Free SEAL Forever by Anne Elizabeth

I’m crap at expressing myself.”
    â€œDon’t feed me lines…or excuses.” She pushed on his chest. “This is just another conquest.”
    â€œNo,” he said, his voice very serious. “This relationship—you and me—is very important to me.”
    â€œI…I don’t know, Declan. I need to think about this. It’s a big step for me to get past, well, your history with women. Please…please take me home.” Maura stood and walked to the Harley. She carefully got into the jacket and zipped it up. Putting on her helmet, she waited for him, looking miserable.
    There was no doubt in his mind that this was a misunderstanding, and that they’d get through it. She just needed some time to reflect on everything they’d shared and the kind of future they could have together. Regardless, he was going to keep proving himself to her. He wouldn’t give up.
    He nodded his head and got up from the bench. Slowly, he mounted his Harley and inserted the key. The engine roared to life. He secured his own helmet and pulled into traffic.
    This time, Maura didn’t reach around him as they rode. She held his hips, clearly regretting that she chose a mode of transportation requiring physical contact.
    He sighed. His visions for this night were going down the tubes fast and furiously. This was not what he wanted to happen. Not at all.
    * * *
    The lights in the apartment next to his were off. Nary a sound issued from its darkness, either.
    Standing on the balcony, Declan turned his gaze to stare out at the ocean. Stars filled the sky. The crescent moon hung low, as if it were attempting to hook a fish.
    He scrubbed his fingers over his scalp until his brain released its hold on the events of the night. He couldn’t let this frustration hold him stagnant. He needed motion; movement was the core of his life and his happiness. He needed motion to relax himself.
    He stripped off his clothes, going down to his boxer shorts, and then dropped to the sand. He did a series of exercises, warming up his muscles, feeling his heart rate increase, and his blood… Well, hell, that was already pumping, and in places it didn’t need to be right now.
    Getting to his feet, he looked up at the night sky full of brightly twinkling stars and said, “I need some help here. A little guidance would be useful.”
    Nothing was forthcoming. What did he expect? He shrugged and studied the waves, looking for the sweet spot where the current would draw him into the ocean. It would be easier to do laps and swim hard out there.
    Besides, he hadn’t really done anything wrong, had he? It wasn’t as if he could erase his past. If she were meant to be his, she’d come around to his point of view. And if not…
    Man, he didn’t like thinking about not seeing her. Not kissing her.
    Damn! This was not the mind-set he wanted right now.
    His swim buddy was right when he said, “Women are an enigma and very unpredictable.”
    Catching sight of the perfect spot to enter the ocean, where the rhythm of waves would pull him straight out, he moved quickly. Digging his toes in, he jogged down the sandbank and dove into the churning waves.
    The cold ocean water shocked his system for a second or two, but he ignored it. Feeling his body slice through the buoyant water brought a calm satisfaction and his own version of peacefulness as the current pulled him deeper and deeper into its briny darkness.

Chapter 7
    â€œMaura,” Declan said loudly. He knocked on Maura’s front door again. A night alone had brought him more than enough clarity, and he hoped the same would be true for her. “C’mon, I have to go. Please open up.”
    He’d tried the balcony glass door. Calling her cell phone didn’t work either. When was this woman going to cut him a break?
    â€œMaura.” He waited for her to answer, but she didn’t come to the door. Damn, he didn’t