Page 6 of Honk if You Love Real Men (Tempting SEALs 1)

“Done.”

“I gotta apologize for Drum—Jesse, that is,” Tea said to Estrella while his partner fixed the car and slammed the hood with more force than necessary. “The guy’s been in—” Tea caught himself, aided by a glare from Jesse. “The guy’s lost his touch. He forgets his manners around nice ladies like yourself.”

“I’m not so nice,” she mumbled, watching Jesse through her lashes. “And I certainly do apologize for the trouble I’ve caused.”

“It’s no bother helpin’ a pretty girl.” Tea’s chest expanded. “Been a long hot day and this was the best part of it.”

Jesse hadn’t known that Tea was such a sweet-talker. The rambling stories about his football glory days and the head cheerleader girlfriend might even be true.

“Let’s cut this short.” Their boss was barking at them from the shallow pit.

“G’day, ma’am,” Tea said, tipping his helmet as he departed.

Estrella took her hand off the key to do a finger wave.

Jesse hesitated nearby. “Go on and see if the car starts.”

She looked as if she wanted to speak, but she simply nodded and turned the key in the ignition. The engine came to life and she goosed it for emphasis. Vroom, vroom.

“Thank you,” she said, blinking her big shining eyes at him. Her expression had sweetened. Either she’d already forgotten her moment of alarm, or he’d miscalculated the reaction, the way he tended to, seein

g slights even where there were none.

“Look,” he said. “I shouldn’t have been so—”

“No, you were right,” she blurted. “The car—that was just a silly ruse. Please don’t tell your partner.” Her face puckered. “I don’t want him to think badly of me. It was just that I saw you working here, and you really caught my . . . what I mean is, there’s no denying you’re sexy as hell, but still, I don’t know what got into me—”

Her voice cut off and they looked at each other with an awareness that zinged like the current in an electrical line, each of them certain they were thinking the exact same thing.

Him, getting into her. Burying himself deep in the tight wet welcoming heat of her pussy.

Her eyes were glassy. The apples of her cheeks reddened. The tip of her tongue had flicked out to lick her top lip and was apparently stuck there.

She was waiting. For him. To make a move.

He didn’t. He couldn’t.

“I’m there.” She pointed to a high-rise apartment building just off the main boulevard, a tower of glass and steel. “The tenants have an outdoor pool, if you want to, um, cool off after work.”

He resisted the steady pull of attraction. Futile. “You don’t want—”

“But I do.”

He tried again. “You don’t know—”

“All the better.”

Aha. Despite the hints of her being a nice girl, she was looking for a straight-up fuck. Check your emotional needs at the door.

In that case, he could, even though he shouldn’t.

“Tonight, maybe?” she suggested, gunning the engine again. The vehicles in the right lane were moving, and she switched on her blinker, intending to join them. Her face still seemed youthfully innocent, but her mouth was inviting. Inciting. “If the sign isn’t wrong about your, you know, equipment.”

“What? What sign?”

“That one,” she said, giving one more sassy ponytail toss as she drove away.

He looked in the direction she’d indicated, toward the warning and safety signs that dotted the construction zone at frequent intervals. The bottom of his stomach dropped out, but dammit if his cock didn’t swell, ready to meet the challenge.

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