Possession: A Little Harmless Military Romance Read Free

was as aware of the attention from people surrounding them as she was. “Would you like to dance?”
    “Not really.”
    She knew what was going to happen if he touched her. Heck, she knew what was going to happen even if they didn’t dance, but she had some pride. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of his friends and hers.
    He looked surprised.
    “Why don’t we go for a walk?” she asked.
    He nodded in agreement and offered his arm. She could feel the stares as they walked out of the area. Once they were free of the attention, she relaxed.
    “So, you’re teaching here?”
    She nodded. “I needed a change. They were cutting our benefits left and right. Pay isn’t great here, but there were still as many benefits as in California. And, seriously, how can you not be happy living with this kind of scenery?”
    He shook his head. “You make it sound like it’s paradise every day.”
    She chuckled. “No. Just like everywhere else, we have the same issues. But I do like the slower pace here. And you know how I react to long winters.”
    He nodded, and she knew he remembered her problem with long winters. “Your friends, do they teach, too?”
    “No. Fiona is a message therapist and Zoe is a nurse.”
    “Hmm, does Fiona do house calls?”
    She laughed. “She does, but I don’t think she would be comfortable with you as a client.”
    He frowned. “Why is that?”
    “She knows a little bit too much about you.”
    He made a face. “Women.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, feeling more comfortable now. The vibrations between them were still there, but it was easier to concentrate on catching up.
    “You tell each other way too much about your sex life.”
    She stopped and pulled her arm out of his. “Like you don’t brag about your conquests to the boys? You just said Mal talked about his women.”
    “First of all, my friends aren’t boys. Mal doesn’t count. And second of all, I never brag. Especially when comparing any woman to you is useless.”
    She sighed and started walking again, trying to keep some distance between them. He didn’t say things like that to seduce her. For Deke, it was the truth, and he didn’t hold it back. He never did with her. If he did, he might be easier to resist.
    “My brother is also stationed here.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Should have known. So, did he complain until you moved here?”
    She smiled. Deke and her brother had a love/hate kind of relationship. “No, actually he’s gone a lot because he’s on the IG inspecting bases. So, for the Pacific, that means he has to go to Asia a lot.”
    “Still unmarried?” he asked.
    “Of course. You know he never wanted to settle down.”
    They both knew the state of her parents’ marriage. Her father had never been able to adjust to being a civilian, and it had ruined the happiness that usually comes from retirement—not to mention her father had never really taken his marriage vows seriously. Considering how short and turbulent her own marriage to Deke had been, she often wondered if her family wasn’t cursed when it came to relationships.
    “So, you moved over here with your friends. You didn’t tell me.”
    “I called you to give you my new address. You never responded.”
    She knew with his job, he was gone a lot. It was something she had never gotten used to. Never would.
    “Oh. Yeah, we had a bad mission. Kade was fucked-up pretty bad.”
    She nodded. “Looks like he recovered.”
    “Thanks to Shannon.”
    They walked side by side for a while. It was nice
    “I can’t believe you moved over here.”
    “And, I can’t believe you seem so interested.”
    He stopped again and stared at her. “I’m always interested in you, Samantha. You know that.”
    Seeing him there, with the sun setting behind him and the waves crashing against the rocks, she couldn’t fight it, didn’t want to. They were wrong for each other. They had bad tempers, they fought too much, and neither of them was