The Navy SEAL's Christmas Bride (2 page)

He was staring straight at her.

His upright bearing betrayed his military background. His wide shoulders, powerful legs and chiseled good looks would have made him at home on a male pinup calendar, but his watchful gaze told her everything she needed to know. This was the SEAL Regan had told her about. Dan Hemmins.

And he was by far the handsomest man she’d ever met.

Sarah told herself her sudden tension came from the knowledge he’d be just as stuck-up and full of himself as her brothers were, but it had little to do with his attitude and everything to do with a vision that flickered through her mind—his hands on her bare skin, his mouth taking possession of hers—

Hell, where had that come from? Sarah shook off the thought and stepped forward to meet Regan’s family, shaken by the direction her libido had taken her. Even if it had been some time since she’d gone out with a man, she wasn’t attracted to SEALs. She wasn’t attracted to men in the military, period. And this longing to find a man to share her life with that had been haunting her lately? That was just a ridiculous holdover from the fairy tales she’d read when she was a child. She didn’t need a man and she didn’t want one, either. She was fine on her own.

She moved to shake hands with Mason when Regan introduced him. Mason was as upright as Dan was, with a friendly smile, blue eyes and hair barely longer than Navy regulations would have dictated.

“Glad to meet you,” he said.

He introduced her to each brother in turn, then to two couples who had come for the holidays, and lastly he turned to the man who’d been staring at her ever since she got out of the truck. “This is another guest of ours this Christmas—Dan Hemmins. Dan just left the SEALs, like me. He’s thinking of starting an extreme training camp to put civilians through their paces, right Dan?”

Dan shook her hand, and held it a second longer than necessary. A glint in his eyes told her he liked what he saw when he looked her over. “That’s right. Nice to meet you, Sarah.”

She nodded, disconcerted by his frank appreciation. She was used to being surrounded by men in prime fighting condition, but Dan was something special. Suddenly she was conscious of the fact she’d just spent most of a day on planes and in airports. Her hair was mussed, her clothes were wrinkled and she was sure what little makeup she wore was smudged. She wished she’d spent more time on her appearance, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that now.

Dan went on. “The idea is to give people a taste of Navy SEAL training.” He grinned. “Watered down to their level, of course.”

His final sentence hit her like a splash of cold water. Military men had directed that same kind of condescension at her all too many times. “Of course,” she said, then hoped Mason and Regan missed her sarcasm. This was a holiday party. She didn’t want to make waves, but from that one comment alone she could tell Dan was just like her brothers—so sure he was better than everyone else.

“Regan told me you’ll be looking for a new job soon, too?” he said.

Sarah nodded, following Regan inside. “I’m thinking about leaving the Army. I’ll put my paperwork in after Christmas, unless I change my mind.”

“Army, huh?” He gave her a sidelong look. “No wonder you want to quit.”

She bristled at the comment, even though she knew his teasing was reflexive. Rivalry was always alive and well between the branches of the military. He probably thought he was flirting with her, but she wasn’t going there. “I notice you high-tailed it out of the Navy, SEALman. Probably got sick of being embarrassed all the time.” She hoped he realized now she could give as well as she could take. She wasn’t going to fall for him just because he had credentials. She slid a glance in his direction. Although he was awfully good-looking.

“Truce, truce!” Mason held up his hands. “You two need to get along. Sarah, Dan’s looking for investors and partners in his new business. I thought maybe you’d be interested.”

His statement caught her off guard. She’d love to work at a job that kept her active and physically fit. It sounded like a real challenge too—exactly what she wanted from a career. She couldn’t let Dan know that, though; one look at him told her he was as thunderstruck as she was at Mason’s suggestion. She figured he didn’t think she fit the bill, so she kept her answer conversational. “What are you looking for in a partner?”

