A SEAL's Seduction (Alpha SEALs Book 4) by Makenna Jameison Page B

out a laugh.  “Hey, I’ll admit I can be cocky some of the time—hell, maybe even a lot of the time.  But when it comes to my guys, I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass.  Uh, sorry.  I just mean we’re the best of the best.  Not even a question.”
    Mike pulled onto the road that made up the main drag of Virginia Beach.  It was dotted with hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops.  Not to mention plenty of tourists and locals who’d been enjoying a lazy Sunday down by the water.  “So listen, I know we got off to a bad start a few weeks ago.  And with the whole jumping into the pool thing yesterday.  Let me buy you dinner—make up for it.”
    “Dinner?”
    “Yeah, that meal people eat at the end of the day.”
    “I know what dinner is,” Kenley said, rolling her eyes.  “I just don’t know why you think us going to dinner together is a good idea.”
    “It’s an apology.  And it’s just dinner—I promise I won’t make any moves on you.”
    Kenley blushed as Mike raised his eyebrows.  It was too damn easy to get a rise out of her.  The ways she reacted to everything he said was priceless.  “That is, unless you want me to.  I sure didn’t mind kissing you in the pool.”  He winked, watching her turn an even deeper shade of red.  Hell yeah, this was going to be a good night.

Chapter 8
     
    Mike eased into a parking spot on the busy road, instructing Kenley to sit tight until he could help her out of the SUV.  She watched him round the front of the vehicle and felt a small flush of pleasure at his attentiveness.  Was this how he treated all the women in his life that he was supposedly only friends with?  Unlikely.  And who was she kidding—they weren’t exactly “just friends.”  Not with the heated glances he’d been throwing at her for the past hour.  She could pretend all she wanted, but after that kiss they’d shared at the pool?  She wasn’t fooling anyone.  Not even herself.
    He opened the door, and her breath caught as he reached out to help her.  Kenley let Mike take her hand and help her out of his SUV, his large, muscular hand nearly enveloping her much smaller one.  His grip was warm and firm, and she tried not to gasp at his closeness.  At the heat she could feel from his large frame as he hovered over her.  His other hand came to a rest atop the open door, essentially trapping her against the passenger seat.
    She tilted her head back, meeting his eyes.
    “I like you,” he said, his voice husky.
    Heat coursed over her skin.  “Excuse me?”  She couldn’t have heard him correctly.  Hadn’t he just said a few minutes ago he wasn’t going to pull anything?
    He ducked his head lower, holding her gaze.  “I like you.  I don’t play games; I don’t beat around the bush.  I’ll be your friend, but know that I want more.”  His thumb lightly caressed her knuckles, sending shivers down her spine, and then he released her, backing away, giving her space.  Leaving far too much distance between them again.
    She didn’t know how to react to that.  Maybe there was some sort of electricity still sparking between them, but she was leaving in another week or so.  And he was all wrong for her.  She didn’t do one-night-stands; she didn’t need a guy like him around.  Except—no one else had made her feel so alive in such a short amount of time.  They’d only spent the briefest of moments together, and each time it hadn’t been nearly long enough.  Her body craved more of everything—his touch, his voice, his scent.  The unfinished promise of what could happen between them if only she’d let it.
    It didn’t mean anything though.  She was in lust, maybe, but not in the beginnings of a relationship.  That kiss yesterday might’ve been the best kiss she’d ever had, but it had been a fantasy.  A moment of adrenaline and heightened hormones.  And since she’d be gone in days, not a thing would ever come of it.
    Shakily she stepped onto