Desert Alpha: A Lady Boss Press Navy SEAL Novella Bethany Lopez (brene brown rising strong TXT) 📖

nickname, given to me by my teammates.”

“Oh, what does it stand for?” she asked.

“Rest In Peace,” King replied.

That’s why he’s my wingman. He always makes me sound like a badass.

But, before I could say anything else, Scotty came up behind her with a smirk and said, “It means Reels In Pussy, because chicks are always throwing themselves at him.”

And that’s why Scotty’s the opposite of a wingman.

Mother fucker.

Chapter 5

Cassandra

If looks could kill, the guy behind me would be dead.

I swallowed the laugh that was tickling the back of my throat. Rip obviously didn’t think his buddy’s statement was funny, but I could tell by the guy’s delivery that he was joking.

“Shut up, Scotty,” the other SEAL sitting next to Lori said. “The ladies don’t want to hear your mouth.”

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to catch Rip’s eye. “It was just a joke, right?”

I looked over my shoulder at Scotty, who said, “Yeah,” even as he shook his head and mouthed, No.

Rip let out a sound that could only be described as a growl and this time there was no holding back my laughter.

“So, we’ve got Rip and Scotty, what’s your name, handsome?” Lori asked, batting her eyes at the hot guy next to her in an exaggerated manner.

“King,” he said, leaning closer to her. “And if you’re up to it, I’ll call you my queen.”

I left Lori and King to their flirtation and turned my attention back to Rip.

“I’m Cassandra, but my friends call me Cass.”

Rip’s face softened and he gave me a sweet smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cass.”

His voice was deep, somewhat gravely, and very sexy. That, compared with his face, body, and the dimple that had shown itself with that smile, meant Scotty probably wasn’t far off the mark.

Rip is a dangerous package.

“Are you guys here long?” I asked, even though I doubted he could give me a specific answer.

“A couple days or so,” he replied vaguely. “How about you?”

“I’ve got two months left, give or take a couple months.”

We weren’t given set dates either, although our comings and goings were nowhere near as classified theirs.

“And is this your first time in this desert paradise?” he asked.

“At this location, yes, but I’ve been to Kuwait, Jordan, Diego Garcia, and a couple other spots.”

“A world traveler,” Rip said, his dimple popping out again. “This is definitely one of the nicer spots out there.”

“Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, there’s a pool.”

He nodded and said, “We plan to check that out tomorrow.”

Mmmm, I suddenly wished for a day off.

“I’ve only been once so far, since I had to wait for my smallpox scab to fall off, but it was really nice” I said, and immediately cursed myself for talking about scabs.

Real sexy, Cass.

Rip simply chuckled.

“So,” I started, wanting to change the subject. “How long have you been in?”

He leaned back in his chair and took a swig of his beer before saying, “With training and everything? About eleven years. You?”

“Coming up on eight years.”

“Where are you stationed?” he asked.

“Las Vegas.”

“I’m out of San Diego, so not too far. We actually go up to Vegas a couple times a year, when we’re home.”

I knew he was just establishing a connection, some familiarity, but that didn’t stop a little thrill from running through me at the thought of meeting up with him again back home.

“Wanna go up and get another drink?” he asked, gesturing to the empty glass in front of me. “I’d offer to get a drink for you, but I know how strict they can be about the drink rations.”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, standing up.

He stood as well, and I suddenly felt dwarfed next to him. I was a relatively average-sized woman, coming in at about five-five, but I swear Rip was about a foot taller.

“After you,” he said, indicating I should lead the way.

We walked past the table with his friends on the way to the bar and I realized I hadn’t even noticed when Scotty had left. I’d been too wrapped up in Rip. We hadn’t even been talking about anything profound, just the regular getting to know you stuff, but I’d still been completely in tune with him and had tuned out everything else around us.

“I’ll have the cabernet,” I said when we reached the bar.

“Another of these,” Rip added, before downing what was left in his can.

Once we had our drinks, Rip leaned in close. Close enough so I could smell the spiciness of his soap, and asked, “You wanna take these somewhere more private?”

There was a flutter of excitement in my stomach when I asked, “Where?”

Rip lifted one shoulder. “You tell me.”

I nodded in agreement before turning on my heel and walking toward the back of the Cantina toward the stage. I didn’t look back, just assumed he’d follow.

I headed around the stage and out of the Cantina, momentarily wondering if anyone was watching us. Then I thought, of course they are, you can’t skip breakfast without someone noticing.

That’s what happened when everyone was stuck together on a small installation with none of their friends or family to keep them busy. It became like a college campus, except without all the drunken sex.

Once we got to the picnic tables sitting outside of the coffee truck, which was now closed, I stopped.

“How’s this?” I asked.

Rip looked around the area, which was empty except for us, and gave me a huge grin.

“Perfect.”

Chapter 6

Rip

I moved to the nearest picnic table and straddled the bench.

Cass placed her wine on the table and then mimicked my movements and threw her leg over the bench, so she was facing me.

She was even more striking out of uniform.

Her hair was down and fell across her shoulders in thick waves. It looked so soft my fingers ached to feel the strands, and her eyes, which were a deep mossy green, were utterly captivating.

“You’re staring,” Cass whispered when we’d been sitting there for a few moments in silence.

“So are you,” I replied, loving the way it