Free Claiming Her SEAL (ASSIGNMENT: Caribbean Nights Book 1) by Kat Cantrell Page B

threw herself on Emma’s bed with a contented sigh. “I think we should go ahead and book our next visit to this place. I could come back here about four times a year and never get tired of the delicious panorama of sights.”
    “Yeah, the water is pretty,” Emma intoned automatically and stuck a pillow over her face in case Rachel wasn’t distracted enough by visions of Rico the bartender dancing naked in her head.
    The last thing Emma wanted to deal with was a bunch of questions about her horrifically unsuccessful midnight jaunt. Rachel had been asleep in her bed, alone, when Emma had returned to the hotel room last night. Which was perfect. Why had she told Rachel about Dex’s offer to go swimming with her anyway? It was the height of stupidity.
    “I meant the men. What’s wrong, honey?” Rachel smoothed a hand over Emma’s arm. “Didn’t you find your guy last night after all?”
    “No,” she mumbled into the pillow.
    It wasn’t even a lie. The man she’d found wasn’t the sweet, bighearted man who had continually come to her rescue over the past couple of days. She didn’t know what she’d found other than more disappointment in the male species. And herself.
    That’s why she’d vowed to stay clear of men in the first place: because she couldn’t pick a decent one out of a lineup. Enter a smoking-hot guy with soulful gray eyes, and she’d forgotten all about her disability. And he’d reminded her of it. She was done. For really real this time.
    “Oh. So I guess that means no snorkeling today then.”
    At that, Emma flung the pillow off. “Who said that? I made you a promise last night. We’re going snorkeling.”
    Rachel pushed her glasses higher on her nose. “But you didn’t get your personal snorkeling lesson. Isn’t that what you said you needed to do first?”
    Yeah, she’d said a lot of things and done very little. It was time for some action, and she didn’t need Dex to get where she wanted to go. She hadn’t even known he existed before she got on a plane to come to the Caribbean with Rachel. What did it matter if he’d made good on his promise to go under with her or not? She could meet this stupid phobia where it lived, on her own terms, like she’d planned to that first day.
    Of course, she’d been interrupted by the handsy cretin before she could make herself do it. But she’d gone in the ocean last night with Dex, and even though she hadn’t exactly put her head under the water, it didn’t matter. Knee-deep was farther than she’d gotten at home.
    “We’re going.”
    “Are you sure?”
    The caution in Rachel’s voice decided it for Emma. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll even call the concierge to book it, so you just go put your contacts in.”
    As Emma dialed the room phone, she sent up a little prayer that someone other than Dex was helming the snorkeling excursion today.
    But of course that was precisely who stood at the end of the dock smiling at the other resort guests who had elected to take a snorkeling trip that afternoon. Bare-chested, dark-haired, dazzling-in-the-sunlight Dex. The universe must not be listening to Emma Richardson anymore.
    Maybe she should take it as a sign and skip this whole ridiculous idea. But Rachel was bouncing along beside her, gleefully anticipating her afternoon excursion, God knew why.
    Dex’s smile slipped as Emma stepped from the beach to the splintered planks of the long dock. Mirrored sunglasses hid his flinty gray eyes, but she could feel them on her as she followed a twenty-something couple who were most likely on their honeymoon judging by the way they murmured and cooed to each other.
    They climbed into the pontoon boat floating in the turquoise water, and then it was Emma’s turn. She made the mistake of glancing up at Dex. His jaw tightened, and his hands were fisted at his side. You couldn’t have cut the ice in the atmosphere with a chainsaw.
    “Didn’t expect to see you here,” Dex commented under his breath.
    The