Free Fall for a SEAL by Zoe York

gorilla-sized man standing next to him. She’d never cheekily flipped off a man with a machine gun before, but thistrip was proving to be all about firsts. Her first international spy adventure. Her first ill-advised infatuation. How had she managed to go twenty-five years without acting like a giggling school girl? And why, oh why, did it have to be over Drew Castle?
    “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I apologize.”
    “Shut up about that! If you don’t want to kiss me, just don’t do it. I’ll survive, you big ape.You’ve got a talented tongue, but it’s not made of stardust. That guard over there probably has just as much international tonsil hockey experience as you do and if I need distraction--”
    “You can’t kiss him.” Drew crossed his arms and scowled.  
    A gleeful tremor rippled through her lower belly at his possessive stance. Not that it would do her any good if he didn’t get over his hang-ups abouther. That annoyed her enough to needle him again. “Let me get this straight. I can’t kiss you--not that I want to anymore--and you think you get to decide I can’t kiss him ...how about Calli? She’s cute.”
    From behind them, Rik cleared his throat. “We’ll head inside, you’ll join us soon?”
    Drew ground his teeth together. “Yep, in a minute.”
    She waited, mostly because she wasn’t really sure whatthey were fighting about. He laid a zero-to-sixty kiss on her then dropped her like a hot potato because she made light of it. Drew Castle, it appeared, had some issues. Totally not her problem.
    Except for the nagging desire to sooth his stupid warrior soul. A misguided urge she should know better than to entertain. He was practically her brother’s long-lost twin, which should be reason enoughto dislodge her interest, even before the itemized list of reasons he couldn’t be anything more than a fantasy. Unavailable in every sense of the word. Uninterested in politics or nuance. Unrelentingly boyish. But also unbelievably kind and generous. Unable to turn his back on someone in need. And most importantly, unlike anyone she’d ever met before.
    Including Kevin.
    But Drew wasn’t Kevin’stwin. He was his own person, flawed and wonderful, and for however long they had together on this island, she wasn’t letting him run hot and cold anymore. She wanted to get to know the real Drew better, and there was only one way to do that.
    “Listen, Annie...” The temptation to interrupt him was almost irresistible, but she bit back a snarky retort and let him finish. “I’ve found myself tippedsideways. Over you, about Kevin, all of this...this isn’t how I normally do my job. But you aren’t a mission, and I’m having trouble figuring out if I need to keep you at arm’s length because it’s the right thing to do for you, or if I need to do it for me.”
    Oh, Drew ...her heart melted a smidge for him. “But you’re sure you need to keep me at arm’s length, huh?”
    “Nothing good can come of thisgetting complicated.”
    She twisted her lips, trying to remain soft and understanding, but the laughter burbled out. “Oh, I think something good can come of it...”
    He genuinely looked confused, and she wondered if his twelve-year-old boy tendencies had transferred to her on the boat, like some Freaky Friday scenario.
    “Sex, you big oaf!” Understanding dawned on his face, and one eyebrow notchedin response. “You need to let go of this idea that satisfying this attraction between us would be a bad thing. I don’t think you’ve ever had that concern in the past.”
    He squirmed as she made a direct hit. “This isn’t about my history. You can’t tell me it’s not going to be weird between us if we get involved.”
    “I don’t care.” She surprised them both with the truth of that statement. “Firstof all, I haven’t seen you in a year. I’m pretty sure the opportunities for total awkwardness will be few and far between. And second...life is short, right? I don’t want any