Redeeming Her SEAL (ASSIGNMENT: Caribbean Nights Book 9) by Kat Cantrell Read Free Book Online

crutch to hold her up. Maybe she had once—much to her sorrow and chagrin—but not anymore.
    “Oh, yes,” Charlie purred. “Your relationship status is very relevant to this conversation.”
    Charlie’s gaze burned into her with that strange heat that seemed so wrong for his icy blue eyes, and she had the distinct impression everything had shifted the moment he’d heard not with Jared.
    That was a convenient shield that never should have been removed. There was too much hurt pinging around amidst all the sizzle, and he’d taken the admission the wrong way.
    “That wasn’t some kind of green light, Charlie.” She crossed her arms over the worst of the ache in her midsection, but it would be impossible to salve it since there was nothing that could physically reach that deep. “There’s a reason we haven’t seen each other until now.”
    He nodded. “Because neither of us are good at saying what’s going on inside. Unless it’s ‘take me now,’ ‘faster, Charlie’ or ‘race you to the shower.’”
    There was little use in arguing with the truth. “Perhaps. But that part of us is over. I’m not averse to trying to be civil since we’re bound to run into each other from time to time. Anything more than that is off the table.”
    But he was already shaking his head with a smile that made her very nervous. “Civil. I don’t think there’s even a small part of our interaction that could be described as civil . And you’re lying to yourself if you think the chemistry between us has fizzled even slightly.”
    Oh, no. She had a strict policy of always being truthful with herself, especially since other people lied to her on a regular basis, Charlie included. Lying by omission wasn’t any less of a lie, and she was still waiting for the explanation as to what had happened in Iraq. There was more to the story, and she deserved to know why he’d dumped her so unceremoniously.
    Especially after such a ridiculous point like we agreed no promises . Really? That was the best he could do? He’d broken her heart and then treated the whole thing like it could just be brushed under the carpet, no harm, no foul.
    Besides, she’d never said he wasn’t liquefying her core with nothing more than his eyes. But just because he could turn her on didn’t mean they could pick up where they’d left off, like what they’d had was nothing more than a bunch of hormones.
    “We are over Charlie. That ship has sailed,” she told him firmly. “The reason we haven’t seen each other is because we both knew it would be exactly like this. You ended things. I’ve made my peace with it. Don’t expect me to magically get over that in the course of one day.”
    Oddly, his expression softened. “Maybe we both need to take a step back and let go of some mad.”
    She nodded curtly.
    And that’s when his mood shifted again, like mercury suspended in time. He flowed toward her, and she watched him approach, not backing down because he didn’t scare her.
    “Better yet, let’s burn off some of that mad,” he suggested, and the once-over he slid down her body unleashed a shiver that she couldn’t control. Though she tried.
    “It would be helpful,” she agreed and nearly bit her tongue off when the heat between them dialed up. “But that would best be done by a five-mile run. Or swimming. Or—”
    “Hot, sweaty, up-against-the-wall sex.” He reached out then, threading his fingers through her hair to take nearly her whole jaw in his palm. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
    God, his hands alone put an ache in her core that could not be denied. But while she would never lie to herself about what this man did to her, she’d never tell him the truth about it.
    “I’m not interested.”
    That’s when he laughed, low and rich, and it settled inside her, heating her from within. And it was delicious. But she had a lot of practice at denying herself things that she wanted. A lot of practice at healing from things that she