Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

I know. How you’ve survived everything you’ve been through. I can’t even begin to understand what you’ve gone through. I’ve worked with men wounded in combat that haven’t handled it with the grace and strength you have. Weak? Hell no, baby, you’re a survivor. But no one can do everything alone, lass. No one expects you to be able to handle all this by yourself. Let me take care of you, let me help you. I don’t want to control you, I just need to protect you. I do this for a living. Let me do this for you. I’ll do anything to keep you safe because I want you with me. I need you with me. Don’t cry, love.”
    Jason carried her to the bedroom and laid her down on the large bed. He quickly stripped off his wet clothes and climbed in next to her, pulling her into his arms and settling the covers over them both. He loved how she melted into him, giving him her complete trust. Her tears bathed his chest and broke a heart he didn’t know he still had. He pulled the cover over them both, holding her as the tears poured out of her.
    He held her close as her sobs receded.
    He held her close as her eyes drifted shut and her breathing evened in sleep.
    He held her close because he couldn’t bear to let go.
     
    * * * *
     
    The nightmare gripped Bella around the throat, and she struggled to surface as memories assailed her in the darkness. She screamed. The memory of pain so close she could still taste the blood. Drenched with sweat, she screamed again, her throat raw with fear, eyes blind. Twisting and bucking she cried out as she fought the shaking hands that gripped her firmly. She could hear Jason’s voice and fought to find him in the void of her terror.
    Her screams stopped, turning into whimpers. Shudders wracked her body as she clawed her way from the dream back into reality. Bella’s breath came out in sharp gasps as she battled to force air into her lungs. She shoved the nightmare back, held onto the sound of his voice.
    Jason.
    She could smell him, the spicy, sexy scent of him, close. Offering safety. Gripping the body that held her close, she clung to him and buried her face into his neck, just breathing him in.
    Son of a bitch.
    Nothing could ever compare to the sheer terror Jason had felt when he had snapped awake to the sound of Bella’s screams. Reacting instantly, he wound his arms around her flailing body and held tight. The devastating pain he heard being ripped from her was utterly petrifying. Never had he flinched in battle, always a cool steady hand in every combat situation he had been in. None of that shit mattered right now.
    Jason was terrified.
    Right now Jason was shaking like a leaf in the wind, and he was chilled to the bone. Her pain, her anguish had become his own. The glimpse into her nightmares had destroyed him. Soothing words spilled from his lips. Unknowing what he said, as long as they gave her comfort.
    For fuck’s sake, get it together, man.
    It was still night. In the darkness, Jason pulled her chilled body against him. Wrapping himself around her, he ran his hands down her back, trying to will her pain away. Bella burrowed into him.
    “I’m okay…I’m okay…” she repeated over and over. She was fighting the tears, determined to regain control. Minutes faded as she finally calmed. Deep embarrassment swamped her.
    Whispering “I’m sorry,” she tried to pull back, putting a hand on his chest to push away. Muscles flexed beneath her hand, and she found herself trapped underneath the large body of a very pissed off male.
    In the moonlight, she could see his face, fierce and savagely beautiful. “Never, never apologize to me for having a nightmare,” Jason snapped in a cold, commanding voice.
    “Umm—”
    “I’m not finished.” His voice was as sharp as a knife. “I’ve things to say, and I will bloody well say them now. Never apologize for what that animal did to you. Let me be here for you, damn it. Don’t hide it from me. I will not accept you pulling away from me after that.”
    He could hear the words that were spilling from his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Jesus , was he crazy?
    He gulped in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his own frantic heartbeat. “Christ, I’m sorry. I’m being an ass again. I dinna mean to snap at you. I don’t deal well with being…scared. Just let me hold you, love. I need to hold you. Please just let me be here for you.”
    Bella wound her arms around him as he rolled over to his