Page 8 of SEAL’s Paradise (Alpha SEALs Hawaii #6)

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S AWYER LET HIS HAND rest on the small of Riley’s back, escorting her to his truck after they’d finished dinner.

Her shoulder blades were highlighted by the strappy, low-back dress, and her hair blew in the breeze.

Riley was sexy. Stunning. He wanted to duck lower and breathe in her scent, letting his lips trail over all that soft, warm skin.

Maybe inspect that rose tattoo up close—and discover what else she had hidden beneath her clothing.

Putting her in his truck and driving her home to simply say goodnight seemed all sorts of wrong.

And he wasn’t going to sleep with her.

Yet.

Sawyer needed to be patient, and he had the distinct feeling that she would be worth the wait.

Besides that, he did want to help her. If there was truly a traitor on base involved in the movement and sale of military weapons, he wanted to end them just as much as any other servicemember would.

Sawyer’s duty was to the Navy and his country.

He wouldn’t put lives at risk just because some dick wanted some easy cash.

Sawyer and his teammates could be in danger because of this jackass.

What if Riley was involved in only part of the case?

What if in addition to selling weapons, the traitor on base was moving classified intelligence?

His jaw ticked as he worked that thought over in his mind. Stealing missiles from a military installation should not have been easy in the slightest. Were more people involved? Was someone high up enough to easily cover it up?

There were a multitude of problems here, and the sexy woman at his side was the very least of them.

“Thanks for dinner,” Riley said, glancing at him. His mind immediately shifted back to the moment. Normally he’d be thinking about all the different ways to get her into bed. Now he was just...thinking. He’d already decided he’d help her, but letting her go tonight seemed like a crucial mistake.

He liked her. Riley was intelligent and beautiful. He’d always thought her to be too sweet for him, but there was some definite bite beneath her quiet exterior. Even a kitten had claws. Riley was all kinds of perfect, and he’d been too oblivious to notice what had been right in front of him.

“It was my pleasure, kitten. I should’ve asked you out long before tonight.”

“Sawyer—” she started, and he could already hear the protest on her lips.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said, suddenly changing direction and guiding her toward the area overlooking the beach instead of to his truck like he’d originally planned.

“I’m in heels,” she protested.

“And you look damn fine in them,” Sawyer quipped.

His gaze landed on the strappy shoes, feminine and sexy and all kinds of right. They’d look good propped up as he took her the way he wanted in bed—Riley spread open for him, legs tossed atop his broad shoulders as he thrust in and out, claiming her once and for all.

She mumbled something he didn’t catch, but a slow smile spread across his face. She was letting him guide her away from the parking lot, seemingly submitting to him already. Ironic that she’d been so full of bravado this afternoon, so intent on being the one in charge of the situation.

Was she playing him tonight?

Sawyer didn’t think so.

Sure, she wasn’t the waitress he’d come to know at Coconuts, but she wasn’t all brash boldness either. Riley was somewhat hesitant. Flushed and reserved around him. And damn if he wasn’t the man to get her to come out of her shell.

He saw a purple hibiscus flower on the ground and snagged it, presenting it to Riley.

“That looks like it fell off a lei,” she commented in surprise. “It probably belongs to some tourist. They hand them out at the airport.”

“Probably. But the flower is pretty and soft like you.”

“Soft? I beg to differ.”

He chuckled, and unable to resist, nuzzled against her hair as they walked, his hand sliding to wrap possessively around her hip. “Oh, you’re plenty soft, Riley. And someday I plan to discover all those secret places.”

She turned toward him in surprise, and without hesitating, Sawyer pressed his lips to hers.

She gasped as he pulled back, the kiss over before it had begun, but the flush on her cheeks told no lies.

This woman wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

Maybe not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. But one of these days he’d take her to bed, and it would be damn spectacular.

“Tell me about those communications you’ve intercepted,” he said as he guided her to a private area overlooking the ocean, the waves crashing on the shore.

“Here? Now?” she asked, flustered.

“Umm-hmm,” he agreed, pressing her against the railing, his front to her back. “Unless you have a better idea of how we can spend our time.” He shifted some of her hair to the side, lightly nuzzling her neck. Riley shivered, and Sawyer took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her shapely form.

“Sawyer,” she pleaded.

He had a good view of her cleavage from his vantage point, but he tried not to stare.

