Page 6 of Loved by a SEAL

Chapter 2

As Ryan watched Sarah walk away, he could practically see the irritation rising off Patrick’s younger sister. When she’d stood there a moment ago, her hazel eyes flaring slightly, he’d resisted the urge to gaze down at her soft pink lips. To let his eyes roam over her flushed cheeks, memorizing every feature on her delicate face.

Because holy hell, the woman was gorgeous. And she didn’t take it from anyone—himself included.

But something about the way she always spoke her mind had him snapping to attention and his libido rising. She barely came up to his shoulder and looked like she couldn’t harm a fly—but something about her spark and personality was sexy as hell.

Every time she was around she seemed to draw him into a debate. Half of the women he met around Virginia Beach could barely string two sentences together. The past few times he’d seen Sarah, she’d argued with him about global warming, the carbon footprint of the U.S. military, and why everyone should convert to vegetarianism.

She was free-spirited and unpredictable.

He did things by the book. Followed a strict chain of command in everything the Navy demanded. Had no time for relationships or frivolities.

But holy hell.

Verbally sparring with her every time they met was the best kind of foreplay he could imagine. Not that he’d be bedding the sister of his subordinate.

Sarah sank down into a chair at her table, her honeyed brown hair swirling around her, and Ryan turned away before she noticed that he was still standing there watching her. The bohemian floral dress she had on tonight was hard to ignore though—it skimmed over her curves perfectly. Hugged her breasts. Flared out at her hips. And caught the breeze just so.

And those sexy little sandals she was wearing that laced up her shapely calves?

Jesus Christ.

If she wasn’t the sister of a man on his SEAL team, he’d be whisking her back to his place, stat. And he wasn’t the kind of man that chased after a woman.

But good God, those straps winding their way up her tanned, toned legs? That flirty little dress she had on? He’d love to strip her down in his bedroom and discover all her secrets. Get her to stop arguing with him for one hour and just give in. To submit to him and the crazy chemistry that always seemed to be sparking between them. To what they both needed.

What he wouldn’t do to have Sarah in his bed tonight. To untie those strappy bronze sandals. Kiss his way up her sexy legs. Graze his teeth along her inner thighs. Tug her panties down and kiss her intimately until she was whimpering and pleading for more.

He clenched his jaw as his groin tightened.

No need to go back to the table sporting a full hard-on. What was he, a teenager again?

His old buddy from the academy was probably wondering what the hell had happened to him anyway. Ryan had been standing there watching Sarah while his sizzling hot steak and cold beer sat untouched on the table.

He shook his head and walked back over.

“We thought you ran off with her,” his friend joked. “Although I’ve never known you to chase after a woman.”

Ryan clenched his jaw. “Nope. Just escorting the lady back to her table.”

“It’s like twenty feet away.”

Ryan nailed him with a glare. His friend held up his hands in mock surrender, laughing, as Ryan reluctantly dug into his cold meal. Steak was still steak. Nothing like those damn MREs he used to eat when he was deployed as a SEAL himself, living in tents and sent to shitholes all over the world.

He’d seen enough hardship in the tattered warzones and poverty-stricken places his team had deployed to. Women and children who had nothing. Families who could barely afford any food.

Shit. The kids around here all had their own smart phone, the latest gadgets and toys. Half the kids he’d seen barely had scraps of clothes, let alone shoes or food to eat.

That was nearly 10 years ago now. Long past yet never forgotten.

Now he commanded an elite SEAL team of six men based out of Little Creek—sent those men off on dangerous missions to hellholes all over the world. His team battled insurgents, terrorists, drug lords, and other men intent on causing harm. And it weighed heavily on his shoulders. Yet without a wife and family to worry about, his focus was on his men. The mission. Always had been; always would be.

He ran a hand through his cropped hair as he recalled the pressure-cooker of a day they’d had. A kidnapped American woman in Afghanistan was putting everyone on edge. It would be bad enough in any instance knowing that a woman was being held hostage in a hostile foreign country, but the young woman had political clout back in Washington. She was the daughter of a congressional aide—one connected to someone very high up. If word got out she had close ties to a Senator, it could mean her life was in imminent danger.

Ransom demands. Blackmail. Rape. Torture.

He didn’t take instances like that lightly.

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