Nothing Left to Lose (41 page)

As she nibbled
on my bottom lip, wanting to deepen the kiss, I shook my head which
made her whimper with disappointment. The sound nearly killed me
inside. I hated myself sometimes, I really did; I was putting her
through so much. I twisted and rolled so that she was underneath
me, and then kissed her again, taking control this time. When she
parted her lips, I kissed her passionately, sucking on her tongue
and exploring every inch of her mouth, lighting a fire deep within
me.

I had more
control of myself when I was on top, I knew when to stop. I pulled
out of the kiss as she ran her hands down my back, scratching with
her nails, making me moan breathily. I groaned. Everything about
her was incredible. She was perfect for me. If I could only get her
to see that I was perfect for her too, then we’d be set for life. I
looked into her gorgeous brown eyes, almost losing myself. I kissed
her nose gently as her breathing slowed down.

“Maddy’s
changing the flights and stuff and she’s going to let me know the
new details,” I told her, brushing the damp hair from her face
where it had escaped the towel.

She looked at
me curiously. “How did you manage to do this?”

“I asked your
father.”

She gasped.
“You asked my dad? And he agreed to this? Seriously?”

“Yep.”

She looked at
me proudly, making me feel like I was a hundred feet tall. “He must
really like you,” she smiled, her eyes shining with pride and
happiness.

“I guess so.” I
shrugged dismissively, but her words were hitting me hard. Of
course I wanted him to like me; I was in love with his
daughter.

She grinned.
“Wanna skip school today so we can pack?” she asked excitedly.

I laughed.
“Whatever you say, ma’am,” I replied, climbing off her quickly
before she grabbed me again. I knew she liked it when I called her
that, so I did it occasionally just to tease her. I pulled her to
her feet and kissed her forehead, then turned and reached up,
grabbing one of the suitcases from on top of the closet. “Want to
share one of these?”

She nodded,
already digging in her drawers and pulling out underwear and
toiletries. “Sure,” she agreed. “What kind of things should I pack?
What kind of clothes do girls wear there?”

I smiled at her
flustered face as she walked to the closet, opening it and peering
in. I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist,
sighing at just how perfectly she fitted me. “People wear all kinds
of different stuff. How you normally look is incredible, so just
take what you want. Whatever you wear, I’m sure you’ll be the most
beautiful thing in the whole of Los Angeles.” She didn’t need to
dress up to look stunning, I’d never seen a girl rock a pair of
sweats and a hoodie like she did, whatever she wore she looked
beautiful.

She laughed.
“Do you get these lines straight out of a how to pick up women
book, Ashton?” she asked, elbowing me gently in the stomach.

I chuckled.
“Yeah, is it working?”

“Most
definitely,” she answered, winking at me playfully.

I grinned. “I’m
gonna go make you some more breakfast, seeing as you spilled coffee
over the last one,” I scolded playfully. A grin stretched across my
face as I stepped away from her quickly. The hormones were raging
through my body and demanding that I grab her again, so I needed to
get some space to calm myself. I picked up the tray and headed back
out to the kitchen, deciding on a fruit salad this time.

About an hour
later, Maddy emailed me a new itinerary for the weekend. Everything
was different. We still had to go to the Lake House on Friday so
that Anna could see her parents for a couple of hours, but then we
were to fly to LA from there. It would be a long day, but worth it
by the time I got to show her off to my friends.

I dug my cell
phone out of my pocket and dialled Nate, my best friend and
roommate. “Hey, Taylor, what’s up, bud?” he chirped happily.

I grinned at
the sound of his familiar voice. I’d missed the guy like crazy
these last couple of months. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know
that I’m coming home for the weekend. I’ll be there tomorrow night,
around six-ish, I guess.”

“Yeah? That’s
great, bud! We can go out on the hunt. I’ve missed having you as my
wingman. Seth’s such a damn player that we always end up going for
the same girl,” he laughed.

I smiled.
“Actually, I’m bringing my girlfriend with me.”

“WHAT?” he
almost screamed down the phone.

“Whoa! Take it
down an octave there, Nate,” I joked, laughing at his surprise.
Nate knew nothing of my undercover assignment with Anna, as far as
he was concerned, I was working in Washington somewhere. I’d told
him I met a girl on a night out with the boys.

