~ Anna ~
After a couple of minutes of kissing, I pulled away. He looked so incredibly happy and heart-stoppingly handsome this morning. Twenty-two certainly suited him.
“I’m gonna go make some coffee. Maybe we could get some breakfast out or something?” I suggested.
“Sure,” he agreed, before looking down at the items in his lap. “What the hell am I gonna tell Nate?”
I smiled. “Well, I thought about that a bit, and figured maybe you could say that you won two in some competition. Tell him that you’re giving him one so you could play against each other.” That was the only thing I could come up with that fitted; he couldn’t exactly tell him that the Senator’s daughter bought it.
He laughed, his green eyes sparkling with happiness that made my heart soar. “You’ve covered all bases here. You’re a devious planner, huh?”
I nodded, rolling my eyes. “Oh yeah, I’m pretty sneaky, you need to keep your eyes on me.”
“Oh, I plan to keep my eyes and anything else that I can on you, don’t worry,” he flirted. I laughed and pushed him away from me playfully before jumping out of the bed and running across the room before he could stop me. At the door, I turned and blew him a kiss, grinning.
I practically skipped to the kitchen. As I flicked on the kettle, I let my eyes wander around his apartment. The place was actually extremely sweet. It was a total guys’ place though. The furniture didn’t match, and was all designed for practicality and not for how it looked, as with any bachelor pad. I smiled as I looked through his cupboards, finally finding what I was after and grinned as I pulled out two mismatched oversized mugs. I loved it here; his apartment made me feel safe and calm. This place was Ashton all over.
“Well, that’s definitely a nice view to wake up to in the morning,” a male voice purred behind me.
I grinned as I turned, knowing this would be the famous Nate Peters, Ashton’s best friend. As I expected him to be, Nate was gorgeous. All blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, tall and toned. The cocky, confident smile that was stretched across his face made him look just the right amount of cheeky. He was currently only wearing boxer shorts and a white vest. I could see why the girls apparently went crazy for him. In my opinion though, as hot as Nate looked, he had nothing on Ashton.
“Well thanks. I presume you’re talking about the fact that I’m currently making coffee, and not the fact that I’m not wearing very many clothes at the moment,” I stated, raising my eyebrows innocently.
He was smirking at me. “Of course I was,” he replied, just as innocently.
“Good.” I turned and grabbed another mug from the cupboard so I could make him one too.
“You must be Ashton’s girlfriend, Anna.” He moved so he was leaning against the counter next to me and folded his arms over his chest as he looked me over.
“And you must be Ashton’s best friend, Nate,” I answered, giving him a cocky smile.
“Yep,” he confirmed, popping the p. I rolled my eyes and went back to the coffee. “You know, Ashton said you were hot, but damn, that’s the understatement of the century,” he continued.
“Well, he told me you were a flirt who would try and get me into bed, but damn, I didn’t realise you’d start before nine in the morning.” I smirked back at him, chuckling. I liked this guy already; it was probably the fact that he was Ashton’s best friend. Ashton loved this guy, and anyone that got Ashton’s respect, got mine.
He laughed and shook his head. “That’s what he told you about me? I’m a womaniser?” he asked, faking hurt.
“Big time,” I confirmed, laughing.
“Maybe I’m just waiting for the right girl to set me on the right track, make me want to settle down,” he purred suggestively.
“Right, you know what? I can help you with that,” I answered, looking at him through my eyelashes.
He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me. “Oh really?” he asked, obviously interested, leaning in closer to me.
“Yeah,” I breathed, nodding and leaning in closer to him too, watching as his eyes widened and he flinched back slightly. I smiled. Clearly he was regretting flirting with his best friend’s girl now that I was playing along too. “I’ll help you find a girl tonight when we go out,” I added, winking at him and laughing as relief washed over his face.
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re funny, no wonder he likes you. Mind you, I can think of a few other reasons too,” he muttered as his eyes skimmed my body again.
“Well at the moment, Nate, I’m struggling to find anything that he’d like about you,” I teased.
“Ouch, Anna, you wound me.” He put his hand over his heart, faking hurt.
