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He wasn’t looking for a career CEO, or one dedicated to the FBI. He was looking for a normal, strong woman who would be interested in supporting him as a SEAL and starting a family down the road. Money, fame, wealth, and ego just weren’t part of who he was. He’d left that life behind and had no intentions of filling it with people he wasn’t going to invest in physically, emotionally, or mentally. Geneve was the same as Bree in his mind. They both had other priorities. He wasn’t one to bet on anything except a sure thing. With either woman, it would be too much of an effort to keep anything going. Neither one of them even lived in San Diego.
He reached down and covered her hand and her eyes flashed at his touch. He regretted that she had somehow invested more than her body in this fleeting relationship, but he needed to make himself clear. He removed her hand, then let it drop.
Her lips twisted and her eyes turned from confusion to disappointment. “Geneve. We’re not doing this again. I’m not interested in moving forward with a relationship. I thought I made myself clear when we parted. We wantdiametricallyopposed things. You really don’t understand what I do, who I am.”
“You’re not giving me a chance to even show you that I do want to understand.”
“It doesn’t really matter. H20mni is your focus and your priority. Am I wrong about that?”
She sighed heavily. “No. It’s my company and I’ve poured so much into it. Maybe I’m ready to commit to something bigger than myself.”
“I gave up a lot to become a SEAL. A lot, Geneve. I don’t regret any of it. That’s not going to change. I’m not interested in being a woman’s arm candy or your wealth and prestige. Those things don’t mean a thing to me. I’m not going to lounge in some penthouse and lead separate, empty lives with someone who puts a company before family.”
“That’s so unfair. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I want.”
“I think you’re sexually attracted to me, but that’s all just fantasy. Real life would be much too difficult and hard. I know. I’ve been there. Long distance relationships don’t work for me.”
He could see that she was still trying to deny the truth to herself. “I had a good time with you. But the only place we’re good is in bed. You’ll thank me for this heartache now. It would be so much more painful later.” He stepped back and she blinked several times. “I’m sorry to be so blunt and hard, but I’ve never been one to sugarcoat things.” He turned toward Bree in time to see Volkov kiss her hand and her blush.
His heart beat harder, his temper flaring at the other man’s blatant charm. He didn’t know the diplomat well, but playboy was written all over him. Not that Bree’s sex life was his business, because it wasn’t, but he didn’t want her to get hurt. His possessive, unwelcome response was something herefusedto act on.
“Whoa, back up that bucking bronc,” Buck said, coming to stand next to him. Geneve had disappeared. “You can’t punch Volkov.”
Blitz’s hand curled into a fist, and the muscles of his arm bunched with tension. The thought of decking the guy gave Blitz a lot of satisfaction. But one look at Bree and all that energy drained from him. She was hurting, emotionally, mentally, and it ripped his guts out.
“I’m not going to punch him. He’s here for the conference and I like my job too much to go off half-cocked.” He took a breath as Isabelle and Gator entered the room. Volkov wasn’t any kind of competition. The foreign ambassador was on a different plane from Bree. His reaction was knee-jerk, damn him.
“What’s up, Blitz?”
“Bree.”
“Yeah, you two took a beating, but from what Bear said, she kicked ass.”
“Yeah, she’s tough.”
“But not used to sustained combat.”
“No.”
“We weren’t either when we started out.”
“But we’re trained for it, Buck. They aren’t.”
“Right. I get you.”
“She’s tough,” Buck said, folding his arms across his chest. “I will say, her and the boys have kept up with us. It’s impressive.”
“She is tough, but everyone needs to process stuff. The guys, too. Especially after losing their leader. We need to keep a lookout.”
Buck nodded. “Bear said something to that effect.” Buck looked from Bree to him. “I take it you’ve got the little lady?”
“Yeah, I got her.”
“More like she’s got you,” Buck murmured as Blitz started across the room toward her. He ignored his cowboy friend and teammate. He wasn’t going to contemplate how he was in deep with Bree. All he knew was that she needed to talk, or she would be eaten up inside. The stress of losing her boss meant that a lot of the responsibilities would fall on her shoulders being the senior member of the team at least until they relieved her of those duties with Huxley’s replacement.
He paused as Harley crossed in front of him in pursuit of Volkov who had made a beeline for Isabelle. Blitz wondered why his pants were on fire.
Bree was watching them go, and although he was curious about their conversation and why Volkov was here, he was still more concerned about her.
