"My mind would be compromised," he admits.
"Don't you think it would make you more protective? Heighten your instincts? If you loved me, wouldn't you go further to preserve my safety?"
"It doesn't work that way." His tone is flat and final, but I won't accept it. I might be a belligerent bitch, but that comes from growing up with two determined brothers and living in situations where I had to fight my corner or suffer the consequences.
"So if I did this…" Pulling down the strap of my top, I expose the top of my breast and just a centimeter of my nipple. Connor's eyes drift down and then close as he sees what I've done. Around the room, there's an audible inhale of shocked breath from the other men. "And this…" I take Connor's hand firmly, resisting when he tries to pull it away, pressing it against my soft flesh. "And this…" I rise on my toes and take his bottom lip between mine, sucking gently.
A groan leaves his throat as he pulls back. "Don't," he says, but it doesn't sound firm. There's no backbone to his statement. He's just saying what he thinks he needs to say.
"I rest my case."
Turning, I stride back to the bathroom, my heart pounding in my chest like the feet of a stampeding rhino. Connor can say whatever he wants about Asher, but now he'll have no conviction because he knows he would never have said no, in the dark, with temptation urging him forward. None of them would.
And the truth is that I wouldn't have said no to any of my bodyguards, even if they came to my bed all at once.
14
CONNOR
What can I say after Luna’s rant and display? What can I say to my crew with conviction when I have none? Luna’s right. If it had been me in Asher’s place, I would have buried myself inside her and pushed all of my hesitations aside. I’d have done exactly what he did and would have had to deal with the guilt and the consequences the next day.
My eyes meet Ben’s, and he shrugs. “I’m not a snitch, Con,” he says. “It wasn’t up to me to tell tales on Asher.”
“All of this is unacceptable,” I say. “What the fuck did we learn in Iraq? A team is only as strong as its weakest link. If we’re doing things behind each other’s backs and keeping secrets, this whole thing is going to go to absolute shit.”
“I agree,” Mo says. “But Luna was right. If it had been me who she’d set her sights on, I’d have caved too.”
“And me,” Jax and Hudson say in unison.
I guess it looks like this whole team has a crush on our client.
Not good.
But there is no point in dwelling on the past. There is no way of changing what is already done. All we can do is change what we do going forward. “Tonight, we need to have a serious conversation, Asher included.”
“Okay, boss.” Jax throws me a crisp salute, and the rest of the crew nod, which is reassuring. As long as we get back on the straight and narrow and keep our minds on the job, everything will be fine.
Luna doesn’t take long in the shower, emerging smelling sweet with a freshly scrubbed face and wet hair twisted into a tight bun at her nape. She cocks an eyebrow at us as though she’s daring another confrontation, but I’m not going there. She’s on a mission to prove that we’re all weak enough to give in to temptation. Pushing harder in that direction isn’t going to prove anything good.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
“Sure,” she says. “Let’s get out of here.”
Back at the hotel, Luna disappears into her room, and we all troop off to find Asher. He’s resting on his bed reading a crime novel, but looks up when we all appear.
“We need to talk,” I say firmly.
Asher’s eyes immediately flick to Ben, and I catch him nodding. The twitch in Asher’s jaw is noticeable, so I need to quash his assumption that Ben snitched on him.
“Luna told us what happened last night,” I say. He straightens immediately and lowers the book to the comforter.
“I know it was wrong.” His hands fly up, palms forward. “It was stupid. I should have been stronger, but…”
“You were tempted,” I say. “We all get that.”
“You do?” Sliding off the bed, he stands, meeting me eye to eye.
Glancing around at the rest of the crew, they all nod. “She’s sexy as fuck,” Jax says before I can cut him a disapproving look.
“We would all have done the same in your position,” Mo says softly.
“You would?”
“But we should all know better.” I shake my head, disappointed in my own weakness. “This job is important because there is a real threat to Luna’s safety and because it’s our most high-profile client since we set up Steel 7. We can’t risk any negative stories getting out. It could ruin Luna’s career and put an end to our business.”