Nothing Left to Lose (53 page)

She kissed me
gratefully. “Thank you so much, Ashton. I really appreciate it, I
know you’re gonna hate doing it,” she said, looking a little
guilty.

“I know, but
it’s worth it to see that look on your face.” I would walk through
fire to see that look on her face.

She kissed me
again before pulling back and resting her head on my chest. I
sighed and ran my hands down her back, relishing in the feel of her
naked skin against the pads of my fingers. But a nagging sensation
in my bladder had to ruin the moment. “I need to pee. I won’t be
long,” I whispered. She nodded and moved off me, curling onto her
side. I smiled at her as she started to fall asleep almost
immediately; she looked so peaceful and adorable. I sighed happily
and pulled on a pair of boxers, heading out to the bathroom.

“Finally, you
two are finished,” Nate said, smirking at me. He was still sitting
in the exact same spot, playing the same game.

I grinned.
“Yeah, she’s a freaking beast,” I replied, laughing quietly at how
much that statement just didn’t even begin to describe Anna and
what had just happened to me. I ran my fingers through my hair and
turned to go to the bathroom.

“Wow, Taylor,
she got you a bit there,” Nate called, laughing and nodding at the
scratches on my back.

I shrugged.
“That was last night.”

He pointed to
my hand and frowned. “What the hell happened to your wrists? Those
look like handcuff marks!” he stated, frowning. I looked down to
see a small red ring around each wrist; it was my own fault from
where I was pulling, trying to get my hands out so that I could
touch her.

I smiled
wickedly. “None of your business, man. A gentleman never
tells.”

His eyes
widened in awe. “Screw that, you’re not a gentleman! We always
share details,” he whined.

I laughed and
shook my head. “Not this time. She’s not some one night stand,
Nate; she wouldn’t want me to say anything.”

I said
goodnight to Nate and slunk my way back to the bedroom. I looked at
her sleeping form for a few minutes, feeling the love simmer inside
me. I sighed and flicked off the light, pulling my boxers back off.
I figured that if she was sleeping naked, then I could too. I
climbed in the bed next to her, and she instantly shifted in her
sleep so I could wrap my arms around her.

“Mmm,” she
mumbled as she snuggled into my chest.

“I love you,” I
whispered, knowing she was asleep. I quite often told her when she
was asleep; saying it out loud made me feel better.

“Mmm. Love you
too,” she murmured, tightening her arms around me.

My heart
stopped.
What the… did she just say that to me?
I shifted so
I could look at her, she was definitely asleep. “Anna, are you
talking to me?” I asked quietly.

She didn’t
answer, she was sound asleep.

I sighed and
closed my eyes. All I could think about was those three little
words she had said.
Love you too
. They sounded incredible in
her voice, and I would kill to hear them again. My heart was trying
to escape out of my chest, and my stomach was clenched up tight.
She wouldn’t have been talking to me though, I was being stupid,
she was probably dreaming about Jack or something. Disappointment
washed over me, killing my happy mood and making me feel slightly
nauseous. I sighed and kissed her forehead, snuggling into her warm
naked body, making the most of my time with the most perfect girl
in the world.

When I woke in
the morning, my eyes still stung with tiredness. It had taken me
hours to fall into slumber because I couldn’t stop thinking about
what she’d said while she was asleep. A quick glance at the clock
showed me that it was almost ten in the morning. I decided that I
needed to wake her. We only had a few hours left before we needed
to head out to the airport, and I wanted to spend some more time
with her here. It felt different being just the two of us here with
no other guards; it was more like we were a real couple. Of course,
I had still been extremely vigilant and doing my job as well as I
would normally, but I didn’t want to leave here and go back to the
reality of being just her bodyguard and nothing more. I’d had a
taste of what it would truly be like now, and I wanted it so badly
that I would do anything for it.

“Baby Girl,
it’s time to wake up,” I whispered, reluctantly untangling my body
from hers and moving my hips back so that she wouldn’t notice my
inappropriate morning glory.

She stirred and
snuggled back into my embrace. “Mmm, I’m still tired,” she mumbled,
kissing my shoulder.