The kettle boiled, so I spooned the cheap instant coffee granules into the mugs, plucking the milk from the fridge. “So how do you take it?” I asked, putting sugar in my coffee and extra milk in Ashton’s.
“I’ll take it and give it any way you want, baby,” he flirted again.
He’s an even bigger flirt than Ashton! Can he just not help himself? I wondered. “Right, well how about I give it to you strong and straight?” I offered, putting a strong black coffee down in front of him. He laughed in response. “I’m gonna go take this into my man, and start his birthday off right for him,” I winked at him and picked up the two coffees.
“Well, I will definitely see you later, Anna.”
I rolled my eyes as I stepped back into Ashton’s bedroom and kicked the door closed behind me. “Hey, Nate’s here,” I chirped, as I plopped back on the bed.
Ashton’s body seemed to stiffen as he frowned. “He’s up already? He was working until twelve.”
“He’s up; I just met him in the kitchen. He’s a funny guy,” I shrugged.
Ashton’s eyes tightened. “He hit on you, didn’t he?”
I smiled at his question. He was so overprotective of me, sometimes he seemed to forget that I wasn’t actually his girlfriend, although most of the time lately, I wished I was. “Yep, but don’t worry, I told him I wasn’t interested,” I promised, scooting to his side, setting the coffees on the bedside unit.
“I think you’re the first girl I’ve met that wasn’t interested in him,” he smiled, wrapping his arms around me, pulling my body closer to his.
I waved my hand dismissively. “Nah, I told you, I already have an extremely hot boyfriend,” I stated, smiling before continuing, “even if he is an old man now.”
He scowled jokingly. “Hey, don’t start with the age jokes; I’m a little sensitive about it.”
“Well, we could always say you’re twenty-one and three hundred and sixty-six days,” I offered, shrugging.
He laughed again. “Yeah, that definitely sounds better than being an old man,” he answered, trailing his fingers up my arm, making me ache all over. He grabbed his new camera off the bedside unit and held it out in front of us, snapping a photo before I could even protest.
“Hey! I haven’t even brushed my hair,” I whined.
“You look beautiful, Baby Girl. I love your messy bed hair.”
I smiled at that. I had a feeling he wasn’t joking either, I loved his messy bed hair too.
After drinking our coffee, I headed into the shower, and he went out to talk to Nate. I could hear him laughing and catching up with his friend; mostly they were talking about me. I showered and went back to his room to get dressed, pulling on a pair of cropped skinny jeans and a white tank top, slipping a black waistcoat over the top. After pulling on a pair of black wedges, I quickly dried my hair, scraping half up and leaving the rest half down. I didn’t bother with make-up today.
When I walked into the lounge, the talking stopped immediately, and two sets of eyes fell on me. I frowned at the abrupt change of mood and looked down at myself, wondering if something was wrong. “What? Should I change? Is this not appropriate LA clothing?” I asked, concerned because I didn’t bring lots of clothes with me, so I was limited on options.
“Damn, you look so damn hot that my mouth’s watering,” Ashton practically growled, looking me over slowly.
I laughed with relief and felt the blush creep onto my cheeks. When my gaze fell on Nate, I saw he was looking at me too. I raised one eyebrow, knowing I needed to show him that I wasn’t interested. As the plan formed in my head, I didn’t even think twice about it as I strutted over to Ashton and plopped myself down on his lap, straddling him. Dipping my head, I pressed my lips against Ashton’s, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me back, moaning in the back of his throat. The small sound he made seemed to set my body on fire and turned me on more than anything else.
His arms circled my waist, pulling me tightly against him as the kiss deepened. My whole body seemed to pulse with desire as his taste and the warmth of his tongue resonated through my senses. As I pressed myself against the hardness of his body, all I could think about was getting closer and melting into him. Every nerve ending in my body seemed to come alive as an uncomfortable ache seemed to be building inside me. I needed him.
I was so thoroughly lost in the moment that someone clearing their throat next to me made me jump and come back to reality with a bump. I reluctantly pulled my mouth away from Ashton’s, dragging in a ragged breath. Ashton’s eyes shone with excitement and lust – as I would imagine mine did too.
