Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,44

guys along the way, especially when you get to the teams,” she said, as the butter melted. He set it off to the side and turned to the counter, dragging her in front of him so her back was against the hard planes of his bare chest.

She felt him nod his head. “We lost quite a few promising guys this week. They DOR’d and it was disappointing. It’s like they were waiting for First Phase before leaving, instead of the shame of failing in BO. A lot quit after log PT.” He pulled the sack of flour toward them. “Measure out one and a quarter cups.”

She grabbed the correct measuring cups and carefully poured out the flour. “Log PT looks brutal.”

“Not so much when we pull as a team.” He handed her the measuring spoons. “Now a tablespoon of sugar, four teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt.”

“Ah, there is the lesson—teamwork. The SEAL way.”

“It pays to be a winner.” He twisted away from her and brought the saucepan of milk into her line of view. Setting it on a potholder near the bowl, he reached for the egg carton. “Crack and whisk two. Points if you can do it one handed.”

“If I get shell in the mixture, you going to drop me down for twenty?”

“Maybe,” he said as she deftly cracked the eggs into a glass bowl without getting any of the shell.

She chuckled.

“Winners get a brief break and the losers get a beat down. Yeah, it pays.” He kissed her on top of the head and her heart melted a bit more.

“Another lesson?” She whisked them vigorously with a fork.

“Maybe. I think there are just some guys who can’t stand losing. They have to excel and push forward until they drop.” He picked up the saucepan. “I’ll pour, and you whisk.”

“You one of those guys?”

He snapped the waistband of his shorts, and she smiled and nodded. “Relentless bastard,” she murmured, and he laughed.

“Enough BUD/S and me talk. We had such a whirlwind beginning to this relationship. I want to know more about you.”

Trying to deflect the emotion that rose with his reference to a relationship, she said, “A wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am payment?”

“No.”

“Don’t get your UDT shorts into a twist—as if you could.” He tickled her in the side and she almost spilled the mixture. “I’m kidding. I’m not ashamed. I enjoy your body very much, especially in those shorts.”

He ignored the barb and said, “I know you have a brother and a sister who died.” He picked up the bowl of dry ingredients. “I’ll add the dry and you mix it together, but just barely, then we’ll add the chips.”

Shea tensed for a moment and he rested his cheek on her head. She couldn’t talk about Maddy, but he didn’t press. He must have felt her body stiffen, sensing how vulnerable she was feeling right then. He touched her hand, and that gesture caused her throat to tighten. That sweet understanding melting her even more.

“What was your life like growing up?”

She did as he asked and when he reached for the chips he’d already measured out and dumped them in, she stirred them into the batter.

“Navy brat and admiral’s daughter. I think my father had no clue what to do with girls. My mother was an enigma to him as well. I think he would have liked to have all boys. As you know, my brother Jason is a Marine, my sister is…was…a Navy Logistics Officer. I’m the black sheep and he doesn’t understand.”

“Because you’re a videographer? Everyone should be accepted for who they are, Shea.” She turned to face him, his words and character catching her off guard, the huskiness in his response made her want to cry.

He stared at her a moment, then became intent on her mouth as he ran his thumb along her lower lip. “I think a black sheep is badass. She goes her own way,” he said gruffly.

Taking his face between her hands, she stretched up and kissed him softly on the mouth, her breath catching as he pulled her hips closer and took control of the kiss. It was long and lingering and oh, so sweet, and by the time he let her go, her knees were weak, even for a triathlete. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his cheek on the top of her head. They remained like that for several moments, simply taking comfort and pleasure from each other. It felt like she was betraying her sister.

“You are