HER BODYGUARD

Asher chuckled and looked down at his feet, not sure of what to say. When his eyes met hers again, she wasn’t sure of what she saw in them…. Regret maybe?

“I’m sorry” Asher said. “I admit I was a real jerk… I judged you too fast… I don’t know why” he breathed deeply before he continued. “Plus I wasn’t ready for the attraction I felt towards you. I felt like I had to fight it.”

“What?” Kimberly said, almost not believing what he had just said.

He shrugged. “I didn’t have a liking problem with you, I think I just liked you way too much… And I know I shouldn’t have” Asher said. He faced her then. “I’m so sorry about the way I acted”

Kimberly didn’t know what to say, what to think. She took a step towards him. “You can’t like me” she said. “I mean… Maybe you don’t hate me or think I’m useless, but like? Not possible”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “That’s not true” he said softly. When she kept staring at him he sighed and said. “Do we have to talk about this?”

“Oh yeah” Kimberly replied. Him liking her was cause for a serious shift in the space time continuum. Her worry about the people trying to kidnap her faded and something very close to happiness took it’s place. “We are going to talk until I understand when you hit your head” she said.

“Why are you surprised?” he asked.

“Because I am,” she replied. “I mean, when we thought that I was pregnant, and we later found out that I wasn’t, there was this relief on your face. Like you were glad I wasn’t pregnant because you wouldn’t have to deal with me for the rest of your life.. Or something like that… I don’t know. I was a bit sad about the news… But you were happy…” She paused and added.” And so I just thought that it was because you hated me…. I was sad about the fact that I wasn’t pregnant and you were happy about it ”

“I wouldn’t say happy” Asher said. “I mean I admit that I was relieved, but not because I wouldn’t have to deal with you or any shit like that. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to be away from my kid. I didn’t grow up with a father, and I didn’t like that.. I remember wishing that I did. And I didn’t want my kid to grow up feeling the same way. So that relief wasn’t about you at all… I mean, I think you would make an amazing mom. It wasn’t about not liking you… I do”

Kimberly almost couldn’t believe her ears. She moved a little closer to him. “How much do you like me?” she asked.

“Enough” Asher replied simply.

“How much is enough?” Kimberly insisted. “A lot? More than ice cream?”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Yeah. More than ice cream” he said.

“More than a ray gun?” she asked.

“I don’t have a ray gun?” Asher replied.

“But if you could get one. If you could get the only ray gun in the universe, would you like me more than that?” she asked.

He considered the question, then shook his head. “No. Not more than that” he said finally.

Maybe she was supposed to be serious, but she couldn’t help laughing. “So I fall between ice cream and a ray gun?” she asked.

“Pretty much,” Asher replied.

She could live with that. She stood close enough that she could see the rise and fall of his chest. She had barely slept the previous night, but she wasn’t sleepy. At that moment she would swear that she might never sleep again. Awareness crackled between them. Awareness and a need that startled her with both its presence and its intensity.

She wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her and hold her and touch her everywhere.

He stiffened. “Don’t do that, Kim,” he said.

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t think that way about me,” he said softly.

“Why not?” Kimberly asked. “Because you set the rules?”

He shook his head. “Because it’s wrong. We are not supposed to. And because…. Because of what happened before”

“She moved even closer to him and he breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. “Do you regret what happened that night?” she asked softly.

He shook his head, then said. “No I don’t. It was amazing. But that doesn’t mean that it should happen again. We can’t let it”

As always, his expression was tough to read. There was a sharpness that was new, a tension. If she had to guess, she would swear he was more than a little interested in her -that like didn’t begin to describe what he felt. That maybe, just maybe, he wanted her as much as she wanted him. But he wouldn’t act on it. He wouldn’t let himself.

She had never pursued a man before. In her world, they came to her. There hadn’t been anyone since her ex. She simply hadn’t been interested in anyone since then. But she was interested now.

“Asher?” she called.

“Not a good idea, Kim” he said flatly, though he didn’t move away.

“Why not?”

“You are reacting to the situation, not to me”

Possibly. “Is that a bad thing?” Kimberly asked.

“It could be,” he replied.

But for which of them? She wondered. His eyes captivated her. The darkness seemed to pull her in. His body called to her -all hard planes and thick muscles. Did any part of him yield? Did he ever relax? What did he look like when he relaxed and didn’t care? Suddenly she wanted to know.

“Asher?” she said again, this time on a breath just as she placed her hands on his shoulders, raised herself on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

His mouth was firm and unresponsive. He didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t blink. She lowered herself to the floor and stared at him.

“You are not going to make this easy are you?” she asked.

“I’m not going to do this at all,” he replied.

“Because I’m a client or because you don’t want me?” she asked.

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