

### Nothing Left To Lose

### Part 1: Guarding The Broken

### By Kirsty Moseley

### Smashwords Edition

### _Nothing Left to Lose, Part 1: Guarding the Broken_ was originally published in 2013 under the title _Nothing Left to Lose_ which has been broken down and split into two parts. Copyright for the original work was filed in 2013.

### Copyright © 2017 Kirsty Moseley

### All rights reserved.

### This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### Acknowledgements

### I just want to say a huge thank you to Judi Perkins at Concierge Literary Designs and Photography for the beautiful cover – and for the patience with me when I had no clue what I wanted but kept making suggestions anyway. Thank you for creating exactly what I didn't even know I wanted! Love you, woman!

This book is for Lee – my real life Ashton (just without the SWAT uniform). Love you, forever and always. xx

### Chapter One

Sweet sixteen is a day that every girl should remember as special in their lives. In some cultures, it's even considered to be the start of passage into womanhood. My sixteenth was anything but sweet; it was more like the passage into hell on earth. March 12 was the day my dreams died and my life was sent into a downward spiral of pain, grief and terror. My sixteenth birthday left an irrevocable scar on me, and was the beginning of events that I would see repeatedly in my nightmares.

Right now I was standing in the cold of the night, queuing for admittance outside club Ozone – unknowingly waiting for my traumatic ordeal to begin. The balls of my feet were already aching, a product of the ridiculously high heels that I wore. The cool wind whipped around me, making the little black dress that I was wearing billow around my thighs. My perfect boyfriend, Jack Roberts, was rubbing my arms, trying to warm me up. We'd been standing in line for the club for almost an hour, and finally were quite near the front.

"Jack, I'm not sure this is gonna work. Maybe we should just go watch a movie or something?" I whispered, eyeing the doorman, who was looking at the line suspiciously.

"Anna, it'll work. You asked me to take you to a club for your birthday, so I'm doing exactly that," he replied, cupping his chilly hands around my face.

I looked at him and my heart stuttered. I loved this boy with everything I had in me. He was kind, loving, caring, generous, thoughtful, and not to mention handsome. With his short blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, he was every girl's dream. Literally. Every girl I knew was in love with my boyfriend, but he had only ever had eyes for me. We'd met when we were five years old. He'd asked me to be his girlfriend the first time I saw him, and we'd been together ever since. He was my everything, and we would be together forever. We already had everything planned – finish school, then college, then Jack would become a doctor like he'd always wanted to be, and I would become an artist. Eventually, we would get married and have kids. Perfect.

Three months ago, Jack had asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday; he said that I could choose anything in the world and we would do it. So I decided to go out to a club, and then I wanted to stay at a hotel, where we would have sex for the first time. After three months of planning and scheming, we had finally convinced our parents to let us stay out. Jack had gotten us both a fake ID card, and I was so excited that I could barely contain myself.

Now that we were here though, in the cold, surrounded by half-drunken people, all I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and have him run his hands all over my body to warm me up, and then we would finally be together physically.

I smiled up at him, my stomach clenching in anticipation. He smiled back and bent his head to kiss me. I melted against him. When Jack kissed me, I felt amazing, like my heart was flying, and like I was the luckiest girl in the world. His hands slipped down to my ass, squeezing gently, causing a small smile to tug at the corners of my mouth.

When he broke the kiss, he pulled back, grinning at me. His eyes sparkled in the dim street lights. "I love you, Anna."

My heart throbbed again as my whole body broke out in goosebumps. I loved the sound of those three words coming out of his mouth; I still wasn't used to hearing them even after all these years.

"I love you too," I replied, and I did. I loved him more than anything. He kissed me again, pulling my body closer to his.

A gentle tap on my shoulder made me jump and break the kiss.

"Hi," a male voice said from behind me.

I turned around to see a man who was probably in his mid-twenties. He wasn't in the line of people waiting to enter the club; he stood the other side of the ropes. He was quite good-looking, with nicely styled, dark brown hair and brown eyes. A sleek, black, button down shirt covered his broad shoulders, and he'd paired it with black pants and extremely expensive-looking shoes. He was looking me over slowly.

"Er, hi," I replied, smiling sweetly, trying to be friendly in case he worked here. He wasn't on his own; two other guys stood behind him.

"I'm Carter," the brown haired guy said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Anna." I put my hand in his, shaking it politely. He didn't let go, instead he pulled me towards him, away from Jack.

"I can get you in if you want, saves you waiting in the cold," he offered, smiling. My insides bubbled with excitement at the thought of getting into the club. I looked back at Jack, who was frowning angrily and glaring at my hand that the guy still held.

"Yeah? That'd be great! It's freezing out here," I chirped happily, trying not to jump up and down on the spot from excitement.

Carter laughed. "Come on then, Anna." He nodded to one of the people that he was with, and they immediately unclipped the rope so I could step out of the line.

I reached back and grabbed Jack's hand, grinning ecstatically.

"Er, Princess, your boy's not invited," Carter said, sneering at Jack as if he was something he'd just stepped in.

Confusion settled over me. "What? I thought you said you could get us in."

He finally let go of my hand and stepped back. "I said I could get _you_ in. We don't need any spectators." He jerked his chin towards Jack as his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

I frowned angrily. _What a jerk!_ He'd interrupted me and Jack making out, but thought I'd go into the club with him and leave Jack outside? "Right, well no thanks, I'm with my boyfriend. I thought you meant both of us. Sorry." I took the rope back out of the other guy's hand and clipped it back to the ring, then wrapped my arms around the love of my life, glaring at Carter.

Carter shrugged. "Suit yourself. Maybe you'll save me a dance." He smirked at me before he turned and walked straight into the club.

"What a jackass!" I growled, watching his disappearing back. Jack laughed, and all my anger melted away instantly at the sound. "What's so funny?" I asked, smiling at him.

"You just can't help yourself, can you? You make guys fall for you without even trying." He grinned as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to his body.

"I know, it must be my irresistible charm," I joked, fluttering my eyelashes.

"Either that or your incredible legs," he teased, hesitantly rubbing his hands over my thighs. I slapped his chest playfully and pulled him down to kiss me again.

After about another half an hour, we were finally ushered through into the club with no problems. The doorman barely even glanced at our IDs. Once we were through the door, I jumped up and down, squealing excitedly.

"This is awesome!" I cried, grabbing his hand and immediately pulling him to the dance floor. The music was so loud you could almost feel the vibrations through the floor.

"Let's get a drink," he shouted in my ear after a couple of songs. I nodded and he took my hand, leading me towards the bar. We had a quick drink and then went straight back to dancing, losing ourselves in the rhythm of the loud music. He had one hand on my backside the whole time, making me feel hot and bothered. When he bent his head and kissed me, I tangled my hands in his hair, kissing him back with everything I had. We'd only been inside for an hour, but I was ready to leave. The club was fantastic but what I really wanted was what we planned for after – my night with him.

"Jack, want to go?" I asked, running my hands down his chest. He grinned at me and nodded eagerly. He had been ready to take our relationship to the next level for the last six months but we'd wanted to wait until we were both sixteen.

He took my hand and we made our way out of the club, weaving through the crowd of drunken people that were milling around enjoying their night. As we got near the stairs that led down to the front lobby, the guy that I spoke to in the line outside, Carter, stepped out and held his hand in front of us to stop.

"Hi, Princess. How about that dance?" he asked, looking me over slowly.

"No thanks, we're leaving," I declined confidently.

"Oh, I don't think so." He smiled and took my hand, yanking me forwards, away from Jack. My mouth popped open in shock.

"Get your fucking hands off her!" Jack growled menacingly, stepping forward. I looked back at him with wide eyes, wondering if there was going to be some kind of fight. Before I could even comprehend what had happened, someone grabbed him from behind, holding his arms behind his back securely.

I struggled to get out of Carter's hold, ripping my hand from his. "Get the hell off me! Let him go! I don't want to dance with you; I'm leaving with my boyfriend!" I cried angrily.

Carter smiled wickedly, not seeming bothered by this confrontation in the slightest. "One dance is all I ask, and then you can go," he offered, waving his hand dismissively. Jack made a furious snorting sound so the guy that was holding him shoved him roughly against the wall, holding him there. I screamed and looked around wildly for some help.

"For fuck's sake! You touch her and I'll kill you!" Jack growled.

"No one speaks to me like that!" Carter shouted angrily.

He stepped forward and punched Jack in the face, splitting his lip. Almost instantly, blood poured down his face. Carter pulled his arm back, obviously about to deliver a second blow. He looked murderously angry; his whole face was contorted in rage. Panic rushed through my system at the thought of this guy hurting Jack. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.

"No! Okay, okay, I'll dance! One dance, just please don't hurt him, please," I begged, with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"No, Anna!" Jack shouted, spitting blood onto the floor. I looked at him and felt my chin quiver at the sight of his bleeding face. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I would pass out.

"It's alright. One dance, I don't mind," I lied, forcing a small smile.

Carter laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the dance floor. He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly, his face inches from mine. I felt sick; my skin was crawling. I turned my face away, refusing to look at him as he ground his crotch into my hip. Bile rose in my throat, so I quickly swallowed it down. One of his hands slipped down to my ass, the other onto my thigh. I closed my eyes and willed the song to be over; my body was shaking in anger and fear. I just prayed they weren't hurting Jack while I wasn't there.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the song finished. I put my hands on his chest and pushed as hard as I could, but he didn't let go, he just held me tighter, laughing.

"You know, you're so beautiful, Princess," he breathed in my ear.

"Please, you said one dance, please," I begged, trying to squirm out of his hold.

"I've changed my mind. One's not enough," he purred, kissing my neck.

I gasped and pushed him again, panic washing over me as I squirmed, trying to get some distance between us. This time he dug his fingers into my sides roughly. Pain shot through me, making me cry out, but no one could hear because the music was still thumping around us.

"Please! Why are you doing this?" I cried, tears falling down my face.

He ran his tongue up my face, licking my tears away. "Mmm," he breathed; it was almost a moan of appreciation. He slipped his hand under my dress and rubbed his fingers against my panties.

Immediately I clamped my legs together to try and stop his touch. "No! Please let me go. Jack!" I screamed, thrashing, trying desperately to get out of his hold. No one even batted an eyelid at us.

"Fine, let's go find your precious Jack," he sneered, pushing me roughly towards the stairs. I stumbled up the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me. My heart was in my throat the whole time. When I got to the top, my eyes settled on Jack; he was still being held against the wall by the same blond guy. As soon as he saw me, he started to struggle against the restraining hands.

"Let him go, please," I begged, trying to get to him. I saw Carter nod his head and instantly the other guy let go. As soon as he was free, Jack grabbed me and pushed me behind him protectively.

"Whoa, easy there boy, no harm done," Carter mused, sneering distastefully. "Although your girlfriend there is sexy as hell." He looked me over slowly, licking his lips.

I cringed into Jack's back, my skin crawling because of the way he was looking at me. Suddenly Jack launched himself at him, his fist connecting with Carter's stomach. Carter doubled over with a groan and the two men he was with grabbed Jack again as he fought and struggled against their hands. I looked around for help, but no one was coming. Why was no one helping us? People weren't paying even the slightest bit of attention to us as they drank, laughed and danced around us, not even looking in our direction as the music thumped and vibrated off the walls. My hands were shaking; my heart was beating way too fast. I already knew they were going to hurt him. All I could think was that he'd said we could leave, Carter had said we could go, so why did Jack have to do that?

"Please, please!" I screamed as one man held him and the other punched him over and over in the stomach. I grabbed at the one hitting him, trying to pull him away but Carter's arms wrapped around me, lifting me off my feet and pulling me back a couple of paces.

"Door," Carter barked angrily.

The blond guy nodded, and suddenly they were dragging Jack away. I jerked out of Carter's grasp and ran after them, still crying and screaming hysterically. They dragged him through a fire door. As I reached to try and help him again, Carter grabbed hold of my arm roughly and slammed the door behind him so we were outside on some sort of fire escape. He threw me backwards, making me lose my footing and stumble into the wall. The side of my head connected with the rough bricks; the pain and shock of it made my vision cloudy. I could feel the slight trickle of blood down the side of my face. I squeezed my eyes closed, fighting against the pain that was making my legs weak.

I could hear Jack grunting and groaning, so I forced my eyes open against the blackness that was trying to engulf me. He was on the floor and they were taking turns kicking him; his face was covered in blood, his eyes desperate and scared.

I couldn't breathe. This was like something out of a nightmare, a nightmare that I couldn't escape from.

I needed to stop this – now. "What do you want? I've got money, I can get you money! Please?" I screamed. One of the guys pulled out a metal-looking thing like the police have; he snapped it out and started beating my already broken boyfriend with it. I heard the bones crack in his arm. "PLEASE STOP! I'll do anything. PLEASE?" I screamed, gasping for breath. I crawled over to Jack and wrapped my arms around his broken body.

"Run," he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. He squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw clenching tightly as he groaned.

"Jack, please. You're okay, it's okay. I love you. Please," I begged, sobbing against his bleeding face.

He winced and put his arm around me, digging his fingers into my back. "Run, Anna. Get away, please!"

Carter's hands clamped around my upper arms, pulling me to my feet and away from Jack. The other two guys both bent and gripped Jack's arms, pulling him up too. He screamed as they touched him. The sound of his pain made my legs feel weak. Carter wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck while Jack watched with a horrified expression on his face as he gasped for breath. Carter's hand snaked up my side coming to rest on my breast, squeezing roughly. Before I knew it was going to happen, I bent over and was violently sick.

He laughed wickedly and pulled me back to him roughly, his chest pressing against my back. "I'm going to enjoy fucking your girlfriend and hearing her scream for you," he said to Jack. Jack's head snapped up, his eyes filled with hate and rage as he started struggling again even though he was probably in indescribable amounts of pain. The three guys laughed at him as he continued his futile struggle, shouting a string of expletives. "You have anything you want to say to your boyfriend?" Carter whispered in my ear.

Anything I want to say... _Please let this be over, please just leave us so I can get some help._ "I love you," I croaked through my sobs.

"I love you too," Jack whispered.

Carter nodded at his guys, and they lifted Jack off of his feet as if he weighed nothing at all. I tried to jerk forward but Carter had me pinned in place against him. I didn't even get time to think about what was about to happen next, it all happened so fast that I could barely even comprehend it. The two guys carried Jack back a couple of feet and then threw him off the fire escape.

My heart stopped. _Did they just throw him off the... No. No way._ This had to be a dream; the worst dream I'd ever had in my life. I needed to wake up, I couldn't take this. My ears registered his scream as it sounded for a couple of seconds during his fall. I heard a muffled thump and then all that was left was the echo of the music coming from the club behind me.

I couldn't breathe. My heart was breaking into a million pieces as I replayed the last couple of seconds in my head. In my mind's eye, I saw Jack's face as the two guys' hands left his body and he started falling. I'd never seen anyone look more terrified or helpless.

I threw off Carter's hold and ran towards the railing, praying that he was somehow okay, praying that this was some kind of joke or dream and that I wasn't going to see the love of my life when I looked down. I wasn't that lucky though. As I leant over the railing and squinted through my tears, I saw the worst image I had ever seen in my life. Jack was sprawled out on the floor with a pool of blood seeping out underneath him. His arms and legs were at impossible angles; he wasn't moving.

The pain in my heart doubled as my whole body seemed to go cold. We were three flights up; he wouldn't have survived that after the beating he'd just sustained. The way he was lying there, motionless, I could tell there was no hope. He was gone.

I turned away quickly and was sick again. I was hyperventilating, struggling to draw breath as the image refused to leave my mind. My legs wouldn't support me anymore, so I slumped into the pool of my own vomit. Silent tears fell down my face as my heart shattered into a million pieces.

The love of my life was dead. All our plans that we'd made would never happen. He'd died because of me. I'd wanted to come to this stupid club, and now he was dead. I hadn't even had the chance to make love to him.

Black spots started to appear in my vision as I heard the rush of my blood pounding through my ears. I was going to pass out; I could feel the nothingness building inside me as my fingers and face started to tingle.

Jack was dead. He'd left me. I didn't want to live – not without him. I couldn't. The grief was crushing me.

I grabbed the railing and used the last of my strength to pull myself up onto my feet. I didn't look down; I couldn't see him like that again. I kept my eyes straight ahead as I swung my leg over the railing. _Please let this kill me,_ I begged silently. Closing my eyes, I prepared to jump. My ears were ringing. I was numb. I let go of the railing and smiled because I wouldn't have to feel this heartache any longer.

Just as the air stirred around me and I stepped into the nothingness, I felt something grab my waist.

"Whoa there, Princess. Now that's just a waste." I heard just before I passed out.

### Chapter Two

### ~ Ashton Taylor ~

Sweat was running down my back as I stood there, straight as a poker, eyes front, hands down by my sides like I'd been taught. The blistering midday sun was beating down on me while I was decked out in full S.W.A.T uniform, including black, army style pants that have over a dozen pockets, black T-shirt, black tactical vest and jacket. They liked us to look good for these things.

"How long are they gonna make us stand here? I'm fucking dying!" Nate, my partner, hissed at me through his teeth.

"Not long now; Weston's started to get hungry. See how he's shifting in his seat? He'll wrap this up soon and head straight for the buffet," I whispered back jokingly. Nate grinned and glanced over at our commanding officer. As if on cue, Officer Weston rose to his feet. "Buffet table here we come," I mumbled. Nate laughed next to me, quickly turning it into a cough when Officer Weston raised one eyebrow in warning.

"Attention, graduates. Training teams are going to be announced. For those of you that graduated top two in the class," Officer Weston said, glancing at me and Nate proudly, "you will remain behind because you've already been assigned to departments."

I smiled at those words. Nate and I had graduated top two of our year, with me in first place and it was an honour to be assigned to a department straight from graduation. It didn't happen particularly often, and you were only offered it if your reputation was known of in high places. The two of us were a wicked partnership, and apparently I had been headhunted for a special mission of 'utmost importance', or so Weston had informed me this morning.

My insides squirmed in anticipation. I was hoping for SWAT Front Line; they were the guys who were always first on site, who always saw action, but I knew it wouldn't be that. No one had ever gone into that team without at least ten years' field experience. They were the best of the best, and usually they only had an opening if someone died or requested a transfer. I knew that neither had happened recently, but I still couldn't help but hope.

Officer Weston finally finished his speech, and the guys all trailed off towards the hall, where they had laid on a buffet of stale sandwiches and potato chips. No expense spared. No one minded though because my entire graduating year was hitting a bar tonight in celebration, and I was planning on getting wasted.

Nate and I waited behind as requested. "Taylor, Peters, follow me," Officer Weston ordered, walking into his shabby office. He sat down behind his desk and motioned for us to sit. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "Right, Peters, your presence has been requested at Division Six," he said proudly. I grinned happily and slapped Nate a high-five.

"Oh shit yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Nate shouted, jumping out of his chair and pumping the air with his fist.

"Sit down, Nate," Weston laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

Division Six was a fantastic opportunity; he would get direct field experience, and they also had specialised areas which they could train you in. Nate wanted to be a sharp shooter and was incredible with long-range shooting.

"Okay, so they want you from Monday. You'll report to Officer Tate at 9 a.m. sharp. Don't be late. Here's your file, make sure you read it," Weston stated, handing Nate a brown envelope.

"Yes, sir, and thank you, sir," Nate answered, saluting respectfully, yet grinning moronically.

"Okay, Nate, you go enjoy the food. I need to speak to Ashton in private," Weston instructed, nodding for him to leave. I slapped Nate another high-five on his way past, silently praying that I got something as good as his. Officer Weston waited until the door closed before he spoke. "Ashton, you've been requested for something important. You're not going to like this," he winced, shaking his head.

My heart sank at the look on his face. This obviously wasn't something good. "Okay, sir, I'm listening," I said confidently. I was up for any challenge they could throw at me. I worked hard and it paid off. I had graduated first in every assessment, apart from long-range shooting, in which I came a close second to Nate. I held five different department records, including hand-to-hand combat, tactical planning, and hostage management. No one had ever graduated with the honours I had.

He sighed and held a brown envelope towards me. Frowning, I took it and tore it open eagerly, finding a police file inside for an Annabelle Spencer. I flicked it open curiously, not having a clue what this was about. On the first page, there was a photo of her. She was incredibly beautiful. According to this, she was nineteen and a college student.

I glanced up at Weston. "Who's this?" I asked, confused as to why he had given me this girl's file.

"That is the daughter of an extremely important man. She's Annabelle Spencer, daughter of Senator Tom Spencer," he said respectfully.

My interest was instantly piqued. Tom Spencer was a Presidential candidate who was expected to take over the oval office come the election later this year; he was highly respected and, from what I'd heard, was supposed to be a great man.

"Okay, so why do I have her file?" I questioned, flicking through it and scanning the pages. She was recently expelled from Stanford. She had attended four other colleges in the last year and a half, and had been expelled from every one for violence or damage to property.

"When she was sixteen, she was abducted by Carter Thomas. He killed her boyfriend in a club and then held her against her will for almost a year. The only reason she was found was because the police raided his home for drugs and discovered her there. You do know who Carter Thomas is, don't you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

I nodded quickly. Everyone knew who Carter Thomas was; he was the head of a crime syndicate and responsible for the deaths of almost a thousand people when he'd set bombs off in the middle of rush hour in four different subways simultaneously. Everyone knew it was him, but it could never be directly proven, and key witnesses or evidence had a strange habit of going missing just in the nick of time. He regularly ran drugs and was heavily involved in human trafficking from Romania.

"He's currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Miss Spencer's boyfriend, Jackson Roberts. She was a witness for the prosecution, and there was also evidence that has linked him directly to the murder. Everyone knows who he is and what he does, but he's always slipped through our fingers. The murder of Jackson Roberts is the only thing that's ever gotten as far as a trial. Him being convicted was one of the best things for our country," Weston said, his expression hard.

"Okay, sir, so what does this have to do with me?" I asked, still not understanding why I was being told about this in the first place.

Weston sat back in his chair. "Well, Carter Thomas has an appeal coming up later this year. Apparently, some evidence may have been incorrectly collected or something. Miss Spencer was the only witness that made it to the trial the first time; there's a good chance she may be called to give evidence again. There have been death threats made against her, most of them because of who her father is, but lately her family have been receiving threats which they believe are coming from Carter's organisation."

He seemed to be watching me, waiting for my reaction. I still didn't get it. I'd been selected for a special assignment, yet he was telling me about some girl. What did this have to do with me? This wasn't SWAT business.

He took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it; she goes through bodyguards like you do cold beers. She gets assigned a new one, and within a week she makes them quit. They refuse to work with her. She's a real livewire from what I understand, a real hard-ass bitch. But this girl is extremely important, not only because she may be required to give evidence against Thomas, but also as the probable future President's daughter. Her father has requested someone who will be able to deal with her on a day-to-day basis. There's a specific age bracket because they'll be required to attend college with her and essentially be her shadow until the end of the court case."

It suddenly dawned on me where this meeting was going. I stared at him in disbelief, shaking my head and throwing the file onto his desk. "That's complete bullshit! I'm SWAT; I'm not some fucking babysitter!" I shouted, pointing at the file distastefully.

"This isn't up for debate. They wanted the best agent within an eight year age bracket, they picked the best agents across every department, sending the top ten to Senator Spencer, and he picked you specifically! You were the only graduate to be considered. You should consider this a great honour," Weston said persuasively.

I growled in frustration. "Why are we even getting involved? If she's the daughter of a Senator then this should be secret service, not us," I countered.

He sighed. "She's been through most of the guys there, Taylor. Plus, there aren't that many agents there within the age bracket; most people go into secret service a little further down the line in their careers," he explained, shrugging. He cocked his head to the side, his eyes boring into mine. "Ashton, it's just until the end of the court case. Eight months, that's all. Senator Spencer has guaranteed you your choice of posts after that time. Anything you want, even Front Line."

My head snapped up at those words. "Seriously?"

He smiled and nodded. "I knew that would get your attention, but I need you to understand that this is a very important job. It may not sound it, but if she dies and the case falls apart, then Carter Thomas will be released and hundreds, if not thousands, of people could be killed over the coming years," he said gravely.

_Right, okay, I get it. Do a good job babysitting for eight months, get dream job. Done!_ "Okay, I understand, sir." I was smiling now.

"You can't tell anyone about this. You'll need to say you've been assigned somewhere out of state. You'll be undercover with her." He picked up the file that I'd tossed onto his desk and handed it to me.

I flicked it open again and looked at the picture of the girl. _Fuck, I sure hope I get undercover with her!_ I mused. She was just my type, dark hair and dark eyes, and she was the prettiest damn thing I'd ever seen. I couldn't tell what her body was like because she was wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie, but her face was so beautiful that she could be a supermodel.

"Okay, make sure you read the briefing file. There's a DVD in there too, which is the security footage of her old school and the reason she got expelled. Like I said, she's kind of a badass; the reasons for it are in the file, which doesn't make for good bedtime reading." He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck as he said it. I looked down at the file nervously, wondering what could be so bad that Weston was all jittery and uncomfortable about it. "Right, well I guess that's all. I've mocked up a fake assignment for you in case people ask. A flight has been booked for you for tomorrow morning and your tickets are in the back of the file. Pack casual; they'll have stuff waiting there for you too, so don't go too overboard with the clothes. Only a few people are in the loop on this due to the sensitivity of it; they're not sure if there's a leak in one of the departments, so if you need anything, you call either me or Commander Erikson. His details are in the back of the file. Good luck, Ashton," he said finally.

He stood up, holding out his hand to me; I shook it then saluted him respectfully, before walking out the door. Heading around the corner, I pulled out the mock assignment, memorising all of the details before I went to join the party with the other graduates.

I didn't stay out long with the other boys; my flight was due to leave at eight thirty the next morning, so I had to pack and make sure I was ready to leave. Once in the solitude of my bedroom, I grabbed the file and stretched out on my bed to read it. As I was expecting, it was pretty harrowing.

Annabelle had been held by Carter Thomas for just over ten months. He had thought of her as his girlfriend, even though he was nine years older than her. She hadn't been allowed to leave his house and he would beat her and mentally torture her. She had tried to kill herself by slitting her wrists when she was first taken and had been found locked in a cupboard – bruised, broken and almost catatonic. She had refused to speak to anyone for two weeks after this, and then her first words were to a police officer, begging him to kill her.

I gulped and flipped to the next page, which showed photos of her the day she was found, and her injuries for the police file. They weren't nice to look at. Bile rose in my throat at the sight of her swollen and bruised face and arms. The medical report showed she had a freshly broken rib and finger, and old, healed fractures of her ribs, wrist and collarbone.

My heart was beating out of my chest, grieving for the sixteen year old girl who witnessed her boyfriend's murder and then was abused physically, mentally, and sexually for over ten months.

Three and a half years on, the nice, young girl that everyone loved had turned into a bitter, nasty bitch. She was socially alienated, shying away from all relationships, and emotionally cutting herself off from her friends and family. I wasn't allowed 'under any circumstances' to touch her, unless the need arose in a combat situation. She had attempted suicide on two other occasions, both times by swallowing pills, but someone had found her in time. Both attempts had been on her birthday. I glanced at her date of birth and saw that her next birthday was in six months' time. I made a mental note to be extra vigilant.

It appeared that Annabelle got into trouble a lot. I pushed the DVD into the player and sat on the floor to watch it, eager to see the reason she was excluded from her last school.

The footage came on, and a classroom came into focus. People were sitting around on desks, talking, obviously waiting for their lessons to start. I spotted her immediately; she was wearing baggy jeans and a baggy sweatshirt. As she walked past a guy who was laughing with his friends, he slapped her ass.

She practically jumped a mile into the air before rounding on him. "Don't touch me," she spat harshly.

"Sorry, princess," he laughed, holding his hands up innocently.

She flinched as if he'd hit her. "Don't ever call me that again," she said quietly, looking both scared and angry at the same time.

"Call you what... princess?" he mocked.

She flinched again before her expression turned hard. "If you call me that again, I'm gonna break your nose and your balls," she retorted.

The guy and his friends just laughed at her threat. She smiled sweetly as he bent his face close to hers. "Okay, princess," he said sarcastically.

Before he could even flinch, she punched him in the stomach then kneed him in the groin. As he bent over in pain, she grabbed the back of his hair and smashed his face into her knee, breaking his nose easily. He slumped down to the floor, crying in agony.

She patted him on the head, still smiling sweetly. "Told ya," she chirped, before grabbing her bag and storming out of the room with everyone watching her in shock.

I burst out laughing. She definitely was a badass.

I flicked through the rest of the file. Apparently, she didn't have friends anymore, didn't date, and didn't go to parties. The notes said that she didn't trust anyone and was extremely suspicious. She was bordering on depression and suffered from recurring night terrors. In the last three years, she had become totally focussed on martial arts and was well trained in self-defence, karate and kickboxing.

On the last page was my brief. I was to be posing as her boyfriend. I groaned out loud when I read the B word. I was to amend my age from my actual twenty-one to nineteen – the same as her. We would be doing the same college classes, which were Art and Graphic Design. I sighed deeply and carried on reading. I was to live with her on the college campus in a two bed apartment. I wasn't allowed time off apart from the scheduled college breaks, at which time she would go back to the family home, and I would be allowed to do as I pleased because she would be protected by other agents.

There would be one other bodyguard in full uniform, which was the standard secret service bodyguard that they assigned to close family members of the Senator. The guy's name was Dean Michaels. Apparently, they would assign a night guard to watch the building while we slept. I was to remain undercover at all times, which meant no dating and no sex for eight months. I groaned at that. _This is going to be the longest eight months of my life._

Upon my arrival at the airport, I was to be collected by helicopter and taken to the Senator's summer residence, where we would stay for almost a week, getting to know each other, before moving to the apartment for college. According to the file, Annabelle didn't know about the death threats against her; she was just told that they were beefing up her security due to the upcoming election.

I stored the numbers of Officer Weston and Commander Erikson into my cell phone, and then started packing casual clothes for college. Afterwards, I crawled over to my bed in my crappy, little apartment that Nate and I rented together and climbed under the sheets. I'd said goodbye to the guys already. I was really going to miss Nate; we had become great friends during the last four years' training. He was more like a brother to me in some ways.

I didn't have anyone else to say goodbye to. I had no family; my parents had died in a car accident when I was ten, and I had bounced around from foster home to foster home until I was seventeen, when I had finally gotten a place of my own. I closed my eyes and willed myself to fall asleep quickly because tomorrow was going to be a long day.

The flight was good. It was only for two hours but they still put me in first class and I dozed off for almost the entire trip. I hadn't slept well the night before. Every time I'd shut my eyes, I had seen Annabelle looking at me with her cold hard eyes, begging me to help her. Then I would pull open a cupboard to see her beaten and broken on the floor and I would jerk awake in a cold sweat. I had a feeling that this was going to be a harder assignment than I had first thought. I hadn't even met her yet and already I wanted to protect her.

When the plane finally landed, I was ushered through the checkpoints to a private helipad on the other side of the airport. A tall guy in a black suit held his hand out to me; he was probably in his mid-thirties, with sandy hair and brown eyes.

"Hi, I'm Dean Michaels, Miss Spencer's far guard," he greeted me as I shook his hand.

I smiled politely. "Ashton Taylor. Nice to meet you."

He showed me to the helicopter and we put on our headphones. "The trip's about thirty minutes. You'll like the summer house; it's nice, and right on the lake," he said, smiling.

"Right, sounds good. So, what can you tell me about Annabelle?" I asked, watching his face closely for his reaction.

He frowned before speaking and seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "Miss Spencer is very... difficult. You need to watch her all the time; she can get in trouble easily. She's had twenty-three near guards in the last three years; the longest one lasted just over three months. I've worked as her far guard for a year and a half, and the only reason I've managed to last so long is because I don't have regular contact with her." He shook his head seeming a little annoyed.

"The near guards get fired within three months?" I asked, slightly panicky. If I couldn't last the full eight months, I wouldn't get my choice of assignments.

"No, man, they quit! She makes it her personal mission to make them leave. I think she sees it as some sort of challenge. Her record so far is four days," he laughed.

A lump formed in my throat, so I quickly swallowed it. "So, she doesn't want a near guard, or what?" I asked. _What is it with this girl? Maybe she needs to know about the threats against her so that she'll be easier to protect, because there is no way I'm quitting._

"Nope, she doesn't want any guards at all. I think she tolerates me because I stay out of her way and keep a distance. She doesn't like company; she'd rather be on her own. She's been through a lot, and it's changed her," he replied casually.

"Does she know I'm coming?" I asked, looking out over the fields that we were flying over.

He laughed quietly. "Yeah."

I looked back at his face; he shook his head and laughed again. I smiled in understanding. She didn't want me there – that much was obvious from his reaction.

"Senator Spencer gave me your file. How the hell did a guy like you, who's top of your class and the academy's new golden boy, end up with a shitty assignment like this?" he asked, looking genuinely curious.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the seat back. "I have no idea," I mumbled. I was still asking myself the same question. I could see the importance of it, but surely there could have been someone else for the job that came from a protection background. I stayed quiet for the rest of the trip.

After what seemed like forever, we landed outside an expansive house that was right on the lake. I followed Dean into the house, trying not to react to the sheer size of it. I trudged behind him, looking around in awe at the real wooden floors, the heavy drapes, the framed artwork on the walls. It was like something out of a magazine. Dean stopped outside a door and chatted to a lady sitting at the desk; she was probably in her mid-fifties and she glanced over at me with a friendly smile.

I cleared my throat and put out my hand in greeting. "Hello, ma'am. Ashton Taylor, it's nice to meet you."

Her eyes widened as her gaze flicked over me before placing her hand in mine. "It's nice to meet you too. My name's Maddy Richards and I'm Senator Spencer's Personal Assistant. I'll just let him know you're here, he'd like to speak to you," she said in a business-like tone. She picked up the phone and spoke briefly. "Okay he's free right now, you can go in." She nodded towards a door on my right.

A wave of nerves suddenly hit me as I realised that I was about to meet the probable next President of the United States. I swallowed my nerves and went in as instructed. He was sat behind a large, wooden desk, and there was a lady sitting on the couch, drinking tea. She was very pretty and had dark brown hair, which she had pulled into a bun, and brown eyes. She looked somewhat familiar; maybe I'd seen her on TV or something.

Senator Spencer stood up, smiling at me, and walked over, holding out his hand. He was a very imposing man on television, but it was even more apparent in person. He oozed confidence and ability, and had an air about him that certainly explained why he was tipped to win the upcoming election.

I shook his hand confidently. "It's very nice to meet you, sir."

"You too, Agent Taylor. This is my wife, Melissa." He gestured to the lady on the couch. I turned and smiled as it clicked into place why she'd looked so familiar when I stepped into the room. She looked like Annabelle, but Annabelle had a radiant beauty that far surpassed her mother's.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I nodded.

"You too. Hopefully you'll last longer than the other near guards; Annabelle needs some stability," she said sadly.

Senator Spencer cleared his throat. "So, Agent Taylor, I've read your file, and I must say it's mighty impressive. Your reputation is incredible at the agency. They have exceptionally high hopes for you." He gestured to the couch for me to sit. "You've read your brief, I assume?" I nodded in confirmation and sat as instructed. "Do you have any questions before you meet Annabelle?"

I nodded. "Only one, sir. I was wondering why you don't just tell Miss Spencer about the threats so that she would be more cooperative with her guards. It would be a lot easier to protect her, and ultimately make her safer, if she were more accommodating."

Mrs Spencer gasped and the Senator shook his head fiercely. "Annabelle is very fragile. She doesn't like to show it, but she's still grieving for Jack, and what that animal did to her." His hand clenched into a fist before he took a deep breath and composed himself. I liked this guy already. "She can't be told. She barely copes as it is, she doesn't need anything else to worry about on top." He stood up and walked to his desk, picking up his phone. "Maddy, could you have Annabelle come in here now, please?"

His face still looked sad with deep pain across it. This man had worries about his daughter that no father should ever have to go through. I hadn't thought about them when I read her file. Thinking about it now though, I realised that they had been through hell too. Their sixteen year old daughter goes missing, presumed dead, then months later she's found broken, abused, and totally a changed person. They had to watch her sink into depression and attempt suicide and turn into a cold, heartless person, and now they couldn't even hug her or hold her hand.

The phone on the desk buzzed, and Maddy's voice came through the intercom. "Senator, Annabelle's here," she announced.

"Okay, Maddy, send her in," the Senator answered, glancing at me, his expression almost apologetic.

A few seconds later she walked into the room. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew I was in trouble. She looked so incredibly vulnerable. Her eyes were cold and distant and held a pain that I couldn't bear to think about. She had seen things that no one should ever see. Carter had broken not only her body, but her spirit too.

Her eyes only flicked to me for a split second and held no reaction whatsoever before she turned to her father. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach tied in a knot. I wanted to run to her, wrap my arms around her, and tell her everything would be okay. I wanted to make her smile and hear her laugh.

Oh fuck it; I really am in deep shit!

### Chapter Three

### ~ Anna ~

When my cell phone vibrated on the side, I was laying on my bed with my arm covering my eyes, trying to block out the midmorning sun that was streaming through my window. I groaned and rolled to the side, stretching my arm out to reach for it. Every single one of my muscles protested from the slight movement. My whole body hurt from the run that I'd taken earlier in the morning. I'd pushed it too far today. After speaking to my father first thing and learning that I was going to be getting a new near guard today, and the bombshell that he'd dropped on me about the guy posing as my boyfriend, I'd taken my frustrations out in the gym, running on the treadmill until I'd vomited and almost passed out.

Finally catching my phone with my fingertips, I pressed it to my ear and stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah, what?" I muttered into the phone, already knowing what this would be about. My father had told me that I'd get a call when the new guard arrived, and I would have to show him around the house and get to know him ready for next week when we both went to the new school.

Maddy's overly cheerful voice greeted me. "Hi, Annabelle. Could you come down to your father's office, please? Agent Taylor is here, and he'd like to meet you."

I sighed and closed my eyes in defeat. "Fine, I'll be there in a minute." I disconnected the call before she could answer, and then headed out of my room on my wobbly legs. As I trudged through the house, I kept my eyes on the ground so that no one would try to speak to me. Not that they tried often anymore; I'd made it clear to people that I didn't want to interact.

As I let myself into Maddy's office, she looked up and smiled, but it was tight and wary. It seemed as if everyone had a problem with how to behave around me now. "You'll like this one, Annabelle, he's so handsome!" she gushed, raising one eyebrow excitedly.

I frowned and folded my arms across my chest as I made a distasteful, scoffing sound in the back of my throat. Her comment was both inappropriate and unwelcome. It didn't matter what he looked like, all that mattered was the fact that I didn't want another guard. All they ever did was come in, disrupt my life, and then leave me after a couple of months when they realised that I wasn't even worth protecting.

When she waved her hand at my father's office door, signalling for me to go in, I shoved it open and stepped inside. The room went quiet instantly, and my gaze flicked to the stranger standing in the middle of the room.

I felt my eyes widen from shock. Maddy was right, he certainly was handsome. His black hair was shorter around the sides, but fell across his forehead messily, and he had the most beautiful dark green eyes that I had ever seen. His face was perfect, just like an angel's. His body would be incredible too – I could see that even though it was covered by a plain, white T-shirt and ripped jeans. He actually looked like he'd just stepped out of a magazine shoot and was easily the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen.

I took all this in within a second before my eyes went back to his. His gaze was raking over me slowly, his mouth slightly open as he took in every inch of me, making me want to squirm on the spot or run away as fast as my legs would carry me. Lust was written plain across his angelic features, and it made my stomach ache.

I kept my expression neutral and quickly looked away to my father, who was watching me with tight eyes. Clearly he was uncomfortable after our little spat that had taken place in my bedroom this morning when he'd told me about this new guarding arrangement.

"So, this is him then? The new near guard _boyfriend_ ," I asked, saying the last word angrily.

He nodded. "Yes, Annabelle. This is Agent Taylor. Agent Taylor, this is my daughter, Annabelle Spencer," my dad answered, looking between the two of us warily.

The beautiful stranger extended his right hand towards me. "Hi, Miss Spencer, I'm Ashton. It's nice to meet you."

I recoiled slightly, but tried not to show my nerves. I didn't like to show people that I was afraid. My eyes flicked down to his extended hand and my heart started to race at the thought of him touching me. Physical attention, especially from men I didn't know, made my lungs constrict and my body go cold. It had done ever since Carter. I glanced back up at the agent's face. He was smiling at me; his eyes warm and friendly. I swallowed the fear away and raised my hand to his, trying to be confident, but I could see that I was shaking as I shook his hand briefly. His eyes never left mine, making me feel slightly relaxed, despite the fact that a man I didn't know was touching me. As I dropped his hand, I stepped back and folded my arms over my chest; my mother was watching me with wide eyes as if waiting to see what I would do.

I raised my chin as I faked a confident smile, dragging my eyes over him from his head down to his toes. "Well, Ashton, you don't look like the normal guys I get assigned. I'm gonna be generous and say that you'll last a week, maybe even ten days, before you request a reassignment," I teased cockily.

One side of his full lips pulled up as he shook his head. "Actually, Miss Spencer, I'm here for eight months, and I don't quit," he replied confidently, folding his arms across his chest too, mirroring me.

The arrogance he was exuding made one of my eyebrows rise, but I fought desperately to hold back any reaction to him. "You can call me Anna." I waved my hand dismissively, ignoring his attitude.

"Anna it is then." His answering smile was gorgeous and seemed to light his whole face.

My mother cleared her throat obviously. "Why don't you show Agent Taylor to his room, Annabelle? Maybe you could give him a tour of the house and grounds too. Show him where the lake is."

I frowned at that. They always expected me to play nicely with these agents. I had no idea why though, because they never lasted long and then the whole routine would start all over again. "I'll show him to his room, but he's a big boy, I'm sure he can find the lake himself. I mean, you can't miss the damn thing, it's right there." I turned and stalked out of the room, ignoring Ashton exchanging pleasantries with my parents behind me.

As I stalked up the hallway, fast footsteps sounded as he ran to catch me up. "Thanks for waiting," he muttered sarcastically.

I scowled over at him. In all honesty, I was a little surprised at his attitude. Usually the guards were all _'Yes, Miss Spencer. No, Miss Spencer'_. Clearly this guy had some balls. "Whatever, pretty boy. You want me to show you to your room or not?" I snapped. My body still hurt and I wanted to take a nap before dinner.

"Sure, that'd be great." His arm slipped around my shoulder. My heart seemed to stop before my body reacted immediately. I ducked under his arm and put both hands on his chest, shoving him as hard as I could. Because I'd caught him off guard, he stumbled back a step and looked at me with wide, horrified eyes. My teeth clenched together as I pulled back my right arm, throwing a punch in the general direction of his face. But he was too fast for me and threw his arm up to block my hit before holding both hands up innocently.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry," he apologised quickly, shaking his head.

Tears welled in my eyes as my body shook from the shock of it. Male attention wasn't something I could deal with anymore. It brought back too many memories that I could barely even cope with.

"That's it, you're gone," I growled, spinning on my heel, about to march back to my father's office and demand that he be transferred.

"Oh shit, come on, no, please? I promise that won't ever happen again, I just forgot myself, that's all. Please? I need this job," he begged, as I marched down the hallway.

The pleading tone to his voice seemed to strike a chord inside me and I stopped, gritting my teeth, considering. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and turned to face him. I could see how sorry he was just by his slumped shoulders.

"You're an asshole," I spat venomously. These men had no idea of the power they held over me and how much even just a casual touch could affect me for days afterwards.

He nodded, holding up his hands innocently.

"Don't ever touch me again. You're already hanging by a thread," I muttered, shaking my head angrily. I had no idea why I was giving him another chance. Usually I would have strutted into my father's office and demanded they send him away, but the sorrow in his eyes was evident, so I knew it was just an innocent move that wouldn't occur again anytime soon.

He nodded in agreement, so I resumed the tour. As we walked past doors in the hallway, I said the names of the rooms but didn't give him a chance to look in them. He could find his own way around; I didn't owe him anything.

