Page 42

9
Quinn could feelhim watching her.
No, not just watching, searing her with that pale green gaze, making her way too aware of her body, especially her breasts and that hot spot between her legs. She had been doing so well, sitting at this table, trying to ignore the magnetic force field that was Kade Hollis. But her body didn’t know how not to respond to him now.
When she finally lifted her eyes, he was waiting, leaning back against the wall, arms folded, bruised and battered but still unfairly gorgeous. Their eyes locked, and in a movement so slight she might have imagined it, he inclined his head toward the hallway.
An unspoken command.
Her breath caught. Oh, hell.
She turned to David, voice smooth despite the heat licking up her spine. “I’ll be ready in a minute.” She barely registered his response before she pushed back her chair, grabbed her hat and bag, and made a beeline for the man she absolutely couldn’t resist, even if she was still wrestling with all her damn tangled up emotions, beliefs, and revelations.
As she got closer, she noticed the fresh damage, a butterfly bandage on a cut along his chin, bruising along his cheekbone, scuff marks on his knuckles.
She stopped short. “What the hell happened to you? Did you go to war between last night and this morning?”
His lips twitched. “SEAL correction. You should see the other guys.” His gaze glanced to his teammates.Could this man be any more adorable?“Team thought I needed an attitude adjustment.” A flicker of unease slipped over the glow of simply enjoying this man. She didn’t remember ever thinking Brian was adorable.
She frowned, taking in his equally battered and bruised brothers. “Looks like you all got adjustments. I always thought you were trouble, handsome, handsome trouble.” This time his grin was full, and it hit her right in the solar plexus like the punches it looked like he took. Men. Fighting was in their damn blood, especially these alpha males. “Why didn’t you all just piss up ropes and see who could get the highest?”
He threw back his head and laughed. Quinn experienced a fizzing sensation that made her catch her breath. It had been such a long time since she’d seen him laugh like this, and the transformation in him was amazing. There was a lighthearted buoyancy that animated his already breath-stealing features. She wanted more of this. She couldn’t remember Brian ever laughing like that, loud, carefree, utterly unguarded. Dagger’s joy was unshackled, and it stirred something in her she didn’t know she’d been missing.
He expelled the last of his laughter, sending his interested teammates a sidelong glance. They were all staring at them, and she was determined to get the full story. Before she could press him about what happened, he snagged her wrist, the warmth of his fingers branding her skin. Electricity shot up her arm, anddamn it, she let him lead her into the hallway, past two doors and into a dimly lit alcove.
Then, he was on her.
Quinn gasped as her back hit the wall, Dagger’s body flush against hers, his mouth claiming hers in a kiss that should have been illegal. Rough. Desperate. Possessive.
Her mind screamed a protest, but her body, her traitorous, weak-willed, melting body, gave in with enthusiastic abandon. Brian had kissed like a husband. Dagger kissed like a searing wrecking ball, an impact that left her reeling, a rupture etched in her bones, and a gravity holding her fast in this disorienting free fall. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him closer, drinking him in like he was top-shelf bourbon after a decade of sobriety.
When he finally tore his lips from hers, she was breathless, her heart trying to escape her ribcage.
Quinn’s heart pounded so hard she could scarcely breathe. Everything about him, his slightly ragged exhale, the taut, sculpted lines of his arms, the flash of wicked heat in his pale green eyes seemed to tunnel her focus until he was the only thing in her world. She swore she could still feel the press of his mouth ghosting over hers and the echo of his body’s tension in her own limbs.
Dagger’s face was so close she caught the faint scent of salt, sweat, and remnants of his cologne. His pupils were blown, those pale eyes darkened to a stormy jade, and the wet sheen on his lips made her stomach clench with longing. A knot of anticipation began to coil deep in her lower belly, competing with the delicious ache ignited by their kiss.
Then, because he was him, he smirked. “I had to run with a hard-on.”
His easy, shameless confession sent a fierce current of awareness zipping along her nerves. She swallowed, her entirebody thrumming. She hadn’t realized how stiff her own limbs felt until his teasing words jolted her back to the moment.
Quinn blinked. “Excuse me?”
He tilted his head, his expression pure wicked amusement. “Did you know that exercise extends the time between arousal and ejaculation?”
Her lungs stung as she took in a sharp breath. The images that sprang to mind made warmth spread like wildfire across her skin. She couldn’t help picturing him, all hard lines and sinew, running at a punishing pace while fighting off that relentless desire, long, strong strides that only built more stamina. It was intoxicating.
She swallowed again, tongue dry. She was trembling, but she didn’t care if he saw it. “Then, the way you’re built…” Quinn heard the huskiness in her own voice, a low rasp betraying how deeply she was affected by him. “You should be able to go all night?”
She never would’ve said something like that to Brian. Never would’ve felt this wild freedom, this unfiltered hunger curling through her veins. His body pressed against hers, relentless, powerful, taking her to a place she hadn’t dared to imagine in so long. She let the moment linger, let him see the desire she no longer wanted to hide. It felt reckless and freeing at once.
Any residual tremors of doubt over the last few years melted under the sensual pull of this man. She couldn’t remember the last time her entire being felt this alive. It was as if every cell in her body was tuning to his frequency, drawn in by his strength and the promise of pleasure she’d forbidden herself to crave. Yet she craved it now, so fiercely it stole her breath.
A crooked smile tugged at his mouth, both tender and triumphant, as though he sensed how deeply she was falling under his spell. Quinn’s pulse thudded hard enough to make her dizzy. He truly was lethal. For once, she didn’t want to runaway from the danger. She wanted to drown in it, just for this moment, safe in his arms and charged by the unquenchable spark burning between them.
He laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that sent another thrill down her spine.
“When the time is right. Hoo-yah, babe.”