SEAL's Embrace - Makenna Jameison Page 0,57

apartment.”

“Maybe,” she teased, standing up as Grayson signed the receipt and handed it back to the waitress.

“Want to walk down by the water a few minutes before we head over to the moving company’s storage area?”

“Sounds good,” she said.

They walked outside into the warm California sunshine, Grayson taking her hand in his. It was a perfect day, with blue skies and a gentle breeze coming off the water. “My team practices jumps over there sometimes,” he said, pointing off into the distance.”

“Jumps?” she asked, confused.

“Skydiving,” he clarified.

She shuddered, and Grayson chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “So when we go on our first official date, I shouldn’t sign us up for that?”

“No way,” she said, playfully swatting at him. Her hand came into contact with his six-pack abs, and even through his shirt, she could feel how muscular he was. Grayson had touched her gently over the past few days while she was sick, but that hadn’t come close to anything intimate, and her hand on him now was sending heat coursing through her entire body. Grayson’s hand immediately came over hers, holding it there to his stomach.

She glanced up at him shyly, nervously licking her lips. Even though they were walking along in the middle of the day, she had a feeling he’d kiss her. They’d had a nice lunch together, the weather was perfect outside, and this was the closest they’d really been in the past few days.

Grayson stopped them as they reached a railing overlooking the water and turned Hailey to face him, backing her up against it. He rested his hands on the railing, effectively caging her in with his body as he looked down at her.

“You’re beautiful,” he said gruffly, brushing a hand through her hair. She knew it was already windblown from the breeze coming in off the water, and she still had a scar on her forehead that she was a bit self-conscious about, but all that she noticed right now was the heat in his eyes.

He’d shaved, so that he barely had a beard anymore—it was more just dark stubble covering his strong jaw. It was masculine and sexy as hell though, and with his large hand now palming her face and his muscular body in front of hers, she felt surrounded by him. He smelled faintly of the woodsy soap or aftershave that he used, and it was arousing to have him so close to her.

“Thanks for lunch,” she said softly, suddenly feeling shy. She wanted to kiss him but was nervous all of a sudden. Was he expecting her to make the first move? She needn’t have worried though, because Grayson slowly ducked down, giving her time to move or push him away, and then his lips softly brushed over hers.

He tasted of the Mexican food they’d eaten and beer, but she couldn’t get enough of him. His kiss was soft and gentle, and her hands rose to his sides, gripping his shirt as she kissed him back, wanting more. He moved in again, kissing her harder this time. The stubble of his jaw moved over her sensitive skin, and her lips parted at his urging. Grayson’s tongue swept into her mouth, and she clung to him, awareness pulsing through her entire body as he claimed her with his kiss.

Her nipples pebbled beneath her top, and she felt arousal dampening her panties. Grayson’s kiss was hot—there was no doubt about it. It might’ve started out soft, but now he was taking complete control as she surrendered to him.

Moments later, he pulled back, and they were both breathing hard. “Wow,” he said softly as he straightened. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you.”

She let her hands drop back to her side, already missing the connection between them. She’d felt Grayson’s arousal against her stomach as he’d kissed her, and she was happy to see he’d been just as affected as her by their kiss. “It might’ve been a little inappropriate to kiss me like that in the general’s office,” she joked.

Grayson smirked. “Well, it would’ve let my teammates know that you were mine.”

“I’m pretty sure they already realize that,” she said lightly. His eyes were wide with arousal as he looked at her, and he ducked down for one more quick kiss before pulling away.

“Jesus. It’s going to be tough keeping my hands to myself after that,” he said.

She grabbed onto his forearm as they turned to continue walking, loving the feel