They went for a night run after supper, and she enjoyed the cool air and stars over the Pacific. The moon rose while they were returning to base, and its silver light bathed the beach in wonder.

“Zoning out on me, are you, Tate?” a voice growled beside her.

She glanced over to see Peevy jogging along beside her. “Just enjoying being a SEAL, Master Chief,” she replied.

“You aren’t one yet,” he snapped.

“Only way to become a SEAL is to be one,” she replied.

Peevy harrumphed and ran on ahead of the formation without comment. Nothing like shutting down a legend. Not sure if she’d helped her cause or harmed it, she continued on toward base. And her bed.

Chapter 18

Griffin waited in Sherri’s darkened room for her to get back from the night run. He stretched out on her bed, relishing the scent of her shampoo rising from her pillow. Man, he was completely besotted if even the smell of her made him happy.

But he couldn’t help it. Just thinking about her made everything seem better. No wonder the married guys said having a wife to come home to made crap out in the field not seem so bad. It had to be this feeling.

Not that he was considering proposing to Sherri, he told himself hastily. No, sir. None of that.

Hell, she was just getting started with her career. The last thing she needed was him expecting a permanent relationship from her. Even if that was exactly what he wanted with her.

When had that happened?

He thought back, and as far as he could tell, it had come on slowly. Granted, to look at her was to want to sleep with her. But the rest of it—the genuine liking, respect, and trust—that had crept up on him, inch by inch. He even thought now that she would make a decent SEAL, and he’d said so last night to Ray Peevy.

Ray had been surprised, to say the least. But near the bottom of that bottle of whiskey, Griffin had extracted a promise from his old teammate to give her a fair shot to prove herself.

Ray had accused him of having a thing for her, which, thankfully, Griffin hadn’t been too wasted to remember to deny. It had been on the tip of his tongue, though, to confess to Ray that she was his girl. Damn. He would have to watch that. It was such an ingrained habit to be totally honest with Ray that he could land himself in serious trouble if he wasn’t careful. No more binges with the Peeve until Sherri was through training and the two of them could come out in the open with their relationship.