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Oh, yeah. He’d been on his way, then he’d gotten distracted by the vision of an angel. One look at Tessa Monroe’s sweet little body curved over the pool table and his brain had straight-up fizzled. He’d been lucky he’d remembered his name when he’d stood across from her.
It was shaming for a man with his reputation to admit—even to himself—but if she’d crooked one of those sexy fingers of hers and led the way, he’d have followed her anywhere. Which meant she was dangerous. To his reputation, to his ego and to his peace of mind. All three of which Gabriel protected fiercely.
Gabriel had learned young to recognize trouble, a talent honed to perfection by his years in the military. But recognizing or not, he never ran from a fight, and he didn’t back down from trouble.
But trouble like Tessa Monroe? An angel’s face wrapped in a body that’d tempt the devil?
A wise man stepped carefully.
A wiser man plunged deep, reveled in the delight and found a way to walk away unscathed.
He just had to find his opening.
And he wasn’t going to find it in here.
“I guess I’d better help Irish, and let you get back to the waiting ladies,” Gabriel said.
The two men moved easily through the crowd toward the far side of the room, where it looked as if an entire platoon had gathered. Seeing the groom-to-be talking to an older woman who was the spitting image of Mitch’s fiancée, Gabriel tapped Shane on the shoulder before tilting his head to indicate he was gonna do his duty.
“Chief Petty Officer Thorne, reporting for duty,” Gabriel said when he reached Mitch and the woman who was apparently going to be his friend’s mother-in-law.
Interest flashed in the blonde’s eyes as she smiled. Mitch just shook his head in resigned amusement.
“Pauline, I’d like you to meet Gabriel Thorne. Gabriel, this is Livi’s mother, Pauline.” Waiting only long enough to finish the introductions, Mitch made his excuses to escape.
Leaving Gabriel alone with a cougar who looked as if she’d enjoy lapping him up for breakfast.
“Gabriel, thank you for your willingness to help make Mitchell and Olivia’s wedding a beautifully memorable event. I’ve created a list for you,” she said, unsnapping the tiny seashell-shaped purse dangling from her wrist to pull out a slip of paper. Gabriel was encouraged by its small size until she unfolded and unfolded and unfolded it again.
“That’s quite a list,” he observed, noting that the computer-generated printout had multiple bullet points and appeared to be color coded.
“Read through it carefully, please, and let me know if there are any issues with the duties or timing.” She handed it over with a smile that said she didn’t care what he objected to.
“The ceremony will take place on Catalina Island in six weeks. Since it’s a destination wedding, the events will span the entire first week of May. You’ll need that entire week off. But if you could get time off beforehand to help with preparations, that would help, of course.”
Gabriel squinted a little to see if she was joking. Seeing she wasn’t, his lips twitched.
“Of course,” he repeated, giving her the words she wanted to hear, but not the actual agreement. Because everyone knew how easygoing Uncle Sam was about letting entire SEAL teams go off the grid at the same time.
He glanced at the list, his eyes widening at the extent of duties listed. He’d executed complicated hostage rescue missions that hadn’t required this many steps.
Then he gave those steps a closer look.
And saw how many of them had him paired with a certain angel-faced seductress. Gabriel’s expression eased into a natural smile; that was to say, one that was filled with a whole lot of wicked.
Host beach bonfire, he noted.
Collaborate on romantic moonlight dance.
This could get interesting.
“Tessa Monroe is the—” he glanced at the top of the page, where it listed all of the players and their assigned roles “—maid of honor?”
“Mmm, yes. Tessa and Olivia have been friends for years, all the way back to college.” When Gabriel gave her his most charming, do-tell-me-more smile, her own expression softened and she started chatting about Livi’s time at San Diego State. Barracuda or not, the woman had good feelings for her kid. That brought her up a few notches in Gabriel’s estimation. He knew firsthand that mother didn’t mean maternal.
“When Livi launched her fitness videos, she brought Tessa in. I’m not sure Olivia could have achieved the level of success she did without her friend. Not only is Tessa a beautiful woman who has great camera presence, her being there made the touring and live events so much easier on Olivia.”
“So Tessa’s a trainer, too?” Gabriel asked, finally voicing one of the thousands of personal questions he hadn’t let himself ask before.
“A trainer? Oh, no. Tessa doesn’t have the patience to teach. She’s actually a writer. Journalist?” Pauline frowned, then waved the distinction away as if it didn’t matter. “She writes for a very successful digital magazine. I think she’s also in charge of editorial, among other things. That enabled her to work from her laptop for weeks at a time while traveling. And, of course, her travels gave her so many new article ideas and contacts. I think two of the pieces she wrote on the road went on to win national attention.”
