SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) by Paige Tyler

one look at these pictures would prove them wrong. Chasen had a hundred lifetimes of places and experiences locked in his head and in these pictures. Hayley would take those kinds of possessions over all the material things in the world. She supposed Chasen would, too.
    But as she wandered into the bedroom and checked out the photos there, she noticed one thing missing. There were dozens of pictures of his teammates, but not a single one of his family or an old girlfriend or even a casual shot not somehow tied to his SEAL buddies or the Navy. With the life she’d lived, Hayley understood better than most why Chasen didn’t have any of those kinds of pictures, but it still seemed…well…sad in some way.
    She was still looking at the pictures in his bedroom when the water turned off in the shower. She didn’t think about the fact Chasen had never come in here to grab fresh clothes before his shower until he walked into the room wrapped in nothing but a towel.
    Hayley told herself not to stare, that it wasn’t polite—or subtle—to gawk openly at all that sexy muscle arrayed before her. Then she said the heck with it. When had she ever worried about being polite or subtle?
    She’d known that Chasen, being a SEAL, would be fit, but after seeing his broad shoulders, the long, lean muscles, and those ripped abs, Hayley realized her definition of fit likely needed to be recalibrated. Chasen Ward was a perfect specimen of Greek godliness. His physique came more from living a life of nonstop motion than from hours spent in a gym, though. His body was far more about endurance and stamina as it was strength.
    And oh yeah, she was all about the stamina.
    Chasen flashed her a grin, obviously knowing she’d been staring and clearly not concerned about it. He jerked his head toward the dresser over against the far wall.
    “I was going to grab some clothes.”
    She returned his smile. “What? Are you afraid I’m going to peek?”
    He stepped closer and the look in his eyes turned into a smolder. “No. I’m worried if we start something we’ll never make it to dinner.”
    She took a step closer herself, closing the distance separating them until there was only a foot or two between them. Could she really feel the heat pouring off him, or was that her imagination?
    “Would that be such a bad thing?” she asked, feeling the warmth building between her legs and radiating upward until her nipples began to tingle under the lightweight sundress she wore.
    He slipped his right hand into her hair, the tips of his finger grazing her cheek as he pushed her hair back away from her face. “You’re not hungry?”
    She leaned her face into his hand, loving the contact of skin on skin as she looked up into those captivating blue eyes of his. “Oh, I’m hungry all right.”
    Hayley wasn’t sure when he slipped his other hand around her back, but as she gazed up at him, she felt the slight pressure there, urging her closer to him. She didn’t resist but reached up to pull his head down for a kiss as their bodies melded together. His mouth was as tasty as it had been the night before and the fire she’d felt stirring between her legs earlier surged hotter, as if she’d been waiting for this moment all day.
    She weaved her fingers into his hair, tugging and urging him to kiss her harder. He got the message, yanking her mouth against his and slipping his tongue in to tease and play with hers. The hand on her back slipped lower, lightly caressing the curve of her lower back right where it met the top of her ass. She’d never realized how sensitive that part of her body could be until Chasen touched her there.
    She let her own hands play, feeling that was only fair. She started at the top of one of his big shoulders, slipping slowly down his chest, pausing to let her fingernails scrape and tease lightly along his ribs and the edges of abs and obliques. Chasen groaned a little against her mouth, then he was kissing her even harder as she