Protected by a SEAL (Alpha SEALs, Book 6) by Makenna Jameison Read Free Book Online Page A

protectiveness. The idea of
anyone causing her distress didn’t sit well with him. Hell, he’d
wanted to beat the shit out of her boss just for yelling at her the
night they’d first met down in Pensacola. Shove him against the
wall and settle things man to man. Then again, maybe the repeated
text messages were nothing. Weren’t college students attached to
their phones like they were an extra appendage? What the hell did
he know? It was probably just some prick she’d gone out with who
wanted a second date.
    He clenched his fists at the idea of her
with another man. The thought of another guy touching her, kissing
her, tasting her, made him see red. But he didn’t have any claim on
Ella. And hell. He’d spend night after night with a new woman,
kissing every square inch of her. Burying his cock into her tight
channel. He’d had plenty of women, and certainly Ella wasn’t alone
in her bed every night.
    “We’re gonna head out, man,” Mike said as he
strode over. Brent flicked his gaze to the others, watching as
Kenley said goodbye. “What’s with you and Ella?” Mike asked. “Part
of you looks like you want to throttle her, and the other half
looks like you want to fuck her.”
    Brent ground his jaw. “Jesus Christ. Just
trying to figure something out.”
    Mike laughed. “Right. The answer is no.”
    Brent raised his eyebrows.
    “Don’t take her home with you.”
    “Hell, even if I want her six ways to Sunday
doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen.”
    “She’s going back to Florida soon
anyway.”
    “Yep.”
    “All right. Catch you tomorrow.”
    Mike and Kenley walked out, and Brianna
looked like she was about to fall asleep standing up by Matthew’s
side. After this game, most likely they’d all be heading home.
    The question was, was he going to call it a
night, too? Or head back to Anchors and pick up some pretty young
thing to entertain him until morning? He couldn’t exactly find a
woman here, not with Ella at his side. Hell, they weren’t even
together, but something about Ella seeing him hit on another woman
didn’t sit well with him. And wasn’t that a fucking gut check.
    “Way to go, Ella!” Brianna called out as she
sank another ball.
    “Damn, man, if you ever decide to leave the
service, you can teach people how to play pool for a living,”
Matthew said, sounding impressed.
    “Yeah, I’ll add it to my list of
post-military career options,” Brent said dryly.
    “People would pay big bucks to have your mad
skills. Ella’s been playing, what, an hour or two?”
    “It’s natural talent,” she said, glancing
over at them with a grin.
    Well hell. She should smile like that more
often. Her entire face lit up, those blue eyes sparking with fire
and light, and for a moment, Brent’s concerns about her
dissipated.
    “You tell ‘em, honey,” Brianna encouraged.
“Brent doesn’t need to be the only pool shark in this group.”
    “Too bad Kenley left early. She was dying to
have the ladies win!”
    Brent raised his eyebrows in amusement
before glancing back at Matthew. “Nah. I won’t be a SEAL forever,
but I’ll still be Navy. I can’t stay in one place for too long.
Teaching pool for a living sounds too much like settling down. I
might as well get a wife, dog, and two point five kids. That might
work for other guys, but not me.”
    Matthew nodded. “Hoorah.”
    All the guys on their team shared the same
deep need to serve their country. Brent had enlisted in the Navy
right out of high school, just like most of the other men. He’d
completed BUD/S, Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL, and found his
calling. He was married to the Navy, for better or worse, and so
far Uncle Sam had served him well. After watching his mother
struggle, after living through the loss of his sister, the need to
protect others pulsed through him. He’d goddamn give his life to
defend the defenseless, help the injured, beat the bad guys. And
the world was full of them—terrorists, drug lords, sex