Asher: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 3) Read online

  ASHER

  Copyright © 2020 Nyssa Kathryn Sitarenos

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used, stored, or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for use of brief quotations in book reviews.

  This book is for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book may not be resold or given to other people.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover by Dar Albert at Wicked Smart Designs

  Edited by Kelli Collins

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Blurb

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Also by Nyssa Kathryn

  About the Author

  She needs his love. He needs her safe.

  When a workplace romance becomes something deeper for Lexie Harper, she’s devastated to learn Asher Becket is determined to keep their sensual touches and passionate kisses behind closed doors. But that’s not good enough. Lexie won’t be anyone’s dirty little secret…especially when she’s harboring a secret of her own that won’t stay hidden for long.

  As an ex-special forces soldier with a target on his back, Asher lives each day with just two goals: put an end to Project Arma, the program that changed him forever; and keep his feelings for Lexie locked down tight. His life is a hotbed of danger, and he’ll die before letting it touch her.

  Then Lexie’s secret is discovered by people so evil, Asher’s her only hope of staying alive. Instead of pushing her away, he’ll have to hold his greatest obsession closer than ever.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to my editor, Kelli Collins, for your hard work and guidance. You saved me on this one!

  Thank you to my mother, Kathryn, for encouraging me to read when I was growing up and setting up the foundation to my love of romance reading.

  Thank you also to my wonderful husband. This wouldn’t be possible without your love and support.

  1

  “No…” Breathless with disbelief, Lexie shook the stick again.

  Maybe it was broken. Maybe they’d sold her a test that had sat on the shelf for too long and it was now reading a false positive. Was that a thing? God, she hoped so. Maybe she should google it?

  “Please be broken, please be broken, please be broken.” Lexie repeated the mantra under her breath like her life depended on it. Which it pretty much did. Life as she knew it, that was.

  Pulling a second test from the pharmacy bag, Lexie’s fingers shook so badly, she could barely get the packaging open.

  She would take another test. And this test would confirm that her life wasn’t about to change irrevocably. That she wasn’t about to embark on a new journey that she had absolutely no idea how to navigate.

  As she sat on the bathroom floor, the cold tiles didn’t register. Neither did the churning in her stomach that had been there for the last week.

  It will all be okay, Lexie reassured herself.

  Quickly taking the test, Lexie returned to the floor and waited to see what the stick would say. Nibbling on her thumbnail, she kept her gaze glued to the window on the test. A shot gun probably wouldn’t distract her. Every second that passed seemed more like a minute. Every minute an hour.

  When the same symbol that flashed on the first stick came up again, Lexie’s breath caught.

  Pregnant.

  Holy jam on a cracker. Lexie was pregnant.

  There was no way two different brands of tests could lie. The odds just didn’t seem to be in her favor.

  Taking a few deep breaths, Lexie slid down the wall until she lay flat on the tiles.

  It was only a week ago that she had been standing at work behind the Marble Protection reception desk with her friends, Evie and Shylah, laughing about nothing, when babies were brought up. That was the moment it had hit Lexie.

  She’d missed her period.

  Then, wham-bam, it all started happening. The nausea, the exhaustion, the damn light-headedness. She didn’t even know if the latter was supposed to be a symptom, but she sure had it.

  Placing a hand on her stomach, Lexie felt the threat of tears at the backs of her eyes.

  There was a little human baking inside her. A little human that she would be the mother of.

  She couldn’t be a mother. She didn’t know the first thing about healthy mothering. Her own was a drunk who hadn’t cared for Lexie a day in her life. Now that Lexie was an adult, she only heard from the woman when she needed money.

  That was her role model. That was her example of how to mother a child.

  Good lord, what was she going to do?

  Pushing up onto her elbows, Lexie sucked in a long, slow breath.

  She had always promised herself that the only possible way she would bring a baby into this world was if she had her shit together and a ring on her finger.

  Well, she sure as hell didn’t have her shit together, and not only was she not married, but she was about as far from saying “I do” as possible. Lexie could be president of the unwed ladies’ club, she was so single.

  Crap, was she turning into her mother? This is exactly how it had been for her. Pregnant to a commitment-phobic douchebag who had left her the moment the stick turned pink. Lexie may as well start filling her cupboards with whiskey now.

  To be fair, Asher wasn’t a douchebag. He just didn’t want Lexie. That made him at least an idiot, right?

  Leaning forward, she scrubbed her hands over her face. Christ, she loved that man. Shame he cared for her about as much as he did the stranger down the block.

  Asher had made it abundantly clear he didn’t want to date. Well, not publicly, anyway. What would he say when she told him she was going to have his baby?