“Happy birthday,” I whispered, making no moves to get off his lap.
“Definitely the best birthday ever,” he breathed, resting his hands on my hips.
He moved me slightly, but the small movement made us rub together in places that were already way too excited for my own good. A little zap of pleasure pulsed through my body. I gasped, tightening my hold on him as I wriggled, trying to ease some of the tension and pressure from my body. His lips found mine again, and in that moment I was lost all over again. His fingers bit into my thighs as another little bolt of the same sensation washed over me. I couldn’t take any more teasing, my body needed relief. It felt like I would spontaneously combust if I didn’t release this tension from inside my body. It was then that I decided that I would make this weekend special for him.
“Er… you two need a room? Hello, best friend here!” Nate teased. “Not that this isn’t hot to watch,” he added, laughing.
Ashton groaned and pulled his mouth from mine, somewhat reluctantly. “Dude, seriously, go away!”
Realising this was inappropriate for their lounge sofa, with Nate watching, I blushed and gulped. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving,” I suggested, changing the subject. I smiled over at Nate. “You coming?”
A devilish grin broke out on his face. “Not yet, but you can help me with that if you want,” he purred, winking at me.
Ashton suddenly punched him in the arm. “Mine!” he growled warningly, looking like he was only half joking.
Nate gasped, rubbing his arm as he winced. “Ouch, dude! I was kidding.”
I giggled uncontrollably at his put-out face. He looked like a kid that had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Ashton scooted forward on the sofa, still holding me on his lap. “Come on, Baby Girl, Nate doesn’t want to go where we’re going, I already asked him.”
Nate shrugged. “Actually, I think I’ll come for breakfast, but I’m definitely not coming to the museum,” he chimed in, standing up.
I frowned, confused. Ashton wasn’t into that kind of thing, so that was a weird choice of thing to want to do. “Museum? What museum?” I asked curiously.
“There’s a really cool museum I thought you’d like,” he explained, shrugging.
I shook my head incredulously. “What? We’re not going somewhere for me on your birthday,” I protested, attempting to push myself off his lap, but he held me against him tightly.
“Aww, come on. You’ll really like it there, I promise,” he whispered, leaning forward and kissing my cheek before trailing little kisses down my neck.
My body tingled. “Maybe I like it right here,” I mumbled, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensations his mouth was creating within me.
I felt him smile against my neck. “Well, maybe I like it right here too,” he replied, nibbling on my earlobe.
“Maybe I’d like to go eat,” Nate chimed in, laughing.
Ashton sighed and moved his face away from my neck; I bit my lip so I didn’t whimper at the loss of contact. “Come on then. Let’s go eat,” he agreed, rolling his eyes and finally letting go of me so I could stand up.
We walked to a little café down the road from their apartment, talking casually about nothing in particular. As we walked inside the café, Ashton mumbled ‘shit’ under his breath as a waitress came over, smiling broadly at him.
“Well hi there, Ashton. How are you doing? Long time no see,” she breathed, setting her hand on his arm as she batted her eyelashes.
“Er, hi Kelly,” he greeted, clearly uncomfortable.
An angry expression crossed her face. “It’s Shelly,” she growled. I burst out laughing but quickly turned it into a cough when she turned to glare at me, which of course, made Nate laugh. Ashton was just staring at me in horror as the waitress looked me over distastefully. “Who’s this?” she asked, obviously trying to be polite, but failing miserably.
Ashton took my hand and pulled me to his side as he spoke, “This is my girlfriend, Anna.”
I winced at the furious expression that crossed her face. She looked like she wanted to kill me. I had the strong feeling that this girl was going to spit in my food. I inwardly sighed, but decided if she was going to do it anyway then I may as well have some fun too.
“Nice to meet you, Kelly,” I greeted, trying desperately to hide my grin.
“It’s Shelly!” she snapped.
“Oh, right yeah, sorry.” I grinned, looking anywhere but Nate, who was clearly trying to hold in his laughter.
One of Shelly’s eyebrows rose wickedly as she turned her attention back to Ashton. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Does she know we slept together?”
