Tangled Pursuit Read Online Free

passionate. She even had Angelo’s green eyes. Her mother shared that Angelo had been slow to mature too, but when he did, he was strikingly handsome and pursued by women the world over. And of course, he was rich, Tal thought. And her cousin Angelo was still gorgeous, even now, at age fifty, happily married to Maria.
    When she looked in the mirror, Tal didn’t see a beautiful woman. Oh, she was attractive, she guessed, but she loathed cosmetics and never got her fingernails painted or cared about fashion trends like her mother and Alexa did. Somehow, it just hadn’t rubbed off on her. She’d always been an outdoors girl, happier in nature than being locked indoors, which she hated.
    Tal came back to the present. Where was Wyatt Lockwood, the larger-than-life Texan? He was good at firing off one-liners, too. No wonder he was called “Gunslinger” by his SEAL team. Everyone in a SEAL time had a nickname. The chief of the platoon was the one who awarded such monikers, and her nemesis had earned his in a hot firefight, she had heard, a decade earlier. Her mouth turned down as she scanned the thousands of men and women in the huge indoor chow hall. Where was he? Tal swore she could feel him watching her, skin prickling on her left back shoulder.
    That wouldn’t be unusual. In fact, Wyatt had shadowed her life like the black ops SEAL he was for the last three years. In some ways, he was like Matt: tall; lanky; easygoing; a big Texas smile on his well-shaped mouth; large, predatory gray eyes usually filled with some private amusement and the belief that he was God’s gift to women.
    She was one of the few on base who had escaped his snare.
    Tal suddenly found the area where the SEALs usually sat, and, just as she expected, there was Lockwood with his men. As a chief, he was a leader and a mission specialist, and took excellent care of his platoon. She couldn’t fault Wyatt Lockwood for his military record. No, it was what he did to her that drove her nuts.
    The bastard was such a smooth talker and such a big tease, he made her blush in front of everyone. He’d never touched her, but he certainly knew how to get to her. That and the look he always gave her, the meaning of which was obvious: he wanted to bed her.
    Right. Sure. Hell would freeze over first. The Gunslinger had quite a reputation here on Bagram, going after the best-looking women on base.
    Everyone knew he didn’t take no for an answer—until he’d met Tal. She was like a smooth brick wall he couldn’t even get a foothold to climb. Tal had already known love, and she wasn’t about to take anything less. Her one serious relationship had been with Marine Corps sniper Sergeant Brian Collier. He’d died nine months after they’d met on an op in the Hindu Kush, breaking her heart and—almost—her spirit.
    That was years ago, and Tal had sworn never to get involved with a military man again. Not ever.

CHAPTER 2
    C HIEF W YATT L OCKWOOD kept his gaze averted but was still able to find Captain Talia Culver, who stood restively in the chow line. She was with her brother, Matt, and her sister, Alexa. He knew Matt well because they’d worked together on a number of black ops missions over the years. Alexa was an unknown simply because she was an Air Force pilot and he was a ground-pounder.
    As he hungrily scooped up his second helping of six eggs, along with a tray piled high with bacon and toast, he smiled to himself. His “animals,” the other SEALs in his platoon, had their heads down, concentrating on wolfing down as much protein their empty stomachs could hold.
    But he had other fish to fry. Namely, Tal. Damn, she was an Amazon-warrior knockout. Of course, he’d never tell her that. She’d get royally pissed off, turn on her heel, and leave him in a huff without another word. She was like that, quick to give him an icy glare. She didn’t have the time of day for him, which her body language had told him again and again—for three years, in fact.
    He