Coyote Heat (SEALs On Fire) Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t even know anything about her. And he’d sworn to himself no attachments. Life was too short.
    “Coyote?”
    He blinked and realized she was staring at him.
    “Did you take a short vacation?” she asked. “I said my neighbor is fifty, and my landlord was out of town. Why?”
    He gave himself a mental shake. “Nothing. Just curious.” He took the beer from her and drank a long swallow. Maybe the icy liquid would cool him off because it seemed just being around Cori Sutherland raised his thermostat several degrees. He patted the bed beside him. “Come sit up here, next to me, and tell me about yourself.”
    She maneuvered carefully, juggling the wine glass, then stretched out beside him. She sat a good three inches away, as if she needed to put some distance between them, but he wasn’t having any of that. He let his right hand fall casually to her thigh and squeezed lightly. He waited, but she didn’t brush it away. He had the distinct feeling she was as shaken by their chemistry as he was and also trying to figure out what to do about it.
    She sipped at the wine. “What would you like to know?”
    “How long have you lived in Key West? What brought you here? How come you live here when you work for a company in Tampa? Any ex-husbands or ex-boyfriends hanging around? Or anyone not so ex?”
    “Whoa, sailor. That’s a whole lot of questions.”
    He took another drink of his beer. “First of all, I’m not a sailor. I’m a SEAL. There’s a whole lotta difference.”
    “Oh. Sorry.”
    She blushed again. Coyote couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush. Probably because he’d been hanging out with the wrong kind of women.
    “It’s okay. But it’s a very important difference. We’re part of the Joint Operations Task Force that takes on special missions.” He squeezed her thigh again. “And damn proud of it.”
    She slid a glance at him. “I’ll definitely remember that. And no exes of any kind hanging around.”
    “Or current?” He tried to sound as casual as possible.
    “Coyote.” Her voice was firm and a little ticked off. “If there was a current one hanging around, we wouldn’t be here in my house in my bed doing this.” She lifted his hand and shoved it away.
    He eased it back, realizing he hadn’t phrased his words too well. “I didn’t mean to insult you, Cori. Maybe I just wanted to know if I’ve got any competition?”
    “For what? I thought you were just looking for a great weekend.”
    How to phrase this so it came out the right way? He wasn’t making a commitment here, but Cori Sutherland had unexpectedly blindsided him. Along with the unbelievable sex, there was an emotional connection that he sure hadn’t expected and wasn’t even sure he wanted to pursue. But he didn’t want to walk away from it, either.
    Make up your mind, you stupid asshole.
    He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers.
    “That was the original plan,” he told her. “But there’s something a little more than sex going on here. I don’t know what, but I also don’t want to poach on someone else’s territory. Even if that other someone is just a maybe.” He squeezed her hand. “Am I saying this right?”
    She was silent for so long, staring down at their joined hands, he wondered if he’d blown it altogether. Then she let out a long sigh. “Uncomplicated really works best for me.”
    Coyote got a tight feeling in his gut. He’d blown it, obviously. But at least he could enjoy what was left of his standby leave.
    “But,” she went on, “hard as it is for me to admit it, I felt that little extra something, too. It’s just…just…”
    “Just what?” he prodded.
    “I don’t do complicated.” Then, so softly he almost didn’t hear it, she added, “At least, not any more.”
    Well, shit. What did some asshole do that made her feel this way?
    He set his empty bottle on the nightstand and took her nearly empty wine glass and put it aside also. Then he