I smiled as Ashton seemed to squirm on the spot. I nodded in confirmation, deciding to help him out. This girl was clearly trying to cause trouble between the two of us. “Oh yeah don’t worry, I know my boy’s slept with half of LA,” I dismissed. “Hey, were you the one that taught him that thing that he does with his hand? Because damn, if you did then, I owe you a big thanks,” I added, grinning. Nate lost the battle and his laughter rang out as he shook his head, clutching at his side.
Shelly’s nose scrunched up distastefully as she snatched three menus from the side, obviously dissatisfied with my reaction. “You want a table?”
She didn’t wait for an answer as she turned around and strutted off, practically throwing the menus down onto an empty table. Ashton’s hand closed over mine, squeezing tightly as we crossed the restaurant to get to the table she had stopped at. As I slid into the booth, Ashton slid in beside me, still looking extremely uncomfortable and apologetic.
Shelly seemed determined to ignore me as she took our drinks order. As soon as she was gone, Nate shook his head, still chuckling to himself. “Oh God, that was freaking hilarious,” Nate laughed.
Ashton groaned. “I’m really sorry. I forgot she worked here.”
I smiled and waved my hand dismissively. “Ashton, if I got annoyed or upset every time I met a girl you’d slept with, I’d be upset all damn day,” I joked, shrugging.
His anxious eyes softened, and the tension that was in his shoulders seemed to fade as he smiled gratefully. “I guess. That was a class way to deal with an ex though. That was awesome,” he congratulated. His head cocked to the side, and his eyes turned playful. “But what thing are we talking about that I do with my hand?” he asked, raising one eyebrow knowingly.
I grinned. “I think you know,” I replied, feeling the blush creep onto my cheeks. He chuckled and leant in, kissing my burning cheek before brushing a loose strand of my hair back into place.
“Wow, she’s a firecracker, Taylor. No wonder you’re in love with her,” Nate said, looking at me in awe.
My heart stopped as my eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. Ashton has told Nate that he’s in love with me? But then I realised that this was all part of the charade and undercover assignment. Of course, he had to lie to his friends about me. He was just playing the part of loved up boyfriend like he was supposed to.
When my eyes flicked to Ashton, I noticed he was glaring at his best friend for some reason. Thankfully though, the waitress chose that moment to come back with our drinks.
Shelly was still ignoring me as she started taking our food order. After scribbling down what the boys wanted, she turned her evil eyes on me. “And you?” she asked impatiently.
“I’ll have chocolate chip pancakes, please. Oh and Shelly, I’ll leave you a fifty dollar tip if you don’t spit in my food,” I smiled sweetly, handing her my menu. Nate was laughing again now.
She laughed and for the first time, smiled at me. “Right okay, I’ll go get your order.”
Nate was practically crying with laughter as she walked off. “You know, I think you should leave Taylor and be with me, Anna,” he said, winking at me.
“Hmm, I don’t think you could handle me,” I countered. That was the honest truth; he would probably crumble under the pressure of one of my meltdowns.
“Oh really? I would definitely like to try,” he purred suggestively.
Ashton’s body seemed to tense up at my side. I smiled, placing my hand over his because for some reason that I couldn’t fathom, Ashton seemed to be jealous and worried that I was going to fall for his best friend. “I’ll tell you what, Nate, if he screws up,” I nodded my head at Ashton, “then I’ll give you a go.”
“Sweet!” Nate chirped.
Ashton shook his head adamantly and slung his arm over my shoulder. “I’m not gonna screw up, Baby Girl,” he said, leaning in and planting a soft kiss on the base of my neck. I whimpered and tipped my head to the side as his lips left a burning trail against my overheated skin. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to drag him to the bathroom and have him consume me completely.
“Seriously, you two need to cut that out!” Nate ordered, flicking a couple of drops of water at us from his glass.
I laughed and Ashton pulled away, groaning. He seemed to be enjoying that as much as I was. Knowing I needed to change the subject because my body was already aching for Ashton’s touch, I turned back to Nate. “So, why don’t you want to come to the museum then?”
“Boring! How about we go do something fun instead?” he suggested, raising his eyebrows excitedly.
