When he found Maxwell, Asher was liable to give up his entire political career and tear him apart limb by limb for threatening either woman.
Molly ignored the fanfare of an FBI escort, grabbing her bags and trouncing toward the front door. But Jenny stood outside the SUV, not shutting her door. Apprehension hung on her shoulders, and still she wouldn’t turn around.
Look at me.
Then she did. They locked eyes, and he swallowed hard as her gaze fell to the street. Such a gorgeous girl. He knew the deep caramel bronze that painted her eyes, could see her dark hair even when his eyes were closed. Years ago, he had sworn off any woman who would be a distraction from his career. Maybe that made him self-centered, but really, he considered himself determined. Why be in a real relationship if he couldn’t commit to anyone but himself? Man, that made him sound like a jackass. But it was the truth, and he didn’t want to hurt his sister’s best friend. Hell, he didn’t want to hurt Jenny.
Even if the chance for something to materialize out of their spark had existed once, he had missed the chance, and an unspoken rule had formed between them. Don’t cross the line.
The door flew open, pulling his attention away from Jenny. Molly stormed inside, tossing her bag and a purse. “Want to explain the security detail in more depth than ‘there was a threat’?”
“In a second.”
Jenny walked in but didn’t speak. She avoided eye contact, and Asher craved all their flirty fun that rarely happened anymore. Maybe she’d grown tired of their game. If anything, he was more entranced with Jenny now that her interest in him was waning. It wasn’t in him to lose. She’s not a game, dick. Get yourself in check.
Three agents followed Jenny, reminding him that this wasn’t a social call. Shit, he didn’t care. He needed to hear her sultry voice. “Jenny.”
“Asher.” Her glossy lips teased him, making his name purr.
God, was she a sight. Every part of his body had readied for her to walk in. Even the hair at the nape of his neck continued to tingle.
“Haven’t seen you around.” That was what he came up with? He sounded like a dull politician, and that was how she saw him anymore, anyway.
She shrugged.
He’d blown her off too many times. For all your smarts, you’re a moron, McIntyre. In Jenny’s eyes, he was nothing more than a suit who gave speeches. His eyes fell to a pile of magazines on their coffee table. The same damn People magazine was top of the pile. Great. So he was either a dull politician, or, according to tabloid crap, he was hopping from one actress’s bed to the next.
Molly tilted her head toward the waiting agents. “What’s with the welcoming committee?”
He gave an apologetic smile to the agents. “How about you girls sit down? I need to chat with Agent Murphy.”
She shook her head. “Nope. Jenny and I planned to order a pizza, throw on our PJs, and drink a bottle of wine. None of that can happen until you’ve explained whatever the incident is this time and everyone leaves.”
Murphy cleared his throat and tilted his head down the hall. This wasn’t going well. “Give me a minute.”
Asher followed him to the kitchen.
“We can leave a man here if you’d like, Congressman. Other than that, there’s not much to do other than keep an eye out.”
Asher’s gut tumbled. He liked proactive measures and was sure that the investigators working on the notes were chasing all possible leads. But still, one man outside? It was better than nothing, but he wasn’t thrilled and couldn’t call in a federal favor to babysit them. “If that’s what you recommend, we’ll take it. Thanks.”
He returned to the living room as Murphy pulled his men and left.
“Here’s the deal. Someone left me a couple threatening notes. Nothing out of the ordinary. But today, one of the notes included a picture of you both at Disney World.”
Molly’s face paled, and Jenny’s jaw dropped. He wanted to comfort them both for the same reason in very different ways.
“No one’s going to hurt you. They’re just trying to get my attention.” And they fucking have it. “This is precautionary.”
“What’s precautionary?” Molly asked.
“There’s an agent outside. He’ll stay there and keep an eye out.” Asher wasn’t ever unsure of his moves, but the one he decided that minute made him both unsettled and uncertain. He plowed forward. “And I’m staying on your couch tonight until I figure out what the best move is.”
