Seducing A S.E.A.L.

by Jamie Sobrato

  He caught her staring, and curiosity sparked in his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” she said cautiously, “but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer you.”

  “Why do you work so hard to ignore the attraction between us?”

  “Because it’s inappropriate,” she said, her cheeks burning again. Yes, she knew a fling was a distinct possibility between them. She was even anticipating it. But that surety and anticipation did not change any of the reasons he was wrong for her.

  “Is it really?”

  “How could it not be?”

  “Pretty soon you won’t be my rater anymore. And then what?”

  “Then I’ll still be eight years older than you.”

  “So?”

  “I’ve been twenty-six before, Drew. I remember what it’s like.”

  “Everyone is different. You can’t claim to know me based on my age.”

  “No, but I know more about life than you do. I can pretty much guarantee that.”

  “That’s arrogant of you.”

  “Perhaps,” she admitted. “Just as it’s arrogant of you to assume you know as much as I do.”

  “I never said I did.”

  Kylie wasn’t sure what point he was trying to argue. “We both have our careers to consider. I think we’d be setting ourselves up for a painful ending if we entered a romantic relationship.”

  “I don’t think there’s any reason to assume that,” he said, staring at her defiantly.

  Kylie took another drink and felt her resistance slipping. Maybe if they both kept the right perspective about things…If they both understood that this could only be a fling, with no hope of a future together…

  She recalled that rush of emotion she’d had after her first night with him, when, for a moment, she’d been sure she was falling in love. That clearly had been her libido, so overjoyed to finally have had sex again, doing the thinking.

  If she didn’t confuse her libido with her emotions, maybe she could play Mrs. Robinson for a few weeks. Maybe tearing up the sheets would help them heal. Help them forget.

  “If anything happens again between us on this trip,” she heard herself say. “We have to understand it can’t go anywhere.”

  Drew’s expression was unreadable. “What kind of things might happen?” he finally said, daring her to spell it out.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Sexual things?”

  She stared at him silently, refusing to take his bait.

  “What happened to all that talk about inappropriateness?”

  “You’re being a shit right now.”

  He took a swig of beer. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “I guess I’m not in any shape to be acting like my most virtuous self at the moment.”

  “And you think we both might benefit from a little sexual healing, don’t you?”

  Kylie looked out at the ocean to avoid his gaze. She shrugged, unwilling to admit it out loud.

  “It’s okay to admit you’re human, you know.”

  “I think I have more than admitted that.”

  “I don’t want to sleep with you if you consider it shameful and wrong,” he said, a note of challenge in his voice.

  He was backing her into a corner, trying to get exactly what he wanted, rather than accept only what she was willing to offer.

  Is that what she felt in her heart? That sleeping with Drew was shameful and wrong?

  No.

  No, it wasn’t. It was the kind of thing her parents might think, or some of her superiors, but it wasn’t really what she thought, she had to admit. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to do it and enjoy it so much.

  The real Kylie didn’t like living by anyone else’s rules but her own. The person she’d kept buried deep inside for so long made mistakes—sometimes huge ones—but she also lived passionately, fully engaged.

  She’d thought she’d banished that part of herself for good. An accidental pregnancy at the age of seventeen had taught that impetuous part of her hard lessons—lessons she never forgot.

  But something about the shooting had brought to life long-dead parts of herself. She wanted to be free of her self-imposed constraints and any other constraints that no longer worked for her. She didn’t want to feel passive or not in control ever again.

  “That’s not what I think,” she finally said. “What we shared wasn’t shameful, nor could it be.”

  “Then what do you think?”

  “I think we’re two adults who should be able to do whatever we want in the privacy of our own beds.”

  And as soon as she said it aloud, she knew it was true. And she knew it was exactly what she intended to do.

  11

  MIDWAY THROUGH her next beer, Kylie realized she needed to eat something substantial or she was going to have another horrible hangover in the morning. Nursing a sore head and queasy stomach was not how she planned to spend her first day in Hawaii.

  She and Drew had continued to hang out on her balcony, talking right through sunset. Because she’d lacked the energy to go out to eat, they’d ordered room service. Drew was at the door of her room paying for it as she lounged, lazily staring up at the night sky.

  “Dinner’s served,” he said a moment later, appearing next to her.

  He wheeled the cart to the door of the balcony and began setting their plates on the small drink table between their chairs.

  Kylie sat up and felt her belly rumble. She’d ordered a cheeseburger and fries—the perfect accompaniment to beer—and it looked even better than it had sounded on the menu.

  But when she looked over at Drew, all thoughts of dinner disappeared and were replaced by more carnal ones of him in her bed. As tempting as it was to tackle him on the spot, another part of her was equally resistant to the idea. Was he worth ruining her career and her self-respect over?

  Certainly not. But hadn’t her therapist said to watch out for signs of serious depression, like self-destructive behavior? Was that what this was?

  Was she using Drew to self-destruct?

  She pushed the thought aside, mostly because she was just buzzed enough not to care too much about consequences right now.

