Shielding Aspen Read online

  Brain took another sip of water and refused to meet Aspen’s gaze. Inevitably, when he met people and they learned what he could do, they either wanted a demonstration—meaning, they wanted him to rattle off all sorts of things in different languages—or they mentally backed off, thinking he was out of their league.

  He tried to loosen his fingers from hers, but she tightened her grip, not letting go. In surprise, he finally looked over at her.

  “That’s cool,” she said quietly.

  Grover kept talking, oblivious to Brain’s discomfort with the topic.

  “He graduated from high school at age fifteen. Went to college right after that and got his first degree in two years. His parents were pissed that he joined the Army; they wanted him to be a rocket scientist or something.”

  “Grover?” Aspen said without looking away from Brain.

  “Yeah?”

  “Shut up.”

  Brain couldn’t help it. He laughed.

  Grover was silent for about twenty seconds, then he clued into the fact that his going on and on had made Brain uncomfortable. “I mean, Brain’s smart, but he’s also cool. And he’s quite the ladies’ man. He’s loyal and down-to-earth too.”

  “I think it’s about time for you to go, Grover,” Brain said, shaking his head. “You’re not helping.”

  “Right. Sorry. I’m leaving. I need to go over to my sister’s place tomorrow. She’s been avoiding me for some reason, and that shit needs to stop. So…I’ll just go then. See you at PT tomorrow, Brain.”

  “Later,” Brain told his teammate. Grover was clueless sometimes, but because he never meant anything maliciously, Brain and the rest of the team put up with his chatter.

  After he left, Brain took a breath and looked at Aspen. “So,” he said.

  “So,” she echoed.

  “Grover’s not exactly subtle,” Brain told her.

  Aspen chuckled. “No, he’s not. But he means well.”

  “He does.” Brain mentally smacked himself in the forehead. This wasn’t exactly how he’d wanted their first one-on-one conversation to go. No matter what Grover had said, Brain wasn’t a “ladies’ man.” He wasn’t “cool.” He was the brain. The smart guy. The one everyone turned to when they had a mystery that needed solving.

  He was thirty years old, and he hadn’t even lost his virginity until he was twenty-four. He’d been out of his depth, socially; going to college so young meant most of the women avoided him like the plague. It wasn’t until he’d joined the Army and had gotten some independence that he’d managed to figure out how to fit in with men his own age a little better.

  “I’m embarrassed that I didn’t ask earlier, but you and your friends…you aren’t Rangers, are you? Because if you are, I totally put my foot in my mouth earlier.”

  Brain quickly shook his head. “No, we aren’t Rangers.”

  “Thank God,” she breathed.

  Brain continued before thinking. “We’re Delta.”

  Aspen went completely still and stared at him with wide eyes. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  “Nope. And I know you know this, but please don’t share that with anyone.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t. No way. And…oh, shit, I’m such a dork.”

  “No, you aren’t,” Brain told her immediately. She was anything but a dork.

  “I am! You were going on and on about how hard Ranger training is, and I know you guys have been through much worse.”

  “It’s not a competition,” Brain told her.

  She tilted her head as she studied him.

  “What?” Brain asked.

  “You aren’t like most men in special forces I’ve met. Neither are your friends, for that matter.”

  “In what way?”

  Aspen shrugged. “It’s just that…you’re so down-to-earth.”

  “You’ve been hanging around those asshole Rangers too long,” Brain retorted.

  She grinned. “They’re not all assholes.”

  “Derek is,” Brain told her.

  Her grin widened. “True. Thank you for helping me earlier. I’m usually not so forward, but—”

  “But he was being a dick, and you were desperate,” Brain finished for her.

  “Maybe not desperate,” Aspen countered. Then she dipped her head and raised her eyes shyly. “Maybe I took one look at you and liked what I saw, and figured I could kill two birds with one stone.”

  It took a minute for her words to sink in, and when they did, Brain was shocked.

