Station Alpha: (Soldiering On #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

off the water. She dried off and wrapped herself in a towel before realising that she didn’t really have anything to change into. There had been a small chest of drawers near the bed, and Christine thought that she might get lucky with some spare clothes. It wasn’t until she was opening the drawer and her towel slipped precariously that she remembered the camera. Her face heated. Was he watching, or still asleep?
    She flickered a glance up at the camera, as if that could tell her, then rolled her eyes at herself.
    “Paul?” she asked cautiously. Her gaze moved to the phone, but it didn’t ring. She guessed he was still asleep. Christine shrugged and began digging through the drawer, unearthing a faded men’s t-shirt that would probably fit across her chest, and a pair of basketball short that would likely turn out to be the least flattering item of clothing she had ever worn in her life. She tried not to care. Likely Paul would be the only one to see her. But when she thought of his gruff voice, she had the odd desire to look pretty.
    Still, practicalities won out. She had no desire to wear her pyjamas all day, and sitting in a dangerously unsecured towel wasn’t exactly an option. No bra or underwear was to be found, which Christine knew she’d have to rectify. But, still, the t-shirt and shorts would do.
    She glanced once more at the camera. No reaction, so she decided to get changed where she was. She turned her back to the camera—just in case—and pulled on the shorts under the towel. If Paul happened to get a brief glimpse of her butt in the process, well, Christine was surprised to find that the idea made her breath come just a little bit faster. Though she’d never been much of a prude about her body behind bedroom doors, she hadn’t ever thought of herself as displaying any exhibitionist tendencies.
    Though, why she would equate Paul with her lovers when she hadn’t even seen the man was rather strange. Throwing off the thought with her towel, Christine pulled the t-shirt over her head. She looked down at herself. Certainly not her most attractive outfit, but it would do.
    Just then, the phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. Her heart beat faster in anticipation as she reached over to pick it up. “Paul?” His name sounded slightly breathless on her lips.
    “Are you decent?” came his rough reply. His voice sounded strained, and Christine wondered how much he had seen. And whether he’d liked the view.
    “All covered,” she replied. “I thought you were asleep because you didn’t reply.”
    “I was. I woke up to see…ah, well, it was only a…I didn’t see much. I shut my eyes as soon as I realised.”
    “That was very gentlemanly of you,” she told him, amused by the thought of him covering his eyes like a schoolboy. He sounded so embarrassed. Did his ears turn pink when he was mortified? she wondered, suddenly curious about him. Would she ever get to see his face, know what those expressions looked like as they played across his features?
    “It’s the least I could do,” he replied gruffly.
    “Where are you?” she asked abruptly. “It occurs to me that you could be anywhere in the world. I’ve been thinking of you as nearby, but you really could be anywhere.”
    He hesitated, as if once again debating how much to tell her, and how much of it would be the truth.
    “I’m in the same city. So not that far.”
    Christine sat on the bed, leaning back against the headboard and facing the camera. “Does that mean I’ll get to meet my rescuer at some point?” she asked playfully.
    He grunted. “Probably not,” was all he said. Disappointment flashed through her.
    “Oh,” she murmured. “That’s a shame. I’d like to thank you in person.”
    He made a sound of frustration—another habit of his. “That’s not necessary,” he replied, his voice a little sharp.
    “All right,” she allowed, changing the conversation topic. “How long will I be stuck here with only