'You can't take care of yourself'

'I don't believe you just said that.'

'No, I meant'

'You know what?' Eve threw the wet clothes back on the floor. Her boots thudded. 'I just don't get you. What is wrong with you?'

'Me? I'm not the one who thinks I can take care of myself after a gunshot wound and infection that nearly killed me.'

'It didn't nearly kill me.'

'If Daz hadn't got you here'

'Yes, Daz. I didn't see you rushing to be by my side. Half the time you don't even seem to like me very much, but I remember you kissing me, Harker, and that was not fake. I wish you'd make up your bloody mind, because I never know if it's one thing or the other'

And Harker kissed her. Just grabbed her and kissed her, as deep and hard and passionate as she'd kissed him in that darkened library at the grammar school a lifetime ago. He kissed her to shut her up, he kissed her because her mouth was driving him crazy, but most of all he kissed her because he couldn't stand not kissing her any longer.

'Don't like you,' he said when he let her go, and they were both breathing hard. 'Don't like you? Eve, I'm bloody crazy about you, and if you don't know that then you're more insane than I ever thought.'

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Eve touched her lips. They tingled.

Harker was looking down at her, his eyes fierce, his hands gripping her arms.

'Did you just call me insane?'

His eyes lightened a little with incredulity, but there was still tension in his face when he said, 'I also said I was crazy about you.'

'Yes, I was working up to that bit.'

He stared at her, those gunmetal eyes hot and hard on her, but she couldn't find anything else to say, her brain wasn't working properly, so she reached for him and pulled him back and kissed him again.

She hadn't expected fireworks when she'd kissed him in the school. She'd never had fireworks with anyone else. But with Harker, she couldn't seem to stop. When he kissed her, the world went away and she didn't hurt so much, she wasn't so tired and angry or just so lost and confused any more.

He held her in his arms, his body strong and hard and so wonderfully invincible. And his mouth on hers was like a miracle, his lips rough but his mouth soft. He kissed her with such passion and heat she was trembling when she pulled back.

'I'm crazy about you too,' she said. 'But I didn't know if I was just crazy in general, because you don't even seem to like me, and'

'I do,' Harker said. 'Hell, Eve, I disobeyed orders for you. I endangered the mission for you. And I don't think you're insane.' He brushed his lips against hers. 'You're shivering.'

'Please don't ask me to take this sweater off.'

He drew back a little, doubt creeping into those beautiful eyes, and Eve smiled and said, 'I can't do it with one hand.'

At that Harker smiled, then he laughed, and kissed her again, drawing the sweater up her body as he did, leaning into her and kissing her right up until the last second when he pulled the damp wool over her head. He pulled the sleeve over her injured hand so carefully, with such concentration, that it wasn't until he'd tossed the sweater on the floor and turned back to her that he noticed she'd been naked underneath it.

He blinked, as if in shock, then reached out, ran his hand over her shoulder, making her shiver again. Then his gaze dropped, and he sucked in a breath.

'Oh hell, Eve,' he said, gazing at her with what looked like horror on his face.

'Okay, that's not the reaction I was looking for,' Eve said, then his hand touched her ribs and she recalled the boot-shaped bruise there.

And she remembered, with a sudden flash of insight, how she'd reacted the first time she'd seen him with his shirt off. Had she immediately swooned at what had honestly been a very beautifully defined torso? No, she'd stared in horror and asked him how he was still alive.

She winced, and Harker snatched his hand back. 'Sorry.'

'No no, it's fine, I was just ... look, take this off, would you?' she said, plucking at his shirt. It was dry, his jacket having taken most of the rain damage.

Harker did, apparently not concentrating, and Eve reached out to touch the long, jagged scar on his stomach. He flinched and turned his face away, his jaw tightening, and she realised he was ashamed.

'Harker,' she said, sliding her hand up to his neck, feeling the rough stubble there. He didn't look at her. 'I never said how beautiful you are with your shirt off.'

That got his attention.

'I just got a big dollop of what it's like to stand there nearly naked and have someone only see the ugliness.'

He touched her shoulder again, his hand moving down gently to cup her breast, and this time there was no horror in his expression.

'There's no ugliness on you,' he said. 'You're perfect, and beautiful'

'Well, you haven't seen my hand,' Eve said sadly, looking at it.

He took it and kissed the bandaged palm again. Just as it had the last time, it made Eve's insides go hot and liquid. She wrapped her other arm around his neck, kissed him, and said, 'Neither of us are wearing much here. Don't you think we should do something about that?'

The look he gave her was one Eve would remember and use to keep warm on cold nights. He picked her up again, laid her on the bed, and got rid of the rest of her clothes and his. His legs were as scarred and battered as the rest of him, but instead of staring Eve pulled him down to her and revelled in the feel of his lean, hard body pressed against hers. His chest was hard, his thighs were hard, and his 'Oh no,' she said, sitting up, and Harker gave her a warning look.

'Don't "oh no" me now, woman,' he said.

'Condoms,' she said. 'Banks said they're standard issue, but'

Harker laughed, kissed her mouth, then rolled away to grab his pack and dump the entire contents on the ground. Rather a lot of small shiny packages slithered out.

'I've got bloody hundreds,' he said.

