Desert Alpha: A Lady Boss Press Navy SEAL Novella, Bethany Lopez [readict books .txt] 📗

morning, breakfast was over, and the chow hall was serving lunch.

It was completely worth it. I’d forgo eggs for sleep any day of the week.

King and I had ended up grabbing some food to go and taking it with us to the pool. Now we were playing music with sun kissing our skin while we ate burgers, and if you closed your eyes just right, you could almost imagine you were at a barbecue back home.

“This is the life,” Hummer said with a moan. He was currently floating in the middle of the pool on an innertube someone had left behind.

“The only thing that would make it better would be a beer in my hand and a crowd of Bettys in bikinis rather than just your hairy asses,” King said from the lounge chair next to mine.

“Ugh, no beer,” Scotty complained.

“Lightweight,” Hummer shot back, yelling when Scotty responded by splashing water at him.

“My body is a temple. You know I only drank last night because it was our first night of R & R.”

King rolled his eyes at me while Scotty submerged himself and started swimming laps.

“I’m with you,” I told King as I finished my burger and laid back in the chair.

“Yeah, I bet … I’m sure there’s one specific body you’d like to see in a bikini.”

“You’ve got that right,” I murmured, remembering how quick Cass had sparked with my hands on her.

“Her friend was pretty hot.”

“You gonna go for it?” I asked.

King grinned and shrugged. “She’s single, has a bangin’ body, and seemed interested, but I don’t know. We could be gone tomorrow.”

King was the youngest of us, younger than me by a few years, and I was pretty sure Lori was a couple years older than me.

“Yup, you’re right, we could be gone tomorrow, which is why you have to make the most of today. And, hell, I bet she could teach you plenty, no matter how long we’re here.”

King gave me the finger and closed his eyes.

Guessing that meant he was done with the conversation, I got up and jumped into the water.

My breath caught with the initial chill, but by the time I broke the surface I was ready to do some laps of my own. I swam to the side and did a flip, kicking off of the wall and coming up to start the freestyle.

I wasn’t sure how many laps I’d done, but my muscles were loose, and I was feeling good, like I could go all day, when a noise broke through, causing me to stop and look up.

“Hey.”

Cass was standing on the edge of the pool. She was wearing shorts and a tank top, and I could see a bathing suit strap tied around the back of her neck.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I replied as I made my way toward the side.

“Pretty good,” she said, pausing as I placed my hands on the edge and pulled myself from the water. I felt her eyes on me as I got out and stood before her. I bit back a chuckle as she fought to take her eyes off of my chest to meet my eyes. “I thought I’d take my workout hour at the pool today, just in case you were still here.”

Cass looked unsure then, as if she’d just admitted too much, so I tried to ease her mind by saying, “I’m glad. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

The worry dropped and a smile broke out on her face, making her look absolutely breathtaking.

I crossed to grab my towel and made a little show of drying off. I was vain enough to enjoy her perusal and may have even flexed a little.

Cassandra dropped her bag on the empty chair next to mine and began to take off her clothes, effectively turning the tables so now I was the one watching her with rapt attention. She started with the shorts, easing the small scraps of denim over her hips and shimmying them down her long, toned legs.

Before I could even wipe the metaphorical drool off of my mouth, she placed her hands on the hem of her top and pulled it up and over her head, dropping it on top of her bag absently, while I stood there dumbstruck.

Her body was tight … firm and soft in all the right places.

I forced myself to stop staring and settled back onto my chair while she moved her bag off of hers and did the same.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Cass asked.

“The best,” I replied. “I got about ten hours.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

“Yeah, I needed it.”

I needed her to stop talking about sleep, ‘cause that turned my thoughts to bed, which had me imagining taking her to bed and thinking of all the things I would do to her there.

I glanced over her, stretched out next to me, scraps of material the only thing hiding her from me, and I swore under my breath.

“What is it?” she asked, turning her head toward me.

“I need to cool off,” I grumbled, standing up as I wondered if she knew I was as aware of her body as she’d been of mine.

“Again?” she asked.

Rather than reply, I jumped in and kept myself underwater until I had control over my body again.

When I came up for air, I heard her sweet laughter.

Oh yeah, she knew.

Chapter 9

Cassandra

After a fun afternoon at the pool, Rip and I grabbed dinner before joining everyone at the Cantina.

I’d only spent a small amount of time in Rip’s company, but I found I really enjoyed being with him. With Rich, it seemed like nothing had ever been easy, everything was a struggle or a fight, but with Rip we could just be with each other.

It was as simple as that.

Maybe it was because we knew our time together was limited, or maybe it was simply the kind of person he was. He lived a dangerous life. With the job he did he was aware of how precious every second