Page 27 of Loved by a SEAL

A wave crashed against her, leaving her soaked from her shoulders down. The wet cotton of her bra clung to her breasts, her nipples pebbling in the cool night air. She had half a mind to strip down completely, but Ryan would probably completely lose his shit at that.

She smirked, wondering if she should just go for it.

Mike pulled Morgan into his arms, kissing her as they stood in the shallows. Sarah was beginning to feel like the odd man out, and when she glanced back at Ryan, he was thumbing a text into his phone, frowning.

“Sarah, we need to go!” he called out, his deep voice resounding over the crashing waves.

Sarah gestured to Morgan that she was heading in, shivering as she left the warm water and the night air cooled her skin. She padded over the hard sand down near the water, heading toward where she’d left Ryan.

“Jesus Christ,” Ryan muttered as she walked closer.

“Now what?” she asked sourly.

“You look—you’re just—”

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Here, you look cold,” he said, handing over her dress. She swiped it from him, rubbing the drops of water off her shoulders and arms before pulling it down over her head. She tugged her wet bra off from beneath her dress, a feat most men would likely appreciate, squeezing the excess water out.

“Don’t even think about stripping off your panties,” Ryan growled.

“Not a chance, Captain.”

“Sarah,” he muttered under his breath.

“What’s your problem anyway? I was just having a little fun. We’re at the beach on a Saturday night! No one’s around to see. It’s not like I stripped down to my underwear and danced on top of the bar or something.”

“Have you done that before?”

“Of course not! Give me a break.”

“Have you danced on a bar fully clothed?”

“Maybe,” she said with a shrug. She ducked down and snatched her sandals from the sand, walking back toward the boardwalk. Leave it to Ryan to kill her buzz. Hell. Patrick’s entire SEAL team was full of rowdy men who loved women. Who used to literally chase after them at Anchors and bring a new woman home every weekend. Ryan was acting affronted that he’d seen her wearing her bra and panties on the beach—never mind that he, like everyone else, had probably seen a zillion bikini-clad women before.

“I have to go into base,” Ryan said, easily catching up to her.

“Right now?”

“Yes. Something’s come up that’s urgent.”

“All right, well, why didn’t you say so? I’ll get a ride back with Morgan. She can drop me at Patrick’s to pick up my car.”

“I’ll drive you back.”

“Save yourself the trouble,” she said, turning to glare at him. “You’ve been in a bad mood ever since we got here—no, scratch that. I’m pretty sure you were in a shit mood while we were driving here. You didn’t have to come with me if you were going to be such a buzzkill.”

“I’ve got work commitments,” he said, his voice harsh. “And I’m a Naval Officer. I can’t just run around swimming in my underwear so that anyone walking by could see me.”

“Uh-huh. I’m pretty sure the Navy has seen far bigger scandals than whether you wear boxers or briefs. No one cares except for you.”

“I care that you were running around the beach in your bra and panties.”

“That’s hardly scandalous either.”

“I could see your nipples through your bra,” he growled. “Do you think I want other men to see you like that?”

Sarah quieted, taken aback.

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