Free Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) by Natasza Waters

tea towel.
    She laughed at the expectant look on his
face. The rest of the guys had abandoned ship as well and circled
them.
    “Hi, Mace, something attract your
attention?” she asked innocently. “By the way, I have your
shirt.”
    “Can I hold that for you?” he asked, knowing
heaven was under that towel.
    Her cheeks puckered with a gorgeous smile.
“Sure, why don’t you take it, just leave a couple for the evening
and night shift, okay?”
    He carefully swept the towel off, and his
tongue practically dripped with love. “Cinnamon rolls! I love
these,” and they were huge. She draped his shirt, washed, ironed
and folded across his other arm.
    The rest of the team, including the
Commander, leaned in like a pack of wolves. She washed my shirt and
made me cinnamon rolls,” he said, knowing he sounded like an
overzealous kid.
    “She didn’t make you the cinnamon
rolls, shithead,” Fox jeered, reaching for one.
    “Here.” He thrust the tray into Nathan’s
hands and tossed the shirt on a desk. With five long strides, he
curled her in his arms, giving her a huge kiss on the cheek. “I
love you Kayla, please marry me?”
    The guys all groaned, but the Commander
didn’t look amused at all. Kayla burst out laughing, and pinched
his cheek. “Absolutely not, but I might adopt you Mace, you’re too
cute.”
    Kayla wiggled from his grip and dropped her
bag by the console, taking the handover from the dayshift.
    “She said no,” Mace moaned, and then looked
over at the guys who were accosting the pan like a bunch of
buzzards. “Hey, hey, hey, leave one for me.” Tony’s mouth hovered
over his roll, and he yanked it just before his teeth sunk into
it.
    “I haven’t had one yet, asshole,” Tony
complained.
    “Too bad,” Mace said, holding his right arm
out as far away from Tony as he could. Suddenly the roll was ripped
from his own fingers. “What the—?”
    The Commander already had a good chunk in
his mouth. He jerked his head and his brows shot up. “Huh, wow,
these are good, aren’t they?” The Commander peered over his
shoulder at Kayla, who’d sat down and was busy checking incoming
field reports. The smile vanished and he fixed a steely stare on
her.
    What a shame, Mace thought to himself—Kayla
was so sweet. Although the Commander was a great man and a true
warrior, he didn’t believe in longevity when it came to women,
whether it was between the sheets or at the base. He probably
thought Kayla was here to find a husband. Nature did take its
course at times between base personnel, but he didn’t believe
that’s what Kayla was doing here.
    The SEAL groupies were mostly too young for
the Commander, but he used them and set them adrift plenty of
times. When women found out who he was, they hoped for a shot at
being an Admiral’s wife one day. Not one of them held on to their
hopes for long. The Commander could make things tough for Kayla.
And right now, his look said that’s exactly what he wanted to do.
Screw that!
    “Kayla?”
    She lifted a finger in the air, in a “give
me a second” gesture. Finishing a call on the radio, she rolled her
chair to face him.
    “You, me and the best steak in San Diego,
tomorrow night.” He strolled up to her and leaned over, grabbing
the arms of her chair. “Texas cattle can kick Alberta’s beef any
day.” Throwing in the challenge was a hook he didn’t think she
could refuse.
    Kayla erupted into a laugh. “Mace, I—”
    “Mace,” the Commander said sharply.
    “Yes, sir.” Shooting a look over his
shoulder, he blinked, seeing the Commander wore a severe
expression. The one he saved for killing someone.
    “Lieutenant Kale wants your assistance
tomorrow night for exercises with BUD/S.”
    What the hell? He’d just seen Kale two hours
ago, and he hadn’t said anything. He darted a look toward Tony, his
best friend. Usually they got extra assignments with the BUD/S
recruits together. Tony shrugged.
    “You’re volunteering,” the