Not sure why he felt so proud since it had nothing to do with him, Gabriel still smiled. Maybe because it proved what he’d already known. In addition to being gorgeous and sexy, Tessa was savvy and smart.
“It’s a fitness magazine?”
“Flirtatious? No, it’s more of a relationship magazine for singles. A lot of emphasis on sex, the mating games, bedroom games, how to use it all to get ahead.” Pauline’s voice dropped to a husky timbre as she reached out to trail her fingers along the back of his hand. “I’ll be happy to share some of them, if you’d like?”
Gabriel blinked, surprised at how fast she went from businesslike to motherly to amused to cougar with barely a blink. Talented lady. But as attractive as she was, he didn’t figure he’d be offering up more than his respect.
With that in mind, he lifted the list in a modified salute and suggested he find the groom and discuss the details.
“If you need anything, just call. My numbers are all there,” Pauline instructed. Then she leaned forward and whispered a creative suggestion in his ear that made Gabriel’s brows arch. Before he could refuse, she patted his ass and went on her way.
Amused, Gabriel headed in the opposite direction through the crowded ballroom. Figuring he’d earned it, he grabbed another beer on his way to where Mitch was seated.
“Did I offer my congratulations yet?” he asked, grabbing a chair, then straddling it before tilting his beer bottle toward his friend in a salute.
“So far you’ve offered three warnings, two enigmatic stares and the suggestion that I see a counselor,” the groom-to-be mused with an easy smile. “You finally going to add a congrats to that?”
“On finding a sweetheart like Livi? Sure. But how about a word of advice?”
Mitch gestured with his own beer for Gabriel to go ahead.
“That was quite a chat with your future mother-in-law.” Gabriel gave a silent whistle and shook his head. “You might wanna give thought to running.”
“She’s not so bad,” Mitch responded, looking around. His gaze didn’t land on the blonde barracuda who’d just propositioned Gabriel, but rested instead on her daughter.
“Not so bad?” Gabriel scoffed. “Did you get a load of my assignment list? I’ve served under admirals with less balls than she has.”
Following Mitch’s gaze, Gabriel glanced at his friend’s fiancée. His eyes automatically shifted, though, to the dark-haired angel on the other side of the room, heat speeding through his system at the sight of her. A good-looking woman offering to ride him like a bronco got zip for reaction, but one look at Tessa and he was rock hard.
Damned if he could figure out what was going on.
He deliberately shifted his gaze away.
Lips twitching, he used his chin to indicate Mitch look that way, too.
“Your future mother-in-law has Scavenger in her sights.”
Mitch followed his lead to where Pauline had the tall, quietly shy SEAL cornered. From the look of it, she was actually petting his chest.
“She’ll eat him for breakfast,” Mitch proclaimed, looking both amused and a little worried.
Over their friend’s pending sexual education? Or the weirdness of watching all of the elements of his life mix together? Yet another reason to keep life to a single element, Gabriel figured.
“We should rescue him,” Mitch said, starting to rise.
“Nah.” Gabriel shook his head before Mitch could get to his feet. “It’ll be good for him. A guy needs to push his comfort zone now and then.”
“She might suck the comfort right out of him,” Mitch muttered with a worried frown.
“Some women do that,” Gabriel mused, his gaze cutting across the room to lock on Tessa again.
She was so damned sexy, her smile wide and bright in a way it never was when she looked at him.
Time to change the game, he decided.
He’d played it with amused distance already, and all that’d done was let her get a hold somewhere in the back of his mind.
As he listened with half an ear to Mitch talking, he realized that since Tessa was like no woman he’d ever known before, he’d have to take a different approach in dealing with her.
He was simply going to have to pursue her. That he’d have her went without question, since it was obviously the only way he’d get her out of his system.
He was a man who knew how to strategize, how to plan and how to win.
And he never, ever gave up.
Since Tessa wasn’t on board with his plan, he’d see her as a mission.
A target to be assessed, evaluated and overcome.
He’d figure her out.
He’d have her—on his terms.
Then he’d do what he always did.
Walk away, leaving both of them satisfied.
3 (#u8a805dca-8a4c-55af-890d-d0f373eb3fd6)
TESSA DIDN’T CHECK to see if Gabriel was looking her way. She didn’t have to. She knew his eyes were locked on her. She felt the heat of his interest all the way to her belly, where desire curled, unwanted, in a tightly coiled fire just waiting to explode.
