Free SEAL's Embrace by Elle James Page A

laughed. “What’s to understand? All we want is to be loved.” Her brows rose. “Speaking of which…are you married, engaged, or otherwise spoken for?”
    As he remembered the sight of Erin walking away, he twisted his lips. “No, but I hope to be.”
    “Got anyone in mind, or can I take a shot?”
    Her open face and smile were compelling, but she wasn’t Erin. “I’m flattered, but I have my heart set on someone else.”
    “She wouldn’t happen to have auburn hair and green eyes, would she?”
    He shot a glance at the perky Nurse Reynolds. “She might.”
    “You have your work cut out.”
    “You know her?”
    “I’ve heard about the LT. She was burned by a pilot who cheated on her.”
    Caesar nodded. “So, she doesn’t trust men.”
    “Hard to trust your heart, when it’s been broken.” Nurse Reynolds laid a hand on his arm. “If you really love her, and you’re not just challenged because she turned you down, then you have to keep trying.”
    “That’s the second time someone has referred to what I’m feeling as challenged. I like to think I’m more of a man than that.”
    “Some men get off on wooing women who turn them down. And once they win them, they’re done. Bored.” With a frown, she wiped her hands together and flung them in the air. “On to the next woman.”
    Caesar snorted. “Bastards. A woman is supposed to be loved and cherished, not used up and thrown out.”
    Jennifer squeezed his arm. “If you lose out with your girl, will you remember me? I’m looking for just such a man as you.”
    After the nurse left, Caesar turned over her words in his mind. No wonder Erin was hesitant to commit to a relationship. He didn’t blame her. But she’d been there the night they’d gone on their mission. She’d initiated that kiss after making love to him. She might not want to admit it, but there was something there.
    No matter how hard Erin pushed back, Caesar refused to give up. He’d find a way to convince her he wasn’t a jerk like the pilot.
    Finding the right way to prove it would be his test.

Chapter Six
    ‡
    E rin returned to the room she’d been assigned at base lodging, stripped out of her uniform and stepped into the shower. Over and over, her confrontation with Caesar replayed through her mind.
    The officer in her verified she’d done the right thing. The woman who’d been lied to and cheated on cautioned her about not getting involved. But the innocent young woman who still held onto those silly childhood dreams of happily ever after wanted the future to be with Caesar. And the lusty, grown woman, who’d tasted what had been the best sex of her life, ached to return to his bedside, crawl in and make love with the sexy SEAL.
    After squirting a handful of shampoo into her palm, she scrubbed her hair. Then she went to work on her body, hoping to wash away the residual tingling from where his hand had touched her. Suds slipped over her shoulders and across her breasts, warm smooth and making her nerves stretch for the release she needed.
    Erin rinsed the soap from her eyes and watched as the bubbles dripped off the tips of her budded nipples. Some slipped over her torso and downward to catch on the little tuft of curls over her mons.
    With a groan, she followed the trail with her fingers, parting the folds to find that little nubbin of flesh in the middle. If Caesar were in the shower with her, his big, rough fingers would stroke her there. Perhaps he’d go down on her and slip his tongue inside her body.
    Flicking herself, she moaned. How much better would the sensation be if she were with the man instead of pleasuring herself? She flicked herself again, warm water sliding down between her legs, heating her inner thighs.
    He’d dip his tongue into her and taste her juices. Her finger followed the path of her memory, slipping into her channel, slick with her cream, and back out to tease the tightly packed bundle of nerves, swelled with need and aching for fulfillment.