Nothing Left to Lose (70 page)

As my eyes met
his again, my whole body started longing for him immediately. The
way his sensuous lips curved up reminded me of the little smile
that had graced his lips while he’d made love to me in the water.
My skin was tingling all over as my finger traced the line of his
jaw before trailing down his neck. This was such a nice position to
be in, that part of me didn’t want to move, but another part, the
playful side that he brought out in me, was urging me on.

“I’m gonna go
get in the shower. Want to come and wash my back?” I asked, raising
one eyebrow in clear invitation.

His eyes
flashed with excitement as he nodded eagerly, so I knew we would be
on the same wavelength. Ashton never was slow on the uptake. “Hell
yeah I do.” I giggled at his enthusiasm and pushed myself out of
his arms quickly, running for the door as I grinned over my
shoulder, knowing he would follow me. He laughed wickedly as he
pushed himself up too. “I do enjoy the sight of you running naked,
Baby Girl.” My excitement bumped up another level as he jumped to
his feet and gave chase.

After an
exhausting shower with him, I quickly dried my hair and pulled on a
short, yellow sun dress and some white flip-flops. When I glanced
over at him, I internally swooned because of how handsome he
looked. He was merely wearing a pair of beige shorts and a white
T-shirt, but he was just so captivating that it took my breath
away.

“You ready,
Baby Girl?” he asked, holding out a hand to me. I nodded and took
his hand, allowing him to pull me up from the dresser chair. “You
look so beautiful, Anna,” he whispered as he bent his head and
kissed me. My body reacted immediately to his touch, so I pushed
him away quickly before I threw him on the bed and had my way with
him again.

“Come on, I
know you’re hungry, let’s go eat. You’ll need to build up your
strength if you’re hoping to keep up with me on this trip,” I
teased playfully.

The lustful
look that crossed his face made my body tingle. “In that case, I’d
better eat twice as much as normal if I’m going to be burning off a
lot of energy,” he answered, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes,
fighting to keep the smile off my lips, but failing miserably.

“Come on,
before all the cocktails are gone.” I looped his camera over my
wrist as we stepped out of the cool air conditioned room and into
the fresh muggy air of paradise. His hand closed over mine as we
walked along the little pathway towards the beach. The sun’s rays
were bouncing off of the ocean making it glitter and sparkle.

The water
sports hut caught my attention. “Want to try snorkelling
tomorrow?”

He shrugged
easily. “Whatever you want, Baby Girl.”

Of course, he
led us over to the outdoor grill that the manager had mentioned.
His eyes lit up like a starving man that had just been given his
first meal in a year when he saw the array of foods being cooked on
the four large open grills. It took a surprisingly long time for
him to make up his mind, and once we had two enormous plates laden
with food, we headed off to the side so we could sit on the beach
and eat.

As I sat, he
smiled down at me and held out his plate. “Hold this for me. I’ll
be right back,” he stated, grinning. I frowned, confused, but took
his plate anyway, watching as he strutted off towards a little
beach hut about twenty yards away. His eyes never left me for more
than a couple of seconds the whole time he was away from me. When
he turned back to me, I smiled at the two coconuts in his hand.

“What’s that?”
I asked, eyeing them curiously. Fruit skewers, curly straws and
mini umbrellas poked out of the top of each one.

Ashton sat
beside me and held one of the coconuts out to me. “It’s a cocktail.
This one is called sex on the beach,” he replied.

I raised one
eyebrow, holding my laugh at bay. “Seriously?” I took the drink,
swishing the orangey-red liquid around with my straw.

“Yep.”

I giggled.
“Well, I think I’m gonna like these.”

One of his
eyebrows rose as he nodded and let his eyes slip down to the V at
the front of my dress. “Me too.”

Trying to hide
the blush that I could feel creeping over my cheeks, I took a sip.
The sweetness of it made my taste buds tingle and my eyes widen in
shock. It was delicious. “Holy crap, that’s good! Has it got
alcohol in it?” I asked, taking another mouthful.

Ashton nodded
and laughed, pulling the straw from between my lips. “Yeah, so slow
down. There’s quite a lot of alcohol in it.”

