Chapter Thirteen

"Do you live here?" she asked, still looking out

"No I don't . It's a safe house"

"Who else do you bring here"

"None of your business" he replied.

"Of course" she nodded. "But I still wonder. What exactly do you do with your life that you own a house like this?" she asked.

"I prepare in advance for what my clients might need" he said simply.

Their eyes met. He read questions in hers. No fear, though, which he respected. She wasn't what he had thought. Maybe not as useless as most women like her. She has backbone and more than a little —

He felt it then. Subtle at first, but growing. It filled the room, pressing in on him, stealing air, heating breath.

Awareness.

Of her. The scent of her skin, the way she moved. Exquisite. He thought to himself, indulging in a brief erotic fantasy that involved that glorious hair of hers trailing over his heated, naked flesh. In the blink of an eye she went from someone he had to protect to a woman —a very sexy one at that.

Damn it all to hell. He thought grimly. This was not allowed. He didn't get involved with clients. Not ever. He took an electronic device from a cabinet and unfastened the bracelet on her wrist.

"Let's get out of here" He said and retraced his steps to the kitchen.

He heard her follow. When she cleared the control room, he hit the remote to reset the security system.

In the kitchen, he set out place mats, napkins and flatware on the round table. She settled in a chair just as he brought over a large bowl of pasta and another of salad. Kimberly watched him, wondering if he prepared all of that.

"What do you want to drink?" he asked, turning to her. "We have all the basics"

"Just water" she answered, as her stomach tightened in anticipation of food.

"Did you cook all that?" she asked.

"Does it matter?"

Kimberly was getting frustrated with the man. Did he always have to be so mean.

She sighed. "Do you ever answer a question... You know... Like a normal human being?" she asked.

He stared at her for a few seconds. "No... I guess I don't" he said.

"Well you should. You are always unnecessarily rude" she retorted.

"Fine. I cooked it. Happy now?"

"Whatever" Kimberly said, rolling her eyes.

Asher almost laughed at her reaction, but he stopped himself.

"Dig in" he told her.

She decided to take him at his word. She scooped up a large serving of the meat covered pasta and dumped it on her plate. Salad could wait. Right now she wanted something substantial.

After almost two weeks of eating almost nothing. The first bite was heavenly. The perfect blend of spices, the tender yet firm pasta. She couldn't chew fast enough.

Asher returned with a bottle of water and set it next to her plate. She nodded her thanks but didn't stop eating. It was only after she had finished the serving of pasta and reached for the salad that she glanced at him. He was watching her. She didn't know what to think of the look on his face.

"Sorry to be such a pig" she said slightly embarrassed.

Disturbed from the pleasurable act of watching her eat and contemplating their differences... Reminding himself that nothing could happen between them. Asher looked at her blankly.

"Don't sweat it" he said. He took the seat opposite hers and served himself some pasta. "Why didn't you eat while you were kidnapped? Did you think a hunger strike would get their attention?" he asked.

She shrugged, choosing not to read any criticism into his words. "I never planned on avoiding food... I love food actually"

"I can see that" he said.

She smiled and continued. "For the first couple of days, I was too scared to eat. Every time I tried, it wouldn't stay down. Eventually, I was able to handle get small portions. A half a slice of toast in the morning. A cup of soup on the afternoon. Some people eat more when they are stressed... I eat less. Those people didn't believe me when I told them

They threatened to feed me themselves, using force, but it never came to that "

He studied her as she spoke. Kimberly would love to know what he was thinking, but then again, maybe not. Asher Adams had made it clear that she wasn't his favorite person on the planet. Why hear more of the same?

They ate in silence. And he continued to watch her. She didn't seem to care... Or maybe she didn't even know he was watching her. Her mouth was perfect, he reflected, struggling to ignore his increasing arousal.

His eyes still on her mouth, he watched as she sampled the food with slow, sensuous relish. Never before had he watched a woman eat with such obvious enjoyment. Most of the females he had known had appeared to regard food as a threat and eating as nothing more than a distasteful social obligation to be undertaken under sufferance and preferably without the consumption of a single calorie.

Watching Kimberly Blake eat, it was clear that she held an entirely different attitude to food. Showing none of the inhibitions characteristic of her sex. In the grip of a severe attack of lust, Asher struggled to focus on his own food.

His reaction to her baffled him. He had never gotten turned on by just watching a woman eat... But now, here he was, mentally willing his dick to behave. He had seen his attention to her as senseless.

But right now, It made perfect sense to him. In fact, as he watched her nibbling and licking her lips, it was making increasing sense. His body was wound so tight that he thought he might explode and it felt as though his entire brain was sliding south.

He had to hurry up and return her to her father. Get her out of his life... Out of his head before he did something crazy... And damn, the crazy things he wanted to do to her... To that sexy little mouth of hers.