Page 84 of Over the Edge

“A) There haven’t been many girls. I’m not generally into casual hook-ups. B) I’ve never said that before to a woman. And C) I meant it when I said it to you.”

“Then, A) I believe you don’t sleep around, although I’m surprised. B) I also believe you’ve never said that and am even more surprised. And C) Thank you. I’ve never experienced anything like that, either.” She paused, and then added, “I won’t make any snarky comments about having just realized what I was missing all this time since I’ve never slept with a SEAL before.”

He dropped a kiss on the end of her nose. “That makes us even. I’ve never slept with a SEAL before, either.”

She laughed as he rolled over onto his back, taking her with him so she ended up sprawled across his chest. She groaned, “I think all my bones have melted.”

“Mmm. I know the feeling. Same.”

They lay quietly together while within, the tent flapped lightly around them, and the wind whispered and whined without.

She had almost drifted off to sleep when he said soberly, “It’s final, now. I can’t ever go back to the Reapers.”

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Trevor winced as Anna jerked upright, pushing up off his chest.

“What do you mean, you can’t ever go back?” she demanded.

He didn’t need to see her face to know she was outraged and hurt. Both vibrated in her voice. He answered gently, “How are we supposed to work together after what we just did?”

“Easy. We get up in the morning, do what we have to do, and do it the way we’ve both been trained to do it.”

“Anna. Think about it. How are you going to react the next time somebody jumps me and tries to kill me?”

“The same way I did before! I’ll dive in and save your life. Same way you’d do for me.”

“And you don’t think you’ll panic a little? It won’t affect your judgment even a tiny bit? I know it would surely affect mine.”

She sat all the way up beside him, hugging her knees to her chest. “How would your judgment change?”

“I’ll be a hell of a lot less interested in sending you into a life or death situation. No way will I risk your safety.”

“C’mon. People like us face dangerous, even deadly situations every single day. We do it casually—or if not casually, at least without fear. If I’m not afraid of a situation, why you would you be afraid of it for me?”

He grimaced until he realized she was staring down at him. He sat up as well. The sleeping bag fell to his waist and the cold night air bit at his bare chest.

“I would be afraid because I have feelings for you, Anna.”

“You had feelings for me before. I was your teammate. Your swim buddy. A friend.”

He shoved a hand through his hair, frustrated and unhappy about the direction of this conversation.

“Griffin and Sherri work together. It’s not as if all SEAL teams aren’t family. You and me—we’re just slightly closer than most.”

He huffed, but didn’t argue back.

“I think this has more to do with you fleeing at the first sign of having real feelings for a woman,” she declared. “And before you try to deny it, keep in mind I’ve lived with you day and night for the past year. Iknowyou, Trevor.”

Dammit, she was right about that. But did that make her right about the other bit? Did he flee having feelings for anyone? He tried to be honest with himself all the time, and this moment was no different. Truth be told, his job did give him an outstanding excuse to bail out any time he started to get close to a woman. He could always count on a deployment or training requirements to whisk him away any time a woman fell for him and started to ask him to return her feelings.

“Fine. I bail out on relationships with women when they start to get serious. But I’m only doing the woman a favor. Who the hell wants to wait at home for a guy like me to die on a mission?”

“Dude. You have got to get over this fixation of yours on dying. I’m not planning to die out here any time soon, and neither should you.”

“I’m being realistic,” he bit out.

“You’re being a whiny drama queen,” she snapped.

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