“And that’s what you’re here to teach me.”

“It’s more than a skill set, or even a mindset. It takes…heart.”

“Are you saying women don’t have heart? That we aren’t brave enough? Tough enough? Stubborn enough?”

His face was swathed in shadows, his jaw and nose mere outlines, his eyes unfathomable caverns of black. Still, she couldn’t miss the frustration rolling off him. It was a living thing, twisting around them both, tightening like a noose pulling them together, yet holding them apart.

Their wills clashed as she stared back, challenging him to acknowledge that she had the mental and emotional wherewithal to match him step for step.

No way was she going to be the first to look away. She would stand here until her feet grew roots to make the point. She could, she would, go toe-to-toe with a SEAL…and not flinch.

He clearly was trying to measure her, maybe also to intimidate her.

Hah. As if! She’d stared down plenty of four-star generals and congressmen who thought they could bully her because she looked soft and feminine. Poor bastards had never bothered to see the steel underneath.

She continued to stare at Griffin, trying to make out details in his expression, vividly aware of how attracted she was to his lean cheeks, his strong profile, the absolute self-confidence that was an intrinsic part of him.

His frustration shifted. Changed. Morphed into another kind of frustration altogether. She became even more vividly aware of the rise and fall of his chest, just inches away from hers. He leaned closer and braced his left hand against the wall beside her ear, his right hand moved to cup the back of her head. It was all so aggressively masculine. And sexy as heck.

In slow motion, he drew her face up to his.

And she didn’t protest.

His body was hard and hot, scorching her like freshly forged steel. Her own private furnace.

She ought to complain. Insist that he treat her professionally. Not think of her as a woman at all. She was just another soldier. Another SEAL trainee…

Except she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten up close and personal with a man who made her feel this way…

Who cared if it was just lust? It was still fantastic. This man was a fire sizzling through her veins, boiling her blood. She ought to pull away. Or at least look away.

I could lose myself in those eyes of his…

Her gaze dropped to his mouth, where she was immediately fascinated by the generous curve of his lips. His strong, straight teeth shining white in the starlight. The way he caught one side of his lower lip in said teeth. He was fighting a need to kiss her.

I want him to kiss me…

Maybe she should kiss him.

Must. Not.

She arched into him, pressing against him as night settled gently around them.