Page 16 of Asher

“What work?” The disbelief in his tone was palpable. “What kind of boss gives you a job in the most dangerous country in the world and then leaves you there by yourself? How long were you in Afghanistan, anyway?”

Marlowe stared, not yet sure of this whole trusting thing yet, and not meeting Asher’s eyes. He had ESP or something. Those emerald green babies were looking through her; she could feel them. She told the truth, just not all of it. “As long as I needed to be.”

“Jesus. How many times have you been in and out of there?”

“I do what I have to do.”

“And that is?”

She pursed her lips, breathing short, shallow breaths to keep from falling apart. Could she trust Asher? Part of her wanted to. It’d be the best thing ever to not have to carry her self-appointed burden all by herself, all the time. But if she told him, he might put an end to her work, and there were still more women who needed out of Afghanistan.

Asher leaned sideways until he was peering up at her. “Honey, it’s okay if you don’t answer. I get it. But let me tell you what I know about you, just having been around you these past few days. You want that puppy over there.” He glanced at the yellow dog. “Right?”

She huffed. “No. Maybe.”

He kept going. “You’re an extraordinarily strong young woman. You’re vibrant, and you have more stamina than most older, well-seasoned guys. When you’re angry, your instant go-to words are asshole and fuck. Beau overuses fuck, too. Lots of us guys do, but honey, you put a helluva lot more venom into it than we do. You’re thin, but you’re not anorexic. You’re a hundred percent lean muscle, and somehow, you find time to work out because, I gotta tell you, those muscles of yours are hard as diamonds. And, oh yeah.” He massaged his jaw. “You pack a wallop.”

She nodded, guilty as charged. If running for her life and the lives of her women counted as workouts.

“And…” Asher waited until she finally raised her chin and met his eyes. “You know how to bring a man to his knees. You’re fast and you’re lethal, and I know damned well you could hit the long-distance gong at our TEAM range if I took you shooting. But I also know you had to be mean to survive, and maybe, you’ve had to be mean for a long time. Too long. Maybe your entire life. Which leads me to the mystery of how a little girl from AnyTown, USA, grew into the stunning warrior you are today.”

Damn it. He did have ESP. She wasn’t close to stunning, she’d never shot anything in her life, and she didn’t plan to. But fast, lethal, and mean? Yup. Guilty as charged.

“Make no mistake,” he murmured, “I know capable warriors when I see one. But honey, the crap you must’ve suffered to become who and what you are today, is etched all over your pretty face, and like it or not, it’s aged you.” Asher ran his big, warm hand over her beanie. “I see you, Marlowe Rich, but I see the pain bottled up inside of you, too. I’d sure like to know that little girl from AnyTown, USA better, but it’s up to you. I’m not the bad guy here. Talk to me. Let me help if I can. If I can’t” —he shrugged those magnificent shoulders— “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

She swallowed hard, tears leaking out of her good eye, giving her away, and making everything blurry. “Your go-to word is honey,” she told the floor, needing to say something that wasn’t mean or defensive for a change.

“It is,” Asher whispered. “My dad calls my mom honey. It’s the first word that popped into my head when I saw you in that cave, well, after I crawled off the floor and could finally stand up. You’re one tough cookie.”

Marlowe heard the tease in his tone. Looking deeper into Asher’s green eyes gave her the courage to risk everything she was and all she’d accomplished in her pathetic life. She’d only seen the same glow transforming his rugged face now, once before, on the face of the first woman she’d rescued. When that poor woman was finally inside the rescue helicopter with her two tiny baby girls and had to turn and tell her homeland goodbye. When she’d fully realized she was on a one-way trip and would never see her mother and father again. She’d cried and Marlowe had cried with her, but that woman had then looked down at her babies. She’d blown out a deep breath and her face had glowed, like the freaking sun. That was when she had known that her babieswould only live if she turned her back on her past and left. Asher had that same glow.

“I don’t trust easy,” she whispered. “It’ll get you dead and people are stupid. They suck. They always let you down. But you—” Her throat clamped shut on the words she was trying to say. Asher hadn’t let her down. Just the opposite. He’d charged into hell, took out the bastards torturing her, and… and…

And she’d kneed him in the balls. She’d hurt the only man who’d ever killed for her, who would’ve died for her. The first and only man who’d ever risked his life for her.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you in that cave,” she whispered, then cleared her throat, upped the volume, and repeated in a voice he could actually hear, “I was scared, and it was dark, and you had a beard, and I thought you had a light in the middle of your forehead, and…I’m sorry, Asher. I don’t know why I got so mad. I just” —she lifted both shoulders— “do.”

He leaned in close and whispered, “I hear you, honey, and I trust you. When you’re ready to talk again, I’ll listen. And, ahem.” He cleared his throat. “I believe you just said you want a comfort dog too, right?”

“Me? No, I—”

“Sure you do. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah, but the dog’s for you, not me. I’m just” —she meant to say dead-weight, but changed it to— “your advisor.”

“My trusted advisor,” Asher corrected, a gleam in his stunning eyes. “I trust you to help me choose the right companion, Marlowe. Do you trust me to do the same for you?” He cockedhis head, waiting and teasing and, okay, trusting her when he shouldn’t.

Marlowe swallowed her pride—for now. “I guess I trust you. Yeah, I think I can do that.”

Unexpectedly, she found herself whisked out of the chair and into his arms. Again. She swallowed hard at the strength and warmth of the gentle giant holding her, as if she were breakable. Which she was. If only he knew how badly. Embarrassed that he might see her tears, she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m so dumb.”

The biggest sigh rumbled beneath her ear. “You’re the farthest thing from dumb, honey. You just get ahead of yourself sometimes. You think you’re alone, and when you feel threatened, you lash out at whoever’s closest. But you’re not alone anymore. I’ve got you.”

“I… I…” She couldn’t believe she was going to admit this, but she did. “I’ve never had anyone I could rely on before.” She turned her face into his shirt, ashamed of her pathetic childhood and her loser parents. What was wrong with her? She was stronger and meaner than this weepy, sniveling thing she turned into whenever Asher was around. What was in the IV she’d been hooked up to? Crybaby juice?

“You’ve got me,” he said, stuffing a tissue into her clenched fingers. “Now wipe your face, and by the end of the day, we’re going to be the owners of two comfort dogs. Are you ready?”

She wiped her eye and dabbed her nose. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

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