A SEAL's Pleasure Read Online Free

secret wish and dream didn’t mean he really could. He might think she was going to fall at his feet simply by virtue of his gorgeous face and sexy body, but he was wrong. Tessa Monroe didn’t fall for any man. Especially not one so used to stepping over the bodies of his groupies to welcome the next conquest.
    Who cared if he was the sexiest man she’d ever met in her entire life? The promise of incredible sex would never be incentive enough to give any man the kind of power Gabriel demanded with a single look.
    â€œThree in the side,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
    Hell, she made her living understanding the influence of sex appeal. The lure of engaging the opposite sex. The delight of flirtatious interplay. She was an expert. Well, sort of an expert.
    At least expert enough to know that this...
    She took a deep breath, trying to shake off the needy feelings clutched low in her belly as she attempted to put a name on whatever it was she felt.
    This
thing
she was feeling for Thorne was just a chemical reaction. Not a big deal. After all, sexual sparks were as easy to come by as a good Wi-Fi connection. All it took was tapping in to the right signal, a password or a clever hack and voilà. A world of possibilities, right there at a girl’s fingertips.
    Tessa straightened, leaning on the pool cue as she inspected the table. The sound of laughter and chatter filtered through her focus, reminding her that the cocktail party was heating up in the rooms beyond. Figuring she had another three, maybe five minutes max before she’d be missed, Tessa bent low again, planted her feet in their five-inch heels and arched the small of her back in order to see the shot she wanted.
    â€œSeven, side.” The words were barely a breath of air as she took aim. As the ball spun toward its target she felt a little more of her tension ease and control reclaim its place in her body.
    She’d simply forgotten his appeal over the past five months. Out of sight and all that. Which was proof enough that she had nothing to worry about. If she could so easily dismiss a man’s sex appeal—and, oh, baby, did he ooze sex appeal—then he clearly wasn’t a threat to her peace of mind.
    By the time she’d lined up the ten ball, Tessa’s nerves were as rock solid as her aim and her mind calm.
    All she had to do was remember that she was in control. She didn’t have to make changes at the magazine if she didn’t want to. And as for Gabriel? Well, there wasn’t a man alive who’d gotten the best of her. So why should this one be any different? Before her mind could begin a litany of warnings of why he was already different, she took aim and sent the cue ball sailing.
    Just because he oozed the kind of charm that promised to leave her grateful when he broke her heart didn’t mean she was going to let him. Silly man; he had no idea who he was dealing with. If he did, he’d know what every man had ever said about her since she’d turned fifteen was true—that Tessa Monroe’s body might be hot as hell, but her heart was as cold as ice.
    Ice, baby, she reminded herself with a chilly smile.
    By the thirteen ball, she was comfortably confident again. Damned if she wouldn’t enjoy putting Gabriel Thorne back in his place, she decided. She knew plenty of women who’d want a man like that at their feet, who’d want to make him into a pet just to prove they could. Not Tessa. If she wanted something slobbering on her feet, she’d get a bulldog. Nope, the only place for a man like that was away from her. Far away.
    Back in control, enjoying the inner peace that came with it, Tessa added a little hip wiggle to her next shot, letting her body zing with the delight as the balls cracked together.
    â€œThere’s nothing prettier than a woman who’s mastered the art of body English.”
    Damn it all to hell.
    Tessa’s heart jumped. She couldn’t