Hot SEALs: Her Special Alpha (Kindle Worlds) (X-OPS 3.5) Read Free Page B

hated lying to Travis, especially since he’d saved her life, but it wasn’t like she could tell him that she was an agent with the Department of Covert Operations, an organization that didn’t officially exist. Nor could she tell him that this non-existent organization employed genetic mutations like her to conduct certain top secret missions that no one could ever know about. Not even her family knew what she really did for a living.
    Travis slanted her a look. “Paper pusher. Right.”
    Eden should have known he wouldn’t buy it, not after what he’d seen in the alley. She held her breath, waiting for Travis to press her on the subject, but he didn’t.
    Over by the restaurant, Brandon finished up with the cops, then walked over to where her sister was standing. Emily threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly before stepping back so his mom could do the same. Brandon’s father, as well as her and Emily’s parents, were more reserved but no less concerned.
    “That your sister?” Travis asked.
    “Yes, that’s Emily,” Eden said. “And that’s my mom and dad standing on either side of her.”
    Travis nodded thoughtfully. “Your parents don’t seem to share your suspicions about Brandon.”
    “That’s because they didn’t see him get beat up,” she muttered. “Not that it would probably matter anyway. My dad thinks Brandon walks on water because he’s in the navy. Dad’s retired navy, and sometimes I think he secretly wishes both Emily and I had continued the family tradition and gone to Annapolis,” she added when Travis gave her a confused look. “I guess he figured he’d have to settle for one of us marrying into the navy.”
    Travis considered that for a moment. “Navy to the core, huh?”
    She sighed. “That’s my dad.”
    “What about your mom?” Travis asked. “What does she think of Brandon?”
    Eden shrugged. “I think Mom is a little worried about Emily marrying a man who’s going to be gone on float more than he’s home, but she just wants Emily to be happy. That’s the most important thing. And the possibility of grandkids in the near future, of course. She’s itching to get her hands on some grandkids ASAP.”
    Travis chuckled. “Sounds like my mother. She’s on me all the time to settle down, get married, and have a few kids—not necessarily in that order. What about you? Your mother pressuring you to have children?”
    Eden smiled. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with a guy she’d just met, but Travis was so easy to talk to. “She tries. But I have to let you in on a little secret—the idea of having children scares the life out of me. I can barely take care of myself, much less a kid. The thought of being completely responsible for another little human being makes me want to run away as fast as I can.”
    His mouth quirked. “I’m guessing that would be pretty damn fast. No lie—I’ve never seen a woman run so fast in bare feet and a dress.”
    She flashed him a smile. “You should get a look at how fast I am out of it.”
    His chocolate brown eyes darkened to a sexy smolder. “Now that’s something I’d like to see.”
    “What, me running without a dress on?” She wasn’t sure why he’d be impressed by that. Maybe he had a thing for Olympic sprinters. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
    That sensuous mouth of his twitched again. “I don’t know. The idea of seeing you without anything on—running or otherwise—seems like a big deal to me.”
    Eden thought she might have blushed at that, but she wasn’t sure. She’d meant running in a T-shirt and shorts instead of a dress. He, on the other hand, clearly meant seeing her run around completely naked. She didn’t hold it against him. She’d walked right into that one.
    “Travis Dalton, are you flirting with me?” she asked.
    “Yes,” he said. “Unless you considered that last comment rude, sexist, or inappropriate, in which case, I’m not flirting at all.”
    She