Only after the words were out of her mouth did she realize they could be taken in two ways. A slow grin spread over Dan’s face as if he’d realized the same thing, but when he replied he was all business. “Not just anyone, obviously. If I’m going to offer a real Navy SEAL experience to my clients, then my partners have to be as well trained as I am.” He shook his head at her in mock sorrow. “Sorry, I doubt a soldier could keep up.”

Mason scowled, and Sarah bit back the first expletive-laden answer that came to mind. She allowed her gaze to trail over Dan from head to toe and, raising an eyebrow, spoke before Regan’s husband could step in to mediate.

“I doubt a soldier would
want
to keep up. Regan, where should I stow this stuff?”

“I’ll take you to your room.” Regan took her arm and led her quickly upstairs. “Sorry about that,” she said when they’d gained the second floor and accessed the much narrower stairway that led up to the third. “I didn’t realize he’d act that way. Mason and I both thought you two might work well together.”

“That’s a SEAL for you.” Sarah tossed her bag onto the bed in the room that Regan led her to. Many years ago, it had probably once belonged to a servant, so it was small, but neat as a pin. She caught sight of herself in the mirror over the dresser and blinked. There was a spark in her eyes and color in her cheeks she hadn’t seen in months. Anyone who saw her would think she’d enjoyed sparring with Dan. She allowed a grin to turn up one corner of her mouth. It had been fun to put him back in his place. She’d do it again if she got the chance.

“Mason doesn’t act like that.”

Sarah crossed to the window to look out over the ranch. “Maybe not around you. Back in the military I bet he had as sharp a tongue as everyone else. Don’t worry; I’m used to it.” Far below her the front door opened and shut and Mason and Dan crossed the yard toward one of the outbuildings. She could barely make out Dan’s handsome features, but everything about him exuded a kind of confidence she found all too sexy. It wasn’t the bravura of a younger man—it was the knowledge of a competent warrior that he could face whatever life threw at him. It was too bad he was such a cocky jerk.

He looked like he could be a heck of a lot of fun in bed.

Sarah closed her eyes. Damn her hormones. She’d been like this for months, scanning every man she met, searching for something although she wasn’t sure what. It was like her heart had taken on a mission without informing her mind. Not that it mattered; she was determined to stay single, which might explain why so far no man had measured up.

Dan might measure up
, she thought, then scowled. She didn’t care if he was handsome; she refused to get involved with that SEAL.

“Lunch will be in half an hour.” Regan broke into her thoughts. “You have plenty of time if you want a quick shower or rest beforehand.”

Sarah nodded. A cold shower just might do the trick.

“I don’t think
it’s a good idea to do the obstacle course when there’s snow on the ground,” Regan said later as she helped serve lunch to the gathered crowd. Mason nudged Dan. “Told you she’d say that.” Dan and several others laughed. He was enjoying the hustle and bustle of this gathering. Aside from Mason, his brothers and their wives, two other couples had come to stay for Christmas. John Bowton and Rafe Feuerstein both had served with Zane in the Marines, and their wives, May and Carolyn, knew each other well. The happy clamor in the dining room made it hard to hear.

Dan sat between Mason and his brother Austin. Sarah sat far down the table, helping herself to salad, pointedly ignoring him, the way she had since he’d made the crack about the Army earlier.

Dan wasn’t used to being ignored. He wasn’t stuck up about it, but he knew he turned heads when he walked into a room. Women liked his height, his strength and the fact that he had served in the military. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had simply turned her back and walked away, especially after delivering a zinger in the cool, poised way Sarah had.

He wasn’t used to the slow burn of desire that had threaded through him the minute he’d seen her climb out of the truck, either. Sarah wasn’t at all his type. He didn’t date women in the military. He preferred civilians. They were softer, more generous with their praise, more in awe of his status. Female soldiers brooked no nonsense and were more likely to compete with him than worship him. Dan got enough competition from the men he served with. He figured he could use a little coddling when the work was done.

“We ran that course in all kinds of weather when we were kids,” Mason told Regan. “Didn’t hurt us none.”

