Chapter 20

Hillary sighed, like he was tired of the topic. "Sweetheart, I know you love your freedom and independence. I'm proud of you. I love that you are that way, but you need a bodyguard now. Just ignore him... Pretend that he is not there and you will be fine. You will get used to it" Kimberly shut her eyes tightly and gripped the ends of the table. There was definitely no way she was ever going to get used to Asher Adams following her around. She thought. And she was going to always be aware of his presence. She couldn't just pretend that he wasn't there. She was aware of every part of the man. She spent almost twenty four hours with the man and somehow he found a way into her brain. How was she ever going to get any thing done? "He's not very nice, Dad. I don't like him" she said when she opened her eyes. "He's supposed to be your bodyguard, Kim. Not your Bestie. He's not supposed to be 'nice' because being nice is not his job" Hillary said, relaxing in his chair. "I like Asher, he does his job well. He's efficient and tough. I like that" Kimberly groaned inwardly. He was tough alright. She knew that. "And he's supposed to be with me all the time.... Living in my apartment?" she asked. "Well, he can't protect you if he's not with you, can he?" Hillary asked. "If you feel that your apartment is too small, we can get you another place. I have a nice condo for you. I really don't understand why you choose that apartment in the first place..when I can get you a nicer place to live in" Kimberly shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Dad. But I like my apartment so I will stick to it. And besides, you have done enough. At least you asked me about this one first.... Good thing you didn't just go ahead to move my things out of my apartment" she said. Suddenly loosing her appetite, she got up and headed for her room. Asher was in the living room with David when she passed by. Their eyes met again and she glared at him as she passed. She refused to turn around, but she felt his eyes on her. Great. Just great. She thought. Now, not only was she stuck with a big hunk of a man following her around and watching her every move... But it was one she found so damn attractive....damn it all to hell. She thought and she walked into her bedroom and flung herself on the bed. "This was crazy" Kimberly thought. She didn't need a bodyguard and even if she needed one, why the hell did it have to be Asher Adams. Why? Why? Why? She knew her father wouldn't change his mind. It was a miracle that he decided to change his mind about letting her go back to her apartment. Better not to argue with him now. Kimberly turned over and stared at the ceiling. How bad was it? She asked herself. Really... Really bad. She answered her own questions and when she remembered that night she spent in the shower thinking about him, moaning his name while she brought herself to an orgasm, she brought her hands to her face and shut her eyes tightly in embarrassment. She wanted to scream into a pillow. He was going to be around her now.... All the damn time. How the hell was she going to handle having him around when she had such incredible sexual attraction to him. That wasn't even the only problem. The man didn't like her one bit. There was no doubt about that. He seemed to be eager to get rid of her when she was with him. Then why the hell did he agree to be her damn bodyguard. Why would he accept a job to be with someone he didn't like. Because he's getting paid you idiot. She told herself. God alone knew how much her father had offered to pay him. It had to be a lot. Or perhaps he just thought it would be a good opportunity to torture her... Because that was exactly what he was doing right now... And he looked like he was enjoying every second of it. --------------------------- Asher Adams knew that agreeing to protect Kimberly Blake was probably one of the stupidest things he had ever done in his entire life. For some reason he didn't really understand, it had been super hard to get her out of his mind these past weeks. She was on his mind many times than he cared to admit... Even to himself. He had barely spent one day with the woman, and yet somehow she had imprinted on him... In his head. And nothing he had done to get her out had worked. She was beautiful. He knew that... Anyone could see that. He had to be blind not to see. But he had seen... Even dated beautiful women before, but never had he ever felt such raw sexual attraction to any of them before... And definitely not so fast. But yet here he was.  When Hillary Blake had contacted him again, his first thought had been that Kimberly was in some kind of danger -again. And the way he had felt when that thought entered his head baffled him...The sudden urge he had felt to protect her from harm was so strong. The woman wasn't his type... She was one of those diva's he couldn't stand. She was super annoying. She talked way too much and was too stubborn.... And above all, she was his client. He had rescued her and the kind of thoughts he was having about her were definitely unprofessional. That should have been enough reason to say no when Hillary Blake had offered him this job. But yet he found himself saying yes... And now here he was. At first he had tried to convince himself that he had accepted the job for the money. It was a huge pay.. Hillary was ready to offer any amount for his daughter's safety. But no amount of denial on his part could change the fact that he had accepted the job because a part of him cared and he wanted Kimberly Blake to be safe. He had one assignment. To protect her. It was an assignment that might prove to be more than he bargained for. Because Kimberly Blake was so adamant she didn't need his protection. And a woman who doesn't want a bodyguard could be difficult, dangerous-and terribly intriguing.