Under Pressure (11 page)

“Why don’t we start by going through the questions Daniel will be asking? Get you comfortable with giving the answers on camera.”

Asher nodded. His mouth was drawn tight, and his face was pinched, giving him a severe and dangerous look. But right now, what she wanted was for him to relax.

“Take a deep breath, Ash. It’s just the two of us in here. No pressure.”

“That’s n-not entirely true, is it?” His forehead crinkled right between the slashing lines of his eyebrows. “If I can’t get this right, I’m going to screw up everything for this documentary. For you and Trident. Not to mention Jackson and Knox who are depending on me to pull this off. Trust me, there’s pressure.”

Kennedy shook her head. It was hard not to notice the way Asher’s body tensed whenever his mouth mangled a word. It bothered her, how he seemed to brace for some backlash.

It made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold on tight...a very dangerous inclination considering Asher most likely wouldn’t appreciate it. In fact, he’d probably see the gesture as some indication that she thought him weak.

Men and their fragile egos. His fear and stutter didn’t make him weak. It made him human.

She liked him even more because of the imperfection.

“By the way, you were amazing with John. I don’t think he’d have had a chance if you weren’t there.”

“That’s not true. I didn’t do much, just got him to the surface.”

“Faster than anyone else could have. Were you even aware that it took the rest of us a good fifteen more minutes?”

His hands curled tighter around the edge of the desk. “No.”

“Like I said, frogman, you saved his life.”

This time, Asher simply shrugged, again trying to deflect her praise, almost as if he didn’t trust it.

Slowly, Kennedy walked across the room. He watched her, his eyes tracking her every movement. Stopping in front of him, Kennedy tipped her head back and stared into him.

“You’re a hero, Ash. You and I might not always get along, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the truth.”

His only answer was a deepening frown.

This close, she could feel the heat of him, seeping straight through her skin and into her bloodstream, like some potent drug. His scent filled her lungs, adding to her intoxication.

“So, let’s talk about this stutter.”

His face pinched tight. She could see the swirl of emotions there that he really didn’t want to share—anxiety, apprehension, determination and frustration.

“What about it?”

“Have you always had it?”

His eyes flashed with a pain that was so deep and stark it nearly took her breath away, and she wasn’t even the one feeling it. She almost regretted asking the question. Almost. Because something told her whatever was behind that emotion, he needed to share and someone needed to listen.

She was happy to be that someone. Especially if it helped keep her project on track.

“No. It developed after my dad died and my mother left.”

Asher’s words lanced straight through Kennedy’s chest. They were so cool and bland. But no one experienced that kind of thing without having emotional scars left behind.

And his stutter was proof of that.

“That must have been rough.”

“The stuttering? Yeah, it was difficult not to be able to communicate with the kids at school. To panic at even the thought of being called on in class. To have the words in your brain, on your tongue, and not be able to force them out is...frightening.”

“I can imagine,” Kennedy murmured. “But I meant losing both of your parents so suddenly.”

Asher just stared at her out of those deep green eyes. If she hadn’t seen the pounding pulse just beneath his jaw or the way his fingers gripped the desk so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, she might have believed the placid exterior he was trying to present.

Even a week ago she might have bought the act. But not today.

“It sounds like your grandmother really cared about you. Wanted to help you.”

“She loved me unconditionally. The only person in my life I can really say that about.”

A lump formed in Kennedy’s throat. Nope, she wasn’t going to give in to the emotion welling inside her chest. It wasn’t helpful and would only serve to push Asher away...and she was probably close enough to that happening as it was.

“It’s obvious you don’t suffer from the stutter as much as you used to.”

“No, back then it happened almost every time I opened my mouth. Now the stutter rarely surfaces, unless I’m under extreme stress.”

“What changed?”

He shrugged, his stiff shoulders lifting and dropping. Last night he’d soothed her own tense muscles. Kennedy wished he’d let her return the kindness now, but knew he wouldn’t.

