Asher Adams was in her life to protect her, which made him wrong for all the right reasons. And having these weird feelings towards him was definitely not a good idea. She didn't need anyone to tell her that.
Cooperate. She told herself. Let him do his thing. It won't be long now and then you'll get your life back.
She shot him a sidelong glance. Asher, despite being on his feet almost throughout the day, didn't look tired at all. While she, on the contrary, felt like death in a skillet. Something a strong shot of caffeine would cure. And a laugh or two with some good friends would help her relax a little bit. But she knew that as much as she wanted that, she didn't even have the strength for it, and she doubted Mr tough bodyguard here would let her anywhere out of his sight.
"I'm going to prepare something for us to eat now," she said. "You must be hungry. I know that because I'm starving right now.. And tired too"
"You don't have to do all that," he said again. "I'm fine".
Kimberly bit her lower lip. Wondering if the word "Thank you" was in the man's dictionary at all. She stopped the lip biting immediately when his lips thinned at the action.
"It's fine," she said. "I really don't mind. I will let you know when it's ready. In the meantime, you should sit somewhere. If I stood for that long I would get cramps"
He didn't make any effort to comply with her suggestion that he sit so she just turned and went to the kitchen.
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After she prepared the food and persuaded him to join her, they ate in silence and it was killing Kimberly. She watched Asher through the corner of her eyes. Wondering if he was feeling the same way she was. He didn't seem to mind. He looked.... She didn't know if she should say… comfortable. The man hardly ever looked relaxed. Hardly ever showed any emotion. Always on alert, like he was expecting something bad to happen anytime.
Kimberly knew that was his job, but she still thought he had to relax a little. Maybe that would make it a bit more approachable.
She decided to make small talk. "How is the food?" she asked.
He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. "Good," he said simply. And that was it... Back to awkward silence. He made no effort to keep their conversation going and it was beginning to get really frustrating. If he was going to be with her for God knows how long, they had to find a way to at least get along to some extent. They couldn't just live in awkward silence.
"You don't talk a lot, do you?" she asked.
"I talk when it's necessary," he replied.
Kimberly nodded. "Do you think I'm still in danger? She asked, changing the topic.
His eyes met hers again."I'm not sure. So far we haven't found any evidence to prove that you are" he said.
"I know. I think my dad is overreacting really. They took me because they wanted money, and their plan failed. Why would they still want me... Who would want to hurt me" she asked.
"The why doesn't matter as much as the who," he said, as he poured himself a glass of water. The glass looked smaller in his big hands and Kimberly forced herself not to think of places on her body she would like those hands to be.
"Most times, these people might strike again, especially when they didn't get what they wanted in the first place. Just like in your case, they never got the ransom they requested for." he continued. "Another reason why it's wise to be vigilant is that we don't know if these people have other reasons for kidnapping you. It might be personal, is there anyone you suspect might want to harm you? Someone you might have offended" he asked.
Kimberly shook her head, eyes wide. "No... I don't know" she replied. "I don't think I have any enemies. Maybe I do, but not enough for someone to want to harm me that way"
He stared at her for a few seconds. "People can hold grudges," he said.
"Yeah, but like I said, kidnapping is a bit extreme for a simple misunderstanding between two people." she said again.
"Are you always that trusting?" he asked.
"What?"
"I'm just saying, it's dumb to just assume that no one would want to harm you. Are you really that ignorant? Because you are daddy's sweet little princess and you think everyone in the world is gonna want to protect you? You think everyone sees it that way?"
Kimberly frowned. "You know nothing about me," she said.
"I'm just saying, I have spent some time with you and I gotta say that you could be a bit annoying.. Scratch that... A lot annoying actually. All I'm saying is that you might have hurt someone... or annoyed someone. Someone who holds a grudge, or maybe it's just about the money. Who knows. All I know is that your father is right to be worried, whoever these people are might return to finish the job. It would be really stupid if you got kidnapped again... By the same people"
"Well, if you find me so annoying, why did you accept the job? Only a crazy person would agree to be stuck with someone they find so annoying." she said, pouting. "I have been wondering why you did. You could have sent someone else.. Maybe another member of your team because I have to say, I also don't find your company pleasurable one bit. You are annoying too, you know. Maybe even worse than I am"
Asher almost laughed, but he didn't. He just stared at her. Once again he admired her nerve. His gaze went from her eyes, to her lips, her neck and her full cleavage. She had the biggest brown eyes he had ever seen, he thought as his eyes found their way back to his face.
Kimberly swallowed nervously under his intense stare. She reached for her glass of water, suddenly needing to hold or do something.