Free A Sexy SEAL Novella Anthology by Tawny Weber

when she was sixteen.
    “Why would you trust my brother with
anything? You know he thinks we should...”
    “We should what?” Sam prompted with narrowed
eyes when her words trailed off.
    She knew damned well that he and Eli had
talked about Sam becoming a SEAL. And there was no way they’d have
that conversation this close to Sam graduating BUD/S without Eli
mentioning that vow. But just in case...
    “This isn’t about Eli,” she snapped, waving
her hand in the air as if she could erase her words. “It’s
about...”
    What? It wasn’t like she could say it was
about him dumping her, breaking her heart and leaving her crushed
and miserable.
    “You seem to be having some trouble
finishing sentences this morning.” Sam angled his head as if
wanting a better view of the emotions racing across her face. “Why
don’t you tell me why you’re so pissed. Over my being late for
dinner? I’ve been late before. Hell, I’ve missed dates without a
word before when I’ve been called up or shipped out early.”
    “That was before.”
    “So what’s changed? You’ve never had a
problem with me being in the Navy. But you’ve had quite a few
snotty things to say about your brother being in the SEALs. I
figured that was just some sibling crap between you and Eli. But I
was wrong, wasn’t I?”
    “There’s nothing between me and Eli,” she
bit out. “He turned his back on relationships, remember? Can’t have
any of that silly emotion dragging him down while he does his part
to save the world.”
    “You say that like he cut the family off,”
Sam ridiculed with a roll of his eyes.
    Hadn’t he? When was the last time she’d
spent more than two hours with her brother? He sent presents from
time to time, but kept himself at a distance. He almost always
served overseas, and even when he spent leave here in San Diego he
stayed on base, separate from the family. It was better for them,
he claimed. That way they didn’t ask any inappropriate questions
and, she figured, their very existence didn’t get in the way of his
career.
    But Sam knew that.
    His brother Noah wasn’t quite as rigid as
Eli, but he was close.
    And Sam was going to do the exact same
thing.
    “Eli thinks his way is the only way.”
    “Eli has a lot of experience and knowledge.
So it’d be stupid to dismiss his input out of hand.”
    “I guess that’d be up to you to decide,” she
said carefully, folding her hands together to keep from digging
them into his shirt and trying to shake some sense into him. Not
that it’d work, given that the man weighed twice as much as she did
and no amount of shaking would change his actions.
    Nothing she did would change them.
    Fancy meals, romantic evenings, wild
sex.
    Expensive lingerie, wine she couldn’t afford
and more wild sex.
    Hot wild sex. Sweet wild sex. Intense wild
sex. Every kind of sex she knew how to give, and even some she
didn’t.
    She’d done everything she could to keep
him.
    But everything obviously wasn’t enough.
    Bryanna’s mouth trembled, her throat tight
and her stomach knotted with misery. Needing an excuse to hide her
face, she kneeled down to scoop bits of eggs into a pile.
    She couldn’t keep pretending that she could
make her dream come true, that she could keep Sam. He was going to
finish BUD/S. In six months, he’d graduate. He’d get his trident.
He’d end their relationship.
    But that was six months away.
    A part of her wanted to wait. To see if she
could come up with some new sexual position or erotic temptation
that would change his mind. To make the most of what little amount
of time she had left.
    Except she wouldn’t make the most of it. She
knew herself too well. She’d be miserable. Eyes burning, she
straightened, throwing the handful of ruined food in the trash.
    She glanced at Sam, noticing that his
irritation with her hadn’t stopped him from eating his toast and
finishing the entire pot of coffee.
    All of a sudden, she wanted to throw the pan
at him