Prologue Recruitment #3
He circled the desk and stood only a foot or so away from Asher. “I need someone on the team who is willing to take risks others may not.”
He scratched at his beard. “I don’t know.” He turned away, needing a moment to gather his thoughts.
“I also need someone to remind me that what’s best isn’t always protocol.” Luke’s voice became low, gravelly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have followed orders. Maybe I should never have let Marcus go alone on the op that killed him.”
His words had Asher slowly turning around, leaving him with only one choice—one answer. This was no time for indecision. It was now or never. “Okay.”
He saw the flash of relief in Luke’s eyes, like a shit-ton of bricks had been lifted from his shoulders.
Asher’s back muscles pinched tight. “But . . . I can’t live in this city.”
Luke’s brows stitched together, but he said, “We have locations all over the States. You don’t need to spend much time here.”
“Is your past going to be a problem?” Jessica’s palms landed on the desk. “Those people you were with tonight will—”
“No.” As long as I don’t live here, I’m good.
“Thank you.” Luke faced him with an extended hand. “It might be a rough transition with Marcus being gone, but this will be good for the team.” Luke released a hard sigh, and Asher could feel the weight of his loss slam into him.
He released Luke’s palm and wrapped a hand around the back of his neck. He wasn’t too great at dealing with feelings either.
Luke cleared his throat. “Jessica has a few nondisclosure papers for you to sign from the president, and then we’ll handle the rest of the details tomorrow.”
“You can’t tell anyone, not even the guys from Charlie Team, about this,” Jessica added.
“I gotta make some calls.” Luke nodded. “I’ll be in my office. One door down. Come find me when you’re done.” And he left without another word.
Asher moved around the desk to confront Jessica now that they were alone. His hands slipped into his pockets to keep himself from reaching out to her. To touch her. To ensure she was real.
“What are you doing?” She tipped her chin to find his eyes and folded her arms as if to build a wall between them.
Still as arctic-cold as he remembered. Except between the sheets, of course.
“Why doesn’t he know we worked together in Aleppo?” He thought back to the op. He’d known her last name was Scott, but he hadn’t known Luke had a sister, and even if he had, what were the odds they’d be related?
“I didn’t see a reason to tell him.” She dropped her eyes, hiding her gaze beneath long lashes.
“I don’t see why you’d feel the need to keep it from him.” He tensed. “Unless, of course, you were worried he’d find out what happened between us.”
The way a newbie fires a 9mm, not used to the recoil—that was Jessica right now. A jerk to her shoulders, to her neck. A quick snap of unease. A lack of comfort at the situation at hand.
“There never was an us,” she said after a beat. “It was one night.”
He casually shrugged. “True. You left before the sun came up.”
Her eyes seized his. They were too blue. Too everything. “I had a plane to catch. Besides, it was just sex.” She stepped back, bumping into her chair.
He assessed her for another moment, trying to get a read on her. “Are you against me joining the team?”
“Yes.” She dropped her arms. “But not because of the thing between us.”
He angled his head. “I thought there wasn’t an us.”
She looked toward the door, a pinch of irritation flaring on her face. “You make me nervous. You hate authority. You don’t ever—”
“You didn’t seem to have an issue with me when you were muffling your screams with a pillow so you didn’t wake the barracks.”
“I don’t normally hook up with SEALs.” She flicked her wrist. “Or anyone in uniform, for that matter.”
He couldn’t stop the smirk that tugged at his lips. “So, I was an exception?”
“That night was . . .” She lowered herself back into her seat.
It probably wasn’t the time or place to be revisiting the past, but they’d need to clear the air if they were going to work together.
“Why were you really fighting tonight?” she asked, pivoting, and he’d give her an A for effort. “Luke may not care, but I do.”
He considered changing the topic, but he knew she’d never let it go. “I like it,” he answered, a glib tone to his voice. “And I’m sure a spy like you is aware of my history.” My dark, shitty past. A past that would reach for him like the touch of Satan if he stayed in the city for too long.
She found her feet again. But even though she was five feet eight with boots on, she couldn’t compete with his height. A frustrated twist of her lips had him smiling again.
“Trying to get closer to kiss me, huh?”
Her eyes widened. “Asher,” she hissed and glanced at the door. Again.
“You know, I wouldn’t even be here tonight if you told your brother we’ve had sex.” He squinted one eye. “How many times did I make you come? Three or four?”
“I . . .”
He brushed the pad of his thumb down her cheek. She didn’t flinch. “But don’t worry, now that I know you’re Luke’s sister, I won’t even picture you naked while we work together.” He placed his hand over his heart. “Promise.”
A red crept up her throat and touched her cheeks.
He turned away before he showcased his dick attempting to tent out his jeans when he thought about their night together.
It wasn’t every day a man met a woman like her: a strikingly beautiful genius. Hell, her brains turned him on as much as her looks.
He’d been a sucker for smart women ever since his first crush on his teacher in the fifth grade. Hot Miss Klein.
“Please don’t make this hard for me,” she whispered.
He looked back at her. “As long as you, uh, don’t make things hard for me.” His brows quickly rose and fell.
A smile almost touched her mouth, and it was like fireworks erupted in his chest.
It’d been over three years since they’d had sex, so why did she have his pulse racing like this?
“Can we be civil?”
“You think I’m capable?”
“No.” She held out her palm, and he fully faced her and clasped it. “But I can be hopeful.”
“Well,” he said, raising both brows and smiling, “here’s to hope.”
She quickly pulled her hand free of his, went back to her desk, and unlocked a drawer. “Are you sure you don’t have any questions before you sign away your life?”
He shrugged. “What’s to know? I may be out of a job in two days.”
“That the only reason why you said yes?” She lifted a brow.
“I guess you’ll have to find out, Peaches.”