Nothing Left to Lose (25 page)

Tim and Rich
were actually quite likeable guys; after the flirting incident,
things settled down and we all played pool, laughing and joking
around. As it turned out, I wasn’t very proficient at pool at all.
In fact, I barely hit a ball, and all I kept doing was sinking the
white. It was pretty good thing that we didn’t agree to play for
drinks because my lack of skills would have put a serious dent in
Daddy’s credit card.

Ashton had
tried to teach me at first, showing me how to hold the cue, how to
line up and where to angle it, but as soon as he leant over me and
put his hands on mine, my mind was on other things. I couldn’t keep
my mouth in check and at one point pondered out loud if it would be
comfortable to have sex on a pool table or if you’d get carpet burn
on your butt. That had made the boys howl with laughter and Ashton
look at me with a lustful twinkle in his eye that made my stomach
flutter and my body temperature rise a few degrees.

After about an
hour, a couple of girls joined us. Apparently they knew Tim from
school. The girls were called Serena and Monica. I didn’t like
Monica. It wasn’t that she didn’t seem like a nice person, in fact,
she did seem nice and friendly and funny… it was just that she
couldn’t keep her eyes off my bodyguard. Since she walked up the
stairs to where the pool tables were, she had been eyeing him like
a vulture waiting to pick his bones.

The more I
drank, the more annoyed with her flirting I became. So when she put
her hand on his arm, giggling profusely, I downed my drink and
scowled. He was talking back to her but didn’t really seem
interested. In fact, mostly he didn’t take his deep green, sexy
eyes off me or the surrounding area, doing his job perfectly, but
that didn’t help with the annoyance I felt towards the
large-breasted blonde that was hitting on him right in front of
me.

Deep down, I
knew that I had no right to be jealous of him, but I just couldn’t
rein it in. The alcohol in my system told me that what I was about
to do was a terrific idea. Pushing myself up off my stool that I
was perched on, I sauntered the three steps over to where Ashton
was and smiled as I stopped in front of him.

His head cocked
to the side, regarding me curiously. “Okay?” he inquired. I gulped
and nodded, taking the final step towards him so that our chests
were touching. His shoulders stiffened as I raised my arms and
looped them around his neck. “Anna?”

I grinned and
went up on tiptoes, pulling his head forward at the same time so
that our lips connected softly. He made a small, startled grunt
before he kissed me back enthusiastically, wrapping one arm around
my waist and holding me securely against him.

I smiled
against his lips, gripping my hand into the back of his hair as the
kiss deepened and his tongue touched mine. I moaned into his mouth
because of how nice it felt. Everywhere he touched on my body,
little shots of electricity were sent into my system, and I
actually forgot where I was. My whole body was burning for him; I
couldn’t get enough. The kiss wasn’t nearly enough for me. I was so
aroused that it was actually making my body ache.

He pulled back,
making a moaning sound in the back of his throat. “Anna, stop it.
Come on,” he whispered, pleadingly. But I couldn’t stop. I shook my
head adamantly and pulled his face back down to mine again with
such a force that I stumbled back on my drunken legs, pulling him
with me as we bumped into the wall. The kiss didn’t break though;
instead, he pushed me tightly against the wall as he kissed me
urgently. He kissed me as if he could devour my soul, making my
knees weak. It was probably lucky that I had the wall behind me;
otherwise he would have made me swoon like they did in the olden
days.

I gasped for
breath as his mouth pulled away from mine, travelling down my neck.
With my eyes closed, my hands slipped down to his ass, squeezing
gently as I tangled my legs with his. “Damn, you have such an
incredible ass,” I mumbled.

He chuckled,
finally pulling his mouth away from my skin. Pressing his forehead
to mine, his eyes locked onto mine as he cupped my face in his
hands. His breathing was heavy; it blew across my face and ruffled
my hair. “You need to stop drinking,” he mused. “You’re a damn
horny drunk.” He smiled his sexy smile at me and my whole body
seemed to come alive with passion.

“Wanna take me
home to bed, Ashton?” My hormones were raging. I needed him. I
chewed on my lip as I started to play it out in my head. I couldn’t
help but wonder if it would be as enjoyable as last time, or
whether I had maybe distorted the experience in my head, and it
wasn’t actually as mind blowing as I thought it was. Maybe I’d be
disappointed this time.