“Except the time—” Austin began. Mason elbowed him. “I mean, right. It was just fine.”

Austin’s wife, Ella, rolled her eyes. “You men and your obstacle course.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like the course,” Austin said. The two of them shared a private smile. Dan wondered what the story was behind it.

He liked the idea of running the mythical Hall obstacle course. Mason had told him all about it. Anyone who’d seen Mason run one in the military had to know there was some secret to his success. Mason’s father, Aaron Hall, had built his four sons the side-by-side set of obstacles when they were just boys, and used it as a kind of back-country parenting tool. Personally, Dan thought that was brilliant.

“We’ll give it a go after lunch,” Mason told him. “I bet I can beat you.”

“Just don’t break your leg. I’m not taking over your chores at Christmas,” Regan said.

“It’s been a while since we raced, Austin. What do you say?” Zane said.

“Sure thing.”

“What about you, Sarah?” Everyone looked at him when Dan spoke up. “Are you going to run the course?”

Sarah shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m going to help Regan.”

“Too chicken to try it out? I should have guessed.” Why did the hazel-eyed, dark haired woman grab his attention so effectively? She didn’t have the long, thick tresses he usually was drawn to. Her curls were short enough for active duty. Her eyes were expressive, her lips full enough to be sensuous, but he knew damn well that under her cable-knit sweater would be muscles, not the full curves he liked so much.

Although she was pretty curvy.

“I’m not chicken.”

The clipped tone of her voice brought his gaze up to meet hers. Damn, had she caught him speculating about her body?

“It wouldn’t be fair,” Ella spoke up. “Her racing against you.”

“Why—because she’s just a girl?” He couldn’t have asked for a better setup. Sarah wouldn’t be able to ignore him now. He could see the flare of resentment in her eyes, coupled with a tightening of her mouth that told him she didn’t want to hurt Ella’s feelings by snapping at her.

“I’m not just a girl. I’m a soldier and I’m every bit as fast as you.”

Dan smiled.
Gotcha
. “Then we’ll race. I’m looking forward to kicking your ass.”

“Good luck.” She picked up her sandwich and took a bite, as cool as a cucumber.

She wouldn’t be cool for long. She’d be huffing and puffing as she tried to keep up with him. No woman could beat him in a race.

And then what? Winning a contest wasn’t really what he was after, was it? He wanted to get close to Sarah in an altogether different kind of way.

“How about we make the race more interesting?” he said loudly, cutting across the conversations that had sprung up around the table again.

Sarah sighed. Turned to him. “What do you have in mind?”

“A bet.”

“No bets,” Regan said sternly. “I don’t want this to get out of hand.”

“It won’t get out of hand, will it, Sarah?” Dan kept his gaze squarely on her face. Was it his imagination or were her cheeks turning pink?

Just his imagination.

“What kind of bet?” She took another bite of her sandwich, still unperturbed.

“I said, no bets!” Regan looked exasperated. “Mason—”

“A kiss under the mistletoe if I win.”

Sarah chewed slowly. Swallowed. “And if you lose?”

“Name your penalty.” He was enjoying this all too much. He hoped she’d ask for a kiss, too, but doubted it.

“You run a loop around the Hall naked.”

A chorus of whoops filled the dining room. “Now we’re talking!” Zane guffawed. “Mothers, cover your daughters’ eyes!”

“Don’t worry—there won’t be any nudity,” Dan said. “I’m not the one who’s going to lose. Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart.”

“We’ll see about that, pretty boy.” Sarah looked unconvinced.

Pretty boy? He narrowed his eyes. She’d pay for that.

With a kiss.

‡

“I
t’s crazy to
run an obstacle course in this weather,” Regan said when everyone trooped out to the starting line after lunch. They had all bundled up against the cold, but once they reached the two sets of monkey bars where the course started, Dan began to strip off his outer layers.