Page 7 of SEAL’s Paradise (Alpha SEALs Hawaii #6)

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R ILEY EYED SAWYER ACROSS the table of the restaurant he’d chosen, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

Much to her annoyance, he’d ordered for both of them, but he’d insisted that it was the proper way to treat a lady.

Right. Like Sawyer “Saint” Collins did anything around a woman that wasn’t intended to get her into bed.

Maybe he didn’t chase after his teammates’ women, but that was pretty much where he drew the line.

It seemed like anyone else female was fair game.

She’d noticed him all those months she’d worked at Coconuts.

Maybe he hadn’t been part of her initial investigation when she’d come to the island to track down the man who’d hurt Radley, but then the second case had practically fallen into her lap.

Missing munitions.

Wire transfers.

An exchange of missiles for money as someone stationed here sold out their country.

She’d taken the second job without hesitation, but since it had come to a standstill, she needed his help.

And Sawyer was evidently going to play it up the entire evening with his over-the-top “first date” game. He’d already told her that he was paying for their meal tonight, and he’d ordered for them both because he wanted to treat her to something special.

Typical arrogant man.

She wasn’t going to sleep with him, but this was hardly the first date she’d gone on to gather intelligence.

The only trouble was, she’d know nothing further about the traitor on base by the end of the evening.

This was solely to get Sawyer’s cooperation.

Normally she’d do something like this for information.

Agreeing to a date with Sawyer was a risk for many reasons.

And the evening had barely just begun.

Her gaze swept over the small dining room of the restaurant, which overlooked the ocean. It was a far cry from Coconuts, with its boisterous crowd of both locals and tourists. This place didn’t seem like the type that a guy like Sawyer would frequent. Not unless he had an agenda.

“Do you bring all your dates here?” she asked as the waiter popped open a bottle of champagne and poured them each a glass of bubbly.

He grinned, clearly enjoying as she again grew slightly flustered under his gaze. “Only the ones I really like.”

Riley managed not to roll her eyes. “Try again, Sawyer Cole.”

His lips quirked. “You know my buddies call me Sawyer or Saint.”

“You’re definitely no saint, my friend.”

“Exactly.” If anything, he looked even more amused by her comment.

Sawyer raised his glass of champagne, and she nearly did a double-take.

Riley was used to seeing him with a beer in his hand and the flavor of the night at his side.

This was a new side of him, and she had to admit, he didn’t look uncomfortable here in the least. “To us,” he said with a grin, clinking his glass against hers.

“The night is young and full of promise.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, I’ll promise you that.”

He chuckled, getting more comfortable in his seat as Riley took a sip of her bubbly.

She almost choked as he lifted his hand to get the waiter’s attention and ordered a beer.

“I just can’t with this stuff,” he said by way of explanation, gesturing toward his glass.

“I can try to be fancy for you, kitten, but I’m more of a small-town guy at heart. ”

“So I gather,” she said dryly as the waiter brought over a longneck.

Sawyer took a long pull, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“Much better,” he admitted, and she tried not to smile at his honesty.

Or to stare at his full lips, surrounded by the sexy dark stubble on his jaw.

Couldn’t he at least be unattractive? The bad boy of the SEAL team would no doubt be more willing to help her out than his teammates, especially since snooping around on base wasn’t part of his actual orders.

Her own job would be much easier if she didn’t find him so good-looking, however.

Riley had always been drawn to him, much to her annoyance.

He was a flirt. A player. Sawyer was one-hundred-percent not her type, so why did a flush creep over her skin and her heart flutter every time she was around him?

It was inconvenient at best. A distraction she didn’t need.

Once Riley determined who was selling out their country, however, she’d most likely be on her way.

Coming to Hawaii had merely been an assignment.

Maybe she’d stick around for a bit longer, soaking up the sun and surf, but she didn’t have anything tying her to Honolulu.

She’d move on, finding something else to do.

Somewhere else to settle. She and Radley could take jobs anywhere, although her sister had already relocated to the west coast.

A brief pang of regret shot through her at leaving the tropical island.

