Free Chased - A Titan Novella (Titan (Novella)) by Cristin Harber Page B

when she hung up? Another agent ran over with a phone charger. He plugged in and was given an update that Titan was tapping into the line. Now that was something that Titan could do off the books that a federal agency couldn’t touch without a year’s worth of paperwork.
    A minute later, Jared joined the call. He walked her through a series of questions, and by the time he was done, the bomb squad was at Jenny’s door. A nuclear attack couldn’t have gotten Asher off that call. After this debacle was said and done, he was going to find Jared Westin and shake his hand. Jared had kept Jenny collected and evaluated the situation.
    Titan’s opinion was the setup on the window was a complete middle finger to the congressman. Jared’s language had been more colorful, and Asher liked the guy more and more. But what he didn’t like was a confirmation that Maxwell Bowie knew what he was doing and wanted to show off. He had set up several explosives and charges but hadn’t armed a single one. It was strictly a look-at-what-could-have-happened move.
    The bomb squad confirmed everything that Jared had figured out over the phone, and damn if Asher wasn’t impressed. They took the phone Maxwell had given her into evidence. Jenny said she would finagle a new one and call him back after talking to Sugar.
    He used that quick minute to make arrangements for a private charter to DC. He would have Jenny in his arms tonight, no matter what he had to do.
    His phone rang again. Again, he didn’t know the number but knew it was her. “I’ll be there in a few hours.”
    “Awesome.” She sounded exhausted. “But there’s a hundred people in my living room.”
    “Then I’ll make one hundred and one.”
    “I wasn’t saying I didn’t want you to come over.”
    He could hear her smile, and it warmed his heart. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.”
    A heavy pause hung on the line. “Ash?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m glad you’re coming here.”
    He nodded. “Nothing could keep me away.”
    Silence still hung on the phone. He didn’t want to hang up. It killed him to be so far away.
    “Ash?”
    His chest ached, and he wanted to hold her. Kiss her. Make everything better. “We’ve had a crazy couple of days. Whatever’s on your mind, you can say it now, say it later. Just know I’m coming for you. I’ve known you most my life, sweetheart, and I’m an ass that it’s taken me this long to figure it out: I need you. I crave you. You’re a requirement to function. Take that for what it’s worth, and I’ll wake you up when I get there.”
    “I—”
    “I will see you soon enough. Sleep tight.” Whatever was on her mind could be said to his face.
    ***
    The sunshine shone through her windows when Jenny woke. She smiled. Asher was under the covers and had cradled her into the crook of his arm. How could she not have awakened when he arrived? When he’d taken off his shirt and slipped under the covers?
    She smiled even bigger. And how was it possible that Asher McIntyre was asleep past the break of dawn? Maybe she was rubbing off on him.
    Her hand drew lazy circles under the blanket and over his stomach. “Good morning.”
    He shifted and tightened his arm over her shoulder. “Careful. That’s a dangerous way to wake a man.”
    She giggled and flattened her palm, sliding to the waistband of his boxers. “What? Saying good morning seems harmless enough.”
    He covered her roving hand and moved it over him. “Your pleasantries weren’t what I was talking about.”
    Asher’s mind might have been waking up, but the rest of him was raring to go. He hooked his other arm over her back and brought her to lie on him, legs straddling him. Jenny rested her cheek on his chest, and his lips pressed to the top of her head.
    “I was scared I lost you, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head again then flipped them over. His jawline had a rough shadow, and his perfect hair was messy. Asher’s gaze burned through her until he broke and