To Seduce a SEAL (Sin City SEALs 3)

Chapter Ten

Dante sat on the edge of the hotel bed in his underwear and stared at the door to his Utah hotel, hoping the woman he’d been hired to protect would knock and demand a Navy SEAL combat lesson at two in the morning. If his team could see him now, torn up over a woman he’d known for a handful of days after he’d sworn off playing fast and loose with his heart…

But this is different.

Why? He barely knew her. Sure, she had a way of drawing truths out of him, like if he still loved his cheating ex and why he refused to quit serving his country. But that didn’t mean he could trust her.

Does it matter if I do?

They both knew this was a dead end. She had enough on her plate, entertaining crowds night after night and supporting her family. That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy their remaining lessons. Hell, she might even learn something in the process. Though he sure as shit hoped her manager would hire decent security after he returned to the teams. He didn’t want to think about Chrissie facing another knife-wielding fan while trying to decide if she should hit hard or haul ass.

But I can’t keep her safe forever. I can’t follow her forever.

Still, he could have her tonight. He could leave her with another skill and maybe something more—if she made the trip across the hall and knocked on his door.

He flopped back on the bed and covered his face with his arm. Logic demanded that he face facts. She was probably asleep. She wasn’t coming tonight, which meant he wasn’t, either. He was done stroking himself to a half-assed orgasm while picturing America’s country sweetheart. He wanted to feel her, touch her, and make her scream his name as she came.

“Tomorrow I’ll offer her a lesson,” he murmured to the empty room. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose. If she shot him down, well hell, he’d be back where he belonged soon enough, far away from a world filled with songs about trucks, beer, and shit—sex.

…

Chrissie opened the door to her suite and found the hallway empty. Finally. She’d been checking every fifteen minutes for the last hour. First, she’d spotted her mother leading her dad to their shared room next door to hers. And she’d quickly pulled her head back into her room. She would welcome her father in the morning. Right now, she wanted to give her parents space.

And she didn’t want to explain to her father why she’d changed out of her pajamas and into a pencil skirt, heels, and button-down white shirt. Sure, she wore shorter costumes during her concerts. This disguise probably wouldn’t have the same heart-attack inducing effect of the schoolgirl outfit she’d ordered for a future “combat” lesson.

But if she left her room wearing fake glasses and tight-fitting business clothes in the middle of the night and told her family, her manager, or even one of her band members that she was sneaking out for a training session with the SEAL down the hall, they would jump to conclusions. And if they found out, her manager would want to use the relationship to promote her upcoming music video. Her mother would wish to discuss the pros and cons of her starlet daughter dating Dante. As for the rest of the band, she didn’t care if they assumed she wanted more than a hand-to-hand combat session, that she wanted to seduce her bodyguard.

But she wasn’t ready to share her relationship with Dante. This was for her. It wasn’t a publicity stunt or a way to further her career. And it wasn’t up for discussion, not with her manager or her mother. She just wanted to slip into the make-believe world where nothing, including her career and her family, could intrude.

So she’d waited. Now, at two in the morning, the corridor was clear. Her hotel room door clicked shut behind her, and she rushed across to Dante’s door.

She knocked once and…nothing.

“Dante,” she hissed, and knocked a second time. She heard footsteps and hoped he would let her in soon. She raised her hand to knock a third time as the door swung open.

“Chrissie?” He blinked as if shifting from asleep to alert and ready for action—and oh my. He was wearing his bright white undies. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

She placed a hand on his bare chest. Her fingers tangled with the dark hairs as she pushed past him and slipped into his room. “I’m ready for my next SEAL lesson.”

Dante closed the door and turned to face her. He placed his hands on the elastic band of his white underwear. On another man, the tight white underpants might appear silly.

But he looked like Superman. Or maybe super SEAL.

“You got all dressed up in the middle of the night to learn how to defend yourself again?”

She pressed her thighs together at the sound of his stern tone.

“Not just defend,” she said, trying for bold. But the words came out breathless and so heavy with wanting that she might as well have worn a T-shirt with the words “Take Me Sailor” in red sequin letters. “I want to learn how to attack, too.”

Tension rippled through his body. “I didn’t think you were coming tonight. And now you’re going to seduce me again?”

She nodded. “This time, I’m going to succeed.”

“Maybe. But not here,” he said, walking past her. “We need more space.”

He left the narrow hotel entryway and headed for the bedroom. And she followed. His room mirrored hers. A king-size bed dominated the space flanked by tan nightstands. To the right, a door led to the bathroom. Unlike the five-star hotel that hosted their four-night stop in Las Vegas, one night in Utah didn’t come with a suite upgrade for her or her bodyguard.

He walked over to the bathroom door and pulled it shut. A full-length mirror stood on the other side. Then he headed for the foot of the bed. “Come over here. Stand in front of me and face the mirror.”