Romance: Military Romance: Protected by the SEAL (Contemporary Hero Bad Boy Navy SEAL Romance) (New Adult BBW Alpha Male Virgin Protector Short Stories) by Carla Parker Page B

out what was up. And see Tarik again. And if I was being honest, I wanted to be with Roland, too.
    “Okay…I trust you,” I said and Roland’s eyes flashed with some unrecognizable emotion. I just couldn’t read what he was thinking and it intrigued me that much more.
    “Good,” Roland said, his voice low. I felt warmth radiate out from him suddenly and it reminded me of the night before when Tarik kissed me. I tilted my head at Roland curiously and saw his eyes were trained on my lips, though he didn’t make any move to touch me. “We should go now then,” he said abruptly, and turned around to leave the bedroom, though he didn’t take a step towards the door.
    “Roland…?” I asked curiously and he turned his head towards me. “Do you have a fever?” I asked and Roland turned back around to look at me as if I asked him something completely outrageous. Then his eyes widened in understanding and he burst into loud laughter. I couldn’t help but giggle when he bent over from laughing so hard. “What?” I asked and Roland straightened, his laughter sobering.
    “No. I don’t have a fever,” he said, still chuckling. I stepped towards him and put my hand on the exposed skin of his muscular arm. He stopped laughing almost instantly. His earlier mirth had completely evaporated.
    “I’m sorry, I just—you are really warm.” I told him while taking my hand back. Roland took a deep breath; he seemed to be warring with himself.
    “I’m naturally hot blooded. It’s fine, really,” Roland assured me, his voice almost strained.
    “Are you sure? You don’t sound okay,” I said.
    Roland cursed under his breath before he closed the distance between us. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me up to meet his lips when they crashed down onto mine. I gasped at my immediate response to him. Heat licked through my veins like flames when his tongue slid into my mouth, tasting me and driving me insane. His lips were incredibly soft and I was imagining them on other places of my body. An insistent pressure started to build low in my belly and all I could think about was how close we were to my bed.
    “Dammit!” Roland broke the kiss abruptly and put me down before taking two steps away from me. “You’re his, I can’t have…I can’t have you too.” Roland’s voice was hoarse. Confused and beyond flustered, I took a moment to collect myself as heat was still coursing through my body. “We should go now.” Roland said and promptly stalked out of the room.
    I picked up my bag and had no other choice than to follow him out to his truck. Roland helped me up into the passenger seat and then shut the door before walking around to the driver’s seat and getting in. We drove in silence, a little ways out of town and into the woods. I recognized the area where wealthy landowners had built huge houses on their lots.
    We drove deep into the woods and I started to wonder where exactly we were going. Until a huge log mansion made itself apparent, nestled into the surrounding trees it looked completely natural in its surroundings, regardless of its size.
    “This is where Tarik lives ?” I asked, impressed. I glanced over at Roland who smirked.
    “Yeah, I live here too remember? We built this place with our fathers before they handed over the pa—the um…the lot.” Roland tripped over his words, but I didn’t pay much attention to it, as I was too busy admiring the house’s façade. It looked to be three stories high and had a clear east and west wing attached to the main house. Tarik opened the front door then and walked over to the truck, a big smile on his face. He was wearing a skintight dark grey shirt and jeans; I drank up the sight of his muscular physique so enticingly outlined by the shirt. He opened my door for me and helped me down.
    “Christina, I told you I’d find you, and here we are,” said Tarik, grinning happily and he bent down to kiss me on the cheek. When he straightened though, his