Free Defying Asher (Knight Security 1) by Carole Mortimer

domineering mother. Besides which, he was tired himself after being on duty for almost twenty-four hours.
    His mouth thinned. “I suggest we take this outside and let your father get some rest.”
    Lissa’s chin rose. “I have nothing more to say to you.”
    He raised dark brows. “But I have some things I want to say to you.”
    It felt as if Lissa’s stomach had done another complete flip as she saw the dangerous glitter in Asher’s eyes.
    “Go, baby,” her father advised wearily. “I need to get some sleep anyway. And give the man a break, hmm? No one could have predicted what happened yesterday morning. Whoever this person is attempting to harm your mother, they obviously don’t care who else gets hurt in the process.” He squeezed Lissa’s hand before releasing her. “Go home,” he encouraged. “Shower and get some sleep. Check in with your staff. Then come back later if you want to. Apparently, I’m not going anywhere.”
    Lissa was more than a little ashamed of her remarks to Asher as she bent to kiss her father on the cheek before preceding Asher out of the hospital room.
    She could feel Asher’s brooding tension as he followed her and quietly closed the door behind him.
    Lissa turned to face him once the two of them were out in the corridor. Asher took her arm to pull her farther down the hallway, out of earshot of the two policemen and his brother Ethan. “I don’t—” she started.
    “Before you say anything else to make me want to spank your bare backside raw, let me warn you against making any more accusations against Knight Security.” Asher’s eyes glittered darkly. “You can be as personally pissed with me as you want, but don’t let that spill over onto Knight Security. Your mother went against Gabriel’s advice when she gave instructions for her protection. We have followed those instructions.”
    Her chin remained stubbornly high. “And yet my father still ended up with a bullet in his shoulder.”
    “Yes, he did.” A nerve pulsed in Asher’s clenched jaw. “And no one regrets that more than we do. Your mother was told what was needed to keep her and those around her safe. She would only agree to two bodyguards being present when she was inside her apartment building, one bodyguard if or when she left the building. Gabriel is with her right now explaining that isn’t enough.”
    “And if she won’t agree to changes?” Knowing how arrogant her mother could be, Lissa knew that was a distinct possibility.
    “Then she’ll leave Gabriel with no choice but to tell her we will only continue to guard her and her family for as long as it takes her to find herself another security company.”
    That seemed reasonable in the circumstances.
    Lissa raised derisive brows. “You and whose army is going to s pank my bare backside raw ?”
    Asher snorted his impatience. “After all I’ve just said, that’s the one thing you’ve decided to challenge me on?”
    She wasn’t challenging him exactly. She was more…intrigued.
    Asher was right. What the hell was she thinking? Harvey was dead, her father had been shot, her mother was in danger, she was probably in danger, and all she could think about was how it would feel to have Asher’s hand spanking her bare flesh.
    Would he put her over his knee? Or maybe bend her over a table or sofa?
    And how sick was she to even be thinking about that at a time like this, let alone feeling this delicious thrill of excitement running down her spine at those erotic thoughts.
    She was an idiot. A halfway-in-love-with-Asher-Knight idiot.
    She turned away. “I need to leave— Where are you going?” She stopped and frowned as Asher fell into step beside her.
    “Until I’m told otherwise, Zander and I are now your security detail.” He nodded to the large man who had fallen into step behind them.
    “ What? ”
    Asher eyed her mockingly, no doubt amused by the shocked horror in her tone. “Gabriel, in his infinite wisdom, has assigned me to be one