The Heat is On by Elle Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

more missions for me.”
    Ryan looked flabbergasted. “Why the hel not?”
    “Because I’ve got a wife and kid to worry about now. Look, boys, I’ve done a hel of a lot to serve my country. Now it’s time to focus on my family.” The second silence that fol owed dragged on for longer. Matt couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    He’d figured John Garrett would be career navy. Guy had enlisted at the age of eighteen, went to officer school, worked to make it to junior grade lieutenant.
    And now he was getting out?
    “It’s time,” Garrett repeated, his voice quiet.
    Matt was the first to snap out of his surprised trance. “Are you sure about this, man?”
    “Oh yeah. Trust me, when you get married, you’l understand. My two girls come first now.” Carson suddenly smirked. “Oh, I think Matt understands. Rumor has it he’s found the woman of his dreams.”
    Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “Where the hel did you hear that?”
    “Hol y and Annabel e were gossiping about it yesterday.” Carson wiggled his eyebrows. “According to Annabel e, you’re in love with a woman named Georgia who has real y nice tits.”
    “First, her name is Savannah,” Matt said coldly,
    “and second, her tits are none of your business.” Both Carson and Ryan hooted, while Garrett’s mouth lifted in a wry smile.
    “Shit, it’s actual y true,” Ryan said gleeful y. “I figured Annie was exaggerating when she mentioned it, but that possessive look on your face…fuck, you real y are into this girl.”
    “How big are her breasts exactly?” Carson asked with a curious tilt of the head.
    Matt jabbed a finger in Carson’s direction. “Like I said, none of your business.” He glanced at Ryan.
    “And Annabel e is exaggerating. I’m not in love with anyone. Savannah and I are just having a little fling.”
    “If it’s just a fling, then you should have no problem sharing the juicy details,” Ryan pointed out, a wide smile on his face.
    Matt faltered. His friend had a point. In the past he’d had no qualms discussing the measurements of the current female in his bed. For some reason, though, he felt guilty objectifying Savannah in that way. Sure, she was a knockout, but that wasn’t the only reason he liked her. She was smart, unbelievably funny, sarcastic…stubborn. Yeah, definitely stubborn. He’d left the bal in her court after their encounter in the shop two days ago, and she stil hadn’t cal ed him. A part of him feared his taunting had only annoyed her, and that she’d washed her hands of him and went after some other dude. Like Hank.
    “Stil want to convince us it’s just a fling?” Carson said when Matt hadn’t answered for more than a minute.
    “It is,” he final y replied. “She’s fun to be with. And she has no interest in anything serious, so it’s, you know, perfect for me.”
    Had they heard the tremor in his voice during those last three words?
    Shit, they had. Al three men were staring at him as if he’d slathered on lipstick or something.
    “You want more,” Carson accused.
    “No,” he said quickly. “No way.”
    “Fuck, you total y do. I know the feeling, man,” Carson added with a sigh. “When Hol y and I first hooked up, she insisted she didn’t want a relationship. It took me weeks to convince her to give us a chance.”
    “I don’t want to convince Savannah of anything,” he objected. “Like I said, it’s just a casual thing. I don’t plan on—” His cel phone, which he’d placed on the table, began to vibrate. Matt’s heart did an involuntary lurch when he noticed the cal er ID. “Hold on. I gotta take this.”
    He was out of his seat and moving to the other end of the patio in nanoseconds, while Carson and Ryan burst out laughing from behind. “Say hi to Georgia!” Carson the five-year-old cal ed.
    Matt clicked the talk button and lifted the phone to his ear. “Hel o?”
    “You’re playing hard to get,” was the greeting he received. “I don’t know how I feel