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Dagger stilled as she turned to face him, her brown eyes shining under the glow of the ambient lights.
She blinked rapidly, and then, just like that, her composure cracked. Tears welled, slipping down her cheeks, and he wasmovingbefore he realized it, reaching out and clasping her hand.
Quinn sucked in a shaky breath, her fingers tightening around his. “Damn SEAL. You just wouldn’t quit on me. Youguys take those oaths so damn seriously,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Came back every time, no matter how I acted. We both know it wasterrible.”
“You were grieving.”
“So were you,” she countered, her lips pressing together. “I justnevereven acknowledged it. You lost Brian too.”
Dagger let out a slow, uneven breath, his chest going tight.Fuck.
“It was a shock,” he admitted, his voice rough.
Quinn searched his face, and when their eyes met,he felt it,that shift, thattendernessin her gaze. For him.
It damn near killed him.
His fingers tightened around hers, his throat going thick as he absorbed the look in her eyes, something he never thought he’deversee directed at him.
Quinn made a soft sound, like it hurt her to see him like this, and then she was shifting closer, her free hand lifting to touch his face, her fingers brushing over the rough scruff on his jaw. “I hurt you so badly,” she murmured. “How can I ever make that up to you?”
Dagger inhaled sharply, turning his head just enough to press his lips to her knuckles. “This is a damn fine start.”
She exhaled softly, her lips parting. “Oh,” she whispered. Then, teasing, her breath still uneven, “The kissing was damn mind-blowing.”
A slow, wicked grin spread across his face. “Damn right it was.”
Her gaze darkened, her pupils dilating as her fingers curled against his jaw. “That was pretty spectacular.”
Dagger barely had a second to process the words before the heat in her eyes overwhelmed every ounce of restraint he had left. A rough sound escaped him, deep from his chest, and thenhe wasmoving, his hands sliding into her hair, cupping her jaw as heengulfedher, capturing her mouth in another kiss.
It wasn’t slow.
It wasn’t careful.
It was desperate, heady,consuming.
Quinn melted into him, her hands slipping up his arms, curling into his shirt, pulling him closer. He drank her in, deepening the kiss, losing himself all over again.
Dagger kissed her like he was absorbing every shattered piece of the past, her regret, her remorse, her passion, forhim. It was all there, raw and laid bare in the way she moved against him, in the way she clung, her fingers threading through his hair like she didn’t want to let go.
Fuck, he didn’t want her to.
The taste of her energized him, made him want more, more, and some more. Not just because he wanted her, God, he wanted her, but because this wasn’t just about want. It waseverything. Every second of grief, anger, longing. Every moment of silent suffering, of choices that had cut deep and left wounds in both of them.
It washer. It washim.
It wasthem.
When he finally pulled back, breaking the kiss, she trembled against him, her breath ragged, her fingers still curled into his shirt like she wasn’t ready to be untethered.
Her brown eyes shimmered under the soft glow of the rooftop lights. “I was abitch,” she whispered, her voice rough with emotion. “We both know it.”
Dagger’s hands tightened against her, but before he could say anything, she lifted her fingers to his mouth, covering his lips, her touch unbearably gentle.
“Don’t deny it,” she murmured.
He wanted to tell her that he’d never used that term. Never would. It was disrespectful, and being a bitch was warranted when someone’s whole life had turned upside down. But with her fingers over his mouth, he remained mute.