In the water, out of the water. Pain for you, fun for me.

I placed my hand over the raised motto printed on the back of my long-sleeved, dark blue instructor shirt from my locker in the BUD/S compound. Warmth filled my chest as I pulled the shirt over it.

Today was going to be epic.

It was my first day as a BUD/S instructor—responsible for training the next generation of Frogmen. Only eight years ago, I’d been a mere tadpole myself. My instructors were such badasses, and now it was my turn to inflict the hurt. After surviving many deployments with SEAL Team Seven, I had been graced with this coveted non-deployable three-year land duty. Three years stateside in beautiful Coronado, California—home to the sexiest women in the world. Yup, there were plenty of fish in the sea.

Maybe I would finally get over Aria.

My buddy Devin walked into the room. With his pretty boy swagger, long blonde hair, steel-grey eyes, and movie star smile, there was no doubt that he used to be a world-famous rock star, even though he kept his true identity a fiercely guarded secret. The guys had nicknamed him, “Skin,” because, like Rumpelstiltskin, he never would admit to anyone outside of the Teams that he had once graced the cover of Rolling Stone shirtless and clad in skin tight leather pants. He had abandoned his former life as Dax, lead guitarist of Gold Whiskey, the millennium’s hottest heavy metal band, to become an operator.

I couldn’t fathom ever earning that much money and then giving it up. And as much as I loved my job, I struggled to accept the fact that even though I risked my life daily to protect America, on my salary, I would never be able to save enough money to buy a home where I was stationed. Any extra income I made, I sent to my mom. She was proud and humble and would always refuse to accept it, only to eventually give in reluctantly. Ever since my dad had died, she had done her best to provide for my sister but struggled to make ends meet. I was determined to help them any way I could.

Devin’s hand brushed his long blonde bangs off his face. “Hey, dude. Have you seen the Frog Princess?”

Fuck. Just my fucking luck. My first time as an instructor and I had to be responsible for the downfall of the Teams. Today was the day that Naval Special Warfare would lose all its standards. Despite the Team guys’ collective protests and pleas, our arguments had failed to convince the high brass of the Navy, who quite frankly didn’t know shit, that having a female on the Teams was the worst idea imaginable. Fuck political correctness—I was training warriors.

I exhaled. “Nah, man. I just hope she looks like Demi Moore. Maybe we should assemble a special Team, just of women. Wait until their times of the month sync up, then deploy them. They will lay waste to the enemy.”

Devin burst into laughter. “Damn straight. They could take out ISIS.”

Ha! “Fuck yeah.” I fastened my boots, pushed back my sunglasses, and walked around the corner, preparing to meet my class. I gazed out at the midnight blue ocean, barely visible at zero dark thirty. The waves rippled in the distance, and the scent of salt water and sweat lingered in the air. These recruits didn’t have a clue what they were about to endure.

Let the games begin.

As I approached the class, my eyes were immediately drawn to the lone female in the group, as if her presence was a magnet to my cock. The tight, brown shirt clung to her breasts, and the green cammies hung low on her slender hips. Like a flame, one wisp of her red hair peeked out of her cap. She must’ve felt my gaze because she raised her eyes to meet mine.

Holy fuck!

My heart pounded in my chest, and my body shook with fury.

No, she didn’t look like Demi Moore. She was hotter, way fucking hotter. She wasn’t anything like the type of woman I had thought would’ve signed up for this torture. She wasn’t hardened, mean, nor did she have a chip on her shoulder.

I knew this because I knew her.

I’d loved her.

And she’d left me.

Aria stood in front of me—my little mermaid who had swum off in the middle of the night, leaving me heartbroken. She’d told me she had gone to “train.” My dumb ass thought she’d meant for another shot at the Olympics. But she’d taken on the ultimate challenge.

She was here to be the first female Navy SEAL.

And I was her instructor.

I narrowed my gaze on her, purposefully intimidating her. Her chin dropped, and her eyes blinked rapidly.

My annoyance flared. What the fuck was she doing here? When had she been commissioned by the Navy? Was this why she had left me?

A tremble took over her body.

It could’ve been from the chill of the early morning.

Or it could’ve been from the horror of realizing she had come face to face with the man she had betrayed.

A man who was now in control of every second of her life. A man who now would stand in the way of her achieving her dreams.

She had lied to me about her future plans. Used me to gain access to the SEAL “O” course. Pumped me for information about BUD/S training. But even worse, she had grown close to my family. All the while knowing that she had planned to betray me.