  Women weren’t attracted to him. Not like she was insinuating. He knew he wasn’t hideous or anything. He had nice eyes…at least that’s what others had told him. But he frequently forgot to comb his hair so it was usually in disarray. And he had a beard because he was too lazy to shave every day. It worked well when they were on a mission, but when they came home, he kept it simply because it was easier.

  But to have this amazing, smart woman tag him from the moment he’d walked in the door was a heady feeling…and confusing at the same time.

  “You’re not used to compliments, are you?” she asked, uncannily accurately.

  “I’m the brain,” he said with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

  Aspen actually rolled her eyes. But then she turned in her chair and looked him right in the eyes. “Yes, I wanted Derek off my back. I fucked up when I went out with him and now I’m paying for it. I have to see him all the time because he’s very close with my platoon sergeant, our teams train together, and we actually participate in quite a few joint missions, but hopefully after tonight, he’ll realize that we’re just not compatible and things will go back to normal. But more importantly, I picked you to help me because I was attracted to you the second I saw you.”

  Brain noticed the blush on her cheeks, but she kept going.

  “You walked in and looked like you wanted to be anywhere but here. And you might think you’re ‘only’ the brain on your team, but it’s more than obvious how much your friends admire you. If they only cared about you because of what you know, they wouldn’t joke so easily with you. And Gillian and Kinley wouldn’t have spoken so highly of you when we all went to the restroom.

  “I don’t know you, and I’m probably overstepping, but I’ve learned that life is too short to not say what I’m thinking…and I think you’re pretty amazing, Kane, and I’ve only known you for a few hours. I haven’t even heard you speak anything but English.” She grinned. “You’ve already saved me from a very uncomfortable situation too, and the fact that you don’t have a girlfriend is both confusing as hell and pretty damn lucky for me.”

  Her words echoed in Brain’s mind, and he knew that he wanted—no, needed—to get to know this woman better. “Want to go out sometime?”

  He promptly winced at the abruptness of his request.

  But Aspen didn’t laugh at him. “Yes,” she said simply.

  “Tomorrow?”

  Now she did chuckle. “Yes,” she said again.

  Brain narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t just saying yes because of Derek, are you? Because as much as I like you, I’m not into pity dates.”

  Her grin faded. “Seriously?”

  He nodded.

  Aspen rolled her eyes. “Kane, I’ve sat next to you all night holding your hand. I just told you that I picked you out of all the men who’d entered this bar tonight. Hell, I offered you twenty bucks if you would kiss me.” She leaned forward and poked him in the chest as she said her next words. “I haven’t met a man who intrigues me like you do in a very long time. I spend every day of my life living and working with men, and frankly, it’s almost turned me off the opposite sex altogether. But the second you bent me backward over your arm tonight, I was putty in your hands.” Then she straightened. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” she mumbled.

  Brain panicked. He couldn’t let her pull back now. Somewhere deep inside, the confidence he’d seemed to be missing when it came to the opposite sex roared to the forefront. He wasn’t letti
ng the most interesting woman he’d met in ages get away so easily.

  He reached out and grabbed the finger she’d been poking him with and shook his head. “Nope. You already said yes. Twice. I’m not letting you go back on your word now. Since we don’t know each other, I’m happy to meet you somewhere if that will make you more comfortable, or you can trust me to pick you up tomorrow evening around six.”

  “Are you really Delta Force?” she asked.

  Confused, Brain nodded. “I wouldn’t lie about that.”

  She snorted. “Other people would. And I guess if the Army and our government can trust you with their secrets, I can probably tell you where I live.”

  Brain relaxed a fraction.

  “Can I have my finger back now?” Aspen asked.

  Brain grinned. “Depends on if you’re going to use it to poke me some more.”

  “Are you going to continue to say stupid shit?” she retorted.

  “Probably,” Brain said honestly. “I seem to do that a lot. I might be smart, but I do seem to have a bad habit of saying stupid shit around pretty women.”

