HER BODYGUARD

She made a small needy sound as she drank in the heady taste of the man who held her so firmly in his arms. She clung to him while he angled his head, first one way and then the other, as though he were greedy to experience her every way he could-and greedy to take the kiss to levels she’d never thought possible in mouth-to-mouth contact.

But it wasn’t enough. Not for her. And apparently not for him, either. She felt one of his large hands slide down to her hips and slip under the hem of her T-shirt to pull her lower body in against his erection, as though he were desperate to satisfy his craving for intimate contact with her.

The other hand flattened against her back, pressing her breasts against his chest. She had never lost her head with a man-always been cautious in her relationships… But she did with Asher.. Totally lost every thought when she was with him. She had never been as hot and needy as she was now. Really, she had been hot and needy since he’d rescued her from her captors.

Now- Now she suddenly remembered why she had pushed him away and told him to stick to his place. She suddenly remembered that he didn’t feel the same way about her. She remembered that if she kept doing this, she was only setting herself up to get hurt. She also remembered she was wearing little more than a long T-shirt.

Breaking the kiss, she pressed her hands against his shoulders, then watched his gaze come back into focus.

Still, he didn’t turn her loose.

“You’re getting out of here,” he said, as though there were no room for argument.

Her brain struggled to make sense of the command. “I can’t.” she said.

“What do you mean, you can’t?” Asher asked.

“This is my house and I’m not leaving.”

“Staying here isn’t a great idea,” he said in a voice that left no room for argument. “I was hired to protect you. And you are definitely not safe here. I suspected that before, and now that we are sure that they are still after you, we have to leave. You are in danger. Obviously, they have been staking out your place, waiting for an opportunity to come grab you. I told you that couple we saw at that restaurant were following us ”

“Yeah I know,” Kimberly said. “I noticed too, but I didn’t want to tell you anything because I wasn’t so sure then. I thought I was just being paranoid”

“Well, you are sure now, and so we have to get out of here” he said. “My job is to protect you, and that is exactly what I am going to do.”He looked toward the window. “By the way, where are the cops? Didn’t you call them?” he asked.

“I asked a neighbor to do it. I don’t think he did” Kimberly said. “I was too freaked out and worried to think straight”

“Oh.” Asher said simply.

“We could call the police now,” she said.

“We can do that later. Right now, I’m moving you out of here.”

She tipped her head to one side, trying to wrap her head around his words and the brittle tone of his voice. “Why? I mean, I know it’s your job and all that, but why would you get so involved and go to such lengths?” she asked.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

She saw him swallow. He turned away and walked toward the window, looking out into the darkness. His shoulders were hunched, and she could tell from his body language that whatever he had to say wasn’t coming easily. “I don’t want to make the same mistake I did last time,” he finally said.

The answer was so unexpected that she blinked. “Last time what?” she asked.

“Last time I let a woman get harmed because I was too blind to understand what was happening. I was too slow” he said regretfully.

“I think you’d better explain that.” Kimberly said.

He nodded, then pivoted to face her. “My job is too dangerous. They took her, but I was too slow. I couldn’t save her because I didn’t react quickly. I just don’t want it to happen again”

Her fingers went to her lips as the memory of the kiss sizzled through her. “You’re married?” she said in a voice that she couldn’t hold steady.

“No. No” he said. “She was my friend. Also a member of my team. We were really close. A thug I’d put in prison got out and decided to even the score. He kidnapped Mindy. I figured out where he was holding her. The team and I got to her too late. We were so close. He shot her right in front of me. If only I had been a little faster. If only I had acted faster and pulled that trigger. If only I hadn’t hesitated. It was all my fault.”

“Oh.” Kimberly said softly, reaching for his hand. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure you did everything you could. You are a good man. You save people and I think you have done a great deal of good for a lot of people… Including me”

He shook his head, as if shaking off the horrible memory. “It doesn’t matter now” he said. “What matters is that you are not safe, so I’m getting you out of this house. Tonight.”

“Because you feel guilty?” she asked carefully.

He stared at her for a moment before he said. “Because I care about you.”

She could remind him that they barely knew each other. That he didn’t even like her, at least that was what she thought. But she didn’t do it -for several reasons that she didn’t want to examine too closely. But first and foremost, she knew she’d be a fool to refuse him when he was offering to protect her.

“We could both stay here,” she said. “We could leave tomorrow. It’s kinda late”

“We could. But I’ve been up for a long time now. I need some sleep. Besides, that bastard might come back, and this time he might not be alone. And I’ll feel better about getting that sleep if I know the guy who broke in doesn’t know your location. So please come with me, Kim”

“All right.” Kimberly said.