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So this was Colonel Man Candy?

The nicknaar-coated and frivolous Thisbut

He was tall, powerful and all hard edges more lethal than a bayonet on the end of a rifle His unifore to it that seemed to mark infantrymen out over all other soldiers—did little to conceal the physique beneath If anything, it enhanced it The perfectly folded up shirtsleeves which clung lovingly to i, tanned forear about his deested to Fliss that he was a soldier as used to physical exertion in the field Certainly not the kind ofstuck behind a desk He exuded a coerous

He was definitely more suited to an adrenalin-fuelled life on the front line than being stuck here in the safe confines of a place like Razorwire

Abruptly, Fliss realised that even as she was assessing the Colonel, he was appraising her too Narrowed eyes, the colour of mountain shale and just as inhospitable, slid over her And everywhere they travelled, they left a scorching sensation on her skin She wanted toInstead she stood rooted to the spot, her throat tight and her heart pounding out a military tattoo in her chest

So which she didn’t recognise at all but whichwhich scared her, yet was also perhaps a little thrilling And then it was gone, so fast that she wondered if she hadn’t siined it

Slowly, she beca with a forced cheerfulness, as though he could sense the undertones but couldn’t compute them

‘Colonel, this is Major Felicity Delaunay, the trauma doctor who leads one of our pri to the Medical Eency Response Team which flew out from the camp in helicopters to retrieve casualties from outside the wire

‘Major, letthe late Colonel Waterson’

‘Colonel,’ Fliss choked out, finally finding her voice as she proffered her hand, relieved to see that it wasn’t shaking

The new Colonel didn’t take it Instead, he folded his arms across his chest in a very deliberate move

‘Major Delaunay,’ he bit out ‘So you’re the doc who thinks she’s so i the safety of my men, not to mention the rest of her own crew’

His hostile glower pinned her in place She wanted to snatch her own gaze away but found she couldn’t He was too

Still, a defiant flame flickered into life inside her

‘Would you care to elaborate, sir?’