Her Mercenary (Steele Shadows Mercenaries): A Romantic Thriller by Amanda McKinney

Author:Amanda McKinney [McKinney, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735868189
Publisher: HH Tisevich, LLC
Published: 2022-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

25

SAM

I awoke to a beam of sunlight scorching my eyelids. Though my body pulsed with heat, something cool and wet lay over my forehead.

I sat up, a wet sock tumbling to my lap, and immediately locked eyes with Roman, looming over me like a sentinel.

“Oh my—I fell asleep?” Blinking, I ran my fingers through my sweaty hair.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes . . . yes, a lot.”

“You look a lot better.”

“Didn’t take much, I’m sure.”

Roman knelt next to me and gently handed me the canteen. “Drink—please . . . please drink.”

I blinked, noting the sudden shift from his cold, stoic demeanor, as if he were suddenly making an effort to be more patient. The word please was obviously uncomfortable and foreign to him.

It was endearing.

Roman watched me closely as I drank from the canteen. Once satisfied with my consumption, he took the water from my hands, set it aside, then unwrapped a granola bar and lifted it to my lips. “Please eat.”

“Please?” I bit off the tip and chewed.

“Thank you.”

My brows arched. “Please and thank you . . .” I swallowed the gooey morsels. “Did you attend a Gary Chapman lecture while I was asleep?”

“Who’s Gary Chapman?” Roman asked disinterestedly, his full focus on feeding me another bite.

His hair was mussed in a sexy, bedhead kind of way. His eyes were alert, solely focused on me. I noticed the little lines around his eyes, and the beginnings of deeper ones on his forehead. The gray threads at his temples, in his thickening five-o’clock shadow.

Roman was all man. Strong, confident, and intimidating in the sexiest way. I wondered what he thought of my age. If it mattered to him. If I mattered to him.

And what a crazy thought.

“The Five Love Languages, the bestselling book . . .” I paused as I was force-fed another chunk of granola. “He’s the author.” I stared at Roman’s blank expression. “You have no idea . . . okay, then. Anyway . . .”

“There are five love languages?” he asked, bewildered by this.

“Yes.” I swallowed a laugh. “Words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch.”

His brow cocked with a sudden interest in the subject. “Define acts of service.”

“Not like that, you pervert.”

When a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, little bubbles of excitement tickled my stomach. God, I loved to make him smile.

I took the granola from his hand, feeling a renewed rush of energy. Feeling like a totally different person.

I regarded him closely. “Based on your immediate interest in acts of service, I’m going to say your love language is number five, physical touch.”

“Every man’s language is physical touch.”

“Not true.”

“I’m willing to place a bet on this one, Sam.”

Sam.

“According to Gary Chapman, quality time is the most common love language, followed by physical touch and words of affirmation for men. Words of affirmation would most likely apply to an insecure man. There are many of those in the world, trust me on this, and you do not fit in this category.

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