SEAL's Honor (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 3) Read online

  SEAL’s Honor

  AN ALPHA SEALS CORONADO NOVEL

  Makenna Jameison

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Makenna Jameison.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Table of Contents

  About this Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Books by Makenna Jameison

  About the Author

  About this Book

  He’ll fight all her battles and stop at nothing to make her his…

  Navy SEAL Jackson “K-Bar” Clinefield is strong, silent, and lethal. He’s not interested in the flirtatious women always hanging around his teammates, but when he meets his buddy’s beautiful yet reserved neighbor, he can’t deny their instant attraction—even if he suspects she’s hiding something from him.

  Taryn Miller is on the run. Her abusive ex-husband has tracked her across the United States, and she’s finally settled into a new life—and new name—in San Diego. When trouble catches up to her, leaving her bruised and badly shaken, Jackson is the one who rushes to her side. The massive and muscular Navy SEAL should terrify her, but he’s gentler than any man she’s ever known, and she feels nothing but safe and protected in his arms.

  Discovering someone laid a hand on the innocent Taryn makes Jackson see red. He’ll stop at nothing to track down her abusive ex and won’t rest until the gorgeous brunette is safe in his arms and sleeping in his bed—forever.

  SEAL’S HONOR, a standalone novel, is book three in the addictive Alpha SEALs Coronado series.

  Chapter 1

  Jackson “K-Bar” Clinefield resisted the urge to groan as he pulled up to his teammate Raptor’s townhouse. His buddy had planned a party for their SEAL team and dates that night so they could celebrate Blake “Raptor” Reynolds and his girlfriend Clarissa’s engagement. She’d packed up her home in Texas, driven a few states over with his buddy, and moved in during the summer.

  And now the two of them were living together, engaged, and happy as hell.

  It had been a damn crazy few months, and seeing his friend content with a woman for maybe the first time ever wasn’t a hardship. Jackson wasn’t big on parties though, even less interested in relationships, and he knew the other guys would probably all be there with a woman.

  Jackson would be the odd man out, not that he wasn’t used to that. The younger guys on the team had a new girl with them every week. Grayson “Ghost” Douglass had just gotten a serious girlfriend himself that he’d met in Bagram while on an op, and Troy never had a problem finding a lady friend for a night or two.

  Jackson usually crashed and burned in actual relationships though—not that most of his friends were seriously seeing someone. But plenty of the beautiful women that he’d met over the years wanted the allure of being with a Navy SEAL, and those types were usually high maintenance and more trouble than they were worth. They might want to show them off to their friends or spend the night in their bed, but after that?

  He just didn’t have time for the drama.

  He wasn’t looking to be someone’s meal ticket with his Navy career, and he wasn’t looking for a woman who demanded he drop everything to cater to her every whim.

  Jackson would be content with a normal woman—if they weren’t so damn intimidated by his sheer size or risky career. The last woman he’d been with had broken it off when she couldn’t handle his up and leaving abruptly for a deployment. Not that he had a choice in the matter.

  He shut the door to his large black SUV and rounded the front, frowning when he spotted the woman next door hauling her trash to the curb. Most everyone in Raptor’s neighborhood had those bins you rolled down, but hers seemed to be broken and missing a wheel. Her wavy dark hair hung down to her chest, and her tits looked fucking fantastic in the white tee shirt she wore.

  Not that he’d noticed. Right.

  Hell. She was the quintessential girl next door. Fresh-faced, toned, and somehow innocent as well. Maybe it was the white tee shirt and jeans. The women he and his teammates met at bars wore skimpy, sexy clothes. They were heavily made up and wanted male attention. This woman managed to be sexy as hell in a more natural way. Why she was hauling trash down to the curb instead of her boyfriend or husband was puzzling. Then again, there were lots of military guys in this town.

  She could’ve been home taking care of everything while her man was overseas. There were plenty of military families in Blake’s neighborhood.

  “You need any help?” Jackson called out.

  She jumped at his deep voice and looked over at him in surprise.

  How she couldn’t have noticed him standing there was beyond belief. At six-foot-five, he stood out everywhere he went. Then again, maybe she just wasn’t paying close enough attention and had assumed he was Raptor. They both had dark hair and the builds of a SEAL, even though Jackson had a couple of inches on his friend.

  He didn’t like the way she trembled slightly as she looked at him though, or the slight hitch of her breath. “I won’t hurt you,” he said in a low voice, not moving a muscle. He nodded toward Blake’s house. “I’m just here to see Raptor.”

  “Oh,” she said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Right, you’re one of his SEAL friends.”

  Jackson raised his eyebrows.

  She shrugged, flushing slightly. “He didn’t tell me; I just guessed. It’s a Navy town, and he’s always coming and going. Other men and women deploy for a long time. He lives right next door, so of course I noticed when he’d suddenly be gone for a week or two.”

  She tugged on the trashcan again, and Jackson crossed the small yard to her, not liking to see her struggle. Maybe it was the chivalrous side of him—some women didn’t appreciate it, but he’d been raised to treat a woman right. It wouldn’t cause him any trouble to pull her trash to the curb, and he was a good foot taller than her. More even. He’d feel like an ass standing there watching her struggle.

