had been a punch to the solar plexus. The open-necked shirt, faded jeans low on his hips and well-worn combat boots combined with his subtle masculine aftershave to fire up her libido in a way that made her want to climb all over him. Eating her breakfast while being seated so close to him was an exquisite form of torture.

“How did you sleep last night?”

He sounded as if he really cared. She wanted to think it was true. “Better than I thought I would, although I do miss my own bed. I should be able to stay awake while we’re on the road today. Are you sure I can’t share the driving?”

She’d thought about it while lying in bed. When she’d offered before, he’d categorically ruled it out, but since they’d declared a truce, she figured she’d try again.

“I’m sure,” he responded without missing a beat. “My job, my rules.”

And fail again. Not wanting to cause any disagreement, she conceded defeat. “Okay. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

A fork laden with steak paused halfway to a mouth that any woman would love to kiss. Taylor nearly choked—where had that thought come from? Probably the same place that was still daydreaming about the clear blue skies and turquoise oceans scent of him.

“Yes. You can not worry. You can trust me to listen without judgment, should you decide to tell me what this is all about, but even if you don’t, you can trust me to protect you.”

The calm assertion was reassuring. Taylor nodded. “I can get on board with that.”

“That’s good to know. Now finish your breakfast, and we’ll see about getting out of here.”

Taylor was glad she’d taken the time to pack her bag before joining Rhys for breakfast. Though they didn’t have a particularly long day of traveling ahead of them, she was anxious to hit the road again.