  Her breath hitched at the thought. Jeepers, Asher would have a heart attack on the spot. Then probably run as far and fast as possible.

  The thought pulled at Lexie’s heart.

  Pushing up into a standing position, Lexie glanced at her reflection. Her skin was too pale, particularly in contrast to her bright red hair. Hollow bags shadowed her amber eyes, giving her the appearance of being sick.

  At least she looked the way she felt. She had barely been able to eat a thing all week.

  The thought of telling Asher the news just made her feel even worse. Paralyzing, fall-to-the-floor, never-get-up worse.

  Maybe she wouldn’t tell him. Not right away, at least.

  Pinching her cheeks to add some color back to her face, Lexie felt her body relax at h
er decision. She would wait to tell him. When was it that people usually shared the news that they were pregnant? Twelve weeks? She would wait until then.

  Pulling her long hair into a ponytail, Lexie did some mental math back to when she’d had her last period. Six weeks, maybe? So, she could be up to six weeks pregnant.

  Holy guacamole. Six weeks pregnant.

  Walking down the hall of her one-bedroom apartment, Lexie entered her bedroom to get changed for work. Her legs felt about as steady as a baby giraffe’s.

  She prayed she could get through her shift today without throwing up her guts. So far she had avoided being sick at Marble Protection, but there had been some close calls. Just yesterday she’d had to speed walk to the bathroom, thinking she was going to empty the contents of her stomach, only for it to pass a few moments later.

  Lexie didn’t want to be sick at work. She couldn’t. The guys had crazy-good senses. One of their mysterious secrets. One of many. They would know something was going on with her immediately.

  Then would come the questions. The investigation.

  Lexie had worked at Marble Protection since the place had opened over a year ago. Working for eight former Navy SEALs had felt like winning the lottery at the start. They were all huge and sexy, with muscles for days. They definitely fit the role to run a security and self-defense business.

  Unfortunately for Lexie, the last few months had become more torturous than anything else. All because of one man. One man who she hadn’t been able to get out of her head. His beautiful brown eyes, his cocky smile. Everything.

  It had taken only a month for Asher to get her into his bed. That was her first mistake. She should have made him wait. Sweat it out and work harder. Then maybe he wouldn’t be treating her like he could come and go as he pleased. Like she was his dirty little secret.

  Just another mistake in the Lexie chronicles.

  Rolling her eyes, she pulled out jeans and a sweater. Today was definitely a baggy sweater day.

  Stopping in front of the dresser mirror, Lexie let her gaze drift to her midsection. A baby. She was going to have a baby.

  Hand reaching for her stomach, she closed her eyes. She was still in disbelief. Probably a bit of shock. But a small shred of excitement began to bubble to the surface, mixed with fear.

  If this was real, and she didn’t suddenly wake up to find it was all a dream, then she hoped for one thing. That she’d do a better job than her own mother. That she would love and protect the child like no other.

  Lexie took a moment to appreciate the gravity of her discovery, goose bumps forming across her skin. She was scared. Heck, she was one step away from a full-blown anxiety attack.

  But a small bubble of love had already begun to form.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lexie opened her eyes and moved out of the bedroom. Eyeing the kitchen on her way to the door, she considered grabbing something for breakfast, but the thought of putting food in her mouth made her want to gag. She would grab a coffee on the walk to work.

  Turning back to the door, she locked up before heading down the stairs.

  Pregnant. The word was on repeat in her head. She honestly didn’t understand how this had happened. They were always careful. Yes, it was true that sometimes they barely had time to rip each other’s clothes off, let alone stop and don a condom. But they did. Every. Single. Time.

  Lexie had had so much hope for the two of them at the beginning. She had assumed their nights together would turn into days, and their days would turn into a relationship.

  Well, that sure blew up in my face, didn’t it?

  Asher kept a part of himself locked away from her. The secret phone calls he couldn’t discuss, the need to leave at a moment’s notice with no explanation.

  The man didn’t let Lexie in on key parts of his life. He didn’t trust her. And if he didn’t trust her with his life, then she didn’t plan to trust him with her heart any longer.

  That’s why she’d broken it off. Told him that if he couldn’t commit to a relationship, she didn’t want to see him anymore. That meant no more kisses behind closed doors, no more late-night visits. Nothing.

  Shame he’d already wormed his way into her heart and was slowly tearing it to pieces bit by bit.

  Pushing Asher to the back of her mind, Lexie stepped into Mrs. Potter’s Bakehouse. Immediately, the smell of freshly baked cakes hit her like a freight train.