"Kitchen. Dining room. Games room. Lounge. Den. The gym's down there," I said, pointing to my favourite part of the whole house.

"Wait, you have your own gym? Can I see it?" he asked excitedly. I risked a sideways glance at him. He was grinning happily; he obviously liked to exercise, which was actually pretty apparent by his toned physique.

"Sure, go ahead." I smiled and waved him into the gym. As soon as he was out of sight, I abandoned my tour and walked up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I threw myself down on the bed, sighing deeply. Eight months I'd been told he was here for. He definitely wouldn't last more than a month, tops.

After about half an hour, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I groaned at the interruption, shoving my sketch pad under my pillow. "What do you want?" I called, not in the mood to socialise any more today.

"Can I come in?" Ashton retorted. I pushed myself up from the bed, chuckling wickedly because he was clearly annoyed with me for running off and leaving him. As I pulled open the door, his annoyed face greeted me. "Yeah, that was funny," he said sarcastically. I full on laughed and cocked my head to the side, not caring that he was annoyed with me. His frown deepened. "I need to come in and pace your room."

My grip on my door handle tightened as I pulled it close to my side, blocking his entry. "What? Go pace in your own room, it's right next door," I scoffed, nodding towards the door next to mine.

"Yeah I know, someone showed me after you ditched me," he muttered sarcastically. "I didn't mean I wanted to pace _in_ your room though. I need to pace your room out so I know where everything is."

I frowned, not liking the idea of having someone in my private space. I didn't usually allow agents in my room, but his stern expression told me that he wasn't going away until he'd done whatever it was that he wanted. I sighed deeply and shoved open my door, gesturing for him to come in. "You're freaking weird! No one else has paced my room before."

As he walked in, his eyes flitted around. My bedroom was plain apart from my sketches that were stuck all over one wall; they were all to do with the same thing – Jack. No one knew that though, everyone just thought they were different things – a pair of blue eyes here, a dandelion there, a football stadium with a player celebrating, a smudge that was the exact shape of his birthmark he had on the edge of his hairline. I had drawn them all last year. I didn't draw Jack anymore; I tried to, but it just hurt too much. Last year was when I decided to stop feeling anything, and drawing Jack just made the pain come back in droves. The things I drew now I didn't show anyone, they were too dark. I didn't put them on my wall; I hid them or destroyed them before anyone saw and demanded that I seek help again. I refused to go back to the hospital.

"These are really great," Ashton complimented, looking at my wall of sketches.

I sat on my bed and pulled my knees up to my chest. "Thanks," I mumbled, watching him look at each one individually.

"What's this one?" he asked, pointing to one of Jack's birthmark.

I sighed, shrugging. "What does it look like to you? It's one of those inkblot tests. It's whatever you think it is."

He turned back to it, cocking his head to the side, staring at it intently for a few seconds before he spoke. "Huh, well then maybe I'm hungry because this looks like a cheeseburger and fries, heavy on the ketchup." Not expecting such a witty response, his comment caught me off guard and, uncharacteristically, I burst out laughing. He turned back to me and smiled, seeming almost proud of himself. "So I'd better get pacing, it may take a while." He smiled at me apologetically.

I sat back against the headboard and watched him walking around my room. Starting at the door, he would pace to the bed, then the door to the closet, the door to the window, bed to the window, bed to the closet. He went on and on for about twenty minutes. I watched him silently the whole time, just resting my chin on my knees. He was very methodical, but I had no idea why he was doing it.

"Okay, I'm done. I just need to ask you a few questions, then I'll let you get back to hating me or whatever you were doing before I came in," he said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, Pretty Boy, what do you want to know?"

"What side of the bed do you sleep on?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" My temper was rising again, I could feel it.

He shrugged innocently. "I need to know so that if I have to come in and get you, I'll know where you'll be."

"Oh for goodness' sake! None of the other guards have done anything like this or asked stupid questions! No one can get in the house. We have security, dumbass," I spat acidly.

A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Just humour me, please. I need all the information so I can keep you safe. I don't care what other guards have done; I'm here to stay, so at least you'll only have to go through this once."

I laughed humourlessly. "You'll quit, Pretty Boy, trust me, they all do. Everyone leaves me eventually," I stated confidently.

His cocky smile fell from his face immediately at my words. "Please just answer the questions so I can keep you safe." He pouted, looking like a lost puppy.

I gulped as I realised that he'd just used the cute puppy dog face on me, Jack used to pull that trick all the time. "Ugh fine, I tend to sleep in the middle of the bed."

"Okay. Do you have any weapons in your room?" he asked, looking round as if he could see anything. I shook my head in response. He nodded. "Can you shoot a gun?"

I recoiled at the word. I hated guns, I'd seen too many of them in my lifetime already. "No," I croaked, my mouth suddenly dry.

He pursed his lips before nodding. "I'll teach you to shoot. Just in case. You can never be too prepared for anything."

Needing this conversation to be over and for him to leave the only place I considered a sanctuary, I shrugged in agreement. "Are you done now?" I asked, nodding towards the door, signalling for him to leave.

"Er... I just have one more thing, but I don't want to upset you or anything," he said quietly. I took a deep breath and waited for him to continue. "I'm supposed to be your boyfriend. For people to believe that lie, I'm going to have to touch you from time to time."

Instantly, my heart slammed in my chest and a wave of nausea rolled over me. He scooted closer to me on the bed. I flinched at his closeness and jumped up quickly, holding my hands in front of me in protest. "Don't, just don't," I muttered, looking at him pleadingly. My lunch was threatening to come back up.

"I'm not going to touch you. I just... Anna, to pull this off I'm going to have to be able to touch you in public. Maybe just hold your hand," he suggested, standing too but making no moves to come near me.

"Why don't we just say we're friends?" I offered.

He shook his head. "No. The reason they want me as your boyfriend is to keep the guys away from you. Apparently it's always the guys that get you kicked out," he countered, chuckling at something.

"No, actually it's always my temper that gets me kicked out," I corrected, smiling weakly as I backed up another step. "Hey, we could say I'm a lesbian," I bargained, praying he'd agree.

He chuckled, watching me as I backed up again. "Let's just stick to the brief. I just need you to know that I'm here to protect you. I would never hurt you, ever." His eyes locked onto mine as he stepped forwards.

I held my breath, wondering if he too could hear my heart racing. He stopped in front of me and held out his hand, smiling reassuringly. My eyes dropped to it, and I shook my head. I couldn't do it. It would bring back memories of _him,_ and I couldn't think about him.

"Please, I can't," I begged, swallowing the lump that was stuck in my throat.

"I will never hurt you. I want to protect you," he whispered.

_Oh come on, Anna, get a grip of yourself! He's an agent here to protect you, you're in a house full of people, he's not going to attack you! Just move your hand and stop being such a damn wimp!_ My mental chastising had a positive impact on my confidence, so I raised a trembling hand and put it in his. His fingers threaded through mine, and he squeezed gently. I looked at my hand, shocked. It didn't actually feel too bad, it was quite pleasant actually, warm and soft. Some of my stress evaporated, and I glanced up at his handsome face; a small satisfied smile graced his lips.

"That's great, Anna. Maybe if we tried to hold hands for a little a bit every day, then you'd get used to it before we start college next week," he suggested.

"You won't be here next week, Pretty Boy," I answered confidently.

He laughed incredulously. "Anna, I don't quit, I never quit, so you'd better get used to me. I'm going to be around for a while, whether you like it or not," he replied arrogantly.

I yanked my hand out of his and folded my arms across my chest. "I don't need a fucking babysitter! I can take care of myself," I stated, annoyed again.

He raised one eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "Really? You can take care of yourself? So if I wanted to throw you down on the bed, I couldn't do that?"

_Oh God!_ My heart took off in double time. "Ashton, if you touch me, I'm gonna break your pretty face," I warned.

A confident smile crept onto his lips. "You couldn't land one punch before I pin you to the bed."

He took a step forward and I didn't give him the opportunity to touch me. I shot my hand out to punch him in the stomach, but he knocked my hand away easily before it got anywhere near him. My stomach clenched with fear because that small move showed me that he was faster than me. Panic made my blood go cold, but I wasn't willing to concede yet. I'd never give up without a fight again. He took another step towards me and I sent a kick towards him as hard as I could. He sidestepped it easily, caught my leg and closed the distance between us so fast that I didn't have time to react. His free arm wrapped around my waist, and he threw us both onto the bed.

As he landed on top of me, I felt the scream ripping its way up my throat as the panic took over. He put one hand over my mouth and grabbed my hands with the other, pinning them above my head, his body pressing me into the bed. I screamed and thrashed, trying to throw him off me as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of anything other than Carter, but I couldn't stop myself from returning to those memories again. In my head, I saw his brown eyes sparkling with excitement as he prepared to rape me. I heaved and turned my head to the side in defeat, letting the tears fall as I just stopped struggling. There was no point, he was too strong for me.

I waited for the pain, but it never came. I opened my eyes slowly and looked up. Ashton was still holding me down on the bed, but somehow he wasn't heavy, as if he was holding his weight off me.

"I won't hurt you, I promise. Trust me," he whispered as he took his hand off of my mouth. My tears were still falling so he wiped them away gently. "I just wanted to show you that you need me. I want to protect you. You need me, so please don't keep making this difficult. I won't leave you like the others," he said softly.

I looked up into his deep green eyes, and I could see the sincerity there; they were kind, caring, and gentle eyes. They were the complete opposite of the brown eyes I'd been envisioning a few seconds before. I believed him. Ashton wouldn't quit after a week, and he wasn't going to hurt me.

"Okay, but please get off me," I begged, my voice trembling as I spoke.

"I will, but I think this is good for you. You can't go through life on your own, afraid to let people touch you, afraid to let people in, in case they leave you. What happened to you won't happen again, I promise," he said, looking pained.

I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. The grief, pain and disgust returned in droves. I'd been able to push the pain away for months now, refusing to acknowledge that I was forever broken, just walking around like an emotionless zombie; the only thing I allowed myself to feel was anger.

"Do you need me to get off, or can you cope for a couple of minutes?" he asked quietly.

I took in a shaky breath. "Please don't hurt me," I whispered, turning my head to the side again.

"I won't." He let go of my hands, but I couldn't move; it was like my body was frozen in place.

I still felt sick, but for some reason I trusted him. I didn't want to, I genuinely didn't, but I couldn't help myself. He didn't move at all, didn't even shift his weight. I kept my eyes squeezed closed. I knew he was looking at me but I wanted to stay in control, and the only thing that was keeping me in control of myself was counting his heartbeats that I could feel against my chest.

After a couple of minutes, he pushed himself off me and stood up. "See, you did great. I just need you to trust me," he congratulated, offering his hand to help me up. I rolled on to my side and pulled my knees up to my chest in the foetal position as my body suddenly racked with sobs. "Oh shit! I'm sorry, Anna! Why didn't you say? I would've gotten off, I swear!" he gasped, sounding horrified, making no moves to come near me again.

"Just leave, I just want to be on my own," I begged. I didn't want him here; he was making everything worse with his stupid, nice guy attitude and cocky, good looks.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds before he finally agreed. "I'll just be next door then. I'm really sorry."

I didn't open my eyes until I heard the click of the door. Weakly, I crawled up the bed, pulled the soft pillow over my face, and then screamed until I lost my breath. Thoughts were rushing through my brain too fast for me to comprehend: Why did I not mind him being on top of me? Why did I let him do that to me? And most importantly, why did it upset me when he moved away?

Guilt. It was eating me up inside because I'd just enjoyed another man's touch. I felt so guilty that I wanted to vomit. _Oh God, Jack, I'm so sorry! I won't let that happen again, I promise,_ I mentally chanted in my head.

I rolled over and picked up the photo that I had by the side of my bed. Jack's handsome face greeted me, making me feel even worse for letting Ashton touch me. We were just fifteen when the photo was taken, merely a year before everything turned upside-down. We were at the beach. He was smiling his beautiful smile and had his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I was laughing at something goofy he'd whispered in my ear just as the photo was taken. Everyday I wished I could remember what it was that he'd said. I rubbed my thumb across his face. I missed him so much; it was like a knife in the heart everyday.

That night I cried myself to sleep – something I hadn't done for months.

I woke up screaming. I'd been dreaming about Carter again as usual. My heart was pounding in my ears as I sat up, panting, trying to get my breath back the same as I did every night. I raised my knees up and put my head between them.

Suddenly my door burst open and the lights flicked on, almost blinding me. I whimpered in surprise but looked up to see Ashton in just his boxer shorts. His eyes were darting around my room. He held a gun in one hand, pointing straight out in front of him; his other arm was across his body, and he had a wicked-looking knife in his hand. His expression was totally focussed and murderously angry. He looked like a mean SWAT agent now, not a pretty boy model.

He crossed the room in a split second. "Get up and get behind me. Now!" he ordered. I instantly jumped out of the bed, wondering what was going on. Was someone in the house?

As soon as I was behind him, he started backing up, making me move with him. I almost stumbled and gripped my hands on his hips to steady myself. We backed up until I bumped into the wall behind me, making me whimper. He pressed his back against my chest, shielding me with his body as he continued to scan my room.

"Shh!" he hissed. I whimpered again and clamped my hand over my mouth, pressing my face hard into his bare back to silence myself. "Where?" he whispered fiercely. "Where are they?"

I pulled back so I could take my hand off my mouth. "Where's who? I don't know," I whispered back, pressing into his body, trying to melt into him.

"Who was in your room? Why were you screaming?" he questioned, clearly confused now too.

Realisation washed over me. "Oh shit! You came in here because I was screaming?" I breathed a sigh of relief as the shock slowly faded from my stressed body.

"Yeah... what?" He shook his head, still scanning my room for danger.

"Nothing, it's nothing. I was dreaming. I'm sorry." I felt like a complete loser in that second. Everyone had moved bedrooms so that I was the only one down this end of the hall because I woke up screaming every night. I hadn't even thought about waking Ashton up. Everyone else just ignored me now.

He turned around to face me, looking concerned, still standing close to me, his chest almost pressing into mine. "You were dreaming?" he asked quietly. I nodded in response. He blew out a large breath and swapped his knife into his gun hand so he could drag his hand through his messy bed hair. "Holy fuck. You were screaming as if you were being murdered," he said, looking at me, wide eyed.

"Maybe I was," I murmured.

He raised his hand and brushed some hair over my shoulder before taking hold of my hand. "It's because of what I did earlier, wasn't it?" he muttered. His voice was full of remorse.

I shook my head fiercely. "No, it wasn't," I assured him. "I have nightmares every night, it had nothing to do with you," I promised. He squeezed my hand gently, sending little tingles up my arm. I frowned, noticing how I didn't hate that he was touching me. Maybe it was just practice, like he'd suggested. "Maybe you should change rooms. There's another room upstairs, you won't hear me then." My eyes dropped to my feet as heat flooded my face from embarrassment.

"Do you dream like that every night?" he asked, bending his head to look into my eyes.

"Yeah," I nodded. "But I don't want to talk about it, so please don't ask. I'm sorry I woke you up."

His green eyes locked on mine. They were strangely calming. "I don't mind that you woke me up. I just wish you'd let me try and help you."

Help me? No one could help me; it was too late for that. The only person that could help me had died.

"You can't." I put my hand on his chest and pushed him away from me. He was standing so close and I was getting hot, trapped in the corner. I needed some air.

"I can, you just need to let me in," he said, catching my hand again.

I groaned in frustration. "Ashton, please just leave. I just need some air or something. I'm sorry I woke you, I won't go back to sleep again so you can get some sleep." I stepped away from him, needing a little personal space.

He shook his head adamantly. "You can go back to sleep. I'll watch over you. That way you might not have any more nightmares," he suggested, gripping the back of my dresser chair and pulling it to the side of the bed.

I laughed incredulously. "And that's part of your new job description?" I shot back sarcastically.

He shook his head, turning on my bedside lamp before walking over to switch the ceiling lights off. "Nope. But I want you to feel safe with me so I'll do whatever it takes."

I scoffed, watching as plopped himself down in the chair. "So you're going to watch me sleep?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, setting his gun and knife on the floor at the side of the chair.

I gulped at his stern expression. "Ashton, seriously, please just go to bed. I won't wake you again." I reached over and picked up a book from the side and got comfy on my bed to read it.

He sighed deeply. "Look, when you get to know me, you'll know that once I've made my mind up about something, there's not much that can change it. Now I'm either gonna sit here and watch you sleep, or I'm gonna sit here and watch you read," he stated, smiling at me cockily.

I frowned as I read his expression. It was deadly serious; he wasn't going back to sleep either way. We glared at each other for a couple of minutes, neither of us wanting to back down. Finally, I sighed deeply, knowing I'd lost. What he didn't know was that I would still have nightmares with him sitting there anyway, so this little thing was pointless. My father had already tried sitting in the room while I slept; nothing helped. I'd tried everything, drugs, hypnotists, yoga; nothing had any effect on them. Maybe Ashton needed to find that out the hard way and lose a night of sleep before he'd give up trying to help me.

I sighed and tossed my book in his direction. "Fine. Wanna read that?" I asked as he caught it.

He grinned and looked at the cover. "You like vampires?" he asked, holding up my battered and abused copy of Twilight.

I smiled back. "I like that one," I admitted, settling back into the bed and just watching him flick through to the first page. "Good night."

"Night, Anna." Sitting there reading, in just a pair of black boxers, I saw no sign of the badass from minutes before, he was back to male model again now.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep, knowing that it wouldn't come easy. It never did.

### Chapter Four

I woke in the morning after having one of the best night's sleep I'd had in years. I had laid awake for ages with my back to him, listening to him flipping the pages of the book. But the thing that I remembered most about last night was the moment I realised he'd fallen asleep. Ashton Taylor, easily the most handsome man I had seen in a long time, snored. And not just a little, quiet snore either; it was a loud chainsaw-type sound. For a long time I'd laid there, giggling to myself, as I watched him with his head propped against his hand, his legs folded under him and the book abandoned on his lap. It was actually a cute sight. I'd eventually fallen asleep too, still hearing the sound of his snores even in my dreams. It was nice actually because it was like they'd stopped me from going into a deep sleep. I hadn't had any more nightmares last night, just like he'd hoped.

I sighed contentedly and looked over at him still slumped in the same position. He would probably suffer for the awkward position all day long. I smiled weakly and pulled the sheets up around my shoulders as he stirred too, wincing as he moved and blinked a couple of times.

"Hi," I greeted, unsure what I was supposed to say. This was a first for me.

"Morning," he yawned, sitting forward and arching his back, letting out a little groan. "You sleep okay?"

I smiled and nodded, wondering if I should tease him for snoring so loud. I decided against it, after all, he _had_ attempted to stay awake all night so I could sleep. It wasn't my place to make fun of him after he'd forgone his bed for me. "Actually, yeah I did. Thanks," I answered sheepishly.

He grinned triumphantly, swinging his legs off the chair and standing up, stretching. Without my permission, my eyes instantly raked down his body, taking in every inch of his perfection from his tanned skin, his chiselled abs and the little V-line that disappeared down into his underwear. I gulped and closed my eyes quickly before he caught me watching him.

"You think I could maybe borrow this so I can read the end?" he asked.

I opened my eyes to see him awkwardly holding up my book. I smiled and nodded, noting his obvious embarrassment that he was enjoying a book aimed predominantly at teenage girls. "No need to be embarrassed, you can't beat a good vampire novel. I've got the other three as well if you want them."

He laughed and shrugged. "I'm not embarrassed; I'm just waiting for the teasing to start because I read a chick book."

"Chick book," I laughed at his derogatory choice of words, sitting up and shaking my head.

He smiled and nodded back towards the door. "I'm gonna go grab a shower." When he bent down to retrieve his gun and knife from the floor, my eyes sneakily dropped down to his behind. I arched one eyebrow in appreciation. The back view was actually just as good as the front. After collecting his weapons, he strutted across the room, pulling open the door. Before he could leave I called his name, making him turn to look at me expectantly.

"Thank you for last night. That was nice of you," I admitted. The words were hard to say. I wasn't used to being nice to people lately so I was kind of unsure how to do it.

His lips curved into a beautiful smile. "Anytime."

As he closed the door behind him, I pushed myself out of the bed, deciding that I would take a shower too.

After, I didn't bother drying my hair or putting on make-up – I never did. I threw on a pair of loose combat-style jeans and a black tank top with a black, baggy sweatshirt over the top, and then headed downstairs for breakfast.

As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Ashton sitting at the breakfast bar with a huge stack of pancakes in front of him. The kitchen staff were falling all over him. Sarah, the waitress, was flirting with him shamelessly, her cleavage almost popping out of her shirt that was never normally undone like that.

My stomach was already full of anguish over what was going to happen this morning, so instead of eating a proper breakfast, I just grabbed a banana, ignoring how Mary, the chef, frowned disapprovingly.

Ashton turned and smiled at me. This earned me a nasty look from Sarah because she'd lost his attention. While I poured a glass of orange juice, she stepped closer to him, pulling her shoulders back to make her breasts look like they were about to pop out of her shirt. "So, Ashton, I have a few hours off today, would you like to do something?" she asked, raising one eyebrow in a silent offer of nakedness, I assumed.

A frown lined his forehead as he shook his head. "Actually I was hoping that Anna would want to hang out with me today," he replied, turning to me.

The banana seemed to get stuck in my throat. "I'm busy today." I had things I needed to do.

One of his eyebrows rose in question. "Oh really, what are you doing?"

I swallowed loudly. This was why I didn't like having guards; they were always trying to get into things that had nothing to do with them. "I've got things to do. It's not really any of your business," I replied rudely, downing the last of my juice before tossing the banana skin into the trash can and storming out of the room before he could question me further.

Pulling my keys out of my pocket, I strutted out of the front door and over to my car. Just as I opened the door and slid in, I heard him shout, "Hey! Where the hell are you going?"

I winced as I saw Ashton jog out of the house, frowning angrily in my direction. Annoyance bubbled in my stomach because I didn't want him with me. Deciding to leave before he could insist I let him come, I threw the car into drive and shoved my foot down on the gas. Instead of watching me leave like I'd assumed he would, he jumped into the path of the car. My eyes widened in horror as I slammed my foot down on the brake and held my breath, waiting for the thud of his body to hit the car. It didn't, instead almost as soon as the car stopped, the passenger door opened and he climbed in, still glaring at me.

"No! Get the fuck out of my car!"

"You were going to leave the estate?" he snapped incredulously.

"Yes! I've got things to do, and you can't come," I ranted, giving him my best warning glare and slamming my hand down on the steering wheel in frustration.

"Anna, you can't just leave without me! I mean, have you even told Dean you were leaving?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

"No. I'll only be an hour or so. Just get out, Agent Taylor," I spat nastily.

"No. For Christ's sake, you can't just leave without me!" he growled, shaking his head fiercely.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself as I realised I wasn't going to win this argument. "Fine."

I put the car back into drive and sped out of the driveway. I smirked as he quickly snapped on his seatbelt and gripped the door handle so tightly that his knuckles went white. I sped down the narrow lanes that I knew like the back of my hand until I got to the small row of shops that constituted Main Street. Taking the last space available, I turned to look at Ashton. I smiled wickedly at his tense jaw and straight back. _That'll teach you for not getting out of my car!_

"I'm just going to jump out, why don't you wait here for me?" I teased, knowing he'd follow me regardless of what I'd said. I leant into the back and snagged my purse before climbing out of the car and heading into the florist. While I purchased a bunch of daisies, Ashton hovered behind me, silently looking around the empty store as if some knife-wielding madman was going to jump out and butcher me.

When we finally made our way back to the car, he winced. "Can I drive?" The hopefulness to his voice was unmistakable.

I raised one eyebrow and shook my head in answer, smirking at him. _Maybe next time you'll learn and just stay at home._ He groaned, and I noticed with some measure of satisfaction that he fastened his seatbelt as soon as he was in his seat before gripping the door handle tightly again.

A small smile graced my lips as my foot pressed down onto the accelerator and the car lurched along the road. Dodging and overtaking cars that were in my way, I finally arrived at my destination. Ashton glanced at me quickly as I pulled into the parking lot of the cemetery. Understanding and sorrow crossed his face, and I tightened my hands around the steering wheel until my skin pinched and started to burn.

"Is there anything I can say or do to make you wait here for me?" I asked quietly. I didn't want him here. I needed privacy for this.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Anna, but I can't."

My heart sank. I took a shaky breath to try and calm myself and then nodded, grabbed the flowers from the backseat and walked off without waiting for him. I could hear him a few steps behind, but he didn't try to catch up with me. As I walked the familiar path to Jack's grave, I stopped to collect any dandelions that I saw on the way. Finally, I reached it.

JACKSON IAN ROBERTS

January 19, 1992 - March 12, 2008

Beloved son, brother, and friend

Taken from us too soon. We will miss you

Sleep tight.

I ran my fingers over the letters of his name before collecting the wilted flowers and sweeping the fallen leaves from his grave. I put the daisies on the grass and sprinkled the dandelions over the top of the marble headstone before sitting down.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Hey, Jack. I just wanted to come and say hi and to let you know that I miss you, even though you probably know that already." I smiled weakly and ran my hand over the grass. "Not much new to tell you really..." I paused, trying to think of what had happened since I was here last. "I got my car fixed, so it's not making that humming noise anymore. Oh, and I finally threw out my old sneakers, you know the yellow ones that you hated? Well they finally ripped and the sole came totally off, so that should make you happy," I sighed deeply. "I got a new near guard because Agent Jenks quit last week. I told you he couldn't handle it. He only lasted a month, the lightweight." I chuckled wickedly. I'd known that guy wouldn't last very long; I had seen it in his eyes.

"Er... I got a text from your mom asking me to come over for dinner sometime this week but, to be honest, I don't think I'll go. I hope you don't mind, but I just can't stand going to your house; it's just too hard and I can't do it anymore. I know you understand." My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I tried not to let the sadness take over. I picked a few strands of grass to distract myself.

"Your brother's doing well. From what I've heard he's a real star on the football field, so maybe those games you two played as kids, paid off. Apparently, he's a bit of a ladies' man too; he's getting himself quite the reputation for being a player."

I looked up at the sky; it was a beautiful day, perfect, not a cloud in sight. "I got kicked out of school again," I said quietly, a little embarrassed. "I know, I know, it's the second one this school year and the semester only started like a month and a half ago. You're probably up there laughing your ass off at me, but hey, whatever, right? Look to the future, that's what you always used to say. But it's so hard, Jack, so hard." A tear finally escaped down my cheek. I fought hard to keep them at bay; I didn't like to cry here, I didn't like the thought of crying in front of him in case I made him sad.

I pinched the skin on the inside of my elbow to distract myself from the pain that was building up inside me. "So anyway, as of next week, I'm going to ASU." That was the latest college my dad could bribe me into. "I'm really going to try there because this is the last time I can start over. If I can't do it, then I'm just going to drop out and give up. I know we promised that we'd never give up on our dreams, but it's just too hard for me to keep starting over and over." I wiped my face and took a few deep breaths, pushing away the grief that was trying to pull me under. "I won't be able to come here as much to see you because it's a few hours away, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you and missing you because I do that whether I'm here or not, and I know that you know that." I smiled through my heartbreak. He had to know how much I missed him, I told him every day.

I sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the birds singing in the tree nearby. "I guess I'd better go," I conceded, standing up. I kissed my fingertips and traced his name one more time. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I love you, Jack, and I always will," I vowed, wiping another tear that escaped. I needed to go before I broke down; I didn't want him to see that. "Bye, baby." I turned on my heel and walked away.

Ashton was leaning against a tree about ten feet away from Jack's grave. He was close enough to have heard everything that I said, I was sure of it. His face was the mask of sympathy, but he didn't say anything; he just walked alongside me silently.

When we got to the car, he opened the driver's door for me. "Will you drive?" I asked quietly, holding out the keys to him.

"Sure thing," he answered, following me around to the passenger side and opening the door for me before going back to get in his side. After a few minutes of driving in silence, he looked over at me. "You okay?"

"Yep," I lied, trying to pretend that my heart wasn't breaking all over again the same as it did every time I left Jack's grave.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more privacy."

I nodded, not wanting to talk about it. "It's fine," I mumbled, looking out of my window, swallowing the sobs that were fighting to break free.

His hand closed over mine in silent support. It was a small gesture and one that normally would have had me freaking out and my body in a nervous state, but actually it felt nice, comforting, reassuring, and it made me feel safe. I squeezed his hand a little as a 'thank you' and carried on staring out of my window at the fields and trees that whizzed past.

As soon as we pulled into the drive, I saw Dean leaning up against the porch, his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face. Ashton groaned. "That's just perfect! Well, it was nice working with you, Anna," he mumbled, shaking his head.

I scoffed. "Yeah right, you think you'll get in trouble? Dean won't say anything, you don't need to worry," I assured him, climbing out of the car.

I forced a polite smile as Dean pushed himself away from the wall, glaring at me. "Where the fuck have you been, Annabelle?" he spat.

I raised one eyebrow. "Wow, language, Agent Michaels, there are ladies present," I joked, nodding in Ashton's direction.

My far guard didn't laugh. "Annabelle, how many times do I have to tell you? You can't just leave without me. Where the hell have you been anyway?" His eyes darted around the long driveway, probably checking to see if anyone saw us.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, just chill! I came back, didn't I? You're just pissed because you had to cover for me again."

His murderous glare turned in Ashton's direction. "Why didn't you tell me you were going? Shit, Taylor, I know you're new to all this but I'll give you a clue, you're near guard, I'm far guard, we _both_ need to guard!"

I laughed at his annoyance. Technically he should have been used to this happening by now; I snuck out at least twice a week when I was here at the lake house. "Aww, Dean, are you jealous I took him with me and not you? Are you feeling a little left out?" I teased in a singsong voice.

Ashton didn't look amused; his eyes narrowed in a clear 'shut the hell up' warning. "Dean, I didn't know we were going, I barely got in the car before she drove off," he interjected innocently.

My far guard turned back to me. "Where did you go?"

"That's none of your fucking business, Agent," I retorted, now just as annoyed as he was.

"Taylor?" he prompted, looking back Ashton. I looked at my new guard pleadingly, silently begging him not to say anything. Once the guards knew I went there when I snuck out, I'd never get peace there again.

Ashton sighed. "Look, Anna would rather I not say," he answered, sidestepping Dean and wrapping his hand around my upper arm. "We're back now. I apologise, she apologises, let's leave it at that. It won't happen again," he said sternly, giving me a gentle push in the direction of the house.

As soon as we were inside the house, I pulled my arm out of his grasp. "I didn't apologise," I stated sarcastically.

He laughed and nodded. "I noticed," he replied, smiling. "So, considering as I just took one for you and kept your secret, how about you show me this lake?"

I rolled my eyes. "You haven't seen the lake yet?" He shook his head in response. "Come with me." I turned and stalked towards my bedroom, listening to him trudge along behind me. When I got to my room I gestured towards my window and the beautiful view of the lake that I had. "There it is, Pretty Boy."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Right, well thanks, but I was thinking we could get a boat or something, maybe go for a swim? We need to get to know each other ready for next week. I know nothing about you other than what I've read in your file."

My heart sank. _A file? I have a file?_ "What kind of file?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

His face fell, and he shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Er, well, you have a file that gave me all the information I need for my job. You know, like your schools, your routine. A brief overview of your character. It had some stuff about Jackson."

I stiffened. "Jack. He liked Jack, not Jackson. He hated being called Jackson." I frowned down at my feet.

"Right, okay. There wasn't really that much in there about you and what you like and don't like. If I'm gonna pretend to be your boyfriend, I figure I should at least know some stuff about you." He bent his head, trying to catch my eye.

I gulped. He hadn't said anything about Carter, did he know about Carter? "Did it say anything about Carter in my file?" I asked, my voice breaking when I said his name. Bile rose in my throat. I hated to talk about him, my therapist made me talk about him which wasn't good for my whole staying emotionless plan.

He nodded. "Yeah it did," was all he said.

The frustrated anger came out of nowhere. "Right, of course it did. I should have known, I forgot that I'm not entitled to privacy anymore," I snapped. A tear fell down my cheek, so I swiped it away angrily. I hated the fact that everyone knew; it was no one else's business.

"I'm sorry, Anna, I needed the information to help keep you safe." Ashton took hold of my hand, squeezing it gently.

I snorted, wrenching my hand out of grasp. "How the hell would knowing that stuff keep me safe? That's private stuff, no one should know about it! I don't want anyone to know!" I shouted, making him flinch. My blood felt like it was boiling in my veins. Everyone always thought they knew what was best for me, but in reality, they all just made it ten times worse. I didn't need their pity.

"It didn't go into details. Just an overview," he countered, frowning, looking a little concerned I was going to break or something.

"Oh, it didn't go into details? You want the details, Ashton? You want me to tell you why I wake up screaming every night? Want me to tell you how I tried to kill myself by slitting my wrists and the fucker saved me just so he could live in some little, sick fantasy where we played house? You want to know that apparently he was in love with me, love at first sight he said? That's why he killed Jack right in front of me, because he wanted me to himself! He had Jack beaten so badly that I can still hear the sounds of his bones snapping, I can still see the terrified look in his eyes just before they threw him over the fire escape," I ranted, taking a shaky breath.

Ashton had gone pale.

"You want to know that exactly a week after my sixteenth birthday, he raped me and took my virginity? And then he raped me every day after that? You want to know that he got me pregnant and was so angry about it that he threw me down the stairs and then kicked me in the stomach repeatedly until I had a miscarriage? Huh, you want to know that? Shall I carry on?" I shouted. He flinched and shook his head; his eyes alight with both concern and horror.

I couldn't stop, it was pouring out of me now. "Did it say in my file that I didn't leave his house the whole time I was there? That I wasn't allowed to eat every day, that if I said something he didn't like or didn't do as I was asked, that he would beat me until I blacked out?" My chin wobbled at the memories. "Did it say in the file that he tried to be the perfect boyfriend? Or that he gave me everything a girl could ask for – designer clothes, shoes, purses, flowers, chocolates? I had laptops that couldn't go on the internet. I had the latest cell phone that could only dial his number. He even got me a puppy which he let me keep just long enough for me to fall in love with it before he drowned it in the pool for peeing on the carpet. Every night in my dreams I see him kill Jack. He was murdered because of me. Did it say any of that in my file?" I asked venomously. "Do you want to know what hurts me the most everyday? The fact that I would have gone with him willingly if he would have just let Jack go. I would go through that for the rest of my life if it meant Jack could have lived. He didn't deserve to die, especially not because of me," I whispered, unable to keep the tears away any longer.

"Anna, I'm so sorry," Ashton croaked, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around me.

I sobbed uncontrollably against his chest as his arms tightened around me. I'd never told anyone that; I'd refused to give the police any details, just the basic facts. I didn't want to press charges against him because I couldn't talk about it; I couldn't tell anyone what he'd done to me. And that was the first time I'd ever mentioned the fact that I'd had a miscarriage.

When I finally managed to calm myself, he pulled away and looked at me tenderly; his eyes were soft and warm and filled with compassion. "I'm sorry this happened to you, but I promise he won't ever hurt you again," he said fiercely, his jaw becoming tight.

I shook my head at his words. "Don't worry, Ashton, he can't hurt me anymore, no one can. I have nothing left to lose," I said honestly.

This seemed to upset him, and a pained look crossed his face. "Don't say that, I can't hear that," he whispered, looking at me pleadingly. I pushed him away and stalked to the bathroom, locking myself in and taking another shower to try and rid myself of the dirty feeling that always crept over me when I thought about Carter.

### Chapter Five

When I got out of the shower, I felt much better. It actually felt good to have said all of that out loud, for someone to finally know some of what I went through. I never thought it would, but saying the words out loud took some of the anger away that was always boiling just under the surface.

I sat on my bed wrapped in my towel. So far, Ashton had been nothing but nice to me, and I'd repaid him by blurting out all of that horrible stuff and being a bitch to him. My gaze fell on my drawer that housed my swimwear. I chewed on my lip. I somehow felt like I owed him something – and he wanted to see the lake. Maybe, just for today, I could cut him some slack. It would be nice to take in some sunshine, and I loved the lake too.

I sighed as I made up my mind. Gripping my hair, I scraped it back into a messy bun before heading over to my drawers and pulling out my black, all in one swimsuit. After slipping it on, I covered it with a pair of baggy jeans and a long tee.

When I knocked on Ashton's bedroom door I heard bedsprings creak from inside before he opened it, seeming surprised to see me.

I smiled awkwardly. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied softly. He still looked upset.

I took a deep breath. "So, I'm sorry I went off on one at you. I shouldn't have said all those things to you, that wasn't fair of me, so I apologise."

He smiled weakly. "You don't have to apologise, Anna. I want you to be able to tell me things and trust me with it. I promise I won't say anything to anyone if you don't want me to."

I nodded. "Thanks. Well, I was wondering if you still wanted to go for that swim." I winced, waiting for him to tell me to take a hike or something for being such a bitch to him. Instead, he grinned and his whole face lit up.

"Yeah, I do," he said cheerfully.

"Okay, well I've asked Sarah to take you," I teased, laughing.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious," he muttered sarcastically, reaching for my hand and giving me a tug into his bedroom.

I glanced at the bed; the pillows were propped up against the headboard, and my book was face down on the middle of the bed. I grinned and pointed to it. "So, where you up to?"

"Edward and Bella have just arrived at the baseball field," he replied, going to his drawers and grabbing a pair of black shorts. "I'm just gonna go put these on. You need to get a swimsuit on or something?" he asked, heading towards his bathroom.

"No, I've already got mine on," I answered, shrugging.

"Oh yeah? What would have happened if I'd said I didn't want to go?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

I shrugged easily. "I would've taken Dean. He was obviously feeling left out earlier. He wouldn't turn me down," I joked, smiling at him.

He laughed and shook his head. "I wouldn't turn you down either." He smiled and then disappeared into the bathroom.

I sat on his bed and grabbed the book just for something to do. He had his page marked so I flicked it open and a photo fell out that he was using as a bookmark. I turned it over to look at it. It was of him and four other guys. He had his arm around a blond guy next to him; they were all grinning and laughing, but that wasn't the reason why I couldn't look away from it.

All five of them were dressed in black SWAT uniforms. Ashton had a huge gun hanging off his shoulder and another smaller gun strapped to this side. He looked so sexy that my mouth actually started to water and my body started to get hot all over. I couldn't drag my eyes away from his smiling face in the photo, he looked so happy. I silently wondered who the other guys were and if they were close. The uniform was the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

"Hey, don't lose my page."

I jumped a mile, shoving the photo back into the book and snapping it shut. I hadn't even heard him come back into the room because I was too busy perving on his photo. "Er yeah right, I won't." I dropped the book quickly, praying I wasn't blushing.

"You ready to go then?" he asked, folding two towels and putting them under his arm.

"Yep. Did you want to take a row boat over to the floating dock?" I asked as we walked through the house.

"Sounds good. Let's stop and get snacks first," he suggested, rubbing his flat stomach in a small circle. His hand closed around mine as we walked and I looked down at it, unsure what to think or feel. His plan was to hold hands a little each day so that I'd get used to it before we went to school, but I hadn't expected it to actually work. But with his warm hand wrapped around mine, I realised that I actually quite liked the feel of it.

After a quick stop in the kitchen to grab several packs of cookies and chips, some fruit and a couple of bottles of water, I led him through the vast grounds and over to the little jetty around the back of my parents' property.

"Which one do you want to take?" I questioned, nodding at the row boats that were tied there. They were all the same, just painted different colours.

"How about blue, that's my favourite colour," he said and I smiled as he climbed into the boat, setting down the bag of food he'd insisted on carrying.

When he turned back to help me, I scoffed and knocked his hand away. "I'm not some damsel that needs everything doing for her," I muttered, shaking my head as I jumped lightly into the boat.

He sighed dramatically and sat down. "Right I forgot, Little Miss Independent." He rolled his eyes, smiling at me.

I grinned and grabbed the oars, starting to row in the general direction of the floating dock. "You can row back," I offered, chuckling at his disgruntled expression.

"You're not letting me be very romantic," he grumbled, crossing his arms in mock annoyance.

"Why the hell would you want to be romantic?" I asked, laughing.

"Well, I'm not making a very good impression on our first date, am I?" he replied, pouting.

_Oh my God, date? He doesn't think this is an actual date, does he?_ "This isn't a date," I said quietly.

He laughed. "Yeah, it kinda is. You are my girlfriend after all," he countered, shrugging.

I stiffened at the word 'girlfriend'. "No I'm not. My boyfriend died. You're just doing your job," I retorted, glaring at him angrily.

His face dropped and his eyes tightened. "Anna, I was just kidding. I meant if people ask, we can say this was our first date. I mean, we've gotta have stories and stuff, right?" he continued cautiously.

I sighed and ignored him, rowing harder until we reached the floating dock that was almost in the middle of the lake. When the boat bumped against the edge of the dock, he jumped out, tying it securely before holding his hand down to help me up.

"I don't need your help," I protested, annoyed again.

He sighed deeply. "Listen, Anna, this is what guys do for their girls. We need to start acting like a couple now so that it'll be easier next week. It's not a big deal; I just want to help you out of the boat. Please stop being difficult," he countered, grabbing my hand and helping me onto the deck. "Jeez, you're stubborn." He shook his head, laughing. "Most girls would've fallen for my charm by now," he boasted, smiling at me.

I snorted at his cocky attitude. "If you're expecting me to fall for you, then you're going to be very disappointed," I said seriously.

He chuckled. "I know, I can tell," he answered, grinning. I rolled my eyes at him and took my jeans off, plopping down on the dock in just my long, baggy T-shirt. I grabbed an apple out of the bag, nibbling on it absentmindedly.

When he stripped down to his shorts, exposing that incredible toned and tanned body that looked like something out of a celebrity magazine, I slipped on my shades so that he wouldn't see my eyes wander in his direction. I forced my gaze away from him and focussed on my apple. I actually felt immensely guilty for looking at him in that way. I had never looked at a man the way I kept looking at Ashton, not since Jack. No one ever caught my interest, and I felt like I was being unfaithful to Jack's memory by looking at my new guard.

Ashton sat down next to me, stretching out his long legs. "Let's start with the getting to know each other. What's your favourite colour?" he asked casually.

"Green," I answered, closing my eyes and lying back on the wooden dock. I loved it out here; the way the dock rocked slightly on the water was soothing. I often came out here and just lay in the peace and quiet.

"Favourite flower?"

"Dandelion," I replied, then bit my lip. "I mean roses, white roses," I amended, frowning.

"Dandelions? You like weeds? Why?" he asked, eyeing me curiously.

_Oh for goodness' sake! Why does this guy want to know everything about me and always see through my lies?_ I sighed. "Jack gave me a big bunch of dandelions when he asked me out when we were five," I admitted, smiling at the memory.

He laughed. "That's sweet. He sounds like he was a nice guy." I nodded, and he smiled at me. "Maybe he was a bit cheap though," he added jokingly.

I smiled and looked at him. "He was a great guy, you'd have liked him, everyone liked him." I rolled onto my front, putting my arms under my chin, watching the water ripple around the dock.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Favourite food? Mine's a tuna melt baked potato because that's about the only thing I can cook," he laughed.

"Seriously, you can't cook? Do you still live with your parents? Does your mommy do everything for you? I bet she still washes your clothes," I teased, grinning at him.

A sad smile crossed his face. "My parents died when I was ten, I grew up in foster homes," he replied. "And no, I can't cook. I'm pretty good at burning stuff though."

I winced and looked at him apologetically because of my insensitive joke about his mom. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I shouldn't have said that."

He smiled and shook his head, shrugging casually. "It's fine; it was a long time ago. Favourite food?"

"Er, chocolate fudge cake? I'm a dessert girl," I admitted, smiling, grateful for the change of subject.

He laughed. "Right, I should have guessed by the size of you," he joked, poking me in the ribs.

"Hey, don't make fun of a girl's weight!" I scolded, trying to look stern. I knew he was joking though; I worked out a lot, so my figure was toned, I just hid it under baggy clothes so no one could see.

