Under Pressure(19)

Gritting his teeth, Asher pushed against his own orgasm, willfully holding out until he felt the first contractions of her release tighten around him. This time she buried her face against his chest, the muffled vibrations of her scream tearing through him right along with his own satisfaction.

He pushed through the tight fist of her sex, milking every moment of gratification for both of them. The world grayed out before imploding. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her still as his hips pumped in those last few long strokes.

When reality returned, they were both panting. Skin slick. Asher felt as if steam was rising off them.

Kennedy held on to him, and he wasn’t sure if it was because she, like him, couldn’t let go yet. Or because she was afraid she might end up on the floor. Not that he cared. He liked the way her arms wound tight around his waist.

“That was unbelievable,” she finally said.

Asher nodded his agreement. It was. So damn good. Was that because it had been Kennedy or simply all the pent-up energy finally finding an outlet?

He really hoped it was the latter.

Trying to find some levity for both their sakes, Asher asked, “Where’d you learn to do that?”

Kennedy paused. He could feel the way her body stilled for a brief beat. “Do what?”

“That thing with the condom.”

Her hands slipped up his back to his shoulders and pushed, putting space between them.

Eyes narrowed, she cocked her head to the side. “Putting it on with my mouth? Darlin’—” she imitated his accent “—that isn’t even my best move.”

Her hips undulated against him. For the first time Asher realized he was still buried deep inside her. And already starting to get hard. Damn. He shouldn’t want her again so quickly. Not if this was just sex.

Especially not when she was going to be leaving.

Pulling out, he tied off the condom and tossed it in the trash. Then, desperately searching for even footing, he grabbed for the clothes scattered around the room—his and hers—and started putting his back on.

Kennedy watched him, slowly righting her own shirt and shorts. Her silent stare was unnerving. He had nothing to feel guilty about, yet he couldn’t shake the prickle of it running down his back.

Wrapping a hand in her hair, Asher kissed her and then walked away.

It was an asshole move. He knew it, but couldn’t stop himself from doing it anyway. Besides, maybe they both needed the reminder.

* * *

KENNEDY STARED ACROSS the deck at the hustle and bustle. The salvage crew had several divers down at the wreck site. Above, their safety coordinator was monitoring their progress through dive computers, video cameras attached to the salvage crew’s dive suits and additional robotic cameras being operated from the deck. The production team had already requested access to their footage, which Trident had given...retaining the first right of refusal for usage in order to protect their proprietary information.

Alongside them, the preservation team worked on the pieces that had already been brought to the surface. Most of the more delicate work would be performed in labs either in the Bahamas or Jacksonville. But every piece had to be catalogued and documented, and steps were taken to prevent erosion due to exposure to the atmosphere after so much time beneath the water.

And in the midst of that normal chaos, the production team fluttered about.

The day was gorgeous, a perfect Caribbean morning with crystal clear skies and turquoise seas. The Amphitrite rocked beneath her feet, a steady movement that felt more like home than Kennedy would have ever anticipated. She didn’t often get out of the office and into the field. Staring up at the bright blue sky, for the first time she realized she would miss this.

A hard band constricted around her chest, and her belly twisted uncomfortably. No, she wasn’t having second thoughts about her decision to leave Trident. But there were plenty of things she loved about her job, and lately it had been challenging and exciting.

She loved the people she worked with, and getting to spend time with Jackson had become a major perk. She’d been twelve when he had left for the navy, and until he’d returned home for good, she’d only snagged snatches of time from his visits. The past two years she’d really gotten to know him as an adult and come to appreciate the man he was, not just love him because he was her brother.

Was she making a mistake? She’d watched her brother leave home and work hard to become an elite soldier. He’d protected his country and had the scars to prove it. There was a part of her that wanted to take those same risks with her own life, her own career. Surrounded by the safety net of her family and the certainty of her place within Trident, could she really reach her potential? Shouldn’t she try to push herself outside that protective envelope?

A month ago Kennedy was certain of the answer. At the moment, not so much.

Today, the production team was filming the preservation crew working in the background as Asher described the painstaking process of retrieving artifacts and discussed the pieces already found—especially the captain’s medal Avery had used to authenticate the wreckage. If they had enough good light later in the morning, they were hoping to get some shots with the dive team bringing up new pieces.

That had been on the agenda three days ago, but John’s medical emergency had derailed them, something she’d heard Daniel grumbling about this morning. If she didn’t know that John had been stabilized and was resting comfortably at the hospital in Nassau, she might think the man a major asshole. Okay, there was part of her that still thought it.

She understood that being down a cameraman made his job more difficult, but it wasn’t like the man purposely had a heart attack. Apparently, they were going to keep him several days before allowing him to travel home with his wife and family. But John had many weeks of recovery ahead of him and a lifetime of bad habits to change.

Kennedy was just glad that his medical emergency wouldn’t delay production, because even if she was feeling a bit nostalgic, she still needed the shoot to finish on time so she could pack her apartment and coordinate her move to Seattle.

Daniel wandered over to Asher and began explaining something to him. Kennedy should probably have been by Asher’s side listening, as well. But she’d been avoiding him all morning.

The way he’d walked away from her after they’d made love had felt abrupt. He’d rocked her world, given her the most intense orgasm of her life and then just...disappeared.

She should have been ready for it. But the reality had stung more than she’d expected. And she really didn’t want to investigate her reaction too deeply.

Kennedy was not used to men setting her off-kilter, which was something Asher had been doing from the first moment they’d met. That uneasiness had been part of the fireworks that sparked whenever they were close.

Now the heat they generated was just overwhelming, and she didn’t trust herself near him until she had her own reactions firmly in hand. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to smack him or kiss him—not that she’d risk doing that where everyone could see.

But just the fact that her emotions were haywire told her she was in trouble. She could want him, but that was all.

So breathing room was a good idea.

But as she watched the team work, irritation settled deep inside her chest, building and building until she felt on the verge of exploding.

Although she wanted to avoid Asher, he was clearly avoiding her, too, which pissed her off. Maybe irrationally, but the burn was still there, licking through her chest.

Perhaps he’d gotten what he wanted and was now done with her.

It shouldn’t surprise her. She’d seen him do the same thing to countless women over the time she’d known him. What had possessed her to think for one second that she was different?

Because she knew him? Because they worked together? Because he was her brother’s friend?

Asher had been pretty specific about what she should expect. And she’d told him she wanted the same damn thing. Because she did!

She didn’t want anything more than a repeat performance. But Asher...he didn’t even seem as if he wanted that.

She’d barely had a chance to catch her breath before he was throwing clothes at her and walking out. Bar none, best sex of her life. And she wanted more. They were stuck on this boat together for several more days and she wasn’t about to let him get away with this shit.

Throwing her hands on her hips, Kennedy stalked across the deck and pushed right between Asher and Daniel.

“Can I speak to you for a second?” she ground out.

Daniel threw her a startled expression, but she didn’t have time to care about his reaction. Her gaze was trained solely on Asher.

“We’re in the middle of something. Can it wait?”

“No, no it can’t.”

The more she looked at Asher, the more she remembered last night and thought about how he’d studiously ignored her this morning, the angrier she got. Now her emotions were bubbling way too close to the surface.

Kennedy realized her reaction wasn’t entirely rational, but in the moment she couldn’t do anything to regain a grasp on her temper. She didn’t lose it often, but when she did...

What was it about this man that got under her skin? Everything with him was larger-than-life. He made her feel things...things she didn’t want to deal with. Things that were perfectly inconvenient.