HER BODYGUARD

Asher glanced over his shoulder at her, then back at the man skidding to a stop in the hall. “Something wrong?” Mark asked, oblivious to what he nearly walked into.

Asher straightened quickly and stepped aside. “No. Apologies, Kim,” he muttered and clasped his hands tightly behind his back. She needed to stop staring at him like that, with her eyes-suddenly dark with questions he didn’t want to answer.

“It’s alright,” she said slowly. “Mark, what were you thinking, you idiot?”

“Sorry,” he said with a laugh. “Didn’t mean to startle the new help.” he grinned at Asher. “Enjoying your new job?” he asked.

“That’s enough,” Kimberly snapped. “What do you want? I’m tired.”

Asher glared at Mark, but he said nothing, and instead gave them some space so they could talk. Mark wanted to get her signature on a file and after she signed it, they were ready to go.

Once inside her apartment, Kimberly kicked off her heels and told Asher he could close the door and get comfortable for a few hours. “It’s been a long day. It’s okay if you need to take some time to rest,” she insisted, throwing the files she was holding on the table.

“I’m fine,” he replied and sat at the table with his laptop that he never seemed to stop staring at. He seemed to be always working on something.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Kimberly placed her hands on her hips and chewed her bottom lip. “Asher, if I ask you a direct question, will you answer me?” she asked.

His hands on the table twitched. “Perhaps.” he replied.

“What was that, back in the hall with Mark?” she asked.

“What do you mean? I assumed you were under threat and I reacted, nothing more.” he said.

“No, that was something else,” she pushed, even as he mentally yelled at her to stop before she went too far. “The look on your face-I’ve never seen you look like that before.”

He stiffened. He had a look? What had he given away in that moment their eyes met? “I’m afraid I don’t understand, but you should stop these questions, Kim. You do not need to get to know me.”

“Need to, no,” she said quietly. “Want to, yes.”

He gritted his teeth as his blood heated in annoyance. “Why? What good would it do you, Kim?” he growled, struggling not to lose his temper with the damn woman he was meant to protect with his life. “Besides, you are the one who gave this whole weird speech about us keeping to ourselves and knowing our place. Maybe we should just stick to that.”

Kimberly ignored his comment. “You were afraid,” she observed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I saw it… Not of what was coming down the hall. It was fear of loss.” She said,

His feet moved, he stood up and walked up to her, covering half the distance between them before he forced himself to stop, his hands tensed at his sides as his anger grew. “We are not going to talk about me, Kimberly.”

“Giving me orders?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, of course not,” he muttered quickly.

“Then what is it with you? What happened?” She took a slow step towards him but kept her distance. Her eyes darkened as she studied his face before they moved to the scar at his neck. “Did you lose someone? Kill someone? What is it?”

A loud crack of gunfire echoed through his memories, and the room fell away before him. His eye was against his scope, watching the target. His finger tightened on the trigger, pulled-but he wasn’t fast enough”

“Asher? Asher?” he heard Kimberly calling. He snapped back to the present.

“I said not to push,” he growled, forgetting she was his boss’ daughter in his anger. “You don’t know anything, Kim, and you sure as hell don’t know anything about what it means to be in the real world.”

“What world do you think I grew up in?” She asked.

“You have lived protected all your life,” he shot back. “You don’t know anything about actually living. About serving with brothers and sisters beside you and having peoples lives in your hands!” His anger boiled over as he told himself to rein it back in before he scared her.

Except Kimberly looked anything but scared of him. He towered over her, not sure which of them had closed the distance between them. Her hands curled tightly at her sides, and she looked ready to smack him.

“I might not have been in the real world like you were,” she grated out, “and you are right. I grew up behind walls, protected and given anything that I wanted. That doesn’t mean I can’t understand what you’ve been through.”

He barked a laugh. “You couldn’t possibly know how I feel. It’s impossible if you haven’t been through the same thing.” he said.

“You are in no position to say that. You don’t know anything about me” she snapped, jutting her chin out and standing on her toes.

Asher looked at her flushed face and enraged stance as she glared at him down. His body roared at him to prove to her she couldn’t handle what it was really like to live with what had happened to him. She was the daughter of a billionaire, taken care of her whole life. What did she have to hide?

“Stay away, Kim. Do not push me further,” he muttered roughly.

“You think I can’t handle you?” she challenged.

He leaned away at her words. Is that what she was after? Did she know the reaction she caused in him after all? “You’re playing a dangerous game, baby.” he said.

“Why? Because you’re too intense for me?” Kimberly challenged.

He leered and gripped her upper arms.

“You think I don’t notice the way you show yourself to me? The way you act around me? Twirling your hair? The way your eyes caressed me?” he asked suddenly and Kimberly froze. He knew how she felt around him after all.

“You started it,” she breathed, not trying to shove him away. “I see the way you watch me too. At least I’m not trying to undress you with my eyes every second we’re together.” She snapped back.