Ignoring the edgy call of desire, she smiled and dished out friendly greetings and easy small talk as she worked the room. This was what she did. Socialized, flitted and fluttered, leaving a trail of lust and smiles behind. And if she did it with a little stress still weighing her down, well, hey, nobody else had to know that.
Not that anyone would. Nobody ever looked deep enough to see more than the outer package anyway.
Except Livi.
Still, Tessa gave it her best shot by amping up her smile and focusing on keeping her body at ease as she slid into the chair next to her best friend.
“Hey, you,” Livi greeted. “I was starting to wonder where you were. Pauline was talking about sending out a search party but I convinced her to wait until appetizers.”
“Thanks for saving me that.” Tessa pulled a face at the idea of Livi’s über–control freak of a mother coming in search of her. She wasn’t sure if that would have been better or worse than Romeo.
“Champagne?” a waiter offered.
After a quick glance at the glass, Tessa gestured to Livi’s flute of sparkling cider.
“I’ll have what she’s having,” she decided, giving him a warm smile that almost made him fumble the tray.
“What’s wrong?” Livi asked, her brows drawing together.
“Wrong? Why is it wrong that I’m keeping my pregnant friend company in her drinking choices?” Tessa said with a shrug.
That sounded much better than admitting that she couldn’t quite bring herself to celebrate what she was sure was going to be a painful mistake on Livi’s part. Marriage itself was bad enough. But marriage because she was pregnant? To a military guy?
“Since when do you drink the same thing I do? You’re upset. I can tell,” Livi said with a worried frown. Then her gaze slid past Tessa, the striking blonde’s eyes sharpening a little. Tessa didn’t need to turn around to know that her friend had just spotted the reason for her irritation.
“Are you and Gabriel at it again?” Livi asked, her frown deepening as she shook her head. “I don’t get it. I’ve never seen anyone argue with Gabriel except you.”
“But he’s so easy to argue with,” Tessa intoned. At Livi’s impatient look, she gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I wasn’t arguing with him. Really. An issue blew up at the magazine this afternoon that has me a little edgy is all.”
Not all a lie, Tessa mentally defended, since she hadn’t actually argued with Gabriel. A covert threat to whack him with the pool cue didn’t an argument make. And she had ended her workday with drama.
Usually, Flirtatious was a source of pleasure for Tessa. The magazine she’d founded with Jared Welch and Maeve Bannion was a huge success not only for her ego, but for her bank account.
But like sexy men, even a great career had its irritating moments.
“What did Jared do?” Livi asked, correctly honing in on one of the sources of Tessa’s troubles. “You need to watch out, Tessa. I know you think you’ve got a handle on him, but he’s a snake.”
“Please.” Tessa laughed. She wasn’t worried about Jared. Between her and Maeve, they kept him in line. Mostly. “When has a man ever got the better of me?”
She deliberately kept her gaze locked on Livi instead of searching the room for Romeo. Talk about ruining her reputation. She didn’t want anyone thinking she was nervous over a guy, even a guy like him.
“Jared would like nothing more than to ride on the tails of your success until he found a way to shove you out of the equation,” Livi said slowly, her eyes locked on Tessa’s face. “You’ve been getting more and more attention, syndication of your articles is picking up and you’ve had some amazing interviews.”
All true. Tessa was one hell of a writer. Oh, she knew Jared liked to tout her as a journalist, but she had no illusions. She wrote very fun, sassy and sexy pieces that all centered around the games between women and men. Flirtations, as the magazine’s name suggested. One Hundred and One Ways to Flirt Your Way to Success, Top Five Pick-up Lines for Savvy Women and The ABCs of Mastering the Sexual Playground were just a few of her recent submissions. Hardly Pulitzer-worthy topics, but they suited her talents and personality, they were extremely popular and they were fun to write. All key reasons why she loved her job.
Jared wouldn’t mess that up. Would he?
Tessa rubbed a finger against the throbbing in her temple, wondering when men had shifted from being a delightful pastime to being a pain in her butt.
“I’m filming a yoga segment tomorrow,” Livi said. “Why don’t you join in? A little balance, a little positive energy, it’d be good for you. I could use a toned body in belly-baring workout gear to bump the ratings.”
Tessa considered it for a moment. A nationally renowned fitness celebrity with a string of successful videos, Livi had just secured a contract with a fitness cable channel to air her new live workout program that she’d titled Stages, for women at every stage of life.
If there was a frustrated, irritated and inappropriately horny stage, Tessa was the girl to represent it. She was also the woman who knew better than to give in to that particular cocktail of emotions since it only led to trouble.
