Page 24 of Taylor’s Warrior

“Thanks.” Wolf stepped over the threshold. “Like I said, just thought I’d check in with you.” He glanced around, as if assessing the room and extrapolating out to the entire property. “I know you’ve only just arrived, but you think this place’ll be suitable for your stay here?”

Rhys nodded. “Good choice. Thanks for organizing it.”

“All we did was check it out. I gave Caroline the brief—she’s the one responsible for choosing this place, so you can thank her.”

That went a way to answering one question. “As well as for being responsible for the groceries we found?”

Wolf gave a wry smile and raised an eyebrow. “That’s Ice for you.”

“Ice?”

“My wife’s nickname—it’s a long story.”

And an interesting one, no doubt. “Taylor’s by the pool. If you have time, I’ll introduce you.”

“Sure.”

Rhys led the way through the house to the rear. Taylor was still there, and was busy rearranging the furniture. He performed the introductions.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Wolf said as they shook hands.

“It will be if you call me Taylor,” she responded. “You found the house for us, right?”

“My wife has to take the credit for that, Taylor.”

“Ah. She has excellent taste.”

Wolf laughed. “I like to think so. Say, we’re having barbecue at our place tomorrow—how’d you like to come by and meet the team?”

Rhys was happy to accept the invitation, but it wasn’t his decision to make. “Taylor? You feel up to it?”

“You wouldn’t be the only woman there, if that would bother you,” Wolf volunteered. “We’re all married or in serious long-term relationships. I’ll introduce you to everyone, including Caroline.”

Taylor glanced toward Rhys. “If you think it’d be okay?”

A barbecue hosted by a SEAL, where all the guests were the members of his team and their significant others? It was difficult to imagine how a social occasion could be any safer. “I don’t see any problem.”

She smiled, and Rhys felt something inside him lift. “In that case, I’d love to,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Great. We live out at Riverton. I’ll message you the details, including directions. And don’t worry about bringing anything with you—there’ll be plenty of food and drink to go around. See you tomorrow. Welcome to San Diego.”

CHAPTER 9

The barbecue had turned out to be more than just a barbecue—it had been food and fun and laughter with a bunch of people who, in the course of an afternoon, changed from complete strangers to friends for life. The military bond between Wolf and his team had extended to Rhys, and Taylor had been drawn without hesitation into the close circle of their wives and girlfriends.

More significantly, though, Taylor had seen a different side to Rhys, and it was a side she liked. As they’d made the journey back to the Airbnb, she realized she was no longer trying to resist an irresistible force.

Ans if she was being honest with herself about that, then she owed it to Rhys to be honest and give him the full truth about the reason for their exile to California.

She didn’t want to wait too long to do it, but the timing had to be right. For now, she was content to lounge by the pool, enjoying the view. Rhys had been reluctantly receptive to her suggestion during a shopping trip the previous day, and even though it had taken all her powers of persuasion to get him into the swimwear shop, it had been more than worth the effort.

She now had definitive proof that Rhys Dalton was not a board shorts man.

Anyone observing her stretched out on the chaise lounge would assume she was reading the book she was holding, but it was a bluff. Her gaze, shielded by sunglasses, was not on the page but was aimed over the top of it and focused on the magnificent sight of her bodyguard cutting through the water with powerful, efficient strokes. She wondered if he was keeping a tally, because by her count, he was about to complete his twentieth lap, with little apparent sign of tiring.

And he called this recreational swimming?

Impressed though she was by the athleticism, for Taylor it was overshadowed by the body that was accomplishing it—a body that was clad in a pair of swim trunks that covered what they needed to, without depriving an appreciative female onlooker of a… stimulating experience.