“I grew up.”

“You stopped worrying that your world was going to go spinning off its axis again?”

The corner of his mouth twisted up. “Maybe. Probably. I made the baseball team my freshman year of high school and found a group of kids I could identify with.”

No doubt he’d found people who accepted him for who he was, stutter and all. The anxiety lessened so the stutter lessened.

Which was precisely what they needed to do now.

Kennedy let a smile bloom across her face. She watched an answering one twitch at the corners of his lips. It was a start. Walking backward, she didn’t stop until she was standing right next to the camera again.

“So, why don’t we start with some background on how Trident discovered the
Chimera
?”

Asher’s gaze flickered to the camera at her right. She didn’t bother telling him it wasn’t turned on. She wanted him to think that it was, but she didn’t actually need the footage—definitely didn’t need any more to tempt her.

He took a deep breath, filling his already wide chest with air and holding it for several seconds before letting go.

“When I m-mentioned to Jackson and Knox that I was thinking about retiring, they both protested.”

“Why?”

The question really had nothing to do with the point of the exercise, because she didn’t imagine Daniel would really care about the answer. But she did. She’d always wondered. None of the guys talked about their time with the SEALs much. Over the years she’d tried to press Jackson for details, but had quickly learned it wasn’t a subject he liked to discuss, especially when he was home.

“Why?”

“Why was it time to move on to something else? From what Jackson and Knox have said, you were an amazing soldier.”

Asher made a quick, jerky, dismissive movement with his hand. It took Kennedy a few moments to realize she’d embarrassed him.

“We’d gotten close over the years, were lucky to have worked together since Jackson and Knox joined the SEALs. But I’m a couple years older. My body was starting to feel the effects of such a physically demanding job, and it was time for me to move on to something else...before my weakness cost someone their life. The team is only as good as the weakest link, and I refused to become that link.”

Something tight squeezed her chest. Kennedy could imagine Asher’s struggle, pitting his love and dedication for his job, and the guys who’d become like family, against the fear that he was becoming a liability to those same men. He constantly put the needs of others above his own.

She wondered who put his needs first? And as much as she wanted to say Jackson and Knox, she wasn’t entirely certain that was true. By his own admission, Asher had gone into the business his two friends wanted instead of doing whatever he’d hoped to do.

“So you started Trident because you wanted to continue diving?”

“No, we started Trident because Jackson is a hell of a salesman.”

Kennedy chuckled. “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?” When her brother wanted something, he went after it and wouldn’t take no for an answer—from anyone.

He’d been tenacious, working tirelessly to secure clients for Trident when they’d first opened. He’d taken some shitty jobs—they all had—in order to build the business.

Luckily, fate had brought him together with Loralei’s father at Lancaster Diving and Salvage. Without Loralei, Trident never would have found the
Chimera
. And Jackson never would have met his future wife.

Kennedy loved her soon-to-be sister-in-law. She and Jackson were perfect together.

“He told us the story of the
Chimera
and how the legend of it had been handed down for generations in your family.” Asher gave her another shrug. “I didn’t have anything better to do.”

Such a ringing endorsement for a lifetime of commitment. And if she hadn’t seen Asher give one hundred and ten percent to Trident over the past two years she might wonder if he was truly dedicated to their success. But she had no doubt.

Even if he hadn’t been bound to the company, it was becoming obvious that Asher would have done absolutely anything for Jackson and Knox.

“I got so tired of hearing that as my bedtime story,” Kennedy mused. “Jackson didn’t mind the hidden treasure and high seas drama, but
I
wanted fairy-tale princesses.”

Asher laughed. “You’re such a girl.”

Just to taunt him, Kennedy ran her hands over her breasts, hips and along the curve of her ass, tossing him a wicked grin, “And don’t you forget it.”

Asher shifted, his expression going sharp and a predatory glint flashing through his eyes. “Not possible,” he said, his voice low and rough enough to send a shiver racing down her spine.