"Whoa there, sorry, ma'am," he replied, holding up his hands in an 'I surrender' fashion. My stomach fluttered when he called me 'ma'am'. From his mouth, it actually sounded incredibly sexy.

The questioning continued for about another hour and in that time I learnt a lot about him. He'd graduated two days ago – this was his first proper assignment. He'd never been undercover before. He was originally from Boston but moved around a lot because of the foster homes. He had no other family or siblings. His best friend from the academy was called Nate, and he was like a brother to him. They shared an apartment in LA. Apparently, he _did_ know how to wash his own clothes. His dream job was SWAT Front Line.

He was really easy to talk to and was actually a funny guy. We ate while we talked, and boy he can eat a lot! I'd never seen anyone pack away as much food as he did, not without feeling sick anyway.

"How long shall we say we've been together?" he asked cautiously as he polished off the last pack of chips.

I shrugged. "I don't care." It honestly didn't matter how long we said we'd been together. It wasn't like a load of people were going to be hanging around and chatting to us about our relationship.

"I think we should go for a year. That way we won't have to be too touchy-feely. People are usually over that first passion thing by a year, aren't they?" he asked thoughtfully. I glanced at him and laughed as I realised why he seemed so unsure. "What?" he asked, grinning.

"Have you never had a relationship before?" I asked curiously. It seemed impossible that a gorgeous guy like him was without a girlfriend.

"Nope, not really. I mean, I've been out with girls but never seriously. You'll be my first," he joked, winking at me.

I raised one eyebrow knowingly. "And by never seriously, you mean you screw girls for fun before you screw them over," I retorted.

He frowned, looking a little hurt. "I don't screw girls over! I just never really met anyone I wanted to be with properly before, and even if I had met the right girl, I wouldn't have had time, my training took up a lot of my time," he protested, shrugging.

"You're a player."

"I am not!" he protested adamantly.

I nodded, giving him a sarcastic expression and laughed. "Whatever! Wanna swim?" I stood up, throwing my shades down onto his pile of clothes.

"Sure. Is the water warm?" he asked, sticking his foot in. He immediately gasped and jerked his foot out. "Holy shit! That's freezing. We can't swim in that," he mumbled, shaking his foot to dry it.

"Oh quit being a baby, I thought you were a tough guy," I teased.

"Yeah, I can fight and shoot bullets, but man, that is cold!" he whined like a little girl.

I pulled my T-shirt off over my head. When I looked back at him, he was staring at me, his mouth was slightly open, and his eyes were wide and raking over my body slowly. My stomach tightened into a knot when I realised he was checking me out. I wanted to pull the shirt back on and run, but there was something in his eyes that made me want to trust him; I knew he wouldn't hurt me. So instead of putting the shirt back on, I folded it up deliberately slowly before dropping it on top of my jeans.

He hadn't moved. It was like he was stuck on the spot, just staring at me. Taking advantage of his distraction, I stalked over to his side, smiling sweetly. When I got closer to him, my heart started to speed up fractionally, but it wasn't from fear. When I was close enough, I raised my hands, putting them on his chest, making his full lips part and his eyes tighten. I grinned wickedly and shoved on his chest as hard as I could. Distracted, he lost his footing and stumbled backwards into the lake.

I burst out laughing as he broke the surface again, gasping and immediately swimming for the ladder. "Holy shit, that's cold!" he rasped. I quickly moved to the ladder, sitting down and dangling my legs into the cold water so that he couldn't get out. "Come on, let me out, it's freezing!" he whined, half climbing out of the water so that we were at the same level.

"No way. You're in now, you'll get used to it in a minute or two," I said confidently.

A wicked smile slipped onto his face as his arm snaked around my waist. I gasped, knowing too late what was happening. His body twisted and he threw me into the water. The cold shocked my body and made me stiffen automatically; I kicked for the top and gasped when my head broke the surface.

"Oh shit," I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut, kicking my legs to stay afloat as the cold water attacked my system.

"Bet you want to get out now, huh?" he asked from behind me. I looked back at him; he was standing on the dock, his hair dripping. The sunlight kissed his wet skin, making him look sexy as hell.

"Oh come on, Pretty Boy, you afraid of a little cold water?" I jeered, swimming off.

I heard a splash and knew that he had dived back in; seconds later he grabbed my ankle. I laughed as I tried to carry on swimming, but he just pulled me back to him. I turned around and splashed him in the face, which just started a splashing war. It was fun and I hadn't had fun for years. His easy smile and the beautiful surroundings made me feel more relaxed and unlike the uptight, frightened girl I had become. I felt younger somehow.

After a while, my teeth started to chatter noisily and my body was shivering uncontrollably. "Come on, let's get back to the dock and get dried off before we get hypothermia," he suggested, turning his back to me.

I quickly grabbed around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist so I was on his back. "I'm too cold, you'll have to carry me, tough guy," I joked through my chattering teeth.

He laughed quietly but didn't protest. As he swam for the dock I could feel his warmth seeping into my skin from everywhere our bodies touched. When we got to the dock, I climbed off his back and forced my shaking legs to climb the ladder. Picking up the two fluffy towels, I wrapped one around my body and turned, holding the other out towards him.

When I laid eyes on him, my stomach dropped into my toes. He was just pulling himself out of the lake. The water was running down his goosebump-covered body, and I secretly envisioned rubbing the towel all over him. _Actually, screw the towel; I want to rub my hands all over him..._

"Great idea, Anna, swimming in the lake. Next time let's go to a pool," he suggested, roughly rubbing his hand in his hair, flicking droplets of water everywhere.

I laughed awkwardly at the thoughts that were playing out inside my head. All of them involved me being about three feet closer to him. "You were the one who chose the lake. We do have a heated indoor swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. If you wanted that then you should have said," I countered, grinning.

His mouth popped open in shock. "Damn it! You have a heated pool yet you've just made me swim in icy water?"

"Oh yeah, but where's the romance in a heated pool, huh?" I joked.

He closed the distance between us and took his towel from my hand. A sexy smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he twisted it in his hands before looping it around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him. I gasped and stiffened, shocked by the close proximity. My heart was beating way too fast as he leant in even closer, my stomach was clenching. It was one thing for my mind to play out a little fantasy of our bodies pressing together, but now that it was real and I wasn't in control, I started to panic.

As his mouth inched towards mine and his breath blew across my lips, I jerked my knee up towards his groin. Obviously predicting my strike, he jumped backwards, laughing to himself as he avoided my blow.

"You're right, a freezing cold lake is much more romantic," he agreed, still chuckling to himself. My breathing started to slow down, my heart rate returned to normal now that he was further away from me.

"You're an idiot," I muttered, taking his towel off my shoulders and throwing it at him. He grinned and caught it effortlessly, rubbing his hair with it, making it stick out at all angles while I pulled on my clothes over the top of my damp swimsuit.

"You ready to go?" he asked finally, picking up his folded clothes and the bag containing empty wrappers from all of the food he'd consumed.

"Yep," I confirmed, climbing into the boat.

He rowed on the way back and I closed my eyes, leaning my head back, enjoying the last of the sunshine. I'd had a nice day. I hadn't thought that for a long time.

### Chapter Six

As we stepped in through the front door, Sarah looked up from her dusting task, and a large, predatory smile crept onto her face. Ashton sighed next to me but smiled back. When she set down her duster and sauntered towards him, swaying her hips, something settled in the pit of my stomach, something unfamiliar and unwelcome. My eyebrows knitted together when I realised that it was actually a slightly jealous feeling. The feeling actually scared me because in spending the day with him and getting to know him a little, I realised that I actually enjoyed his company. That was the worst thing that could happen to me. I didn't want to spend time with people, grow to like them and let them into my life, only to have them march right out again and leave me. For the last few years, since Jack had died, I'd deliberately alienated myself so that wouldn't happen. I couldn't get hurt again, so this was like a pre-emptive strike before they abandoned me.

Clenching my jaw, I shook my head at myself and forced the jealous feeling away. There was no way in hell I was letting myself get jealous over a bodyguard; Sarah was welcome to him.

Needing to distract myself from the fact that I'd almost done the unthinkable and made a friend, I decided to go to the gym for a while. "See you later," I muttered, stalking off to my bedroom as Sarah twirled a lock of her hair around her finger and looked at Ashton through her eyelashes. After changing into workout clothes, I marched downstairs and into the gym. Not bothering to stretch beforehand, I stepped onto the treadmill and turned it on slowly while I put on my iPod and cranked it up as high as I could stand.

My run started out at a gentle jog but, as usual, quickly changed into something else entirely. Running was my thing. Running made my body ache and gave me something to focus on when I was struggling to keep myself sane everyday. I gritted my teeth as my legs burned from the effort of running at a flat out sprint for over twenty minutes. I was going to have to stop soon.

Wanting to enjoy thinking about nothing other than the physical pain for a few minutes more, I cranked up the speed even faster. I was running so fast that I could barely keep up. I could only run for another couple of minutes before I started to get a little light-headed and my hands started to tingle, so I slowed it down until I could stop.

As soon as I stopped, my legs refused to support me any longer. I slumped to the floor gasping for breath as I put my head between my knees, listening to the lyrics of the Usher song I had blasting through my iPod. When the tingles had subsided from my fingers and I no longer wanted to vomit, I flopped back onto my back and closed my eyes.

Suddenly my earphones were pulled from my ears. Shocked because I hadn't realised someone else was here, I opened my eyes to see Ashton standing over me, frowning. "Why do you do that to yourself? Shit, Anna, I watched you run as fast as you could for fifteen minutes and you were already sprinting when I came in!" he cried incredulously.

I gritted my teeth, ignoring his obvious agitation, and pushed myself up to sitting. "Whatever," I dismissed. "Want to show me how you keep blocking my hits all the time?"

"You want me to fight you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.

"I don't want you to hit me if that's what you're thinking, but I actually thought I was pretty good at self-defence until I met you," I admitted.

He shook his head. "Anna, I think you need to rest, surely you've done enough for today," he countered, his expression turning hard.

I stood up; my legs wobbled and threatened to give out on me. "Ashton, this is my routine, usually it's a morning routine but I had somewhere to be this morning, so I'm doing it now instead. I always run then have a few minutes with the punch bag. If you want to help me then great, if you don't then just get out and stop interrupting me before I cool down," I growled as I pushed past him, grabbing the training gloves from the side and putting them on. I then proceeded to punch and kick the stuffing out of the punch bag.

He sighed. "I'll show you a few things if you want. But you need to stop this. This isn't good for you, you shouldn't train like this. It's crazy," he replied sharply.

I huffed and turned around to face him. He wasn't dressed for training; he was still wearing the jeans and T-shirt he'd worn to the lake. He took off his shoes and socks, and then his T-shirt and belt so he was just wearing his jeans.

He looked at me cockily. "Take your shoes off then, we're only practicing, I don't wanna get hurt."

I smiled, knowing that he didn't think I was going to be able to hit him. To be honest, I probably wouldn't. I'd tried three times already and hadn't gotten anywhere near him. I slipped off my shoes and walked over to the training mats.

I turned back to Ashton, who was standing there looking like a cocky, arrogant Greek God. "I'm gonna attack you and I want you to fight me off. You can really hit me, it's fine. After, I'll tell you where you can improve, okay?" he instructed, looking like he genuinely didn't want to do this.

I nodded and waited for him to approach. When he moved towards me, I quickly ducked out of the way, kicking my leg out towards his stomach. His hand wrapped around my ankle, holding it still as he swept my other leg out from under me. I slammed back into the padded mat with him on top of me.

"Holy shit!" I gasped, trying to get the air back into my lungs. _That was freaking awesome!_

"You okay?" he asked, looking a bit concerned as he hovered above me.

I nodded. "Again," I instructed, pushing him up. He shook his head, frowning, but helped me to my feet regardless of his noticeable unwillingness to do this.

Within a minute I was on the floor again. I groaned as I rolled onto my side and pushed myself to my feet. My whole body was aching from my run, but I refused to quit. I faced him, watching as he winced. "Again," I barked, bringing my arms up to protect my face. He sighed heavily and moved to attack me.

After the fifth time of landing flat on my back, he pinned me to the floor, his body pressing into mine. "Enough now," he said sternly. He wasn't even slightly out of breath, whereas I was panting and sweating like a pig.

"No, not yet," I whined, struggling to talk through my wheezy breath.

"That's enough for today, Anna. I can't do this. Look at you! If you want, I'll teach you, but you need to slow down, you can't keep doing this to yourself," he protested.

"Just one more time. Please?" I begged, trying to wriggle my arms free.

"Okay, one more, if you'll tell me why you do this to your body. Why do you train so hard?" he bargained, frowning.

I gulped, knowing I needed to tell the truth if I wanted him to train me. "I want to be able to defend myself, and if the time comes and I ever see him again, I want to be able to kill him," I confided.

He blinked. "It looks to me like you're trying to kill yourself too," he observed, concern clear across his face.

I shrugged at his comment. "Whatever. Him, me, what's the difference? Either way it doesn't matter," I retorted, turning my head away from his intense gaze.

He sucked in a shaky breath and his grip loosened on my wrists before he pushed himself up, pulling me to my feet. A pained looked was etched on his face as he spoke, "One more then like I promised, and then that's it for today. Agreed?"

"Agreed." I shifted into a slight crouch, preparing for him to attack me again.

He moved and came at me from the side. I quickly whipped around and landed a punch to his side, but he barely seemed to notice. Grabbing my shoulders, he knocked my feet out and we both landed on the floor within about five seconds.

A defeated tear fell down my face and he quickly wiped it away. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" he asked urgently.

I shook my head. I wasn't in pain; I just couldn't believe that all this time I thought I was getting somewhere, that I would be able to inflict some real damage to Carter if I ever saw him again, and now nothing. I couldn't even land a decent enough hit to cause any pain. My world was shattering around me; everything I'd worked for over the last three years, the hours of training I'd put in, they weren't worth shit.

"I'm fine. Not hurt," I croaked, willing myself not to break down.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, wiping my tears away again.

"I just thought I'd be able to at least defend myself, but I can't even do that!" I croaked, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to gain control of my emotions.

"Hey, you can defend yourself. You can. Anna, I've been trained extensively; I was the best in hand-to-hand combat in my year. I'm SWAT, Anna, you wouldn't be able to beat me, but I'll help you, I will. If you were fighting a normal guy, you could kick his ass, I swear," he assured me, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

I groaned and closed my eyes. I didn't even realise he was still on top of me until he put his head down in the crook of my neck and planted a soft kiss on my shoulder.

Shockwaves radiated through my whole body. I stiffened. "Get off, get off me, now!" I almost screamed. He jumped up and backed away quickly, his hands up, obviously trying not to scare me. I rolled to my side and pushed myself up. My whole body was shaking violently; I scooted to the wall and sat there watching him.

He slumped to the floor on the opposite side of the gym and put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry; I don't know why I did that. Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. I was okay, my body was shaking from the shock, but I was okay. "Don't do that again," I croaked around the lump in my throat. He shook his head quickly, watching me with caution.

My chin trembled as I pushed myself up to standing. Immediately, my weary body protested from the movement. I'd really overdone it this time. My legs were wobbly as I made my way out of the gym and up to my bedroom so I could take a bath. I focussed on the pain in my body so that I wouldn't think about what had just happened. It worked, somewhat.

At seven thirty, I knew my presence was required downstairs, as usual. Dinner with the parents. "Hi, honey," my mom chirped, as I walked into the formal dining room.

"Hey," I grunted, plopping myself down at the table.

"Sweetheart, we invited Agent Taylor to dine with us tonight. He'll be down in a minute," my dad said, smiling awkwardly.

"Why? Why would you do that? You've never invited a guard to eat with us before," I asked, a little annoyed.

"Well, he's not like the normal guards, honey; he'll be a lot more involved. He's posing as your boyfriend so you two need to get to know each other ready for next week," my mom replied, smiling cheerfully.

I frowned, trying to work out her apparent excitement. Just then he walked in and all eyes snapped to him. He was wearing black dress pants and a light grey button-down shirt. Obviously dressed to impress my father.

I sighed and averted my eyes, watching my mother who was grinning happily. "Good evening, Agent Taylor," she smiled, nodding at him.

"Good evening, ma'am," he greeted. My father stood and shook his hand. "It's nice to see you again, sir," Ashton said politely.

"You too, son. Have a seat there next to Annabelle," my dad replied, pointing to the chair next to mine. I played with my napkin as Ashton sat down. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look at him.

"Hi, Anna," he said softly.

"Hi," I replied, nodding in acknowledgement, still not looking at him.

"Are you okay? You know, after earlier?" he asked.

I forced a smile and looked over at him. His eyes were showing remorse, he was really feeling guilty; he was almost in pain by the look of it. "I'm fine, honestly." I smiled reassuringly. He looked like he visibly relaxed and smiled back; he was probably relieved I hadn't said anything to my father and ordered his transfer. "So, what's for dinner tonight?" I asked, looking away from his beautiful green eyes and trying to change the subject.

"Er, well I think it's steak," my mom answered, sounding unsure.

I laughed. "Oh, Ashton only eats baked potatoes and cheeseburgers," I joked.

He laughed too, shaking his head. "No, I said I only _cooked_ baked potatoes. I eat anything," he corrected, grinning.

I smiled and looked back seeing that my mother was watching me with wide, hopeful eyes. My easy smile faded because she was acting weird. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" There was definitely something going on.

"I just... I haven't seen you laugh since before Jack..." she trailed off, her face falling as she probably realised what she was about to say.

I closed my eyes as understanding washed over me. "Right, since Jack died. Now I get it. That's why Ashton's been invited to dinner. You think that suddenly I'm gonna forget Jack and fall all over the hot new guard? Is that your plan?" I asked angrily, glaring at her.

She shook her head in response, wincing. "No, it's just that we've been hearing stories all day, people have seen you making jokes, laughing and smiling. A couple of the staff said that they saw you two holding hands. Everyone's just wondering, that's all."

I turned to my father. "And are you wondering, Dad? Planning on getting to know him better, check and see if he's good enough for your fucked up daughter? What do you think? Does he get your approval?"

"Annabelle, that's enough! You must be able to see our side, the first time you met him you shook his hand, for goodness' sake. Do you know what I would give to be able to do that? To hold your hand, or kiss you goodnight? It's strange for us to witness. We were just wondering if there was something going on, that's all," my dad countered, frowning guiltily.

I snorted, pushing my chair back making a loud scrape on the wooden floor as I stood up. "Yeah, there's something going on," I lied. "He's a really good fuck; he made me scream good and proper. Is that what you wanted to hear? One great screw and I'm over Jack, all my problems just, poof, up into thin air. Are you fucking crazy?" I growled. I glanced down at Ashton, who looked so uncomfortable he was probably thinking about hiding under the table.

"Language, Annabelle! We raised you better than that," my father chastised.

"Right, I forgot. I _was_ raised better than that, but you know what? That daughter of yours died the day her boyfriend was murdered! The day everything went to shit, the day my whole fucking perfect life got turned upside down. I'm sorry that I'm not that person anymore, but I'm not going to suddenly get better just because I talked to a guy." I took a deep breath before I continued my angry rant. "That girl you knew, she's gone, and she's not coming back. I wish you'd all get used to it and stop reading something out of nothing. This guy," I pointed at Ashton, "he'll be gone soon, just like all the others, and then you'll be wondering what all the fucking fuss was about," I growled, turning on my heel and walking out, leaving them all sitting there, staring after me with open mouths.

I stormed off to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me and making it rattle on its hinges. Throwing myself down on the bed, I buried my face into a pillow and screamed until my throat was hoarse. I hated that they assumed things that I could never give. I hated that they still expected me to suddenly get over it and move on. I couldn't move on, and I didn't even want to try.

After a little while my stomach growled angrily, obviously chastising me for not waiting until after dinner before making my scene. I sighed and shook my head before getting up and searching out my sketchpad and charcoal before settling on the floor.

Sometime later, there was a knock at my door. "Go away!" I shouted.

Without permission, the door opened and Ashton walked in, smiling sheepishly. "Hey, I know you said go away but I've got something for you."

I scowled at the intrusion. "Unless it's a bottle of vodka, I don't want it."

"It's better than a bottle of vodka," he replied.

My interest was now piqued. "Really, what is it?"

He smiled and sat down next to me, crossing his long legs. He brought his arm out from behind his back and plopped a plate down in front of me. I gasped when I saw what it was, my mouth already filling with saliva at the thought of it. Chocolate fudge cake.

"You should've stuck around, the food was good," he teased, smiling at me.

I burst into a fit of embarrassed giggles. "I'm really sorry about that, I can't believe they did that, and then I said – well, you heard what I said. I'm sorry," I apologised, grimacing.

He shrugged easily. "Hey, it could have been worse; at least you said I was a good fuck."

Another round of giggles escaped as my face flamed with heat. "Sorry," I muttered when I regained control of myself.

"No probs. I thought your dad was gonna kill me though. The look on his face!" he winced, shaking his head but looking amused at the same time.

"What did they say about me when I left?" I asked, cutting a chunk off the cake he'd brought.

"Not much, it was a little awkward. They mostly apologised for jumping to conclusions. They mean well; they're just worried about you. I think they're hoping that you're going to get better, that there's some magical cure out there and that one day you're going to wake up and be their little girl again."

"I'm not that girl anymore," I muttered, eating the last mouthful of cake.

"I know that. I think they got their hopes up though."

I nodded. I knew they wanted a quick fix, but I needed them to understand that I was broken and that no amount of fixing would ever make me right. There was always going to be a piece missing. Ashton cleared his throat.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. What I did in the gym, I shouldn't have done that, and I promise I'll never do it again. It's just that you were upset and I wanted to comfort you. It just happened, that's all. I didn't mean anything by it," he said uncomfortably.

"Let's just forget it, okay?" I suggested, shrugging it off.

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks." He looked down and gasped. "Holy crap, that's awesome!" he cried suddenly, picking up my sketchpad.

I looked down too; I had no idea what I had drawn because I wasn't really paying attention. I looked at the page. It was the deck on the lake with the little row boat tied to the side of it; Ashton was standing on the deck running a hand through his hair. I gulped, embarrassed that I'd drawn a picture of him, half naked, and he'd seen it.

"This is incredible. You're really talented, Anna. You want to be an artist or something?" he asked with wide eyes.

I nodded. "Yeah I guess."

He was staring at the picture in apparent awe. "I've never had anyone draw me before."

"You can have it if you want," I offered, shrugging.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah sure, why not," I said dismissively, taking the sketchpad and tearing it out.

He took it, smiling gratefully. "How come you're not in it?" he asked, looking down at it again.

I shrugged. "How could I be in it? That's my point of view, I can't see myself."

He smiled. "Right yeah, didn't think of that. I wish you were in it though, that'd make the picture better."

"Of course it would because I'm _so_ beautiful," I joked, shaking my head in amusement.

"Yeah, that's right. Anyway, I'd better get going to bed, it's getting pretty late." He pushed himself up and was almost at the door when I remembered the photo that he was using as a bookmark.

"Oh, Ashton, wait, I've got something for you." I crawled over to my desk drawer and pulled out the photo frame and bookmark that I sorted out for him earlier so that he wouldn't have to ruin his photo. "Here." I plopped the two items into his hands.

He looked down at them for a long time but didn't speak.

I winced. _He doesn't like the frame._ "Sorry it's a bit girly. You don't have to use it, I just thought it'd keep your photo safe, it obviously means a lot to you for you to bring it with you, so..." I trailed off, wishing I hadn't given it to him in the first place.

His green eyes met mine, seeming like he was struggling to understand something. "This is great. Really thoughtful. Thank you, I love it."

"No problem," I replied uncomfortably, looking away from his intense gaze.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning," he mumbled as he walked out of the door.

"Yeah, good night, and thanks for the cake," I called, smiling gratefully. After changing into pyjama shorts and tank top, I climbed into bed, exhausted.

I'm sitting by the side of the pool. My arm aches. I look down at the enormous bruise that spreads across the top of my arm and covers my shoulder.

" _There you are, Princess," Carter says. My insides squirm as he sits down behind me on the lounge chair I'm stretched out on. "Mmm, you look good today," he purrs, slipping his hand inside my bikini top to cup one of my breasts._

" _Carter, please, my shoulder's sore."_

He sighs dejectedly and pulls me back so I'm leaning against his chest. His other arm wraps around me, pinning me to him. "I love you, Princess," he whispers in my ear.

Disgust washes over me and I struggle not to show it. "Love you too," I choke out. I hate saying the words; each one feels like it rips my heart out. His arm tightens on me as he lets out a contented sigh and lies back to soak up the Miami sunshine. I take a deep breath, knowing this probably won't end well, but I have to ask. "Carter, can I call my mom? It's her birthday today. Please, baby?" I beg, closing my eyes.

His body stiffens and he pulls his hand out of my bikini top quickly. "Princess, for fuck's sake, why do you have to ruin a perfectly good moment by talking about them? I'm your family now, they're nothing to you! Why can't you just be happy? I make you happy, don't I? I give you everything, but you're so fucking ungrateful!" he shouts, pushing me away from him and climbing off the sun lounger. His angry eyes latch onto mine and I try not to flinch.

I nod quickly. "You make me happy, of course. I just thought I could say happy birthday," I reply quietly. Why, why did I do that? Why did I have to bring them up again? So stupid, Anna!

His face softens as he sighs and pushes me down on the sun lounger, climbing on top of me. "Tell me you love me again," he purrs, dipping his head and kissing my neck.

" _I love you," I lie quickly, not missing a beat._

One of his hands pushes down inside my bikini bottoms, and I bite the inside of my cheek. "You're so hot, Princess," he moans appreciatively. I close my eyes and turn my face away from his, not wanting to see him enjoy himself. "Tell me you've only ever loved me," he instructs, tracing his tongue across the bruise on my shoulder.

My heart sinks as my blood seems to turn into ice in my veins. He is testing me again. "No," I whisper. I won't do that; I can't do that to Jack.

His head snaps up, his eyes fill with rage. He looks so angry that I flinch. "Tell me you never loved him, Princess," he growls through his teeth.

I shake my head sadly. "I can't say that, Carter. I won't," I respond, knowing that he will beat me for it; he always does when I fail the test, but I can't betray Jack like that. I hold my breath as he pulls his arm back and punches me full in the face.

I bolted upright, screaming. My breath was coming out in pants as I quickly put my head between my knees. _Oh God, it was a dream! Just a dream. It's over,_ I repeated over in my head.

My door slammed open and Ashton ran in with his gun and knife in his hands again, looking around my room. "You dreaming?" he asked, pointing his gun around my room. I nodded, and he visibly relaxed. "Shit! You need to stop doing this to yourself, I won't let anyone hurt you, you have nothing to worry about," he said fiercely.

He knelt down by the side of my bed, looking at me intently, taking my hand and rubbing his thumb across the back of it soothingly while I struggled to catch my breath.

When I calmed down, I looked at him apologetically. He looked so worried and concerned that I started to feel awful. "I'm sorry. I think you should change rooms," I suggested weakly.

He stood up and walked quickly to the door. "I'll be right back, okay?" he said as he walked out.

He came back less than a minute later with my book in his hand, wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white T-shirt. I frowned, silently wondering where he was going. Wordlessly, he gripped the back of my dresser chair and dragged it to the side of the bed, plopping himself down in it.

My eyes widened as I realised what he was doing. "No! No way, not again! Go to bed, Ashton, you're not sitting in the chair all night again!" I protested, shaking my head adamantly. It was incredibly sweet of him, but he'd end up with a bad back if he sat up again all night.

He shrugged casually. "It's fine, I'll just sleep in the morning. We could make this work; I could go to sleep when we get in from school and then be up while you go to sleep in the night. It'll work out fine," he assured me, smiling.

I almost choked on air. He was offering to change his sleeping pattern because he thought it would help me? Clearly I'd underestimated what a nice guy he was. "No, just go to bed. This is my problem, not yours," I retorted, angry at myself for disrupting his sleep.

He chuckled and shook his head. "It's not up for debate. Now can you shush? I want to see if James kills Bella," he scolded, glaring at me jokingly. I couldn't help but laugh. He smiled. "Go to sleep, we'll talk about it in the morning, okay?"

I sighed and flopped back into the bed, untangling myself from the sheets that had wrapped around me while I'd had my nightmare. I was disgusted with myself for being so screwed up that I was keeping someone else awake all night. I glanced over at him; he was reading with a small smile on his handsome face. It was hard to believe that real people actually looked like him.

After about ten minutes of trying, I couldn't make myself fall asleep. I couldn't let him do this, it wasn't fair on him. It was my fault, yet he was paying for it. He'd probably end up falling asleep awkwardly again, and his back would ache all day tomorrow. The only solution I could see that might work was if I just let him sleep in here with me, maybe that would stop the dreams and then he'd be able to sleep too. The thought of him in my bed scared the life out of me. The only guy I had ever slept in a bed with was Carter; I shuddered and pushed the thoughts of him away quickly.

I took a deep breath and sat up, scooting to the far side of the bed so I wouldn't be near him. "Ashton, just get in the bed," I instructed.

One of his dark eyebrows rose in question. "Huh?"

I sighed deeply, trying to keep my nerves under control. "Look, just get in the bed, okay? I'm not letting you sit awake all night because I'm some kind of freaking psycho. If you want to stay in here so I don't dream about him, then fine, but you're not sitting in the chair all night," I said sternly. He looked completely unsure; his wary expression told me that he thought I'd lost my mind. "Let's just give it a try, okay? If I can't handle it then I'll let you know, but this just seems to be a good solution – one that involves us both getting some sleep," I encouraged, patting the empty side for him to get in.

"But I really wanted to know if Bella gets killed," he whined jokingly.

I rolled my eyes. "She's in the next three books if that gives you a clue," I retorted, laughing.

He gasped and looked at me with mock horror. "I can't believe you just ruined the end for me!" He moved and sat on the bed slowly, still watching my face.

I laughed. "Right, sorry about that, Pretty Boy." I settled myself on the edge of the bed, as far away from him as I could get without falling out.

He lay down on top of the sheets cautiously, watching my face the whole time. "You sure this is okay? I mean, I don't mind staying awake," he offered.

"Just stop would you? It's fine."

He grinned and reached over, turning off my bedside light so that darkness cloaked my room. I gritted my teeth and tried to stay in control of myself. It was weird being in a bed with him. He didn't move. In fact, he lay so still that I could barely tell he was there, apart from hearing his breathing. The sound was comforting somehow. He was lying as far away from me as he could get, on top of the sheets so that I was pinned underneath. I had the distinct impression that he was trying not to move in case he scared me. After a while, I rolled onto my side trying to see if he was awake or asleep, but it was too dark.

"You okay?" he whispered, making me jump.

_Okay, well he's awake, that answers that question!_ "I'm fine, Pretty Boy," I promised. The mattress moved slightly, and the outline of his figure shifted as he rolled to his side too. My body started to react to him being so close to me – but not in the way I was expecting it to. My stomach got a little fluttery and I started to feel nervous. I wondered if he was going to touch me. A small part of me actually pondered what it would feel like if he did.

"Why do you call me pretty boy?" he asked quietly. I gulped as his fingers touched the back of my hand that was gripped on the edge of the sheets. For some reason though, I didn't flinch away from him. This must have encouraged him as his hand closed over mine, loosening my fist from the sheets and weaving his fingers through mine.

I smiled weakly into the darkness. "You don't really look like a tough guy, you're more of a pretty boy," I answered.

A soft chuckle came from his direction. "You don't think I'm a tough guy?"

I chuckled too. "Well, when I first met you I would have said no, but after last night when you came in with your gun, I'd say you were definitely badass," I admitted.

"So I'm only badass with a gun?" he replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, you're more like a male model, slash, badass," I joked, squeezing his hand gently to show I was just joking.

He chuckled and pulled on my hand, making my body move closer to his. I swallowed my nervousness, but there was still a large gap between us, I just wasn't on the edge of the bed anymore. "There, that's better, you said you like to sleep in the middle of the bed," he said, sounding satisfied. His thumb traced along the jagged scar that lined the inside of my wrist where I'd run the razor across when I'd woken up at Carter's house the day after my sixteenth birthday. The scar was mirrored on my other arm too. Unfortunately for me, my attempt was thwarted back then so I'd had to endure my time with Carter, and everyday without Jack after.

"Goodnight, Anna."

"Night."

He didn't move again after that. I laid there, straining my eyes in the darkness to try and make him out, but to no avail. Half an hour later, the snoring started. I giggled, chewing on my lip, listening to the sound rumble through his chest. I closed my eyes, feeling something that I hadn't felt since my sixteenth birthday. I felt safe. The sound of his snoring followed me into a peaceful sleep.

### Chapter Seven

When I woke in the morning, I was pinned down onto the mattress. Panic surged through me until I heard the soft snore and realised it was Ashton. I was on my back, and he was lying half on his side with his other half on me, his arm and leg slung casually over me and his face buried in the crook of my neck.

A quick glance at the alarm clock told me it was almost eleven thirty in the morning. I'd never slept in this late in my life, well, not without a substantial hangover anyway. Ashton moved slightly, his hand cupped the side of my head as his face nuzzled into my neck, making a sleepy moaning sound. I smiled and poked him in the ribs roughly.

He grunted and jerked up, frowning at me through sleepy, half open eyes. His nose scrunched up as he regarded me with clear confusion for a split second before his eyes widened. He gasped and jumped out of the bed so fast that he almost fell on his butt.

"Whoa, shit! I'm sorry! You okay?" he asked, his voice panicked, holding up his hands innocently. I nodded and smiled at him, trying not to laugh. He looked so funny; I'd never seen anyone move so fast. He blew out a big breath and his shoulders relaxed as he raked a hand through his messy black hair.

"I'm fine, calm down." I sat up, stretching my arms above my head. I groaned as my joints cracked and protested to the movement. My body ached all over; my muscles were tight and uncomfortable from my feeble attempts at fighting him the day before.

"Jeez, Anna, I'm really sorry. I didn't realise I was asleep on you like that. You should have pushed me off or something." He winced apologetically. I smiled as I noticed how cute he looked when he'd just woken up. His eyes were still sleepy; he had the line of my tank top imprinted across the bottom of his jaw where he'd been asleep on me, and his hair was sticking up everywhere.

"Don't worry about it, the lying on me was fine, it was the snoring I almost smothered you for," I joked, climbing out of the bed and grabbing my bath robe.

"I don't snore!" he protested, and then he frowned, looking at me curiously. "Do I?"

I burst out laughing, raising one eyebrow incredulously. "You don't know whether you snore or not? Haven't girls ever told you?" I scoffed. _How could any girl not tease the life out of him for it? He was so loud, I'm surprised he didn't wake himself up._

He sat on the edge of the bed and shrugged. "I've never stayed the night with a girl before."

I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was joking. Nope, no signs of humour there. "Really? How come?" I asked, plopping down on the bed next to him and crossing my legs.

"I told you, I've never really had a girlfriend, so..." he trailed off, shrugging casually.

"Wow, you really are a player! So you fuck the girls then it's just like what, _'Thanks, ma'am'_ , and you leave?" I guessed, laughing.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not a player! I told you, I've just never met anyone who I wanted to spend the night with," he explained.

I smiled. "Until now."

He nodded. "Yeah, until now. But I've never once said 'thanks ma'am'!" he said, grinning.

Before I could protest, his arm shot across my shoulders and he pushed me so that I fell back on to the bed. He lay down next to me, pressing his body to my side. My heart started to race, but I wasn't scared because I could see he was joking. He was watching me intently, probably to make sure he was alright doing this.

"Well, thanks for letting me spend the night, ma'am" he whispered sexily. My breath caught in my throat at the husky sound of his voice.

"You're welcome, Agent," I answered. "And thanks for staying the night, I slept really well." I could feel the blush heating my cheeks because I'd spent the night in a bed with him and I'd had his body wrapped around mine when I woke.

"Me too." He rolled off me and walked to the door as if nothing had happened. "Want to meet me for breakfast?" he asked, stopping at the door.

"Um, it's a bit late for breakfast, but I'll eat lunch with you." I nodded at my alarm clock, showing him the time.

He looked at the clock and shook his head, looking a little bemused. "Right, okay, lunch then," he corrected, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Come get me when you're ready." He closed the door firmly behind him and I walked over to my closet, picking out clothes for the day. After running a brush through my wild hair a couple of times, it became apparent that there was no salvaging it. Instead, I pulled it up into a ponytail and clipped my bangs to the side. I looked in the mirror and frowned. I looked the same as I did every other day: baggy and loose. I longed to wear normal clothes, but it was easier this way to go unnoticed; it actually scared me when guys started to look at me with lust in their eyes.

I knew every man wasn't like Carter, but just in case, I couldn't bring myself to show any skin or curves. It was funny how that was different with Ashton. I hadn't thought twice about wearing my swimsuit in front of him yesterday. There was something about him that just made me trust him, giving me more confidence around him.

When I was done, I made my way out to Ashton's room. "Hey," he greeted cheerfully as he opened his door.

"Hey."

"So, what do you want to do today? Is there anything good to do around here?" he asked as we walked down to the kitchen for lunch.

"Not really. There's a small shopping mall about half an hour away. Want to go there? I could buy some new art supplies, ready for school," I offered, shrugging.

"Sure okay, sounds good," he agreed, smiling happily.

"Wow, you're easy to please," I teased, elbowing him in the ribs playfully.

He smiled. "I guess. I just don't get much time off from training, so I don't get to do normal things like that often."

"Well, that sucks," I said frowning.

"It doesn't suck! I love my job; it's all I've ever wanted to do. The training's finished now so things should calm down," he explained, shrugging.

"Well not really, I mean, you got stuck on some crappy assignment to babysit me. My dad said that you won't even get time off apart from scheduled school breaks. You must suck at being SWAT if they stuck you here," I joked, smirking at him. _Bless him; I bet he barely passed his training!_

"Actually, I graduated top of my class with honours. I hold five new records at the academy, which I was the only one to break in twenty years," he replied dismissively like it was no big deal.

I recoiled, shocked at the revelations. "Seriously? Then why did you get shipped off here with me? I mean, if you're some awesome badass, why waste you here body guarding me? It's not even a SWAT job, it's the secret service's responsibility to guard a Senator and his family." I looked at him, confused. It just seemed like a waste of talent to me.

He looked a little uncomfortable. "I don't know. I just go wherever they assign me. Anyway, I'm glad I got 'shipped off here' as you put it, otherwise we wouldn't have met," he flirted, smiling at me cockily.

"Yeah, because otherwise you'd still be holding that claim of never spending the night with a girl, like the badass player that you are." I pushed him sideways playfully so I could step through the door into the inner hallway first. He didn't reply. He just grabbed my waist, lifting me off my feet and threw me easily over his shoulder as he carried on walking in the direction of the kitchen. I gasped as everything turned upside down. "Whoa, holy crap! Put me down, right now!" I shouted, but the order lost some of its authority when I started laughing.

"Nope, not until you apologise for calling me a player," he refused playfully.

"Ashton, put me down!" I instructed, struggling to get off him.

"I didn't hear you apologise."

"Agent Taylor, you put me down right now. I know people, I could have you assassinated!" I joked.

He burst out laughing. "Right, and who do you know that could assassinate me?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Dean."

"Dean Michaels? That guy likes me more than he does you, and I've only met him twice, it would be easier to get him to assassinate you!" he countered, laughing wickedly.

"Put me down! All the blood's rushing to my head," I whined, giving up on my struggling because I could barely move an inch from the hold he had on me.

"Wow, you whine like a baby, Anna. Where's the fighting spirit? You could have wrapped your arms around my waist to give yourself more stability and kneed me in the face, you know. I thought you were big on the self-defence," he teased. He tugged on my legs, making me slide down into his arms before he sat me on the kitchen counter. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"No way! I could barely move, I tried to get down," I protested, righting my clothes and trying to catch my breath from the experience of it.

"You have much to learn, young grasshopper," he said, patting me on the head like a child.

"Whatever. Just keep your hands off me in the future, player," I stated, grinning.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, grinning sexily. "Yes, ma'am."

Movement from my right suddenly made me aware that we weren't in the room alone. I flicked my eyes around quickly, taking in the shocked faces of my parents and half of the kitchen staff that were up the other end of the kitchen. I gasped and dropped my eyes to the floor, scooting forwards and jumping off the counter.

Ashton groaned and a subtle blush crept over his cheekbones. I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked with the pink on his cheeks; it was certainly a good look for him.

"Good afternoon, Annabelle. Agent Taylor," my father said after a second or two of uncomfortable silence.

"Hi," I mumbled, fighting to regain my composure and cool my own burning cheeks.

"Good afternoon, sir, ma'am," Ashton said, nodding politely, clearly uncomfortable because he hadn't known they were there either.

"Er, maybe we could get some lunch out instead, what do you think?" I asked Ashton, still blushing, just wanting to be out of here already.

"Whatever you want, Miss Spencer." He shrugged casually, a smirk on his lips, probably at my red face. He pulled out his cell phone, tapping away before shoving it back into his pocket.

I looked back up at my parents who were still watching me like a hawk. "I'll, er, see you guys later," I muttered. "And I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have said a lot of those things. I'm not saying they weren't true, but I shouldn't have said them anyway," I shrugged awkwardly, looking at them apologetically.

My mom smiled sadly. "That's okay, Annabelle. We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that, it wasn't fair, and I shouldn't have brought up Jack. I'm sorry."

"You can talk about him, that doesn't upset me. I just don't like you assuming that someone could ever replace him because they can't," I said confidently. I knew that for a fact – I would never love anyone like I loved Jack, and I hated people saying that I would get over him in time.

"Honey, I wasn't saying that at all, but I think you're under some misunderstanding that you can't be with anyone because Jack died. He wouldn't want you to be like this," my mom countered.

I laughed at her statement; I'd heard that so many times from so many different therapists – repetition still didn't make it true. "You're right, he wouldn't. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted me to get stuck with Carter either, but what we want and what happens are two different things entirely," I said casually, making my parents flinch.

"And if the situation were reversed, you'd want Jack to be like this, would you? Unhappy and alone?" my mother asked quietly.

"Of course not!" I shot back angrily. I'd never want him to have to go through this, thankfully he didn't have to.

"Well then, maybe you should think about what Jack would want," she suggested.

"I think about what Jack would want every minute of every day, Mom," I said quietly.

"Oh, baby, I didn't mean it that way!" she gasped, looking upset. She jumped up from her chair and came forward to hug me; I shrank back unconsciously, not wanting to build bridges with her. I bumped into Ashton who was standing just behind me. He placed his hands on my waist, steadying me.

My mom's face dropped when I moved away, and the guilt washed through me because all I ever did was hurt them. In trying to make myself less vulnerable by shutting people out, I knew I was hurting them but I just couldn't help it.

I groaned and shook my head. "Look, let's just leave it at that," I said quietly. One of Ashton's hands was still placed on my waist, so I focussed on the heat of his skin that was emanating through the fabric of my shirt rather than my mom's sad expression. "I'll see you at dinner." I forced a fake smile before I turned and motioned for Ashton to leave.

Ashton nodded at my parents respectfully as we walked out of the room. "You okay?" he asked as we rounded the corner.

"Yeah, I'm just peachy," I lied, shooting him a 'shut up' face.

He smiled sarcastically. "Of course you are."

"Ashton, I don't want to talk about this, please can we leave it? I don't want any more lectures," I muttered.

"Okay, but if you need to talk to anyone about anything, then you can talk to me, I want you to know that," he said softly. I looked up at him, seeing that he was watching me intently, his sincerity shining from his eyes. I smiled gratefully, knowing that I wouldn't put that burden on someone else again. I'd already told him more than I'd told anyone else. I wouldn't make that mistake again. "This is the part where you say the same to me," he prompted, nudging my ribs with his elbow.

I chuckled. "Right, sorry. Well, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'll be here for you too," I replied, shaking my head amused. His hand took mine casually as we walked down the hallway. I didn't actually even think about holding his hand now, it just felt natural, which was weird, but at least it would make it easier for us next week with me being able to be so casual with him.

He raised one eyebrow. "Well actually there is something I would like to talk to you about."

_Well, shit, that backfired!_ I swallowed my groan. "Well then I'm all ears, Pretty Boy," I said, smiling uncomfortably.