“That’s not
going to happen,” he answered, shifting so that there was an inch
of space between us.

I raised one
eyebrow suggestively. “Not even if I beg you on my knees?” I
countered.

He groaned,
looking like he was in pain. “Anna, please, you’re making this hard
for me,” he whined, looking at me hungrily.

“Isn’t that the
point?” I joked, giggling wickedly. Actually, I would gladly beg on
my knees if he’d enjoy that.

His fingers dug
into my waist as he shook his head. “Enough,” he said sternly,
looking directly into my eyes. There was no wavering in his tone;
he wasn’t going to change his mind.

I frowned at
his rejection. It felt like a slap in the face.
Did he not enjoy
the other morning? Wait… am I terrible in bed or something? Had I
done something wrong, or not done something?
My mouth popped
open and my face flushed with embarrassment.

His hands slid
down my neck, across my shoulders and down my arms until they got
to my hands. I gulped, still embarrassed as his fingers tangled
with mine and he stepped back, smiling weakly.

“You two need a
room or something?”

The comment
made me jerk back into reality, and I realised we were in a bar,
and not in private. Everyone and everything else seemed to
disappear when I was kissing Ashton. Flicking my eyes over Ashton’s
shoulder, I saw Tim and Rich fake gagging.

I giggled and
bit my lip, unsure what to say. Ashton, on the other hand,
obviously knew exactly what he should be saying. “Actually, yeah. I
think I’m gonna take her home and finish this there. Nice to meet
you guys.” He turned back to me and gave me a little tug away from
the wall, holding me steady when I swayed on my feet. “Can you walk
in a straight line?”

I raised one
eyebrow. Clearly, he was implying I was intoxicated. “Yes, Officer,
I can,” I flirted, winking at him. He chuckled but luckily no one
else commented on the double meaning. He nodded and let go of my
hands, watching me as my legs wobbled as if I was wearing high
heels, even though I had flat sandals on.

Laughing, he
quickly gripped my waist as the floor started to slope off to one
side. “I’ll give you a piggyback.”

He lifted me,
sitting me on the bar stool next to me before turning his back on
me, bending and wrapping my arms around his neck. As his hands
slipped under my behind, lifting me off the stool, fumbling to get
a decent hold on me, I giggled wickedly.

“Not sure what
you’re looking for there, Pretty Boy, but it’s slightly to the
left,” I joked. Everyone burst out laughing and I blushed. “Oops,
did I say that out loud?” I pressed my face into his neck as
everyone laughed harder.

After sending a
triumphant smirk in Monica’s direction, I waved and chirped goodbye
to everyone else that we’d spent the evening with. The air was
refreshing as Ashton carried me out of the bar and into the street.
Dean was sitting on the wall outside the bar, playing on his phone
under the haze of a street light. He looked up and stood as we
walked out. His gaze wandered to me on Ashton’s back, and a small
smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

I had no idea
how long it took to get home. Most of the time I just had my eyes
closed and my head resting on Ashton’s shoulder as he walked with
long, confident strides. He and Dean were talking about
basketball.

As we got into
the lobby of our apartment building, Peter, the night guard, came
walking down the stairs to meet us. No doubt Dean had called him to
tell him his shift was starting when we got back.

Ashton carried
me right into my bedroom, finally setting me on my feet and looking
at me worriedly. “Can you stand okay?” He reached out, gripping my
elbow.

I giggled and
slapped his hand away playfully. “I’m not drunk,” I protested,
plopping heavily down onto the bed and giggling as the mattress
bounced, making me feel a little lightheaded. Raising one foot, I
tried to unbuckle my sandals, but my fingers wouldn’t do what I
told them to do.

Ashton laughed
loudly, taking my foot and easily pulling the strap off for me
before doing the other. “Which case are your pyjamas in?” he asked,
walking over to the two cases in the corner of the room.

I actually had
no idea.
Did I even bring pyjamas? I guess I must have done.
“Um, I don’t know. I’ll just sleep naked,” I suggested, waving my
hand dismissively at the case full of clothes.

