Tempted by a SEAL Page 2

  It looked like the usual late night crowd, most a good ten maybe twenty years younger than the patrons who came in during daylight hours.

  Mack was more than a bit familiar with the comings and goings of the establishment’s customers.

  That wasn’t just because he lived directly across the street and had a view of the place from every one of his apartment’s windows. It was more because he had frequented the bar during all hours of the day and night himself.

  Working vampire hours a lot of the time had made him an equal opportunity drinker. Daytime. Nighttime. Anytime.

  He didn’t judge anybody else, so he figured they had better not judge him either. Not if they knew what was good for them, anyway.

  The one whisky he’d downed hadn’t improved his mood any. Maybe he’d have better luck with the second.

  Mack pushed the change he’d left out from the first round closer to the bartender. “Take it out of there.”

  The bartender nodded and grabbed a bill from the stack.

  They’d done this dance many times. Mack knew the next round would be free. He would down it and leave the remaining cash on the bar as a tip before making his way across the street to his bed.

  Three drinks, straight with no ice to water down and ruin the whisky—that would hopefully keep the nightmares away. For tonight, at least.

  Tomorrow would be another story.

  In the morning he had that waking nightmare of meeting Daddy’s new wife and her daughter. What fun.

  Mack felt the guilt niggling at the back of his brain. He should be happy his father had found someone to make him happy after the loss of his mother.

  He wasn’t.

  Pressing the glass to his lips, Mack downed a large swallow. It burned a path down his throat.

  He felt the fire all the way through his chest. Clear to where his cold dead heart was lodged, still beating away somehow when so many others no longer had that luxury.

  Funny that he had plenty of heart when he was fighting. Hell, maybe all that took was balls, not heart. Maybe he was as far past caring as he suspected he was. He didn’t seem to be able to feel all that much for other people at the moment.

  “I said no!”

  A voice that rose above the usual volume of the din of the bar had Mack twisting in his seat to get a better look.

  He zeroed in on the source of the annoyed-sounding exclamation and saw the woman he’d noticed briefly before when he’d surveyed those around him.

  Okay, he’d noticed her because her ass, round and firm as she perched on the bar stool, had looked particularly enticing.

  Nothing he liked more than a woman with generous curves. Another time, he’d be more than interested in an ass like that, but he was not interested in this particular woman.

  First of all, she looked painfully young. Young enough that he hoped the bartender had taken the time to check her ID and verify she was allowed to be drinking that bottle of light beer. The bottle that was giving him ideas he shouldn’t be having as she pressed the longneck against her lips.

  Staring straight ahead at the shelves of bottles behind the bar, she was making an obvious attempt to ignore the sleazy guy next to her.

  The lowlife—a snap judgment on Mack’s part that he was standing behind even if it was made just by looking at him—leaned closer.

  The young woman planted the bottle on the bar and turned to face the man. “Look. I said no thank you.”

  Mack didn’t hear the bastard’s response but he could only imagine it wasn’t good since the chick grabbed her purse from the bar and moved to climb off the barstool.

  When the guy grabbed her arm, Mack decided he’d had enough.

  He was behind the guy and had him in a headlock before anyone knew what was happening, particularly the douchebag himself.

  Ignoring the shock on the brunette’s face, Mack leaned down close to the guy’s ear and hissed, “She said she wants to be left alone. So how about you listen to her and go somewhere else?”

  The guy looked torn between pissing his pants and wanting to break free and take a swing at Mack.

  Mack wasn’t sure about his first prediction coming true, but he knew the second wasn’t going to happen as long as he was living and breathing. He tightened his hold just enough to scare the guy.

  If this went on any longer, he’d be perfectly comfortable choking out the guy. It wouldn’t kill him. He’d wake up eventually and Mack had no doubt that once this asshole was blissfully unconscious he could leave him to recover on the floor in the back hall by the bathroom and the bartender wouldn’t have a thing to say about it.

  Mack didn’t tell people what he did for a living but in this area—just a few miles from the base—it was easy enough for the locals to pick out the Navy guys among them.

  His disappearing for months at a time didn’t help hide Mack’s occupation. Neither did the fact that he could take out this asshole so easily, so quietly, no one would notice except for the sweet, curvy young thing watching him with her big brown eyes wide with surprise.

  “We gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?” Mack asked, low and close.

  “I wasn’t doing any—”

  Mack squeezed a bit tighter. “See, now that wasn’t the question. Wanna try again? You’re going to leave the lady alone. You can do that under your own power, or mine. Your choice.”

  “Fine. I’ll go.” The guy’s reply was more of a wheeze.

  Mack probably shouldn’t take such great satisfaction at that, but hell, sometimes little things made him happy.

  “Good boy.” Mack waited a second before easing up his hold, all while watching for any move the dickhead might make to indicate he wasn’t going to go quietly.

  The guy would have to be pretty stupid to try anything.

  Dickhead proved to be stupider than Mack anticipated.

  It was the smallest shift in posture, but Mack was skilled in reading body language. Just as the guy pivoted and drew back his fist, Mack sprung into action.

