Hotter Than Ever (Out of Uniform 9)

He rolled his eyes. “I’m a SEAL first, manwhore second. I work my ass off, Claire.”

She had the decency to look sheepish. “I know. It was just easier to hate you when I focused on your partying nature.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, since we’re making confessions, I guess I have another one.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.” She smiled the first genuine smile she’d ever given him, and damned if it didn’t light up her face and transform her from beautiful to utterly exquisite.

“Even when I believed you were a snooty bitch, I still thought you were the hottest woman I’d ever laid eyes on.” He shrugged, a touch embarrassed. “I think I clung to that feeling of dislike because it made it easier not to lust after you. I mean, we could have hashed this out months ago, but I never took the time to dig under the surface with you. I guess I was using not liking you as my excuse to not pant over my brother’s girl.”

“Wow. Aidan was right. You really are the most honest man on the planet.”

“It’s my fatal flaw.”

“Honesty is a strength, not a flaw.” She paused for a moment. “You thought I was hot?”

The pink flush on her cheeks made him grin. “Not thought. I still think it.”

“You do?”

“Fuck, Claire, you’re gorgeous. You know that, right?”

“I don’t give much thought to my appearance, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, you should. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, and I’m sure Aidan would agree with me. Neither of us can take our eyes off you.”

Claire sighed at the mention of Aidan. “Damn him. He was right to lock us in here, wasn’t he? If he hadn’t, neither of us would know the truth about…well, about everything.”

“Yeah, he has this annoying habit of always being right. Drives me bat-shit crazy.”

She laughed again, then she slid off the mattress in the blink of an eye.

Dylan raised his eyebrows as he watched her kneel on the floor next to the bed. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I just remembered what Aidan said about provisions. I want to see what that jerk deemed necessary for our survival.”

She stuck her arm underneath the bed and felt around for the mysterious box, which caused her ass to jut out in the most delectable way. Dylan’s gaze homed in on her firm butt cheeks, hugged by tiny denim shorts. Lord, she had the sexiest body he’d ever seen. He suddenly had the most overpowering urge to strip her clothes off and find out if she looked as spectacular naked as he suspected she did.

A moment later she was back on the bed, dropping a milk-crate-sized cardboard box on the mattress. She opened the flaps and peered inside with the curiosity of a kid unwrapping a present on Christmas morning.

“So what do we have here…” She pulled out two sandwiches in clear plastic wrap. “Okay, we’ve got some sandwiches.” Next came a bottle of water, followed by the container of Shelby’s cupcakes.

Dylan watched with amusement as she continued her inventory.

“Oooh, a crossword book. And…a first-aid kit. Why would we need a first-aid kit?”

“Maybe he thought we’d beat the shit out of each other and one of us would need stitches.”

“Maybe.” She reached into the box again, coming up with a paperback copy of War and Peace. A quizzical expression crossed her face. “Um, okay.”

Dylan groaned. “Bastard. He likes to make fun of me because I’ve never been able to get past the first ten pages.”

With another laugh, she went to grab the next item.

Her face went tomato-red when her hand emerged with a box of condoms.

“Magnums,” Dylan remarked with a pleased nod. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Oh my God. I can’t believe he left us condoms.”

“I can, and it was damn thoughtful of him too.” Dylan couldn’t control the seductive note that crept into his voice. “So what do you say, honey, should we tear one open and put it to good use?”

Chapter Eight

The worst thing about being a redhead with fair skin? It was impossible to disguise a blush. Claire’s cheeks had been a thorn in her side her whole life, and as her face heated up under Dylan’s smoldering gaze, she knew she was transmitting everything she was feeling loud and clear.

Surprise.

Embarrassment.

Arousal.

Oh yeah, there was definitely arousal thrown into the mix. Ever since they’d kissed, she’d been trying to squash the desire she felt for Dylan, but now that her misconceptions about the man had been exposed, she was having a tough time controlling her hormones. It was one thing to ignore the attraction when she’d thought he was a selfish ass who didn’t give a shit about his mother’s troubles, another one altogether when she knew he was actually a decent guy.

“Ah, relax, honey. I’m just teasing you.” His gorgeous green eyes twinkled. “I was kidding.”

She slanted her head in challenge. “Are you? Because you look pretty darn serious.”

After a second, he broke out in a grin. “Fine, so I was only half-kidding.”

“So half of you wants us to have sex?”

“Actually, about three-quarters of me wants it. One-quarter knows it’s probably a bad idea.”

“Probably?” She choked out a laugh. “I almost married your brother, Dylan.”