Well, that had backfired. Or maybe it hadn’t. From the moment they’d parted last night her body had been left simmering. She’d tried to ignore the need pulsing beneath her skin.

It wasn’t working.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be the only woman surrounded by all you big, dangerous, military men?”

“Honey, you have every damn one of us wrapped around your little finger and you know it.”

She tried to bite back the words but didn’t succeed. “You aren’t.”

“The hell I’m not.”

Kennedy stared at him. That was the last thing she’d expected him to say.

“Then why have you spent the past two years taunting me? What did I do?”

Asher shifted, his hips rubbing restlessly against the edge of the desk. “You d-didn’t d-do anything.”

Kennedy heard his words. She registered the stutter, nothing new. But for some reason, she loved the little halt in his voice.

To her, Asher Reynolds had been perfect. Gorgeous, powerful, determined, sarcastic, witty, sexy as hell. Every woman’s fantasy and nightmare together. He was untouchable and so utterly superb. Like the most exclusive and expensive bottle of wine she could never afford to taste.

She could feel the tension rolling off him as he waited for her reaction to his stuttered words. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed him do this. But before, she’d simply brushed it off, thinking it was better not to acknowledge the slip and add to his embarrassment.

But maybe...

“You know, I like your stutter.”

“You wh-wh-what?”

“I like it. It’s cute.”

His entire expression went cold. “That’s not funny, Kennedy. I don’t appreciate you making fun of me.”

“I’m not. And I mean it, although maybe cute is the wrong word because no one could ever describe you as cute. Come on, you’ve looked in the mirror before and you know exactly your impact on women. I’m absolutely certain every female within a ten-mile radius wants you. So you freeze in front of a camera and stutter...it makes you real.”

He continued to stare at her, but Kennedy couldn’t stay still. Taking several steps nearer, she closed the gap between them, until their bodies were practically flush. She tipped her head back, looking into his eyes.

“I know you see it as a weakness, and maybe it is. But, hell, Asher, it’s the only one you’ve got. You’re smart, can handle any situation put in front of you with calm and confidence. Without that tiny flaw the rest of the world would never be able to measure up or compete. It gives us mere mortals a chance.”

8

H
ER
WORDS
STUNNED
HIM
. But he was even more shocked when Kennedy leaned in, her hands pressed tight against his chest as she sealed her mouth to his.

The kiss was
pure heaven and excruciating hell all rolled into one. Because before he could even react and pull her closer, Kennedy was gone.

She backed away. Asher’s hands rose, chasing after her, fisting around empty air.

Her words had scorched through him almost as surely as that kiss. She didn’t think less of him because of his fear and stutter, but it was more than that. She
liked
it. Thought it made him unique.

That floored him. Especially after years of being teased and taunted because of it. It was more than he ever could have expected, especially from Kennedy.

It wasn’t as if he’d provided her any reason to be sympathetic toward him, which was the best he could have hoped for.

But that was what gave her words a ring of truth. She had no reason to lie or sugarcoat anything. So when she said something to him, he could take it at face value.

Which only made his body burn hotter, especially where her hand had pressed into his chest.

“Let’s get back to work.”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She might like his stutter, but that didn’t necessarily mean it would disappear. His throat felt swollen and scratchy, too tight to let sound and words pass through. Asher’s gaze moved to the unblinking black eye of the camera lens pointed straight at him.

It would pick up every hesitation, magnifying it and amplifying it.

“Hey,” Kennedy’s soft voice pulled his attention. She watched him, her expression carefully neutral and easy. “Just focus on me.”

Slowly, her hands moved up her body, over her belly and breasts to the button at the top of her shirt. And she flicked it open.

For a second he thought maybe she was warm. The room was small, and they were in the middle of the Caribbean. His own temperature spiked when she reached for another button and pushed it through the tiny hole holding it closed.

“What are you doing?”