at the door, she tossed a warning glance over her shoulder. “Our plane leaves at nine in the morning. If I have to hunt you down, I’ll make you regret it.”
* * *
ASHER UNCLENCHED HIS fists from the arms of his chair. Blood rushed back into his fingers.
He could feel the tension building inside his body. Just the thought of what she was asking him to do...
First, his shoulders and back tightened. Then his stomach cramped, tying into knots any sailor would be proud of. His throat closed up. His mouth went dry. And his tongue suddenly felt useless, four times bigger than his mouth.
Familiar symptoms for a major problem he couldn’t seem to conquer no matter how hard he tried. His body reacted the same way to any stressful situation. Had since he was six years old.
The sensations were so familiar. Straight out of his childhood nightmares. The memories, the taunts. The humiliation and embarrassment. Everyone staring as his mouth stumbled and refused to form the words his brain was screaming.
He was a goddamned navy SEAL. Was the toughest of the tough, could stare down terrorists, defuse bombs and take a bullet with barely a flinch. But this, this one weakness he’d been struggling with for so long, he couldn’t master.
Over the years he’d perfected avoidance tactics, successfully extricating himself from situations likely to trigger his speech impediment. Hell, even his best friends weren’t aware of his issue.
And he wanted to keep it that way.
Unfortunately, Kennedy’s request—no, demand—was going to blow that possibility straight out of the water.
And to put the icing on this craptastic cake, she would be there to witness his humiliation.
There was no doubt in Asher’s mind that just her presence was going to make the situation ten times worse. There was something about Kennedy Duchane that got under his skin.
Her scent. Her take-charge attitude. Her ability to call him on his bullshit and the way she stared at him out of those whiskey-brown eyes.
The fact that there was no way on God’s green earth he could touch her even though that was the only thing he wanted whenever she was close.
Even now, the scent of Kennedy’s perfume lingered in his office, taunting him long after she was gone.
It bothered him, the way she could affect him without even trying. The way his body always seemed to overrule his brain.
Kennedy was off-limits. His best friend’s little sister, his employee, not to mention nine years younger than he was. There were so many reasons to keep his hands to himself, but the more time he spent with her the harder that seemed to be.
His solution was to avoid Kennedy as much as he could. A little difficult considering she worked for the company he co-owned. So when that wasn’t possible, he did his best to push her away with snarky comments.
Lucky for him, she was easy to manipulate. Because he suspected if she ever realized how much power she held over him...she wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
And he could admit he’d probably earned her wrath.
The project she was ready to throw him headfirst into was a bad idea on multiple fronts. How the hell had he ended up in this situation?
More importantly, how could he extricate himself before everyone in his life discovered the secret he’d been hiding for years?
Picking up the phone, Asher dialed Knox’s cell.
He didn’t bother with pleasantries, just launched straight into the attack when his friend answered. “What the hell, man? You on death’s door?”
“Feels that way,” Knox croaked.
“Bullshit. I’ve seen you crawl through mud with a bullet hole oozing blood. I had a temp of one-oh-one when we took that little village outside of Kandahar. Suck it up, buttercup. We need you.”
“I’m not—” Knox’s words cut off abruptly, and he could hear the sound of scuffling in the background before a smooth, soft voice came on the line. “Asher, whatever you want, the answer is no.”
“Firecracker,” Asher said, a grin tugging at his lips.
Now, Avery Walsh was a woman he liked. And it wasn’t just because she delighted in giving his friend shit. That had a lot to do with his affection for her, but she was a force to be reckoned with all on her own. “How’ve you been?”
“I’m wonderful, but Knox feels like crap.”
“So he was saying.”
“I’ve already talked with Kennedy.” He could hear the suppressed humor in Avery’s voice and wanted to hate her for it, but couldn’t quite muster up the energy.
Damn Kennedy for her organizing tendencies and preemptive strike.
“Listen,” he started, modulating his voice into a smooth tone with only a hint of cajoling thrown into the mix.
“Don’t even start,” Avery warned. Asher wasn’t sure he liked the fact that the women in the group talked to each other on a regular basis. It was definitely becoming a problem for him.
“You’re not getting out of this one, Ash. Not this time.” She didn’t even bother to hide the laughter warming her words. He probably should have taken offense, but didn’t.
“I’m glad you think this is funny,” he drawled, leaning back and propping his feet up into their normal position on the edge of his desk.
His entire body relaxed, sinking down into the forgiving leather of his office chair.
This was familiar territory, bantering with a beautiful woman. Safe and comfortable, especially because he knew nothing he did or said could tempt Avery away from the man she loved.
“Trust me, it’s funny as hell,” she said. “Your pretty face is finally working against you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, you know you’re beautiful, Asher. And you use it to your advantage.”
Shit, he didn’t see anything wrong with that. The navy had taught them all to use the assets they’d been given. He was just following orders, nothing more, nothing less.
“It’s gratifying to see it turned against you for a change,” Avery continued.
“You know, I really liked you, doc...before you turned into such a ball buster.”
Avery chuckled, completely unfazed. “Your charm isn’t going to get you out of this one, sailor. Sorry.”
It had been a long shot, but one he’d had to at least try. Because the alternative... A cold wash of dread rushed through his body.
Saying goodbye to Avery, Asher disconnected and stared at his computer screen without actually seeing
