Tempted by a SEAL by Cat Johnson

bedroom.
    “Is everything all right?” she asked.
    He glanced back and pressed the phone against his bare chest. “Fine. Go back to sleep.”
    Then he was gone, out in the other room where she couldn’t hear what he was saying to the mysterious caller.
    There was no way she could do as he suggested and go back to sleep now. Not with the puzzle of who could be on that phone at this hour hanging over her head.
    Gathering the comforter around herself, half so he wouldn’t see her walking around naked and half because it was cold, she finally stumbled across the room.
    By the time she reached the doorway, he’d finished and was headed back toward her.
    Quick conversation.
    She frowned, more interested in knowing who’d called than ever. “What’s going on?”
    “Nothing.” He paused, which only served to ramp up her curiosity to another level. Mack drew in a breath and pushed past her in the doorway. He tossed the cell onto the dresser and turned to face her. “Look, I got called into base so I’m going to have to leave as soon as I shower and get dressed.”
    “What? Now? Why?”
    He lifted one shoulder. “Something came up.”
    “But it’s not even six yet.”
    “My command doesn’t really care about the time.” He smiled and came closer. “But seriously, you can go back to bed. Sleep a little longer.”
    “You mean without you here?”
    “Yeah, sure. Just lock the door on the way out.”
    “Um, okay.”
    He tipped his head toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna jump in the shower.”
    Lydia nodded. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and was off, leaving her as confused as before she’d known who’d called.
    There was no way she’d be able to sleep.
    She wouldn’t mind taking her time waking up, showering, getting dressed, at least waiting until the sun was up before she hit the road. But for a guy she’d only known for two days to leave her in his apartment alone felt strange.
    Worse than that, the temptation to snoop was strong. What secrets did this man have?
    Then again, the place was pretty sparse. There wasn’t much of anything in the apartment at all. Bare bones furniture and appliances. No décor to speak of.
    That wasn’t really a surprise for a bachelor pad, but there wasn’t even the usual clutter of manly stuff. No basketball in the corner. No pile of dirty laundry on the floor. Not much more than the questionable looking condiments she’d spotted in the door of the fridge when she’d gone looking for a bottle of water.
    It was like he slept here but that was it . . . aside from showering.
    Lydia could hear the water in the bathroom and her stomach did a little flip as she remembered when she’d been in there with him.
    As much as shower sex wasn’t really her thing—nothing worse than nakedness and bright bathroom lights—she still remembered it fondly as she felt like her leaving today was some sort of end.
    Though technically it was him leaving her . . . to go to work at the Navy base before sunrise. That thought brought a frown back to her brow.
    She’d have to look into this military stuff and see if that was normal. What she knew about the Navy came from what she’d seen on TV. But since she didn’t think Mack worked for the NCIS people, he wasn’t running off to solve crimes, so what was he doing?
    If he wasn’t so willingly leaving her alone in his apartment she’d be suspicious he had a girlfriend or something. That would be easy enough to check out with his father, she supposed, unless this girl was a secret from his family too.
    But then again, there’d be evidence of a woman here and there definitely wasn’t that Lydia could see.  
    Testing the theory, she moved closer to the nightstand. She glanced at the bathroom door. The water was still running so she got brave and pulled open the drawer just a bit.
    The sound of the two double-A batteries rolling in the drawer seemed deafening in the quiet room. She hissed in a breath and glanced at the closed bathroom door