She felt safe here, far removed from the rest of the world.

The hustle and bustle of Washington, DC.

It wasn’t necessarily practical to make this her home base and take jobs as they came, but then again, the SEAL team was based here.

Riley knew for a fact they flew out on missions around the globe.

“Tell me,” Sawyer said when she didn’t say anything further. “Where’d you learn to drive like that? You peeled out of the parking lot so fast earlier, I thought your tires would start smoking.”

Riley smirked. “Defensive driving class. I told you I’m former government.”

He nodded, seeming to mull that over. “And you left your fancy job as a Fed because...?” He raised his eyebrows, and she tried not to get lost in those baby blues.

Geez. Riley needed to get a grip. “You couldn’t have left for no reason,” Sawyer prodded.

“Not if you’re here in Hawaii working alone.

Sure, some companies snatch up government workers by dangling higher salaries in front of them, especially if they have the clearances to do the work, but you don’t seem like the type who’s after the money. ”

“What makes you say that?”

“I was just in your place, princess. It’s cozy but casual. Even if you were trying to go unnoticed by moonlighting as a waitress, you don’t have expensive, fancy jewelry and purses lying around. You’re not blinged out in labels and logos.”

“Maybe I left my designer things behind.”

“Try again.”

Exasperated, she shot him a look. “No. I’m not in it for the money.”

“Then why’d you leave your government job?

I follow orders and do what Uncle Sam says in my line of work.

I go where the Navy sends me, get the bad guy, so to speak.

... The pay and benefits are good. You seem more like me than you realize—someone who appreciates a steady job and doing something for the greater good.

Something must’ve happened to make you up and quit, leaving you now working on the fringes, so to speak. ”

Riley sobered. “My sister.” She swirled the champagne in her glass, trying not to grow misty.

She also knew you weren’t supposed to swirl champagne the way you did when drinking wine, but she needed a distraction to hold herself together.

She met Sawyer’s curious look. “Radley and I worked at the same agency, and she was burned. I quit shortly after she did. We started...freelancing. Taking side jobs. Doing our own thing, making our own rules. There are others out there like us.”

“Don’t I know it. Black ops,” Sawyer said in a hushed tone.

She nodded, neither confirming nor denying it.

He licked his lips again, looking thoughtful. She could almost see the gears ticking away in his head, but she had no idea what specifically he was thinking.

“So you came here to do one job and ended up with another. Who hired you?”

“Does it matter?”

Sawyer swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He pinned her with a look. “If I’m helping you, I want to know who you’re working for.”

“I met with someone before taking this assignment—a DOD official. It’s not being investigated internally at this point because they don’t know who all is involved.

How high it goes. I have the intelligence.

The intercepted messages. One of these days, someone will notice the missiles have gone missing, and the shit will hit the fan.

My job is to make sure we’ve found the traitor before that occurs. ”

“And you think it’s that easy—lurking around the munitions storage, tracking whoever looks suspicious.”

“They’re growing more confident,” Riley told him. “The latest messages weren’t even encrypted. They believe no one has noticed. And what do I know?” she asked, flashing him a look. “I’m just a waitress at Coconuts. How could I overhear anything or know what they’re plotting?”

Sawyer narrowed his gaze. “You seemed to think it was me,” he pointed out.

“You fit the profile. Cocky. Arrogant. This guy is also known to be a womanizer—”

“Whoa—hold up, kitten. I’ll be the first to admit I like a beautiful woman, but womanizer? I don’t think so.”

Riley tried not to roll her eyes. “You don’t think you have a reputation? Come on, Sawyer. I work there. I see you flirting with all the girls.”

Sawyer reached out and grabbed hold of her hand before she could pull away.

His muscled hand held her much smaller one, and she tried not to shiver as he ran his thumb over her skin.

“I like what I like,” he said, his voice husky.

“So I’m a red-blooded American male who appreciates a fine-looking woman.

Everyone knows the deal. I don’t do relationships, and the women are okay with it. I haven’t had any complaints yet.”