  Aspen pulled on her hand and Brain immediately let it go. But instead of pulling away from him, she rested her palm on his chest and leaned closer.

  “You smell so good,” Brain blurted—then mentally chastised himself. He was supposed to be suave, not spewing out shit like that.

  “Thanks,” she said without seeming to miss a beat. “I don’t wear perfume a lot because I roll around in the mud and work with guys all the time, but every now and then I break it out. It’s gardenias. They remind me of Hawaii. I’ve only been there once, but I loved the scent of the flowers. And…shit…now I’m going on and on about something that you probably don’t care about.”

  “I care,” Brain told her immediately. He made a mental note about the gardenias.

  “Anyway,” Aspen said, leaning even farther into his personal space, “I was going to thank you for not thinking I was a crazy person tonight when I approached you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Brain told her, his eyes on her lips.

  “I want to kiss you again,” she whispered.

  Inwardly, Brain was jumping up and down and screaming yes at the top of his lungs, but he simply reached out and palmed the side of Aspen’s face. She was near enough that all he had to do was lean forward a fraction of an inch and their lips would be touching…but for some reason, he wanted to wait.

  “I want to get to know you,” he told her. “And I want you to get to know me. I’m attracted to you, that’s no secret. But I’m old enough to know that what I’m feeling for you is different. Special. And the last thing I want is to demean what I’m feeling by making out with you in the corner of a bar on the first night we meet.”

  Brain was afraid he’d proven himself the most idiotic male alive by turning her down, but when he saw her face soften as she nodded, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You’re very different,” she said softly.

  Brain shrugged. “I am,” he agreed.

  “I like different,” she said, then straightened.

  Brain let go of her reluctantly and stood when she did. She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and held it out to him. “I really do owe you.”

  Brain scowled at the money, and at her. “I’m not taking your money,” he told her gruffly. “Put it away.”

  “I need to pay for my drinks at least,” she argued.

  Brain took the money then reached for her purse and stuffed it into an outside pocket. “Your drinks are already paid for. And you’ll never pay for that kind of shit when you’re with me.”

  She frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because.”

  “Because you’re a guy and I’m a girl?” she huffed.

  “No. Because it’s disrespectful. It has nothing to do with gender or because I don’t think you can’t pay your own way.”

  “Then why?”

  Brain hesitated. “You’re going to think it’s stupid.”

  “I’m not,” Aspen told him.

  “Fine, but you asked,” he said. “It’s because I want to spoil you. When I take a woman out, I don’t want her to have to worry about anything. You need a ride? I’ll take you. You prefer a taxi? I’ll call one for you. You want to order the most expensive shit on the menu, fine. Do it. When I’m dating someone, I want them to know how special I think they are. And being special doesn’t include worrying about paying the bill, the tip, dealing with assholes harassing them, or figuring out how they’re going to get home. It’s just how I’m wired.”

  He braced for her reaction. In the past, he’d had women flat-out tell him how crazy his idea of chivalry was, or that he was misogynistic. But it was how he felt, and he’d learned to make it clear up front so there wouldn’t be issues later.

  But Aspen wasn’t laughing at him, or scowling. “If we’re out together, and I see something that I want to buy for you, are you going to lose your mind?”

  “No. It’s your money, you can do what you want with it. But, as a caveat, don’t think you can buy me a car or something and call it a ‘gift.’”

  Aspen burst out laughing. Threw her head back and guffawed so hard, Brain wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling over. When she had herself under control, she looked him in the eye and nodded. “Deal. No buying you cars. Got it.”

  Brain smiled back at her. “Good. Tell me your number.”

  She didn’t bat an eye at the abrupt change of topic. He also liked that she didn’t ask if he was going to write it down or put it into his phone. She simply rattled it off as if she had no doubt he’d be able to remember it.

  “I’ll text you later so you’ll have mine, and so you can send me your address,” Brain told her.

  “Sounds good.”