Not too much, at any rate. “We’re alone here,” he reminded her.

“The wind is drowning out our conversation. Tell me how you got the communications. Anyone who sees us will just think we’re two lovers enjoying a romantic sunset. ”

Her breath caught, and heat licked through his veins. “I could kiss you again if that’d work better for our...cover.”

Riley huffed out an exasperated sigh. “So that’s what this is about. A show.”

His lips pressed against her neck, soft and teasing. “The way I feel about you isn’t a show.”

“And how exactly do you feel?” she asked. Her voice was light, cautious even, but Sawyer didn’t miss her slight shiver.

“Attracted to you. Aroused. But also damn curious about what you know.” He kissed her again, lightly nipping at her neck, and Sawyer bit back a smile as she squirmed. “Now that I’ve got your attention, tell me what’s going on.”

“About the intercepts?” Her voice was breathy. Her breasts rose and fell, and Sawyer reminded himself to keep his hands off. They were still in public, after all, and he was attempting to remain somewhat gentlemanly toward her. His thoughts, however, were veering far off course.

“That’s right, kitten,” he prodded, moving his lips to her temple. Pressing slightly closer so she felt exactly how turned on he was. “Tell me what you know.”

She didn’t answer for a beat, and Sawyer wondered if he was pushing her too hard.

This was supposed to be her show—her operation.

But she’d dragged him into it, and he wanted to find out exactly what intel she had.

As much as he wanted to tease and flirt with her, a traitor on base was a hella big problem.

“I learned about the intercepts from my DOD contact,” she said, swallowing.

“I think it was somewhat pure luck. They monitor chatter between various terror cells. This was out of the blue. There’d been no prior communication until the deal went through.

The first missiles are long gone, but fortunately, the traitor’s greed will help us catch them in the end.

They’ve been talking about a second transaction.

By stopping the second sale and finding the mole, intercepting the missile if they move it off base, we hope to also track down the first missing weapons.

To stop whatever attack they’re planning. ”

“And you have no indication of where that might be?”

“Negative. There’s always talk of attacks on the homeland, but we haven’t connected the dots. It’s crucial we stop this, Sawyer. By the time the second sale goes through, it might be too late.”

Anger wound through him at the idea that a fellow sailor could be part of plotting an attack on the United States.

Riley was correct that it was crucial they stopped this, and it was hard to fathom that Riley was here alone when it was such a huge threat.

“You’re the only one working on this?” he questioned.

***

R ILEY HESITATED. HER tracking down the traitor didn’t mean a roomful of analysts weren’t already hard at work trying to determine where the missiles ended up or what they were intended for.

But how much should she share with Sawyer?

“The only one here on the island, yes. My DOD contact is aware, obviously. Radley is somewhat involved but from afar. She’s busy with other things at the moment.”

“Hmmm. We’ll come back to that later. I am going to want to know more about who you and your sister are working with, aside from this DOD official.

But all right,” he said, keeping his arms firmly around her.

“I’ll do some investigating this week. Trouble is, I don’t always know when the team will get sent out. I could disappear on you.”

“You wouldn’t tell me you were leaving?”

“I’d tell you, kitten. I just mean that relying on me when I may have to ship out could pose troubles of its own. The sale could go through, and I’d be out of the country. The traitor would get away with it, and no one on base would be aware to stop him.”

“And I’m sure you have a solution for that,” she said dryly.

“Yep. I know exactly how to get you in and out of base whenever you want. It wouldn’t give you access to classified areas, of course, but it would solve your problem of getting onto location without being stopped.”

His hands trailed down her bare arms, sending licks of heat through her.

His big hands landed on her own as they clutched the railing, and he lightly caressed them.

Gentle. Soothing even. She hardly dared to look back at him.

Sawyer nuzzled her hair again, breathing in her scent, and she hated the way her body betrayed her.

Her heart thudded in her chest at his warmth and closeness.

Heat spread through her veins. Her pussy throbbed.

She felt both safe in Sawyer’s arms and also painfully aware of each movement he made.

He was big everywhere—hard. Muscled. As he shifted closer, she felt his erection pressing against her ass.

Sawyer was just as turned on as her, and that was a problem given they were supposed to be working together, not fucking.

“And what’s your grand plan, Sawyer? How are you proposing to get me onto base with no questions asked?”

“We get married.”