His hand trailed down her jaw to her neck, smoothed over her shoulder and down her side. She suppressed a shiver of longing at the heat in his eyes. “Not your call. And don’t even think about doing something stupid like running, because I’ll only come after you.”
She believed he’d actually do it, but it was still incredible to know he cared so much. “Why? Why would you do this for me?”
“Because you’ve been wronged and innocent people have died. And because I care about you.”
Something inside her melted at his words. She glanced down at his HOG’s tooth again, afraid to look into his eyes in case he saw her growing feelings for him revealed there. This was even more dangerous. If it came down to it, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to walk away from him. Not even if it was for his own good. He deserved better, someone like his late wife. Briar was the furthest thing from domesticated.
Matt leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You told me how you got into this line of work, but not much else. Ever been in combat?”
“If you mean in a conventional sense, no. I almost always work alone.”
“When did you start taking ops?”
This was easier. Changing the subject, shoving aside the tenderness she felt for him. “You’ll tell me yours if I tell you mine?”
His wide shoulders moved in a half-shrug. “If you wanna know, sure.”
She remembered it with vivid clarity. “It was a hit on a major arms dealer in Bosnia. Real piece of shit who was into human trafficking, sex slavery as well as arms dealing. Solo op. I waited for two days out in the hills above his villa. Did it with one shot and walked away. Nice and clean. That was seven years ago.” She’d been twenty-two, fresh out of college. It had never bothered her, taking a life when she was told to. Not surprising given her training and the kinds of people she’d been sent to eliminate. “What about you?”
“God, that was a long time ago now.”
She snorted. “Yeah, cuz you’re ancient compared to me.”
In retaliation he ducked his head to rub his whiskers against the curve of her neck, making her squirm. “Not ancient. More experienced, is all.” He pressed his hips against her belly, the solid length of his erection impossible to miss. More heat slid through her, tempting her with the promise of what he could make her feel with his hands and mouth, his magnificent body. She could stroke all those muscles for hours and never get bored.
“Mmm, I like that about you,” she admitted. “It works for me.”
His chuckle ruffled the hair at her temple. “I’m glad it does.”
She reached behind him and smacked his butt. “Stop distracting me. You were telling me about your first time.”
“Her name was Sally,” he said, his voice heavy with reverence, “and it was in the back of my dad’s Mustang.”
“Ew! No, you know what I mean.” She didn’t fight her smile and it felt good. As though a weight had loosened inside. God, when was the last time anyone had made her smile like this?
He nibbled at the side of her neck for a second, then stilled as he grew serious and drew his head back to rest on the pillow. He played with her hair some more as he spoke. “Iraq, outside Fallujah. It was a teenage kid on a motorbike, approaching an American convoy with a claymore strapped to his back. I barely saw it in time under his jacket.”
Briar sobered at the image. She’d never had to take the life of someone so young. “Was it hard?”
“No.” He paused, as though waiting for her response, but if he was waiting for her to judge him, he’d be waiting a long time. “I knew it was either him or however many Marines were in the vehicles close to him when he blew himself up. Once I got clearance my training took over and I did my job.”
She drew her fingertips across the back of his hand, stroking gently. “What about after?”
He sighed. “His age bothered me for a long time. I wasn’t much older than him at the time. Intellectually I knew I’d made the right call, but later I kept seeing his face in my mind. Maybe because he was my first, I don’t know. He’s stayed with me though. I still think about him.”
She nodded. “Some are harder to forget than others.”
“Yeah. And I never thought I’d ever be having this conversation with a beautiful woman, especially in bed.”
She felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. “Does it bug you that I asked?”
“No, because I know we think the same way. We had similar training, operated in some of the same places. And I have to say, it’s fucking hot to know you’re that good with a long gun. I’d like to see you shoot sometime.”