Page 14 of SEAL's Temptation

“Fuck yeah, I do need a woman,” he agreed.“I’m not usually into the dominatrix type with whips and chains, but—”

“Not what I meant,” Avery said as she rolled her eyes.

“I know,” he said with a shit-eating grin.“I just enjoy stirring up trouble.”

“Mission accomplished,” Emersyn said sweetly.

Sawyer pointed a finger at her.“I knew I liked you.You could do better than Aaron here, but—”

“Don’t be a dick,” Aaron said.

Ryan crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat.Avery had pulled her hand free and was swiping on some lip gloss.It was a pretty shade of pink.Kissable.He wasn’t really into women who were overly made up, but she had the perfect amount of femininity that intrigued him.She shifted, crossing her legs, and as her bare skin brushed against him, he felt his cock twitch.He’d been a perfect gentleman today, save for kissing the hell out of her, but someday?

Damn.

Someday he’d love to explore all of Avery Nielsen.

“You here alone?”he asked Sawyer.His buddy had damp hair, like he’d just showered, and Ryan didn’t doubt for a moment that he was looking for a pretty lady to join him for the night.

Sawyer took another pull of his beer, seemingly in no rush.“For now.”

Ryan snorted.Wouldn’t surprise him in the least if Sawyer left with a woman—or two for that matter.

“You want to pull up a chair and join us?”Emersyn asked.

“Nah.I just came over to say hello.I don’t see enough of these guys every day.”

Aaron looked amused.“We’d just cramp his style.He can move through the crowd at the bar easier alone—and make a quick getaway if needed.”

“Nah.I’m not stirring up any trouble—tonight,” Sawyer razzed.

At that moment, Riley, one of the regular waitresses at Coconuts, suddenly appeared, balancing a large tray and looking flustered.Ryan watched as she moved in their direction with the heavy load.For a while, some of his teammates had thought Riley was into him, but Ryan wasn’t so sure.She’d always seemed to take an interest in Sawyer, although from what he gathered, they were as different as night and day.Riley seemed shy and sweet, and Sawyer—well, he was brash and ballsy.Riley wouldn’t know what to do with a guy like him.

Ryan recalled his teammates mentioning that she was a single mom, but he’d never heard her discuss a child.Not that they chatted much about their lives.Usually, she was merely taking their order or politely asking how they’d been since the team were regulars here.They weren’t in her section tonight, however, so her appearance now didn’t make much sense.

Her gaze briefly darted to Sawyer, even as she struggled to shift the loaded tray.Sawyer’s hand suddenly whipped out, steadying it, as she moved past him.“You got it, sweetheart?”he asked.

“Yeah, thanks,” she said, briefly patting his arm with her free hand.Bracelets jangled on her arm, and Ryan’s gaze snagged on the tiny tattoo of a dagger on her inner wrist.He frowned.It didn’t seem to fit her quiet persona.Maybe she’d been wilder in her younger days.Maybe she had a whole secret life outside of waitressing.

Without saying anything else, she straightened up and hurried away, suddenly carrying the plated meals with no trouble.

“That was strange,” Avery commented.

“She’s always flustered around Sawyer,” Aaron told her.“Haven’t you heard he’s a ladies’ man?The women can’t stay away, and I think sweet little Riley has the hots for him.”

“What can I say?She knows when she sees something good,” Sawyer joked, his gaze briefly moving to the waitress as she hurried away.

“Why haven’t you ever asked her out?”Avery asked.

“I don’t shit where I eat.”

Ryan nearly choked on his swig of beer, and the women burst into laughter.“Say we hook up and have a good time.She’ll expect me to call her.I don’t want to look at her sad face the next time I come in here for another fun night.”

“No ego at all,” Aaron muttered.

“Riley’s too nice for you,” Emersyn told him.“You probably shouldn’t flirt with her.”

“Sure.Next time I’ll just let her drop an entire tray of food on the floor instead of acting like a gentleman and helping her,” Sawyer said.

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