HER BODYGUARD

Was he just having some fun with her? It certainly hadn’t sounded that way. It had sounded like he’d been totally involved in what they were doing. It sounded like he’d enjoyed himself as much as she had. But she knew that men were perfectly capable of taking advantage of women… Everyone was capable of doing that actually.

Could Asher Adams be that kind of guy?

She didn’t think so. But there was no way to be sure-except by getting to know him better. And he’d just made that a whole lot harder.

On the other hand, she knew he was inviting her to come out of the bedroom when the rich aroma of fresh-brewed coffee drifted down the hall and wafted under the door.

She dragged in a deep breath. He’d put on a pot of some blend that smelled very, very good. Getting up, she walked stiffly to the bathroom and ran a comb through her hair. Telling herself she couldn’t hide forever, she walked slowly down the hall to the kitchen.

Apparently he had done some shopping when he was out. The coffee machine on the counter was almost full of dark liquid. Beside the pot sat a mug, a bottle of caramel syrup and a carton of heavy cream.

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Asher sat at the kitchen table, trying to look relaxed. He had his back to the living room, but he’d heard Kimberly moving around in the back of the house.

And now she was walking slowly down the hall as though she were being invited to her own execution. He knew she was nervous about facing him. And he wasn’t any more calm, cool and collected about their phone session than she was.

When he heard her bare footsteps on the living room floor, he stiffened, then made a concerted effort not to show the tension in his shoulders. As far as he was concerned, what had happened a few minutes ago was amazing.

He wanted to shout, say something. But he kept his lips pressed together as she walked directly to the counter, poured coffee into the mug he’d set out, then added cream and caramel syrup.

It took all his resolve to keep from jumping up and crossing the room, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her toward him. But he stayed where he was, gripping his own ceramic mug, feeling the warmth from the fresh brew seep into his hands.

Eons passed. Finally he heard her clear her throat. “How did you know I like caramel in my coffee?” she asked.

“I didn’t. But I saw the bottle, and I thought about how good it would taste.” he replied.

“I’m not even supposed to be taking this… It’s too late for coffee” she said.

“I know,” Asher replied. “But it’s something I’m kinda used to. In my job, you gotta be awake most of the time… So…” he didn’t complete the sentence but continued to stare at her.

She nodded and turned to face him, her expression uncertain.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Are you going to leave? The question stayed locked inside his mind. If she decided to, he couldn’t really stop her. She wasn’t a prisoner.

To moisten his dry throat, he took another sip of the coffee. He’d picked the blend because it sounded good. Maybe it really was good, but he couldn’t taste it.

Kimberly took a sip of coffee. Then another.

Setting her mug on the table, she started to sit. Which gave him the opportunity he’d been waiting for. As soon as there was no danger of her spilling the hot coffee, he was out of his chair and around the table.

Unable to say what he was feeling, he swept her into his arms, lowered his mouth and kissed her, trying to put all the warmth and passion he possessed into the kiss. This kiss was more desperate and more possessive than the last. But he broke it off long before he wanted to stop. He lifted his lips from hers and skimmed them along her cheek.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his hand stroking over her shoulders, then inching upward to tangle in her hair.

“For what?” she whispered.

“For being willing to try something…different…. Beautiful” He swallowed around the tightness in his throat. “Probably you’re thinking I fool around like that all the time. But it’s not true. I’ve never come close to anything like that before.” he said.

“Why did you start it-now?” Kimberly asked. “You said no before. Why the sudden change of heart?”

He swallowed again, figuring he had to be honest. Well, at least as honest as he could be. “After we talked this morning -after you talked actually, I couldn’t stop thinking about you… about what you said. And I thought if this is what we both want, we should go for it…. Give it a chance… Enjoy it while it lasts. I didn’t say no because I didn’t want to” He managed a laugh. “I was going to seduce you first-with the coffee and the cream and the caramel syrup. Then slowly work my way around to suggesting we try the phone. Then I came home, and you were in the bedroom, and I just…I just took a chance and decided to call. Are you angry about that?”

“No.” Her throat worked. “I guess if you want to know the truth…I’m embarrassed.”

“Why?” he asked.

She could have ducked away from him. But he’d learned that she wasn’t the kind of woman who avoided a subject because it made her uncomfortable… He loved that about her. The way she tried to be strong in any situation she found herself.

“Because touching yourself is a very personal thing. I did it with you on the other end of the phone line.” Kimberly said.

“Did you like it?”

A flush spread across her cheeks. “Yes.” she replied.

“Good. Because I did, too… A lot.” He paused and dragged in a breath. “The more comfortable we are in letting each other know what they want, the better and easier this will be for us.”

She nodded.

“So that’s what we did,” he said.

She sighed, as though she weren’t quite certain. And he figured that it might be time for a change of subject.