Free WARRIOR (CROSSFIRE SEALS, #5) by Gennita Low

miss Cupcake.
    That line made her want to giggle again. What a ridiculous nickname. Besides, that was the name she used on him; somehow, it’d ended up being hers. Of course, how did one top Cucumber as a nickname? Well, she too could be short and sweet.
    She typed: “ I miss Cucumber ” and hit send, then looked up at the man still studying and patiently waiting for her to say something.
    “At this moment,” she said, “I’m just chilling. As for my new job, I think I’m doing quite well, getting the hang of working in a culture where women are second-class citizens. As for my general well-being, I don’t think it’s of any interest to you. Satisfied?”
    “Of course your general well-being is of interest to me,” Sean said. He looked down, frowned and tapped on his tablet. His attention still on his screen, he murmured, “If it weren’t, I wouldn’t ask. You seemed so at ease with your new responsibilities. I’m very impressed with your prep work and the way you handled talking with the locals.”
    Surprised, she stopped checking her Inbox. From just a few weeks with him 24/7, she knew praise coming from Sean Cortez was a rare thing. “Thanks,” she said.
    “You told me when we started you wanted to learn about international field work. Are you ready to dip your foot in the water?”
    “I thought that’s what I’ve been doing.” Part of her job had been scouting where the women folk gathered and seeing who indicated an interest in talking to the journalists.
    “We’ll be out of the Swat Valley district tomorrow. There won’t be much contact with the locals because they’re more traditional in the mountains, especially with foreigners. Do you know why I picked you as part of the team? Besides your excellent resume and ability to communicate as a public info officer, of course.”
    Her tablet was buzzing. That was quick. Lucas was sending a private message.
    “I’m not as dumb as you think. You picked me because of my looks.” Kit grinned. “That came out wrong.”
    Sean smiled back, amusement stamped on his face. “I think you like to tease, Kit.” He shifted in his seat. “But you’re right. You blend in with the locals, especially when you wear their clothes, and I wanted to take advantage of...your looks.”
    “Ha. Knew it.” No doubt about it, because of her mixed Asian facial features, she had been able to get the Pashtun women to feel comfortable enough to talk to her through a female interpreter. She glanced down at her tablet again.
    I can’t talk tonite. Debriefing. Not that kind.
    She quickly typed back. Aw. I’m not dirty-minded like you. I can’t talk either. No Internet soon. On field work. Will you text me soon?
    Doing anything interesting?
    They couldn’t talk much about their work, especially him, so everything was always vague.
    I’m flirting with my team top guy. What about you? Anything interesting to report?
    Someone soaped my back.
    Oooh. You win. I hope to do that to your back one day soon.
    Keep that thought, Cupcake. Got to go.
    TTYL.
    Kit signed off, feeling satisfied she got to talk to Lucas. Wherever he was, he had been busy, doing what SEALs do. It’d been almost a week since they last had a chat. She missed their quick back and forth texts. They had even Skyped a couple of times so they could have longer conversations, which tended to become hot and heavy after a while. Their mutual attraction hadn’t dissipated at all. A smile from him, even from a laptop image, would brighten her day. It was scary and exciting to feel this way about someone again.
    “That’s not a smile about work, I bet,” Sean said dryly.
    Kit looked up, startled. She’d totally forgotten about him.
    “Sorry. I was multi-tasking, doing last minute stuff since I’m sure we won’t be able to find a wireless hotspot out in the countryside.”
    Sean pointed to his tablet. “Same here. Were you talking to your boyfriend?”
    Kit frowned. Boyfriend? Lucas and she were...what were