  And she seemed to know something about the military. His initial thought must’ve been right. She had a boyfriend that was deployed—he didn’t see a wedding ring on her finger.

  “I got it,” he said gruffly. She looked surprised when he lifted up one side of the bin, holding the weight of it so he could pull it down the driveway on just the one wheel. “You should call and request a new can.”

  “I did, and they told me it was seventy dollars.”

  Jackson let out a low whistle. “That seems steep for a piece of plastic.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what I get for living in a safe neighborhood. Everything costs more. I’ll just deal with it.”

  He nodded, looking at her from down by the curb. A weird feeling washed over him—there was just something right about looking at her standing there in the driveway. At his taking care of her. He’d never lived with a woman before, never had been married. This strange sense of déjà vu, like he’d always been taking care of her, felt right.

  It was damn crazy, too, since he’d probably never see her again. He usually saw
his buddies on base or their local bar. They’d hit up the beach many a weekend afternoon. He rarely came over to Raptor’s house, but damn. He’d clearly been missing out.

  Hell if he couldn’t see himself with someone like her though, which was strange. He didn’t even know Raptor’s neighbor and didn’t do serious relationships since most women didn’t like his unpredictable career. He’d been burned in the past when an ex had abruptly ended things, and the same scenario had repeated itself after that in one form or another.

  Women liked the allure of dating a military man, but plenty of them just couldn’t handle it. Raptor’s own girlfriend, notwithstanding, they didn’t like when he was sent out on ops and couldn’t tell them where he was going or when he’d be home.

  He’d always have secrets—that was simply the nature of his job.

  Standing here wishing for something he couldn’t have was damn crazy.

  The woman’s hair blew slightly in the breeze, and the sight of her brushing it back behind her ear made his chest hurt. She was just so damn innocent standing there.

  He walked slowly back toward Raptor’s house, trying to get his head on straight. He didn’t really want to leave without at least finding out the woman’s name, but she already seemed a little skittish of him. And besides—he wouldn’t go after another man’s woman. Of course she had someone. A beautiful thing like that? She’d be snatched up right away in this town.

  A pickup truck pulled into Blake’s small driveway, and he watched Ghost and Hailey get out, nodding at his friend.

  “Are you guys having a party or something?” Blake’s neighbor asked.

  “Yep. Clarissa just moved here from Texas, and she and Blake got engaged, so we’re having a little get-together. You should come over,” he found himself saying.

  “Oh, no, I couldn’t,” she stammered. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

  “It’d be no intrusion,” he assured her, his voice low.

  Hailey squealed as Grayson helped her out of his truck and then kissed her, leaning her over backwards in his arms. Jackson glanced back to see his mystery woman blushing.

  Why that intrigued him so the hell much he didn’t know. She was different from most women he met when he went out with his friends. Probably because she wasn’t the type of woman to meet men in bars. Hailey and Grayson were making out in the driveway like they didn’t have an audience. Giggling once more after Grayson lifted her back up, the two began walking inside, calling out hello and Ghost casting a knowing glance as Jackson stood there with Blake’s neighbor.

  Jackson liked the quiet brunette though and thought she was a hell of a lot more attractive than the scantily clad women he met on the beach or in bars. He couldn’t exactly stand out here all night though. He’d freak her out even more, and his friends would wonder what was up. “By the way, I’m Jackson.”

  She nodded, suddenly looking nervous. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t like the slight fear in her eyes. “I’m Taryn,” she said, looking like she didn’t want to tell him. He had the weirdest sense that wasn’t her real name, which was odd. She had no reason to give him a fake name. It’s not like he was some random guy she’d met at a bar. She lived next door to Blake. He could easily get her name from him if he’d wanted.

  It was the slight hesitation in how it came out though—she stumbled the tiniest bit.

  He watched her for a beat, and she began to grow flustered. “Anyway, I should go,” Taryn said. “You’ve got your party, and I’ve got, well, things to do.”

  Jackson nodded, already feeling regret as she turned and quickly walked toward her front door. His gaze briefly dropped to her ass. Her jeans were form-fitting and hugged her damn well. Perfectly. She was barefoot, too, he realized as his gaze lowered.

  Too damn innocent for a man like him.

  She’d blushed just watching Gray bend Hailey over backwards and kiss her in the driveway. Hell. He’d been with his fair share of women over the years. In his younger days, he’d had no problem spending a single night with a woman. No one he’d met recently had caught his interest the way Taryn had though. But she seemed young—much younger than his own thirty-one years.

  He watched to make sure she got safely inside her house and then finally turned, walking toward the front door of Blake’s place. Maybe he’d ask Blake about her later on he thought as he jogged up the front steps. Something about Taryn intrigued him. And he couldn’t shake the idea that she seemed to be hiding something.

