Free A SEAL's Surrender (Alpha SEALs Book 3) by Makenna Jameison Page A

Anchors, she was going to be livid that he was sitting in on her meeting this morning.  No way would she expect a SEAL sitting in with the network security staff, but hell if he wasn’t as good as her at hacking into systems unbeknownst and undetected.  If his CO needed him there, he was there.  Christopher put the mission first, and even a woman like Lexi wasn’t enough to change that.  If she didn’t want him there, that was too damn bad.  It’s not like she was running the place.
    Stopping the attempted hacks into the secure systems was mission critical.  The Top Secret military information stored on their servers couldn’t ever be leaked into the wrong hands.  And come hell or high water, he was coming clean with her about his past.  Today.
    After a quick five miles, Christopher showered and changed in the locker room on base.  His muscles tensed at the memory of moving over Lexi last night.  Pinning her down beneath him had damn near driven him out of his mind.  She was soft and sweet.  Enticing.  Claiming her as his years ago was the smartest damn thing he’d ever done.  How he’d fucked that up was beyond all reason.
    His run had done little to assuage the adrenaline and guilt racking through him.  He was strung tight, ready to snap at any second.  The tension at the thought of seeing her again coursed through his body.  A long run and hot shower seemed like the only reasonable way to start his day.  No doubt waking alone in a woman’s hotel room would leave a man riddled with uneasy thoughts churning through his mind.
    The sludge that passed for coffee in the mess hall did little to make up for his lack of shut-eye.  The high he’d gotten from running earlier hadn’t lasted thanks to his passion-fueled night.  He wasn’t a fancy coffee kind of man, but at the moment, he’d kill for a couple shots of espresso.  Just so he could think clearly and get his damn head on straight.
    He tensed as he heard voices, and a second later, his SEAL team leader Patrick strode into the locker room, grabbing his gear for their day’s training.  “I heard you’re sitting in on the computer hacking briefing this a.m.,” Patrick said, stuffing his bag in his locker.
    “Yeah, the CO wants me there.  I figure he owes somebody a favor, roping me into this.”
    Patrick nodded.  “We’re drilling out on the water.  It’ll be Evan’s first time out since he’s been back.”
    “It’ll be good for him to get back out there with the team.  I wouldn’t mind being out there myself this morning.”
    Patrick chuffed out a laugh.  “Mike said your ex is the hotshot specialist from the Pentagon?”
    “Something like that,” Christopher muttered.
    “You’re screwed, man.  Nothing’s worse than a woman scorned.  Especially one who’s had years to stew over it.”
    “Sonofabith.”
    “What the hell did you do to her?”
    “Doesn’t matter.  We were practically just kids then.”
    Patrick raised his eyebrows.
    Mike swung open the door to the locker room, dropping his bag full of gear on the ground.  He grinned as he caught sight of them.  “All right lover boy, how was she?”
    Christopher clenched his fists.  “None of your goddamn business.”
    Mike laughed.  “Hell, I figure any woman that has your lousy ass chasing her down the block must be pretty damn fine.”
    “Fuck you,” Christopher spat out, slamming his locker door shut.
    Patrick’s cool blue gaze slid to him.  “Just don’t let a woman get in the way of the mission,” he said, throwing Christopher’s words from months earlier back at him.  Their SEAL team had gotten sent out on an op right after the confrontation with Rebecca’s stalker and subsequent argument between Patrick and Rebecca.  Patrick had been broken up over it, and Christopher had told him to keep his head in the game.
    Not that he and Lexi were anything remotely like Patrick and Rebecca.
    “Hell.  You and Rebecca were together when I said that.