He cocked his head to the side, regarding me quizzically as we walked. "Well, I was wondering, why is it that you let me touch you and no one else?"

"You want the honest answer?" I asked just as we reached the front door.

"Of course," he said simply. He looked like he was trying to pull the answers straight from my eyes where he was watching me so intently.

"I honestly don't know," I shrugged. That was the truth, I didn't know what it was, but there was just something about him that made me want to trust him. I would trust this guy with my life yet I had known him for less than three days. It confused me, but it was true.

His frown grew more pronounced. "I watched you shy away from your own mother because you don't like to get close to people, yet you let me sleep in your bed and lie all over you. I don't get it. Don't get me wrong, I'm taking it as a compliment, even if it's not meant as one."

I sighed and chewed on my lip. "Take it however you want. I'm fed up with trying to explain the way my brain works sometimes." I smiled sadly, digging in my pocket for my car keys as we approached the garage. When the automatic door rolled up, I led him to my 'other' car.

His eyes widened as his mouth popped open in wonder and awe. I smiled. _Yep, typical boy reaction to my car!_ "Oh, nice!" he purred, touching the hood of my maroon Aston Martin Vanquish appreciatively. As I held up the keys, he flinched, and I chuckled wickedly. "What? Why are you laughing? You think I'm scared to admit that your driving frightens the crap out of me?" he asked, laughing.

"You'd rather drive, Pretty Boy?" I teased, smirking at him.

"Definitely." He held out his hands for the keys, but he looked like he wasn't actually expecting me to give them to him.

I sighed dramatically and threw him the keys. "Fine, but you take care of my baby."

He looked shocked for a few seconds then smiled sexily. "Don't worry, Anna, I'll take care of you and your baby," he stated, patting the roof of my car gently. I laughed and got in the passenger's side, watching him as he slid in behind the wheel with an awed expression etched on his face. "If you have this, then why did we take a Jeep out yesterday?" he asked, running his hands around the wheel lovingly.

I shrugged. "I don't like to drive this car."

"So why are we taking it?" he asked, frowning and looking confused.

"I thought you'd like to drive it. You look like a pretty car type of pretty boy," I replied, smirking and winking at him. He looked at me strangely, just like he did when I gave him the photo frame last night. "What is that look?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"What look?" he questioned, still doing it.

"That look on your face right now. What are you thinking? You had that same face last night when I gave you that photo frame," I said, biting my lip wishing I hadn't asked.

He turned, looking out of the windshield as he started the car. "I was just thinking that you're extremely thoughtful and that no one has ever really thought of me like that, that's all. I'm not used to getting gifts or having people think of me. It's weird; I don't quite know how to deal with it."

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. "Because you grew up in foster homes?"

He nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I never really had a family or anything from the age of ten, so I never got presents and stuff. I just got used to it, I guess," he explained, pulling out of the driveway.

"When's your birthday?" I asked curiously, after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"November fifteenth."

"How old are you?" I asked, trying to commit the date to memory so I could get him a present.

"I'm twenty-one," he answered, smiling. He was obviously enjoying driving my car.

"You can put your foot down, I don't mind a bit of speed," I suggested, looking at the speedometer to see that he was just one under the speed limit.

"Yeah? And what if I get you killed?" he teased, grinning at me.

I shrugged and spoke before I could stop myself. "Then you'd be doing me a favour." He slammed on the breaks and pulled the car to a stop, looking at me shocked and actually a little horrified. "What?" I asked, looking around for some animal or something that we hit.

"Please don't ever think that again, Anna. That's not nice to hear," he said sadly. "You actually want to die?" he inquired, his face serious.

"Everyday," I confirmed, not looking away from his gaze.

He gulped. "Why?"

"Why not? What have I got to live for? A whole life on my own? Waking up every day with the knowledge that I got one of the nicest people in the world killed? Knowing that I'll never have that again, never feel loved, never feel whole, or clean, or pure? Why would I want to live?" I asked seriously.

He looked so sad, his eyes glazed over. "You don't have to be on your own. You might meet someone, fall in love again. As for feeling clean or pure, that may not ever change if you don't let it. That's a state of mind; you need to let it go because there's nothing else you can do about it. And you didn't get Jack killed, he was murdered by a sick asshole. It wasn't your fault," he said softly, reaching for my hand and squeezing gently.

I sighed deeply. "Ashton, I've heard all of that in every single one of my therapy sessions, and I'll tell you the same thing that I tell them. I don't care what anyone else says, I _know_ it was my fault, so let's just drop it and change the subject," I suggested, tugging my hand from his and turning on the radio.

He sighed and gripped the wheel tightly. "Anna, you shouldn't-"

"You gonna drive, or shall we just go back to the house?" I interjected, putting my feet up on the dashboard.

"Anna, it wasn't your fault," he whispered, looking at me pleadingly.

"I know it wasn't," I lied easily. This was the other tactic I used on my therapist occasionally.

"You don't believe that," he stated, gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning my face so I had to look at him.

Frustration built up inside me. I didn't want to be having this conversation, not with him, not with anyone. "Oh for fuck's sake, Ashton! You don't want the truth, you don't want the lie! What the hell do you want me to say? What will make you drive us to the fucking mall?" I ranted, throwing my hands up dramatically.

He looked at me a little shocked before he laughed at my outburst. I felt the smile twitch the corner of my mouth and then I laughed too before he composed himself. "Right then, Miss Spencer, you want to see good driving?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at me. I nodded, a little unsure if that was the right answer, and his eyes sparkled with excitement as he gunned the engine loudly. He pulled away with the tyres squealing. We sped down the winding road so fast that everything was just a blur. He was a kick-ass driver and my heart was beating so fast, I thought I would die of a heart attack. As we approached the populated area he slowed right down to normal, legal speed, glancing over at me and grinning his ass off.

"Enjoy yourself?" I asked, chuckling and still trying to calm my racing heart.

"Shit yeah, this car is awesome!" he gushed, rubbing the dashboard lovingly.

"Well, I'll tell you what, if you can last the full eight months, you can have it," I bargained, shrugging. He laughed and shook his head, obviously thinking I was kidding around.

### Chapter Eight

The shopping was a pleasant change. It was good to get out of the house for a little while. The only trouble was that I felt like I was on my own for most of the time. Ashton was constantly distracted and checking everything out discreetly, so it was almost as if I was talking to myself half the time.

"Maybe you should have told Dean where we were going and then you could have actually relaxed and paid attention to what we're talking about," I snapped as we sat in the café, refuelling before we planned to shop some more. I glared at him as he watched a group of teenagers walk past near me, rather than answering the question I'd just directed at him.

"I told him, he's back there," he replied, motioning over his shoulder with his head.

A quick glance in that direction and I spotted Dean in plain clothes, lingering three stores away. I sighed and frowned, hating being followed around.

Just as I was finishing up my coffee, two familiar figures caught my eye through the window.

Oh God, it can't be! Jack!

My eyes widened at the sight of his blond, unruly hair and straight nose as he sauntered across the mall in his loose fit jeans and GAP T-shirt. I jerked in my seat, confused. My heart stopped and then took off in a sprint.

But as one side of his mouth pulled up into a smile, my happiness and hope that maybe the last three years had been a dream faded, and I came back to reality with a huge, painful bump. My heart broke with loss all over again as I realised that it wasn't my Jack after all, it was his younger brother, Michael.

Accompanying Michael was his mother, Pam... and now that they'd seen me, it appeared that they were heading straight for me. Pam smiled warmly, but my eyes just flicked back to Michael again. My whole body seemed to go cold. I hadn't seen him for over a year, and I had forgotten how much he looked like his brother. He wasn't built the same as Jack and was maybe an inch taller, but facially they could have been twins. And he was the age now that Jack had been when he'd died.

My hands started to shake uncontrollably, making my cup rattle against the little plate that it sat on. A little whimper left my lips because usually I had time to prepare for seeing them, usually it was on my terms and I had some warning. I'd never just run into them like this and I wasn't sure I could deal with it.

Ashton stood quickly, gripping my upper arm and hoisting me out of my seat, pushing me against the wall that was behind me. His body tensed as he span on the spot, pressing his back against my chest and shielding me with his body, like he had that first night he came into my room when I was screaming.

"What is it?" he asked fiercely, reaching into his jacket pocket, probably holding his gun or his knife.

I whimpered and pressed my face into his shoulder, closing my eyes. I couldn't speak. I could barely even breathe properly. Grief was overwhelming me, seeming to all come back at once so that I was drowning in it. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream and shout and wail, but nothing was coming out. There was no escape for my sadness as it just built inside me, crushing me, filling me up.

I was dimly aware of Ashton's cell phone ringing and him answering it in short, terse sentences. When he turned back to me and cupped my face in his hands, I looked up into his green eyes and felt my chin tremble. I couldn't cope with it. The grief was fresh and raw again, like it had only just happened, like I'd only just lost Jack and watched him die.

"Breathe," Ashton whispered. "Anna, just breathe for me. Everything is going to be fine. I know you're panicking, but listen to my voice. Nothing will hurt you." My breathing continued to come out in small pants as I dug my fingers into his sides, completely lost in grief and guilt. "Can you hear your heart beating?" he asked as he brushed my hair over my shoulder. "If you can hear your heart, then count the beats and just try to breathe so you can calm down. I won't let anything hurt you."

My eyes flicked to Pam and Michael, who were standing there watching me with wide, horrified eyes. Pam was crying, covering her mouth with her hand. Michael frowned and shook his head, turning to his mother and saying something I couldn't hear.

I looked back to Ashton, swallowing my sadness. What I hated the most was the fact that I was upsetting Pam by being upset. She'd been through enough already – losing her son because of me. I needed to get a grip of myself. Doing as Ashton said, I tried to focus on my heartbeats that were drumming in my ears as he smiled and nodded in encouragement. Slowly, my breathing returned to normal as I fought my way through the emotional storm that was trying to drown me.

"I'll ask them to leave," he suggested, pulling away from me when my breathing was stable and I could no longer hear my heart hammering in my ears.

I gulped and shook my head. "No, don't," I croaked, standing up straighter.

His eyebrows knitted together as he nodded and pulled back, setting his hand on the small of my back. I forced a smile as I turned to face the mother of the boy that I got killed, and his brother, who had inherited every single feature that I loved about my boyfriend.

"Hi," I greeted awkwardly.

Pam sniffed and smiled back, stepping closer to me. "Oh, Anna. I'm sorry we upset you," she said kindly, wiping her own tears away. "How are you? We've missed you."

I nodded. "I've missed you guys too." That wasn't the truth though. I didn't allow myself to think about them much because it brought back too many memories. It was easier for me to blank them out altogether and not ever let myself think about them or how welcome they always made me feel.

"Can I get a hug?" she asked hopefully.

I gritted my teeth so tightly that it made my jaw ache, but nodded in agreement, letting her envelop me in a hug that was so familiar that it was like I was ten years old again and I'd just gone to her with a scraped knee.

When she broke the embrace, Michael stepped forward, holding his arms open for a hug too. A small whimper escaped my lips as I smiled through my heartbreak. When his arms wrapped around me, I closed my eyes and hugged him just that bit too tight and for that bit too long. Part of me didn't ever want to let go.

He stepped back, running a hand through his hair just like Jack used to do. "Not seen you in ages. You should come around more," he stated.

Tears welled in my eyes because even his voice was similar to his brother's. He looked so much like Jack that I could barely stand to look at him, yet at the same time, I couldn't look away. My grief was threatening to crush me. I wasn't sure how much longer I could look at him without either throwing myself at him and begging him to hold me, or sobbing until I couldn't breathe.

Pam set her hand on my arm. "Anna, did you get my text? We'd love to have you over for dinner or something before you go back to school. We miss you at the house," she cooed, squeezing my arm gently.

I swallowed a couple of times, scrambling to come up with an answer to that. "Um... I'm not sure if I'm going to get time. We're leaving in a couple of days, and there's a lot to do before college." I turned and motioned to Ashton. "This is Ashton. Ashton, this is Pamela and Michael Roberts," I introduced weakly, praying that no one noticed that my hands were shaking.

Ashton shook hands with them both and exchanged pleasantries when suddenly his cell phone rang again in his pocket. "Sorry. Excuse me," he apologised, turning to answer it. He turned back a few seconds later. "I'm really sorry, Anna, but we have to get going. There are some things I need to pick up on our way back to the house," he instructed.

I'd never been more grateful for a phone call in my life. I couldn't hold myself together much longer. I was struggling to keep the panic and horror from seeping into my voice as I talked to them. Soon I would break down, and I didn't want Pam to have to witness it.

After exchanging goodbyes and promising that I'd try to make time to visit them before going to school the following week, I let Ashton lead me along and out of the emergency exit of the mall.

I gulped in the fresh air greedily as the tears finally made their appearance. Ashton's face was a mask of worry and sympathy as he gripped my hand and tugged me across the parking lot towards where we'd parked.

By the time we were almost at the car, I couldn't walk any further and my legs gave out on me. I slumped down to the floor, sobbing against the asphalt. Ashton's arms slipped under me, lifting me and carrying me the rest of the way. He climbed in the car, still holding me against his chest as he set me in his lap.

Feeling needy and almost desperate for comfort, I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed on his shoulder until I was almost sick. The whole time he just stroked my back and rocked me gently.

After about ten minutes, my tears had dried up so all I was left with was the hitched breathing and the blocked nose. I swiped angrily at my face, wiping the last of my tears. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, my voice hoarse from all the crying.

"He looked like him, didn't he?" he replied sadly. I nodded, biting my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. "Whoa! Careful," he scolded, grabbing a Kleenex and dabbing it on my lip gently.

I pushed his hand away. "We'd better get going if we have some stuff to pick up," I said quietly, my voice still hitching from the last spasms of my sobs.

"We don't have anything to pick up; I just said that so we could leave. You looked like you didn't have much longer in you, and we made it just in time," he explained, grimacing.

"Well, who called you?" I asked, confused.

"No one. I used the self-ringer," he replied, smiling grimly.

_Oh God, he did that to get me out of there before I broke down in front of everyone?_ I wrapped my arms around his neck again and hugged him gratefully. "Thank you," I whispered. It meant a lot to me that he would do that; I would have hated myself if I'd broken down in front of Jack's mom like I had in front of Ashton. He smelled so good that I didn't want to let go yet, so I buried my face into the side of his neck and closed my eyes, enjoying being close to someone for the first time in over three years.

"It's my job to take care of you, isn't it?" he replied softly, hugging me back.

"Yeah, for as long as you're here," I croaked. Now he'd seen the real me, the crying, weak and hysterical girl, he'd be requesting that transfer any day now.

He sighed, tightening his arms on my waist. "Anna, I won't leave you like the others, I promise. Even after my assignment's done, I'll still be there if you need me."

"Yeah, okay," I replied sarcastically. Everybody left eventually; I'd just hardened myself so that it didn't matter anymore.

I lifted my head off his shoulder so I could look at him, but I didn't move from his lap. I just sat there, soaking up the comfort and support that he provided, loving being close to someone again and having something else to think about, other than the gaping hole that was where my heart used to be. He smiled, and I just looked into his beautiful, green eyes. They were like an emerald green colour, flecked with both a lighter green and a hazel brown. They were easily the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my life. I dragged my gaze over his face, taking in every perfect inch of it – the line of his jaw, and the curve of his lip. His breath was blowing across my face and the hair on the nape of my neck prickled. The car seemed to be getting hotter, the air growing thicker somehow. I could feel the heat and desire coursing up through my veins and I gulped as my body started to tingle in places that hadn't wanted anyone since Jack. I was longing for him to lean in and press those soft-looking lips against mine.

Suddenly my thoughts actually caught up with me and I realised just what it was that I was starting to fantasise about. Hatred and self-loathing hit me like a bucket of cold water. I hated the fact that I had looked at him like that and that I'd been untrue to Jack because, like it or not, I was actually attracted to Ashton.

I looked away, closing my eyes as I pushed myself up off his lap and climbed into the passenger seat. "Can we go home?" I whispered, not able to look at him again. I had no idea what was happening to me, or why he was suddenly making me feel like this. For three years, I'd felt nothing but rage, pain and grief inside me, but now I felt a little something else inside – and I didn't like it one bit.

He nodded and started the car while I clipped on my seatbelt. The drive home was silent. I had no idea what to say or do, so I said and did nothing other than watch the trees whizz past. As we pulled into the driveway of my house, I gripped the hood of my sweater and pulled it up, partially covering my face. I didn't want anyone to know I'd been crying. Ashton followed me silently through the house, with his hand on the small of my back the whole time. I knew he was only trying to be supportive, but I started to resent the fact that he kept touching me all the time, and that I allowed him to.

As I stopped outside my bedroom, I turned and shrugged. "I'm just gonna draw for a bit then catch an early night."

He nodded and opened his mouth to reply, but I didn't give him the chance before I slipped into my room and closed the door in his face. I needed privacy; the sadness was still churning in the pit of my stomach and I wanted to be alone so I could try and deal with it.

I didn't get much drawing done though. Instead, I'd sat there for almost an hour, scratching, pinching and picking at the skin on the inside of my left elbow until my nails were covered in blood and my skin was red raw and sore-looking. I'd taken to self-harming not long after I was found at Carter's house. Sometimes it helped me to release my emotions, sometimes, like today, it did nothing other than make me bleed.

Later that night, I fell into a horror-filled sleep, where I saw my boyfriend murdered over and over again by the man that haunted my every waking moment.

When Ashton burst into my room again, for the third night running, I just apologised and closed my eyes before turning my back on him, not wanting to see his pitying expression. Without asking, he climbed onto my bed with me and scooted close to my back, wrapping his arm over my stomach.

"You seem to sleep better with me in here," he whispered. I didn't answer. There was no answer for that. I did, there was no denying it. And to be honest, if his snoring stopped me from seeing Jack's broken face again for the night, then I welcomed the distraction.

### Chapter Nine

I woke in the morning with him still spooning me from behind. His arms were wrapped around me securely as his breath blew into my hair. I smiled to myself. _For someone who has never spent the night with a girl, he sure is cuddly!_

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the closeness of him. It felt nice having someone hold me who wasn't after anything; if Carter had held me like this, it usually meant he wanted sex. I moved slightly to get more comfortable and his arms tightened around me. He sighed, and his leg tangled in with mine as his hand brushed against my thigh. My breath caught in my throat.

I gulped as unfamiliar feelings started creeping up on me, the same feelings that had started building yesterday in the car. My skin was prickling with sensation as my stomach fluttered. An unsatisfied ache, a longing for something unknown, filled my body. I'd never felt this kind of thing before, not of this magnitude anyway. The lust I felt inside was all consuming. I wondered what would happen if I turned around and kissed him, or if I ran my hand down his sculpted chest. Would he freak out and ask me what the heck I was doing?

Swallowing loudly, I rolled over to face him. The feelings of longing and need grew even more when I laid eyes on his beautiful, sleeping face. His body was so close, pressed against mine, and hard, toned and mouth-wateringly perfect. Before I even knew what I was doing, I'd bent forward and brushed my lips against his, just once, just needing to know what it would feel like. As soon as his lips touched mine, desire pulsed through my body. I laid my head back down and licked my lips, fighting the urge to kiss him again.

His eyes fluttered open, and a confused, shocked expression flitted across his face.

_No! No, no, no, no! Oh my goodness, why did I do that?_ I gasped in horror because of what I'd just done – and the fact that I'd been caught doing it. My face flushed with embarrassment as I squirmed, trying to come up with words to explain my behaviour. I needed to apologise quickly because I'd just overstepped a line that should never be crossed.

"I-I'm really sorry! Oh God, I can't believe I did that! I'm so sorry, Ashton." I blushed like crazy and my voice wavered as I spoke.

Instead of answering, he bent his head and pressed his lips to mine again for a split second, before pulling back and looking at me cautiously. His expression was worried, nervous, scared even. It was almost as if he was waiting for me to freak out and punch him in the face.

My eyes widened in shock. I literally had no idea what to do or think. The only thing that registered in my mind was how nice it felt and how soft his lips were. My whole body was tingling with desire, my lips burning. I wanted more. Without my conscious consent, my hand moved to the back of his head, threading through his soft hair as I guided his mouth back down to mine, needing him like I needed the air in my lungs.

As his lips pressed against mine, he made a soft moan in the back of his throat as he pressed his body to mine. My mind was whirling, spinning, not making any sense as the sensations and passion took over, making my body ache for something that I'd not dared to think about since Jack was alive. When his tongue grazed my lip, the kiss deepened and changed to something even more desperate and fulfilling. His taste and the way his body pressed against mine made me forget who I was. It was glorious.

He cupped my face as he guided me onto my back and hovered above me, pressing me down into the soft mattress. I whimpered as the desire built. My fingers dug into his back, clutching him closer to me as one of his hands slowly trailed down my neck, across my side until finally, his fingertips brushed against the skin of my stomach. He was doing everything slowly, as if waiting for me to stop him. His hesitancy caught me off-guard and made me doubt that this was a good idea. After all, I didn't really want to be doing this with my new bodyguard, did I? My body answered for me. Yes, yes I did. As his hand pushed up under my pyjama top and headed up to cup my breasts, I let out a little moan and arched into him, needing to get him closer to me, to be consumed by him, to be one with him.

As the kiss finally broke and he trailed his tongue down my neck, I was panting for breath and my body was on high alert. I closed my eyes as he inched my pyjama top up slowly. He was moving and doing everything so slowly, as if he thought I was going to freak out at any second.

"You can stop treating me like glass, Ashton, I'm not gonna break," I whispered, wriggling under him, trying to feel as much of his body on mine as I could. He paused, pulling back from me gently before he nodded in acknowledgement, gripped my shirt and pulled it over my head in one swift motion.

I gasped, shocked how quickly it had happened. My face filled with heat because I was now half-naked in front of him. Insecurity and nervousness made me wince as I looked up at him. Only one man had ever seen me topless, and that wasn't my choice. But my concern that he wasn't going to like what he saw was immediately diminished when his eyes narrowed and his bottom lip rolled up into his mouth. The little moan of appreciation that he made set what felt like a hundred butterflies loose in my stomach.

"So beautiful," he croaked, dropping my shirt over the side of the bed and hovering above me again, looking straight into my eyes. "So, so beautiful."

His lips pressed against mine as he settled himself on top of me. I smiled against his mouth, looping my arms around his neck. It was like a dream, a nice one, one that I didn't ever want to wake up from. The attention from him made me feel special, attractive and desired.

As his hands lavished attention on my body, I took the opportunity to touch him too. My fingertips glided over his chest, feeling the little bumps of his muscles, tracing the lines of them. He shivered, pulling his mouth from mine, heading down and closing his mouth over one of my nipples. I gasped at the sensation, unaware that anything could actually feel this good with a man. The passion and need for him was incredible and all-consuming. My whole body was screaming for more.

His mouth headed lower. His hot tongue drew a circular pattern around my belly button before his teeth nipped gently at my overheated skin. When I felt the waistband of my shorts move, I raised my hips from the mattress in silent encouragement. This was all taking too long. I needed more, I couldn't wait. I'd never wanted anyone like I wanted him, not even Jack. To be fair, Jack and I were so young that I hadn't even known that this level of desire actually existed. Cool air hit my thighs as he eased my shorts down.

I was lost. Lost in the bliss of Ashton Taylor and the sensations and feelings he was causing within me. His hands and mouth on my body made me feel both hot and cold at the same time. My mind was whirling, unable to form any coherent thoughts other than one: _please don't stop_.

When his mouth found mine again, he let out a little moan as one of his hands fisted into my hair. His excitement was evident as he ground his hips against mine. A shiver of desire made my eyes flutter shut as my whole body started to ache. My hands slid down his back, catching hold of the top of his boxers and pushing them down, trailing my nails across his pert, little behind as I did so. When the material was at his knees he kicked them off quickly, and one of his hands slid between our bodies as his mouth claimed mine in a kiss that was full of fire and passion.

My body jerked as his hand moved to the apex of my legs, brushing against my overheated skin. Little ripples of pleasure burst from within me, and he groaned. "So wet. Fuck, Anna," he mumbled, pushing his hand down further. I gasped as his fingers pushed inside me gently. More of those little, pleasurable ripples erupted and I arched my back, gripping his shoulders for support.

He sucked on the spot just below my ear as his fingers started moving inside me slowly. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as my heart started to race. Not able to endure any more waiting, I shook my head, guiding his mouth back to mine again. "I've had enough foreplay, Ashton," I mumbled against his lips, wriggling as my whole body seemed to get hotter and hotter by the second. Something was building inside me, some sort of frenzy.

Ashton pulled away fractionally. A pained, disappointed frown lined his forehead. "I don't have a condom. Do you have one?" he asked, still working his fingers inside me.

I couldn't answer. The ripples of desire had turned into waves – giant, intense waves that crashed over me. He was pushing me towards something, and I knew it would be good whatever it was. My blood seemed to whoosh in my ears as my insides throbbed and twitched. My back arched off the mattress as I gripped his shoulders tightly, crying out his name. For a few blissful seconds, it felt as if I was flying, as the sensations drove me higher and higher, until my body sagged and a contented sigh left my lips and all that was left was the residual ebb of pleasure and the flutter of my inner muscles.

I swallowed, still panting for breath as I looked up at him a little confused. I'd never felt anything like that before. I'd never even dreamt that my body could feel like that. The only feelings that I'd ever had during sex were pain, disgust and shame. But at the moment, I felt incredible.

Ashton smiled down at me, his green eyes glittering with what looked like pride as he bent to kiss me again. "Do you have a condom, Anna?" he repeated, peppering little kisses across my cheek.

"No."

He groaned quietly and pressed his face into the side of my neck, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Shifting one leg out from under him, I wrapped it around his waist, clamping him to me as I wriggled. At this point, I was past caring if I got pregnant. I wanted that flying, weightless, carefree feeling again. But this time I wanted to take him along with me. Gripping my hand in the back of his hair, I pulled his mouth to mine, kissing him almost desperately as I raised my hips in silent invitation, desperately needing more from him because I didn't ever want this experience to end.

He groaned and shook his head, breaking the kiss. "We can't. I want to, so bad, but we can't," he whined. His voice was pained. He almost looked as disappointed as I felt, almost, but not quite.

My heart sank as I pressed my face into his chest and let his delicious smell fill my lungs. "Please?" I begged, clutching him closer.

He dragged in a breath through his teeth as his shoulders stiffened under my hands. "I could pull out before I finish," he suggested. I moved back to look at him, my pulse quickening at his words. "If you want I could do that," he offered, looking at me curiously, his expression torn.

_Oh hell yeah!_ I nodded eagerly as my body rejoiced. My leg unconsciously tightened around his waist as he shifted on top of me. He gulped and cupped my face in his hands, looking me right in the eyes.

"You really want this, Anna? You're sure?" he asked, watching my face.

I wasn't even sure I had the words to describe how much I wanted it. In fact, it wasn't a want, it was a need. I _needed_ it to happen. "Yeah," I confirmed, begging him with my eyes. "Please, Ashton?"

He grinned and his hand slid down, gripping my thigh as he pushed his hips forward. My breath came out in one big burst as he slid home inside me and his hips met mine, filling me completely. He gasped, and his eyes widened as his fingers dug into my leg. "Fuck. So tight," he grunted. "You okay?"

I bit my lip to stop myself from moaning too loudly at the pleasure of having him inside me. "Oh hell yeah," I confirmed, tightening my leg around his waist like a death grip in case he changed his mind and tried to get away. He grinned – probably at my over-the-top enthusiasm. His mouth claimed mine in a scorching hot kiss that seemed to wake up every part of my body, parts that I thought were long since dead.

He built up a slow, steady rhythm. Every time he moved, my body tingled and throbbed. I was aching for something else, something more, but I didn't even know what it was that I wanted. I actually had no idea what I was doing. Trying to match his movements, I raised my hips to meet his. My moans were bordering on obscene as I leant forward and bit his shoulder gently, moaning against his skin, muffling the sound. Every move he made was gentle and caring; his hands worshipped my body and his mouth never once seemed to leave my skin.

As perspiration glistened on his forehead and his back started to get slightly slick under my fingers, my body was screaming at me for something. Seeming to sense it too, he gripped my other leg and guided that around his waist too before his hand slid to the small of my back, lifting my behind off the mattress a little as he continued to thrust into me. The new angle changed the feel of it completely, seeming to allow him deeper inside me. I gasped, bending my head and kissing his chest gratefully.

"Okay?" he asked breathlessly, as he thrust a little harder this time.

I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut as every nerve in my body seemed to spark and flicker. "Please don't stop," I begged, tightening my legs on him.

He chuckled, slamming home again. "I won't," he whispered, as I ran my fingers through his already messy hair. "Fuck. So good," he moaned, looking down at me through heavily-lidded, clearly awed eyes.

The same sensation was building like an inferno inside me. My eyes narrowed as I pressed my mouth against his, ravishing his mouth with my tongue. As if he knew I was close to my end too, his fingers bit into my butt as he sped up. The friction he was creating inside me was almost too much to bear. In an attempt to get him impossibly closer, I raised my quivering legs even higher, lifting most of my body off the bed. He grunted and seemed to lose control of himself as he slammed into me harder and harder, moaning my name.

My orgasm hit me like a train, even more powerful than the last time. My whole body seemed to convulse and shake as I squeezed my eyes shut. He groaned my name as my inner muscles tightened around him, trying to force him to climax.

He pulled out of me quickly and his body tensed too, coming onto my stomach. I watched the way his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw tightened, listening to the sexy, little moan of pleasure he made as he finished too. He slumped down on top of me, pinning me down on the mattress with his weight, but it was a pleasant weight, it felt comforting somehow.

I closed my eyes and smiled as he peppered little kisses around the base of my throat. My whole body was spent. My muscles felt like jelly as I struggled to catch my breath. He sighed contentedly, lifting his weight off me, only to plop down at my side and throw a heavy arm across my torso. As he moved and our bodies brushed together, I could feel the evidence of his climax on my stomach.

I rolled to my side so I was facing him. He was watching me with a contented smile on his face. A soft giggle escaped my lips because of his awed expression. The way he was looking at me made my tummy flutter due to the intensity of it. I smiled and reached up, pushing his hair off his sweaty forehead, guiding it to stand up on end. I chuckled wickedly as it stayed in that position. Messy sex hair certainly suited him.

"Well, I'd say you just added a whole new chapter to the _'how to be a bodyguard'_ book. I don't think I've ever had a person guard my body that closely before," I teased, blushing as I said it.

He laughed and tightened his arm across my body, clamping me to his side. "Mmm, I think I'm gonna be good at this body guarding job. I take my job incredibly seriously," he purred, trailing his fingers down my spine, making me shiver.

"Ashton, do you mind if I count that as my first time? I mean, my real first time wasn't something I want to remember." The words tumbled from my mouth before I could even contemplate how embarrassing they would be. I winced, horrified.

"I would be honoured, Miss Spencer," he replied, dipping his head and kissing me softly.

I smiled against his mouth, slipping one arm around his neck. When his arm tightened on me and he rolled onto his back, I squeaked, giggling as I was dragged on top of him. His hand slipped down to cup my ass as the kiss deepened, growing in intensity again. When the kiss finally broke, I dragged in a ragged breath. The room seemed to be too hot and stuffy. I needed a little air. Gulping nervously, I sat up, straddling him. He smiled up at me, folding one arm under his head as his other hand drew a lazy pattern on my thigh.

The way he was looking at me made a blush creep up my neck and spread across my face. Neither of us spoke. Suddenly, my cell phone started vibrating on my bedside cabinet, cutting through the silence and making us both jump. Leaning over and snagging the phone from the side, I frowned down at the number that belonged to my father.

"Dad?" I answered, suddenly now very aware that I was naked with my near guard laid out between my thighs.

Ashton's body jerked as his eyes widened.

"Hi, Annabelle. I wanted to speak to Agent Taylor, but he's not answering his cell. I wondered if he was with you?" my dad quizzed.

My mouth popped open in shock as I tried to come up with some lie that would placate him. "Um, no Ashton's not with me." I winced, looking at him for help. "I think he said he was going for... er..." Ashton suddenly used his hand to mime his fingers dancing across the palm of his hand. I raised one eyebrow. "A dance class?" I guessed. Ashton chuckled quietly, shaking his head and slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"A dance class?" my father repeated incredulously.

I closed my eyes as I suddenly realised what Ashton was actually miming. Someone running. _Hmm, that would have been a better excuse._ I sighed. "Dad, look, I don't know where he is, alright? For all I know he could be at a dance class. He's probably gone for a run or something," I snapped, covering the mouthpiece of my phone as Ashton's chuckle turned into an outright laugh.

"Right, okay, well if you see him, could you ask him to come and speak to me about some arrangements for next week?" my dad requested.

"Sure thing," I answered, pressing the end button and dropping my phone down onto the bed.

"Dance class?" Ashton teased, shaking his head at me.

I sighed and flopped down onto the bed. "He wants to see you to talk about some arrangements for next week," I stated, wanting to change the subject.

He frowned but nodded; clearly now wondering what my father wanted to see him about. Settling himself down against my side, he ran his fingers through my hair. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, leaning in and planting a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I smiled as his eyes latched onto mine and I became trapped in the beautiful green of them. After a couple of minutes of silence, he groaned. "I'd better go speak to your father." He pushed himself up onto all fours, leaning over me, kissing me fiercely. "I'll see you in a bit. Maybe we could go for a walk or something?"

"Yeah okay, sure," I agreed, shrugging.

He kissed down the side of my neck and across my body, lingering on my breasts, then climbed out of the bed, frowning and not looking too happy about having to leave. I watched his pert, little behind as he pulled on his boxer shorts, picked up his weapons from the night before, and then strutted confidently to the door.

Just before he stepped out of my room, he turned back to me and a cocky smile slipped onto his face. "I knew you'd fall for me sooner or later. And thanks very much, ma'am," he stated, winking before stepping out and closing the door firmly behind him.

My heart dropped down into my stomach. _Fall for him? I haven't fallen for him, I love Jack. Oh my God... Jack!_ My eyes widened in horror as my head whipped to the side, seeing the photo on my sideboard. He was smiling at me as usual. I started to feel nauseous; I ran to the bathroom and was sick violently until nothing else would come out.

Turning the shower to as hot as it would go, I climbed in, sobbing under the spray. My tears mingled with the water jets, circling down the drain as I scrubbed the sex smell from my skin.

When I got out, I still didn't feel better. It wasn't the dirty feeling that sometimes overcame me when I thought about Carter, no, this was worse in some ways. I literally repulsed myself from the inside out. I'd just done that with Ashton, and hadn't even spared Jack a single thought until it was too late.

I dressed as quickly as possible, not even bothering to brush my sopping wet, tangled hair before I stalked over to the bed and ripped the sheets and covers from it, tossing them into the laundry basket.

Once I'd opened the windows, I ran out of my room as fast as my legs would carry me. As soon as I was in my car, I threw it into drive and sped out of the drive with the tyres squealing. I knew where I was going, I needed to see Jack and beg him to forgive me.

### Chapter Ten

### ~ Ashton ~

As I walked out of her room, I couldn't keep the triumphant smile off of my face. I headed into my room and flopped onto the bed, thinking about what had just happened. I'd wanted her since that first moment I'd laid my eyes on her. Anna was an incredible person, so vulnerable, hurt, and beautiful. Sure she was damaged, but maybe I could fix her. I could help her heal if she'd let me. Clearly she tried to play the bitch because she didn't want people close to her, but I could see through her act easy enough. She literally blew my mind, and I'd never met anyone like her.

Even though I was attracted to her, I never would have made a move on her because of what she'd been through. Just now though, _she_ was the one that had instigated things between us and took the first step to move on. I loved that. I was so physically attracted to her that it was unreal, I wanted her so much, but more importantly, I wanted something I'd never wanted before, I wanted to _be_ with her. The sex wasn't important – not that I hadn't wanted to make love to her, of course, because I'd actually wanted that so badly I could have died from the need – but the thing I wanted most in the world was to see her happy. These feelings I had for her scared the life out of me. I'd never even had a girlfriend before, yet I was already crazy about her and I'd only known her for three days.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I thought about her face as it had looked just now. She'd looked so happy that I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. Usually her eyes were hard, closed off and sad, but just now they'd sparkled with a happiness that made my heart fly. She truly was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life, even with the messed up bed hair, she had still taken my breath away.

My mind wandered to her naked, writhing under me as she moaned my name. I wouldn't be forgetting that in a long time, that was for sure. I could actually die right now and be a happy man. The sex had been incredible; better than anything I had ever felt in my life. It had felt different to the usual flings I had; it was more intimate and special.

We hadn't used protection which was a little worrying, but I knew that if the worst did happen and she did get pregnant, I'd be there for her. The chances of that happening were slim, but we'd cross that bridge if we needed to. A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as a cute image formed in my mind – a baby with her brown eyes and cute, little button nose. Although I'd never imagined having kids before, that would be one gorgeous baby if it looked like its momma.

I sighed contentedly and rubbed a hand over my face. I genuinely wasn't expecting anything like this to happen when I took this assignment. I'd never felt anything for a girl before, it all happened so suddenly too. She'd stolen my heart in three days, well, she'd actually had it in about three seconds. As soon as she'd walked into her father's office, I knew I was done for.

I pushed myself up off the bed, stretching my arms above my head and feeling the familiar burn of after sex muscle tightening. I grinned and grabbed some jeans and a button down shirt, deciding I should probably go and speak to the senator and see what he wanted. Once I was dressed, I shoved my gun into its ankle holster and headed out. I stopped outside her door, wondering if it would be a little too forward if I knocked just so I could see her again, kiss her again and pull her close to me. I wanted her so close that she'd melt into me. It was probably a little fast for her, after all, I'd only met her three days ago and I'd already slept with her. That certainly wasn't something I was expecting, even with my reputation for a quick score.

I traced my hand across the wood of her door. My eyes closed, and I laughed quietly as I realised something – I was turning into some sort of weirdo stalker. I was standing outside her door, thinking about her; normally I'd arrest guys that did that. I forced myself to walk away from the door. I needed to speak to her father, and then maybe I'd take her for a picnic or something, show her what a good boyfriend I could be.

As I was walking through the house, I decided that my new favourite place in the world was here with Anna; it used to be the shooting range at the training academy, but she had that beat easily. I was certainly going to be guarding her body extremely closely from now on. I grinned at the thought of that happening again, and again, and again. _Man, I love this job!_ And pretty soon I had a feeling I was going to love her too – I was already half way there and I had only known her for three days. I'd never believed in love at first sight until I met Anna.

When I got to his outer office, his PA buzzed me straight through. Senator Spencer was sitting behind his desk with a grim expression on his face. He stood as I entered. "Agent Taylor, I need to speak to you," he said, smiling sadly, nodding towards the chair opposite him. I sat quickly and waited for him to speak. "Agent Taylor, we've received another letter from him, I just needed to make you aware," he stated, sliding a piece of paper across his desk.

I stiffened, and my heart took off in a sprint. Another letter from Carter. I wanted to run from the room and wrap her in my arms, never letting go. I would die before I let him hurt her again and if I ever saw him, I wasn't sure I'd be able to restrain myself from killing him.

I took the note and read it over quickly; it was addressed, 'Dear Princess'. Realisation hit me: that guy on the CCTV footage had called her princess too, that's why she'd gotten kicked out of school. It was essentially a love letter expressing how much he missed her, how he couldn't wait for them to be together again, and how he was expecting her cooperation at the appeal, should she be called upon to give evidence against him again. He wanted to take her away and treat her like the princess that she was. He went into a lot of crude detail about all of the things he wanted to do to her. I felt the bile rise in my throat, so I quickly swallowed it down, trying not to picture the images that were trying to force their way into my head.

I was so angry that my hands were shaking. I looked up at the senator; he looked extremely sad and tired. "This came this morning, sir?" I asked, folding the note and handing it back to him.

He nodded. "I have the others if you want to read them," he offered, rifling through his desk drawers.

"Er... No thanks, sir. Unless there's anything in there I need to see," I said uncomfortably. I wasn't sure I could read another one of those.

He waved his hand at it, a look of disgust on his face. "No, they're basically the same as this one."

"How many have there been, sir?" I asked curiously. That information wasn't in the file.

He sighed. "He sends one a week, every week for the last three years. Always the same thing," he answered. I gasped at the revelation. _One a freaking week for three years and they haven't told her?_ I'd assumed that it was only since the retrial was ordered. "We get one of those love letters from him, and a death threat from somewhere within his organisation," he added grimly.

"Sir, you're sure we can't tell Miss Spencer? I really think she would be better off knowing. It would help her guards if she was more cooperative with us." My mind shot to her naked in the bed, where she'd seemed very cooperative indeed.

"No, Agent Taylor. It's my decision, and I feel that she's too fragile," he refused, shaking his head fiercely. I nodded in agreement. I knew she was fragile; I'd seen her sobbing her heart out, shaking. Fragile didn't even seem the right word to describe Anna's state of mind. "I think she's gotten much stronger since you came. She seems to like you. I've never seen her like that with anyone since it happened. I mean, she smiles for goodness' sake, and the contact you have with her boggles my mind," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

_Oh yeah, it boggles my mind too alright!_ I bit my lip to suppress the smile that was trying to escape at the thought of the contact I just had with her, and hopefully would have with her again in a little while.

Suddenly my cell phone rang; I looked at Senator Spencer apologetically and reached to reject the call, but then saw it was from Dean, Anna's far guard. "I'm sorry, sir, I need to take this." He nodded, so I answered it quickly. "Dean, what is it?"

"Where the hell are you? For fuck's sake, you can't just keep taking off and leaving me! If the senator finds out I'm not with you, he's gonna have my balls!" he shouted angrily.

_Where am I? What the heck is that about?_ "I'm with the senator right now. What's the problem?" I asked, confused.

He gasped. "Well, fuck it! She went on her own then!"

I jumped out of the chair as my heart started crashing in my chest. "Anna? What? She left?" I cried, annoyed. _Damn that girl!_ The senator jumped up too, looking at me curiously. "Did she take a car? When did she leave?" I asked quickly, double checking to make sure I had my gun in my ankle holster.

"She sped out of here about ten minutes ago. I thought you were with her," he growled. She obviously did this little disappearing act a lot.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, my mind whirling. Where would she go? I thought about what I knew about her, and all my thoughts led me to just one place. Jack. She'd be at the cemetery.

"Get a car, I know where she is," I ordered, disconnecting the call and pushing the phone into my pocket. I turned back to the senator. "Sir, Miss Spencer's left without guards; I think I know where she is. I'll come and speak to you later."

"Where do you think she is, son?" he asked, looking at me desperately.

"At the cemetery with Jack." I turned and rushed out of the door, running as fast as I could to the carport. "I'll drive." I snatched the keys out of Dean's hand and jumped in the driver's side. I waited impatiently for him to run to the passenger seat, and took off while he was still doing his seat belt. "Why the hell weren't you watching her?" I snapped accusingly.

He glared at me. "As if that girl could be watched! She does what she wants! She doesn't want guards. She's always running off like this, it annoys the hell out of me," he growled, folding his arms over his chest.

As I pulled into the cemetery parking lot and stopped next to her car, Dean looked at me curiously. My muscles loosened now that I'd found her. "Just wait here. She won't want to come away, so I'll have to give her some time there," I instructed, jumping out of the car without waiting for an answer.

I ran up the path that we had walked the other day and stopped at the top of the hill, looking down. She was sitting there at his grave, cross-legged, trailing her fingers along the letters of his headstone. She was sobbing uncontrollably. My heart broke at the sight of her, she looked so terribly sad.

I stood there, just watching her for a few minutes. I couldn't think of anything that had made her act like this. When I'd left her earlier she was fine. Then I wondered if maybe _I_ was the problem. She was probably conflicted with what happened. Her fleeing to his grave was a clear indication that she felt guilty or something. I frowned, hoping I was wrong there. I didn't want her to feel guilty. Maybe she felt like I was trying to replace him and what they had. I wasn't trying to take his place in her heart though; I actually wanted my own place.

