Page 1 of Keeping Her Secrets

1

Tampa, Florida.

“You waiting for someone, pretty lady?” Asher Thompson smiled as the woman whirled around to face him, a look of pure delight on her face.

“Ash, it’s so good to see you.” Megan Bennett walked into his open arms and accepted the warm hug he gave her.

“Five fucking minutes I leave her, and some twat is moving in on my woman,” a voice to his left growled.

Ash released Meg slowly and turned to face the man he knew would pummel his face for laying one hand on this woman—if it wasn’t for the fact the man in question was his cousin Daniel Thompson.

Ash held out his hand.

Daniel’s dark features, so similar to his own, moved from deadly to a broad grin in a second as he accepted the handshake. The fact he was now smiling so easily these days filled Ash with pleasure. Daniel had lost his first wife in a horrific murder. Ash and the rest of the family had doubted he would ever find happiness for him and his little girl Paige again, but then he’d met Megan. Under the most fucked up of circumstances, love had blossomed, and it had changed Daniel for the better. “Good to see you, cuz.”

“It’s good to see you too, although, you’re looking a bit gray around the temples and pudgy in the guts, old man.”

Daniel was the closest thing Ash had to a brother, and they spent lots of time together as kids despite living on opposite ends of the world. Daniel was as British as they came, and Ash was all American.

“Watch your mouth, frog. I can still kick your whiny ass any day of the week, and you know it.”

Ash chuckled, enjoying the camaraderie. The fact was, he didn’t know who would beat who in a fight between them. Yes, he was a Navy SEAL, but Daniel was Ex-SAS, and those fuckers were brutal operators. “In your dreams, gramps.”

“Now, children, how can I trust you to go to the stag night with all this posturing?” Megan glared at them both in mock annoyance. Ash stepped back slightly as Daniel moved in and took Megan in his arms, his hold both possessive and tender. Ash wondered what it must be like to feel that way about a woman. He loved the female gender, in all their shapes and sizes, but he’d never felt an all-consuming desire to claim one like Daniel so obviously did with Megan.

He moved toward the taxi that was waiting for them at the curb and hopped in the back, scooting over for Daniel as he climbed in after a long goodbye with Megan.

“You know we’re only going to be gone for a few hours, right?”

Daniel locked eyes with him and tilted his head. “One day, you’re gonna fall head over ass for some woman, and then you’ll understand there’s no place in the world better than being with her.”

Ash shook his head. “Not me. The Navy is the only mistress I need.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,” Daniel said with a knowing look in his eyes that made Ash pause for a second before dismissing it.

Joining the Navy had been the best decision he’d ever made. Making Master Sergeant of DEVGRU was his most significant accomplishment and proudest day, and yet he couldn’t share it with many people. Daniel was an exception. He knew what it was like to have a job that was shrouded in secrecy. As an SAS operator he’d gone on similar missions with the SEAL Teams but for the UK Military, and now his security job was anything but a simple security job. It came with terrorists and threats from people that could cause catastrophic damage to the world at large. So, yeah, his cousin got it, that desire to strive for the best in his job. Fuck, it had been his life since college, and he didn’t regret a thing.

“So, little Jessie is marrying a SEAL. Can you believe that?”

Ash laughed at Daniel’s statement, relieved he’d changed the subject. Their cousin Jessica was indeed marrying a SEAL; he’d heard all about it from his mom. “Oh, yeah, I believe it. My mom is driving me crazy with talk of me being next and wanting to know when I’m going to give her grandbabies. Thank God you brought Paige and Zoey with you so they can get their fix while you’re here.”

“Paige and Zoey love the attention, and Megan adores your parents, so it’s no hardship for me.” Daniel handed the driver some cash as the car stopped at the Imperial Dreams hotel.

Ash stepped up beside his cousin as they looked at the hotel where the wedding would take place the next day and where they were meeting up with the groom and some friends for a few quiet drinks.

“Who’s going to be here tonight?” Daniel asked as they approached the entrance. Both men inadvertently checking exits and non-existent threats.

“Crockett, obviously, as he’s the groom. Massey and Moody who are on SEAL Team One with Crockett, and Ian Sawyer, and Jake and Nick Donovan who are all retired SEALs.”

Ash grinned as Daniel stopped and turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “So, I’m drinking with seven Navy SEALs tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Ash said with a grin.

“Guess I better show you boys how the Brits do it then.”

Ash shook his head. This night was supposed to be just a few quiet drinks, and now he had a feeling he was going to be playing babysitter. Not that he cared; he had two weeks left of physical therapy after minor shoulder surgery and then he would be cleared for duty again.

The last few months, sitting on the side lines as his team rotated up, had been hell. He would rather go through BUD/S again than watch as his men—his friends—deploy while he stayed in the fucking gym in Virginia Beach and sweated his balls off to get fighting fit.