'I'm glad to hear' Eve began, then forgot how to speak as Harker cupped her breast and stroked the nipple, his other hand soothing her bruised ribs. He caressed her aching body, and somehow it didn't ache as much any more. He kissed her breast, stroked her hip and very gently skimmed her injured thigh.

'Tell me,' he murmured against her skin, 'if I'm hurting you.'

'No,' Eve gasped, because he'd just taken her nipple into his mouth and she was losing the capacity for thought.

When he slipped his hand between her legs her back arched, and her ribs protested, making her gasp in pain, and Harker said, 'Okay, maybe I'll stop that.'

'Stop it and I'll kill you,' she panted.

He grinned and bent to kiss her again, and Eve held him there, both arms wrapped around his lean, muscular body. She kicked her good leg over his hip, felt the heat of his erection against her stomach, and buried her face in his throat. He had a beautiful throat. Hell, he had a beautiful everything.

When he slid inside her she looked up and saw such heat and intensity in his eyes she lost her breath. Stroking the hair from his eyes, she smiled, and he smiled back, looking kind of tense, which made her giggle.

'Something funny?'

She shook her head. 'No.' I think I'm in love with you. 'Why aren't you moving?'

'Because if I do, my head might explode.'

She laughed again at that, and he smiled, dipping his head to kiss her, and then evidently he'd got his head in order because he did start to move, and suddenly it wasn't so funny any more.

Everything he did wound her higher and higher. He kissed her neck and she panted. He brushed his hand across her breast and her back arched, and this time she didn't even notice if it hurt. She wrapped her legs around him, licked the sweat from his skin and clutched his shoulders as he surged into her and she lost her mind.

Some time later, she came back from her trip around the stars and found Harker lying heavy on her, his face tucked into her neck, breathing hard. She stroked his back, and he looked up, kissed the corner of her mouth, and made to move away.

'No,' she said, pulling him back, because he felt so good there. She'd spent a night and a day in that freezing cell in Kirkstall remembering what it felt like to hold this big, hard man in her arms and wishing he was there with her, and now she had him she wasn't about to let him go.

'I'm too heavy for you,' he said.

'No, you're not.'

'I'll be right back,' he promised, and although Eve's body was irritated that he'd left the bed, her brain was gratified that the condom was one thing he didn't just throw on the floor.

He came back to her, lay on his back and pulled her into his arms, holding her carefully.

'Am I hurting you?'

'No, and stop asking. I'll tell you if you're hurting me.' She snuggled against him. 'I'm actually feeling better than I have since I got here. Maybe we should make this part of my treatment.'

He stroked her arm. 'Happy to oblige.'

When she shivered, he pulled the covers over them both, but Eve pushed them back down again, tracing that scar on his stomach and asking, 'What did this?'

'Bayonet.'

It was a long scar, uneven and ugly. 'It could have killed you.'

'I think that was the idea.'

She kissed his jaw, because people had tried to kill him and she finally understood first hand how terrifying that was, and wrapped her arm around him, keeping him safe from harm.

Rain spattered the window, wind rattled the panes, but she was enveloped in warmth, more than a little in love and happier than she could ever remember being.

'Hey,' she murmured against his mouth. 'You're not smoking.'

'No, I'm not. I think I'll develop an addiction to you instead.'

Eve nestled her head against his shoulder. 'Good plan.' Her fingers carefully traced patterns between the cuts and stitches on the other side of his chest.

'You're not a fan of smoking, are you?'

'Bad for the voice.'

'Even if someone else does it?'

'I'm going to assume you've never heard of passive smoking,' Eve said drowsily. Come to think of it, she'd imagined kissing a smoker would be less pleasant. She didn't even mind the smell of cigarettes on him. It was just ... part of his Harkerness.

'Passive ...?'

'Ne'mind.' Her sleepy fingers caught a sore spot on his shoulder, making him flinch. 'Sorry.'

'Don't worry about it. I need to go and get these stitches taken out in the morning anyway.'

''s it hurt?'

'It's fine. Eve, go to sleep.'

''s not even late.'

'No, but your body's been through a lot.' Eve giggled sleepily. 'Sleep, sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up.'

And he would, Eve thought fuzzily as her eyes drifted shut. He kept his promises.

Reveille woke Harker, which in itself was surprising. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so long. Maybe because it had been a while since he'd slept in such a comfortable bed. Or maybe because Eve was there with him.

She stirred in his arms, which in itself was extremely pleasant, and mumbled, 'I hate that goddamned bugle.'

He smiled. 'We all do.'

'I swear he plays it right outside the hospital building. Did not need that waking me up in the morning.'

'It's a special quality of bugles that they sound like they're right outside everyone's window.'

Eve hmphed and turned over or at least tried to. Halfway, she realised why she shouldn't be sleeping on her left side, and turned back.

Harker laughed silently. Dropping a kiss on her hair, he moved away and slid out of bed.

'Where you goin'?'

Harker was nonplussed. Reveille sounded, and he got out of bed. It was like asking why a bullet came out of the gun when you squeezed the trigger.

'That's Reveille,' he said.

'Do you have to get up?'

Harker stared at her. She was burrowed under the covers, her eyes closed, visible mostly as a mop of blonde hair.