My Secret Alpha Step SEAL Read online

  © Copyright 2016 by Paula Mabbel - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

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  My Secret Alpha Step SEAL:

  Stepbrother Military Romance

  By: Paula Mabbel

  Contains 40 Bonus Romance Stories For Your Enjoyment!

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  Table of Contents

  My Secret Alpha Step SEAL

  The Billionaire SEAL’s Secret Baby

  My Forbidden Navy SEAL Cowboy

  The Navy SEAL’s Secret Lady

  The Navy SEAL Cowboy’s Baby

  The Navy SEAL Cowboy

  The Brooklyn Billionaire’s Jewels

  Knocked Up By The Russian Mafia Billionaire

  SEALing The Victory

  The Russian Billionaire’s Baby

  My Secret Italian Billionaire

  Ball So Hard: A Baltimore Love Story

  Scars Of A Highlander

  Child Of Two Clans

  Warrior Of The Highland

  Sisters Of Faith

  The Amish Arrangement

  Rumspringa Break

  The Crippled Cowboy

  The Texas Billionaire’s Bride

  Faith in A Cowboy

  The Cowgirl’s Child

  THE BARREN BRIDE

  Murder In Montana

  A Baby For The Bride

  Two Dukes One Scandal

  Only Way To Tame A Rake

  The Duke’s Pregnant Maid

  The Duke of London’s Baby

  To Marry The Prince Or Love The Duke

  The Rogue Duke: Scandalous Nobility

  First Time With A Cowboy

  The British Biker’s Baby

  The Prince of Flames

  His Very Own Omega

  The Fire Within

  Finding My Cowboy

  Studying Her Body

  Her Roommate’s Little Secret

  First Time’s A Charm

  The Protégé

  Taming The Alpha Wolf

  At Ponderosa Publishing, we’ve studied a great deal of relationship dynamics and we’ve come across some amazing information about the ONE thing all men CRAVE hearing!

  Head over to Ponderosa Publishing author Cassandra Michael’s Blog and check out the article on The One Thing Every Man Needs His Woman To Say (It's Not What You Think)!

  Read it here: http://www.michaelsbookclub.co/relationships/

  My Secret Alpha Step SEAL

  ADAM

  I stretched, enjoying the feeling of waking up in a decent home, away from combat and military tents. Despite being absolutely ridiculous, I even loved the calendar girls I had plastered all over my walls in my teenage years. Mom hadn’t changed a thing.

  Although the warm sheets begged me to stay a bit longer, I rolled out of bed and stretched again.

  It was second nature to me to exercise in the morning, but it was far too cold outside for my usual routine, so I dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups right next to my bed.

  “Nope, I need to open the window, at least,” I decided and got up.

  The cold winter air hit me like a wall of ice, but I resisted the urge to jump back in bed. I was a Navy SEAL, for goodness’ sake, I could take a little cold.

  More amused than disappointed acclimatization after a long deployment in the Middle East, I clenched my teeth and completed my exercises. By the time I was done, I was sweating.

  “Good boy,” I praised myself and went to take a shower.

  Once all cleaned up, I changed into a tracksuit and followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen.

  “Look, Mike, I know what I saw. You can’t deny you had dinner with ... that woman!” I heard my mother say.

  I squinted, displeased with the prospect of her getting hurt.

  “Morning, Mom.”

  I managed to startle her so I mouthed an apology and went to pour myself some coffee.

  “We can talk another time; my son is up. Yeah, I know. Bye, Mike.”

  “Your boyfriend?” I asked casually.

  She nodded. “How are you, baby? Did you sleep well?”

  “What did he do?”

  “Nothing, honey.”

  “Mom.”

  She crossed the room and came to me with an almost apologetic look on her face.

  “Adam, it’s nothing. Don’t concern yourself. Let’s talk about us. I haven’t gotten to see my boy as much as I would’ve liked it,” she said, cupping my face.

  “I know, Mom. I arrived late last night. Sorry to call you on such short notice.”

  “Don’t stress it. You were living with your girlfriend before your deployment and now she... I’m sorry about that, baby.”

  “It’s alright. She wanted to leave, I can’t force her to be with me. And this job can be hard. Army wives don’t have the easiest lives; you know?”

  She smiled with her usual kindness.

