Sweet Seduction Secrets (Sweet Seduction, Book 8): A Love At First Sight Romantic Suspense Series by Nicola Claire Read Free Book Online

skills, to ones I could use the old fashioned way. Their distraction could be ASI’s as well with a little effort on my part. Tonight being a prime example.
    “Yeah, like we don’t know what Eric gets up to behind that locked control room door with Amber,” Koki drawled.
    “Well, what we don’t see can’t hurt us,” Brook replied, picking up his beer and lifting it to his lips for a sip.
    “I heard Ben and Abi talking about the men’s showers having no cameras,” I offered. “Something about washing chocolate sprinkles off without an audience.”
    Brook snorted, then realised he’d taken a sip from his glass right then and beer foam was spewing out his nose. Mortification quickly followed amusement.
    “You are so fucking gross,” Adam mumbled, cringing at the display across the table from him.
    Jason started laughing, quickly followed by Koki, who seemed more amused at Brook’s plight than my slightly exaggerated story telling. My eyes flicked off all three men and landed on Adam, who was watching me, an unusual look on his face. I couldn’t decipher it, I could only sit there and breathe. I was seeing threats from all angles, but this was different. Uncomfortable. Scratchy. Disconcerting in a way a threat had never been.
    The sound of Brook letting loose at Koki, joined by the odd encouraging - or shit stirring - word from Jason, was drowned out by the thunder of my heartbeat.
    I hadn’t expected this. I wasn’t even sure what this was. But the only people distracted at the table right then was Adam and me, as we stared at each other, wordless communication shared in just one look. What we said, I didn’t know. But it was significant.
    And unwanted.
    I broke eye contact by taking a sip of my beer and returned my attention to the rest of the table.
    “So, Charlie,” Jason said into the post stout foam spitting and snorting episodes. “How’s life outside the Navy treating you?”
    “Too early to tell,” I offered. “So far it’s looking entertaining.”
    “Glad I amuse,” Brook grumbled. I shot him a beaming grin making him shake his head in mock disgust.
    “What exactly did you teach at Philomel?” Jason pressed.
    “You were a Navy drill instructor?” Koki asked, sounding surprised.
    “What, I don’t look butch enough to you?” I teased.
    “Ah, no,” both Koki and Brook said in unison, confirming the two peas in a pod theory I’d begun to have about them.
    “Charlie didn’t teach basic training,” Adam offered, saying more in those few words than he’d intended, I think. All eyes turned to him with various looks of intrigue.
    “And how do you know that exactly, Mr Savill?” Brook asked, a smile on his stubbled face.
    “I read her file,” he mumbled.
    “Pardon?” Koki pushed. “What was that? You say you read her classified file? Is that right?”
    “It was hardly classified,” Adam snapped. “Nick had me read over it.”
    “I’d quit now, while you’re…” Jason paused then added, “Well, not ahead as such, but not quite buried under a shit pile of dirt anyway.”
    “Fuck off!” Adam tried.
    “Oh, no,” Koki said getting more animated than I’d seem him yet tonight. “This is just starting to get interesting. Nick had you look over Charlie’s file? Anything we should know about the lieutenant?”
    “She could kick your butt in under three minutes flat?” I offered. All four men ignored me.
    “She taught languages,” Adam said and silence met his words.
    Slowly all eyes moved towards me.
    “Languages,” Brook murmured. “That’s strangely disappointing, Lieutenant.”
    “Maybe it was how to kill someone with a foreign language,” Jason added, offering me a smirk and a wink.
    For a second, I wondered if his friendly actions were an act. It would be SOP for the Captain.
    “Japanese is lethal, I’m telling ya,” Koki added.
    “Ben would argue Māori was more so,” Brook countered.
    “Ben’s not here, though, is he?”
    “Hey, can you speak