“Like what? What do you two boys like to do for fun?” I asked curiously.
He grinned at me over the rim of his glass before he jerked in his seat and his eyes lit up excitedly. “Ooh, how about we go Go Karting?”
Go Karting? I’d never done that before. “Sounds fun. Want to?” I asked, turning back to Ashton.
He shrugged easily. “Sure, if that’s what you’d rather do.”
I nodded eagerly, snuggling into his side. Nate pulled out his cell phone, already tapping away on the screen. “Great. I’ll call some of the guys and we can meet them there.”
Ashton’s mouth closed over mine, kissing me almost desperately as his arm tightened around my waist, crushing me against his side. I moaned into his mouth. This was going to be a long day, I could feel it. However, before it could get too heated, our kiss was interrupted by Nate flicking more water at us. “Right then, Seth, Wayne and Ryan are going to meet us there in an hour,” he said happily.
I smiled. I was actually excited to meet the rest of Ashton’s friends and see how he spent his time when he wasn’t worried to death about me. As we sat there talking about racing and who was the best driver, the food arrived. Shelly set a plate of pancakes down in front of me, and I looked at her hopefully. “Do I owe you a fifty or not?” I asked, watching her face, trying to read if she’d really spat in my food.
She laughed. “I didn’t spit in your food,” she promised, looking like she was actually telling the truth. “I spat in his,” she added sweetly, plopping Ashton’s food down.
“Oh, he won’t mind. You’ve shared saliva before, it’s no different,” I joked, nudging him playfully.
She laughed and sat down next to Nate. “So, how long have you two been together?”
Ashton grinned. “Two months.”
She looked at him disbelievingly. “Seriously? I didn’t think you’d ever settle down. You told me that you didn’t do relationships,” she pouted, seeming a little hurt.
“I didn’t. Not until I met Anna,” he replied casually.
I smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I think I may have curbed his player ways for a little while. I’ll enjoy it while it lasts, he’s picked up a lot of tricks from screwing all of those girls,” I joked. Everyone laughed at that.
“I’ll bet he has. There have been a lot of them,” she smirked at him, obviously still trying to get him in trouble with me. “Enjoy it while it lasts, he’ll kick you to the curb soon enough,” she added, pushing herself to her feet.
I nodded in agreement. “No doubt about it. I’d say I have at least another six months though. I can keep you interested that long, can’t I?” I asked, grinning slyly at Ashton – he had that long left before he would be reassigned.
He chuckled and nodded. “Definitely,” he replied, rubbing his hand up my back softly.
Obviously disgruntled, she huffed and strutted off towards the kitchen again. I smiled at her back. “Well, I don’t think her plan to make me jealous worked the way she wanted it to,” I stated.
Nate’s eyes were wide as he regarded me with a bewildered expression on his face. “What the hell kind of girlfriend are you if you don’t get jealous?”
“The best kind,” I answered, cutting off a large chunk of pancake and stuffing it into my mouth. Ashton hadn’t started eating; he was just frowning down at his plate distastefully. “You not gonna eat, Pretty Boy?”
He winced. “Do you think she really spat in my food?” he asked, turning his nose up. Nate and I burst out laughing and I didn’t stop until my sides were hurting.
The rest of the time we talked and laughed. When we were done, we took a leisurely stroll back to their apartment so we could pick up the car. I smiled happily. Nate was actually a really nice guy, other than the fact that every word out of his mouth was suggestive. He got on exceedingly well with Ashton, and it was nice to see him joking around with his friend. It made me extremely glad I’d arranged this. Ashton grinned at me as we approached the car, pressing the button on the key, making the lights flash.
Nate stopped dead in his tracks as his mouth popped open in shock. “Holy shit. You have got to be kidding me!” he cried.
“I know right? Anna rented it for me for the weekend as a birthday present,” Ashton boasted, grabbing me and pulling me in for a hug.
Nate practically choked on fresh air as he shook his head. “Anna, I really think we need to hook up, my birthday is in like a month.”
