Ride with the SEAL (Norse Security 1)

Take that Camden Thursday, with your perfect teeth and your perfect smile and all that tanned, toned skin just begging to be stroked.

Confused, Everly put both feet on the floor and grabbed a menu as the pregnant waitress waddled over with two glasses of water.

“Welcome to Fred’s,” the server said, still smacking her gum. “You know what you want?”

Cam spoke before Everly could. “Large pepperoni, ham, and pineapple and a pitcher of soda. Thanks.”

Everly raised a brow at him. “That for both of us or just you, soldier boy?”

“That’s all, thanks,” Cam said to the waitress, dismissing her. Once the server was out of earshot, he said to Everly, “Stop being so rude.”

“Stop telling me what to do.” She glowered at him. “You’re not my boss.”

“Who is?”

“That’d be none of your business.”

“Pretty sure you trying to hotwire the car I’d been sent to retrieve makes it my business.”

Everly crossed her arms, the chilled air of the diner making her cold. Or maybe it was the frigid attitude of the man across from her. Cam might look a whole lot sexier than he had in high school, but he sure as hell didn’t act like it. “And who exactly sent you to retrieve my car?”

“The Aeon’s not yours. It’s federal property.”

“You working for the feds then?” She narrowed her gaze. “You still enlisted?”

“No.” He scrubbed a hand over his buzzed dark hair. “I’m not. I work private security now.”

“Right.” She sat back, studying him as the waitress returned with their drinks. Once they were alone, Everly leaned forward again, not missing the way Cam’s gaze flicked downward to the V-neck of her black T-shirt before returning to her eyes. Okay, then. Maybe not so frigid after all. She’d never been a gal who relied on her feminine assets to get what she wanted, but in this case she’d use whatever weapons were in her arsenal to achieve her goals. Her future depended on it. “So, you got a girlfriend, soldier boy?”

Cam stared at her a moment before looking away. “Not pertinent to my mission. Sorry.”

“Your mission?” Evelry snorted. “Isn’t every guy’s mission to get laid?”

“Not tonight, sweetheart.” Cam gave her a gorgeous little half-grin that curled her toes inside her Chuck Taylors and made her knees tingle. “But maybe later.”

She quickly tamped down her unwanted attraction to this man. She had enough danger in her life already without getting involved with Cam Thursday. “In your dreams.”

He straightened, as if remembering they were on opposing sides. “You never answered me before. You working for the mob? I know your father was involved in mafia affairs.”

She shrugged, remaining evasive. The less he knew, the better. “How’d you know I like pineapple on my pizza?”

“I didn’t. I took a chance.”

There was that grin again and damn if her body didn’t respond, a spray of fireworks blasting through her nervous system. What the hell was wrong with her? She had the mob breathing down her neck, a potential buyer dangling by a thread, and all her body seemed to care about was the totally unsuitable man across from her. She was hardly a blushing virgin and had had plenty of relationships over the years, but it had been a while since she’d dated anybody seriously. It had been too long since she’d had a man in her bed. That was it. Had to be.

The waitress brought their pizza and Everly’s appetite returned full force. They dug into the delicious food and she couldn’t help smiling around a bite of melted cheese. “This is amazing.”

“No lie there,” Cam agreed, his own mouth stuffed with sauce and dough. “So, you like working on cars?”

“Yep. Learned from my dad growing up and it’s a part of me now. Wouldn’t want to do anything else.” She finished her first slice and reached for a second. “What about you? What’s your dream job?”

“I’m doing it. Got my Master’s in Computer Science while I served as a Navy SEAL. If it’s tech related, I’m your guy.”

“Wow.” Everly chased down a bite of pizza with a sip of soda. “A SEAL, huh? Never would’ve guessed that from the skinny little geek in high school.”

“Sometimes people surprise you.” Cam wiped his mouth, his gaze steady on her. “Sometimes they don’t.”

“Yeah.” Everly devoured her second slice of pizza and took a third. “So why does a solider end up in my family’s garage in the early morning hours to steal back a car for the federal government? What’s so special about the Aeon?”