A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing Read Online Free PDF Page A

this—even in a pretend way. Not only that, but if Hunter had initially contacted him for another undercover operation, Finn would have known Hunter wasn’t here.
    She had to realize the situation was really bad if he was putting on a show of being her lover. But she also had to know he wouldn’t say what the trouble was in front of Joe.
    “He’s… Joe Matheson is renting the blue cottage,” she said, answering Finn’s question rather than Joe’s.
    “You didn’t mention that last night…” Finn motioned to the disheveled bed. “…but then I must have distracted you.” He cast a purely wicked smile at her.
    Her flustered expression quickly changed from startled to worried and finally to the way he always remembered her whenever he dropped by to see Hunter about another mission—annoyed—as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. His gaze lingered on the silk blouse she wore, and he swore her nipples were ripening into mouthwatering peaks right before his eyes.
    She cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”
    “Just what I had in mind. As soon as you tell Joe where his cabin is and he settles in there, we’ll have that little talk.” He strode to the other side of the bed and lifted his duffel bag as if he’d already moved in. Which he had, whether she liked it or not. Setting the bag on the bed, he unzipped the zipper and then glanced at the two of them. Meara was still staring at him in disbelief, while Joe’s expression indicated that he’d gotten to the party a little too late.
    “The blue cabin is the closest to this one heading north, Joe,” Finn said to get the ball rolling, having already scoped out all of the cabins and memorized their names and locations, according to the listings in Meara’s notebook. All of them were empty, ready for occupancy. And he was past ready for Joe to move along.
    Finn pulled out a fresh pair of boxer shorts, khaki shorts, a tank shirt, and a pair of flip-flops.
    “Who is he?” Joe asked again, his voice rough with contempt, and yet Finn could have sworn he heard a ribbon of amusement in Joe’s tone, as if his actions were all a show.
    That didn’t make sense. Or just maybe , the guy was so damned cocky that he figured Finn wasn’t any competition.
    “An old friend of the family’s,” Meara begrudgingly replied. “Come on, Joe.” She sounded resigned, but Finn knew when she returned, she’d be anything but prepared to accept this arrangement.
    Finn would deal with that the best he could. While Hunter was away, he felt it his responsibility to protect Hunter’s sister. Mostly because the reason for the attack on their teammate, Allan, had probably been Finn’s fault. Damn it to hell.
    Their last mission had almost been a complete abortion. They had all suspected that someone had tampered with their explosive devices before they arrived on the island to rescue the hostages. Someone who had wanted the rescue to fail. Someone who had known their plan. But Finn was at fault for not checking the bag one last time before they hit the beach.
    He listened while Meara tried to smooth things over in the hallway with who she probably hoped was a prospective mate. That curdled the remains of Finn’s hastily eaten lunch, a fast-food burger consumed earlier in the day.
    “I’ll just show you to your cabin and—” she began as she walked Joe down the hall.
    “No need,” Joe said, sounding somewhat aggravated as Meara trailed along behind him.
    “I’ll get you the key. But your meal isn’t ready, and well, don’t mind him,” she said, motioning back to the bedroom, her tone and actions dismissive.
    Finn smiled and wiped off some droplets of water clinging to his chest. If Joe was here on vacation like he said he was, the guy had to realize that Meara wasn’t going to dismiss Finn as insignificant.
    Joe stalked down the hall toward the living area. “Sorry, Meara. I told you I was here on vacation. It looks like your friend has already staked a claim to