Under Pressure

“Please.” To prove her point, Kennedy studied the weapon for a moment, scooped up the missing parts from the table and quickly reassembled the piece.

She had to admit, his stunned, slack-jawed expression left her feeling rather smug.

“Do you really think my brother would let his little sister go without marksman lessons? I’ve been going to the shooting range with my dad and Jackson since I was in pigtails. I know my way around a weapon, soldier.”

For the first time in their abbreviated history, Kennedy felt as if she had Asher off-kilter. It was a heady experience. One that made her a little bolder than she normally would have been.

Skirting around the table, she stepped closer to him. She blindly set the gun on the flat surface behind her.

“Now that we have the distractions out of the way, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

His bright green eyes flashed, reminding her of cool spring forests and the scent of pine needles crushed underfoot. “The distractions are far from out of the way.”

For a second she thought his gaze caught and held on her mouth. But that couldn’t be right. And he obviously hadn’t meant his words the way her libido wanted to take them.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Her brain told her she needed to turn away and walk out the door. But she didn’t. Couldn’t. Kennedy stared up at him, her throat tight and heart hammering against her ribs for some unfathomable reason.

She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t even angry, not really. But her entire body was energized. Alive.

She always felt this way around Asher. It was exhilarating, not to mention exceedingly frustrating, considering on most days she wasn’t even certain she liked the man. Apparently, her body didn’t seem to care.

At his sides, Asher’s fingers flexed, curling into tight fists before relaxing and curling again.

“Ash,” she said in a calm, even voice. “I’m here to help, but I can’t do that if you’re not straight with me.”

He looked away. The edge of his jaw ticked.

“I told you already I can’t do this.”

She laughed. She didn’t mean to, but it escaped before she could help herself.

“This isn’t f-funny,” he growled.

No, she didn’t think it was, either. “You’re one of the most capable men I’ve ever met, Asher. It’s no secret that you and I rub each other the wrong way.”

His fists flexed again, his body looming a little closer.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m blind or can’t appreciate what you bring to the team. I honestly don’t think there’s any problem you couldn’t tackle. Anyone you couldn’t charm. You’re abrasive and irreverent, but even that can be endearing because it means you’re honest and forthright.”

Her own words were revving the exasperation simmering beneath her surface. Why the hell was he balking?

“So, I’m basically calling bullshit. You can do this. You just don’t want to, and I can’t for the life of me understand why.”

Asher stood inches away from her. He towered above her, those damn green eyes drilling deep inside her with an intensity that made her belly flutter.

“I have a problem.” Each word was clipped and deliberate, almost as if he was grinding them out like broken glass between his clenched teeth.

“Obviously. Why don’t you tell me what it is, so I can fix it?”

He shook his head.

She growled beneath her breath.

Asher glared at her for several seconds, the burden of their mingled frustration a physical weight pressing in on them both.

His lips drew tight, flattening into a harsh line. It didn’t take a genius to realize he wanted her to leave. Tough. She wasn’t going anywhere until this was solved.

“I don’t like being on camera. I have a st-st-stutter that gets worse when I’m under stress. Starring in your damn documentary pretty much pulls every trigger. I can’t do it.”

Kennedy’s eyes widened. She took in Asher’s grim expression. The way his shoulders had begun to hunch downward. She’d watched this man storm into their conference room. She’d seen him chew out one of the guys on their dive team because he’d been lax about his safety procedures. On several nights out with the team after work, she’d watched him deliberately, coolly and expertly seduce some bar bunny into going home with him.

For a brief moment she wanted to laugh again. But she couldn’t. Because she’d heard the hesitation in his words.

It wasn’t the first time she’d heard it, either, but it was the first time she’d really thought about it. It didn’t happen often.

She’d listened as he’d addressed boardrooms, led conference calls and shot the shit with her brother and Knox countless times without the hint of a problem.

In fact, in all the time she’d known him, she could count on one hand the number of times it had happened. Before, she’d dismissed it. Hell, sometimes her brain moved faster than her mouth and she stumbled over words.

But his scant flash of horror, concealed almost before it had a chance to appear, made her pause for the briefest moment.

Slowly, she said, “Okay.”

Her heart thumped erratically inside her chest. He hid it well, but Kennedy could see the edge of vulnerability that Asher’s admission had cost him. Could see the tension filling his body as he braced for her to verbally pounce on what he’d just revealed.

Because that was the relationship they’d shared for months.

But this wasn’t him ribbing her about the night he’d bailed her out of jail for indecent exposure or her teasing him about the revolving door he’d clearly installed in his bedroom.

One long look into his brilliant green eyes and her chest ached for him.

Damn the man for actually being human.

An expletive ran through her head. Kennedy’s knees buckled. Luckily, she was close enough to the table that her rear hit the edge instead of the floor.

Asher’s hands bracketed her hips, steadying her. “Easy.”

The imprint of each of his fingers burned into her skin. Kennedy registered her body’s reaction to his touch but pushed it aside. She didn’t want to notice how he made her feel. And she had bigger fish to fry.

Oh, this was a clusterfuck of immeasurable proportions.

“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” she finally whispered. If he’d been honest with her, she might have been able to find a way to fix this mess. Now they were both stuck in the middle of the Caribbean with a production team that expected a beautiful former navy SEAL as an expert, and she had none.

“Right, because there’s nothing humiliating about admitting that kind of weakness to a beautiful woman.”

Kennedy wasn’t sure which part of that statement to address first.

“But I’m not some woman, Asher. We’re colleagues. You’re my brother’s business partner and friend. What did you think I would do?”