Her Secret Pirate Read Online Free Page A

Instead of being in shock or hugging her father, she was standing in her bare feet, grinning foolishly like some infatuated teenager. So much to say, and so little time. She really should stop staring. But his smile . . . and that mouth . . . she went on tiptoe and kissed his chin. If there weren’t three other SEALs looking at them with interested smirks, she’d have jumped back into his arms and kissed him silly. His head turned. His lips brushed against her ear.
    “Arrrrr,” he said.

EPILOGUE
     
    Despite their best efforts, the media never got close to the SEALs. Rebecca saw a newspaper article detailing the inci dent at sea. There was a photo of the Ambassador and her. There were pictures of uniformed personnel escorting them to the boat that took them to the Navy ship. The four SEALs with the camouflaged faces weren’t there. One moment, when she’d turned a fter joining her father, she saw them still standing watch in the shadows. Next, they were gone.
    It was like a dream.
    She remembered all that had happened with vivid detail—the sudden shouts, the frantic rush to get to the safe room, hiding in the dark by herself, and especially the hero who came to her rescue.
    She couldn’t forget the violent fight. What was Zone doing now? How many more of that kind of fights had he been in?
    The media had tried to get Rebecca to talk more about the rescue, especially about the SEALs they’d been informed were involved, but she’d kept most of the details out of her story. It was just too personal. The ship’s crew had filled in the story, though, and many of them had gone on TV to give an account of the brave men who had snuck on board and took down the pirates.
    In the weeks after that, s he’d had a long talk with her father to clear the air about Zone and her. It had been a secret relationship but she didn’ t want that any more. She wished for more and hopefully, Zone wanted the same too. His emails hadn’t been exactly communicative about his feelings. That man just wasn’t good with words and so she’d waited to see him in person. She’d missed him so much, counting the days until he was on leave again.
    The man climbing off the motorcycle to meet her was more of a fantasy, though. Her heart fluttered at the sight of his familiar figure in leather jacket and jeans. He took the jacket off, hooked it over his shoulder, and headed her way. He d idn’t look as scary without the camouflage smears and big weaponry , but now she understood why she had be en drawn to him when they met. It wasn’t just the undercurrent of danger and the hint of darkness behind that devastating smile. It was the way he walked—was walking now—that sure confident stride tha t never hesitated when he first saw her. He had headed straight to her and her heart had melted at the look in his eyes. He was giving her the same look now.
    She smiled. The way those legs filled out the worn jeans wasn’t half bad either.
    He stopped in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, lifting her head for his kiss. Warm. Tender. A lover’s embrace.
    It felt so wonderful to have him back where he belonged. She lost herself in the taste of him, the feel of his tongue sliding against her own, slow and possessive, instantly jacking up her heart rate and temperature. He slanted his head and took the kiss deeper. She responded with equal fervor.
    “Hey,” Zone said, when he finally broke the kiss. His voice was husky.
    “Hey. Miss you.” And she didn’t just mean since the hijack at sea.
    “I love your emails. Sorry I’m not good at writing back.”
    “I didn’t expect you to reply all of them.” She figured a SEAL was busy all t he time doing dangerous stuff. They started walking towards her apartment building . “I’ve been reading a lot about what you guys do.”
    “Is that right.” It was more a statement than a question.
    “Yes. And Dad has been telling me all kinds of stories too. I think he’s afraid I’d get