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He’s a SEAL! Six feet tall, a wall of muscle, and a voice designed to melt a girl’s panties.
“How do you feel about doughnuts?” Cade’s deep, sensuous voice teased her senses as he approached the table.
“We were friendly until I accused a Boston cream of forcing me to need Spanx. So now we try to steer clear of each other,” she said as he set a plate piled with doughnuts of all shapes and sizes on their table. Chocolate glazed. Vanilla and sprinkles. Powdered sugar. “I should probably keep it that way if I want to wear the dress I brought for tonight.”
“I won’t try to convince you.” He pulled the plate closer. “Now tell me more about this dress.”
She laughed, a giddy feeling rising up in her chest. He said those words as if he had every intention of sticking around to see her wear it. “It’s the most unusual shade of blue. I’ve never seen such a vibrant color.”
“Blue. Got it,” he said. “And the neckline?”
“Low,” she admitted. “But it’s the back that might lead to trouble.”
His gaze sharpened. “What kind of trouble are we talking about?”
The familiar sound of a phone beeping to indicate a new text interrupted. And they both reached for their cells.
“I asked my dad to suggest a time to get together,” he explained, scanning the screen and setting his cell on the table. “I should hear back from him soon.”
“It was my sister.” She set her phone aside to read the message later. “I texted her earlier, letting her know I was alive and okay.”
His hand froze over the plate of doughnuts. “Did you tell her about me?”
She nodded. “It’s not every day you meet a man who makes your fantasies come true.”
“She knows about your Post-it list?” He sat back in his chair and picked up a chocolate glazed doughnut.
“Not the list, but—”
The beep sounded again. She leaned forward and scanned the two screens side by side. It was for Cade. And she didn’t try to read it. But one word caught her eye.
DICK.
All caps.
“Um, I don’t think this is from your father.” She held out the phone before she was tempted to scan the screen and find out who’d sent the message.
He took the phone, his brow furrowed, and read the one-word message. “It’s from a friend, reminding me that I should have called.”
She smiled, leaning forward, offering a glimpse down her shirt as she reached for her coffee. “Take your time. The doughnuts and I will be waiting.”
His gaze dropped to her cleavage before returning to her face. “I’ll be back. You can count on it. And then I’m taking you to the beach.”
He stood, his cell pressed to his ear as he headed for the exit. After he disappeared into the hotel hallway, she picked up her cell and read her sister’s text.
Did the SEAL talk you out of your panties?!
The memories from last night swirled in her mind. But she’d known from the moment he’d looked at her and called her gorgeous in that deep baritone that she would hand over her underwear. And the longer he stayed, the more she wanted to believe he meant what he said.
Yes, she typed. And I plan to hand them over again tonight.
Chapter Nine
Cade paced up and down the brightly colored carpet, the phone pressed to his ear. The wild pattern was giving him a headache—or hell, maybe it was the fact that in a few rings, he would get the shit verbally kicked out of him by his best friend.
He glanced through the latticework separating the buffet from the rest of the casino. Head cocked to one side, Lucia contemplated the last doughnut before picking it up and sinking her teeth into it. She quickly returned it to the plate as her tongue ran over her lips, wiping them clean.
Fuck me, I want her again. Right here, in the middle of the damn restaurant, pressed up against the wall—