Read Online SEAL's Embrace by Elle James - Free Book Online

receiving threat warnings from the base security staff wasn’t unusual. Erin nodded. “Will do.”
    At seven the following morning, she went through shift change with the nurse coming on duty. Once she’d handed over her responsibilities, Erin hurried to the ward where Caesar was recovering.
    His bed was empty and freshly made with clean sheets, ready for the next patient.
    Her heart skipped several beats.
    “If you’re looking for the SEAL, he’s in the hospital cafeteria.”
    Erin spun to face a nurse wearing green scrubs with a nametag that read Reynolds. “The cafeteria?”
    The young woman smiled. “I had a hard time convincing him this morning was too soon to make the trek, but the man was stubborn. As soon as he heard the doc’s okay, he was on his feet before the doc left the floor. And he’s been up five times since. At this rate, he’ll return to duty in days.” The nurse tilted her head. “You’re one of the CCATT nurses who brought him in, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, I am.” Erin didn’t want to be rude, but she also didn’t want to hang around and talk to the chatty nurse. But she couldn’t come up with an excuse to leave.
    Reynolds grinned. “He’s quite the charmer. I wonder if he’s married.”
    “I wouldn’t know.”
    “He doesn’t wear a ring, but then I wouldn’t expect a SEAL to wear one.” She patted the sheets. “I’ve always been a sucker for a man with tattoos. He was telling me about the different ones and the meaning behind them. I especially like that he has the SEAL Trident on his shoulder. It’s impressive.”
    Her patience dissolving, Erin stepped aside. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” She didn’t, unless you counted having coffee with a SEAL who didn’t mind telling stories about the tattoos on his body to every strange woman he encountered. Caesar was a natural flirt, which only went to prove her fears about the man.
    He was playing with her and he’d forget her as soon as she left his sight. Hadn’t he with Reynolds? Anger built as she marched across the hospital to the cafeteria.
    She found him with a cup of coffee gripped between two big hands, sitting across the table from a pretty corporal in Army camouflage, her hair pulled back in a neat knot at her nape, her lips parted in a smile.
    That did it. She obeyed her first inclination to turn and leave the cafeteria, find the next transport back to Bagram and forget about the SEAL who’d made her heart beat faster and her blood run hot.
    In the middle of turning, she heard his deep sexy voice call out, “Lt. McGee!”
    For a moment, she debated walking out without acknowledging him, but then she was almost certain he’d come running after her to the best of his ability. The nurse in her didn’t want him to reinjure himself so soon, though the jealous woman wanted to tell him to go to hell.
    “I have to get back to work.” The corporal stood, tucked an imaginary hair behind her ear, her cheeks flushed pink. “Will you be around much longer?”
    “Not if I can help it,” he said, his gaze on Erin. “I’d like to return to my duty assignment and my team.”
    “Well, thanks again for taking the time to talk to me about my boyfriend. I’m sure you’re right and he’s just worried about me.”
    “You take care of yourself, Abby. Everything will work out.”
    “Thanks.” She stepped past Erin, her eyes growing wide, her body stiffening when she noticed the rank on her uniform. “Excuse me, ma’am.”
    Erin nodded without saying a word.
    “Lt. McGee.” Caesar pushed to his feet, wincing. He wore the hospital gown and a hospital-issued robe and still managed to look hot. Apparently, he’d showered, but he had opted not to shave, and his hair was on the shaggy side, like most SEALs on deployment. “I saved a place for you.” He held out a chair.
    Erin hesitated when she should have kept walking right out of the man’s life.
    “You promised coffee if I was up on my