What did Jenny sleep in? His throat constricted. Silk draped over her curves would be nothing short of spectacular. The woman was his walking, talking dream. Shit, this spend-the-night-on-the-couch idea had major flaws. What good would he be if all he could think of was don’t touch instead of watch out?
“The couch?” Molly’s shaky voice brought him back to reality.
Jenny didn’t move. Didn’t respond. Her hands clung to the couch cushion as if the idea of him sleeping under the same roof was dangerous. And it was.
He took a long breath and pulled out his phone. “Pizza and wine is on me. We’ll figure out what to do so I don’t have to sleep on the couch another night.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.” Molly rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Work trip for two weeks.” She jumped up and paced. “We should have a bottle of wine in the kitchen. I’ll grab it and some glasses.”
If he did spend a second night, it would be just him and Jenny? His mind raced. The idea was too much to comprehend. He had spent years avoiding her temptation, and now he could barely stay away. Why? Because he’d put her in danger?
Molly started down the hall. “I can’t believe someone followed us in Disney World.”
He watched his sister then turned back to Jenny. “We have to talk tonight. Hang tight.”
He followed Molly, and she spun. Her lip quaked. “I hate this stuff, Ash. I need a minute to wrap my head around it, then I’ll be fine. Okay?”
She clung to the door jamb in the kitchen. She liked her privacy, and every time he dropped a bomb on her, she needed a few minutes on her own, then his kid sister was back. “Got it.”
If any of the tabloid magazines had a clue that he was getting booted back and forth by the two women he was trying to take care of, they’d have a field day. Two different ladies. Two different, very raw feelings bit at his mind. Protecting them both was crucial. He wanted to go all patriarchal on Molly and all alpha possessive over Jenny.
Rubbing palms into his eyes, Asher tried to think of anything besides Jenny’s pouty, pink lips.
He rounded the corner blind and slammed into soft, luscious curves. Instinct took over. He caught Jenny and pivoted. She found her balance, back against the wall. His left hand landed high above her head. His right caged around her waist. They stood the closest they’d ever been. Decadent warmth radiated from her body. Whoa, she smelled sweet. Delicious and mouthwatering. Butterscotch and vanilla.
He swallowed away an immediate urge to breathe her in and remembered his quickly fading rule don’t cross the line. “Where were you going?”
Her long eyelashes fluttered. “It’d be better if I stayed somewhere else tonight. Let you two do the sibling thing. Ya know, a McIntyre family slumber party.”
“Is that what you want to do?”
Her cheeks blushed, and hell if he knew why he’d asked that question. What he did know was the don’t cross the line rule abdicated his rule book. Now that he’d broken their unspoken proximity barrier, he couldn’t get close enough to her.
“It’d be safer if you stayed here.”
“I’m heading to New York for an audition tomorrow.” Her eyes bounced over his shoulder, and what he wouldn’t do to have her lay those beauties back on him.
“Look at me.”
She bit her bottom glossed lip. “No.”
“Why not?”
Her eyes flashed to him, searing him straight to his groin. “Not everyone listens to you all the time, Mr. Congressman.”
“I don’t care if you listen or no
t, but I do care if you ignore me.”
“What difference does that make? You’ve been ignoring me for years. Now if you don’t mind, back up.”
They stared, silent. He savored the electric charge that pulled them closer and leaned over. His lips hovered near her earlobe. “I’m tired of pretending.”
Jenny pushed his chest and ducked under his arm. “What?”
The pounding in his chest reverberated into his throat. Two hot marks burned him where she’d pushed her balled fists. The tips of his fingers prickled to touch her cheeks, her hair, her curves.
Asher narrowed his focus on her but leaned against the wall.
She stepped backwards until the back of her legs met the couch, then she dropped onto it.
Molly walked into the room, much calmer and holding a half glass of wine in one hand, an opened bottle and two glasses by their stems in the other. She pivoted a look from Jenny to him and back. “Everything okay?”
“Your brother has lost his mind.” Jenny pulled a blanket over her and burrowed into the couch.