  Jackson strode into Raptor’s without bothering to knock, looking at the group gathered around the living room and open kitchen. Clarissa was sitting in Blake’s lap on the large sofa, giggling. Ethan “Everglades” Flannigan was telling both her and his date for the night a sanitized story about their most recent op. Troy “T-Rex” Harrison was in the corner of the kitchen, kissing the blonde woman he was there with. Grayson and Hailey were getting drinks, Grayson sneaking in another kiss.

  Jackson shook his head but then nodded at Logan “Hurricane” Hudson, who was grabbing a beer from the fridge and seemed to be there alone as well.

  “You don’t have a date?” Jackson asked, quirking his brow as Logan walked over.

  Logan lifted a shoulder. “Well, I probably could’ve invited the woman whose bed I woke up in, but she wasn’t too happy when I split.”

  He couldn’t help the snort that escaped him. “Sounds about right.”

  “Who was the chick?” Grayson asked, popping the cap off of his longneck as he strode over. He wrapped an arm around Hailey’s waist, pulling her close. She was nearly a foot shorter than Ghost but fit against him perfectly. Exactly like how the woman next door would’ve fit against Jackson—not that he’d be finding out.

  Jackson shrugged. “She lives next door. I think I scared her when I offered to help.”

  Ethan’s date giggled as she heard their conversation. “All you guys are rather big and strong. Not that I have any complaints,” she teased, running her fingernails over Ethan’s bicep.

  Jackson smirked. “I don’t think Everglades has any complaints either.”

  “Hell no,” Ethan said.

  “We get Navy guys in the bar all the time,” his date said. “I’m lucky Ethan asked me out instead of some other fella. Otherwise, look what I’d be missing out on.”

  “It was lucky we were in there,” he joked. “Usually we hit up Salty Sunset, but we had to avoid Raptor’s one-night-stand and ended up in your bar a few times instead.”

  Jackson’s gaze shifted to Raptor and Clarissa.

  “No worries,” Ethan said with a laugh. “Clarissa heard all about her. Considering Raptor only has eyes for her now, I don’t think it’s an issue.”

  Raptor muttered a curse. “We’re engaged now, but there’s no need to bring up any women from my past.”

  “Sorry Clarissa,” Ethan said, looking sheepish.

  She shrugged, not seeming concerned in the least as Blake’s arm tightened around her.

  Grayson looked over to Jackson. “But speaking of Raptor’s neighbor, she did look a little freaked out. What were you helping her with?”

  “The trash,” he said with a low chuckle. “Her can was broken, and she said they wanted to charge her seventy dollars for a new one.”

  Grayson’s eyes widened. “Seventy bucks? Damn. Raptor, what the hell kind of rich neighborhood is this?”

  Blake glanced over at them in confusion but was focused on his Clarissa, more than content to murmur into her ear as she sat on his lap. Jackson looked back at his teammate. “It was weird. I get some women are intimidated by my size, and I’ll admit I surprised her. I don’t know. I just got the sense something was wrong.”

  Gray nodded. “You should ask Raptor about her. He’d probably know something.”

  “Yep. No doubt.” Jackson crossed the living room and sank down into a plush chair, listening to the end of Ethan’s story.

  “Wait, no fair,” Ethan’s date pouted when he was done. “You tell us this crazy story a
nd can’t even tell us where you were?”

  Ethan glanced over at her, smiling. “I told you, baby. That’s how it always is with us.”

  “That makes it even crazier. And you’re used to this?” she jokingly asked Clarissa.

  Clarissa shook her head, her blonde hair catching the light. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. We’ve only been together a few months though, so maybe I’m wrong. But I trust Blake and his team. They rescued me, you know.”

  “Rescued you? From what? I’m Donna, by the way.”

  The two women introduced themselves, and Jackson smirked. Of course Ethan’s flavor of the week wouldn’t know anything about Clarissa or the team. Not that he faulted the guy—they’d all chased after plenty of women over the years. Jackson had done the same damn thing. A new pretty girl each weekend was tempting as hell when you were young and single. When you were only concerned about getting laid, not getting into a serious relationship. He wasn’t exactly old at thirty-one, but he sure as hell felt it sometimes compared to some of the other guys.

  “I hope everyone’s hungry,” Blake said, changing the subject. “I’ve got steaks, burgers, and ribs to grill tonight.”

  “I insisted on the ribs,” Clarissa said. “I’ve spent so much time here this summer, I was missing Texas BBQ.”

  “You need to get Blake here a smoker,” Jackson said in amusement. “Otherwise, it just won’t compare.”

  “I know. That’s exactly what I told him,” she lamented. “We don’t have a ton of room outside though. This’ll work for now.”

  Blake eyed the small deck. “I’ve been telling Clarissa we could get a bigger place now that she’s officially moved in with me. Rent a house with a nice big backyard or something.”

  “This is fine,” she said, standing up. Blake’s hands were instantly at her waist, helping her.

  “Sure,” he said, rising as well. Jackson noticed he keep one hand lightly on her hip, as if he didn’t want to let her go. “Fine for now,” he continued. “But you’ll work from home some of the time, right? So you’ll want your own office. I wouldn’t mind more space and a bigger yard.”