  He had the guy face down on the ground, arms secured behind his back, all before the first punch was ever thrown.

  Mack sighed. There was no hiding the conflict now. The others were starting to notice his knee in the back of a man whose face he was grinding into the dirt of the bar floor with one hand while holding his wrists in the other.

  “Need a little help?” The bartender’s black pants and shoes came into Mack’s line of vision.

  Mack twisted his neck and glanced up. “Does it look like I need help?”

  “Nope, but if you hurt him the police are gonna get involved, then there will be reports to be filed and I ain’t got the time or patience for that. So how about I take over and you can sit down and relax?”

  Mack pursed his lips. He had no dog in this fight. He’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And for some reason had felt the need to get involved.

  That was pretty unlike him, actually. When he was in civilian mode, usually all hell had to break loose before he bothered to take note and even think about intervening.

  The bartender was right. Maybe it was time he got back to his brooding.

  “Well, I would like to finish my drink.” He shot the bartender a crooked grin.

  The burly man, who probably owned the place given he was there so often, snorted out a short laugh. “Yeah, I figured.”

  They swapped positions, the bartender taking over dealing with stupid ass and dragging him up off the floor.

  The kid looked happy to be standing or maybe he was just grateful to be away from Mack. At this point, Mack didn’t know and couldn’t care.

  Mack glanced at the girl. “You okay?”

  She watched him for a second before nodding. “Yes.”

  He dipped his head in a nod, not bothering with more conversation. He had his answer, so he turned to move back to his spot and his drink.

  “Wait.” She scurried after him, arriving just as his ass hit the barstool.

  He co
cked one brow. “Yeah?”

  “I uh wanted to say thank you.”

  “No problem.” He lifted one shoulder and reached for his glass.

  He didn’t quite make it before she stuck her hand out to him. “I’m Lydia.”

  Yes, she was cute. Yeah, he hadn’t gotten laid in far too long. But this close up, and under the light above them, his initial impressions were confirmed. She was young.

  Young and naïve and sweet and everything he had no interest in and no business touching.

  Completely ignoring her and her gesture would be rude. Since that wasn’t an option he liked, he turned his body enough he could extend his right hand out to her. “Mack.”

  The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Yeah. You too.” He dropped his hold and turned back to reach for his glass.

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been around. He was so annoying. And he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  Mack didn’t know what the question had been that he wouldn’t accept her no to, but he knew one thing—the girl had never been in any real danger while inside the bar.

  He decided to tell her that so maybe she’d take her gratitude elsewhere. “The bartender would have stepped in. You’d have been fine.”

  That was the complete truth, but he also knew that her walking out to her car alone later that night might be an issue. Especially if the dickhead was still hanging around and holding a grudge against her.

  But it was easy enough to fix. He decided that if she left while he was still there, he’d stand in the doorway and watch until she got safely in her vehicle.

  If she was still here when he decided to go, he’d have to ask the bartender to keep an eye on her. No doubt the man would agree. Of course, the bartender did tend to get busy behind the bar so he might not be able to live up to a promise like that.

  This was way more responsibility than he’d bargained for when he’d chosen to come out tonight. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, wondering how long she was going to hover at his elbow being grateful.

  “So you live around here?” his new shadow asked.

  “Yup.” He’d respond to her questions, but one-word answers were all she was going to get. That should give her the idea he wasn’t there for socializing.

  She moved away and he figured she’d taken the hint, but she was back in seconds, her beer in hand. Then she was climbing onto the barstool directly next to his.

  He glanced sideways and noticed, as he watched more closely than he should have, how that round ass of hers stuck out temptingly as she leaned forward and braced her forearms on the edge of the bar.

  Shit. He shouldn’t have looked.

  That image was going to be in his head tonight when he tried to go to sleep. He knew it.

  Then again, if her ass featured in his dreams instead of what had driven him here in the first place, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “So, you took care of that guy pretty well. You wrestle or something?”

  He lifted a brow, amused at her odd guess. “Occasionally.”

  As a matter of fact he had wrestled the weapon out of a target’s hands less than a couple of weeks ago in a raid on the Boko Haram encampment in the Sambisa Forest.

  He’d wrestled with teammates during workouts.

  Wrestled with his own conscience . . .

  She smiled looking satisfied she’d made a correct guess. “I thought so. My cousin was All State so I’ve been to lots of wrestling matches.”

  He nodded, not supporting or denying her theory. At thirty, Mack was under no delusions he looked young enough to be in college. Maybe the light in here was more flattering than he’d assumed.

  He took a closer look at her.

  Her big guileless dark eyes broadcast her every reaction. Her olive complexion spoke to her heritage. Italian perhaps, judging by her name.

  The outfit didn’t show a lot of skin, but still clung to her body, displaying and accentuating every one of her lush curves.

  The effect was sexy as hell. More so than if she’d been half naked, a look he usually didn’t mind, particularly while visiting the strip club just off base.