  “You’re looking awfully serious over a quarter-pound of beef. Is something wrong?”

  “Oh.” She smiled. “No, nothing.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said, watching her closely.

  He had the ability to read people’s emotions—or maybe only hers. He wasn’t a typical guy that way. He seemed to know exactly what he was feeling at any given time, and appeared unafraid of those feelings. His emotional astuteness was as keen when it came to others. She’d never been with a man who could look at her face and have any inkling what was going on in her mind, and it was a little bit disconcerting.

  “Well, to be honest, I was wondering if my attraction to you might be self-destructive behavior. Perhaps a sign of depression.”

  “Wow, you sure know how to overthink an issue.”

  “Well, the therapist warned me about uncharacteristic behavior. And I have to say the way I’ve acted for the past two weeks has been a tad uncharacteristic,” she said defensively.

  “Beware of listening to therapists too closely. Their job security depends on perpetuating our neuroses.”

  “That’s a pretty cynical way to look at it.” Although she did agree with him.

  “I don’t think most of them set out to intentionally do it. I just think too much navel-gazing and too little living one’s life leads to neurotic thoughts and behaviors.”

  “Am I behaving neurotically?”

  “Maybe a little,” he said, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

  “Okay then, I’m going to shut up now.”

  She picked up her burger and took a bite, then moaned at the greasy, oozy, delicious mess of it, fairly sure that there was some sort of condiment dripping down her chin.

  Drew had ordered a steak, which he was cutting a bite of when s
he looked at him.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not staring at the ketchup on your chin.”

  “Good.” She picked up a fry and used it to catch the extra stuff dripping from her burger. “So, I’m wondering, if you don’t recommend thinking too much, then how do you ever grow as a person?”

  “By always trying to be a good person,” he said, shrugging.

  “Don’t you have to do a bit of self-reflection sometimes?”

  “Sure, but not to the point of torturing myself with it.”

  “Good thing you’re perfect, huh? That must make life so much easier.”

  “It really does.” He grinned and stole one of her fries. “Anything you need to know about life, just ask me. I’ve got the right answer.”

  She knew he was joking, but his emotional confidence was undeniably sexy. She supposed it was a big part of what attracted her to him so powerfully.

  “I think I have a weakness for people who seem to have all the answers,” she said, thinking out loud.

  He cocked his head to the side, appearing to give the idea some thought. “Interesting. Do you think maybe that’s part of the appeal of the Navy for you? The military’s always ready with a set of strict rules to live by.”

  “Perhaps,” Kylie said slowly. “I’ve always been a little afraid of the results of totally living by my own rules.”

  “You strike me as a person with good judgment.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, but…”

  She didn’t want to get into any more navel-gazing, especially not after his recent comments on the subject. She had a feeling he was absolutely right.

  “But what?”

  “But this cheeseburger is far more interesting than my little problems. Want a bite?”

  “Sure.” He leaned forward as she brought the sandwich to his lips.

  He was making a show of being sexy about it, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What?” he said around a mouthful of burger. “Wasn’t that hot enough for you?”

  “Smoldering.” She pretended to be interested in a French fry, because she was afraid of her feelings showing too much on her face.

  She couldn’t help but be utterly mesmerized by him.

  They chatted as they ate the rest of their dinner, and Kylie felt herself growing exhausted from the day of travel, the alcohol and the heavy dinner. She yawned noisily, and Drew took that as his cue to leave.

  “We should probably get some rest, eh?” he said, stacking their dishes on the room service cart.

  “I’m so tired all of a sudden,” Kylie said. Despite the exhaustion she had the urge to drag him straight to bed and strip off his clothes.

  But…not tonight. If she was going to risk all to have a fling with Drew, she had to do so with a clear head. No more diving into bed with him again thanks to the effects of alcohol. That might be a too-in-control Kylie kind of notion, but it felt right.

  Drew’s gaze lingered on her as she stood and stretched.

  He paused, his hand on the cart that he was about to wheel away. “It was really good talking to you, getting to know you better. I’m glad you came on this trip with me.”

  “The feelings are mutual. It’s been a huge relief already, thinking about something other than…” She didn’t want to mention the shooting and ruin the night.

  “Yeah. Definitely,” he said, rescuing her.

  She followed him to the door. “Well. Um…good night.”

  He looked into her eyes, and she got a little shiver of excitement. It was as if he could undress her with that one little look.

  Amazing.

  Then he leaned in, and Kylie’s breath caught in her throat. Her insides turned warm and oozy at the idea of his kiss, and she closed her eyes. But instead of landing on her mouth, his lips touched her cheek gently, then disappeared.

  Kylie opened her eyes and sighed inaudibly. Damn it. “Good night,” he said, then gave her one last sexy appraisal and left the room.

  Kylie bit her lip in frustration as she stood alone, staring at the closed door and its instructions for escape routes to take in case of fire or emergency.