He shook his head. “Actually, I think I just made my mind up.”
***
The living room turned into a sauna, and heat crawled up Jenny’s neck. Her heart pounded into overdrive. She couldn’t swallow past the knot in her throat, couldn’t respond with any witty comeback that would make their banter nothing more than an innocent flirtation. Asher wasn’t acting innocent, and she had no idea what he was doing.
Done pretending and made up his mind? Her mind spun around his words. What?
He was messing with her. He had to be. Nothing else made sense. Flirt and walk away. That was how their at-an-arm’s-distance relationship existed, even if she wanted more. Even if she’d die for him to hold her against the wall like that again.
She shivered at the memory, even while self-doubt and self-preservation had her snuggled onto the couch with a blanket as a protective barrier. If she let him have his way with her, she would be irreparably broken and just another notch in his bedpost.
Asher picked a book off a nearby shelf, paged through it without looking, and tossed it onto the coffee table. It covered a magazine Jenny knew had a photo of him with a real actress.
Molly laughed for the first time since they’d learned about the threats. “You two kill me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes twinkled as if he were letting Jenny in on a secret, but then he turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll call for the pizza, then have to make a couple phone calls.”
“No prob. Take your time.” Molly offered her a wine glass.
She unburied her arm to grasp the stem and held it steady while Molly filled it.
“More, please.” Jenny wiggled her glass. “Or just give me the bottle and a straw.”
Molly rolled her eyes toward the kitchen where Asher could be heard ordering pizza. “What just happened between you two?”
Jenny shrugged. “Same thing that always happens. He flirts, walks away, and I’m left looking silly with a sad crush.”
“That’s not what happened. I can tell that much.” Molly topped off Jenny’s glass and sat on the other end of the couch. “What’d he make up his mind about?”
She took a long sip of the wine, not bothering to enjoy it. “No idea.”
“With the way you’re draining that wine glass, I’d say that’s a lie.”
Jenny tilted her head and knew she blushed. “Maybe a small one.”
“The wine is helping?”
“A little.” She swallowed another massive drink. “A lot. I don’t know.”
“Better watch out, that wine’s going to hit you fast on an empty stomach.” Molly picked up the remote and skimmed through their DVR.
Nothing looked good. Jenny could still feel Asher’s arms around her, and the scent of his cologne lingered on her shirt. Cable reruns weren’t going to be any form of distracting entertainment. One minute turned into five minutes, then fifteen, and Jenny had no idea what had been on the television. All she could picture was his arms around her.
“Molls,” she whispered like he might be hanging around the corner and not ordering pizza or discussing national security or whatever he was doing on the phone in their kitchen. “He said he’s ‘done pretending.’ What does that mean?”
Molly’s smile went as wide as her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” Jenny chewed on the inside of her mouth. “He had me up against the wall.”
“He what? The wall?” Molly’s jaw hung open, and she inspected the wall like there might be evidence of the encounter. “No way.”
“I’m being serious.” Jenny rubbed her temples. “Why did he do that? I’m totally reading into that, right?”
“Shoot, Jenny. What’s there to read into? A man presses you against the wall and says he’s done pretending? For years, I’ve been saying it’s only a matter of time. He’s all book smart and politically savvy, but the guy is obtuse when it comes to finding a decent woman.” Molly kicked her leg off the couch and knocked the book Asher had placed on the table to the floor. The latest People magazine was front and center. “Case in point, that couldn’t possibly have been a serious thing.”
They both knew that there was a picture of Asher with an A-list actress who’d fumbled through an E! interview, unable to recall how many states the US had. She and Molly had replayed that a hundred times.
Asher walked in. “Pizza’s ordered. Should be here in a hot minute.” He glanced at the book on the floor and the magazine they stared at. He arched an eyebrow and gave half a smile. “Always up to no good.” He tossed the book back over the cover and winked. “You doing okay over there, Jenny?”
“Stop messing with me, Ash.”
“And miss a night with my two favorite ladies? Never.” Asher dropped in the middle of the couch. His arms spanned behind both of them as he leaned back. “What are we watching?”