“We’d better
get up, it’s almost ten. We need to pack and stuff.”

She pulled the
pillow out from under her head and hit me with it. “Shh, still
tired!”

I laughed as
she pressed the pillow over her face, blocking out the light. “Want
another half an hour then?” I offered.

“Mmm hmm,” she
confirmed, rolling to put her head on my chest. “Wait, why the hell
am I naked?” she asked quietly, a couple of seconds later.

Oh my God.
Was she drunk last night? Shit! Did I take advantage of her?
“Anna, I thought… we… you… we were,” I stuttered, lost for
words.

She laughed and
pinched my stomach playfully. “I’m just kidding, I won’t be
forgetting last night in a hurry.”

My body relaxed
as I shook my head in reprimand. “Damn it, that wasn’t funny! I
thought I’d taken advantage of you or something.”

She giggled.
“You were the one in handcuffs, so I’d say I took advantage of
you.”

I laughed and
trailed my hands down her back, savouring the feel of her skin
against mine as I looked at her hopefully. “So, last night was a
one off again then? Nothing’s changed?”

She bit her lip
and squirmed uncomfortably. “Ashton, nothing can change. I thought
we agreed.” She swallowed loudly. “We both got something out of it,
didn’t we?” She frowned nervously as her fingers traced patterns on
my stomach.

I sighed and
nodded. “Yeah, we both got something out of it. It’s fine. Forget I
said anything. From now on then, we’re back to normal. What happens
in LA stays in LA, yeah?” I suggested jokingly, trying to lighten
the mood. I’d made her happy, I’d given her what she wanted, so I’d
just have to live with it and be thankful that I had my time with
her. I could wait until she was ready; she was letting me closer
and closer with every day. I still had time to make her fall for me
before the end of my assignment.

“Yeah, and I
loved LA,” she flirted.

That sounded so
much like the words from last night that my insides squirmed. “I
loved LA too.” I loved it more than I could ever tell her. “So,
what were you dreaming about last night?” I probed, trying to go
for the casual approach in finding out if she’d been talking to me
when she said those three little words.

She shrugged
and pushed herself up to a sitting position, holding the sheets to
her chest. “No idea, why?”

“You were
talking in your sleep,” I explained.

She raised one
eyebrow inquisitively. “Really? What did I say?”

“You said
something about Jack,” I lied. “Were you dreaming about him?” I
asked, hoping to be able to get the answer I wanted without having
to ask outright.

She pursed her
lips, obviously thinking back. But then she shrugged. “I honestly
don’t know. Maybe, but I don’t usually dream of Jack unless it’s a
nightmare,” she winced.

I sighed and
pulled her back down next to me. My heart was thumping wildly in my
chest. If she didn’t usually dream of Jack, then was she talking to
me last night? Deep down I knew that she may have heard me say it
and subconsciously thought I was Jack. I’d probably never know so I
should stop stewing over it before it drove me crazy. “You didn’t
have a nightmare, Baby Girl. I just thought I heard you say Jack,
that’s all.”

She shrugged
one shoulder. “I don’t remember dreaming anything.”

I smiled. That
answer was good enough for me.

“I’m gonna go
make you some breakfast. Do you want scrambled eggs or something?
I’m in the mood for something hot.” She climbed out of the bed and
pulled on my boxer shorts and shirt that I’d worn the previous
night.

A lump formed
in my throat. She looked seriously hot in my clothes. I laughed at
my excited body, and she looked at me weirdly. “I think that is the
sexiest outfit I’ve ever seen you wear,” I explained, raking my
eyes over her slowly, taking in every delicious inch of her.

She looked down
at herself and laughed incredulously. “Yeah, okay, Ashton.” She
shook her head dismissively, blowing me a kiss at the door as usual
and heading to the kitchen.

Once I was
alone, I looked down at my crotch and sighed heavily. Another cold
shower was needed. They were becoming pretty normal for me in the
last two months. As much as I loved waking up next to the girl of
my dreams, a wood that wouldn’t go away and aching balls really
wasn’t something that I enjoyed very much.

