“You may not like to hear this, but I wasn’t surprised that you had an attack. I’d have been shocked if you hadn’t.”
“Really? Why?” How did she get so lucky to have someone so understanding? Then again, he’d seen and done things as a SEAL that she was sure must haunt him.
“Because you’re working through everything with your therapist. It’s all close to the surface, but I also want to assure you that, over time, the attacks will become less and less. This was your first time touching anyone intimately since you were rescued. It was bound to unlock something inside you.”
“What if it happens every time I touch you?” That was a thought she couldn’t bear. She wanted to be able to touch Dalton, freely. Have him touch her without her freaking out.
“It won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah I do, because I can see the fight in your eyes. And you’re going to win your battle. It may take time and there are bound to be a few setbacks, but know I’ll be right beside you every step of the way. No matter what. You’re not alone anymore, Steff. You have me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The last thingJag wanted to do was leave Steff alone, especially after her attack the previous evening, but he couldn’t hover. She had to work through everything herself, and he would provide the support she needed, like he had.
He quickly scribbled a note to say that he was going to PT, and he would head to the office after he’d gone to his apartment and picked up some more clothes. He didn’t really need anything more, but he needed to check in at his place. He hadn’t been there for a few days.
“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
Jag startled, concentrating on the note, he hadn’t heard Steff enter the kitchen. Some former SEAL he was. Inattention was a surefire way to get oneself injured, captured, or worse, killed.
He looked up from his note to find her leaning against the fridge, purple smudges beneath her eyes, indicating it had been a rough night for her. He hadn’t slept well either. He’d been worried that she might have a nightmare after her attack. Not having enough sleep didn’t bother him; he was still conditioned to working on minimal shut-eye even with being out of service for a while.
“Hey, what did you need?” Jag went over to her and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. Her body relaxed, as if she’d been worried that he wouldn’t want to touch her again. That was so far from the truth, it wasn’t funny.
He would’ve loved nothing more than to follow her into her bed last night, so he could hold her and keep her safe. It was way too soon for that. One day thought, it would happen.
“I wanted to know if I could come to the office with you today. I need…” She looked down at her hands and then back up at him. “I can’t be here alone with all my thoughts.”
Jag gave into his desire to be close to her and hauled her into his arms. Immediately, her arms wrapped around his waist, as though she needed the human contact as much as he did.
“Of course you can.” He doubted Ox would have a problem with him bringing Steff to the office. “Teresa is coming in today. Maybe you can help her with the research stuff she does for us.”
Steff pulled back, a flare of interest brightened her eyes. “You think? She wouldn’t mind?”
“Nope.” And he was confident that he was right. Another thing he loved about working at Alliez, like Ox, no one would question him bringing Steff. They were aware of her background and would go out of their way to make her feel welcome, and if she wanted to help out, then there was plenty of people who would be grateful for it.
"Great. Um, I should let you go. You’ve missed so many sessions because of me. I don’t want you to miss anymore.”
“They’re not mandatory, hon. We do it to keep fit. Besides, I can still take the others on, even with missing a few sessions.” He winked, and she laughed. He loved hearing the sound, and was determined to make sure she laughed a lot more.
“I’m sure you could,” she murmured, and she raked her gaze over him.
His body reacted immediately, going hard, and he cursed the fact he was wearing sweatpants where hiding his hard dick was virtually impossible.
Jag turned abruptly so she wouldn’t see how he couldn’t control his reactions to her. “Right. I’m going to-uh, leave. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
He hooked his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.
“Jag?”
He paused, surprised that she used his nickname instead of his given name. “Yeah?” He glanced over his shoulder, his hand gripping the open door.
“Nice sweatpants.” She grinned big and fluttered her fingers in way that he was sure she didn’t know was sexy, but hardened his cock even further.