  They walked toward the door to the bar. Brain didn’t feel the need to remove his arm from around her waist, and Aspen actually leaned into him as they walked. Her fingers curled into the belt loop at the back of his jeans and the small weight made Brain shiver in anticipation. None of the women he’d dated had ever done that, and it felt sorta like she was claiming him. He liked it. A hell of a lot.

  As they exited the bar, Brain gave the bouncer a chin lift. When he looked at Aspen, she was smiling.

  “What?” he asked.

  “It’s just that chin lift thing. It’s such a guy thing to do.”

  Brain frowned. “And?”

  “Nothing,” she told him.

  But he heard her mumble under her breath, “It’s sexy as hell.”

  He smiled. He’d never really been called sexy. He liked that too.

  Brain walked Aspen to her car, a very sensible white Hyundai Elantra GT. Looking around, he didn’t see Derek or anyone else lurking about.

  “Drive safe,” he told her as he held the door open for her. Aspen paused before she climbed inside and nodded. “You too,” she told him.

  “See you tomorrow night,” Brain told her.

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Having nothing else to say to prolong their evening, Brain closed her door and stood back. Before he’d thought about it, he’d given her a chin lift, and smiled when she grinned at him through the windshield. She lifted two fingers, waving at him before she pulled out of her parking space.

  Looking down at his watch, Brain realized that he’d been at the bar with Aspen for hours. He hadn’t stayed out this late, when not on a mission, in a very long time. There was something about her that made him forget he was the nerd. The smart guy. She made him feel…normal. For maybe the first time in his life.

  After he got into his Challenger, he took the time to program her name and number into his phone. Then he sent a short text.

  * * *

  Brain: This is Brain. Looking forward to tomorrow. Let me know where to pick you up. Sleep well.

  * * *

  She didn’t respond, but he didn’t expect her to since she was driving. He threw his phone
onto the passenger seat and headed for his house, smiling all the way.

  Chapter Two

  Aspen Mesmer paced nervously around her apartment as she waited for Kane to pick her up. How she’d gotten through the day, she had no idea. She was both excited and nervous as hell about her date tonight.

  After the debacle with Derek, she’d considered not dating any more military guys. She’d gone to the bar last night to have a drink because she didn’t want to go home and be by herself. The day had been stressful and she’d been hoping for a nice relaxing drink before heading home. She’d just had the misfortune of Derek being at the same bar she chose. Why he was acting so attached after just two dates—a month ago—was a mystery to her. They just didn’t have any chemistry.

  Not like the chemistry she and Kane had. She’d noticed him the second he’d walked in the door. He was a bit scruffy-looking, but it was his eyes that had caught her attention first. His gaze had roamed the room, taking in everyone and everything. She should’ve known then that he was some kind of special forces soldier, but Derek had started whining about her not giving them a fair shot, and she’d started toward Kane without thought.

  Asking a complete stranger to kiss her wasn’t on top of the list of smart things she’d done in her life, but Kane hadn’t let her down. At first it had been awkward, but then he’d taken control. Aspen wasn’t a trusting person in general, but in his arms, she hadn’t felt the least bit of fear that he’d drop her.

  And the way he kissed? As if he’d been away for months and had just returned home? Damn. Her toes had curled in her Converse sneakers.

  She’d also somewhat expected him to be as dumb as a box of rocks—it seemed all the most good-looking men were—but of course, she’d been wrong about that too. Way wrong.

  Brain.

  Apparently he was some sort of genius.

  Smart. Hot. Muscular. Delta. And respectful and apparently a good friend and teammate to boot.

  It had been a long time since she’d had an instant attraction to a guy, but who could blame her in this case? Kane Temple was everything any woman should want. He seemed a bit…innocent and old fashioned, which was a pleasant surprise. It had been Aspen’s experience that a lot of special forces men were jaded and had a habit of sleeping with as many women as possible. Lord knew, most of the single Rangers she worked with were that way.