After an
extremely quick shower, I dressed and then headed out of my
bedroom, stopping in the kitchen doorway. I leant on the door frame
watching Anna make breakfast in my oversized clothes. I’d never
seen anything so sexy in my life – and Nate obviously thought that
too because he was leaning over the counter, watching her legs
while she cooked with her back to him.

“So, do you
have a sister you could hook me up with?” he asked her.

“Nope, and even
if I did, I wouldn’t let you hook up with her,” Anna replied,
laughing.

“Hey, why the
hell not?” he cried, sounding a little hurt.

“Because you’re
a player, and players break girls’ hearts,” she answered,
shrugging, totally oblivious to him checking her out.

“Well Ashton’s
a player too, and you’re dating him,” he countered. I got a little
uneasy at that statement. I’d changed; there was no way I was going
back to that life again. I wanted her and only her.

“Well, Ashton’s
special,” she answered. I smiled at that.

“Special, huh?
You love him?” Nate asked.

Her back
stiffened as her hand stilled on the eggs she was stirring on the
stove. “Do you want two slices of toast?” she asked, totally
avoiding the question.

Please say
yes, please say yes!
My head was screaming, begging her to
answer the question.

“Don’t change
the subject; do you love my best friend? I need to know what your
intentions are, young lady,” Nate teased, using a father figure
tone of voice.

She shrugged.
“We’ve been going out for two months. That’s not long enough to
fall in love with someone.” Her tone was uncomfortable and
tight.

“He loves you,”
Nate stated.

Fuck! What
did you say that for? Shut the hell up, big mouth!
That was the
second time he’d told her I was in love with her this weekend.

She shook her
head, moving three plates onto the counter next to her as she
started to butter the toast. “No he doesn’t, he just thinks he
does. He doesn’t know what a bitch I am; when he finds out, he’ll
leave me. They all do. I’m cursed,” she joked, laughing.

“Well, if he
does, you give me a call,” Nate replied, looking over her legs
again.

As I stood
there, dumbfounded, I slowly processed what she’d said. Clearly she
still thought I was going to leave her. Maybe if I showed her I
wasn’t going to, then she’d finally open up to me.

Clearing my
throat, I stepped into the room, forcing a smile. She grinned at
me, her eyes twinkling with that little spark that she’d had all
weekend. As I got to Nate’s side, I slapped him on the back of the
head. “Stop staring, it’s rude.”

He groaned and
rubbed the back of his head, wincing. “Shit, Taylor, when the hell
are you leaving? I’m gonna come out of this weekend covered in
bruises!” he whined.

I grinned and
sat on the stool next to his. “About four,” I answered, pouring
myself a glass of milk.

Anna smiled as
she set a steaming pile of eggs in front of me. My stomach growled
and my mouth watered as the smell wafted up. As we all dug in, Anna
sat next to me. “What are we doing today?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I
don’t know. Whatever you want. We need to pack though and leave for
the airport about four, but we’ll have a few hours here at
least.”

She pursed her
lips and nodded. “We don’t need the car for the next hour or so, do
we?”

“I guess not,”
I answered, confused as to where this was going.

Anna grinned
and closed her hand over the keys to the rental car, sliding them
across the counter towards Nate. “Go on then, Nate, knock yourself
out,” she chirped.

He gasped. His
eyes widened in shock. “You’re kidding me. Seriously?” he asked,
grinning and jumping off his stool, abandoning his half eaten
breakfast.

“Sure,” she
agreed. “And don’t worry about scratching it or anything, it’s in
Ashton’s name,” she joked, winking at him.

I scoffed and
shook my head quickly. “You’d better freaking worry about
scratching it!” I warned.

He actually
giggled like a little girl as he practically ran for the front
door. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, slamming the door behind
him.

I groaned. “I
love that car,” I whined, making Anna laugh.

She chuckled
and stood up, scraping the last bits of her food into the trashcan
before turning back to me. “So what shall we do for our last couple
of hours?”

Deciding to
make the most of our last few hours of freedom, I strode over to
her and grabbed her waist, lifting her easily and throwing her over
my shoulder. She squealed and giggled as I carried her into the
lounge and plopped her onto the sofa. “Cuddling, making out and
getting naked sounds good,” I answered, settling myself down at her
side.