Page 56 of Outside The Wire

I glanced around, just realizing how right that was. “No, I guess I don’t.”

“I mean, there’s not even a mirror. There’s literally not a single hole in any of the walls.”

I cocked my head to the side, smirking at her. “Would it make you feel better if I put a hole in the wall?”

“Are you talking about punching a hole in the wall or hanging a picture?”

“Either one works for me.”

She pretended to think about it for a moment. “While punching a hole in the wall might feel more masculine, I think perhaps we should go with the second option.”

“Okay,” I said, snatching my keys off the counter.

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Now?” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in surprise.

“Well, is there a better time to go?”

“I would think we should finish putting away the groceries first. And maybe we should get a sense of your…style.” She nearly laughed when she said the last part.

“Okay. I’ll put away the groceries and you wander around and figure out what my style is.”

“You’re not worried I’m going to find some deep, dark secret?”

“Not at all. Just don’t look in my closet.”

She hummed slightly, swaying closer to me. “Anywhere in particular?”

She was playing a dangerous game, but I was better at it. “On the shelf, left side.”

Her eyes widened comically. “Why? What’s there?”

I leaned against the counter, staring at her intently. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?”

I watched as her throat bobbed. “Okay, I won’t look.”

“I’ll know if you do.”

I had her now. I could feel the curiosity pouring off her in waves. She was dying to know what was there, and now that I threw the line out there, I had her hooked. She was going to look. She couldn’t resist.

“I would never invade your privacy.”

I paused for effect, then nodded. “Good, because I’d like to think I can trust you with my deepest secrets.”

She mimicked crossing her heart, then turned on her heel and walked away. A smile split my lips as I shook my head and turned to finish unloading the groceries. I gave her another minute before she had that closet open to uncover my deep, dark secrets.

After five minutes, I put the last bag in the pantry and went in search of my curious girlfriend. As I suspected, I found her digging through my closet, tearing it apart. I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed as I watched her sit cross-legged onthe floor, surrounded by the contents of my box of photos. They were from my family and early days in the military. Nothing of my life from OPS or Jade resided in that box, and that’s the way I wanted to keep it.

But she could have access to every other part of me.

“Find anything good?” I asked, smiling at her.

She jumped, scrambling to shove everything behind her and hide it, which was just impossible. The sheepish look on her face was too damn cute and the blush staining her cheeks made her all the more adorable. Fuck, I was going to have to find a different word to describe her. I was on the verge of becoming the biggest sap ever.

“Asher, I—this isn’t what it looks like.”

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