Ashton punched him playfully in the arm again. “I told you, she’s mine,” he stated, laughing because Nate still hadn’t taken his eyes off the car. “I’m assuming you’re riding with us in this instead of taking your car?” Ashton pulled open the passenger door for me, ushering me in as he smirked at his friend’s astonished expression. Nate nodded, running around to the driver’s side and wrenching the door open. “Back seat! I’m driving!” Ashton protested as Nate went to slide into the driver’s side. I grinned to myself. Boys were too easily impressed by a flashy car.
As we made the short drive to the Go Kart track, Nate was sitting in the back, gushing about the car and how beautiful it was. Ashton held my hand the whole time, shooting me sly glances with a big grin on his face. When we pulled in, the car was immediately swarmed with guys. Well, that was a slight exaggeration, there were three of them. I recognised them from the photo I’d seen back in the apartment.
We all climbed out, and Nate was raving to the three newcomers about the car. Ashton stepped to my side and grinned as they all exchanged the typical man hug thing. He turned back to me and smiled proudly as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is my girl, Anna.” He gave me a little tug forward, smiling reassuringly as I tried not to show my unease at being surrounded by three unknown men that were all looking me over like vultures look at a wounded animal. “Anna, this is Seth, Wayne and Ryan.” He waved his hand to them in turn.
“Nice,” the guy called Seth purred under his breath. He was gorgeous too, and I silently wondered what they put in the water here in LA. He had light brown hair and brown eyes and when he smiled, he got dimples, making him look cute. I had a feeling it would be the innocent little boy dimples that the girls were attracted to.
“Hi,” I smiled; trying not to show them how nervous I was. It had been different meeting Nate because that was one-on-one. This situation frightened me a little.
“How you doing, Anna? I’m Seth, and it is definitely my pleasure,” the dimpled guy flirted, holding out his hand to me. I forced a smile and shook his hand, attempting to let go quickly, but when he didn’t release my hand my heart took off in a sprint. I dug my fingers into Ashton’s side, silently telling him that I was uncomfortable.
“Seth, remember I said this is my girl?” Ashton growled warningly. Seth looked at him and grinned sheepishly, releasing my hand quickly.
Instantly Nate punched Seth in the arm. “His,” he pointed at Ashton, “and then mine when he screws up,” he joked, grinning.
And just like that, the tension was broken and I laughed as Ashton’s arm tightened on my waist. “Right, that’s enough flirting. Let’s go race,” Ashton suggested, nodding at the large metal building.
The boys were obviously regulars here because they greeted the instructor like an old friend and were led through to the back where the helmets were. As we stepped through the door, the noise of the engines and the smell of exhaust fumes that lingered in the air actually made the hair on the nape of my neck stand up on end. I turned to Ashton, seeing his big bright smile and my nerves instantly started to fade. I knew he wouldn’t let anything hurt me, so this had to be safe. My heart rate slowly started to return to normal as a helmet was pushed onto my head and I was led over to a large blue Go Kart and shown how to drive it.
Once I was going, however, I actually loved it. Although, much to my embarrassment, I was a total disaster at it. After crashing into the tyres for the sixth time in three laps, I decided to give up and just watch. As I pulled into the makeshift pit lane and climbed out, Ashton pulled up behind me. I frowned as I pulled the helmet off and breathed a sigh of relief because they were heavy and constricting.
“Hey, don’t stop, I just want to watch you,” I protested, waving him back into his car.
He shook his head, pulling off his helmet too. “I’m not leaving you on your own.”
I sighed dramatically. “Ashton Taylor, get your perfect ass back in that Go Kart and finish your time. You’ve only got a few more minutes. I’ll be fine here, I promise. I won’t move from this spot until you come and get me,” I vowed, crossing my heart with my finger.
He smiled and walked over to me, kissing me quickly. “Okay, but you’d better not move from this spot, Miss Spencer.” The words were said in a joking way, but his eyes were serious; I knew it was an order and not a request.
“Yes, sir,” I answered, grinning.
His mouth closed over mine again, kissing me fiercely as he stepped up against my body, clutching me close to him. My heart sped uncontrollably as the lust from earlier spilled over and built into a raging inferno. I threw my arms around his neck, kissing him back desperately as one of his hands slid down my back and cupped my ass.