He closed his
eyes for a couple of seconds. “Give me a break here. Do you
honestly not know which one they’re in?” he asked, shaking his head
and rifling through the clothes carefully.

“Nope.” I
laughed, popping the p and smiling broadly.
Hopefully if I’m
sleeping naked, I’ll be able to convince him to ditch the clothes
too.
He sighed and zipped the case back up. As he stood up, he
gripped his T-shirt, pulling it off over his head, exposing those
edible abs and chest that made my mouth water.

He threw the
T-shirt at me, hitting me full in the face with it. “Sleep in that.
I’m gonna go check the doors and windows and stuff.” He turned and
walked out the door, closing it behind him.

I burst out
laughing at his second rejection. Embarrassment washed over me
because I was just lusting after him and he wasn’t even slightly
interested. Obviously I hadn’t learnt from my rejection at the
bar!

Shaking my head
at myself, I tugged off my clothes, leaving my underwear on, and
slipped his shirt over my head. As soon as I had it on, I moaned in
appreciation. It smelt incredible, just like he did. Pulling the
neck of the shirt up over my nose, I climbed in the bed,
surrounding myself with his scent.

He strutted in
moments later, carrying the bedcovers from the room next door. His
eyes were tight before he spotted me in the bed. I whipped my mouth
and nose out of his shirt, but it was too late, he’d seen it. A
smile slipped onto his face as I squirmed at being caught. It was
almost as pathetic as if I’d just been leaning in and sniffing his
hair or something. Bet his subconscious was screaming the word
‘stalker’ at him.

“Doors and
windows all locked?” I asked, rolling onto my side to watch him
take off his jeans and socks.

“Yeah, you’re
all safe,” he replied.

“Of course I
am, I have a big, bad boyfriend to look after me,” I flirted,
dragging my eyes down his body. He sighed and spread the sheet out
onto the floor before walking around to the other side of my bed,
picking up the spare pillow. Catching on to his intention, I shook
my head. “You can sleep in the bed,” I protested.

He shook his
head, tossing the pillow down onto the floor. “That’s not a good
idea tonight.”

I frowned. “Why
not?”

“Because you,
plus alcohol, clearly equals horny beast,” he threw at me before
flicking off the light, surrounding us with darkness.

I frowned,
listening to the rustling of him settling himself down onto the
makeshift bed on the floor. I rolled to my side, squinting through
the darkness, seeing that he was lying on his back. “I was hoping
you’d want to sleep in bed with me tonight,” I whined, after a few
minutes of silence.

“I do.”

Fumbling with
the bedside light switch, I turned it on, narrowing my eyes at the
sudden brightness. He groaned, cupping his hands around his eyes
too. “Then why don’t you, if you want to?” I asked.

“There’s a
difference between what I want, and what can happen. You’re drunk
and you need some sleep. If I got in the bed with you, then stuff
might happen and you’d hate me in the morning for taking advantage
of you. I refuse to do that.” His tone was final and stern. I
pouted, and he chuckled wickedly. “You have the cutest little puppy
dog face I have ever seen.” He shook his head, smiling up at
me.

“If I promise
not to make a move on you, can I sleep with you?” I begged. After
two rejections and someone flirting with him, the alcohol was
making me insecure. I needed to know that he wasn’t going anywhere;
I needed reassurance that he wasn’t going to walk out of my life
like everyone else did.

He looked
pained, like he wanted to but thought that he shouldn’t. “I don’t
think you can keep that promise.”

I scoffed,
making my mind up that I was going to prove him wrong. “You’re not
that hot, Agent!” I protested.

“You think I
am,” he shot back cockily.

I gasped and
shook my head. “I’m pretty sure I can resist your hot ass. And I’ll
prove it.” I threw off the sheets and swung my legs out of the bed.
He grunted when I almost stood on him and then stumbled, falling
down at his side and accidentally bumping his head with mine.
“Shit. Ouch. Sorry,” I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing at my
forehead.

He laughed,
rubbing his head too, watching me curiously. “You alright? Where
are you going?”

I rolled my
eyes and pulled his pillow to the side so that there was some room
for me to share it. “I’m proving my point that you’re not, in fact,
as irresistible as you think you are.” I settled down on his sheet,
and closed my eyes, waiting for him to lie back down too.