Today the candidates had a timed one-mile bay swim without a wetsuit. The water was around fifty degrees. It would be a brutal one.

The candidates paired up with their swim buddies, and we tossed them off the boat into the bay.

I grabbed my megaphone. “Remember, it’s mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it won’t matter.”

Twenty minutes into the swim, I noticed that Aria’s swim buddy was struggling. Usually, around this time in training, many SEAL candidates would still preserve themselves, not willing to risk failing their evolution to help their partner.

But Aria remained by his side, urging him along. Another pair quit and came crying to the side of the boat like babies. Meanwhile, Aria and her partner arrived at the boat first out of all pairs, completing their swim in less than thirty minutes.

She was shivering when I pulled her into the boat. I sat her on the deck and handed her a towel. “Hey, you did a good job out there. I liked the way you took care of your swim buddy.”

Her face brightened, but she didn’t respond. Her teeth were chattering, and her skin had a bluish tint. I checked her temperature, made sure she was fine, and then focused on the pairs in the water.

And for the first time since she’d been in BUD/S, my heart softened toward her. Had I forgiven her? Could I possibly see things from her point of view? Because as hard as it was to admit, deep down I knew she had been right. If she had told me she had wanted to be a SEAL, I would’ve shut her down.

There was no way I would’ve accepted it unless I had been forced to.

Later that night, I relaxed in my office at BUD/S. I was on night duty, and most of my fellow Instructors had gone home. The quietness of the base was a welcome change of pace from the cacophony of training.

I took a moment to examine the facts.

She was top of her class. She had sailed through surf warfare.

What if she actually passed?

My phone rang. It was my sister.

“Hey. What’s up, sis?”

“Oh my god, Erik. Guess what? I just got in early action to Stanford! I’m going to be able to compete on the synchro squad.”

“Congrats, Holly. I’m so proud of you. Dad would be too.”

“Thanks. I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d get it. But Aria called her coach—”

Wait, what? “You still talk to her?”

“No. I didn’t want to be disloyal to you. But the Stanford coach called me today and said that Aria had recommended me. I can’t believe she did that for me, well because, well you know.”

Yeah, I knew all too well. I didn’t have to tell my family that Aria was back in town. Thanks to the media, everyone in the fucking world knew about my love life.

I said goodbye to Holly, grabbed a flask from my desk, and took a swig. Then I heard my door creak open.

Aria stood in front of me. Her hair was wild, and she had bruises all over her body.

“Aria—”

She placed her finger over her lips, and quietly shut the door.

“You can’t be here.”

She didn’t respond, and before I could say another word, she ran behind me and crouched under my desk.

“Please. Will you just listen to me?”

If someone caught me with her, it would be both our asses. She’d be kicked out, and I would be disciplined.

I pushed my chair out and whispered to her, keeping my eyes staring straight ahead.

“There’s nothing to left to say. I understand why you didn’t tell me. I forgive you. But it doesn’t matter. Our relationship is in the past. We can never be together. I need you to understand that and stop pushing me.”

“I do. I get it. I’ll stop. But… I miss you. So much.”

I glanced down at her. “Yeah?”

Her lower lip quivered. “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about us. What I felt, what I still feel, is real.” Her hand grabbed at my belt.

Fuck. This was hot and forbidden. She was under my desk. No one could see us.

“I’ve missed you, too.” I reached down and stroked her hair. “And you’re doing a good job out there.”

She spread my legs open and released my cock from my cammies. “Really, Instructor Anderson? Tell me how good I am?”

“So good, baby.”

She hummed and wrapped her greedy little mouth around my cock, taking me deep.

I grabbed the back of her neck, guiding her rhythm. If someone passed by the room, it would look like I was just relaxing in my chair.

“You naughty girl. I love your hot mouth. Every night in Iraq, I dreamed of you sucking me off. Show me how much you like it, Demi.”

Her tongue licked around my head, and she started to roll her hand up and down my length. The combination of her mouth and her firm grip of her hand caused the pleasure to pulsate through me.

“I want to throw you over this table and fuck you from behind. Would you like that, dirty girl?”

She nodded yes. Sucking, rubbing, and licking me until I exploded into her mouth. She licked me dry and then she placed my cock back in my pants.

“Aria, that was hot as hell. But that can’t happen again. Look, I don’t hate you. But you weren’t honest with me. That’s a huge deal breaker. And now, we’re fraternizing. This will never work.”

“I know. I just want you to know, no, I need you to know, that I loved you. I wasn’t using you to pass BUD/S. No one has ever believed in me the way you did, and I’m eternally grateful for spending that month with you.” Tears shimmered in her gorgeous green eyes, and the sight just about broke me. “You completely changed me. You’re everything I want in a man. I need you to know how sorry I am. For not telling you my plans, for leaving you, for any damage that article caused to your career. I’m just so damn sorry.”

I looked down at this beautiful, insanely brave woman under my desk. Did I still love her? Fuck. Why did this have to be so complicated?

She wiped her mouth and slipped out from under my desk, immediately facing me at attention.

“Good night.”

“Good night, sir.”

She turned to leave my office.

“Hey, one more thing. I’m proud of you.”

She smiled and walked out the door.

One thing was clear to me. I had never met a woman as exceptional as Aria Clements.