When I could stand it no longer, I headed down there. She jumped, startled, when my shadow fell over her. Her eyes met mine and I fought back my urge to recoil. Her eyes were the cold, hard eyes of the broken girl. The heartless bitch was back.

She didn't speak; she just turned her head back to the gravestone. I read over it as I sat down behind her, putting my legs either side of her body and scooting forwards so that her back was pressed against my chest. The scent of her still damp hair was all around me, confusing my senses.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her and rock her soothingly, but I had a feeling that would just make matters worse. So instead, I just let her cry. I was dying to ask her to give me a chance, but I knew I needed to give her more time. She was obviously having trouble dealing with what happened this morning. I'd just have to wait and be here for her. When she was ready to try and move on from what happened, then I'd be there. I closed my eyes and waited for her to tell me she didn't want me.

### ~ Anna ~

After breaking the speed limit the whole way to the cemetery, I made my way up the familiar path to his grave, zigzagging amongst some of the gravestones to pick a few dandelions. When I got to his resting place I brushed the old dandelions away and sprinkled the new ones across the top of the headstone.

I plopped down on the grass and closed my eyes, hating myself. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I know I shouldn't have done it, I know, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, baby, please?" I begged, unable to stop the tears this time.

My heart was breaking all over again, and I didn't know what to do. I was starting to like Ashton, I could feel it building, and I wanted his body so much that it was almost painful. I still wanted him now. But how could I have done that to Jack? Sweet, loving Jack, who never even looked at another girl? The love of my life died because of me, and how did I repay him? I slept with someone that I only met three days before, and not only that, but Jack hadn't even entered my head until Ashton left the room. It was like my new near guard had some kind of spell on me.

I traced my fingers along the lettering of Jack's name. I felt like a worthless piece of trash, a horrible person and a downright useless girlfriend.

Suddenly a shadow fell over me and I jumped, looking around quickly. Ashton smiled down at me sadly. I turned away, afraid to look into his beautiful green eyes in case I got stuck there. My heart was going crazy because of his presence. I felt him sit down behind me, setting his legs either side of my body as he scooted close to my back.

I closed my eyes, hating the comforting feeling of being close to him. I didn't deserve to be comforted. My body hitched with sobs again, but he didn't move to hold me or anything, he just sat close to me. His body heat was seeping into my back and made my skin tingle. I cried harder because the reactions he caused in me were both unconscious and unwelcome. I didn't want to feel anything for anyone else; in fact, I didn't want to feel anything at all. I liked being numb and emotionless. But lately, all of that seemed to go out of the window.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear, a little while later. I couldn't speak, so I just shook my head. "Please tell me what's wrong," he begged. He sounded so upset that I wanted to turn and hold him. But I couldn't do that. Not to Jack. I wouldn't do it again, never ever again.

"Nothing. Just leave me alone," I croaked.

"Anna, talk to me, please? Is it what happened this morning?" he asked quietly.

Is it about this morning? Damn, that's just a stupid question! Of course it's about this morning! I danced all over my boyfriend's memory. And I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do it again, and again, and again. But I won't.

"That won't happen again." I pushed myself away from his warm, safe body, taking one last look at Jack's grave.

"Anna?" he whispered. His pleading voice sent a little quiver down my spine that I refused to acknowledge. I shook my head and looked at him, positive that it would never happen again. If he kept pushing me then I'd have to get him transferred; I didn't want to do that, but I would if I needed to.

"No. It won't happen again. If you want to keep your job, Agent, then you'll stay the hell away from me," I spat nastily. I saw the look of hurt and pain cross his eyes, and I turned away quickly so I didn't see it again. Touching the smooth marble of Jack's headstone, I sniffed loudly. "Bye, baby," I muttered, swallowing another sob. I walked off quickly before I started to cry again, I refused to cry again today.

When I got to the parking lot, Dean jumped out of his car, slamming the door angrily. His hard eyes narrowed as he stalked towards me. "What the hell, Annabelle? For the last fucking time, you need to take us with you when you leave!"

He sounded so angry that my stomach clenched in fear. I frowned and carried on walking, trying to ignore him. "Screw you, Dean. Just get lost, okay?" I replied venomously when he continued to glare at me.

"You're a little bitch!" he spat, his face radiating anger. He grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me to stop. I flinched, thinking he was going to strike me. I held my breath, readying myself for the blow. Before anything happened, Ashton gripped his shoulders and yanked him away from me, slamming him against the car, making a huge crash echo in the empty parking lot. I whimpered and looked at the scene, shocked.

Ashton's jaw was tight as he stepped closer to Dean. "You don't ever touch her again! I don't care who you are, I will put you down if you even look at her harshly again. You got that, Agent Michaels?" Ashton's voice rang with authority and menace. Dean nodded quickly, his mouth popping open in shock. Ashton shoved him away, making Dean stumble and almost fall. "Go. I'll ride with Anna," Ashton ordered. He turned back and waved his hand for me to get into the car, but I couldn't move, my body was frozen on the spot. "Anna, get in the car," he said softly, taking the keys from my hand and opening the passenger door. That snapped me out of it and I climbed in quickly, looking down at my lap.

From the corner of my eye, I watched him walk to the driver's side; he looked like he was trying to calm himself. I needed to say something to him, what he just did was so sweet and protective. Dean wouldn't have hurt me, but Ashton hadn't hesitated for a second in protecting me.

I waited for him to climb in and buckle his seatbelt before I spoke. He didn't even glance at me as he started the engine. "Thank you," I mumbled, still not able to look at him. I needed to stay strong, and his eyes wouldn't let me do that.

"You don't need to thank me, it's my job," he replied sarcastically. I cringed at the tone of his voice; he was obviously annoyed that I'd suggested I'd get him fired. I felt like a first class bitch. He hadn't done anything wrong at all – it was _my_ fault that I cheated on Jack, not his.

He put the car into drive and he didn't speak to me again. In fact, he didn't even glance in my direction, but I couldn't help stealing little glances at him from the corner of my eye as he drove. He looked so handsome in his blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows; blue worked really nicely with his skin tone. I bit my lip and ripped my eyes away from him to watch the road, hating that I'd noticed.

We finally pulled up at the house after what seemed like a week of driving in an uncomfortable silence. I grabbed the door handle, but the ominous click of the lock told me I wasn't going anywhere until he'd said his piece. If anyone else had trapped me in a car with them, I would be totally freaking out, but deep down I knew he wouldn't physically hurt me. Mentally he would probably hurt me a lot when I agonised over what we'd done and how he'd somehow made me open myself up to him.

"Open the doors," I instructed, focusing my gaze on the house, wishing I could get inside and away from him.

"I just need to say something first, and I need you to look at me so you know I'm serious," he replied flatly.

I didn't want to look at him; I hated to see that hurt expression on his handsome face. I knew I had to do it though; he obviously wasn't going to let me go until I'd been reprimanded for sneaking off without guards. I willed myself to stay strong and turned to look at him, avoiding his eyes and looking at the spot just below his eyes instead.

"I know you were upset, but you _will not_ leave without me again. If you don't take me, you take someone else, but you _do not_ go out on your own again. Do you understand me, Miss Spencer?" he asked angrily.

I recoiled at the use of my name. Somehow, him using my title like that showed me how angry he was with me. I should have been glad. If I'd annoyed anyone else as much as I appeared to have annoyed him, I would think that a successful morning, but with Ashton it actually pained me to know that he was upset with me. Irrational anger was building in the pit of my stomach because I couldn't seem to treat him the way I treated everyone else.

"Is that understood?" His voice was hard and authoritative as he prompted me for an answer.

"Yes. Now open the door," I snapped.

His gaze held mine for another couple of seconds before he flicked the lock button, dismissing me. I frowned and pushed the door open, ignoring Dean watching me from the other car. I turned on my heel and ran into the house, needing to get away from everything and everyone. My thoughts turned to the gym. I didn't even bother changing into my workout clothes before heading in there to try and work out some of the frustration that was crushing me inside.

Needing to do more than run today, I put on the training gloves and went straight to work on the punch bag, hitting and kicking it until my fingers arched. Spent and exhausted, I stepped back, putting my hands on my knees as I caught my breath. Sweat trickled down my back, and I silently wished I'd stopped to get a bottle of water before coming in here.

"I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that anger."

I twisted on the spot, gasping because I hadn't heard anyone come in. Ashton was leaning casually against the wall, watching me. "What the hell do you want?" I asked, frowning. _Why can't he just leave me alone?_

"Want to go for that walk now?" he offered, raising one eyebrow.

_Is he kidding me? I told him to stay away from me!_ "No thanks. Want to train me how to fight?" I countered, shrugging.

He sighed and nodded, kicking off his shoes and walking over to the mats. He pulled his shirt over his head and a wave of desire shot straight through my body. I bit back my moan of desire as memories of this morning flooded my brain. I kicked off my shoes and socks and followed him, pulling off the gloves and tossing them in the corner.

His eyes were cautious as he shifted his weight onto his back leg. "Same as yesterday then, I'll try to grab you and you fight me off, okay?"

I nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath and waiting for him to move. Anger was bubbling through me, I used it to help me focus. He came forward, so I punched him in the stomach, but he saw me move so he jumped back again to avoid it, my hand barely grazing his skin.

He came forward again, and this time I channelled all my hate and hurt into it. I punched him in the chest and slapped his hand away as he tried to grab me, bringing my leg to kick him in the thigh, but he blocked it with his arm, pushing my leg away, making me lose my balance. I regained control quickly and hit him a couple of more times, each one he blocked easily.

I got even angrier because fighting him made me feel so vulnerable. _How am I supposed to hurt Carter if I can't even land one hit?_ As soon as I thought about him, Carter's smiling face swam in front of my eyes. Something seemed to snap inside me. I really went for it, punching and kicking at him, but he blocked me easily. I pretended to punch him in the stomach but quickly moved and elbowed him in the face. As he grunted in surprise, I took my opportunity and put my leg behind his, shoving him as hard as I could.

He fell backwards, grabbing me tightly and pulling me down with him. As soon as he hit the floor, he hooked his legs over mine and flipped me easily onto my back, pinning me to the mat with his weight.

"Calm down, Anna," he said soothingly. I couldn't calm down; I could barely breathe through my anger. I wanted to kill him; I wanted to rip his head off. I wanted to tear him apart. I thrashed, trying to get him off me, but he was just too heavy and strong. "Calm down, Anna," he repeated. I closed my eyes and willed myself to calm, but all I could see was Carter. I didn't realise I was crying until he wiped my tears away tenderly. "Shh, it's okay, Baby Girl," he whispered, sitting up and pulling me onto his lap, rocking me gently. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed onto his shoulder. "You did great, Anna. That was really impressive, you definitely kicked ass," he said, rubbing my back.

When I was finally in control of my emotions, I sniffed loudly and pulled back to look at him. His eyes were sparkling with excitement as they locked onto mine. A flash of red caught my eye so I looked down at his mouth, seeing that his lip was bleeding a little.

I gasped, reaching out to touch it hesitantly. "Holy shit, Ashton. I'm so sorry," I mumbled weakly.

He shook his head dismissively. "It's fine. It was worth it to see you fight like that. You fight like an alley cat on speed," he replied, grinning at me proudly.

I burst out laughing at his randomness. "An alley cat on speed? Where the heck did that come from?" I pulled my T-shirt up and dabbed his bottom lip with it to stop it from bleeding. My face was inches from his and I could feel the desire building inside me. I pulled my T-shirt away from his mouth. The bleeding had stopped, but there was a small cut there. Wanting to somehow take the pain away, I bent my head and kissed it gently. He made a moaning sound in his throat that made my insides quiver as he kissed me back immediately. His arm tightened on me, holding me securely on his lap as his other hand tangled into my hair.

The way he kissed me made my whole body tingle; it was so passionate, yet so soft and tender at the same time. It was perfect.

His mouth left mine only to kiss my neck instead. Digging my fingers into his shoulders, I pressed myself to him, loving the heat that emanated from his skin. My heart was flying as the sensations were taking over. Something was pulling at the edges of my subconscious, a thought or feeling, but I was trying my best to ignore it and just enjoy his attention and the feel of his mouth on my skin. But something was most definitely telling me that this was wrong and that I shouldn't be doing this... Jack.

I gasped, jerking back out of his lap, pushing myself awkwardly to my feet as I shook my head, horrified with myself once again. I needed to leave, I needed to get away, this couldn't keep happening.

"Anna?"

I shook my head, turning on my heel to leave, but he jumped up and blocked my path to the door, holding up his hands in protest.

"No! Tell me what's wrong. Let me in, please? I swear I won't hurt you! I swear." He was giving me the puppy dog face, begging me with his eyes.

"I can't," I answered, shaking my head as my eyes overflowed with tears. "I'm sorry. I'm still in love with Jack, and I can't do this."

He stepped forward, catching my face between his hands, tilting my head up so I had to meet his eyes. "I know you still love him, and that's okay, but if you could let me in, maybe, in time, I could make you love me too."

I tried not to react to his pleading tone. I knew that if I let him in like he asked then he would break my heart; there was no doubt in my mind about that. And I just couldn't stand any more heartbreak. His mouth inched towards mine again, so I pulled my face out of his hands and gulped, trying to find the right words.

"Look, Ashton, you're really hot, and that's all there is to it. I just wanted your body, I don't want you. I don't want anyone apart from my Jack," I replied confidently, maybe even a little harshly.

His forehead creased with a frown. "Your Jack died, Anna. You can't have him."

I gasped at his insensitivity. "Don't you dare talk about him again! I'm serious. And if you ever touch me more than necessary for your job, Agent Taylor, I will have you transferred, and it won't be to the stupid front line either!" I spat.

"Bitchy doesn't suit your beauty, Anna," he said simply, looking hurt.

My anger started to deteriorate instantly but I fought to hold on to it. I couldn't keep letting this guy change the way I lived my life; I was doing fine before he came along. "Stop being such a nice guy all the time! You're making my life hard, Ashton. I can't cope with any more, please, please just stop this. This isn't a game for me," I begged weakly, dropping my eyes to the floor.

He stepped forward and hooked his finger under my chin, lifting my head. "It's not a game for me either. I'll stop if that's what you need, but whenever you decide you're ready, if at all, I'll be here," he whispered, bending forward and planting a soft kiss on my cheek. Then, without another word, he was gone and the gym door swung closed behind him.

I stared at the door for a full five minutes, not knowing what to think. I knew only one thing for sure – next week we were going to be pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend, so we were going to have to get this little sexual tension speed bump out of the way before then.

Deep down, I knew he wouldn't quit his job before the allotted time was up, which meant I had eight months of his presence to cope with before he would poof into a puff of smoke and the problem would be solved. We needed to set some ground rules if this was going to work and then maybe, just maybe, I could get through the eight months unscathed.

### Chapter Eleven

I sloped off to my room and showered, scrubbing all the sweat off me from the workout. When I was out and dry, I pulled on baggy combat pants, a V-neck top and a pair of Converse. Scraping my wet hair back into a messy bun, I took deep breaths, struggling to find the courage to talk to Ashton again. With shaky legs, I made the five steps from my bedroom door to his, hesitating outside before knocking. As I waited for him to answer, every instinct in my body was telling me to turn and run as far away from this guy as possible, because he was the only one that seemed to be able to make me question my 'don't get close to people' plan.

He opened the door with a polite smile, but that quickly fell from his face when he spotted me. I gulped awkwardly. "Hi. I'm thinking that maybe we should talk," I muttered, picking at the skin on the side of my fingernail. "Want to go for that walk or something?"

His answering nod was a little stiff. "Yeah. Come in, let me just get some shoes on." He walked into his room, pushing the door open wider in invitation. I hugged myself, barely stepping over the threshold as I watched him push his feet into a pair of sneakers before tugging on the bottom of his jeans and clipping something black to his ankle.

I frowned at it. "What's that?" I asked curiously. Without answering, he pulled the material up, exposing an ankle holster and black handgun. The air rushed out of my lungs as I recoiled. "Holy shit, Ashton! You could shoot your foot off!" I cried, horrified.

He laughed humourlessly and shook his head. "I have the safety on," he replied, standing up straight again. "We really should arrange for you to have some shooting lessons so that you know how to handle a gun."

My eyes were trained on the bump at the bottom of his jeans. "I don't want shooting lessons."

He shrugged, picking his cell phone from the side and pushing it into his pocket. "I would've thought you'd want to know how to defend yourself," he countered.

"I don't like guns," I admitted, "and why would I need to learn how to shoot, anyway? I've got you and that idiot Dean for that." I smiled weakly, trying to alleviate some of the tension that was in the air.

He smiled in response and motioned towards the door. "So, why don't you like guns?" he asked, putting his hand on the small of my back as we walked through the house.

I winced. "Carter liked guns. I've seen a lot of people get shot." I immediately tried not to think of the other reason I didn't like guns, the thing that made me so terrified of guns that it would wake me up in the night. He groaned, and his hand closed over mine tightly. I shook my head, not needing to look at him to know that he felt sorry for me. "Don't worry about it; I just don't like the thought of guns, that's all. The noise scares me," I added, shuddering.

"Well then, I definitely think you should go for some lessons. You should get used to the sound so it doesn't scare you anymore," he suggested. I had a feeling that if he was there with me then I wouldn't be scared anyway, but I didn't want to tell him that.

We walked out of the house, and I immediately turned to the left. We had extensive grounds here at the lake house and a few minutes' walk away, there was an old play park that I grew up using. I could probably use some pleasant and familiar surroundings while we had this conversation.

As we left the house behind us and strolled across the grass, I took a deep breath, knowing I needed to start sooner or later. "So, I need to talk to you. Um... I don't really know what to say or how to say it, so I'll just go for the truth, okay?" I offered, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He nodded, watching me intently, his eyes a little apprehensive. "Okay well, I don't want anything from you. I can't be with you again like this morning. I just can't do that, so there's no point in you thinking any differently." I frowned because of how uncomfortable this conversation was. "I really enjoyed what happened this morning, I'm not gonna lie about it. That really was my first time in so many ways, so thank you. I just... I don't want that to happen again." I actually didn't believe a word of what I was saying. Physically, I _did_ want it to happen again, but for the sake of my mental health, I needed to set the boundaries because I couldn't cope with the guilt of it afterwards.

He hadn't said a word since I'd started speaking. The silence hung in the air as I kept my gaze firmly on the ground. The swing set of the park came into view, so I headed over to it, plopping myself on the seat, knowing I needed to continue. I was only half done with my prepared speech.

Wordlessly, he stepped behind me, giving me a little push on the swing. I cleared my throat, grateful that he was behind me and unable to see me cringe as I set the rules. "As of next week, you're officially my boyfriend, so I think we need to set some rules and stuff," I stated, making the word boyfriend sound like a dirty word.

"Yeah, good idea," he agreed quietly. His tone was a little hurt and defeated, but I didn't know how to help that.

"Okay, well, hand holding is fine," I started, "and I don't mind if you put your arm around me or hug me. But I don't want you touching me in a sexual way."

"No sexual touching. Got it," he confirmed, his voice coloured with amusement. I laughed nervously, leaning back as my swing propelled forward again. Silence hung in the air for a minute and then he spoke again, "Alright, if you're done with your rules, there are a couple of things I need clarification on." He walked around to the front of the swings, his lips pursed in thought.

_Is there something I hadn't thought of?_ "What's that?"

"Kissing?" He raised his eyebrows in question.

My eyes widened. "I don't-" I shook my head, not wanting that to happen again. Kissing was classed as sexual touching in my book; it was the start to something that really couldn't happen again.

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Anna, we're gonna need to kiss in public occasionally. Couples kiss..."

I nodded in agreement. He was right there; if the boyfriend façade was going to hold, I was going to have to kiss him a couple of times, at least in the first few days. "Okay, yeah I guess."

"What about dating?" he asked.

_Damn it, I didn't think about that either!_ "Yeah, of course, that's fine. We'll say we have an open relationship, and then that way you can still see other girls," I agreed, nodding. That way he could still live his life whilst stuck guarding mine.

He burst out laughing, shaking his head. "I didn't mean me dating other girls!" he choked out, chuckling wickedly.

For some reason my stomach unclenched when he said that. Although it shouldn't have, a small amount of jealousy had settled over me at the thought of him being with someone else. "What then?"

As my swing propelled towards him, he reached out, gripping my ankles and gently pulled me to a stop as he crouched down in front of me. I sucked in a breath through my teeth, knowing that I might have to rethink the rules we'd just made. Even that little action was sexy as hell, yet it wasn't sexual at all. I had a feeling it was just his hands on my body that kept sending me over the edge.

"I meant _us_ dating," he clarified. "We're supposed to be a couple; couples go out together, don't they? Movies, dinner, dancing. Do you dance?"

"Yeah, I dance. Well, not really anymore, I mean, I don't go anywhere to dance so..." I trailed off, looking at the floor. I used to like to dance, but that was the old Anna that was confident in her body, the happy-go-lucky girl that liked to giggle and smile up at the sunshine and eat picnics with her friends.

"So maybe if we ever go out somewhere I might get to dance with you," he suggested, raising one eyebrow in question. I bit my lip and nodded. I wasn't anticipating going to parties, but I didn't want to explain that to him right now. All I was interested in was trying to make it through college without being kicked out again. A boyish grin crept onto his face. "So, I can take you out on dates and dance with you at parties, as long as I don't touch you sexually. But I can hug you, and kiss you occasionally?" he checked, grinning, seeming like he was struggling not to laugh. "It sounds like we're an old, married couple."

I chuckled and nodded. "You're old, I'm not," I joked, raising my foot and putting it on his chest, pushing gently. Where he was crouched on the balls of his feet, I caught him off balance and he fell back onto his ass, laughing. I giggled wickedly as he stood up and dusted the grass and dirt from his behind, before taking the swing next to mine.

I smiled over at him, only just realising how much I'd missed just joking around with someone and laughing. For the last three years I'd barely interacted with anyone, choosing to make myself a recluse as I rejected my friends and family. It was nice just having someone to talk to for a change.

His smile slowly faded as his shoulders tightened, so I knew we weren't done yet. "What now?" I prompted.

He sighed and looked down at his hands. "I have one last thing I want to talk to you about." I waited for him to speak again, wondering what else I could have possibly forgotten. I thought I'd reasoned it all out before knocking on his door, apparently I was wrong. His eyes came up to meet mine again. "I hate your nightmares."

I snorted. He knew nothing of my nightmares. "Join the club."

He nodded, his eyes not leaving mine. "I have two options for you, both of them are okay with me so you can choose," he continued. "One of them I've suggested already. I change my sleeping pattern and sleep while you're awake. It'll just be like me working nights," he suggested.

I frowned, shaking my head adamantly. "No. What's the other suggestion?"

He sighed. "I sleep on the floor in your room. Or we could get one of those pull-out sofas or something. For some reason, you seem to sleep better if I'm in the room."

The reason was obvious to me. His snoring. And yes, I did sleep better with him there. It was almost as if I could still sense his protective presence while I was asleep, and that stopped me from going to that dark and terrible place where my memories taunted me in the form of nightmares.

"I guess a sofa bed might work," I agreed.

A satisfied smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he nodded happily. "Once we get to our apartment, we can order one. Until then, I'll just sleep on the floor," he agreed. I opened my mouth, about to suggest that he could just sleep on the bed with me until we ordered a sofa bed, but then I remembered what had transpired between us this morning and my lips pressed together tightly. "Are you all packed and stuff for college?" he asked, changing the subject.

Packed? I hadn't even started. "Not really. It won't take long to throw a few pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts into a bag though." I shrugged, using my feet to start my swing off again.

His gaze swept over me as he nodded. "Have you always been a tom boy?" he questioned. "Not that you don't look good, of course, because I'm pretty sure you could make a used garbage bag look hot. I was just wondering."

"Um... well, first off, thanks for the weird compliment," I joked, blushing profusely. I tugged on the bottom of my shirt, fingering the material that I purposefully bought three sizes too big. "It's just easier for me this way. If I wear something fitted then guys hit on me, and I just can't... I don't deal well with it." I shrugged.

He reached out, taking hold of the chain of my swing and pulling me to a wobbly stop. "You have me now. You don't need to worry about guys hitting on you. You could dress in whatever you wanted." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, glancing at the screen. "It's only just lunchtime; want me to take you shopping?"

I raised one eyebrow at the offer. He was right, with this new arrangement and him attending school with me, I wouldn't need to worry as much. Maybe I could buy myself a few new things. When I was younger, I was always a girlie girl. Like any carefree sixteen year old, I liked summer dresses, skirts, shorts and heels. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth when I thought about having a tiny piece of me back again. Shopping sounded like a nice idea.

"Okay," I agreed, nodding gratefully. I looked out across the grass, seeing the house in the distance. "Race you back?" I challenged.

He frowned, looking over at the house too. "That's not fair, I've seen you run," he protested.

I shrugged. "It's my favourite way to exercise," I answered. I said the words but my mind flicked to my morning workout with him in my bedroom. I definitely had a new favourite now. I blushed at the thought. He looked at me curiously, making me blush harder as I worried that he knew what I was thinking. "Maybe you should try running with me sometime, it'll build up your stamina, you're a bit lax." The heat in my cheeks flamed hotter as I realised I'd unintentionally just flirted with him.

He raised a teasing eyebrow. Clearly he'd noticed. "I have a problem with my stamina?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," I joked, winking at him. I nodded back towards the house again. "Race? Come on, Pretty Boy, where's the inner tough guy? Scared you'll get beaten by a girl?" I teased, smirking at him.

He shook his head adamantly. "I'm not scared, I just don't think it's fair that-" Midsentence, he suddenly sprang from his swing and burst forward. "Go!" he shouted over his shoulder, chuckling wickedly.

I gasped, and my mouth popped open in shock as I jumped to my feet too. "You freaking cheater!" I cried, giggling as I sprinted after him.

"Oh, for the love of God, can we _please_ be done? Seriously, when I suggested shopping, what I actually should have suggested was buying a tin of paint, slapping it on a wall and watching it dry!" Ashton whined, cocking his head to the side and pouting at me.

I chuckled wickedly. Things had started out fine at first, he'd followed me around, smiling and nodding as I picked up things or tried them on. Three hours later and he was checking his cell phone every ten minutes, grunting in response to my 'like this shirt' questions, and dragging his feet as he walked. I must admit, I did find it entertaining and was stringing out the shopping trip, purposefully picking up everything, silently considering it before setting it back down again. His reactions amused me.

I looked down at his hands that were laden with my shopping bags and smiled, knowing I couldn't push him any further. How he'd made it this long, I had no idea. He must have the patience of a saint because I'd been ready to go after an hour.

"So I've found your weakness. You're a shopping lightweight," I teased.

He blew out a big breath and shook his head. "A lightweight would have begged to go home an hour ago when you made me walk past that pizza joint without buying anything. Personally, I think I should get a medal for sticking it this long," he countered.

I grinned. "I made you walk past the pizza place because you'd already eaten your way through a whole supersized McDonalds, followed by an apple pie!" I'd never seen anyone eat as much as Ashton did. It was unnatural.

"I needed the calories so I could carry your bags!" He held up my numerous shopping bags in evidence and raised one eyebrow.

Finally conceding, I nodded. "Okay, let's just go home now then, your whining is giving me a headache," I joked. I'd bought enough new things to keep me going for a couple of weeks anyway.

He pumped the air with one fist, and a smile graced his face for the first time in two hours. "Yes, thank you!" he chirped. His eyes flitted over my shoulder and his smile widened. "Let's get some cookies to take back with us." I burst out laughing, shaking my head in disbelief.

Once we'd gotten back to the house and I'd hung all of my clothes up, I didn't want to do much other than just sit and chill, so I suggested watching a movie – and he suggested popcorn.

After finally seeking out popcorn from the cupboards and microwaving it, I slumped onto the sofa in the lounge, while he looked over the wall of DVDs that we had accumulated over the years. After making his choice, he put it on, turned off the lights and then dropped onto the sofa next to me, smiling wickedly.

"What'd you choose?" I asked, watching as the trailers started up.

"Mama."

I frowned and nodded, not having heard of it. "Is that a scary one?"

He chuckled and shoved his hand into the popcorn bowl. "I wouldn't hazard a guess."

Shifting to get comfortable, I twisted to the side and put my legs in his lap because there wasn't much room. He didn't seem to mind. In the flickering glow of the TV, I saw him smile as he laid his arm across my legs, scooting down in his seat to get more comfortable.

As the movie played, he started absentmindedly rubbing my feet and ankles, and eventually was massaging the back of my calves with his hands up the leg of my jeans. Out of nowhere the lights flicked on and I let out a little squeal because the movie was at a particularly scary part and my heart was already racing in my chest.

My mother stopped short, her hand still on the light switch as her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realise anyone was in here," she apologised quickly. Her eyes flitted to my legs where Ashton's hand disappeared up the bottom of my jeans. Catching on to how it probably looked to an outsider, I moved my legs quickly and sat up, clearing my throat awkwardly.

"It's okay; we're just watching a movie. Want to watch?" I offered, feeling the heat creep up my neck and spread across my face.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she flicked the lights back off again. "No thanks, I'll watch something in the other room. See you two tomorrow," she turned and left, closing the door tightly behind her.

I sank my teeth into my lip and turned to look at Ashton to see if he found that as awkward as I did, but apparently he didn't seem to care about the interruption and was just watching the movie again. Settling back down into the warm spot I'd created. I tried to watch the movie, but I couldn't get into it again. All I could think about was Ashton rubbing my legs, how nice it had felt at the time, and what on earth my mother had made of it.

When it was finally over, he turned the lights back on while I took the disk from the DVD player. "You like that?" I inquired, clipping it back into the case.

He shrugged, crinkling his nose. "Not really. It was alright," he answered, shrugging. "To be honest, I was expecting it to scare you; I was hoping you'd be begging me to cuddle you or something. Plan didn't work." He smiled in my direction, so I slapped him in the stomach with the DVD case.

I laughed incredulously and rolled my eyes as I picked up the empty popcorn bowl. "It didn't work because you distracted me with all your foot rubbing," I joked.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval and shook his head. "I didn't even realise I was doing that until your mom came in."

I smiled weakly, heading out of the room and into the kitchen. "Don't whine, it doesn't become you. Besides, I'm sure I'll get plenty scared over the next eight months," I replied sarcastically, as I put our empty glasses and bowl into the sink.

He stepped up close behind me, his chest practically touching my back. His breath blew down my neck as he spoke, "You're finally convinced I'm not gonna quit then?" he asked.

A little shiver ran down my spine at how sexy he sounded. Gulping, I mentally chastised myself for still letting him affect me. I pushed my elbow back into his stomach, forcing him to step back and give me some personal space.

"I believe you won't quit," I admitted. "Your problem will be if I have to get you transferred," I warned.

He sighed and stepped back, so I chanced turning and looking up at him. He forced a smile. "You won't have to get me transferred, I promise." I smiled gratefully, and a large yawn escaped before I even had time to cover my mouth. He grinned and nodded over his shoulder. "Bedtime, Miss Spencer."

As we walked through the house, he was asking me what type of movies I preferred because I admitted that I didn't like horror or paranormal ones. By the time we got to my bedroom door, he frowned and kicked at the floor with his toe. "So, er, can I sleep in your room?"

I gulped, recoiling slightly but nodded in agreement. "I guess, yeah."

Not waiting for him, I marched into my room and grabbed some pyjamas before heading into the bathroom to change. I took my time, calming my nerves, mentally steeling myself against being in bed with him again. I wasn't sure this was a good idea after what had happened between us that morning.

When I'd finally worked up the courage, I left the bathroom, expecting to see him lying in my bed, half naked. But he wasn't. Instead, he'd taken one set of my pillows and the throw that covered the bottom of my bed and had made a little bed for himself on the floor next to my own.

My heart stuttered at the sweet move because I'd just assumed that he would expect to share my bed. He was lying on his back, his chest bare, one arm folded behind his head, and his other stretched across his stomach. He smiled as I stepped out of the room.

"I thought you'd fallen in or something," he joked, mocking the amount of time I'd been in the bathroom.

I laughed awkwardly and walked to my bed, climbing in but rolling so I was at the edge of the bed and could look down to see him stretched out on the floor. "You gonna be okay down there?"

He nodded quickly. "I'll be fine, don't worry," he vowed. "Goodnight."

"Night, Pretty Boy."

My eyes wandered to his chest as my body longed to move down onto the floor with him, to press against his side and let his warmth flood into my system. My scalp prickled as I imagined how soft his skin would feel under my hand if I just stretched out and touched him, or how his tongue would taste against mine. I longed for these things, but I refused to allow them to happen. Instead, I reached up and flicked off the light, submerging us into darkness.

### Chapter Twelve

I cracked my eyes open, wincing as the light from the window made my eyes sting. I squeezed them closed again and rolled over, almost falling out of the bed as I was so close to the edge. Groaning quietly, I suddenly realised that Ashton wasn't snoring, or even breathing heavily. Frowning, I peeked over the edge of the bed, only to find that the place that he'd slept was now empty, his pillow and makeshift blanket folded and placed on my dresser chair. My eyes flicked to the alarm clock, it was only just after seven thirty. I groaned in frustration. I would have definitely preferred to sleep in longer than this! A small folded piece of paper on the side next to my alarm clock caught my attention. My name was scribbled on the front in typical boy's messy handwriting. I reached for it, opening it eagerly, already wondering why he'd gotten up so early.

Anna,

I went for a run in the gym to build up my stamina.

Ashton

A small chuckle escaped my lips at the stamina comment. I flopped back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. Today was my last day here because tomorrow was the scheduled trip to Arizona, ready to start my new school on Monday. There was nothing I wanted to do today, so I nibbled on my lip thinking of how I could whittle away the hours rather than having to spend time with my parents. If I kept myself busy then I wouldn't have to see them behave awkwardly around me all day while they tried to pretend like they understood how I was feeling. I hated that.

The only thing I could think of was something that Ashton had said yesterday. Shooting practice. Maybe if I was there with him and he was teaching me how to use a gun in a safe way, I would finally get over some of my fear of them. I wasn't stupid enough to believe that it would ever go away, I just wondered if him teaching me the basics of shooting might stop the complete blood-curdling terror from taking over whenever I came into contact with one. There was only one way to find out.

I sighed and pushed myself out of bed, needing to get this over with early if I was actually going to be able to go through with it. My nerve would deteriorate the longer I left it, so I needed to set the wheels in motion before it fizzled out altogether.

Stepping into my en-suite bathroom, my gaze landed on the mirror. The girl that looked back at me was unfamiliar and so incredibly different to what I'd been used to seeing for the last three years. My eyes had lost the tired look that they always had, probably because since Ashton came here, I'd slept better than the last three years put together. My skin looked like it had more colour, my posture wasn't as tight and defensive as usual. I smiled, perplexed that one person, and of course, some sleep, could make me feel and look so different.

I decided to try out how it felt to wear normal clothes. At least if I tried it out here and couldn't cope, then I could pack my usual stuff before we left. Not bothering to wash my hair again, I straightened it using the straightening irons that my mother had bought me two years ago that hadn't even been removed from their box. Afterwards, I looked through my closet for a solid five minutes before choosing a pair of cropped, fitted jeans, a fitted red shirt and a pair of red open-toed heels. When I looked in the mirror again, I looked even less like the girl that I had come to associate myself as. I wasn't sure I liked it.

Knowing I needed to take the plunge before we left, I pulled back my shoulders and raised my chin, trying to fake confidence as I left my room and headed downstairs. I didn't pull it off.

As I passed the entrance to the gym, I could hear the sounds of feet thumping on the treadmill. I smiled and slipped inside, seeing Ashton running with his back to me. He was jogging steadily in just a pair of black shorts. Sweat ran down his back and wet the hair at the nape of his neck. I gulped as I watched the muscles in his legs and back tighten with each stride. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

He was just slowing down, so I waited until he'd come to a stop before I spoke. "Hi," I chirped, smiling and trying not to blush and let on to the fact that I'd just been watching him with lust-filled eyes for the last couple of minutes. He spun around as if I'd made him jump. The shock was evident on his face as he stared at me with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. "I didn't think I was supposed to be able to creep up on you. I thought you were supposed to be some badass SWAT guy. Maybe I put too much faith in your ability to protect me," I teased, leaning on the doorframe, crossing one leg over the other.

"I... I..." he stuttered weakly as his eyes raked over my body slowly.

_Oh, he likes my new clothes!_ "You... You... what?" I asked, grinning.

He blew out a big breath and shook his head. "Shit, Anna, you look beautiful."

I blushed at the compliment. "Um, thanks."

"I'm not kidding. Damn. I think I'm gonna need to buy another gun," he shrugged, finally dragging his eyes up to mine.

"Another gun?"

He nodded, grinning at me wickedly. "Yeah, looks like I'll need the extra bullets to keep all the guys away from you next week."

"Well, thank goodness I have a badass boyfriend then," I joked, picking up the towel and throwing at him. "You have any plans for today? I've thought of something for us to do, if you're not busy."

A sceptical, worried expression crossed his face as he winced. "Please tell me it doesn't involve walking around any more clothes stores," he whined.

I couldn't help but laugh at his begging voice. "No more clothes stores," I confirmed. I swallowed around the lump that was rapidly forming in my throat. "I was actually thinking that you could teach me how to shoot, like you'd said. There's a shooting range that my dad goes to sometimes. It's about an hour away, I think. We could go as soon as you're ready."

His eyes widened as he walked over to me, reaching out and setting his hand on my waist as he bent and looked straight into my eyes. I could feel the heat from his hand seeping into my skin through my clothes. I gulped at the intimacy of this small touch. "I thought you didn't want to do that," he whispered, eyeing me worriedly.

"And I thought you said you wanted me to learn," I countered. I didn't want him to talk me out of it now. I'd been psyching myself up to it for the last half an hour. "It'll be fine. If it gives me nightmares then my big, bad bodyguard can protect me," I teased, grinning. He smiled at me cockily. "I may have to pay Dean overtime, but I'm sure he'll be up for it," I added quickly.

He snorted and rolled his eyes playfully. "You're gonna let Dean in your bed? Can't see that happening," he replied, grinning mischievously as he tickled my waist. I wriggled and twisted out of his grasp, laughing uncontrollably. I had a very ticklish spot on my ribs, and it appeared that he'd just found it.

He laughed and stepped back, letting his hand drop from my side. "I should shower. Why don't you go have some breakfast and then I'll meet you in there in a bit," he suggested. I nodded in agreement, and headed out of the room, holding the door open for him to walk through too. He shot me a little smile as he walked in the opposite direction to me.

As I stepped through the door to the kitchen, I groaned inwardly and wished I'd skipped food today. Both of my parents were sitting at the breakfast bar sipping coffee. They stopped talking and looked up at me as I walked in.

I forced a tight smile. "Morning." I kept my greeting short, not wanting to instigate a conversation with them.

"Annabelle, you look beautiful!" my mom gushed. "Did you get that shirt yesterday?"

I nodded, frowning as I strutted to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. Did everyone know my every move? "Yeah. I got a few things to take with me to the new school. I spent on the credit card, hope that's okay." Too late if it wasn't. Maybe I should have asked first...

"Of course it is. It's your allowance, you never spend it," my dad answered. I turned back to see him smiling at me – a genuine smile. I hadn't seen one of those for a long time. Generally our relationship could be classified as 'strained' so I never really saw them smile much around me anymore. I could see the hopefulness in both of their eyes. Clearly they were reading something into the new clothes. I hated the little, meaningful smile they exchanged because they thought I wouldn't notice.

Roll on tomorrow, so I can get the heck out of here!

I pulled out a stool at the end of the breakfast bar and sat down, pulling a bowl and box of cereal towards me. The air was thick with awkwardness, and you could probably cut the tension with a knife as I sat there with them. It was probably strange for both of them to be sitting here having coffee with a daughter they had all but been estranged from for the last three years. It appeared no one knew what to say.

Needing to break the silence because it was practically deafening me, I cleared my throat and said the first thing that popped into my head. "Agent Taylor is taking me shooting today."

My dad's eyes widened as he regarded me quizzically. Either because I'd volunteered to start a conversation, or because of the topic. "Oh really? I didn't know you had an interest that that kind of thing."

"I don't. Ashton thinks it'll be good for me," I replied, shrugging and focussing on pushing my cereal around my bowl with my spoon.

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea," my dad agreed. I could practically hear the cogs of his brain ticking over, trying to work this all out and read things into it. "I'll put in a call to a friend and have you some guest passes ready so you don't have to join and fill in paperwork."

My mom chimed in then, asking my dad when the last time was that he went shooting, and thankfully the conversation required little to no input from me, so I sat quiet and chewed on my cereal, silently willing Ashton to hurry up.

After ten minutes I was all but ready to run from the room. Talk had been sparse, and the uncomfortable atmosphere had gotten so bad that I could barely sit still. When Ashton strutted into the kitchen, dressed and smiling, I practically jumped out of my seat and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi, you ready?" I asked hopefully.

"Er..." he looked from me to the food and back again. My heart sank. I'd had enough and needed to leave. "Yeah, sure." He turned to my parents and smiled politely. "Good morning, sir, ma'am."

I reached out and snagged him a bagel and an apple before stepping to his side and holding it out to him, praying he wouldn't suggest we eat it here. "Let's get going then, it's a little way away." He smiled sympathetically and nodded, before leaning over and picking up a granola bar too. "Bye. See you at dinner," I said to my parents, knowing that I would never get out of my last dinner before leaving.

Ashton bid his goodbyes as I was walking out of the room. I breathed a sigh of relief as I rolled my shoulders, turning to look at him as he bit into the bagel eagerly. "Thank you. That was... awkward."

He grinned. "No problem."

As we walked, I slipped my hand into his, partly because I wanted more practice at the fake boyfriend thing ready for next week, but mostly because I just wanted a little reassurance that everything was okay. I was extremely nervous about going shooting. He turned to face me, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He lifted our hands, grinning. "That's the first time you've taken my hand."

"Um... Yeah, I guess it is," I admitted, squeezing his hand gently, willing him not to push the subject further. When we got to the carport, I pulled my car keys from my pocket, tossing them to him and nodding towards the driver's side of my Aston Martin again, watching as his eyes widened in delight.

"Hell yeah!" he cried, grinning from ear to ear.

"What is it with boys and cars?" I mused. "Hey, that reminds me, we'll have to buy a car when we get to Arizona. Unless you want them to arrange one for us."

He opened the door for me. "Never thought about that." He popped the rest of his bagel into his mouth before walking confidently around to the other side of the car and climbing in.

"What sort of car do you want?" I wasn't really into cars, as long as I got from A to B, that did me.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Something we can both drive."

"I can see you in a Porsche or Ferrari." I narrowed my eyes, picturing him getting out of a little, sexy sports car. _I bet that would be a good look for him!_

"Ooh, how about one of those yellow ones from the transformers movie?" he joked.

"You do know it wouldn't turn into a robot though, right?" I countered, poking him in the ribs.

"Aww man, really?" he frowned, faking disappointment. We laughed for a few minutes while I searched for the shooting range on the GPS. "Do we really need to choose a car?" he asked after a few minutes, when we'd finally gotten going. I nodded in confirmation. "Okay, how about a four by four then. You'll drive that, right? They're nice and safe. If you have an accident, you can pretty much just drive over the other car." His face was serious and thoughtful.

"Are you saying I'm a bad driver?" I gasped, faking hurt.

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah."

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. "Whatever. Like I said, you choose something you like. You can be my glorified chauffeur considering you'll come everywhere with me anyway." Then I had a thought, was he planning on coming _everywhere_ with me? "Hey, what happens if I have a ladies appointment?"

"Ladies appointment? Like what?" he questioned, glancing at me curiously before concentrating on the road again.

_Is he seriously going to make me spell it out?_ "I don't know, a waxing or something like that," I muttered, embarrassed. I forced myself to go for a bikini and leg wax every few weeks because sometimes the paparazzi liked to stalk our house and take shots for magazines. Especially with the election coming up, they would be all over my family soon; hopefully I would avoid all of that though being at school.

"A waxing? Why couldn't I come with you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow, looking like a little, confused puppy dog.

"Ashton, seriously?" I scoffed, shooting him a warning face. There was no way I was standing for that; I drew the line at that one.

