“For seeing me. For being you. I’m not sure how I deserve to be the object of your attention, but I’m not going to take it for granted.”
Steff was laying herself bare in front of this strong man, but she had no doubts doing it, because Dalton wouldn’t ridicule her or make her feel small for stating what she was feeling.
“Steff, you deserve to have everything you want. I’m happy to be part of giving you that.” He pressed his lips against hers, in a sweet kiss.
She sighed against his mouth. Being close to Dalton wasn’t hard. Didn’t have her flinching with his closeness.
Would she be this way if it was anyone other than Dalton?
She would never know, because he was the first man she’d let close enough. Dalton stepped away, and she almost hauled him back, the urge shocking her.
“I need to go. What are you going to do today?” The longing in his voice wasn’t hard to miss.
“Not sure. Maybe I’ll give Cynthia a call, see if she’s free.” It hadn’t been what she’d initially thought she’d do, but she liked the idea.
“I’m sure she’d like that. And remember,”–he touched her ear–“you’ll be safe if you do decide to go out.”
She nodded. “I know.”
It wouldn’t be good to get too reliant on thinking she was safe because of the earrings. She would still be careful, because nothing was ever guaranteed.
Chapter Twenty
Jag lookedtoward Cass’s office, fighting the urge to ask her to check on Steff and see if she was okay. Earlier she’d sent a text to let him know she and Cynthia were going shopping. He was happy she was doing something with her friend, but he was still on alert.
It had been two weeks since she’d agreed to wear the earrings, and he hadn’t felt the need to check if she was fine when she’d been visiting her therapist. Or doing anything else.
Things had been quiet. No unusual packages, and he was grateful for that, but worried they were being lulled into a false sense of security. That whoever was after her was waiting for them to drop their guard so they could pounce.
Jag wasn’t going to let that happen.
He was still staying at her place, and she was happy with him doing so. Not like she had any choice; he wasn’t leaving.
Maybe ever.
Her place was much nicer than his. It felt like a home, whereas his apartment felt like a place to lay his head. A hangover from always being on the move when he was a SEAL. It didn’t matter that he’d been out for a few years, the expectationthat he could be called to leave at a moment’s notice still lingered.
“For fuck’s sake, just go and ask her,” Fox grumbled.
“What?” Jag looked at his friend, who was watching him with a smirk.
“I’ve watched you look toward Cass’s office over and over for the last two hours. If you’re that worried about Steff, go ask if she’s okay.”
Of course Fox would notice he was antsy, it came from being good friends and teammates. No doubt, he would notice if Fox was tense about something. “She’s out with Cynthia, so it’s not like she’s alone. I’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“There’s always reason to be concerned.” Fox held up his hand when Jag went to argue with him. “I’m not saying anything is going to happen, but we’ve seen too much to not always think worse case scenarios.”
“What about you? How come you’re not stressed about Cynthia?” Since the night when Fox had dropped by Steff’s place when Cynthia had been there, the two of them had gone out a couple of times.
Fox hadn’t said much about what was going on between them, but he’d been smiling a bit more than he usually did. Steff had mentioned that Cynthia appeared happier too.
“I am, I’m just not showing it.” Fox shrugged.
Jag took a second to really study his friend, and he detected the tiny lines of tension around his mouth, things that hadn’t caught his attention because he’d been so wrapped up in his own mind.
Some friend he was. Only a few moments ago, he’d been thinking that he’d notice if anything was bothering Fox, but he’d totally missed it.
“You really like her, don’t you?” Jag kept his voice low, so as not to broadcast it to everyone in the office. The open plan set upwas great when it came to planning missions and throwing ideas around. Not so much for private conversations. And as they didn’t have too many heart-to-heart talks in the past, it hadn’t been an issue.