  He’d given her exactly what her rational mind wanted—a time-out to sort through her thoughts with a sober brain. She should be thanking him, grateful that he hadn’t put her in an awkward position by hitting on her and forcing her to turn him down. Or, worse, regret it in the morning. Yes, she should be pleased.

  But she wasn’t.

  Not even close.

  WATCHING KYLIE stroll on the beach wearing her swimsuit was enough temptation to drive any man crazy. But particularly the man bent on a slow seduction. The extreme contrast between the bikini of today and the stiff Navy uniform of most days was startling, like an electric shock to Drew’s groin. All his reminders to himself not to stare fell on deaf ears.

  Surely she felt his hungry gaze on her, could read his dirty thoughts. But she pretended not to notice. In fact, she seemed totally oblivious to his tortured state.

  He had to distract himself before he grew an erection big enough to make him the talk of the beach. He’d been thinking of going for a swim, but the moment he saw the surfboard rentals, he got a new idea. “Didn’t I hear you like to surf?” he asked Kylie.

  She nodded, her gaze following his to the rental booth. “I used to,” she said, “but I haven’t in a while. I’ve never quite gotten used to the frigid water off the California coast.”

  “Then you’re in the perfect place to start again.”

  They were close to the water’s edge, and when the next wave came in, she let her feet get wet. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “That’s more like it.”

  “Want to go for a surf?”

  “God, I’m so out of practice…I haven’t gotten wet in a couple of years at least.”

  “C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

  She looked a little wistful. “This is the beach where I learned to surf, actually,” she said. “I was stationed here right out of the academy.”

  “Really?” Drew hadn’t known she’d lived in Hawaii.

  He wondered what she’d been like back then. As career-minded and focused as she was now? Probably. Most Naval Academy grads were.

  “Yeah, you know, back at the dawn of time,” she said wryly.

  He chose to ignore her remark. She was only trying to emphasize their age difference, and he wasn’t going to bite. If it didn’t matter to him, maybe she’d eventually be comfortable with it, too.

  “Let’s go,” he said, taking her by the elbow and guiding her toward the surfboard rental. “It’ll be fun, and we’ll get a morning workout.”

  She didn’t resist. Thank God, because he couldn’t look down at her again right now. His body shouldn’t have reacted so strongly to her in that little red bikini, especially since he’d gotten up close and personal with her totally naked body a week ago. But there was something about a healthy, beautiful woman in a swimsuit…Make that woman Kylie, and apparently he had a recipe for his own undoing.

  Once they’d gotten their boards, they made their way down the beach to the spot where the waves broke. They were easy, clean, beginner-worthy waves, but Drew didn’t mind. It would give Kylie a chance to get her confidence built up, and he could use the practice himself. He wasn’t a frequent surfer like Justin was, since the Navy and his training kept him too busy for many time-consuming sports.

  They started paddling out. It was still early, but a few surfers were already in the water, and the June air was warm enough to make the cool water refreshing. Drew found himself falling a bit behind so he could watch Kylie’s long graceful strokes, the muscles in her shoulders and back flexing. Predictably, his gaze stuck on the unbelievably sweet curve of her ass barely concealed by the bikini and accented by that narrow waist and fabulous legs.

  He forced himself to pay attention to the water before he drowned himself or something.

  Once they’d gone out past the surf break, they found spots far enough away from the other surfers t
o keep from getting in each other’s path, and they waited.

  Kylie looked over at him, squinting her eyes. Her hair was soaked now, slicked back from her face. “You take the first good wave, okay?” she called out.

  Drew nodded, and they waited as other surfers took their turns. Then a new set came in, and Drew saw a perfect wave come along. He started paddling fast, then he was up, his arms out, the force of the wave propelling him forward. It was exhilarating in a way few other things were. He managed to stay up for a respectable amount of time, until the wave broke and he fell into the surf.

  By the time he had gotten back on his board and was paddling out again, Kylie had caught another wave from the same set, and she was looking anything but tentative. Her stance on the board suggested she was plenty comfortable, and she appeared like a surf goddess gliding across the ocean.

  He watched until the wave dissipated and she took a smooth dive into the water. Perfect execution from the Naval officer. Yet another way she’d managed to surprise him. He could not wait to find out what else she had to hide under that seemingly cold facade.

  And if he had any say in the matter, he wouldn’t be waiting long. Tonight, he didn’t have any intention of spending his time in an empty bed.

  12

  KYLIE COULD NOT remember the last time she’d had a day packed with so much fun—or a night, for that matter. She wasn’t sure when exactly she’d decided to throw caution to the wind, but she had. In a big way.

  After the surfing, they’d rested on the beach, gone for lunch, then strolled around town to get themselves oriented. A late afternoon workout had wrapped up their day. Although none of it was particularly eventful, Kylie had been pleasantly surprised to discover that she enjoyed Drew’s company.

  He was funny, and playful, and smart and quirky. He clearly enjoyed making her laugh as much as she enjoyed laughing at him, which was worth quite a lot when Kylie considered how seldom she laughed in her everyday life.