He sighed in defeat. "Okay fine. I guess I can't really do things a boyfriend wouldn't do, so for things like that, you'd have to take Dean with you and get him to stand outside the door," he explained, shrugging.

That was what happened now, a guard waited in the car for me outside the building. "Outside the door? Well, what happens if the lady tries to kill me with hot wax?" I asked with mock horror.

"Don't start me worrying about that or I will come with you to your appointments," he replied, smirking.

"Oh shut up! Why can't I just go on my own? Nothing will happen at a beauty salon, for goodness' sake. I think you're taking this job way too seriously. So what if my dad needs to beef up his security because of the election, no one's seriously going to attack me," I scoffed, frowning. This whole thing was just stupid. He didn't say anything, so I looked over at him; he was frowning at something and looked a little unhappy. "What's wrong, Pretty Boy, cat got your talented tongue?" I flirted, and then blushed at what I had said. _Oh man, did I really just say that?_ I turned towards the window and bit my lip to stop the giggle escaping at the obvious slutty comment I'd just directed at my bodyguard.

He burst out laughing. "Damn it, Anna, will you stop making me laugh? I'm driving!" he scolded, trying to be serious.

"I apologise," I said, still giggling. I glanced over at him, and he gave me a wicked grin and winked, making my face burn even more.

Despite the GPS, we still got a little lost on the way there so it took well over an hour before we pulled into the shooting range parking lot. The anxiety and worry had been building inside me the whole ride, so by the time he cut the engine, my stomach was churning so much that my cereal was threatening to come back up.

Dean's car pulled in and stopped beside ours, but he didn't bother to get out. As far guard, he was just to wait outside the building in the car and be on call to jump in and save the day if he was needed. Ashton smiled at me encouragingly as I forced myself to climb out of the car and look over at the large, and incredibly intimidating, brick building.

As soon as the door to the place opened, the noise made me want to run. There were already a few people inside, so a gunshot sounded every couple of seconds. Each shot made me squeal and press myself against Ashton's side as he spoke to the assistant and signed us in with the guest passes my father had arranged. Ashton was handed two black trays, and I could see a small handgun in each one as the assistant led us over to the last two lanes in the building.

My heart was crashing in my chest, and my breathing was shallow. I didn't take my eyes off Ashton the whole time; it felt like if I kept him in sight I would be okay. Once the assistant guy had left, Ashton turned to me and pushed some safety glasses onto my face before snapping a thick, heavy pair of headphones over my ears. Sound was instantly muffled, but I could still hear the gunshots ringing out in the background.

He gripped my hips, guiding me to turn and face the right way. Stepping close to my back, his arms circled around my waist as he clamped my back against his chest. "It's alright, Anna, I promise," he said loudly so that I could hear him through the huge ear defenders.

I pressed harder into Ashton's body, wanting to melt into him as another shot rang out somewhere in the building. I was struggling to stay in control. Deep down, I wasn't sure I could do this. My eyes locked on the black and white target of a body that was in front of me but about twenty feet away. There was a target on the centre with circles spreading outwards with little numbers in so you could obviously keep track of your progress.

He gently lifted one of my ear defenders off my ear, resting it on my cheek before his hands closed over my shoulders, squeezing supportively. "Okay, Baby Girl," he said. His voice vibrated against my head, making the hair on the back of my neck prickle.

Wait, did he just call me baby girl?

Reaching out, he gripped one of the hand guns, holding it out in front of me. I groaned and shied away from it, pressing back into him further. "It's fine," he promised. With his other hand, he took mine and placed the cold metal into my hand before forcing my other hand around it too so that I was holding it. His hands stayed firmly wrapped around mine. A pitiful whimper left my lips. "Do you know where the safety is?" he asked. Forcing myself to look at the killing machine in my hands, I spotted a small button on the side of it. I pointed it out with my thumb, taking a wild guess. I didn't bother trying to talk, my mouth was too dry; I knew nothing would come out if I tried to speak. "That's great, Anna," he purred in my ear. His praising, sexy voice almost distracted from the deep down terror that had practically consumed me – almost, but not quite.

Ashton then proceeded to give me a brief overview of how to line up my target and sight it properly; he went on and on about how I was supposed to squeeze the trigger, not pull it – which actually made no sense to me at all. Apparently, the gun would jerk in my hand a little when I shot it, so I had to expect that.

By the time I was ready to start, my breathing was coming too fast, and my heart was racing. He put my headphones back into place and then guided my hands out straight in front of me, still pressing into me from behind.

"Okay, click the safety off when you're ready, and then go," he instructed, holding my hands tightly on the gun. A long groan escaped my lips, but I moved my thumb regardless and clicked off the safety. When I squeezed the trigger, the gun did indeed jerk in my hand. I squealed and jumped at the sound and the fact that I'd just shot a gun. "That was fantastic. Go again," he encouraged.

As I squeezed off another shot, it dawned on me that it wasn't quite as bad as what I had been envisioning. After a couple more shots, Ashton took the gun from my hands, prising it from my stiff fingers as he clicked the safety back on.

I turned to look at him over my shoulder, chewing on my lip.

"That was great!" he cried excitedly. "You wanna have a go on your own?" he offered, raising one eyebrow.

"Okay," I agreed hesitantly. "But don't leave me."

He shook his head, raising his hand and crossing one finger over his heart. "I won't, I promise." He nodded back towards the target and held the gun out to me again. I gripped the gun, turning towards the target, trying not to notice that my hands were shaking. Once his arms encircled my waist, I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. "Whenever you're ready, aim, take the safety off, and then go."

I concentrated on the safe feeling I felt with his arms around me like that; I focussed on the heat and hardness of his body as he held me tightly. Finally, my nerves subsided, so I took a deep breath and pointed the gun.

After four shots the gun was empty so he took it from my hands. I breathed a sigh of relief and felt my shoulders sag forward as I smiled, more than a little proud of myself for overcoming my fear like that. It was all because of Ashton though. I knew there was no way I would have even set foot in this place if he weren't with me.

"I am really proud of you for doing that," he said, bending forward and planting a soft kiss on my forehead. I gulped, feeling my smile grow even bigger because of his praise. "Want to see how you did?" he offered, pointing to a button labelled target recall on the side of the booth we were in. I nodded eagerly and pressed it, watching as the paper target slowly made its way to us, on the little overhead track. Ashton smiled at it happily as it stopped next to him. I'd shot twelve shots in total. Nine of them had actually hit the paper, three of them were even on the shape of the body which I was surprised about. I hadn't thought I'd even hit the paper with my hands shaking like they were. "A few more times and you'll be a pro," Ashton joked.

"Are you going to have a go? Or are you scared you can't match my awesome skills?" I teased. I would actually quite like to see him fire a gun for some reason, maybe the horrible images would be replaced if I saw him do it.

He shook his head quickly. "Not today. Another time I will. I think you've been in here long enough already," he answered, picking up the gun and setting it, along with the extra clips we'd been given, into the black tray. "We should probably get going."

I nodded in agreement. That was probably a good idea. I didn't want to push it too far today and end up suffering the consequences tonight when my nightmares took over. Taking off my ear defenders and goggles, I dropped them into the tray too.

"I'll have you shooting like a pro by the end of my eight month assignment," he said as we walked to the reception desk to sign out.

I scoffed and shook my head. "I'd be happy just to get all of my shots on the paper by the time you leave." _Actually, I'd be happy just to be able to hold a gun without my hands trembling dangerously._

As we walked out of the building and got in the car, I spotted Dean still sitting in the same spot. The boredom was easy to see on his face. Ashton nodded at him as he held my door open for me to get in. "It must be a really tedious job, being a far guard. I mean, he's always on his own, sitting around waiting for me," I mused once Ashton climbed into the driver's side and started the car. I actually felt a little sorry for Dean; he must be bored senseless watching me all day.

Ashton shrugged, pulling out of the parking lot. "That's his job. He gets paid for it."

A sudden thought occurred to me. "Do you get any extra money for looking after me? I mean, you're basically on duty for twenty-four hours a day, right? So are you getting double pay or something?"

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he drove. "Nope, but I get the pleasure of your company, which is something I would gladly pay for. I actually think I'm doing them out of something," he answered. I blushed and shook my head, not knowing what to say to that. Thankfully, conversation flowed easily after that as he started telling me about his best friend, Nate Peters, who was apparently a bit of a ladies' man. Ashton assured me that if I ever met him that he'd try to get me into bed.

"So how does he get all of these women then?" I asked, grinning after hearing a tale of Nate scoring with three women in one night – and then it turned out that two of them were sisters, so he gotten a drink poured over his head.

He smirked in my direction. "It's the uniform. Girls like the uniform."

"Ahh." His meaning was clear. "So you score in yours too then I bet." My mind flicked back to the photo I'd seen of him in his uniform. He was right; the uniform was a definite pantie-moistener.

He shrugged awkwardly. "Sometimes I guess," he admitted.

"Did you bring it with you?" I asked. Immediately my face flooded with heat as my insides squirmed with embarrassment at asking that question. _Holy shit, Anna, you are on fire today!_

He grinned. "Why, do you want to see it?" he flirted.

I gulped; the answer to that question was 'heck yeah', but I refused to admit it. "Sure, why not. I can handle it, I have considerable self-control," I lied, shrugging.

He chuckled, grinning wickedly. "Yeah, much to my disappointment." He shook his head. "I didn't bring it. I'm undercover, remember? I'll show you some other time if you want," he offered, turning back to watch the road. _Oh heck yeah, I would certainly like to see him in that uniform!_ I didn't say that though, and quickly changed the subject to his shooting.

### Chapter Thirteen

When we pulled up at the house, I was a little disappointed. I genuinely liked spending time with him, but there was just too much pressure here.

"So, you wanna go do something? Swimming maybe?" he offered as we climbed out of the car. "In the indoor heated pool, I meant, not the ice water again," he added quickly, shuddering.

I laughed at that. "Er... there's something I really want to do first, so maybe in like an hour or something?" I suggested, raising my eyebrows. Yesterday, while shopping, I'd seen the Apple store and realised that Ashton needed an iPod if he was going to survive college. I was pretty sure he didn't have one, and I had a spare, brand new one that I'd bought for myself a few months ago when I thought I'd lost mine. Music was a college attendee's survival essential; he'd need that to keep himself sane.

He looked at me sceptically. "You're not leaving the house though, are you?"

"No, I'll be in my bedroom." I rolled my eyes at his assumption. He obviously took this guard thing way too seriously.

"Okay good. An hour's fine then, I'll go finish that book." He shrugged, smiling a half smile.

"I'll have to make sure to pack the other three for you if you're that into them," I teased.

He just rolled his eyes and didn't bother to answer me. On the way through the house, we stopped by the kitchen to grab a drink and sandwich for lunch. I said goodbye to Ashton for the hour, taking my food to my room. As soon as I was alone, I pulled out my laptop and started to sync my spare iPod to my iTunes, copying all of my music over to it for him. Having no idea what kind of music he liked, I had no clue if there was anything in my collection that he would like – it would be a start for him though, at least.

After exactly an hour, he knocked on my door. I winced and looked up worriedly because the music was still syncing. "Ashton, I'm not done, I'll be a bit longer then I'll come get you, okay?" I called, hoping he wouldn't just walk in and see me doing it. I wanted to give it to him tomorrow on the plane so he could listen to it during the flight if he wanted to.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Fine," I answered, chewing on my lip, watching the grey bar at the top as it copied all of the music over.

"Anna, can I come in?" he asked, still sounding unsure.

I ran to the door and yanked it open before he just walked in and ruined my surprise. "What's up?" I asked, pulling the door close to my side so that he couldn't see into my room.

"Are you really alright? You're not freaking out because of the guns, are you?" he asked, reaching for my hand.

I smiled at his concern. I appreciated the thought actually. "No, I'm not freaking out. I just had something I wanted to do on my laptop before we leave tomorrow," I promised, shrugging.

His face brightened, and he seemed to visibly relax. "Oh, that's good, I was worried," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thank you for being worried, but I'm honestly fine." I shrugged.

"Okay, well, let me know when you're ready." He raised my hand to his lips, planting a soft kiss on my knuckle before turning and walking to his room next door.

While my laptop finished its task, I dug out another swimsuit and shrugged out of my clothes. By the time I had my clothes back on top of it, the sync was finished. As I walked to his room, I scraped my hair back into a bun before knocking politely on his door. He pulled it open as I was mid-knock so he must have been keen to go.

"Hey, I'm done," I greeted.

"Okay, great," he smiled and stepped out of the room, slinging a towel over his shoulder. As we stepped into the pool that we had at the back of the house, he raised one eyebrow in appreciation. "This is nice, I didn't even realise this was here."

"Yeah, I guess I should've shown you this on my tour of the house, huh?" I teased, grinning, remembering how I ditched him on his first day.

"Yeah, I still owe you for that," he warned, narrowing his eyes at me.

"I'm so scared," I mocked, stripping out of my clothes.

"You should be." His arms closed around me quickly, lifting me off my feet as he stalked towards the pool.

"No!" I shouted, just as he threw me into the water. I came up laughing and spluttering. "Asshole!" I cried, wiping the water out of my eyes. He did a cannonball into the pool, sending water everywhere. "Wow, you're such a child," I scoffed, trying to hide my grin.

We swam a few lengths, bantering back and forth. Ashton was a strong swimmer; apparently they had to swim a lot for training. He said that once, as a punishment for letting a chicken loose in the officers' lounge, he and Nate had to spend the whole night in the pool, swimming lengths and picking bricks up from the bottom.

"Wow, and you liked this place?" I asked, turning my nose up.

"Sure, it kinda saved me, I guess. When I was seventeen I didn't get many opportunities and I started hanging around with the wrong people. It was a toss-up for me between joining up with the force, or carrying on being that person who I was becoming. Thankfully I chose the academy."

I swam over to him and held onto the edge so we could talk. He grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. He was so close to me that the heat started up again. I had no idea how he did it to me. I moved closer to him, trailing my finger across his shoulder, looking at his tanned skin as lustful thoughts crashed over me in droves.

"You're looking like a prune," he teased, looking at my wrinkly fingers.

"You do too," I muttered, chewing on my lip. I knew I needed to get out of the pool, this was just plain wrong, and I shouldn't let this guy affect me so much. "Maybe we should get out." I didn't wait for an answer, just swam to the ladder and pulled myself out, grabbing my towel and drying my face.

When I turned back, he was just pulling himself out of the pool. My stomach tightened as he picked up his towel from the chair and started rubbing it over his chest. I watched the movements with interest; I'd never envied a towel before that moment.

Once I could bring myself to stop staring at him, I wrapped the towel around myself and we started walking back through the house. At my bedroom door, we parted ways. "I guess I should start packing after dinner," I mumbled, scrunching my nose up. Packing was the worst part about being kicked out of so many schools and having to start over.

"I can help you if you want," he offered. "I don't have that much to pack. If you have anything you want to put in with my stuff, you can."

I smiled gratefully. He'd already told me that he had a selection of clothes waiting for him at the apartment. Apparently they were supplying him with appropriate clothing; all he'd had to do was tell them his sizes. I dreaded to think what kind of clothing they deemed 'appropriate' for college.

I pushed my door open. "Okay thanks. I'll knock for you after I get back from dinner with my parents." I was going to do my best to enjoy my dinner tonight. As of tomorrow I would be leaving – and having a chef certainly was one thing I missed while at school.

### ~ Ashton ~

After I'd eaten dinner with the other agents and the other staff they had at the house, I'd packed up my own clothes before she finally knocked on my door signalling she was finished eating with her parents. As I lay on her bed with my arm folded behind my head, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. She was just so incredible. I genuinely didn't understand how there could be such a perfect creature like her in the world, and yet all those terrible things had happened to her.

My eyes were glued to her as she bent over, folding up her clothes. I could barely suppress my moan of desire for her. She obviously had no idea the effect she had on me, and I was pretty grateful of that fact. Clearly she needed a friend right now, so that was what I was planning on being for her. I'd do whatever it took to make her happy, even if this assignment ended up killing me. It was going to be incredibly hard on me to be so close, yet be so far away at the same time, but I could cope with it.

She turned and caught me looking straight at her, so I quickly flicked my eyes onto something else, knowing she was going to bitch me out about it. "You want to help me instead of just watching?" she teased, tossing a rucksack at me.

I laughed in relief. At least she didn't realise I was perving on her. Pushing myself up from the bed, I turned to her art materials that she had piled on her dresser and started putting it into the bag. When I got to her sketchpad, I wanted so badly to look at it, but I didn't know if she would want me to.

"Can I look through your drawings?" I asked hopefully.

She winced uncomfortably. "Um, okay. Some of them are a little... harsh."

_Harsh. What is that supposed to mean?_ I sat down on the chair and started flipping through the pad. My mouth dropped open in awe as I looked at her drawings. They were incredible: the lake, the house, a tree, a sunset, one of her mom. I could tell which ones she called harsh. They were actually quite disturbing; blood, death, knives and guns. The same man was drawn over and over, looking menacing and angry. I recognised him from the photo in her file, this was Carter.

"These are really great. What do you want to do when you finish school?" I asked, pushing the book into the bag.

"Well, I always wanted to be a graphic designer, but I'm not sure that'll happen now. I'll just be happy if I can graduate and finish my course," she replied, looking a little sheepish.

I could feel my anger simmering just below the surface again. Carter had taken everything away from her. She just needed to get her confidence in people back though, that's all, I could help her with that. I'd do whatever it took to get her life back on track again.

"Well, don't give up on your dream, Anna. I'll help you," I promised, looking at her beautiful face.

She laughed quietly, and the sound made my heart beat faster. "You sound like Jack. He used to say things like that all the time."

I decided to take that as a compliment. Jack sounded like a good guy from what I'd heard, and he was a damn lucky one too to have her love him so much. "Smart guy," I commented, grinning.

I turned back to her stuff and picked up the sketch pad that she bought the other day when we went shopping. I flipped it open and on the first page was me again. I had to laugh at her portrayal of me. She obviously thought I was good-looking; I could tell by the way she seemed to skim over my flaws and drew me looking perfect, with not even a hair out of place.

"Do you like drawing me?" I asked, flipping the pad around so she could see what I was looking at.

"Sure, why not," she replied, shrugging.

I frowned, trying to work out what that meant. Women were incredibly hard to read; I'd never really tried to understand one before. It was a lot harder than it looked. I flipped to the next page – it was Jack this time, I recognised him from the photo next to her bed. He was covered in blood and looked like he was in pain; the picture was a little horrifying.

I groaned and shook my head. "Why don't you draw a nice picture of him, instead of this?" I asked, nodding down at the book. I didn't want to show her the picture in case it upset her, suddenly being confronted with it.

She sighed, and her eyes dropped to the floor; her whole posture was sad and defeated. "It makes me too upset, so I don't draw him anymore."

"Anna, surely it's harder for you to draw him like this," I protested, silently wondering if she just liked being sad.

"You'd think so, huh?" She took the pad out of my hand and put it in the bag, indicating the end of the conversation.

I sighed, angry at myself. _Way to go, Ashton, upset her again. Great job, asshole!_ I reached out and put my finger under her chin, guiding her eyes up to meet mine. I needed to see her smile again, I hated that she was so sad all the time. "It's okay to miss him. You should remember the nice times and try to forget the bad stuff. It's not good for you," I whispered.

She smiled weakly, but it didn't reach her lifeless eyes. "I know, but I can't help it. When I close my eyes, that's what I see."

"In time the bad stuff will fade, and you'll just be left with the good memories," I promised, stepping closer to her and wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She fitted against my body perfectly. The smell of chlorine wafted up from her hair, making my scalp prickle. It was almost like torture. _If I can't have her, then why does she fit me so perfectly?_ I wanted so badly to dip my head and kiss her cheek, so I could feel her soft skin against my mouth again. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about the taste and feel of her since what happened yesterday.

She pressed her face into my chest and her body accidentally brushed against mine. I gulped and willed myself not to get turned on by the tiny movement. "Everyone says that, but three years on and it's still just like yesterday," she muttered.

I sighed and closed my eyes, pressing my face into her hair, breathing her in. I had no idea how I could make her feel better. "Just take one day at a time, that's all you can do."

Her arm tightened on my waist for a second before she sighed and pulled out of my grasp, stepping back and frowning down at the floor. "Let's just get this stuff packed."

Two suitcases and a rucksack later, she was finally satisfied that she had enough clothes to last her. She seemed to have packed everything but the kitchen sink. I even saw her throw in the next three Twilight books for me. I'd never had someone think about me like that before. The guys at the academy were great, but guys just didn't do that sort of thing. It was weird for me to accept that someone could just genuinely be that kind and thoughtful. It amazed me that, although she was going through agony, she still had it in her heart to think of others too.

After we were done, she disappeared off into her en-suite to have a bath, so I sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the door, just wishing I could go and sit on the floor and talk to her some more. That was easily my favourite thing about her; she always had something interesting to say and could make me laugh like no girl I'd ever met. Sighing, I pulled out my cell phone, opening my email and finding the itinerary for our travel the following day.

When I knew it word for word, I stripped out of my clothes and took the spare pillow and throw off her bed, laying it out on the floor again. My back muscles were already protesting about sleeping on the floor, but it seemed to stop her nightmares so I could deal with it for a while. I'd already put in a request for a sofa bed to be put in the apartment we were to share.

A little while later I could hear her moving around in the bathroom. When the door handle twisted, I quickly lay down and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. There was no need for me to make anything more difficult for her. She sighed and the light flicked off before the mattress creaked and the sheets rustled. As I lay there, I could hear her breathing as she rolled to the edge of the bed. It was one of the most precious sounds in the world to me.

Suddenly, I felt one of her fingers trail across the bridge of my nose and trace across my cheek before she swept the hair from my forehead softly. I desperately wanted to open my eyes and talk to her, hold her and kiss her, but she needed me to be the strong one, so I would be. Her hand moved down, resting on my chest, just above my heart. It was almost as if she wanted to check I was still there or something. It was nice, and I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face – lucky for me, the light was off so she couldn't see how excited the small touch was making me.

I woke early again in the morning. I sat up, clenching my teeth so that I didn't groan as my muscles protested. I smiled over at Anna who was still in a peaceful slumber, so I pushed myself up to my feet, bending and planting a soft kiss on the top of her head before I silently folded up my makeshift bed. It was easier this way; there was no awkwardness for her if I snuck out while she slept. I sighed and went to my room for a quick shower, changing into my clothes for the day and packing the last of my things.

After taking my bags downstairs, I sought out Dean to check he was all set for today. We were due to be driven to the airport at nine, so there wasn't long to wait. Satisfied he was ready to go and knew what he was doing, I made my next stop the kitchen. My stomach was growling angrily as I looked at the stack of pancakes that Mary had made.

After gorging myself on a huge stack, I picked up an extra plate and loaded a couple on for Anna, carrying it carefully through the house and up to her room. When I got to her door, I knocked and waited for her to call me in. It was only just seven, so I was assumed she wouldn't even be up yet.

"Yeah?" she called sleepily.

I opened the door and strutted in, seeing that she was sitting up on the bed, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Her hair was all messed up from sleeping, yet she still looked like the most beautiful girl in the world. I smiled to myself. I could look for a thousand years and never get tired of seeing her face, I was sure of it. I knew that every girl I met from now on would pale in comparison to Anna.

"Hey, Baby Girl. I got you some breakfast." My eyes widened in horror at what I'd said. Baby Girl. I'd called her it a couple of times now by accident; I really needed to stop that.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. "You did? Thanks," she smiled at me gratefully as she scooted back to the headboard, grinning when I passed her the plate.

I watched her in silence while she ate her breakfast, the whole time willing myself not to get turned on when she licked her lips and put her fork in her mouth. I had no idea how eating could be a turn-on, but she somehow managed it.

"You sleep okay?" I inquired when she'd finished eating. I knew the answer to that question already; I'd spent half the night watching her sleep.

She set her plate on the side and nodded. "Yep. You?"

_Not really, no._ "Yeah, fine," I lied.

She smiled and climbed out of the bed, stretching her body and groaning. I closed my eyes at the sight of her flawless body; I could already feel the tightening of the crotch area of my jeans, the sight of her stretching certainly wouldn't help at all.

"I'll take your bags downstairs ready. We're leaving in just under two hours," I suggested, checking the time on my cell phone.

"Okay, I'm just going to get dressed. Can you leave one of the bags so I can put my hairbrush and stuff in it?" she asked, bending over one of the suitcases, giving me a spectacular view of her ass and legs. Well, that did it; I got a full on hard-on and quickly turned to rearrange myself downstairs while she wasn't watching so it wasn't noticeable.

Fuck my life! This is going to be the longest eight months ever!

The next hour was pretty hectic and so I didn't get to see her much. When the car finally arrived to take us to the airport, her parents followed us outside, their expressions anxious and sullen.

I stood back and watched as she said her awkward goodbyes. Her back was stiff, and her weak smile was forced as they hugged her goodbye one at a time. I hated to see her so tense, it made my stomach ache. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but her mother had tears in her eyes, and her father looked like he was begging her to stay out of trouble.

Once they were done, her eyes flitted in my direction before she climbed into the waiting black Bentley. I stepped forward to go with her, but her dad stepped into my path and smiled warmly. I gulped. I was actually incredibly intimidated by him, after all, not only was he the probable next President and my boss, he was also the father of the girl I wanted to date. I wanted him to like me.

"Agent Taylor, I just wanted to say thank you," he said quietly. I could tell by his fierce expression that he meant the words.

"You don't need to thank me, sir. It's my job."

He shook his head. "Not just the job, Agent Taylor, I meant for what you're doing for Annabelle. She seems so much better. You're good for her." He held out his hand for me to shake. I grinned placing my hand in his. _Looks like I may get Dad's approval after all!_

"No problem, sir. Anna's a great girl who's been through a lot." I frowned at my words. 'Been through a lot' didn't even begin to cover what she'd had to endure.

"Yes, she has," he agreed, nodding. "Please take care of her. She trusts you, and so do I."

I felt immensely proud of myself. "Thank you, sir, that means a lot. You don't need to worry about her, I'll take excellent care of her," I promised.

He turned, nodding towards the waiting car. "You'd better get going or you'll miss your flight."

I nodded and started towards the car, but just as I was about to climb in the back, he spoke again, making me stop. "At the end of this assignment you can name the department of your choice, and I'll make it happen," he said sincerely. My insides knotted at the thought of any department, my hand gripping the door handle slightly too tight.

"Thank you, sir." I smiled gratefully and slid into the car with Anna, smiling broadly.

After being ushered through airport check-in and security, we were boarded in first class. Anna seemed both relaxed and happy to be away from the house and her parents. I had a feeling that it was difficult for her there with them, knowing they wanted the old Anna rather than this new version.

Once the plane was in the air, and the seatbelt signs went off, she stood and pulled down her inflight bag, rummaging through it. A smile crossed her face as she pulled out a rectangular box that had been wrapped in a sheet of her sketch pad. She grinned and held it out to me. "I got you something."

I frowned, a little taken aback. "You did? What is it?"

She grinned, pulling out a book from her bag before plopping herself back down in her seat and tossing the little hard box into my lap. "Open it and see."

I frowned and picked up the package. It was hard and about the size of my palm. As I unfastened the tape and pulled the paper off, my eyes widened in shock. It was a wicked-looking iPod. "Seriously?" I asked, looking at her face for signs of trickery.

She nodded in confirmation, smiling smugly, obviously pleased with herself. "I didn't think you had one, and I had a spare, so I figured you could have it to help keep you occupied during the boring lessons. It's a college must have."

I looked at her in awe. Her thoughtfulness and caring attitude amazed me; I'd never known anyone like her.

"Again with that face?" she teased, rolling her eyes. She reached out and took it from my hand, opening it and connecting the headphones before turning it on. "I didn't know what kind of music you liked, so I just put all of my stuff on here for you for now so you've got something to be getting on with," she rambled, flicking through a list of albums.

I gulped, unsure what to say. Could this girl actually be real?

"You'll have to set up your own iTunes account, but you can share mine for now," she continued, shrugging casually. I didn't think she had any idea how thoughtful and incredible she was.

I ran a hand through my hair, still struggling to come to terms with how crazy about her I was. "Thank you. You didn't need to do that, that's really sweet of you."

She smiled wickedly, handing the device back to me again. "Next week when I'm being all bitchy to you, just remember that I was nice to you... once."

Before I could stop myself, I'd leant in and pressed my lips to hers. She moaned in the back of her throat and kissed me back. My mind was racing a mile a minute. After her threat at the cemetery, I didn't think this would happen again. The feel of her soft lips on mine made the hair on my arms stand up on end. Her hand moved up, gripping the back of my head as her lips pressed against mine harder.

Although it only lasted a few seconds, the kiss was sizzling hot, yet, at the same time, chaste and sweet. She pulled away, blinking a couple of times before squirming in her seat uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." I winced apologetically, waiting for her to lash out and tell me to keep my hands off her.

She cleared her throat, turning away and picking up her book. "It's okay. Glad you like it."

"I love it, thank you." My heart was killing me, I wanted her so badly, but her happiness was more important to me than mine and she didn't want to betray Jack. Maybe if we carried on being friends, she'd allow herself to fall in love with me. I hoped that was true. My stomach was churning as I watched her open her book to the right page. I was falling in love with her, I could practically feel it happening – another week or two and I'd be a goner.

During the two hour flight, she just sat there reading, munching on peanut M&Ms, and I sat there playing with my new gadget. As I scrolled through the music, I was pleasantly surprised by how similar our tastes were. It was easily the best present anyone had ever given me. I'd wanted to get one when I was training, but I'd never had enough money at the time. After a little while, she lifted the arm rest between our seats and shifted in her seat, leaning against me, getting more comfortable.

The flight ended way too soon for my liking. I was enjoying the casual closeness a lot more than I should.

Peter Burnet, the night time far guard, met us with a little sign at the baggage collection point. He was younger than I expected, probably only mid-twenties. Clearly he liked to work out, that was evident by his broad shoulders and thick neck. He smiled nervously when we stopped at his side; his eyes scanned the group quickly before coming to a rest on Anna.

After a brief round of introductions, he led us out the front where a sleek, silver Jaguar XF sat waiting for us. My eye twitched at the beauty of it, and my hands were already itching to touch it. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. If my best friend Nate could see me now, he'd probably scream like a little girl. Dean and Peter didn't get a flash car like ours though, much to Dean's obvious disappointment.

The drive to our new apartment wasn't that long. I tried to memorise the streets as I let the GPS lead me to the college campus. When we arrived, I pulled into an underground parking lot and cut the engine, surveying the area before walking around to her side and opening the door for her.

Peter and Dean had arrived by then too, so we all made our way to the elevator with Peter telling us about the security on the building. Other than the fire escapes that only opened from the inside, there was one way in and out, which would be advantageous for surveillance. You could only gain entrance to the building with a tag card, and then you also needed a pass code to use the elevator or stairs. The building itself had obviously been chosen carefully.

When we got to the second floor, I left Anna outside with Dean and Peter while I went into our apartment to check it was safe before I let her just wander in. My eyes widened in appreciation as I took in the expensive-looking hardwood floors, the perfect paint jobs and the enormous flat screen TVs that hung in each room. The fully-equipped, high-gloss, white kitchen was pure luxury. The apartment was huge and stunning.

After checking out all of the rooms and deeming them safe, I went back to get her and let her get her first look at our home for the next eight months. Peter went down to get the luggage from the car.

"Wow, this place is gorgeous," Anna enthused, walking in and opening all the doors that she came across, looking in them. When we got to the bedrooms, she turned and winced. "There's no sofa bed. We're gonna have to order one."

I frowned, flicking my eyes around seeing that she was right. I'd requested one, but perhaps the request had been overlooked. I'd have to make a couple of calls later. "Looks like it's the floor for me again then," I joked, trying not to wince, because sleeping on the floor made me feel like an old man.

She turned back to the bed and frowned. "You can just share with me if you want. I don't like you keep sleeping on the floor," she mumbled.

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Shall we unpack then?" I suggested, dreading unpacking all of her stuff again.

She shook her head adamantly. "Nope. Something much more critical needs to be done before that," she answered, raising one eyebrow knowingly.

_Hmm, what can be more important than unpacking?_ "What's that then, Baby Girl?" I asked curiously. _Damn, Ashton, again with the pet name? Stop it, dipshit!_

She smirked at me. "We need to go collect menus from all the takeout places that deliver because I'm not cooking for your pretty ass every night."

I burst out laughing. "Hey, I'll cook some nights," I protested.

She scrunched her nose up in distaste. "Tuna melt baked potatoes can get boring pretty quick." I smiled because she'd obviously listened to me carefully before; she seemed to remember everything I told her, no matter how insignificant it was.

"Tell me about it. Come on then, I'll call Dean and let him know we're going for a walk," I agreed, pulling out my cell and dialling his number.

"Tell him we're going for a drink after too."

I raised one eyebrow. College clearly had an effect on her – or maybe it was the freedom of being away from her parents. Whatever it was, she was smiling and it made my insides tingle with happiness.

### Chapter Fourteen

### ~ Anna ~

After about an hour of wandering around picking up menus for the local takeout places, I decided we had enough. I really needed a drink. My eyes landed on a bar across the street, and I guided Ashton in that direction. I ignored the peeling paint on the sign and the broken glass panel on one side. They served alcohol, and that was all I cared about. I looked up at Ashton hopefully.

He frowned, his eyes flicking between me and the crappy bar. "You wanna go in here?" he asked, looking at it distastefully.

I laughed at his expression. "Snob."

"Anna, this doesn't look like a nice bar," he protested, narrowing his eyes at the door.

"Please?" I whined, pouting.

He sighed in defeat and pulled out his cell phone, calling Dean to tell him because he was standing at the end of the street, waiting for us. "Come on then, but stay with me, no bathroom breaks," he said sternly.

I nodded excitedly. I hadn't been to a bar for ages. I went through a stage when I first got away from Carter of sneaking out and going to bars and getting drunk, but that had been well over two years ago now. Lately, I'd pretty much been a recluse.

The bar was an absolute dive, but the drinks were cheap. There was a load of people that looked like students, so they were probably from my college because the campus was only a couple of minutes' walk from here. The owner obviously didn't think twice about serving underage people.

"So, what do you drink?" Ashton asked, dragging me to the bar.

"Whatever's on offer."

"Orange juice?" he suggested.

I laughed and shook my head. "I want a real drink."

A disapproving frown settled on his forehead. "You're not old enough," he whispered, tracing his hand down my back. "I could get into trouble for buying you alcohol."

I pouted, begging him with my eyes. "Please? I have a fake ID. I always drink. Please?"

He rolled his eyes. "One drink," he conceded. "Want wine or something?"

I smiled and shrugged, but when the barman came over, I ordered two double Jack Daniels and cokes. Ashton looked at me shocked and then ordered an orange juice too. "Who's the orange juice for?" I asked, pushing one of the drinks towards him.

"For me. I can't drink while I'm on duty, so it looks like I'm t-total for the next few months," he replied, shrugging and pushing the drink back towards me.

I gasped. That wasn't fair at all. "Aww, come on, you can drink. Nothing's gonna happen. This whole freaking guard idea is just stupid anyway!" I ranted, feeling like a spoiled brat.

He looked a little pained about something before he rearranged his expression. "No, Anna, you need guards so you don't get expelled," he joked, chinking his glass against mine, grinning. "Cheers." I sighed and downed one of the drinks straight away; I didn't want to be carrying two glasses around with me. "Oh man, you're not one of _those_ drinkers, are you?" he asked, looking a little horrified.

"One of _what_ drinkers?" I grimaced from the alcohol after-burn.

He grinned, winking at me. "The ones that really can't handle their drink and throw up over their boyfriends when they carry them home."

I chuckled at his joke. "You never know, there's a first time for everything. Oh and, by the way, if you see anyone you like and want to go for a quickie in the bathroom then let me know first so I'm not wandering around looking for you," I said seriously, downing my next drink. We definitely needed to make that rule clear before it happened, because I didn't want to be looking for him all night long. His mouth dropped open, making a pop sound as he looked at me, stunned. I frowned. The two drinks in quick succession were already making me feel slightly tipsy. "Jeez Ashton, I won't throw up on you, I promise," I vowed, laughing.

"I wasn't thinking about that," he retorted, frowning at me, looking annoyed about something.

"Well, what then, Pretty Boy?" I asked, waving to get the barman's attention again as I ordered two more doubles and slid a twenty dollar bill across the bar.

Ashton shook his head in annoyance. "Anna, I'm not gonna leave you to go have sex with some girl at a bar! Is that what you really think of me?" he asked, looking a little hurt.

I raised an eyebrow. _Honestly? Yes._ He'd slept with me after three days and, technically, I was his boss, my guess was that he'd sleep with a girl he met in a bar – or wherever the hell else he met her.

"Oh come on, Ashton, we both know that you're a player. You're too damn pretty not to sleep around," I teased. "I mean, damn, you got me into bed after three days, and I can't even give out a handshake without flinching. You must be kick-ass at the art of seduction." I giggled and downed my next drink.

"Did you ever think that maybe that means something? That maybe we're meant to be together and that's why you let me touch you the first time I ever met you?" he asked, looking at me intently.

He looked so serious; a dark, sexy, brooding look was etched on his face. I smiled and stepped forward, putting my hand up to his face and smoothing out his forehead with my fingertips. "Careful, you'll get wrinkles on your pretty face," I teased, going up on tiptoes and kissing his cheek. "Pool?" I offered, walking off towards the back where the pool cues were mounted on the wall.

He laughed quietly. "You play pool?" he asked, wrapping his arm around my waist as I walked up the stairs unsteadily.

"Nope," I replied, popping the p and grinning. "Wanna give me a lesson on how to handle a stick?" I purred, holding it suggestively.

He smiled weakly. "Anna, please don't be getting all drunk and flirting with me, that's not on," he warned, grinning and shaking his head.

"You shouldn't be so sexy then, and then I wouldn't want to flirt with you."

He chuckled, smirking in my direction. "Right, I'll get to work on that and solve any issues you have with my sexiness."

I grinned. "Okay, if I'm not allowed to flirt with you, who should I flirt with? You scope out the bar and find me a suitable candidate," I joked, stepping to his side.

"Okay." He tapped his chin and looked around the bar. His eyes settled on an old man who was sitting in the corner playing chess with a friend. "Oh, old guy, three o'clock. He looks like he'd enjoy a bit of flirting from a pretty, young thing," he teased, grinning at me.

"Hmm, I do like an older man, but maybe I should go for someone younger than my dad? He does like to call people 'son', so I don't think it would go down terribly well if I brought home someone old enough to be _his_ dad."

Ashton laughed and collected all of the balls, putting them inside a black, plastic triangle. "How about these guys right here, coming up to talk to you," he suggested, looking over my shoulder. I glanced around and, sure enough, two guys were coming over to us, both smiling. They were both about our age and judging by their ripped jeans and T-shirts, I would say they were college students too. One of them had strawberry blond hair and brown eyes, and the other was slightly taller than the first and darker in complexion, with brown hair and dark brown eyes. As they approached, I quickly moved to Ashton's side and he stood up straighter, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, wanna play doubles?" the strawberry blond asked, smiling and nodding towards the pool table.

Ashton smiled politely. "Anna? Wanna play doubles?" he asked, wrapping his arm around me. His touch made me feel better instantly.

"Um, yeah okay," I agreed, shrugging.

"Great, I'm Tim. This is Rich," the blond said, grabbing a cue.

"I'm Ashton. This is my girlfriend, Anna," Ashton replied, smiling and nodding.

The guy called Rich stepped forward. "How about loser buys the next drink?" he suggested.

I laughed. "Are you guys trying to hustle us for drinks?"

Rich laughed. "No way, babe. All the tables are taken, that's all. If you don't want to play, we'll wait until you're done. I was just trying to make the game more interesting."

"I don't think we should play for drinks, I've never played pool in my life," I admitted, downing my drink and pushing the glass onto the side.

Rich laughed. "You haven't? Then I think we should definitely be playing for drinks," he joked. "Or phone numbers?" he offered, raising one eyebrow.

Ashton's hand closed over mine, pulling me closer to him. "She has enough numbers," he answered for me. "Want to play or not because if you've just come over here to hit on my girlfriend, then you're shit out of luck because she's not interested." His voice was stern and warning. You could almost hear the cop in his tone, or maybe that was just me because I knew that's what he was.

Tim held up his hands innocently and shook his head. "Hey, no problem, we only want to play pool," he assured Ashton, jabbing an elbow into Rich's stomach in warning. "Ignore him, he can't help himself. When he drinks he gets verbal diarrhoea and tries to chat up anything that moves."

"I'll stay still then," I joked, which seemed to diffuse some of the tension in Ashton. He smiled and laughed, his shoulders loosening as he rolled his eyes.

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.

"Anna..."

I shook my head and patted the empty side again. "Lie down and shh. My hangover has started to kick in, so shut up and cuddle me," I instructed, trying not to laugh.

He chuckled, shifting onto his side before settling himself down so he was facing me. I held my breath and prayed that he couldn't see the effect that he had on my body. His beautiful green eyes were trying to hypnotise me, I could feel them pulling me in. I sighed deeply and scooted closer to him. The smile that graced his lips was beautiful as he shifted and moved one arm to the side, slipping it under my neck before wrapping it around me tightly.

With his beautiful, unique scent filling my lungs and the heat seeping from his skin to mine, my body relaxed for the first time in two days. Ashton just had this strange ability to make me feel whole, like I wasn't broken anymore, like he was some sort of magical cure that I just couldn't get enough of. He made all the terrible things seem to fade away, at least for a little while anyway. Setting my head on his chest, I tangled my legs in with his as he kissed the top of my head before turning off the light again.

It was easy to imagine while he was holding me like this that everything was normal, that he was really my boyfriend, that he wasn't just doing his job, and that I wasn't some screwed up, dirty piece of trash that would never be loved again.

When his breathing deepened and the soft snores resonated from his chest, I pulled back slightly so I could look at him properly. My heart was hammering in my chest as butterflies seemed to take flight in my stomach as I raked my eyes over his handsome face. I reached out a hand and brushed my finger tip across his cheekbone, tracing along the line of his jaw, smiling at the prickle of his five o'clock shadow. I'd done the same last night; it was like I just needed to touch him to make sure he was real or something.

He truly was handsome. I didn't think I'd ever seen anyone so perfect, and he was such a lovely guy to go with it. It would have been so much easier if he were a jerk. I really hoped that I could keep this boy out of my heart, otherwise in eight months when he left for the stupid front line or whatever the hell he wanted to do, I was going to have another serious problem.

### Chapter Fifteen

As I slowly started to drift into consciousness, the first thing I noticed was that my head was pounding. I groaned and rolled over, pressing my face into the pillow, trying to block out the light. My stinging eyes cracked open and raked around the room. Not recognising anything, I jerked up quickly with a horrible sensation brewing in the pit of my stomach. The last time I woke up not knowing where I was, I'd been with Carter.

I jumped to my feet and pressed myself against the wall as my breathing started to accelerate. The muscles in my body ached, as if I'd slept awkwardly or something. Slowly, it started coming back to me. College, I was at ASU with Ashton, and this was our new apartment. I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, resting my head back against the wall. My eyes fluttered closed again and I groaned as another wave of pain started in my head. _How much did I drink last night? Jeez!_ I remembered having about four or five doubles, then we met a couple of guys and played pool. What were their names? Tim and someone else, and two girls...

_One of the girls was flirting with Ashton, and I got jealous and... oh no, I kissed him! I was all over him and begging him to take me home and... oh God no. I basically begged him for sex when we got back too!_ My cheeks flamed from the shame of what I'd done last night and how much I'd flirted with him. Thank goodness he'd said no though, not many guys would have turned down a free score, I'd bet. I'd have to thank him today for that because if I'd slept with him again, I was pretty sure I'd be feeling guilty over Jack again afterwards. I covered my face with my hands in disgust. I really had no self-control, and I should have been thinking about Jack last night, not myself.