“How charming,” Riley said sarcastically, pulling her hand free.

“How am I supposed to believe you if you thought it was me?” he pressed. “That doesn’t seem too savvy, following the wrong man and all.”

She huffed out a breath. “I’ll show you the intercepted messages later. And it’s not like I sold you out to the DOD official. I was trying to track you and observe the meetings.”

“Which never happened, because I’m not your guy.”

“Exactly. I realized that it wasn’t you and instead asked for your help.

I have a list of other possibilities in my mind.

That still doesn’t solve the problem of who has access on base,” she added in a low voice.

“One guy is handling the client—the business deal, so to speak. Another is smuggling out military weapons. What more do you want to know? I’ve given you the basics. ”

“Everything.”

Riley stilled. He wasn’t talking about her assignment any longer.

Sawyer’s full lips quirked as his gaze ran over her.

Riley’s entire body prickled with awareness, her skin heating.

She’d worn a sexy dress to tease him a little, but with the way Sawyer was looking at her right now, it felt like he was the one in complete control.

He was like a predator watching his prey.

But did she want to run from him or let herself be dragged down by his charm?

“We could be good together, kitten,” Sawyer said, his voice low. “You’d just have to learn to let go a little bit and let someone else have control for a while.”

Riley sucked in a breath, and Sawyer’s gaze dropped to her chest. Her breasts rose and fell as her pulse quickened.

Goosebumps spread across her skin, and she tried not to react as Sawyer moved his chair closer to her.

She could smell the scent of his soap—sandalwood, perhaps.

It was somehow both comforting and tempting.

Part of her wanted to nestle into him, basking in his heat and warmth.

The other part wanted to run far, far away, shielding herself from any danger.

His big hand landed on her bare thigh, below the hem of her dress, and he squeezed gently.

His hand was warm and firm, and a thrill shot through her as he kept it there.

Damn Sawyer for being so tempting. “Tell you what,” he said, meeting her eyes.

“I’ll help you out with tracking whoever is working on base to steal weapons.

It’s a bit of a risk for myself, but I think you’re telling the truth. ”

“You do?” she asked, trying to ignore his calloused fingers on her skin.

“I do. You look nervous, but not because you’re lying. You’re affected by me.” He looked pleased with this statement, and Riley let out a shaky breath.

“I’m used to working with all types of people, Sawyer.”

“Maybe so, but we have chemistry,” he said, lightly caressing the bare skin of her thigh.

Warmth flooded through her, shooting straight to her core.

She tried not to squirm in her seat—tried not to react at all.

“You can’t fake that,” Sawyer said. “And you’re so busy trying not to react to me, that I don’t think you have it in you to make up some far-fetched story about what you’re doing here in Oahu.

I’ve always had a good read on people, and I can read you rather clearly, Riley. ”

Her lips parted, and Sawyer’s head moved slightly closer. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to try to kiss her. His hand on her leg stilled, and his eyes searched hers. It felt like the moment was dangling between them, the opportunity ripe for the taking.

Would she push him away or kiss him back?

He’d stop if she told him to. Of that much, she was certain. Sawyer might be the most flirtatious man she’d ever met, but he wasn’t the type to force a woman into anything.

The air between them grew thicker, the quiet noise of the restaurant fading into the background. Their breaths intermingled as his lips hovered only inches from hers. She could feel the heat from his body, breathe in his masculine scent.

“Riley—” His voice was thick. A low, sexy rumble that made her insides turn over.

She never got to find out what he was about to say.

“Here we go!” a server announced, appearing with their entrees and setting two steaming plates of food on the table.

Riley jolted back, so lost in Sawyer that she hadn’t even realized their server was approaching.

Sawyer left his hand on her thigh, not seeming disturbed in the least by the sudden interruption.

He squeezed her leg gently, clearly trying to soothe her, before clearing his throat and shifting his chair slightly back. “Thank you. This looks fantastic.”

But his eyes were burning into hers as he spoke, the server already moving away, and Riley had the distinct impression that he’d rather make her his meal this evening.