Free Navy SEAL’s Virgin Lover by Nic Saint Page A

her tilt-tipped nose. Dang…
    But then she shrugged and grinned. Judging from Ram’s behavior last night, he definitely liked her, freckles and all. Hands on her hips, she stared at herself defiantly. Erin Walters, she thought, you are the full package, girl, and you better believe it.
    To her own surprise, she actually believed it, too. The power of love, surely.
    Sophie stuck her head in the door and rapped the jamb impatiently. “Let’s go out and find some food. I’m starving!”
    They walked out and locked the door behind them. After what had happened at the hotel, they’d learned their lesson and had stored all their valuables in the small safe inside the bedroom closet.
    Walking along the sandy path that lead to the beach, they passed Ram’s cabin, and Erin noticed the door was open. While Sophie was waiting impatiently, she hesitated for only a brief moment before applying her knuckles to the doorframe.
    When no sound came, she peered inside. And as she did, Burke’s huge frame rose into view, only clad in a towel casually slung around his waist, his hair still dripping wet from the shower. For a moment, he froze, then a wide smile creased his lips. “Erin. You’re early, honey.”
    He came ambling over with outstretched hand, and dwarfed hers with his large mitt. “We were never properly introduced. I’m Jake Burke.”
    “I know. We met yesterday, remember?” said Erin uncertainly. He was so huge, and his chest glimmered in the morning sunlight.
    His smile widened still. “I know. But I was a little, um, busy to formally introduce myself.”
    Her mind rolled back to the necking competition between Burke and Sophie and a hot flush mantled her cheeks at the recollection. She quickly cast down her eyes. “I-I remember.”
    “So now that we’re all friends, what did you have in mind for breakfast? Bradley tells me there’s some great chow in this place?”
    Her eyes scanned the room behind Burke. “Is he here? Raminar?”
    Burke followed her gaze, then said, “Didn’t he tell you? He had to go out early this morning. He won’t be back until this afternoon I’m afraid. Business.”
    A pang of disappointment held her momentarily in its grip. “No, he didn’t tell me,” she said slowly. Nor did he have to, she chided herself. They might be lovers now, but that didn’t mean he had to share his every step with her. Besides, they’d been too busy to talk about such trivial matters as where he would spend his day today. Still, he might have told her…
    “Sophie!” suddenly boomed Burke, and caught her friend in a tight embrace, instantly locking lips with her.
    As she discreetly stepped away from the cabin to give the couple some space, she thought ruefully that even though Sophie said she and Burke were ‘only fucking’, she seemed to be seeing more of him than she of Ram. And she was definitely getting a lot more ‘action’ as well.
    She just hoped he wouldn’t be long, and when he returned, he’d finally let her in on all this mysterious business stuff he was involved in.

Chapter 17

    As it turned out, she didn’t have long to wait before the mystery was revealed. Over breakfast Burke, who was probably the most garrulous man Erin had ever met, talked a mile a minute about his friend’s ‘cockamamie’ plans as he called them.
    Erin felt compelled to come to the absent Ram’s defense, but she had to admit that saving the beaches from developers sounded like a difficult proposition even for a man of Ram’s obvious passion and talent.
    “He told me his father was an architect. And that he dreamed to be one too when he was little,” she marveled. She’d never realized how deep that dream went, if now, after a life in the military, he was revisiting it with a vengeance.
    “Well, the world did lose a great architect when Bradley signed up,” agreed Burke. “Though I have to tell you, the man was a fine soldier too. So all in all, I guess things worked out for the best. And if he