Page 54 of The SEALs' Single Mom Baby Surprise

“I didn’t, but I know better than to assume. The barrels have wear.” Her clipboard rests on her hip bones. If not for the excitement in her gaze, the small curve of her lip might read as smug. The more I watch her, test her, unravel what she’s thinking, the more I realize she’s so good at hiding.

But now, she’s giving me more glimpses of the real her. The one not just covered up and consumed by anger.

Although much of the anger is misplaced fear.

I hate that I’ve barely gotten a peek at the life she had with her ex, and it’s awful. No wonder she’s been fighting as hard as she has.

The pride in her gaze now eases some of the cold that comes with thinking of the stories Reese told me, all simple and easy to read into from an adult perspective. Even a six-year-old knew what Alistair was doing to Sloane wasn’t right.

“They do,” Hastings says, taking up another 98 to check it over.

“Good catch.” I lean in close to her, grinning at her ear.

God, this woman is smart. And it’s sexy as hell.

She turns her face to blink up at me. “We should be able to track it, right?”

I brush the loose strands of hair from her face. “It might take a little while, but yes, we can track it.”

Her wide smile stuns me. Hastings puts the 98 back, coming around the crate to stand in front of her.

My mouth dips back to her ear. “Your brain is by far the sexiest thing about you. You know that?”

That loosens her posture so that when my hands surround her hips, I’m able to easily pull her back against me. The suppressed giggle only makes me respond to her faster, and I’m sure she can feel it against her ass.

Hastings closes in, tipping her chin up with a finger and bending to rub his nose over hers with the promise of a kiss. Oh, how easily we can cause a scene, right here, in the middle of the warehouse, and that’s not something Sloane is going to appreciate.

It doesn’t make either of us back off.

My hand circles her waist, mouth dropping the ghost of a kiss along the back of her neck.

Hastings draws his hands down both of her arms, lifting her hands to his shoulders. Tension coils around her, drawing us in like gravity.

Fuck, I can’t stop touching her, whispering to her how brilliant she is.

When we get her home… I meet Hastings’ gaze, and my own thoughts reflect back at me.

There’s no denying this anymore.

It’s time to play our hand with Sloane.

I nip at the shell of her ear, reveling in her whimper.

“Mommy!” Reese’s voice cuts through the hangar, jolting through Sloane and forcing her to take a step out from between us before she greets her daughter.

Cole’s gaze says we’ve been caught.

Funny thing is, I don’t feel the least bit sheepish about it.

24

RHETT

We’ve been circling Sloane like sharks, waiting for Reese’s bedtime. She’s upstairs now, tucking the girl in, and I’m pretty sure both the girls know something is up.

The little shorts and oversized shirt Sloane wore after her shower have me wondering why so many advertisements show women in lingerie instead of a man’s shirt swallowing her whole. The sight of Sloane in it makes my hands itch with the want to wander underneath that loose fabric to discover what’s waiting for me.

The moment I hear her on the steps, I’m standing at the bottom of them. She slows but doesn’t stop until she’s a stair above me. Her eyes search mine, and I snap, hands grabbing her waist and pulling her smoothly against me.

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