  It seemed she wasn’t going anywhere soon and now, after that last perusal of her assets, he had a hard-on that he feared wouldn’t go away as long as she was nearby.

  With any luck this young woman who’d latched on to him wasn’t as young as he’d first assumed. Hopefully, the lighting was making her look more youthful than she actually was.

  “Can I buy you another drink?” She eyed the glass in front of him. The one he’d forgotten all about during this surreal interaction.

  “No. Thanks.”

  More alcohol in his system was the last thing he needed. It would only make him more susceptible to the idea that tumbling into bed with this sweet thing would help him sleep more soundly tonight than any bottle of whisky could.

  “Oh. Okay.” She looked surprised at his answer, and if he wasn’t imagining things, disappointed.

  Maybe she was interested in him, maybe she was just grateful he’d helped get rid of the dickhead bothering her. He didn’t know and judging by his body’s reaction to her, he couldn’t stick around to find out without risking making a poor decision. One he might regret later.

  He stood. “I should be going.”

  She pressed her lips together. “I should probably leave too.”

  He’d promised himself he’d see her safely to her car. That had been pre-hard-on, but still, it was the right thing to do.

  The bartender was too busy doing his thing. Mack couldn’t expect the man to babysit lone girls who wandered in and attracted the wrong kind of attention from lowlife scum.

  He drew in a breath and resigned himself to having her near him for a little bit longer. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  Her eyes widened. “Um, okay.”

  Her assumption was obvious in her transparent emotions. She thought it was a pick-up line. That his wanting to walk her to her car was a ruse. An excuse for a good night kiss . . . or more.

  Shit. Mack needed to clarify. He glanced around the bar and didn’t see the troublemaker.

  “I want to make sure our new friend doesn’t get any dumb ideas and follow you out.”

  She smiled. “You’d do that? Walk me to my car to protect me?”

  “Look. It’s no big deal—”

  “It is. That’s so nice. Thank you.”

  Mack was starting to regret the offer as she continued to make a big thing out of nothing.

  “I’m not far. Just outside,” she continued.

  He waved her off. “Whatever. It’s fine.

  “I really would feel so much better knowing I wasn’t alone.”

  He scowled at that comment. Of course she would feel safer not being alone outside a bar at this time of night. He hoped she remembered that before she considered going into an unfamiliar place by herself again.

  Didn’t she have a friend to go out with? Girls shouldn’t be out alone.

  Old fashioned? Maybe. Chauvinistic? Possibly. But Mack had seen too many of the horrors inflicted on the female population in some of the hellholes of the world in which he’d been sent.

  Hell, human trafficking and the sex slave trade existed everywhere, no hellhole required.

  He knew for a fact the sexes weren’t always equal.

  Okay, maybe if no one had been around, this girl probably could have handled things herself. Kicked the guy in the balls. Pepper-sprayed him. Screamed or called the cops. Something to save herself.

  But with his strength and his training, Mack could quietly take out a threat swiftly and efficiently. Permanently or temporarily, depending on the situation or the mission, dictated by his orders and the rules of engagement set forth.

  Her way might work, but he preferred the odds of success by doing things his way.

  Now that she’d finally stopped spewing her thanks to him, all for his doing not
hing more than offering to walk outside beside her, he said, “It’s no problem. You ready to go?”

  She planted her bottle on the bar. “Yeah.”

  He shoved the rest of the money forward toward the bartender. “Have a good night.”

  Mack wasn’t going to get his free drink tonight, but the guy had earned the generous tip, not only for serving his two drinks, but also for cleaning up the piece of shit Mack had left lying on the floor.

  “Thanks.” Scooping up the bills, the bartender eyed the girl and then Mack with a knowing expression. “You too.”

  Mack rolled his eyes. This was not a hook-up, and he’d set the guy straight next time he was in, but he wasn’t going to do it now in front of the object of the bartender’s erroneous assumption.

  Time to blow this place. He shot her a glance. “Come on.”

  She scrambled to keep up with him as he strode for the door.

  Realizing she was probably going to break her ankle in the heels she wore while trying to match his pace as he made his way toward the exit, he slowed down.

  At the exit, he turned and paused to wait for her to catch up.

  She looked flustered. “I’m just across the street. It’s not far. I won’t take you too far out of your way.”

  “No problem.” His lips twitched with amusement that she was worried about taking him out of his way. She had no idea she was probably parked directly in front of his building.

  A refreshing slap of cool air hit Mack across the face as he pushed through the doorway and stepped outside.

  After the heat of the many bodies pressed too closely together inside, it gave him a renewed appreciation for the outdoors. He’d kind of lost that after the past few weeks of trudging through Nigeria.

  Never mind the heat, the bugs alone were enough to make him hate that damn forest. Though seeing his teammate Rocky act like a girl around the snakes had been a bright spot.

  Pushing the memories away, Mack focused on the here and now. He glanced across the street as they waited for a car to pass so they could safely cross.

  Two cars parked on the opposite curb were familiar to him. But next to where he had his bike parked was an unfamiliar car. He’d bet his Harley it belonged to this girl.