I groaned, breaking the kiss but leaving my lips against his as I spoke, “If you don’t go right now, I’m not gonna be able to let you go,” I admitted. My eyes were locked onto his as my hormones spiked to preposterous levels. He grinned and bent his knees slightly so that his face was level with mine, his arms tightened around me as he stood back up, lifting me off my feet. I gasped, a little shocked, but caught on immediately, wrapping my legs around his waist, clinging to him tightly.
“I don’t want to drive anymore,” he whispered, kissing me again, sucking lightly on my bottom lip.
A needy whimper left my lips as I gladly opened my mouth, eager for his taste. He kissed me deeply and my world seemed to spin just that little bit too fast. Rough brick scratched at my back through my shirt as he pressed me against the wall. I completely forgot where we were as he kissed down my neck, sucking gently on the skin under my ear. My fingers tangled into the back of his hair, tugging gently, which made him bite my neck gently. Everything about this moment was incredible, from the rough wall scratching at my back, to his hard chest pressed against mine, to the slim line of his hips that seemed like they were just made for my legs to fit perfectly around.
Suddenly he pulled his mouth away from mine and groaned. I gasped, shaking my head as I looked at him pleadingly, silently begging him not to stop. “What the hell are you stopping for?” I whined, pouting.
He laughed and used his head to motion over his shoulder. Confused, I looked in that direction only to see that his friends were all standing there, watching, whistling and shouting rude comments about how we should get a room. Nate was shrieking in a high pitch voice, “Oh! Yes, Ashton, yes.”
I blushed and buried my face in his neck as Ashton just laughed. “Holy shit, that’s embarrassing,” I whispered, reluctantly unwrapping my legs from his waist.
He smiled and set me down onto my feet as the boys all strutted into the office, still making jokes about us and laughing wickedly. “You look so adorable when you blush,” he mused, brushing his finger across my cheek.
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed his hand and followed his friends into the office so we could give our helmets back. Nate grinned as we walked into the room. “So, what are we doing now? Or are you two going home to have some fun on your own?” he asked, smirking at me.
I shrugged, hoping to appear confident. “I don’t mind, whatever Ashton wants to do.”
“Well, I’m all for going home and having some fun,” Ashton teased, grinning at me devilishly.
I giggled at the lustful expression on his face. “Oh, you’re always up for that, Pretty Boy.”
He laughed and pulled me closer to his side, winding his arm around me securely. “Seriously though, I actually I don’t mind what we do now. How about we go to the races or something?” he suggested.
My heart leapt in my chest. I could barely suppress my girly giggle of delight. “The races? Really? That’d be great!” I enthused, bouncing on the spot with excitement.
“It’s dog racing, not horses,” Ashton mumbled apologetically.
My excitement jumped up another level. “Well that’s even better. I’ve never been!”
Ashton grinned and pulled me into his embrace, our chests pressed together. “You’re so very easy to please,” he whispered, looking at me gratefully.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, going up on tiptoes and pressing my lips to his again softly, just once before pulling back. He made a growling sound in the back of his throat before his lips claimed mine in a scorching kiss that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Holy fuck, would you two cut that out? Jeez, I’m all for a live porn show but damn,” Nate scolded.
Ashton groaned and pulled his mouth from mine, not letting me pull away from him as he scowled at his best friend. “I hate you,” he grumbled.
The boys behind me laughed. “You love me, Taylor, don’t even try to deny it,” Nate joked. “So, are we invited to the races or what?”
Ashton sighed and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Yeah sure, if you want to.”
Three hours later, and collectively a couple of hundred bucks down, we were all crammed into Ashton’s lounge eating Thai takeout while the boys argued over the PS4. I’d had a fantastic day with them, and even losing on the races didn’t put a dampener on the day. Los Angeles was, so far, surpassing my expectations. I loved it here.