“You’re really
serious about this one? When you kept talking about her, I thought
it was just a phase you were going through,” he said.

I rolled my
eyes. “It’s not a phase. I’m crazy about her, so you’d better warn
the guys to stay the hell away from her,” I frowned, thinking of
Seth hitting on her or trying to touch her, not that she couldn’t
set him straight on that.

“Seriously?
This is it then? Ashton Taylor, settled down, in a relationship?
You’re totally serious? Not bullshitting me or anything?” he asked,
sounding like he didn’t believe me.

I laughed. “I’m
totally serious. Anna’s incredible, and I guarantee you’ll be in
love with her too by the end of the weekend,” I stated confidently.
She just had a power over men that made them fall for her. It
wasn’t her looks either; she just had something else, an inner
beauty – a charm – that you just wanted to be around.

“In love with
her
too
? Are you in love with her?” he cried, sounding
shocked again.

I grinned,
nodding to myself. “I’m totally in love with her. So tell the guys
to keep their distance.”

“Wow,
possessive. Must be love then,” he teased, chuckling. I sighed; I
didn’t care how much the guys teased me, I was in love with Anna
and that was all there was to it.

“Listen, just
make sure the apartment looks okay, will ya? Have a bit of a
clean-up,” I winced. Nate wasn’t exactly the best housekeeper, I
could just imagine the dirty plates in the sink, and the dirty
clothes over the floor.

“Taylor, I’m
not a freaking maid!” he retorted.

I chuckled,
rolling my eyes. “For me? Please? It doesn’t have to be spotless,
she won’t care. Just no used condoms down the toilet, or dirty
plates in the lounge, that kind of thing,” I suggested.

He sighed
dramatically. “Fine, I’ll have a clean-up,” he agreed, somewhat
reluctantly. “I won’t be here tomorrow at six though, I’m working
until twelve. I’m covering for one of the guys and pulling a double
shift.”

“Okay, well
I’ll see you Saturday then.” I slid my phone back into my pocket
and couldn’t keep the ecstatic grin off my face.

Once the plane
had touched down and the seatbelt sign had finally been turned off,
she twisted in her seat and smiled up at me. “Hey, have a nice
sleep?” she teased, reaching up and wiping something from the
corner of my eye.

I smiled
sheepishly. Admittedly, I had dozed off during the flight. It
wasn’t really my fault though; the first class seating was
extremely luxurious and comfortable, and it was made even better by
the fact that she’d been leaning all over me and snuggling into my
side while she read her magazine. Plus, I’d barely slept the night
before because I was so excited to take her home with me and show
her off to my friends. I’d lain awake most of the night, watching
her sleep peacefully in my arms. I couldn’t imagine an angel would
look more beautiful than her.

“Yeah I did.
Sorry I didn’t talk to you for the whole way,” I winced, hoping she
didn’t mind. She was still smiling so I couldn’t have annoyed her
too much.

She shrugged
casually, shoving the last of her candy wrappers into her inflight
bag. “Least you weren’t snoring.”

I rolled my
eyes but didn’t answer. I didn’t snore, but she was always trying
to make me believe that I did.

As soon as we
disembarked the aeroplane, we were ushered through the airport like
royalty. Dean was with us because there always had to be two guards
with her, but Peter had already started his weekend off. The
helicopter was waiting for us a short car ride away and half an
hour later, we arrived at the lake house.

I raised one
eyebrow in awe as I looked up at the building. It looked even
bigger than I remembered. Practically as soon as we were out of the
chopper, Anna’s parents both hurried out of the house to greet us.
In a seemingly unconscious move, she stepped closer to me and my
heart leapt in my chest because she obviously needed my support. I
smiled reassuringly and put my hand on the small of her back.

As they stopped
in front of us, both grinning happily, Anna plastered on what
seemed like a fake smile as she stepped forward and wrapped her
arms around her mother. I watched as her mother’s eyes widened in
surprise before her whole body relaxed and she threw her arms
around her daughter and hugged her back like she was a long lost
child. Anna’s dad was watching them both with his mouth hanging
open and tears glistening in his eyes. When she broke the hug and
engulfed her father in a hug too, his whole face showed his
elation.

As soon as the
embrace broke, she stepped back to my side again. I smiled and
stuck out my hand towards her father. “It’s nice to see you again,
sir.”

