Free A SEAL's Pleasure by Tawny Weber

he could still see the heat.
    â€œWhat d’ya say, angel?” he asked in his most charming tone, fanning those flames. As added incentive, he leaned forward to give her a soft kiss. Given that she was baring her teeth, he considered himself lucky she didn’t try to snap his lips off. But hey, he was a SEAL. Never let it be said that he didn’t take risks to complete his mission. “Let’s go on a date. It’ll be fun. We’ll move on from a first-name basis and see where it goes.”
    â€œMove beyond?” She laughed, shaking her head so that gloriously long mane of hair waved over her breasts, making his mouth water. “Romeo, we’re not on a first-name basis now.”
    â€œWell, then, we’ll change that.”
    Tessa gave him an assessing look, then stepped to the edge of the stairs. She tucked her finger into his freshly rebuttoned shirt and gave a light tug to pull him closer. Not needing any encouragement, he settled his hands on her hips with a smile.
    â€œThere’s nothing to change,” she told him in a chiding tone, her finger tapping on his chest in time with her words. “Do you know why we refer to each other by nicknames?”
    â€œEveryone refers to me by my nickname,” Gabriel said with a laugh.
    â€œYou and I, we’re a lot alike, Romeo,” she pointed out. “We use nicknames to keep people where they belong. At a safe distance so they don’t get in our way.”
    â€œYou’re too pretty to be such a cynic,” he said with a laugh, pretending her words hadn’t hit home.
    â€œI’m a realist, not a cynic,” she argued.
    â€œAnd you’re as hot for me as I am for you,” he noted, his eyes skimming the rigid peaks of her breasts standing in stark relief against her silk dress. His fingers burned to follow up the look with a caress, but he knew that’d undermine the progress he’d already made. Progress that had come at great physical distress, he admitted, shifting a little to ease the painful pressure of his zipper against his aching erection.
    â€œSo?” Tessa challenged with a dismissive shrug. “What’s hot got to do with it?”
    Appreciating her nod to Tina Turner, he grinned, reaching out to rub her hair between his fingers.
    â€œNow that you’ve had a taste, you’re not going to walk away from this heat between us,” he told her confidently. “You might want to. But you won’t.”
    Her eyes flashed, fury so intense he was surprised she wasn’t shooting lightning from those blue depths. He could see her jaw clench, but her amused smile didn’t shift. God, that control of hers was a turn-on.
    â€œActually, that’s exactly what I am going to do.” She tapped her finger against his lips this time before giving him a dismissive smile. “Watch and learn, Romeo. This is what happens when you push a good thing too far.”
    Those brilliant eyes locked on his for one second longer before Tessa spun on her skyscraper heels and offered him an up-close and not personal enough view of her back, before she sashayed away.
    Watching her climb the stairs as if she were out for a casual stroll instead of storming off after a heated rejection, Tessa proved once again that she was in a class by herself.
    A very sexy, very tempting class. The silky fabric of her dress swayed in time with those lush hips, cupping her ass with each step. Gabriel had to force himself not to go after her.
    He’d see her again, he reminded himself. Their two best friends were not just a couple now, they were a couple hell-bent on nesting. Nesting people did social things that included their friends. And then there was all of the wedding crap Irish had going on.
    Yeah. They’d be seeing a lot of each other over the next little while. He wouldn’t have to wait long to see if his gamble had paid off.
    Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets, not an easy