Molly topped off her glass of wine. “Actually, I have a headache.” The doorbell rang. “That was fast. I’ll get it, grab a slice and my glass, and head to bed. Nothing better for a headache than pizza and vino. You paid for this already, right, Ash?”
“Yup.” He didn’t shift to the empty side of the couch.
Holy shit. Jenny wanted to hug and strangle Molly. Don’t leave me alone with him. I’m not sure of my next move.
“Night.” A laidback Asher leaned forward, letting his hand drag over her shoulders, then grabbed the empty wine glass. He filled it to an appropriate level, unlike Jenny’s monster glasses. “Feel better, Molls.”
Molly brought the pizza to the coffee table, grabbed a slice without a plate, and left the box on the table.
This isn’t at all awkward. And by not at all, all Jenny could think of was yes, this was obvious and awkward. The big, pink elephant in the room had donned a tutu and was dancing with sparklers in hand.
She gulped her wine. “Molly doesn’t really have a headache.”
What? Shut up, Jenny! Her nerves made the room shrink. She couldn’t take a stabilizing breath and had no idea what uncensored line would fall from her lips next.
Asher shut off the television, turned, and raked a penetrating gaze over her while sipping his wine. Her nipples grew tight, and she shivered to her toes. The room was too quiet.
Finally, he swirled his glass and set it down. “I know she doesn’t have a headache.”
“You know?”
His expressive eyes narrowed. “You know what else I know?”
No. I don’t. She shook her head. And I’m not sure I want to know. Her handling of his newfound focus left her quivering like a waif of a woman. Actually, drinking like a wino-sailor. The push-pull of their flirtation had never allowed for him to make a move. It was their unspoken rule, and apparently, she’d grown more than confident he’d never make a move. Tonight, she was unprepared.
“Guess, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? She shook her head again. No way am I guessing anything.
/> He smiled in that trusting, all-knowing way he had about him. “Here’s what I know. First, someone threatened you girls. I’d walk away from everything I have to make sure justice is done. But second”—he took her wine glass out of her hand—“I needed to find you, Jenny. I need to put a stop to the one lie between us that has been as consistent as it has been irrational.”
“That’s the line of a politician.” Taking a deep breath was out of the question. The wine made her head swim. He made her head spin. She tried again to fill her lungs and felt them refuse. There wasn’t enough oxygen in her ever-shrinking living room. “You could mean anything.”
“But I don’t.” He took a piece of hair hanging over her eye and tucked it behind her ear. Her pulse screamed in her neck, but his focused stare never wavered. “You know what I’m talking about. You’ve always known. Now it’s your turn: What do you want?”
Her eyelashes fluttered; her stomach dropped. His voice was always low, but its vibrations washed over her, making her throb.
“I want…” You. That was the answer. It had always been the answer up until the opportunity presented itself. But she didn’t trust her feelings or his motivation. “Not to be confused.”
He shifted closer, evaporating their distance. His broad palms covered her cheeks, and his thumbs stroked slowly. Her bottom lip drifted open, and her eyelids sank. The quietest sigh fell from her mouth, and she hated how easy she was to manipulate.
“You are gorgeous.” His tone was deep and hungry, and he was close enough for her to register the rich aroma of his faded cologne. “And it shouldn’t have taken me this long to tell you that.”
Asher brushed his lips over hers. Like the intense roll of a summer storm, crackling lightning and thundering pulses ran their course, uncontrolled and unstoppable.
“Ash…” Her lips tickled against his, and her mind drew blank, focusing on the sparks that spread from her lips into the softest of kisses.
His fingers feathered into her hair, and she opened her mouth to him. He tasted like red wine, sweet and savory, and each velvet stroke of his tongue wicked away her hesitation. She struggled to stay in the moment, wanting to remember every amazing second, but the indulgent and delicate kiss was fading. Years of taunts and teases had lined up, urging their bodies together.
The Titan Series: Military Romance Boxed Set Page 89