Free Hot SEALs: Her Special Alpha (Kindle Worlds) (X-OPS 3.5) by Paige Tyler Page A

like one hell of a woman to me. So, why are you out here on the boardwalk staring off into the ocean like you’re wrestling with a major problem?”
    Travis sipped his coffee, trying to figure out how to explain it. Considering he really didn’t know what the issue was himself, that was easier said than done.
    “Eden is one hell of a woman, and then some,” he finally said. “I guess I’m worried I might be making something out of nothing.”
    Jon frowned. “What do you mean?”
    Travis blew out a breath. “I met Eden less than forty-eight hours ago and I’m already thinking about looking for a job up in DC so I can be closer to her. Frigging forty-eight hours! I mean, I know I haven’t been in a real relationship with a woman since I joined Special Forces, but this whole thing seems damn fast to me. It’s like I’m a teenager at his first keg party. I’m not just drinking a beer for the first time. I’m having it poured down my throat with a firehose.”
    “And now you don’t know if what you’re feeling is a real buzz since you’ve never been drunk before?” Jon asked.
    “Yeah, pretty much.” Travis ran his hand through his hair. “I mean, am I really falling for a woman I only met a couple days ago? Or am I just going a little crazy because I finally have the freedom to actually see a woman more than once or twice before a deployment?”
    Jon sighed. “I get where you’re coming from. Special Forces is no different than the SEAL teams. Most of us run from one-night stand to one-night stand because there doesn’t seem to be any point in starting a real relationship with a woman you probably won’t see for months on end.”
    “Exactly,” Travis agreed. “Why start something you can’t finish?”
    But it was different now. He wasn’t in Special Forces anymore. He didn’t have to worry about how to keep a long-distance relationship going while he was deployed. Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe he should just enjoy being with Eden and stop channeling Dr. Phil.
    “Let me ask you a real simple question,” Jon said. “And I don’t want you to think before you answer it. Just say the first thing that comes to mind.”
    Now who was channeling Dr. Phil?
    “Okay,” Travis said.
    “How would you feel if you could never see Eden again?”
    Travis didn’t have to think about how he’d feel. The thought of it punched him in the gut so hard he could barely breathe. “I think I’d probably die.”
    Okay, that sounded melodramatic as hell. But it was true.
    “Well then, I guess that answers the question as to whether or not you’re in love with her,” Jon said. “All that matters now is whether she feels the same about you. Does she?”
    Jon was damn good at cutting through the bullshit, wasn’t he?
    “I honestly don’t have a clue,” he admitted. “It’s scary as hell to think she might not feel any of the things I’m feeling right now.”
    “Since when is scary a problem for people like us?” Jon grinned. “Scary just means you’re alive. Tell her how you feel and see what she says. Worse that can happen is that she’ll tell you to get lost.”
    Right.
    “So, Eden’s an agent with Homeland, huh?” Jon asked.
    Travis took another swig of coffee, relieved to switch gears and talk about something other than Eden telling him to take a hike.
    “Yeah,” he said. “As a matter of fact, one of the suits who got beat up is the fiancé. The other one is his best man, who may or may not have a gambling problem. Eden and I are going to pay a visit to the bookie, see if he was the one who sent those guys.”
    John shook his head. “When people owe money to a bookie, they might get their fingers or kneecaps broken, but they aren’t likely to get shot full of holes with automatic weapons. Sounds like there’s more to it than that. If you need backup, give me a call, okay?”
    “Will do,” Travis said.
    Jon took off a little while after that, saying something about making dinner for