  “Sure. You were gone for long. I could see her not being ready to sign up for this.”

  “You and your good opinion on everybody, Mom. At some time, that’s gonna get you in trouble.”

  She blushed as I pointed an accusatory finger at her. I was used to her countering my silliness with a joke, but she chose to turn around and pour herself some coffee instead.

  “Speaking of trouble. What happened with your boyfriend?”

  “I told you, baby. Nothing.”

  “Mom, you were talking about him having dinner with another woman. That certainly isn’t nothing.”

  I could see her pursing her lips. I didn’t like this. She was upset.

  “I might very well be overreacting. The relationship is pretty young, and you know me, I attach easily.”

  “Mom, this is not your fault. Let me have a man to man conversation with this Mike.”

  “Son.”

  She turned to face me again, her eyes scolding.

  “Stop being so protective of me. I’m an adult, I can take care of myself.”

  “I know, Mom. I just don’t want you to be hurt again, that’s all.”

  Her smile warmed me as she came and hugged me. She needed to lift herself on her toes to reach my cheek. I met her halfway.

  “Are you sure you can handle this?” I asked, with no intention of offending her.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Give me some credit, son. I raised you since you were nine, remember?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

  “I know what you meant. And no, son, what happened with your father won’t happen again. I am not that stupid.”

  “Nobody said you were.”

  She smirked. “You didn’t hear your father’s sisters, then.”

  “They don’t count, Mom. Listen, I’ve got to go for a run. I’ll be back soon, OK?”

  “Take care of yourself, Adam. And, son?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “I do want you to meet Mike. But amicably.”

  “Sure thing,” I said before running out the door.

  “You cheeky child!”

  LINDSEY

  With my shoes in one hand and my jacket in the other, I tried my hardest to open the front door quietly. It was 3:00 in the morning, my father must’ve been asleep
by now.

  As I sneaked through the living room, the lights went on.

  “Were you out at this hour, young lady?” my father inquired.

  I stopped short, balancing in an awkward position like a cartoon character. I turned slowly to him.

  “Are you up at this hour, Mister?” I countered.

  “Point taken. How was the party?”

  “Nothing special,” I sighed and dropped my load. “I only stayed because I didn’t want to leave Melissa alone.”

  He nodded. “Want a drink?”

  “No, thanks. Had enough for the night.”

  “Whatever did I do to deserve such a good daughter? Doesn’t drink too much, elite college student, beautiful like a princess.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Dad. Flattery won’t get you out of explaining yourself.”

  He dropped his head, defeated.

  “Work,” he said quietly.

  “What? Dad! I told you to take it easy. How many times did I tell you that?”

  “I know, honey, but I have a big case that I need to prep for and...”

  “Michael Samuel Wesley!”

  “I’m sorry, my bad. I promised you something and I didn’t keep my word.”

  “Damn right!”

  “Language, young lady!”

  Our game always amused me and today was no different. I finally started laughing.

  “Is that drink still on the table?” I asked, approaching him.

  “Wine?”

  “Please. So, how’s Karen?”

  “She’s fine.” His voice said different.

  “Dad, what happened?”

  “We’re fighting again. Nothing big, just the usual.”

  I could see he was trying to act like everything was normal, but I knew he was stressed out.

  “Does she have a reason to be upset?” I asked after a while.

  “You know me, sweetie. I would never cheat on a woman.”

  “Then, what is it?”

  He exhaled loudly and leaned against the mahogany bar.

  “She saw me have dinner with Clarice.”

  “First of all, how did she?”

  “I might’ve had reservations at the restaurant across from where Karen works.”

  “That wasn’t your smartest move. Now, second, what the Hell were you doing with your ex?”

  He pursed his lips, embarrassed.

  “She told me she wanted to talk. She might’ve suggested she was pregnant.”

  “What?”

  “She’s not. She had a miscarriage, but she wanted me to know.”

  “And you believe her?”

  I challenged him as he looked me in the eyes. He knew my opinion about Clarice, I never liked her.

  “She might’ve had her flaws, but you know she wanted a baby.”

  “Irrelevant. Even if the pregnancy were true, which is a big if, you don’t know whether the child was yours or not. Besides, she miscarried.”

  “That’s mean, honey.”

  “Well, she was mean. She lied to you, she stole from you, and now I can bet that all she wants is more money. Did she ask?”