After a few deep breaths, I decided I should go and see if we were okay this morning after that. Maybe my drunken antics had frightened him away and he'd request that transfer that he was so adamant he wouldn't be asking for. The smell of coffee and toast drifting from the kitchen made my stomach rumble as I made my way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. As I stepped into the room, I stopped. It wasn't just Ashton in there, Dean and a guy I vaguely recognised as Peter, the night guard, were there too. They were all standing around the kitchen island, drinking coffee.

"Good morning," Ashton chirped, smiling as he spotted me.

I waved a hand in response. He grinned and nodded down at my legs for some reason as if trying to tell me something. My gaze drifted down, confused, until I spotted that I was only wearing his T-shirt. Heat flooded my face for the second time in a few minutes as I realised that they were all looking at me. I grabbed the bottom of the T-shirt, trying to pull it down further; it already came to my mid-thigh, but I felt exposed in front of the other two. I actually didn't care if Ashton saw me like this. He'd seen me in much, much less.

"Um, hi. Sorry, I didn't know you guys were here." I winced, smiling apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Spencer," the new guard replied, looking me over slowly with an appreciative look on his face.

I frowned at his obviousness. "My eyes are up here, Agent!" I snapped acidly, pointing to my face.

Ashton's body tensed as he stepped to my side, glaring at Peter warningly. I moved closer to him, trying to discreetly hide behind him as he spoke. "Agent Burnet, I appreciate that you might want to keep the relationship of bodyguard and client informal, but that shit stops right now, understand? Plenty of other Agents would love a cushy job like yours, so if you want to keep your position, I suggest you be a little more respectful," he stated, his voice angry and full of authority.

Peter jumped, looking a little taken aback as he nodded in agreement. "Right. I'm sorry, Miss Spencer," he apologised nervously.

I laughed uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it," I told Peter, waving it off. "But can everyone just shush, please?" I winced and looked longingly at the coffee, trying to decide if I could be bothered to make the four steps over to it to pour some for myself.

Ashton's shoulders loosened as he smiled down at me before picking up a glass from the side and pouring me a glass of water. "Suffering after last night?" he teased, nudging me in the side and setting the glass of water and two pills in front of me.

"Thanks." I smiled gratefully, swallowing them quickly.

"So, what's on the agenda for today? Do I have anything I need to do, or can I unpack?" Ashton asked, as he poured me a coffee.

I frowned. "I don't know. We need to go grocery shopping, I guess, but I need to unpack too, I don't have any clothes for today. I mean, why the hell am I wearing your shirt?" I asked, looking at him curiously. All three of them laughed again.

"You were drunk. I couldn't find your pyjamas, so I let you borrow my shirt," Ashton explained, shrugging casually, but the tiny tightening to his eyes showed me how uncomfortable he was.

Flashbacks of me suggesting we sleep naked flashed into my brain, so I quickly averted my eyes from his. _Dear God, what is wrong with me lately?_ "Right okay, well thanks."

"No problem. So, if we unpack first, then maybe go grocery shopping this afternoon?" he offered. I nodded, liking the idea of having a few hours to chill in the apartment; hopefully my hangover from hell would be gone by then. "Did you want to go to that party tonight?" he asked curiously.

"Party? What party?" I didn't know anything about a party.

He shook his head, smiling. "Tim, the guy who liked you last night, asked us to go to a party tonight at a bar. You had a whole conversation about it with him. There's a band and DJ, apparently," he explained, shrugging easily.

I frowned. A party invite didn't ring any bells with me so I must have been more intoxicated than I thought last night. "Do you want to go?" I asked, watching his face. I didn't actually want to go, but I knew that I needed to start thinking of him more. I couldn't trap him in with me twenty-four-seven for the next eight months, he'd go stir crazy.

"I don't mind, whatever you want is fine with me," he answered noncommittally, finishing his coffee.

I turned to look at Dean and Peter. "Well, what about you guys? Do you mind if we go? I guess that means one of you has to go too, unless Ashton and I can go on our own and forget this whole guard business? After all, what my dad doesn't know won't hurt him. We could have a sweet set up here. You can do what you want, and so can I," I suggested, suddenly excited for a little piece of freedom away from prying eyes.

Unfortunately, they didn't look as if they were going for it. Peter gasped, looking at me in disbelief. "Are you kidding? What with everything that's going on, there's no way that's going to happen, Miss Spencer."

Ashton snapped his head around to look at him, giving him a warning look which made Peter shrink back and press his lips into a thin line.

"Everything that's going on? What does that mean?" I quizzed, confused.

Peter cleared his throat. "I meant with the whole starting college thing. We still haven't checked out everywhere. No one knows routines and stuff, that's all," he answered quickly.

I detected a measure of unease as he spoke, but decided to leave it. I didn't know him well enough to start second guessing what he was talking about. "Oh okay," I muttered. "Well, maybe we should go for a little while, just to see what it's like," I agreed. "I'll leave it up to you three to sort out the details; I'm gonna go start my unpacking." Before I turned and ran to the bedroom, I stole Ashton's toast from his plate, laughing as he complained about it.

We spent the whole day just lounging around and not doing much. Lazily, I'd unpacked my clothes, arranging my room how I wanted it, with my photo of Jack right beside the bed as usual. After we'd unpacked, we'd headed to the grocery store to stock up for the week. Even that was actually quite fun. I'd only ever been when I was a little girl with my mom. Since my dad had climbed higher up in his job, we weren't really allowed to do normal things and I enjoyed the day of just relaxing, and talking to Ashton about random things. He was incredibly easy to get along with, so easy that it almost frightened me.

After half an hour of watching him pull up the schematics for the bar that we were going to tonight, my tummy rumbled. I smiled, deciding to make some dinner. "Want to help me cook?" I offered, pushing myself up from the sofa I was slouched on.

"Sure." He closed the laptop and followed me into the kitchen, standing close to my back as I pulled open the fridge, looking at the array of meat, salad and vegetables that we'd bought.

"What do you want?" I pursed my lips, not sure what I was in the mood for.

He reached around me, making his chest press against my back as he picked up a pack of chicken. "Fajitas?"

I nodded, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach caused by the accidental brushing of our bodies, and we both set to work. The whole time he was pottering around behind me, trying to help, but actually just getting in the way. It was cute the way he was concentrating so hard on learning how to cook.

Surprisingly, despite Ashton helping, the food was nice. He'd cleared his plate of five wraps, and even finished the last of my second wrap when it appeared that my eyes were bigger than my belly. He moaned in appreciation, sucking the spicy juice from his fingertips one at a time with a satisfied smile on his face.

"That was good. I think I could make that on my own," he mused, eyeing the empty dishes and nodding to himself.

I raised one eyebrow in disbelief. Just from that one meal alone, I already knew that Ashton was a terrible cook. He'd been so slow slicing up an onion that, in the end, I had to take it off him and finish it, and then I'd left him in charge of stirring the pan while I set the table, and by the time I got back, the chicken was seconds from burning. No, Ashton would not be able to make fajitas all by himself. Frankly, I'd be worried that we'd die of food poisoning.

"Maybe you should start with something easier... like grilled cheese?" I joked, shaking my head.

"You doubt my ability," he observed, standing and picking up the plates.

I grinned. "I just think you shouldn't get ahead of yourself," I replied cheekily.

He grinned and leant against the counter, folding his arms over his chest. "Alright, admittedly, I probably need more practice at cooking, but I reckon that by the time we're married, I'll be able to lay on a full feast."

My heart jumped into my throat at that word. Marry him. It wouldn't even be possible. "Right, yeah, okay, that's not gonna happen. You're too pretty for me." I gulped and stood, squirming uncomfortably.

"Too pretty? Damn it." He clicked his tongue, smiling his heart-stopping smile. I forced a smile too, even though I could feel the emotion swelling inside me like a storm. I needed to get away from him before he saw it and questioned me on it. "You never know, I may be able to get you to overlook my prettiness and make you fall madly in love with me by the time I leave," he replied, smirking at me cockily.

I smiled back weakly as my heart started drumming wildly in my ears. I needed to leave. "Okay, Pretty Boy, I'm sure I'll fall madly in love with you, right about the time that you fall madly in love with me."

"About two more days then," he replied, winking at me playfully.

My mouth had gone dry, and my eyes started to prickle with tears. "I'm going to go in the shower and then get ready to go out." After excusing myself, I headed into the en suite bathroom and closed the door tightly. My breathing was coming out in short pants as I leant against the door, trying to calm myself. _Why the hell did he have to say that?_ I looked down at my left hand and willed myself not to remember. _Just forget it, Anna, he was just joking around, stop being pathetic!_ I mentally slapped myself and switched on the shower, trying to forget his comment.

The shower made me feel slightly better. Once dry, I searched through my closet, finding a black skirt and a cute baby doll top. After drying my hair and adding a few curls, I hesitantly picked up the make-up bag that I'd brought with me. During our shopping trip, I'd filled it with new make-up that I was yet to wear. Deciding to see how it looked, I swept on some chestnut eye shadow and a little mascara. Once I'd applied a small amount, I stepped back and frowned at myself with my hand poised over the face wipes. I hadn't worn make-up since my sixteenth birthday, and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it again.

At that moment, Ashton knocked on the door.

"Um, yeah?" I called hesitantly.

"Hey, are you nearly ready?"

"I guess." I picked up the face wipes, tearing them open and pulling one out. I gulped, looking back at my reflection, still undecided.

"Can I come in, Anna?"

I groaned and narrowed my eyes, hating that the smallest bit of make-up actually scared me. "Yeah, okay."

Behind me, the door opened and he walked in. I watched his entrance in the mirror. He was wearing dark blue fitted jeans and a black button-down shirt, open a little at the top; he'd left it un-tucked and rolled the sleeves to his elbows. _Wow_ was all I could think. He actually hurt my eyes to look at because he was so incredibly mesmerising.

He strutted in, but stopped in his tracks when he was halfway across the room. His mouth popped open, and his eyes widened as he stared at me.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. "Too much, right? I should take it off, shouldn't I?" I rambled, before realising he was still staring at me. "Why are you staring?"

He finally closed his mouth. "You just..." He blinked a couple of times, his eyes still wandering over me slowly. "You look stunning, Anna. So beautiful," he complimented.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I dropped my eyes to the floor. I hadn't expected that reaction. "I haven't worn make-up for years."

He walked over to me slowly, hooking his finger under my chin and lifting my gaze to his. "Anna, you look perfect, but if you're more comfortable without the make-up, then take it off. Either way, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said, dipping his head and kissing my forehead softly.

His sweet words made my insides squirm. "You're such a charmer." I shook my head, smiling.

He shrugged. "I'm serious."

I took a deep breath and looked back at my reflection. "Okay, I'll leave it on then. You won't leave me tonight though, will you?" I asked, feeling slightly nauseous at the thought of being on my own looking like this while there were guys around.

His hand closed over mine as he pulled me closer to him. "I won't leave you, promise." I could hear the sincerity in his voice, and that gave me the confidence I needed.

"Okay, let's go then before I change my mind," I suggested, nodding at the door.

He grinned. "I honestly have the sexiest girlfriend in the world. I've got my job cut out for me tonight to keep the guys away from you," he teased, winking at me.

"I need to get you to earn your money somehow," I joked.

He stopped at the front door, his hand on the handle as his eyes turned to me. "Do me a favour tonight, huh? Try not to flirt with me as much as you did last night, because damn, I'm not sure how much I can stand with those sexy legs out like that," he growled, looking me over again, making me blush.

"Stop being a pervert, Ashton!" I scolded, slapping his chest playfully.

"Hey, a guy's allowed to perv on his girl!" he protested innocently before his famous smile slipped onto his face.

"Stop!" I warned.

He laughed and nodded. "Seriously though, try and tone it down tonight if you can, alright?" he asked, looking a little pained. I nodded and smiled apologetically. "Right then, let's go," he chirped excitedly.

The line for the bar was already about thirty people deep by the time we arrived. Dean and Peter joined behind us, not talking to us so that no one would know we were together. Thankfully, the line moved fairly quickly so we were ushered in within fifteen minutes. As we were let in, we had to show our IDs as proof of age. Ashton refused to allow me to drink again tonight, so insisted that I show my real ID that said I was only nineteen – which resulted in me getting an underage blue wristband so that the barman would know I wasn't allowed to be served alcohol. Ashton showed his fake ID that he'd been given when he started his assignment, so he was rewarded with an underage wristband too. Frowning, and not very happy with the colour of my bracelet, I folded my arms over my chest.

"Stop pouting. Do you want me to get in trouble for letting you drink whilst underage?" Ashton said in my ear, leaning in close so that I could hear him over the band that was already in full swing. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. Of course I didn't want him in trouble, but it appeared that hanging out with an undercover cop for the next eight months was going to put a dampener on my college experience at ASU.

Not answering his question, I looked around. The club was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. It was across two levels and had strobe lighting coming from the ceiling. A stage off to my right housed a live band that was slightly too loud, and slightly out of key as they jumped around excitedly. There were cheap carpets and cheap tables dotted around the edges. The long and well-stocked bar was five people deep, most of whom sported blue wristbands like mine. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I actually quite liked it here. My hand slipped into Ashton's as I grinned and gave him a tug towards the bar.

Unexpectedly, I was actually having a nice time. It turns out that I didn't even need alcohol to enjoy myself. What did annoy me though was the fact that every now and again, my safety would be put into Dean's hands while Ashton went to the bathroom, or got stuck at the bar buying another round. Dean was trying to be discreet, I could tell that, but him standing close to me, pretending to look around while ignoring me completely was totally over the top and actually screamed 'bodyguard' – but maybe that was because I knew that was what he was. No one else seemed to bat an eyelid at him. Each time he had to leave my side for something, Ashton would call or text Dean and ask him to 'watch the jewel' for him for a minute. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the stupid codename they'd obviously come up with for me.

After a couple of hours, a hand closed around my forearm. A little squeal escaped my lips, and my body reacted immediately, making me jump into Ashton as if a bomb had detonated near me.

"Whoa, sorry! Didn't mean to make you jump," Tim said, laughing hysterically.

My heart started to slow as Ashton's arm slipped around my waist. "Hey, sorry, you scared me," I admitted, smiling with relief.

"Hey, Ashton. How you doing?" Tim greeted, smiling warmly.

"Yeah, I'm good," Ashton replied, rubbing his hand up my arm; he was doing it to calm me down I presumed, and it was certainly working.

"I've been looking out for you two all night. We've got a table. You want to come and sit with us? We're upstairs," Tim offered, nodding towards the back of the bar. Ashton looked at me as if waiting for me to make the decision. I would honestly rather stay here with him, but, for his sake, I probably needed to start being more social.

"Sure, okay," I agreed, nodding. Ashton smiled and we followed Tim, weaving through the sea of people to the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a table that we had to pass to get to the next level. It was full of a group of laughing men, all of them wearing white 'adult' wristbands. My stomach tightened as one of them turned towards me and raised one eyebrow as we approached. A predatory smile crept onto his face. "Hey, sweetheart, I can show you a better time than that guy," he purred, nodding at Ashton distastefully.

I scoffed and shook my head. "I doubt that very much, _sweetheart_ ," I answered sarcastically, trying to appear confident even though my insides squirmed.

His smile grew bigger. "Well, you never know if you don't try," he flirted as he leant forward and landed a slap on my behind.

My nervousness suddenly gave way to anger and my hands clenched into fists, but before I had a chance to respond, Ashton whirled around, looking so angry that he actually looked like a different person as he pushed me in front of him, away from the guys. "Hands off my girl if you wanna keep them!" he growled.

The guy flinched. "Whoa, chill dude, I was just having a laugh with her," he said, nervously.

Ashton's shoulders were tense. "Oh really? I didn't realise. I tell you what, touch her again and then we'll see how fucking funny you find it," he suggested, smiling but at the same time looking at him menacingly. The guy held up his hands in protest, shaking his head quickly as his eyes widened at the threat. He actually looked frightened, even though he and his friends outnumbered Ashton five to one.

I gulped, looking back at the stairs that were only a few feet away. I didn't want him to get in trouble. "Let's go," I urged, pulling his hand. His jaw tightened as he nodded, putting his hands on my hips possessively as he gave me a little push towards the stairs to get me walking.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" he whispered in my ear.

I nodded. Spotting Tim already at his table, we wove through the crowd to get to him. Rich and Serena were already sitting there, along with Monica. I suppressed my groan as her predatory eyes landed on Ashton again. I had hoped that my jealousy would have evaporated, but she seemed to make it rear its ugly head again immediately.

Behind Monica there were three other people. Two new boys and one new girl. Tim waved a hand at each of them in turn. "This is Sam, Andrew and Rosie. Guys, this is Anna and Ashton."

"Hey, nice to meet you," I greeted as they all scooted over to let us sit down. Ashton nodded for me to sit in the booth first. I bit the inside of my cheek and looked at him pleadingly; I didn't want to sit next to the new guy I'd only just met. Ashton smiled, obviously understanding my silent plea because he sat down and pulled me onto his lap.

The new girl, Rosie, smiled warmly and leant over to talk to me. "So, you're new to the college? How come you're starting mid-semester?"

I smiled in return. She looked extremely nice. She was actually exceptionally pretty; she had long reddish-brown hair and brown eyes that were warm and welcoming.

"Um, well, I didn't like my old college, so we transferred here," I lied, shrugging.

Rosie looked at Ashton, raising one eyebrow curiously. "You came all the way here because your girlfriend didn't like her college?" she asked. Ashton smiled and nodded, which made Rosie make a cooing noise as she put her hand over her heart. "That's so sweet! Do you have a brother?"

"Nope sorry, only child," Ashton replied, laughing and tightening his arms around my waist.

Rosie sighed dramatically, looking disappointed. "That's a shame."

The three new people were really nice too; I liked the whole group of people if you discounted Monica's doe eyes that she directed at Ashton. Due to us all having blue wristbands, we were all on soft drinks tonight, but it was fun, I enjoyed it.

When the band finished their set, a DJ came on which seemed to get the crowd even more fired up. Serena looked at her watch. "Shall we dance, girls?"

I looked at Ashton questionably. I actually did want to dance, but I wasn't sure if that would be okay. Did that mean that he had to dance too, or could he wait here with the other boys?

"You can dance if you want," he confirmed, nodding. I smiled and stood up, downing the last of my drink as he pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text. I rolled my eyes, seeing Peter appear out of nowhere and walk about five steps behind me as we made our way to the dance floor downstairs.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Rosie inquired as we danced.

_Okay, time to remember all the lies we made up._ "Just over a year."

"Where did you meet?" she asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"We met at a basketball game," I lied, shrugging.

She sighed, stepping closer to me. "He is so damn hot, Anna! Are you in love with him?" she asked, looking at me hopefully. She struck me as a bit of a romantic, the type of person that would cry at soppy movies and enjoyed a good love story.

My hands were getting sweaty, and my insides starting to tie in knots at the questioning. "Yeah," I lied, nodding.

Serena chimed in then. "I'd love him too if he were mine. He's so damn sweet!" Suddenly her eyes narrowed with interest. "He must have a flaw though; no one can be that perfect." She pursed her lips, waiting for my answer.

Flaws. Did Ashton actually have any flaws? I hadn't seen a single one, apart from... "He snores." I didn't class that as a bad thing though, after all, if he didn't snore I'd probably still be screaming myself awake, haunted by dreams of Carter's leering face.

Monica turned her nose up, obviously finally deciding that she didn't want him now that he was a noisy sleeper. "I hate guys that snore."

I smiled weakly, feeling the need to defend him in some way. "Yeah, but he wakes pretty easily, and if I wake him up then he always insists on apologising properly, if you know what I mean." I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh well then, I'd definitely forgive him," she replied, laughing and looking at me enviously. Immediately, I wished I hadn't said my comment. I'd rather she kept her wandering eyes to herself, but stupidly I'd said the wrong thing. Suddenly she nodded behind me. "Speak of the devil."

I barely had time to turn and see he was walking up behind me before his arms snaked around my waist. "I figured I could steal one dance before we have to go," he whispered in my ear. His hot breath blew down my neck, and I shivered as his chest pressed against my back. My hands started to get a little sweaty as the temperature in the already warm room, started to climb. "Oh, and apparently these damn sexy legs are also driving the guys wild, so Peter tells me."

I frowned, confused by his statement. I knew Peter was watching, he was standing against the wall at the edge of the dance floor trying – and failing – to fit in. "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused, looking at Ashton over my shoulder.

He smiled teasingly. "You've not noticed?" We swayed to the beat of the song as one of his hands slid down to the outside of my thigh. "Young, impressionable, sex starved, geeky college guys are staring at you as we speak."

I frowned, looking around, seeing that he was right. There were guys looking in our direction, some of them looking at me, others looking at the other girls that I was dancing with. I guess a group of girls dancing would normally draw some male attention. I gulped as my back stiffened.

"It's fine, don't worry," he whispered reassuringly. Sliding his hand back to my waist again, he guided me to turn around to face him. "People just need to know that you have a boyfriend, that's all. It's easily sorted." He pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me.

I nodded, keeping my eyes focussed on him as I looped my arms around his neck. As I looked into his deep green eyes, everything else seemed to fade into insignificance around us. They were beautiful and they trapped me there. He raised his hand and slid it slowly up my back before tangling his fingers into the back of my hair; his other arm wound around my waist and pulled me closer so that there was no gap between us at all.

I had no idea how long we danced like that for before he finally started to inch his mouth closer to mine, all I knew was that however long it was, it wasn't long enough. I wanted to live in that moment forever. Holding my breath in anticipation of feeling his soft lips against mine again, I closed the distance between us and then, I was lost.

When he moaned in the back of his throat, my heart seemed to do a little flip in my chest. His lips parted against mine and then his hot tongue slipped into my mouth, tangling with mine in a tantalising kiss that left me breathless and giddy. With his mouth on mine, I forgot everything else around us and what this kiss was probably for. In that moment, we could have been anywhere, we could have been standing in the middle of a stampede of wild horses, yet I wouldn't care, so long as he didn't stop kissing me. His kisses were addictive. My excitement was growing inside me, building like a raging inferno as I pressed my body against his, needing to be closer, to feel more of him, to be devoured and possessed by him.

But he broke the kiss and put his forehead to mine. A needy whimper left my lips as he breathed heavily and clutched me closer to him. Tilting my head, I captured his lips again, tangling my hands into the back of his hair, needing just a little more of his undivided attention. An involuntary moan escaped my lips as he kissed me back, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth and biting it gently.

Again he pulled away, shaking his head this time. "Enough now." His voice was husky and thick with lust as he swallowed and those sultry, heavily-lidded eyes met mine.

I blinked a couple of times and nodded in agreement, even though every nerve in my body was screaming for the opposite. I laid my head on his shoulder as he continued to dance, swaying to the slow beat of the song that the DJ was blasting out. His ragged breathing slowly returned to normal as I tried desperately to push the lustful thoughts away so that I could calm my jittery body.

As the song slowly filtered into another, his pace changed seamlessly to compensate. I smiled and looked up at him. "Are you good at everything?" I asked.

"No, why do you say that?"

I waved my hand at him as an explanation. "You're a really good dancer. I'm yet to find one thing you can't do."

He laughed and smiled at me. I tilted my face, rubbing my nose up the edge of his jaw, breathing him in as his hands stroked my back softly. "I would say the same for you, but the only thing I know you're not good at is letting people in," he said in my ear.

I pulled back to look at him. "Hey, I can let people in; I let you in, didn't I?" I was a little annoyed at his comment.

He shook his head. "No. You won't let me in; you barely even want to be my friend because you think I'm going to leave you. You close yourself off from everyone so that you don't have to feel anything again. You like to be numb," he said matter-of-factly.

I stared at him, dumbfounded. _How the hell does this boy know so much about me? Oh my God, does my file have my therapy tapes in there or something? Has that bitch of a therapist breached my confidentiality?_

"Have you been listening to my therapy tapes?" I snapped angrily, pushing myself out of his arms.

He laughed and caught my hands, pulling me closer to him again. "No, Anna. You're actually pretty easy to figure out most of the time," he replied, squeezing my hands gently. My body relaxed, and I rolled my eyes at his comment. "Now shut up and dance with me before the bar closes." He pulled me closer to him again and I laughed, smiling because somehow, he always seemed to make me feel better.

### Chapter Sixteen

The sun beams down on me as I absentmindedly flip through the pages of a magazine. The strong scent of jasmine drifts up from the bushes that I'd not long planted, a few feet away from the swing chair I'm slouched on. I am just about to take a sip of my coffee when a slam of a door and a girlish giggle come from the house. A smile breaks out on my face as I look up, seeing a beautiful, little girl running towards me. I notice how tall she seems and how the smile on her face melts my heart. Her long, black hair is still damp and flows out behind her as she runs to me.

" _Momma!"_

I put my cup down just in time for her to jump onto my lap, laughing excitedly. "Hey! Did you have a good time? Did you jump in on your own?" I ask, excited to hear about it.

She nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, I jumped in loads of times, and I splashed Daddy right in the face," she chirps, laughing wickedly.

I grin. "You did? Good girl! Where is Daddy anyway?"

She shrugs, twirling a lock of my hair around her finger. "He's putting our swimming stuff in the laundry room."

" _Hey, Baby Girl." I look up and my heart speeds at the sight of him walking across the garden to me. He is so handsome that my mouth waters._

As he gets to me, he bends and plants a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth before using the pad of his thumb to brush a smudge of dirt from my cheek.

" _Hi," I breathe. It's almost a sigh of contentment because my whole world is now around me._

" _Missed you," he whispers, before stealing my coffee cup from the side and downing the contents as he plops himself into the seat next to me and casually slings his arm around my shoulder._

I jerked awake, gasping, but for once, smiling as I roused from my dream. Ashton sat up quickly from his makeshift bed on the floor. "You okay? Nightmare?" Concern coloured his sleepy voice.

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, grateful that he hadn't turned on the light because my face was sure to be beet red. I had no idea what to say. _I've just had my first nice dream in three years... And it involved me having his child? Something is seriously wrong with me!_

Horrified, I lay back down. "No, not a nightmare. It's fine." A quick check of the clock told me it was almost ten in the morning. We'd not gotten back to the apartment until after one this morning, so I was still tired.

He didn't leave it though. Instead, he moved, climbing onto the bed and resting his arm across my stomach. "It wasn't a nightmare? What's up then?"

My embarrassment grew because the object of my desire in my dream was now too close to me as he looked down at me through the semi-darkness. "I was just dreaming. It wasn't a bad one. Actually, it was the first nice dream I've had since... since..." I frowned, not wanting to say his name again.

"You had a nice dream? That's great! What was it about?" He sounded ridiculously happy about it.

I winced, squirming under his scrutiny. _You,_ wasn't exactly something I could answer. "Um..." I chewed on my lip, and he flopped down next to me, lying on his side and shoving his arm under the pillow as his other arm tightened around me, pulling me closer to his warm body. "I, er, had a little daughter. She was beautiful. It was just nice."

A dazzling smile crossed his lips as I spoke. "You did? Did she look just like you? If she did, then she'd have to be the most beautiful, little girl in the world."

My heart seemed to clench in my chest at his adorable words. The answer was no though, she hadn't looked like me, she'd looked like him! "She kinda did," I answered. The little girl did, in fact, have brown eyes like mine. Needing to make an escape from this awkward conversation before he probed further, I pushed myself up out of bed. "I'm going to make some breakfast. I'm thinking bacon and eggs. Sound good?" I didn't even wait for an answer before I practically ran from the bedroom, needing a few minutes away from him and the knowledge that I'd had a seriously inappropriate dream about him.

A little while after we'd eaten, I decided that I'd like to kill some time in the gym. According to the pamphlet about ASU that I'd read, there was a well-stocked gym on campus, so I was eager to check it out. As we pulled up outside and climbed out, another car pulled up next to us.

I groaned and threw my hands up in exasperation. "I _can_ go on my own, you know!" I snapped, glaring first at Ashton, and then at my two far guards that had obviously followed us here.

Peter shrugged. "I actually just came to use the gym, I'm off duty. Please direct your glare at these two," he joked, waving a hand at Ashton and Dean.

I had to smile at that as I rolled my eyes and stalked into the building, not waiting for them. "You guys think I'm some pathetic wuss that can't defend herself. I could kick all of your asses," I muttered, shaking my head. I had no idea why I even needed a far guard; Ashton was surely more than enough to stop people from grabbing my butt or pushing me over into a puddle, which was all that would ever likely happen to me.

A scoffing noise came from Peter's direction, so I raised one eyebrow in question. "You think you could kick my ass?" he asked sarcastically, pulling his shoulders back and smirking at me as he opened the door to the gym and nodded for me to go first.

"Yes," I answered flatly. He was probably about six foot tall and easily heavier than Ashton because he packed in more muscle, but I was pretty sure I could take him.

When I stepped into the gym, I sighed happily. It was indeed as well-stocked as the pamphlet had promised. And another benefit it had was that it was empty. Being Sunday lunchtime, most students were probably still in bed, sleeping off the night before.

Peter scoffed again, following me into the gym and rolling his eyes, before nodding towards the padded mat area off to one side. "Want to try?"

A grin spread across my face as I nodded slowly. _Heck yeah, I want to embarrass you!_ "Sure."

Ashton shook his head quickly, holding his hands up in protest. "That's not really a good idea, Peter."

I frowned angrily, clenching my teeth together. _He thinks I'm going to get hurt? Lousy pretend boyfriend! He's supposed to support me!_

Peter grinned, linking his fingers together, stretching out his arms and cracking his knuckles at the same time. "I won't hurt her, don't worry."

Ashton snorted. "I wasn't worried about _her_. You're supposed to be on duty tonight, and I don't think having a broken nose will go down well with the whole blending in thing," Ashton teased, chuckling. My anger evaporated immediately as I understood his hesitancy, and it wasn't because he was worried I'd get hurt.

"You think she could beat me?" Peter asked, clearly shocked.

Ashton shook his head in response. "I've seen her fight, she could _definitely_ beat you, no thinking involved," he replied rather proudly, smiling over at me.

Peter just burst out laughing and slapped Dean on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Can you believe this? As if she'd stand a chance."

Dean's smile was tight as he raised one eyebrow. "I've seen and felt her right hook. I wouldn't recommend you fight her."

I grinned happily and walked over to the treadmill. "I'm going to warm up for a while and then if you want, we can spar or something?" I offered, stepping on and turning it onto a slow walk.

Peter nodded in agreement. "Five minutes and then I'll wipe that smile off of your face."

Ashton didn't look too pleased as he walked over to the treadmill next to mine. His gaze was firmly locked on the speed control dial on my machine as I cranked it up a little faster. I would imagine he was waiting for me to go full pelt again – that wouldn't happen though, not if I was going to be sparring.

After a few minutes Peter called over to me from the weight bench he was at with Dean. "You ready to get your ass kicked, Anna?" he challenged, smirking at me confidently.

Trying to hide my smugness, I turned off my machine as I nodded over to the mats. "Sure, best of three?" I suggested.

"Anna, take it easy, okay? No broken bones," Ashton warned, following me over to the mats too with an apprehensive look on his face.

"I won't hurt her!" Peter protested sternly.

Ashton chuckled wickedly. "I wasn't talking about _her_ bones."

Peter waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever. Best of three. No hitting in the balls, that's the only rule on my end. Other than that, you can do what you want."

I nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay. No taking it easy on me because I'm a girl, that's my only rule," I teased. He looked so overconfident; clearly he thought I was some little, delicate doll that couldn't look after herself. He was in for a shock; this was going to be fun.

"Right then, first down to the mat," Ashton said, blowing out a big breath. "No pinning down," he added seemingly as an afterthought.

I nodded and waited for Peter to come at me, standing with my hands down at my sides, not even bothering to defend myself. He wasn't even going to try and hit me, I could tell. He grinned and came towards me, moving to grab me. Casually, I knocked his hand away and moved to the side, smiling. His eyes widened a fraction before he came for me again. This time I ducked out of his way and kicked him in the leg – not too hard, but just hard enough so that he knew I wasn't playing around.

"Shit! You actually know how to fight?" he asked, his mouth popping open in shock.

I nodded, grinning. "Kickboxing or karate?" I changed my stance to show him I knew both.

His eyes narrowed as his shoulders tensed. "Er, I don't know that shit, I know how to street fight," he stated, coming for me again with his fists up to hit me this time. Effortlessly, I moved to the side, hitting him in the stomach and arm, spinning around low on the floor and sweeping his legs out from under him so he landed flat on his back. I smiled triumphantly as I offered my hand down to help him up. "Ouch, damn it! What was that?" he whined, rubbing his stomach.

"Karate. Want to go for kickboxing now?" I asked hopefully. If he really wanted to fight, that was undoubtedly my favourite.

"Er, I guess," he answered, looking a little uncomfortable as he glanced at Dean, who was just watching with a grin on his face.

I nodded and stood waiting for him to come at me. He seriously tried this time and managed to get a couple of hits in that would have been good if I hadn't gotten my guard up, but again, I easily put him down on his back.

"Enough, enough, I believe you. Jeez, you're a really good fighter," he admitted, shaking his head and rubbing his leg and arm where I'd hit him.

"Thanks, want to go again?" I asked hopefully. He shook his head quickly, so I looked at Ashton hopefully. "What about you, Pretty Boy?"

"You know you can't beat me," he replied, grinning cockily at me.

"I know, but I managed to split your lip last time. You never know, I might be able to get you on your back," I said shrugging.

He walked up close to me, encroaching in my personal space. "You could get me on my back anytime, Anna. You only need to ask... Oh, and be sober, of course," he whispered.

Blushing immediately, I laughed and pushed him away. A boyish grin broke out on his face as he kicked his shoes off and stepped onto the mats. He was watching me like a tiger stalking its prey. My insides seemed to squirm as I realised that watching him watch me like that was actually a turn-on. Plus, every time he looked at me, all I could see was the little girl from my dream and the way he'd looked at me when he'd walked up the path, and it was making it difficult to concentrate.

He shifted his weight to his other leg, ready to come for me, so I quickly ducked to the left and tried to hit him in the side, but he blocked it easily. I shifted to kick him, and he brought his leg up so I kicked his leg instead of his side. I smiled in awe; he was an incredible fighter. It was actually sexy to watch him in action.

He came at me again, and I threw a couple of punches and kicks that he deflected. He didn't once try to hit me, just defended and tried to grab me. As I raised my leg for a well-timed kick, his arm looped around my thigh. The air rushed out of my lungs as he swept my other leg from under me and we both fell to the mats in a heap.

He chuckled. "You're getting better. You nearly caught me a few times there," he said, looking at me proudly, still hovering above me. Every inch of his body was pressed against mine. My body started to react to how close he was, my heart was thumping, and my skin was starting to tingle.

"Are you gonna get off me or not?" I asked breathlessly, actually hoping for the second. He groaned before pushing himself off me, pulling me up off the floor as he stood up. His eyes were tight with frustration, and I couldn't help but smile. _At least I'm not the only one that feels this attraction!_ "Wanna go again?" I asked, grinning.

"Yeah, if you want," he answered, instantly shifting into his sexy stance.

After an hour in the gym, everyone was all exercised out, so we went back to our respective apartments. I flopped down on the sofa, instantly grabbing the TV remote to see if anything good was on. Ashton took the seat next to mine, scooting down into the seat and watching as I channel surfed until we settled on a movie.

Watching him from the corner of my eye, I realised that I was actually getting used to how relaxed he was and how easy he was to be around. Since Carter, I'd never felt safe or normal in my own skin, but with Ashton it was like I didn't feel the need to be afraid or ashamed of who I was or what I felt inside.

He laughed at something, running a hand through his hair, making it stick up at the front. Perfectly at ease, I twisted to the side and raised my legs, stretching them out across Ashton's lap. Without taking his eyes from the movie, he placed an absentminded hand on top of my shin, holding my legs in place as his thumb drew a small circle around my kneecap. I sighed contentedly because it was extremely comfortable. I suddenly wondered why everything with Ashton seemed so effortless. It was weird because even with Jack there had been some awkwardness at times. Maybe it was because we were young; maybe things like comfort came with age. I could quite happily sit with Ashton, not saying a word, but with Jack, sometimes it had felt strained and uncomfortable. Sometimes we'd run out of things to say to each other – that would usually have been about the time that he would go home, or we'd just make out, or watch TV.

Discreetly watching Ashton instead of the movie, I thought about him having a girl of his own and sitting with her like this. He was going to make some girl incredibly lucky when he finally settled out of his player ways that he so vehemently denied. _Well, he'll make her incredibly happy until he's killed on some stupid SWAT mission, and then he'll destroy her soul and shatter her heart,_ I thought. Everyone important left sooner or later. Nothing lasted forever. I'd had first-hand experience at that heartbreak and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

He looked over at me and smiled when he caught me watching him. "You okay?"

I nodded quickly, hoping he'd brush off my looking at him as a coincidence that we'd looked up at the same time. To help that excuse, I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Why did you make Dean and Peter come to the gym with us today? I would have been fine with just you." Suddenly I was slightly annoyed at his overprotectiveness. The three of them were going to drive me crazy.

He took a deep breath before answering as if expecting a scolding about it. "It's standard practice and what your father wants."

I frowned at that. My father wanted a lot of things, not all of them were possible. "Yeah, well I think you're all taking this too far. It's ridiculous. And that new codename you were all using for me last night... stupid." I folded my arms across my chest.

A small smile crept onto his face. "You would have preferred Rocky?" he inquired. I scoffed, trying not to smile.

"I would have preferred to be called by my given name, actually," I retorted.

He sighed and resumed drawing the little circle on my knee. "Look, one of us needs to be watching you at all times. In order for me to be able to look like your boyfriend and not some pervert stalker that follows his girl everywhere, we made up a code word so I could call if I needed one of them to watch you for a few minutes. It's not a big deal."

I did understand that. I'd had codenames before, but I still didn't really like them. With my father being who he was though, I should probably just accept it as part of the norm now. "Jewel is just pathetic. Who came up with that anyway?"

He shrugged, picking up the TV remote and flicking through the channels because the movie had finished. I hadn't even noticed because I'd been too busy staring at him and musing about things like his future girlfriend's broken heart. "We just went with Peter's suggestion in the end."

My ears pricked up, interested to know what the other suggestions were. "What were the other suggestions? Maybe we could change it?"

"Well, Dean wanted Regan."

"Regan?" I frowned at the randomness.

Ashton chuckled wickedly as he nodded. "That's what the little girl was called in The Exorcist."

I gasped in outrage. "No! That asshole!" I cried, though laughed at the same time.

"I thought it was pretty good," he countered. "But I figured that would be hard to explain when we put in the paperwork with your dad." He grinned at me, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

I had to smile at that too. My father would have been less than impressed. "What about your suggestion, what was that?" I asked, still hopeful that we could switch it to something less pretty and delicate.

His back stiffened as his hand stilled on my leg. "I didn't have one."

I cocked my head to the side, watching as his jaw tightened and untightened unconsciously. He was hiding something from me. "You're a terrible liar," I stated confidently. "I bet Regan was yours, wasn't it." I narrowed my eyes, resisting the urge to pout.

He shook his head in rejection; flicking through TV channels so quickly that you couldn't even see what was on. "I'm not. That wasn't mine, promise."

I nudged his leg with my foot to get his attention from the television. "Tell me yours then," I prompted.

He shook his head, smirking in my direction teasingly. My mouth popped open in dissatisfaction. I hated secrets. Pushing myself up onto my knees, I poked him in the ribs. Instantly he chuckled, gripping my hand, so I tried to poke him with my other hand instead.

"Tell me!" I demanded, poking him again, watching as he squirmed. That was when I came to the conclusion that my near guard was ticklish. A grin spread across my face as I decided to use it to my advantage. I launched forward, fighting my hands free from his as I started a tickle war.

It was pretty obvious within seconds though that I wasn't going to win. In mere moments, I was pinned to the sofa with him hovering above me, laughing excitedly as he returned the tickling treatment, making me giggle and squirm under him.

"Stop it!" I cried, struggling to fight free as I gasped for breath from all the laughing.

My wrists were pinned to the sofa as he looked down at me with mischievous eyes. He finally stopped, hovering above me, grinning happily. The smile faded from his face slowly as his eyes met mine. The burning passion was back inside me. I saw it cross his face too; and I _definitely_ felt it stirring against my thigh. I didn't move. His restraining hold on my wrists loosened, but he didn't let go or get off me. I grinned, trying to slow my breathing and calm my racing heart. I hadn't laughed that much for years. It felt nice, kind of liberating.

"Please tell me yours," I begged.

He sighed, and his eyes tightened. "You don't want to know mine." I pouted, even fluttered my eyelashes as I silently begged him. A long groan escaped his lips as he looked down at me and frowned, clearly uncomfortable. "Damn that face, that's not fair!" he whined. Finally, he sighed. "Pacey. I wanted Pacey."

Not having a clue what that was about, I raised an inquiring eyebrow. "And what is Pacey? Some sort of sadistic killer?" I inquired.

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "No. Have you seen The Peacemaker?" he asked, biting his lip. I shook my head in answer. I'd never even heard of it. "It's a movie, one of my favourites, in fact. There's this girl in it called Pacey. She's like a supreme being, perfect in every way, incredibly beautiful. She's kind of a badass like you. She saves the world and then gets the guy at the end," he explained. His eyes narrowed as if waiting for me to freak out or something.

His words repeated in my head. Incredibly beautiful and perfect in every way. And he'd wanted to name me that? My heart stuttered in my chest as the hair on the nape of my neck stood on end.

"Aww, that's really sweet. Are you sure that wasn't Dean's suggestion?" I joked, trying to keep a hold on the sensations that were flitting through my system as if they were on a freight train.

Ashton laughed uncomfortably. "Actually, yeah it was, I just wanted to steal his glory," he replied, avoiding my gaze and playing with a strand of my hair.

I smiled, watching him intently, loving how he looked so unsure and so vulnerable. "You're cute when you're nervous," I mused.

There was no sarcastic comment or anything, like I had expected; instead, his words made butterflies swoop around in my stomach. "What would you do if I kissed you right now?" He looked at my lips longingly.

I gulped, shocked at the turn in the conversation. What would I do? I was pretty sure I'd kiss him back, but part of me was screaming at me to push him the hell off me and be true to Jack.

"I'd kick your butt out of my apartment, and you'd have to sleep next door." I said the words and tried my best to make them sound true.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "No you wouldn't," he whispered, inching his lips towards mine.

My breath caught in my throat. "Ashton, don't," I rasped.

Ignoring my protests, he dipped his head and brushed his lips softly against mine. The kiss lasted barely a second before he broke it, but it was enough to send my body into overdrive as memories of his taste, his touch and his kisses flooded my brain. "Want me to sleep next door tonight?" he asked, his voice sounding husky. His lips brushed against mine softly as he spoke, sending a shiver of anticipation down my spine.

Deciding to answer truthfully, I shook my head, never taking my eyes from his. He smiled and closed the small distance again, pressing his lips to mine harder this time. My eyes fluttered closed as I revelled in the luxury of his lips on mine. Not even having to think about it, I kissed him back. His resulting moan made my skin prickle with excitement. My hands tangled into the back of his hair, pulling him closer to me as the kiss deepened and changed into something more urgent and passionate. Shifting slightly, I freed my legs from under him and gripped his hips with my knees, pulling his body on top of mine harder. The weight of him on top of me, as his hands wandered my body, almost made me dizzy with excitement. My whole body was aching for more of him.

A thought suddenly occurred to me – if kissing him was so wrong, then why did it feel so right? _Just once more,_ I decided. I could make myself happy and give myself what I wanted, couldn't I? I deserved to be happy just once, didn't I?

I ran my hands down his back and pushed them down the back of his jeans, feeling his firm buttocks. I moaned at the feel of it. I could picture it when I closed my eyes, and I wanted to see it again. I wanted to have him, just once more. But would I be able to stop at once if it happened, or would I become addicted to his body just as I had done his personality and smile?

A knock at the door interrupted us, snapping us both back to reality. He broke the kiss and a little whimper escaped my lips as my grip tightened on him unconsciously, not letting him move away. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he dipped his head again, pressing his lips back to mine as he cupped the side of my neck with one of his hands.

