Exclusive excerpt: 'A SEAL's Secret' by Tawny Weber

HEA gets to show you an exclusive excerpt from Tawny Weber's latest, A SEAL's Secret.

First, here's the blurb about the book (courtesy of Harlequin Blaze):

Subject: Lt. Commander Mitch "Irish" Donovan

His Mission: Babysit a fitness queen with a hands-on approach!

Navy SEAL Mitch Donovan always plays to win. The push-up contest at the Halloween party should have been a piece of cake. Except that the cake in question is a hot woman dressed as a delicious dessert. Now the only exercise on Mitch's mind is restraint…

Livi Kane may be The Body Babe, but she has zero confidence. This hunky SEAL, however, makes her forget everything—except for a workout involving his hot, naked bod and a whole lot of sexy, sweaty delight. But Mitch has his secrets—and Livi certainly has hers. All it will take is one unexpected encounter to turn this steamy attraction into an even bigger secret that will start showing any day now…

EXCERPT

"I'm Mitch Donovan. And you're Olivia?"

As unable to find words as she'd been when she'd crossed the room, Livi simply nodded and nestled her hand into Mitch's much warmer, much larger one.

It was like grabbing a live wire. His touch zapped a shaft of hot desire through her system with so much intensity, Livi wanted to lie down. On the nearest flat surface with him on top of her, preferably.

She could run a four-minute mile, lead an advanced interval training class for fifty women while giving detailed verbal instructions, or handle herself in the kickboxing ring against a toothless bruiser named Bubba.

And she'd do them all with a big smile, an average maximum heart rate of 120, and absolute faith that her training meant that even if she got distracted talking, muscle memory would get her through the workout.

But right now her smile was as shaky as her knees, her heart was beating so fast and loud that she was lightheaded, and her muscles were going into meltdown.

All it took was a single touch from Super Hottie.

Or...

Um, what had he said his name was?

Livi wet her lips, about to ask, then realized she was still shaking his hand. No, it'd been so long now that she was just holding his hand.

Could she be a bigger dork?

Her cheeks warming, she let go and stepped back. It took all of her resolve, and the image of her mother's glare, to keep Livi from turning heel and running out of the room. And she'd thought she'd overcome her shyness? Ha. Making a complete ass of herself with the sexiest man she'd met in forever pretty much burst that illusion.

Then she forced herself to stop. This was simply resistance. Maybe a dash of humiliation, but mostly resistance. Muscles weren't built without it, she reminded herself. See it as a strength-training exercise.

Rallying to the self-lecture, Livi took a slow, subtle breath, pulling the air all the way down to her belly button. She let it calm her, sooth the edgy nerves. Another breath and she was able to pull on her meet-the-press persona, complete with toothy smile.

"Most people call me Livi," she told him before inclining her head to his friend, who appeared to be arguing with Tessa.

But... Men never argued with Tessa.

"I'm surprised he recognized me in this getup," Livi said slowly, distracted by the other two. "Actually, I'm surprised he recognized me at all. That doesn't happen very often."

"Romeo has a special knack," Super Hottie said with a friendly shrug. "I keep telling him that he'd be a great spy, but his memory is pretty selective."

"Romeo?" Tessa stopped whatever she was debating so fiercely to interrupt. She gave Super Hottie's half-dressed friend an amused look then flicked her finger over the feather behind his ear. "And here I thought you were Tonto."

"And here I thought angels were sweet," the man called Romeo shot back.

Livi's confused glance bounced between the two of them. Tessa seduced men, she didn't argue with them. And the only guy Livi had ever seen go toe to toe with her usually charming friend had been fighting over which of them got to wear the feather boa in a dance number.

What was going on?

Frowning, she looked at Super Hottie in askance. He shrugged and gave a baffled shake of his head.

"So what do you do if you're not a spy?" Livi asked Romeo, with a bright smile, trying to smooth over the social awkwardness. An odd change since she was usually the one causing it.

"I blow things up." His smile coated in charm, he leaned back, draping one arm over the back of the chair. "Irish here does pushups."

Oh, the images.

Livi's heart did a happy bounce just thinking of Super Hottie in a plank position, biceps and triceps bulging as he pressed. Up. Down. Up. Down.

Whew. She wet her lips and wished she had a glass of water. Iced, preferably.

As much to try to erase the tempting visual from her mind as to stop the conversation before it moved on, Livi waved her hand in the air.

"So Gabriel blows things up," she said, her eyes locked on Mitch's bright blue ones. They were hypnotic. Seductively hypnotic. "What about you, Mitch? What do you do?"

Me, she wanted to suggest. I'd like you to do me.

But for once, her bone-deep shyness came to the rescue, keeping her mouth shut before she blurt that out.

"I'm a bit of master of everything. You name it, I've probably done it."

"Is that so?" Livi murmured, her mind rapidly compiling a list of things he might have mastered. Since most of them involved him naked, her smile turned naughty. "Tell me more."

Find out more about Tawny and her books at www.tawnyweber.com.