  Normally, she would be salivating. Buying twice as many as she could eat. Today, her hand flew to her stomach and she prayed the churning would calm.

  “Lexie dear, are you okay?” Mrs. Potter’s concerned voice sounded from the other side of the counter. “You look a bit pale.”

  Forcing a smile, Lexie opened her mouth to ask for her usual coffee, only to stop. Were pregnant women allowed to drink coffee? Good lord, she needed to do some research. “I’m okay, Mrs. Potter. I just woke up feeling a bit unwell.”

  Mrs. Potter’s kind eyes turned sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know just the thing to help.” The older lady turned and ladled a creamy liquid into a takeaway cup before handing it to her. “This is organic chicken broth. Fresh off the stove this morning. Whenever I’m feeling unwell, this is what I turn to.”

  Lexie didn’t know if she could stomach anything at the moment, but she was thankful for Mrs. Potter’s effort.

  Reaching for her purse, she stopped when Mrs. Potter waved her hands. “No payment needed, dear. I know how dreary it is to feel unwell, so it’s the least I can do.”

  This time, Lexie didn’t have to force a smile. It stretched easily across her face. “Thank you.”

  Not for the first time, Lexie was grateful to live in the small town of Marble Falls. The people here never ceased to amaze her with their kindness.

  Taking the cup, she gave Mrs. Potter a small wave before leaving the bakery. Lifting the cup to her lips, she readied her stomach to rebel against the soup. When the warm liquid hit her insides, she stopped walking to close her eyes in appreciation.

  Not only was it the first food in a week that hadn’t made her stomach turn, it tasted like heaven.

  Mrs. Potter was a magician. She wanted to go back and kiss the woman’s feet it was that good.

  Walking the rest of the short distance to work while trying to quieten the groans of pleasure at the amazing broth in her hand, Lexie came to a stop in front of Marble Protection.

  Taking a breath, she told herself she hoped Asher wasn’t there. But that was a big fat lie. No matter how much it hurt that the man didn’t love her, she craved to be in his presence. Just seeing him gave her butterflies. He was like a drug.

  Stepping inside, Lexie waited until she’d slid behind the desk to lift her gaze to the open mat area.

  No Asher.

  Luca and Bodie both turned to give her a wave, but neither of them were the man she yearned to see. She masked her disappointment as best she could.

  Get a grip, woman, and stop being so pathetic, Lexie scolded herself.

  Placing the half-empty cup of soup onto the counter, she began sorting the jobs for the day.

  Working at the reception desk was a pretty cushy job. Lexie did a lot of organizational work for the guys, which involved ordering equipment, taking phone calls, scheduling classes. She even participated in the occasional class, getting to act out the damsel in distress.

  No woman on this planet would complain about getting paid to have former SEALs wrap their arms around them.

  Turning to the computer, Lexie powered it up. Lifting her soup, she took another sip and closed her eyes. A moan escaped her lips at the sheer bliss of consuming something that didn’t upset her stomach. Even water had been making her feel sick. She needed to order a dozen gallons of this from Mrs. Potter.

  “You’re sexy when you make that sound.”

  Jumping out of her skin at the voice in her ear, Lexie instinctively tightened her hand on the cup, squeezing the remaining contents all over her sweater.

 
The warm liquid soaked into her clothes immediately, the damp material sticking to her chest.

  Spinning around, she found her gaze level with Asher’s huge chest. It was currently covered in a tight sweater that clung to him, defining his broad shoulders and large muscles. Sexy. That was the only word to describe him.

  Did the man not have any loose-fitting clothes?

  Lexie lifted her angry gaze to Asher’s face, refusing to let his enticing musky scent distract her. She needed to stay angry. Angry was better than attracted. Angry was safe.

  2

  Asher Becket had seen and done a lot in his thirty-two years. His time as a Navy SEAL had given him the opportunity to jump out of planes, capture terrorists, and scale mountains.

  Nothing made his heart pound like Lexie Harper, though. Not a single thing.

  Standing in front of her, sweater soaked to her skin, Asher felt his gaze drawn to her ample chest. The thin cotton emphasized her perfect breasts.

  That, in combination with the little moan he’d just heard come out of her mouth, was enough to give him the hard-on of a sixteen-year-old kid.

  For a moment, Lexie’s eyes heated as she looked at him. Unfortunately, the look was fleeting. Her eyes quickly narrowed into slits. “Look what you made me do, Asher.”

  A lopsided grin stretched across his face. God, she was cute when she was mad. “I’m looking, Lex.”

  And loving every little thing I’m seeing.