While we ate, I
pressed against his side and looked out over the sea as the sun
started to set even though it was still very early evening. The
sunset was so romantic and breathtaking that it made my heart
throb. The dazzling colours in the sky were reflected in the ocean
making it twice as spectacular. The whole time, Ashton’s arm was
wrapped around me tightly.

Once the stars
started to make their appearance, tinkering, tinny music caught my
attention; the beautiful sounds floating down the beach towards us.
I laid my head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly.

“Want to go
check out that band?” he offered.

“Sure.” Without
another word, he eased my head off his shoulder and pushed himself
to his feet, holding his hands down to me. I smiled up at him,
slipping my hands into his. “You’re so damn romantic, Ashton. Are
you sure you’ve never had a girlfriend before?”

He grinned.
“You’re my first and only,” he answered, looking into my eyes,
making my heart melt.

We held hands
as we walked to the largest building that Kyle had pointed out as
being the hub of the resort. The reception was beautiful, rustic
and entirely made of wood. The music was luring us in from the
back, and we followed a couple of other guests through the
reception to a door at the back signposted as the lounge. I gasped
as I stepped outside. It was unlike any lounge I’d ever been in
before; in fact, how it could be classed as a lounge when it was
outside was beyond me. It was essentially a clearing in the trees
large enough to fit about twenty candle lit tables. A little wooden
staging area had been constructed off to the right, and a steel
band were currently playing some gentle melody that brought a smile
to my face. People swayed to the music on a makeshift dance floor
that was made of decking. The whole place was lit by gas lamps that
hung from the trees and fairy lights that had been wrapped around
tree trunks. A little hut with a straw roof served as a makeshift
bar, and I could see people sipping on coconut cocktails like the
one I’d had earlier.

“Wow. This
place is beautiful,” I murmured.

Ashton’s hands
cupped my face gently before his lips claimed mine in a kiss that
was so heartfelt and special that it even made the magical place
fade into insignificance. “It’s incredible,” he confirmed. “In
fact, the only thing I’ve ever seen that is more beautiful than
this place, is you.” My heart melted at his words, and I bit my lip
so I didn’t let my confession of love accidentally tumble from my
lips. “Let’s dance,” he whispered, tugging me forward gently as he
pulled me flush against him.

I beamed up at
him, wrapping my arms around his neck as we stepped up onto the
decking and started swaying to the beat of the music. His arms were
looped around my waist the whole night, holding me tightly against
him. His eyes seemed to have me hypnotised because, while we
danced, everything else and everyone seemed to disappear, leaving
only us in our own little island paradise. In Ashton’s arms,
nothing else was important, and I knew it would feel that way for
me forever.

The
disappointment I felt when the band played their last song was so
overwhelming that I felt the pout slip onto my face as we all
applauded. Ashton smiled down at me before nodding over his
shoulder at the door that led back to the reception area. “We
should really get going, it’s pretty late.”

I sighed and
nodded. “Where did the time go?” I mused.

He shrugged,
brushing one finger across my cheek gently. “Time flies when you’re
having fun.”

I smiled at
that statement. “Did you have fun?”

He grinned. “I
had the time of my life, Mrs Taylor.” The sound of the name made my
heart clench. Now that I knew how I felt about him, I desperately
wanted a future with him – and for him to possibly give me his name
one day – but it would never be able to happen because of Carter.
Anger settled into the pit of my stomach because even now, after
three years, I still wasn’t free to live my life. Ashton’s hand
slid down my arm before getting to my hand and threading his
fingers through mine, snapping me out of my train of thought. “Come
on, Baby Girl, let’s go.” I nodded reluctantly, silently hoping
that the rest of the vacation wouldn’t fly past as quickly as our
first night had. As we walked back through the reception, Ashton
looked over at the store and then stopped walking. “Wow, the
store’s still open. They certainly cater to their guests here,
huh?” he joked. “I just need to get something.” Without explaining
what it was that he wanted, I was gently tugged in that direction.
“Wait here. I’ll just be one minute,” he instructed. His face had
turned serious, so I knew that was a bodyguard order and not just a
general ‘I’ll be right back’ remark.