  He remained silent.

  “Oh, my God, Dad! She did! And you gave it to her.”

  Out of frustration, I started pacing the room.

  “I told you; you should vet your girlfriends better. You’re a successful layer, widow, with almost no obligations, and everyone wants a piece of that. Everyone!”

  “Everyone?”

  I shook my head. “You’ve been dating Karen for long enough for her to ask for money. I know she hasn’t done it yet but, then, again, you might not be telling me everything.”

  “I am. And I think Karen is nice enough. It’s just...”

  “She’s too friendly? Too warm? She can take care of herself? Oh, no, it must be the fact that she hasn’t asked for your money in six months! I mean, what is wrong with her? Doesn’t she know she’s supposed to?”

  “Don’t mock me, sweetie.”

  I took a deep breath. Against my instincts, I had to trust my father. Despite his bad track record.

  “I’m sorry. You know I don’t want you to get hurt again, right?”

  “I know, honey. And I’m not breaking up with Karen. I’ll try to work things out.”

  He seemed sincere enough, but something was still making him sad. I came back to his side and leaned my head against his shoulder.

  “You just make sure you take care of yourself. And don’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it,” I concluded and finally took the first sip of my wine.

  “I will.”

  We spent a minute drinking in silence, listening only to the noise of the street. I was getting sleepier by the minute so I excused myself and headed for the stairs.

  “Oh, honey, I almost forgot! Karen is coming by Friday. She’s bringing her son, Adam. He just got back from his deployment yesterday.”

  “Awesome! Big family dinner then.” The idea excited me more than I realized. Most of my friends had siblings and I had always been a bit jealous of that. I truly hoped Adam met my high personal standards, for the sake of harmony. And probably world peace, since I had a tendency to be over dramatic.

  ADAM

  After getting a good look of what seemed like the biggest estate I had ever seen, I glance at my mother.

  “Don’t be like that, baby.”

  “He’s rich. I suppose that’s a good thing.”

  “I don’t care. I didn’t know about that until later.”

  “I’m not saying you wanted him because he was rich. I’m saying he might be from another world; you know?”

  She pursed her lips, her eyes scolding me.

  “Sorry, Mom. I don’t mean to make you feel bad.”

  She didn’t reply. The electric gates opened slowly and I drove her beat up truck up the long and winding driveway. My ex had kept the car as well so I had to use Mom’s.

  Finally, I parked the car in front of the large mansion and opened the door for Mom. She looked impressed.

  “I’m not a savage, Mom,” I joked.

  “I know, baby,” she said, giving me a once over. “But you sure look like one.”

  “What do you mean? This is appropriate, right?”

  Giggling, she fixed my collar, tucked the shirt better and redundantly ran her hand though my very short hair.

  “You done, Mama bear?”

  “Oh, you’re here! Sorry, I didn’t see Dad’s call until just now,” a girl said, apparently out of nowhere.

  I watched with interest how Mom kissed and hugged her warmly. The fact that this girl was the only person in the world as short as my mom was amused me.

  “Hey, Lindsey. Mike told us he will be running late.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. He got called to work half an hour ago, something about one of his convict clients. But he promised he’ll be back soon.”

  “No problem, honey. Oh, this is my son, Adam.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Lindsey.”

  She extended a hand confidently, looking directly into my eyes. It could’ve been intimidating for most men.

  “Hi,” was all I said. Knowing that I would most likely not like her father, I decided to tread lightly with her as well.

  Her reaction was to squint at me, not even bothering to hide it.

  “Alright,” she said. “Not a talkative man, then. Shall we go inside, Karen?”

  After throwing me yet another scolding look, Mom followed Lindsey up the old stone steps. I did the same, slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

  As we crossed through two tastefully furnished living rooms to get to a third one, unnecessarily called a breakfast room, I concluded that I couldn’t let myself like Lindsey yet, despite her apparent qualities.

  She might’ve been daring, by all means smart and sassy, all qualities I appreciated in a woman, but who knew what lay underneath that? Maybe she was just a spoiled brat.

  Besides, her father didn’t quite strike me as the best man, given
that Mother suspected him of cheating.

  The best thing was to remain reserved until further notice.

  “Dad said we should start eating. He might be having lunch with his associate,” Lindsey say. One look at Mom and I saw her expression change.