As I sat there watching him quietly, seeing him fool around with his friends, laughing and joking, I realised that my insides felt a little weird. Ashton Taylor actually frightened me witless. I cared about him way too much for my own good. Seeing him happy seemed to make me happy, and that wasn’t a good thing in my book. I just loved having him in my life. I was starting to depend on him too much already. I had no idea what I was going to do when his assignment was over. I had no idea how I would cope without seeing his smile or hearing his voice. I was already in too deep.
Forcing my eyes away from him, I looked up at the clock. It was almost nine in the evening. They had all arranged to go to some bar at ten, so I knew it was probably time for me to start getting ready for that.
“I’m gonna go get dressed,” I announced, standing up and stepping over Wayne, who was sprawled out on the floor, his eyes glued to the TV.
Seth frowned and pouted. “I should probably go too,” he agreed, looking at the controller in his hand and frowning as if he didn’t want to leave it.
I smiled and left them to it, heading in for a quick shower but being careful not to wet my hair. As I stood in front of Ashton’s closet, deciding what to wear for the night, I felt the excitement bubbling up in the pit of my stomach. I was actually genuinely looking forward to going out tonight, and I had a plan to finally see Ashton drunk. He didn’t know yet, of course, but I’d use bribes if necessary to get him to have a few drinks with me on his birthday.
After pulling on a pair of black shorts and a blue short-sleeve top with blue heels to match, I sat on the bed and started to curl my hair. Just as I was finishing up, Ashton came in with a towel wrapped around his waist and water glistening off of his well-sculpted chest.
“Do you mind if I get dressed in here? It’ll be a bit weird if I get dressed somewhere else; Nate thinks we’re a couple, so…” Ashton explained, looking a little uncomfortable as he grabbed some clothes from his drawer.
I laughed at his awkwardness. “Ashton, I see you in your underwear every night, I think I can cope.”
A dazzling grin split his face. “Yeah I guess, sorry,” he replied sheepishly, carefully tugging on a pair of boxer shorts under his towel. As he pulled the towel off, I grabbed his camera from the side and snapped a couple of photos of him in his underwear. “Hey! I hope I get to take underwear shots of you too,” he protested, closing his hand over the lens to thwart my efforts.
I giggled and shrugged. “Maybe if I get drunk you might,” I flirted, raising one eyebrow at him suggestively.
He groaned. “Anna, no begging me for sex if you’re off your pretty face tonight, okay?” he whined, pouting.
I grinned wickedly as I shrugged. “I never agree to a deal that I know I won’t be able to keep.” That was the truth. I wouldn’t be able to agree to that because whenever I was drinking, I couldn’t seem to stop flirting with the boy. I guess the drink made me shed my inhibitions, and my sense of right and wrong, because flirting with him was always such a terrific idea at the time.
He laughed at my comment. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t be able to keep your word,” he agreed, pulling on a black button-down shirt and dark blue jeans. I groaned as he clipped on his little gun holder around his ankle.
“Aww come on, you won’t need that!” I whined.
He sighed. “Look, I already got rid of one of the guards for you; I can’t get rid of the gun too.”
Knowing he was right and that I couldn’t actually protest when he was already breaking the rules by bringing me to LA on his own, I stood and decided to change the subject. I did a little twirl. “Do I look okay? I could dress up a little more, I brought a dress with me,” I offered nervously. I had no idea what the girls in LA wore to a club.
“You look beautiful,” he promised, taking my face in his hands and looking into my eyes. My stomach clenched at his compliment. The way he looked at me so adoringly made me feel as if I was flying. As he stared into my eyes, I could feel the passion building; I’d been feeling it all day. He bent his face towards mine slowly, and I held my breath waiting for his soft lips to touch mine. They were millimetres away when a loud banging on the door ruined the moment.
“Come on, let’s go already!” Nate shouted, sounding bored.
“I’m really starting to hate my best friend,” Ashton muttered, sliding his hands down my neck, across my shoulders and down my arms. When his hands got to mine, he interlaced our fingers and gave me a little tug towards the door.
Nate’s eyes widened as we walked out of the room. “Damn, Anna, you look sexy as hell,” he growled, looking me over slowly. I giggled as Ashton punched his arm again in reprimand. “I know, I know. Yours!” Nate grumbled, turning for the door.