I grinned and
nodded. “Yes, sir!”

A lustful
expression crossed his face before he shook his head and rushed off
to speak to the guy behind the counter. They both disappeared from
sight for a minute, and then Ashton was back at the register,
paying for whatever it was that he’d bought. I didn’t see what it
was that he’d purchased because whatever it was, it was small, and
he slipped it into his pocket. When he got to my side, he held out
a single red rose to me. “They didn’t have white,” he said, almost
apologetically.

I sighed
dreamily at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, I love it,” I cooed,
smelling the rose as we walked back to our villa, hand in hand.
When we got back to our apartment, I pushed the bloom into the vase
of flowers that sat on the table. The terrace and the stars beyond
caught my attention. “Let’s go sit outside for a bit,” I suggested.
On the way out of the door, I grabbed two bottles of water from the
mini fridge that was in our room, and then headed out to the
nearest sun lounger, settling down and then scooting over so we
could share it.

Ashton
stretched himself out on it next to me, pressing against my side
and pushing one of his arms under my body as he pulled me even
closer. A satisfied, euphoric smile crept onto my face as I rested
my chin on his chest and looked up at him. It was so quiet that you
could hear a pin drop. Neither of us spoke, but it wasn’t an
uncomfortable silence by any means; in fact, it was almost as if
words were unnecessary.

In the
moonlight, he looked devastatingly beautiful. His eyes were
shining, his black hair had a faint blue hue from the reflections
of the moon, and his smile made my whole body ache. I wanted so
incredibly much to say those three little words, but I couldn’t. I
couldn’t risk him not wanting to be in my life now. I’d never been
this happy, and it was all down to this boy at my side.

Unable to fight
my desire any longer, I raised myself up, leaning over him and
kissed his lips. He responded immediately, pulling me down on top
of him as his hands slid down my back and cupped my ass. His hands
roamed further down, and slowly, oh so slowly, my dress was lifted.
It was almost as if he was waiting for me to stop him or something.
I smiled against his lips knowingly. I wouldn’t be stopping him for
this whole vacation, but clearly he was still unaware of that
fact.

I pulled back,
looking down at him as I unbuttoned his shirt, giving him the clear
go ahead. One side of his mouth pulled up into a predatory grin,
and before I had time to react, he’d grabbed me and flipped us so
that I was now trapped underneath his body. I giggled breathlessly
as he looked down at me and shoved his hand into his pocket,
producing a box of twenty condoms.

I gasped.
“That’s what you just bought?” I inquired, giggling at his guilty
expression. “Were you expecting to get some tonight, Ashton?” I
teased.

He winced and
shook his head. “No, not expecting. Just hoping,” he replied,
looking slightly embarrassed about it.

I grinned and
raised one hand, gripping it into the back of his hair. “Well, I’ll
let you into a little secret, Pretty Boy,” I purred, pulling his
mouth closer to mine so that our lips brushed together as I spoke.
“If you want, you can get
a lot
of action on this trip.”

His whole body
tensed on top of mine. “Oh yeah, I definitely I want that,” he
growled, nodding enthusiastically as he bent his head and kissed
me, ending the conversation.

After he had
made love to me under the stars, he carried me into the bedroom and
we started all over again on the bed covered in rose petals.

I woke in the
morning with my whole body aching from our physical endeavours.
Ashton’s deep rumbling growl-like snore was coming from behind me,
so I knew that he was still fast asleep. A quick glance at the
clock told me it was almost ten in the morning. My overused muscles
protested as I rolled slowly in his arms so we were facing each
other. I smiled at the sight of him. His hair was sticking out in
all directions where I had been running my hands through it last
night, and his lips were slightly swollen from all of the kissing.
Dark, short stubble lined his jaw, and I couldn’t help but reach
out and run the pad of my finger over it, smiling at the slight
scratch.

My teeth sank
into my bottom lip as a rush of emotion made my heart speed up. It
was an unfamiliar sensation to me, but I knew what it was. It was
love.