Read Online Tangled Pursuit by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online Page B

making love to her! She must be horny! She’d awakened throbbing and aching for release. Towel-drying her hair, she wondered if she was finally over her grief for Brian. Tal had learned that grief could linger for years after the death of a loved one. It was a process, and not one that could be hurried.
    Now she found herself hungry in a new way, wanting to know more about this Texan. For years, she’d classified him as a jerk and a stalker. Then, in one night, he’d surprised the hell out of her with his depth of feeling, knowledge, and vulnerability. She’d never seen a SEAL vulnerable before. Ever. And that intrigued Tal.
    As she dressed in her uniform, she focused on that last thought. The game face Wyatt had been wearing for the last three years had been gone last night, and he’d definitely been vulnerable with her. She’d never heard a man say the things he’d said, and with such candor and sincerity that her heart had actually opened up to him.
    Tal was pretty good at gauging when a person lied or was blowing hot air. She’d helped run a Marine company for a year and had learned a lot about people. This man, she suspected, was different from anyone she’d ever met.
    She smiled to herself as she heard her cell phone chime. Picking it up, she saw she had a text from Alexa, telling her that she was going to the chow hall and asking if they could meet there.
    Tal texted back. She loved her baby sister. Alexa lit up a room like pure sunshine. She and Matt shared that same charisma, which was sorely missing in Tal. Alexa had been right: Tal was the eldest, most mature, and most responsible of the three of them. But sometimes, Tal wished she could be more like them.
    In fact, sometimes she wished she were back in Kuşadası every summer with her family, like a wild mustang running free with no worries. She would just soak up the sunshine and the pure Aegean salt air, where endless blue skies met an endless blue ocean. Pushing the past away, Tal knew she had to brush her hair and teeth and then meet her sister at the chow hall.
    “Hey,” Alexa called, trotting up to Tal on the sidewalk. The chow hall was only a few feet away, and it was early, so just a few people were lined up for breakfast.
    Tal smiled over at Alexa. “You look well rested.”
    Wrinkling her nose, Alexa said, “Matt and I got together last night over pizza and beer. Uncle Ihsan sent us more of the building’s blueprints to look over so we can choose our office spaces.” She held up her iPad. “Want to do that now?”
    “After coffee,” Tal said, opening the door for her. Looking around for SEALs, she saw one or two sitting together off in a corner, their backs to the wall, but Wyatt was not among them. Tal felt a little disappointed. Her intense conversation with him had been so stimulating, she found herself looking forward to more of the same.
    Alexa sat in a corner, her back to the window. Tal sat opposite her so she could keep watch on what was going on outside.
    Alexa pushed the iPad toward Tal. “Dad, Uncle Pete, and Uncle John have also sent us a rough draft of the internal structure of Artemis. I’m sure you’ll want to look at it and make comments.”
    “Absolutely,” Tal said, drinking her first cup of coffee. She turned the iPad around, reading the email from her dad while finishing off the coffee. Alexa eagerly dug into a ham and cheese omelet, hash browns, and homemade biscuits.
    “I’m going to like being the director of the Safe House Foundation!” Alexa beamed, her eyes turning wistful with possibilities. She had a lot of good ideas for that section of the Delos charities.
    “Yes, and rightfully so. I’ll be CEO, which I wanted. Matt gets the KNR—kidnapping and ransom—division. Yes, these are just the right placements,” Tal said, digging into her steaming oatmeal.
    Alexa frowned. “Looks like Dad wants me to handle Safe House Foundation, which is no problem. But I worry about Matt having to take over all the