Now I would make her pay.

I grabbed the microphone, forcing myself to calm my voice, and looked directly at her. “Welcome to BUD/S Class 334. I’m Instructor Anderson. Many have tried, few have succeeded. Drop to the ground and give me a hundred pushups.”

Before I could blink her firm, tight body was parallel to the floor as she knocked out her exercise with perfect form.

I yelled into the microphone, screaming at all of my candidates. But my mind was on only one of them.

Aria.

Her sweet loving boyfriend no longer existed. It was time to introduce her to the badass Navy SEAL she had pissed off.

The warrior. The savage. The killer.

I stood behind her, my eyes focused on her firm ass.

“Eight. Nine. Ten. You think you can do this, Clements? That you are as strong as these men? You aren’t. I’ll tell you what you are. You’re sad. You’re weak. You’re pathetic. This is Navy SEAL training, not water ballet. You screw up, and I’ll catch you every time. I’ll make you pay, princess. I’ll make you pay.”

“Yes, Instructor Anderson.”

I got in her face. “Don’t you speak. I didn’t give you permission to speak. Keep that mouth of yours shut unless I tell you to open it.” To suck my cock.

Dammit. My mind flashed to her on her knees taking me deep. Well, one of the SEAL mottos was, “Welcome the SUCK with a big hug and a smile on your face.”

Fuck. I had to stop thinking about her like that.

It didn’t matter how much I had once wanted her because she was forbidden to me now. I was her instructor, and she was my student.

From now on, she would obey my every command.

From now on, I was her master.

I stepped away, and she took a quick rest on her forearms. I turned right back toward her. “When I walk away, I’ll still be watching you. I have eyes on the back of my head. If I tell you to do something, you do it right. If I tell you to do pushups, you do them right. Got it, cupcake?”

She grunted, and I walked away from her, trying to focus on any of the other men, any of the candidates but her.

How had I been so wrong about her? No wonder she had become so angry when I had told her I didn’t think women should be SEALs. It had once even crossed my mind that there was a possibility that she wanted to be a SEAL. But I had dismissed that thought.

I’d be the laughing stock of my Team now. Devin and Kyle both knew that I had dated her. I had to steer clear of her on our off times. Any contact with her could be misconstrued as fraternization. She had wasted enough of my life—I refused to allow her to ruin my career.

Devin yelled for them to lay on their backs and start leg lovers. I grabbed my hose and blasted a stream of water into her mouth, as her legs scissored up and down. As I counted at her, I imagined that stream of water being my cum shot into her greedy little mouth.

I dropped the hose, unable to look at the wet T-shirt clinging to her chest, her nipples poking through the damp fabric.

But on a glance back, I noticed something else. Her legs were straight, and her abs were engaged. My eyes surveyed the men on the ground. Many of them were flailing around like a fish out of water, with no form at all.

Fuck my life. She was one of the best ones in the class.

But it didn’t matter. I would make her ring that bell. Her betrayal of me alone should be enough to get her kicked out.

Aria and the men completed their evolution, and I yelled at them again. “This entire evolution has been pathetic. Nothing any one of you has done has been even remotely acceptable. Maybe that’s because there’s a woman in your class that you have all decided to lower your standards to her level.”

Her eyes tore into me, and her mouth quivered. I had to look away. I couldn’t deal with her emotions.

Or mine.

But I also couldn’t have anyone think that I was being extra hard on her because I’d fucked her. It wasn’t just her future on the line—it was mine too.

I threw her a bone.

“But, you are all wrong. We will never lower our standards. Not for the Frog Princess or for any of you fools. And I’ll tell you what. The Frog Princess showed you all up tonight. If you can’t do as many leg lovers as a girl, none of the rest of you have the right to be here. ‘Lady’ and Gentlemen, it’s going to be a long, cold, wet night.”

I threw down my microphone and walked away. Inwardly, I winced— she’d made a fool out of me.

But I knew how to make her crack. How to make her doubt herself.

I knew her Achilles heel.

She would never pass the “O” course because she would never master the Dirty Name obstacle.

When I heard that sweet chime of the bell that she would ring, I would breathe a sigh of relief. For that sound would mean that I’d never have to see her again.

The sooner, the better.

She could try to pass BUD/S, but she would fail.

I was a Navy SEAL, a Triton, a god of the sea.

And she would never be part of my world.