At Her SEAL's Command (SEALs of Roseville, Book One) by Selena Blake

that should have been lifelong. “Here I am. But I'm not going to be seduced by you and find out you have a dark side I can't live with. I want you, all of you, but I can't be with you if I don't know you.”
    A second voice asked if you ever really knew someone. But she wanted to believe that she did, she could, she wouldn't settle for less. And while she dreamed of spending her life with a man who would love and cherish her, who she could grow with, she couldn't risk herself like that again. She didn't need the heart ache.

9
    D ylan met Joe at Jill’s Java Hut around ten on Monday morning. Reya had left less than twenty four hours ago and he'd missed her every waking moment.
    Her presence, or lack thereof, was a constant awareness in his mind. How did he get her back? How did he confront the demons that plagued him in order to tell her what she needed to know?
    Joe settled into the chair across from him, all lean muscle and grace. Dylan felt bulky and bullish in comparison and the small tables and little white coffee cups didn't help.
    “You sleeping all right?” Joe's glance was thorough, well trained.
    “If you have to ask, I'm guessing the answer is no,” Dylan said.
    “Women trouble?”
    “ Woman trouble.” Singular. The only woman he'd ever truly wanted and she was gone because he'd kept his life as a Dom private. That’s what he’d been afraid of, that his past would come back to bite him somehow. He’d expected her to balk because of what he’d done, not because he couldn’t share that aspect of his life with her. At least, not without spilling his guts.
    “I like her. She's good for you. Sort of reminds me of Jessica.”
    Dylan still thought it odd that Joe called Baby by her first name when everyone else called her Baby but whatever worked for them.
    “She's staying at a hotel.” He wasn't sure why he'd blabbed that little piece of information but he was momentarily saved when Jill came to take their order.
    She recognized him and asked after Reya. They made a bit of small talk before he ordered his coffee and a bear claw. Joe ordered the same.
    Of course, the second she was gone, Joe leaned forward and braced his forearms on the table.
    “I'm not going to ask why. I'll just tell you what Jessica told me. You only get one chance at this life so when you see something you want, you should move mountains to get it. If Reya's what you want, then what are you doing here?”
    “You asked me to meet you,” Dylan said.
    Joe nodded.
    “I've got a job offer for you.”
    “I thought I was already working for you.” Occasional security jobs, nothing big. But it got him away from paint samples and atrociously mauve, thirty year old carpet.
    “Ethan wants an east coast branch and he wants me to run it. It'd take me out of the line of fire, so to speak and Jessica's thrilled with that.”
    “Of course she is.”
    This past week had driven home just how much a soldier’s family and friends worried and suffered during their loved one’s deployment.
    “I'm seriously considering taking him up on it, and I get to pick my team.”
    “Sounds like a good gig.”
    Ethan ran a solid company with a flawless reputation. His team was well trained and seemed to enjoy the job. Expanding to Atlanta made sense. There was a large population of CEOs and celebrities, a huge airport, and it wasn't overrun with competitors like New York, DC or Boston.
    “The question is, is it a good gig for you and are you staying in Atlanta? There’d be travel, I’m sure; you could put some of your skills to good use without having to dodge land mines.”
    Dylan had to admit that he’d liked making sure JJ and Trevor’s big day had gone off without a hitch last month. And paparazzi weren’t nearly as dangerous as terrorists. But did he want to keep looking over his shoulder day in and day out?
    “Think about it and let me know. Talk to Reya.”
    That seemed to be the theme of the week. “How much time do I have?”
    “As long