He cleared his
throat, finally dragging his bewildered eyes away from Anna. “You
too, Agent Taylor,” he replied, shaking my hand firmly in greeting.
He turned to Dean who was standing slightly behind. “Agent
Michaels, you have plans for this weekend?”

“Yes, sir, I’m
going to visit my mother,” Dean answered.

“Good, sounds
good,” Senator Spencer nodded.

I turned to
Dean and smiled. Now that we were here, his vacation could finally
start. “I guess I’ll see you at the airport Monday.”

“Yeah, have a
good birthday tomorrow,” he replied, grinning and grabbing one of
the two cases he’d brought with him.

I reached for
the other one to give him a hand, but Anna was quicker. She gripped
the handle and pulled it to her side. “This one’s mine.”

I frowned. “No
it’s not, we shared,” I countered, shaking my head.

She smiled
wickedly and shrugged. “This one has all my girlie stuff in it,”
she replied, waving her hand dismissively. She turned to Dean,
obviously wanting to change the subject. “Have a nice time,” she
called as he was putting his case in the trunk of the car he was
using.

“You too,
Annabelle. Don’t give him too much grief, okay? I don’t want him
whining to me about it on Monday,” he joked, waving as he slid into
the car.

I looked down
at the case, confused. She had plenty of clothes in with my stuff.
What could she possibly need another case for? Her hand closed over
mine, squeezing gently as she gave me a little tug towards the
house. As I opened my mouth to ask what was in there, she shook her
head and grinned. “Don’t ask. It’s none of your business.”

I rolled my
eyes and smiled, letting her lead me along.

As we walked to
the house, I noticed that her mother was looking at me as if I was
some sort of God and at Anna like she was a total stranger. My back
stiffened, praying they wouldn’t keep looking at us like that for
the next couple of hours because it would surely make Anna
uncomfortable.

Anna cleared
her throat. “Um… I was wondering if anyone would mind if I went to
see Jack?” she said quietly. “I could be back within half an hour.
I just want to take some flowers; I haven’t been there for two
months.” She chewed on her lip, her eyes tight with worry.

I knew that she
felt guilty about not being able to go there to see him, but she
thought of him a lot. He must have been a great guy to have her
love him so much. I was a little sad that I didn’t get to meet him
actually; my guess is that we would have gotten along.

Melissa
recoiled as if expecting some sort of meltdown from her daughter at
any moment. Admittedly, the last time that they had seen her,
something like this may have caused one, but Anna was much stronger
now.

Senator Spencer
frowned, looking a little concerned. “Yeah, that’s a really great
idea,” he agreed. “But you need to take guards with you though,
Annabelle. You can’t just go on your own.”

She smiled and
her shoulders seemed to relax, as if she’d been expecting a protest
and for them to insist that she spent the whole two hours here with
them. “Ashton will come with me.” She turned to me, and suddenly
looked a little worried as if she doubted that I would. “Won’t
you?” she asked, looking at me hopefully.

“Of course,” I
agreed. She smiled gratefully and squeezed my hand.

Melissa cleared
her throat nervously. “Maybe when you get back, we could have a
coffee or something? You could tell me about your new school and
your apartment,” she suggested hopefully.

Anna nodded
easily. “Sure, I’d like that.” Both of her parents seemed shocked
at her answer; I watched as slow smiles spread across their
faces.

After finding
another guard to come with us to replace Dean, we made our way to
the cemetery, stopping to buy some flowers on the way. As we walked
through the cemetery, she stooped to pick up any dandelions from
the grass. There were a couple on my side of the path, so I bent
and picked them for her. When I handed them to her, her eyes
widened in surprise.

“Thank you,”
she murmured gratefully.

“Sure,” I
shrugged casually. Clearly she appreciated the small gesture. When
we got level with Jack’s gravestone, I stopped on the edge of the
path so that she could approach it on her own. I wasn’t allowed to
give her any more privacy than this because no matter how close we
got, I was first and foremost, her near guard. I felt awful that
she would have to talk to him in front of me. For all I knew, maybe
she wanted to talk to him
about
me. I stood silently and
watched as she brushed all of the dead leaves and flowers from his
grave before replacing them with hers and sprinkling the little
yellow dandelions on top of his headstone.