SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

being one thing that came to mind.
    “Dinner sounds great,” she said, quite proud of her ability to maintain her composure.
    “Friday night work for you?”
    “Perfect.”
    Hayley entered her number in his phone while he did the same with hers, then she gave him her address.
    “I’ll see you at 1830 hours,” he said, then chuckled. “I mean, six-thirty.”
    “I can’t wait,” she said, and meant it.
    Touching his fingers to the brim of his hat in a causal salute, Chasen gave her another smile then strode off. Hayley let out a sigh as she watched him go. Damn, he made that blue camouflage uniform look good.
    “Who was that?” Brad asked from beside her.
    Hayley dragged her gaze away from Chasen’s retreating form to look at her friend. He was standing there with two bottles of water in his hands and a curious look on his face.
    “That was the Navy SEAL who rescued me over in Africa,” she said.
    Brad’s eyes widened. “Get out! Are you sure it’s him and not some boat jockey who saw your story in the news and is lying about being a SEAL?”
    She laughed as she took the bottle of water he held out. “No, it’s him. I told you, I got a look at him, remember?”
    Brad opened his bottle of water and took a swig. “I thought you said you only saw his eyes.”
    “I did, but that was all it took,” she said. “That’s him.”
    “Well, damn. In that case, why didn’t you tell him to hang around a little longer? I would have liked to meet him.”
    She smiled. “You might still get a chance. I’m going out on a date with him.”
    And if she had her way, it would be the first of many.
    * * * * *
    Chasen was still grinning like an idiot when he met up with Dalton and Nash in the parking lot. They were leaning back against his silver F-150 pickup, waiting for him.
    “So you and the journo, huh?” Dalton asked from the backseat of the extended cab after they’d all climbed in.
    Chasen shrugged as he started the engine. “Maybe. We’re going out Friday night.”
    Nash gave him a sidelong glance from the passenger seat. “Think this one might last for more than fifteen minutes?”
    Dalton chuckled.
    Chasen glared at his two friends, frowning at the reminder of the last time he’d tried dating a woman. She’d thought being with a Navy SEAL was cool until he had to leave fifteen minutes into their first date to go wheels up on a mission. She hadn’t even bothered answering her phone when he’d called after getting back.
    Not everyone could handle being involved with a SEAL—he got that and so did his buddies. Of the eight guys in his platoon he tended to work with the most, only one—their chief—was married. Chasen had met a lot of women who were interested in the idea of dating a SEAL, but the reality was a bit different. There was the crappy and unpredictable schedule, the calls at all hours of the day and night, training frequently so intense it left you exhausted, and work that took you to dangerous places for long periods of time. None of which you could talk about with the woman you were hoping to make part of your life. It wasn’t something most women could deal with.
    Something told Chasen that Hayley was different. Her job took her all over the world too, so if anyone would be okay with her SEAL boyfriend taking off to go to some craphole place at the drop of a hat, she would.
    As insane as it sounded, they’d made a connection when he’d busted into that pigsty where she was being held prisoner in Nigeria. He could tell she was beautiful even underneath all that dirt, grime, and exhaustion, and the look in her blue eyes when he told her he was there to rescue her made his chest hurt. He and his Team had rescued a lot of people over the years, but none had ever gotten to him the way Hayley had. He wanted to kill every one of those assholes who’d hurt her in the most painful ways he could think of. And as a trained SEAL, he could think of some frigging horrific ways. When he’d put her