Call him selfish, but right now his singular mission was easing the ache that had gripped him and wouldn’t let go. Whether she told him to piss off or found a way to forgive him, he had to at least try to make things right with her.

He went back to his station and locked his computer. Pulling in a deep breath, he started for her office, rapping his knuckles on the door twice when he arrived.

“Come in,” she called.

Daniel entered, but her attention remained focused on the papers strewn about her desk.

“Hey,” he softly called.

Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t look up. “Yes?”

He shifted his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets. He hadn’t felt this nervous since the time his old master sergeant caught him and a bunch of his fellow Marines at a strip club near Pendleton.

“I…umm…I’m sorry to disturb you, but can we talk?”

She finally lifted her gaze to his. Her face remained a mask of indifference. “What do you need?”

He closed the door behind him before moving toward her desk. Once there, he found himself at a loss for words. Should he just admit he’d fucked up, fall to his knees, and beg for forgiveness?

“I wanted to apologize,” he said. He waited for her to speak. She didn’t. The atmosphere in the office grew a thousand times more uncomfortable.

Daniel swallowed and tried again. “I’m trying to come up with the right words here, but I’m worse at this than I thought.”

Samiah brought her elbows up on the desk, clasped her fingers, and rested her chin on them.

“Let me give it a try,” she said. “Now, the last thing I want to do is speak for you, however, if I was the one apologizing, it would go something like this. ‘Dear Samiah, I am so sorry for acting like a jerk after spending the last three weeks openly flirting with you.’”

He started to speak, but she held up a hand and continued. “‘And, yes, I know that I’m the one who went in for that kiss, but things got a little too real, so I pulled away like a coward. It must suck to have someone treat you that way, and I feel like a complete dick.’ How was that? Does that apology work for you?”

Daniel shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and swallowed hard. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

The last two minutes would have been easier to endure if her declamation had held even a hint of humor. It hadn’t. She was pissed.

This was hard. And awkward. And exactly what he deserved.

“Did that apology work for you?” he asked, turning the question back on her.

She dropped her hands and pushed away from her desk. “You don’t owe me any apologies, Daniel.”