The knock sounded again, more insistently this time. He groaned against my neck, so I knew the moment was over. Unclamping my knees from his hips, I turned my head to the side and gulped in fresh air as he pulled back, looking down at me with hungry, lust-filled eyes that made my insides clench in excitement.

"I need to get that," he whined, looking back over his shoulder to the hallway and front door beyond. I nodded, unsure if my voice would work if I tried to speak. He sighed, putting his hand to his hair, smoothing it down because I'd had my hands tangled in it so it now stood at all angles. A blush covered my cheeks as he shoved his hand down the front of his jeans, rearranging himself so that his arousal was less noticeable as he walked to the door.

From the front door, I could hear him talking to someone, and then the voices got louder as they walked towards the lounge. I sat up quickly and smoothed my hair down too, praying my face wasn't flushed. The person with him was Dean, and judging by the no-nonsense look on his face, it wasn't a social call.

Dean smiled awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt. Ashton and I just need to go over a few things before school tomorrow."

I nodded. "And by that you mean, 'get lost, Annabelle, we want to talk about secret agent stuff and you're not invited'," I guessed, rolling my eyes. "That's fine, I'm just going to go and see if I can make my head spin and vomit pea soup."

Dean's mouth popped open before he looked at Ashton accusingly.

Chuckling and waving over my shoulder, I headed into the bedroom, deciding to take a long soak in the tub. After running myself a bubble bath, I stayed in the water until it turned cold. The whole time I was in there, I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss with Ashton. Would I have had sex with him again if Dean hadn't interrupted? I genuinely didn't know the answer.

After I got out, I found one of Ashton's T-shirts hanging over the back of the chair, so I pulled it on, pairing it with some boy shorts. I sat on the bed and eyed the photo of Jack that sat on my bedside cabinet. I sighed and picked it up, running my finger over his face. He was so handsome, not in the totally hot way that Ashton was, but in the traditional, blue eyes, blond hair, type of way. I missed him terribly. Guilt built inside me because I had no right to yearn for someone else's arms to comfort me, yet I just couldn't seem to help it around Ashton.

My sketch book and pencils were by the bed, so I grabbed them and sat against the headboard. I drew the thing that had been on my mind since I woke up this morning – the little girl from my dream. In my sketch, she laughed and smiled excitedly. On the corner of the page, I drew Ashton as he looked in my dream: gorgeous, happy, and loving.

When I was done, I looked at the page for a long time, confused. It was almost like torture, looking at something that I wouldn't ever have. My eyes flicked back to the photo of Jack. _Why the hell am I obsessing over this little girl?_ It was just a dream. My heart belonged to Jack and always would, just like we'd always promised each other.

A knock to the bedroom door made me jump. "Hey, can I come in?"

I quickly closed my pad so Ashton couldn't see the little girl. "Yeah sure."

He smiled timidly as he opened the door and stepped in. "You okay?"

I smiled, covering the confusion and pain I was feeling at the moment. "Yeah, I'm okay," I lied. "You get your secret stuff that I'm not allowed to know about done?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

He laughed and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge. "You're so hostile! I don't tell you how to do your job," he replied.

I snorted at his comment. "Er, actually you kinda do. It's my job to be guarded, and you tell me what to do all the time," I countered, raising my eyebrows to make my point.

He grinned. "Not _all_ the time," he repeated sarcastically. His eyes flicked down to the bed and the smile fell from his face as he picked up my photo of Jack. "So you go for blonds, huh? I've got no chance then, completely the opposite," he stated humourlessly, running a hand through his black hair.

I laughed awkwardly. "You're too pretty for me, remember?"

He pursed his lips, still studying my photo intently. "You look really happy here." He finally took his eyes off of it, holding it out to me.

"I was. That was before my life got blown to shit," I shrugged.

He sighed and scooted closer to me on the bed. "I upset you again because I kissed you, didn't I? I've made you sad again."

"No. I'm fine," I lied quietly. I didn't want to tell him about my personal debate as to whether I could sleep with him one more time or not, I was still undecided on the answer.

He sighed deeply and silence filled the room before he spoke again. "So, what are you drawing? Can I see?" he asked, holding out his hand for the sketchpad.

I laughed, blushing as I hugged the pad to my chest. "If you're thinking that it's some dark and horrible drawing that shows my inner turmoil, you're wrong."

There was no way I wanted him to know I was obsessing over this little girl, because technically, that meant I was obsessing over him and I didn't want to scare him away from me. I needed him now; I didn't want to go back to my life before him – alone and scared. I shuddered at the thought. I suddenly realised that I'd already done what I said I wouldn't do. I'd let him in. I liked him, cared about him even. Plus, I hadn't had nightmares for days because of him. What on earth was I going to do in eight months when it came to the end of his assignment and he left me to go make some other girl deliriously happy? The thought alone hurt, and I'd only known him for a few days. What about when I'd known him for eight months? What would I do then?

Panic built inside me because I'd unknowingly made myself vulnerable by letting him close to me – but the thing was, I wouldn't actually change anything. I liked being around him, and I liked the person that he allowed me to be when I was around him. It was a glimpse of the old Anna, the one that was too frightened to make another appearance in case something went terribly wrong again. Ashton was slowly bringing that lonely, frightened girl back to life again. And I hadn't even realised until just now. I suddenly found myself wishing he would stay forever. I didn't want him to go and be reassigned somewhere else and get a girlfriend, I wanted him all to myself so I'd always have this contented, comfortable, safe feeling surrounding me.

"Anna?" he prompted, touching my foot tenderly.

I gulped, swallowing my feelings that didn't quite make sense to me. "What?" I answered, unsure what he wanted from me. Maybe he'd been talking to me while I was off trying to make sense of my emotions.

"I said, are you really okay? You ran off right after we kissed, and now you're all quiet and distant with me. Are you wishing that didn't happen?" he questioned, dipping his head so that my eyes had to meet his.

Again, I didn't know the answer. "I'm fine. It's all just complicated. I can't explain my feelings to you, I don't know how I feel," I admitted. I chewed on my lip nervously. My answer was the truth – how could I explain something that I didn't even understand myself?

He stood and looked down at me worriedly. "Well, if you need to talk to me, I'm here to listen, anytime."

I smiled gratefully at his back as he stalked to the door. "Ashton?" I called, needing to say something else, because it didn't feel right leaving it like that. He turned at the door, looking at me quizzically. "Thank you." The words seemed right, and the only ones that I could think of.

His answering smile was dazzling, and my tummy fluttered again. "No problem, ma'am," he replied. I groaned as he shut the door behind him. _How on earth can one word be so hot when it comes out of his mouth? How can one word make my insides melt? It just isn't fair._

### Chapter Seventeen

### ~ Ashton ~

For an hour, Dean and I planned out our positioning, ready for the first day of school. We'd gone over pretty much everything three times, but you couldn't be too prepared in my opinion. I'd also memorised the map of the school so that I knew where all the exits and meeting points were, just in case.

Over breakfast, I'd gone through the rules with Anna. She'd agreed to them all, not protesting, and actually looking a little happy with them. I'd insisted on a few changes to her normal routine which she seemed quite happy about. For one thing, no one knew who I was, so while the boyfriend cover worked, we were going to play it to the maximum. Dean would be in plain clothes the whole time, not even acknowledging us unless there was a huge problem that I couldn't resolve amicably. I had my gun and police credentials with me, but I was praying they wouldn't ever need to be of use, because that meant that Carter would never find where she is.

The school knew of our situation and that I wasn't actually a college student, so I wasn't going to be expected to hand in any masterpieces – which was handy considering I couldn't draw.

Anna had agreed, finally, to stay with me at all times – even bathroom breaks where I'd have to stand outside and wait for her. We'd already agreed that I could kiss her a couple of times throughout the day so that the boyfriend story stuck. She'd even consented to trying to meet up with the friends that we'd made over the weekend for lunch so that we could integrate with society better and move easier through the crowd.

Of course, Anna had scolded me a few times at how seriously I was taking this whole operation. She'd called it "going overboard." She'd accused me of acting too much like a SWAT officer rather than secret service, but I'd let it slide. She didn't know about Carter and his letters; if she did, then she wouldn't be as hostile about being guarded. She'd promised to be on her best behaviour and let me deal with any issues so that she wouldn't be kicked out of yet another school. I had high hopes for her at this one, hopefully my arrangements would allow her to finish her course and start to take a hold on her anger and insecurities that she had deep-rooted inside her.

While she was getting dressed, I put my hands on my hips and did a few stretches. My body was really starting to protest about sleeping on the floor, but thankfully I'd received an email last night saying that the sofa bed would be delivered this afternoon. Peter was going to take delivery of it for me, so at least I'd have something soft to sleep on tonight, which would hopefully make me feel less like an old man.

When the door handle of the bedroom moved, my stomach seemed to twist into a knot. I frowned and shook my head at myself. I knew I had it bad now, but this was bordering on ridiculous. I was so excited to see her, yet I'd only seen her over breakfast forty minutes ago. This didn't bode well for me.

As she stepped into the kitchen with a tentative, nervous smile on her face, my heart seemed to stop. She looked so hot that my mouth actually started to water. My eyes slid down her frame, taking it all in slowly as she played with her fingers and chewed on her lip, waiting for my opinion on her outfit. The insecurity about wearing normal clothes was clearly still there.

I gulped. The black shorts she wore came to about mid-thigh, showing off her long, gorgeous legs. My hands were itching to trace the line of them and feel the soft skin under my fingers. The tight, black top she had on clung to her flat stomach and pert breasts, showing a sexy, red bra-strap. The loose fit, red chequered shirt over the top completed the outfit and made her look so sexy it was starting to hurt as my jeans constricted across the crotch.

Stop, Ashton, focus! She's looking at you, you need to say something. You look like an idiot!

"Er... You look, er..." I stuttered. _Come on you stupid prick, think of a word!_

She raised one eyebrow in question as she looked down at herself and straightened her shirt. Clearly, she had no idea that she looked like a goddess and that all I wanted to do was crush her against me and run my tongue over every inch of her. I mentally groaned. I wanted to beg her for a chance; I wanted to be with her so badly that I could almost taste it.

I took a deep breath and tried to stop embarrassing myself. "You look stunning, and you're going to make this hard for me all day," I said honestly. There was undeniably a double meaning to those words, she certainly was going to make me hard all day, that was for sure.

Her shoulders seemed to relax at my compliment, and she looked at me gratefully. "Hard for you, why?" she asked, turning to get a glass of juice from the fridge.

I groaned quietly. From the back you couldn't see the shorts; it looked like she was just wearing a shirt and ankle boots. _Oh man, how the heck am I going to be able to do my job with her looking like that? Maybe I should ask her to change... Can I ask her to change without making myself look like a freaking pervert?_

"Ashton? How is it going to be hard for you? What are you talking about?" she asked, interrupting my examination of her legs.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to calm down downstairs. "You're gonna get hit on a lot today," I admitted.

She turned back and held out a glass of apple juice to me, making her bangles jingle as she moved. I smiled down at them weakly. I'd noticed that whenever she wore short sleeves, she always wore something on her wrists, covering up the scar from her suicide attempt and the various other small scars on her wrist where she had obviously self-harmed at some point in her life.

When she boosted herself up onto the kitchen counter, my body moved of its own accord. I stepped closer to her, setting myself between her legs. Her minty breath blew across my face as her breathing started to speed up. Her eyes widened a fraction as I leant in closer.

"With you looking like this, I may have to kiss you a fair few times today," I warned. I kept my eyes trained on hers, watching for her reaction as I reached out and traced the line of her cheekbone with one finger.

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she nodded slightly. "If you think that's necessary," she replied, not taking her eyes from mine.

I could feel the passion building between us and I knew she could feel it too because of the way she was looking at me. That look made the hair on the nape of my neck stand on end. There was no denying that she was attracted to me too, but she didn't like the fact that she was, I knew that for sure.

"With you looking like this, Baby Girl, I think it's going to be very, very necessary." My voice was so husky and thick with lust that it was almost embarrassing.

Her knees tightened around my hips as her gaze flicked down to my lips. All I could envision was pressing my lips to hers and tasting her again as I pressed every inch of my body against hers. Before anything could happen though and I could act on what my instincts were telling me to do, there was a knock at the door. My heart sank because I knew that the intimate moment was over. I seriously needed to get a grip on myself.

"That'll be Dean," I whispered, not taking my eyes from hers. "Are you ready to go?"

She blinked a couple of times as if coming out of a daze, and then nodded, clenching her teeth together. It was almost as if she was mentally scolding herself for allowing me close to her or something. She did that a lot after we'd almost had a 'moment'.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she confirmed. "Do you have your iPod? You'll need it."

### ~ Anna ~

As the rental car headed towards the school, I could still feel the residual ebb of the sexual tension from the apartment. I had no idea how he did it, but one smouldering look from Ashton seemed to reduce me to a needy, quivering mess.

I flicked my eyes over to him, trying to be discreet as I watched the way his muscles tensed in his arms while he drove. He looked particularly irresistible today. He was wearing blue again – I liked him in blue. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as a thousand lustful thoughts of him seemed to hit me at once. Clear as day, I could remember the feel of his skin under my hands, the taste of his tongue, and the sensations that his lips created with the smallest of kisses. A wistful sigh escaped my lips as I forced my eyes away from him, looking out of the windshield instead. I needed to stop this because it wasn't right, and it wasn't fair on Jack for me to keep lusting after another man.

After another five minutes, we pulled into the campus parking lot. Ashton turned to me. His eyes were stern and warning, just as they had been this morning when we'd discussed the rules of him guarding me. "Wait there for me to come around and get you. You stay with me at all times."

I nodded in agreement, trying to keep my breathing steady. This was my last attempt at school because I wasn't going to start over again. I was really going to try hard this time, just like I'd promised Jack I would. Hopefully, Ashton would make that possible with all the changes that he'd made to my usual routine.

As he opened my door for me, I took a deep breath and took his offered hand, closing my fingers around his tightly. He smiled reassuringly. "You'll be fine," he whispered, pulling me to my feet gently. "This'll be fun, and I'll look after you. You trust me, don't you?" he asked, bending his knees so that his emerald green eyes met mine.

An involuntary smile tugged at the corner of my lips. "I trust you with my life, Ashton." That was the honest truth. He was the only one that made me feel safe, but I didn't know why, there was just something about him that told me that I could put my faith in him.

A dazzling, proud grin spread across his face as his arm slipped around my shoulder, pulling me to him as he guided me across the parking lot and towards the large campus building in front of us. As we walked past people, I pressed against his side, trying to melt into him as inquisitive glances were cast in our direction. The tension was practically radiating off him in droves as he discreetly surveyed the area. Dean was doing the same thing about a hundred yards off to my right. I smiled because no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to my far guard, which meant that maybe the undercover thing would work here like Ashton kept assuring me.

A group of girls fell silent as we walked passed, all of them eyeing Ashton like he was their next meal. "You could get a lot of action here, Pretty Boy," I teased, shaking my head in awe. He wasn't even trying, yet it looked like girls were willing to throw themselves at his feet.

His forehead creased with a frown as he shook his head. "I'm not interested in any of these girls, Anna." His tone was a little brisk, as if I should have known better or something. He opened the door to the building and pulled me inside with him. "Come on then, let's get to our first class," he whispered, guiding me down the hallways as if he knew exactly where he was going.

"Don't we need to go to the office first? How do you even know where our first class is?" I asked, confused. Usually I had to book in at the office and someone gave me a tour of the school before showing me the way to my classes.

"They sent me everything already, and I spoke to the dean this morning while you were getting dressed. Plus, I have the map, remember? You know, the one I was looking at this morning when you said I was taking this too far," he mocked, smirking at me.

I laughed, slipping my arm around his waist. "Okay, I guess your memory will come in handy for finding our way around then."

He stopped walking, pulling me to a stop too. "Wow, that's almost an apology."

More people were watching us now. I shook my head in rejection. "No it wasn't, I don't do apologies very often," I denied, shrugging and narrowing my eyes at him teasingly.

He grinned, cupping my face gently as he stepped closer to me, so close that my skin prickled with sensation. "Oh, I know that," he purred as his mouth closed over mine, claiming my lips in a kiss that made my tummy flutter with excitement.

Waves of desire crashed over me; they were so powerful that I was surprised we were still standing. I moaned in the back of my throat and wrapped my arms tight around his neck, trying to get closer to him, tangling my fingers in his soft hair. When he nibbled on my lip, wanting to deepen the kiss, I kissed him with everything I had in me. The passion from the kitchen was spilling over as he ran his hands down my back, gripping fistfuls of my shirt, clamping me to him. A small moan escaped his lips that set my heart soaring.

I wanted him. I needed him. When Ashton's mouth was on my body, everything felt right and whole again, like all of that awful stuff with Carter hadn't happened. But the kiss didn't seem enough for me, I wanted more. I wanted him to lavish attention on my body like he had done that one time at my parent's house. I wanted him to make me feel like that special, beautiful girl that he looked at with those sultry eyes that shone with desire. My whole body ached for it.

By the time he pulled away, my head was spinning with need. He pressed his forehead against mine, still holding me against him as our breathing slowed to normal. His eyes that met mine were dancing with excitement too. He looked like he was fighting for control. I could see the conflict across his face; he wanted to drag me to the nearest supply closet too, just like I was silently envisioning.

"What was that for?" I whispered, raising my chin and brushing my nose against his softly.

He swallowed loudly as his hand slid down my back, coming to rest on the small of my back. "Just wanted everyone here to know that you're mine."

Mine. The word made a shiver of something run down my spine as I pressed myself closer to him. "Why don't you just take me against the wall or something then with everyone watching?" I joked.

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he dipped his head towards mine. "Gladly." His lips met mine again, and I sagged against him in contentment. The kiss didn't deepen though, it was just a little chaste kiss before he stepped back and ran his hand down my arm, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers. "We should get to class before we're late."

I swallowed the lust that had built inside me and nodded in agreement, letting him give me a gentle, little tug to get me moving again. Now that I was out of the little bubble that he seemed to create around me, I could see people watching us again. Clearly, being new and having a major make-out session in the middle of the hallway was drawing peoples' interest. As we walked, I tried my best to ignore the stares and whispers. I cringed into Ashton's side as a couple of guys let their eyes wander over me just that little too long.

Finally, after lots of twists and turns, he stopped outside a classroom. I peeked in, seeing people already sitting on desks, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for lessons to start. The teacher was perched on the edge of her desk, sipping coffee. I scanned her, making my estimations of how good she would be. She was thin and wearing all black and her brown hair, flecked with the occasional grey, was pulled back into a severe ponytail. If I had to guess, I would put her at mid-fifties. She looked friendly enough, and just the right amount of eccentric to teach art at college.

"Ready?" Ashton asked, squeezing my hand gently.

I gulped. "Not really."

He chuckled and pulled me into the room and up to the teacher. Ashton cleared his throat. "Mrs Donovan?"

She turned and smiled, setting down her cup. "Good morning. You must be my new students," she greeted.

Ashton nodded, and I let my gaze rake over the class. Most of the students were girls and all of them were now eyeing my near guard with undisguised lust. One of them was staring with an open mouth. My back stiffened as panic set in. What if Ashton wanted to hook up with one of these girls? What if he started to like one of them and wanted to bring her back to the apartment? How was I going to cope with that? Jealous anger and resentment settled in the pit of my stomach, and I felt the frown tug at my forehead.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Ashton, and this is my girlfriend, Anna." He squeezed my hand so I looked up at him, seeing that he had one eyebrow raised in question.

I shook my head quickly, not wanting him to know that my mind was running rampant and thinking up scenarios where he fell in love and I had to watch it happen. I definitely didn't want him to know about the jealousy that was eating me up inside because of it.

"You like Anna and not Annabelle?" the teacher inquired, her tone warm and welcoming.

I turned and forced a smile. "Yeah, Anna is fine." My parents were the only ones who had ever called me Annabelle.

She nodded in acknowledgement and waved a bony hand towards two empty seats at the back of the classroom. "Take a seat, and then we can get started." She clapped her hands and the whole room seemed to come to attention, ready to start the day, as Ashton and I wove to the empty seats at the back.

By the time the class was finished, my stomach was hurting from all the giggling. When Ashton had said that he couldn't draw, I hadn't thought he meant that all he could muster up was barely more than stick people. My cheek muscles were aching from smiling and laughing so much. I'd never seen anything so terrible, and it was lucky we were sat at the back so that no one else could see and ask what the heck he was doing in an art class. The teacher turned out to be quite nice though, and I actually had fun in class which wasn't something I was used to.

As soon as the class ended, Ashton screwed up his paper into a ball and tossed it towards the trashcan, holding his hands up in celebration when it went straight in without touching the sides. "Three pointer," he chirped, grinning. I chuckled at how childlike he was sometimes – it was incredibly cute.

"Maybe you should stick to paper basketball instead of art," I teased, shoving all of my stuff back into my bag.

He nodded, taking my bag off of my shoulder and holding his other hand out to me. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

I rolled my eyes. "You're always hungry. I'm surprised you're not as big as a house." I'd definitely never seen anyone eat as much as he did.

"I've got hollow legs," he joked, leading me out of the classroom.

I kept my head down as we made our way to the lunchroom. I'd promised him that I would try to integrate into the school and be more sociable, but I wasn't sure I was ready for it today. After buying two plates of some disgusting-looking pasta and a wilted salad, I sat down at an empty table. Ashton sat opposite me, and I saw Dean in line to buy food too. I smiled. With him dressed in normal clothes instead of a suit, he blended in so much better. He actually passed as a mature student, and no one was batting an eyelid at him.

The chair next to me scraped, so I looked up to see a guy sitting himself next to me. My back stiffened automatically as my hand tightened around the fork I was holding. A predatory smile crossed his face as he leered at me. "Hi, sexy, what's your name?" he asked.

"Well it's not sexy, that's for sure," I scoffed.

He grinned, opening his mouth to answer but before he could, Ashton leant forward over the table. "Her name is back the fuck off." He was smiling politely, but the tightness around of his jaw and the hardness to his eyes showed that it wasn't a friendly smile.

The guy recoiled slightly before standing up and holding his hands up defensively. "Easy. I didn't realise she was taken," he shook his head, shifting nervously on his feet, clearly intimidated by Ashton, who had that menacing agent look back on his face again.

"Right. Well, now you do. Why don't you go back to your table and tell your boys that she's taken too," Ashton instructed, nodding at the table of guys that were all staring in our direction, watching their friend make his move on me.

The guy smiled sheepishly before turning his attention back to me again, ignoring the obvious possessive vibe that Ashton was radiating. "If you ever ditch this loser, my name's Colt," he said, grinning at me.

"Not planning on ditching the loser, Colt, sorry." I looked at Ashton, seeing the angry expression on his face as he watched the guy strut back across the lunchroom to his friends. "Back the fuck off? Could you have been any ruder?" I muttered sarcastically.

Ashton's frown deepened. "What? I thought I was extremely polite."

I burst out laughing. "Extremely polite, yeah," I choked out.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" he countered.

I shrugged, spearing some of my pasta with my fork. "Just try not to be so overprotective. I'm sure there's a nicer way. Besides, there's like ten of them over there. If they wanted to, they could kick your ass," I said, glancing over to their table, noticing that actually there were twelve of them, but I didn't bother correcting myself.

Ashton sighed dramatically, faking hurt. "You doubt my skills."

"You could fight ten guys?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sure. They're college students who have probably never been in a real fight in their lives. I bet you could take at least five of them on your own," he answered confidently.

I smiled because he never seemed to doubt my ability. "Well, let's not find out, I like our apartment, I don't want to be kicked out of school just yet," I suggested, grinning and eating my food while he laughed.

From the corner of my eye I saw Tim and Rich bounding over, arms laden with food. "Hey, we've been looking for you. How's your first day going?" Tim asked, smiling as he sat down next to me.

"Yeah great, we're making friends already," I joked, making Ashton almost choke on his food.

"Yeah? I'll bet you are with those legs on display like that," Rich flirted, grinning at me as he sat next to Ashton.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Where's everyone else?" I asked, mostly meaning Rosie. I'd gotten on remarkably well with her on Saturday night.

Tim rolled his eyes. "They're in the food line. Those damn girls take a ridiculous amount of time to choose a salad."

When the girls finally graced us with their presence, Monica was again flirting with Ashton but thankfully, the same as usual, he didn't seem interested. Rosie and I chatted easily throughout the rest of lunch. She was extremely easy to get along with, and incredibly funny most of the time. Her smile was infectious.

When lunch was over, Ashton and I made our way to Graphic Design, which was our afternoon class. I didn't hold out much hope for Ashton in there though, he didn't seem to be the artsy type so no doubt he would be doodling stick people and cars like he was all morning.

I actually loved the class. We were given a week long project which we had to pair up to do, of course, I was paired with Ashton. We'd been given a slogan of a company that was rebranding, and we were to come up with a new design and company image to fit their needs. My teacher, Mr Wilson, informed the class that the designs would be sent on to the actual company and if they liked one then they could potentially use it.

Throughout the class, Ashton was no help. Most of the time he'd sat there watching me with one of his iPod earphones in his ear, making stupid jokes with a goofy grin on his face. By the time the lesson finished, all I'd managed was a brainstorm of ideas because he'd been so distracting.

I sighed happily as we stepped out of the building. In my year that I'd been trying to go to college, I'd never once enjoyed being there, until today. Ashton's hand closed over mine as he nodded towards the car. I squeezed his hand in silent thanks because his presence seemed to be making everything easier for me. _Maybe, just maybe, it will work out here._

After a few hours at home, everything was getting on top of me again. Sitting around and watching TV was making me think too much. Sitting with Ashton, I couldn't help but long to be closer to him. I wanted to snuggle against his side and let his heat envelope me. I wanted to press my lips against his and lose myself in the bliss of his kissing. But I knew I shouldn't want those things at all. Guilt and shame were building up inside me because I felt disloyal to Jack for wanting things from another man that I promised would be his and his alone. Self-loathing was making me twitch in my seat. I needed a distraction and something that would make me think clearly again instead of lusting after my near guard.

"Do you mind if I go to the gym for a bit?" I held my breath, hoping he would say I could go on my own. I needed a release, and I knew he would complain and tell me to take it easy if he came with me.

He nodded immediately. "Yeah, sure. I'll just get changed and call Dean."

My heart sank but deep down I knew he wouldn't have let me go on my own anyway. I followed him into the bedroom, grabbing some sweatpants and a T-shirt before heading into the bathroom to change.

Ten minutes later, we arrived at the gym with both Dean and Peter in tow. As soon as we were in, my eyes settled on the treadmill. My shoulders ached with tension as I shoved my bottle of water into the hole and tied my sneakers tighter before stepping on. As I fiddled with the buttons, turning it on to a gentle walk, my gaze flicked to Ashton. He'd chosen the rowing machine. My eyes seemed as if they were glued to him as I watched the muscles flex in his arms and legs. He'd removed his T-shirt so all of his glorious body was on display. Something deep down in my belly clenched as my mouth went dry. He looked beautiful.

He looked up then and his eyes met mine. A small smile crossed his lips, and I forced myself to turn away and stop looking. I really needed to get a grip of myself and this lust that seemed to come out of nowhere and consume me, leaving me a quivering mess. It just wasn't right that he could make me feel like this, I hated it.

Shoving my iPod headphones into my ears, I took a deep breath and put my hand on the speed dial, slowly cranking it up until I was running as fast as my legs would carry me. I ran away from my problems and everything that was bad in my life, focussing only on the music and putting one leg in front of the other. I ran until I couldn't even think about Ashton's gorgeous body anymore – which took a surprising amount of time.

Having no idea of time, I could have been running for either five minutes or five hours. All I knew was that my hands started to tingle and sweat was trickling down my back, making my T-shirt stick to me. As per my usual routine, I sped up for about another minute before slowing right down, barely able to breathe.

Once I'd stopped, I slumped to the floor with my heart crashing in my ears. Knowing I was close to passing out, I put my head between my knees and took deep breaths through my nose as I squeezed my eyes shut. When my fingers finally stopped tingling and the acidic taste in my mouth started to subside, I flopped down onto my back and groaned.

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed all three of my guards were staring down at me. Both Dean and Peter wore shocked expressions, but Ashton looked incredibly angry.

I frowned, turning off my iPod as I pushed myself up to my feet, ignoring how my legs shook from the effort of supporting my weight.

"You feel better now?" Ashton snapped.

I snorted, frowning at him. "For goodness' sake, _this_ is why I wanted to come on my own! Don't start giving me lectures on what's good for my body," I retorted, walking past him to the punch bag that was hanging in the corner of the room.

"Anna, you can't keep doing this! That was fucking ridiculous. You were running like that for almost thirty minutes, I'm surprised you're not dead!" Ashton shouted.

The anger in his voice made me slightly nervous, but I tried to ignore it as I slipped on some training gloves and started hitting the bag. I let out all of my frustration and annoyance. Each hit made my muscles in my arms ache. Just as I was about to throw another punch, a hand closed over my arm, pulling sharply so that I had to spin around. My eyes flicked up to Ashton's face. He looked so angry that the frightened, little girl that I tried so hard to bury inside me surfaced immediately. I flinched, cowering away as I closed my eyes and waited for him to hit me.

His hold on me ceased immediately, and nothing happened. Tentatively opening my eyes, I looked up at him, seeing a horrified, devastated expression on his face as he stepped away from me and shook his head in disbelief. "You actually think I would hit you?" he asked weakly.

I winced, knowing that I'd offended him. "I... I... No, I just..." I looked at the floor, not wanting to admit that yes, just for a second, I thought he would hit me.

"I would never do that, ever." He stepped back again, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. I can't watch this anymore."

My mouth popped open in shock as he turned on his heel and walked out, leaving me with Dean and Peter. As the door slammed behind him, I jumped as a huge lump seemed to form in my throat. _He left me. He promised he wouldn't leave me..._ My heart immediately hurt in my chest as my stomach tightened. Deep down, I'd known it was only a matter of time before he left because everyone did eventually, I just hadn't realised that it would happen so soon or so suddenly. I wasn't even close to being prepared for it.

I stared at the door, willing him to walk back in and shout at me some more, to tell me that I'd upset him but that he'd been hasty in deciding to leave. He didn't come back though. My whole body seemed to go cold as my heart sank. My vision became a little blurry and I realised that I was about to cry. I swallowed my sobs and raised my chin as I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I refused to cry over another man.

Knowing that Dean and Peter were still watching me and waiting for some sort of reaction, I forced the devastated feelings aside and turned back to the punch bag and hit and kicked it until I hurt all over from the effort. By the time I finished, my legs were wobbly and my fingers were numb.

Dean and Peter were sitting on the chairs, waiting for me in silence. "I'm done," I muttered, walking past them and not waiting for them to catch me up.

The ominous silence continued as they walked me to my apartment. When I stepped through the front door, Dean followed me in and headed into the lounge while I went straight to the bathroom for a shower. He would be the one that would move in and take over as near guard until they found a replacement for Ashton. I couldn't even bring myself to care about the fact that I didn't want him here.

The hot water of the shower did nothing to help the crushing feelings I had inside. I felt terrible, the loss of him was painful, and all I could see was his devastated face when he said that he would never hurt me. My insides were hurting, my head was throbbing, and my whole body was aching.

When I got out of the shower, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and found one of his T-shirts that he'd left behind. I pressed it against my face, inhaling deeply. A little whimper left my lips because it still smelt like him. Needing the comfort, I slipped it on over my head and climbed into the bed, hugging myself tightly. Feeling cold and lonely, I cried for him until I fell asleep.

" _Come on, Princess, it's fun, you'll like it. I've played lots of times. Take the gun, take a deep breath and then pull the trigger," Carter insists, waving the gun towards me again._

My whole body is shaking as I wring my hands, ignoring the pain in my wrists caused by the deep cuts I'd made there the week before. I feel nauseous.

Carter raises one eyebrow. "Come on, we'll make a deal. You wanted to die last week; if you die, then you'll be getting what you wanted. If I die, you then can go free, and if neither of us dies, then you'll stay here with me. Forever," he suggests, grinning wildly.

Silent tears fall down my face as I look at the shiny, little silver gun balanced on the palm of his outstretched hand. "That's not a deal! I don't have a choice!" I cry.

" _You have a two in six chance of not being here with me. That's what you want, isn't it?" he retorts sarcastically._

" _Please don't make me do this, Carter. Please?" I beg. He sighs and moves the gun; using two fingers, he spins the cartridge._

As I realise that this is my only way out, I silently pray that either I die or he does, because the alternative, staying here with him, doesn't bear thinking about. Fear runs through my veins, causing my hands to shake violently. I watch as he pulls some kind of straw out of his pocket, bends towards the table and the line of white powder that I'd watched him make, and snorts it all before grinning at me wildly.

Because I've not moved, he rolls his eyes and points the gun at his own temple. "I'll go first," he states, as if this is an everyday occurrence.

I hold my breath. He smiles and winks at me as he pulls the trigger. Vomit rises in my throat, but nothing happens, the gun doesn't go off. Overwhelmed, I turn to the side and am violently sick over the expensive-looking rug.

He smiles at me tenderly, clearly planning on ignoring the fact that I'm still retching. "Well then, I guess the best you can hope for is that you die, Princess," he states, shaking his head sadly. He holds the gun out to me again, nodding encouragingly. I raise a shaky hand, and whimper as my fingers close around the cool metal of the gun. Carter's hand closes over mine as he guides the gun up under my chin. I swallow, feeling the hard metal pressed against my skin. "You can do it, Princess." The tone of his voice is kind and loving; it doesn't match the fact that he is making me pull a gun under my chin. I take a deep breath and pray for death. I don't want to stay here. "Count to three," he whispers.

" _One... Two..." My voice is shaking as I count slowly. My heart stops just before the last word comes out as a broken whisper. "Three." I pull the trigger._

CLICK.

" _I guess you're mine to keep now, Princess," Carter gloats. His eyes are dancing with delight as a large, lopsided, drug-induced smile creeps onto his face._

I sat bolt upright as my piercing scream tore through the air. Ashton's T-shirt was stuck to me where I was sweating. My lungs were tight so I couldn't breathe properly. I just couldn't get enough air in, so it felt like I was suffocating.

Seconds later, the door burst open, slamming against the wall loudly. "Anna! Shit, it's okay, Baby Girl, it's okay. I'm so sorry, I fell asleep on the sofa, I'm so sorry," Ashton cooed. My eyes widened in shock as I looked up at him, still struggling to breathe. He sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around me, rocking me gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep out there, I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking my hair.

I couldn't focus on anything other than my dream and the crushing horror that was eating me up inside. Carter. Carter's face. His voice. His wicked smirk. His excited eyes. All of it swam before me, taunting me, hurting me, killing me.

Vomit rose in my throat, so I clamped one hand over my mouth and shoved myself out of his arms. I staggered out of the bed and ran for the bathroom, barely managing to make it before I emptied my stomach into the toilet. While I was being sick, Ashton rubbed my back and whispered soothing words. I pushed on his legs, pointing to the door, signalling for him to leave.

"I'm not leaving you like this," he stated, getting a washcloth and wetting it, before placing it across the back of my neck as I retched and retched.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gasping for breath. _Why that one? Why did it have to be that dream?_ Other than seeing Jack die on that fire escape, this one was the worst dream that usually haunted me – because right after the incident with the gun, Carter had pinned me to the floor next to the pile of my own vomit and had taken my virginity.

My whole body was shaking as I wiped my forehead, sitting back on my feet as I gasped for breath.

"Calm down, Baby Girl. Take deep breaths and calm down. Everything's fine, I promise you," Ashton whispered, adjusting the cool cloth on my neck.

My chin wobbled as I looked over at him sitting on the floor next to me. I could see the pain on his face; he looked helpless, like he didn't know how to help me. At that moment, my body reacted instinctively. I whimpered and threw my arms around his neck, holding him tightly as I sobbed against him.

He groaned, wrapping his arms around me and rocking me gently until I finally managed to calm down. When he moved to pull back, I shook my head in protest, clamping myself against his chest. "Don't leave," I begged. I couldn't let him go anywhere. I couldn't go back to dreaming like that again every night, I didn't want to be without him.

"Anna, let go," he whispered, reaching up and unclasping my hands from his neck.

Rejection made my eyes sting as I clenched my teeth together and dropped my eyes to the floor. As he stood up, I realised that this was entirely my fault. He was leaving because I'd pushed him away by not trusting him. I'd pushed him out of my life, and I was now going to have to deal with the consequences of that.

Instead of leaving though, he bent down and slipped his arms around me, lifting me easily off the floor and holding me tightly against his body. I looked up at his face, shocked as he pushed the bathroom door open and carried me over to the bed.

Wordlessly, he laid me down and curled around me protectively. Not daring to hope that this meant what I thought it meant, I burst into another round of sobs and scooted closer to him, burying my face into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Ashton. Please don't leave, please?" I begged, clutching him tightly.

He stroked my hair. "I'm not leaving," he murmured, kissing the top of my head. My heart skipped a beat at his words, and I pulled back to look at his face to check if he was just saying that to calm me down. "I'm not leaving," he insisted, kissing my forehead and cheeks.

"Really?" I whimpered. He nodded in confirmation as he bent and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes, and a small smile twitched at the corners of my mouth as his words sank in. "I'm sorry," I croaked.

"I know. It's alright. Just go back to sleep. I'm staying right here, I promise." His arms tightened around me as he rested his chin on top of my head. Closing my eyes, I pressed my face into his chest and let his smell waft over me. My heart seemed to slow down as the dread and loneliness slowly receded. As his hand stroked my back softly, I realised that I actually loved Ashton's smell.

### Chapter Eighteen

I woke in the morning trapped underneath him. I was on my back, and he was lying on me, his head on my chest, his arms either side of my body and his bottom half between my legs. He was heavy, but, in a weird way, it was actually a pleasant weight. A quick glance at the clock told me it was only six thirty; I could let him sleep for another thirty minutes. I wrapped my arms around him and ran my fingers through his messy, black hair.

Shame washed over me because I'd doubted him at the gym by thinking that he'd hit me. I should have known better and had more faith in him. My eyes raked over his handsome face and I felt the frown slip onto my face. I was so attached to him already; I really shouldn't have let this guy past my defences. It scared the life out of me that I needed him. I deliberately pushed everyone away so that I would never have to feel loss again, but I'd felt it last night. I had known him just a week, yet I'd felt it when he'd walked off, and this dependency would only get worse.

After half an hour, the alarm buzzed so I quickly silenced it, but it was too late, he'd woken. His eyes fluttered open as he lifted his head, looking down at me.

"Hi," I greeted sheepishly.

He smiled sadly "Hi, you okay?" he asked.

I winced, knowing that I'd probably never be able to take it back or make it better. He'd always know that I didn't have faith in him when it mattered. "I'm really sorry, honestly, I'm so sorry, Ashton."

He sighed and shifted on top of me, pulling himself higher so he was hovering above me. "I would never hurt you." Sincerity dripped from every syllable as he looked directly into my eyes.

My heart throbbed painfully at the intensity of his look and the way he said the words. "I know. I don't know what I was thinking. You were just so angry and then you grabbed me, and I just... I don't know," I swallowed, trying to keep the tears at bay again.

"Anna, no matter how angry I was, I would never do that. I promise you." I nodded, unable to speak. "You thought I was gonna leave?" he asked, stroking my hair away from my face.

"I thought you'd already left," I admitted.

He shook his head, frowning. "I won't leave you. Even if we had a huge fight, I still wouldn't leave you," he promised.

With his eyes blazing with truth, I believed him. The only way he would leave before his assignment was over was if I had him transferred, because he wouldn't quit. I looped my arms around his neck, smiling happily now.

"Thank you," I whispered, gratefully.

"You don't have to thank me, Baby Girl." He bent his head and planted a soft kiss on my lips, pulling back after a fraction of a second. I didn't even have time to react before he pushed himself up off me, straddling my hips as he grinned down at me. "I guess I'm squashing you, huh?"

"I liked it," I muttered, chuckling as heat flooded my face at my admission.

He grinned too and dropped down onto the mattress next to me instead. "Guess I didn't even get to try out the new sofa bed." He nodded towards the new addition to my room. Apparently it had been delivered while we were at school.

I smiled and shrugged. "It looks like it would be comfy too," I teased. "Probably more comfortable than sleeping on top of me." I frowned at the sofa bed, resenting it a little because I would actually rather him sleep in my bed with me, especially after last night – so long as I could manage to keep a hold on my slutty side that only ever seemed to come out when I was around him.

He laughed. "Doubt it." His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me tightly against him as he looked at me intently. "Anna, will you tell me why you train like that? I can understand you pushing it with the self-defence stuff, but the running I just don't understand."

I sighed, I'd never talked to anyone about this before, but I felt like I owed him an explanation for it. "It takes my mind off everything. It gives me something else to think about. The more it hurts, the easier it is to forget everything else and just focus on the pain. It's just something I've done since... well, since Carter." My voice cracked when I said his name.

He nodded sadly. "I can't stand to see it though. I know you like to run, but do you have to run for thirty minutes flat out like that? I mean, you ran so damn fast that I don't think I would have been able to keep up with you. And that last minute," he blew out a big breath, "damn, you looked like you were ready to die, and yet you went faster? It was awful to watch," he winced, swallowing hard.

I frowned. When you looked at it from his point of view, it did sound kind of over the top. "Okay. I'll try and tone it down. Can we just leave it?" Not liking the turn in conversation, and wanting to think of more pleasant things, I leant in closer and pressed my face into the side of his neck. I sighed in contentment as I inhaled his delicious smell. There was nothing else like it in the world.

"Do I smell bad or something?"

I jumped back, realising what I was doing. "Sorry." I chuckled nervously, looking anywhere but him.

He laughed. "Are you telling me I should go for a shower?"

"No!" I protested. "You smell good. It's soothing. You smell like-" I stopped quickly when it dawned on me what I was about to say. I gulped, sitting up. "Never mind. Do you want breakfast?"

As I scooted towards the edge of the bed, his hand closed over my arm, thwarting my escape. "Hey, not so fast! I smell like what?" he asked.

I winced. "I don't want to say," I whined.

One of his eyebrows rose playfully as he tugged on my arm so I fell back onto the bed. He grinned as he quickly manoeuvred himself so he was pinning my arms above my head and my body was trapped underneath his. "If you don't tell me, we don't go to school today." I chuckled and shook my head. I didn't want to go to school anyway, I would rather he pinned me to the bed all day. "Please tell me," he breathed, pulling out the puppy dog face.

I groaned, done for. "Oh, for goodness' sake, fine! You smell like safety, like home," I admitted, turning my head to the side so that I wouldn't see his face as I said it.

His grip loosened on my arms as he pushed himself off me, sitting up. From the corner of my eye, I could see him looking at me. "You want to know what you smell like to me?" he asked quietly. I nodded without looking at him. "Your smell scares the life out of me. You smell like commitment and marriage," he said simply.

The air rushed out of my lungs as I sat up and looked anywhere but him. I knew he was joking, but his casual joke about marriage made my stomach twist into a knot. "That's not funny. I told you mine seriously," I muttered, shaking my head and climbing out of bed. He didn't answer as I headed out of the room, already deciding that I'd make bacon for breakfast. I needed the energy today and cooking it would be a welcome distraction from the thoughts that were trying to force their way into my head.

In typical guy fashion, he was showered, dressed and looking like a Greek God by the time the food was ready. As he walked out of the bedroom, I set bacon and eggs in front of him. "Wow, that's great service," he joked, sitting himself at the kitchen island. "By the way, are you busy Friday night?" he smiled a little nervously.

Busy? If I was busy then he'd already know about it. "No, why?"

He cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck absentmindedly. "How about we make Friday nights our date nights?"

My ears picked up the plural of that sentence. Did he mean every Friday was date night?

He grinned. "I was thinking dinner and a movie. That's a good first date, right?"

I smiled at how unsure he looked. "What would you normally do with a girl if you took her out?" I asked, curious as to why he seemed to be asking for my input.

He grimaced a little. "Er, a bar then her place, probably."

"Wow, and you don't think you're a player?" I teased. "Why her place? So you can leave when you want and don't have to stay the night?" I continued, giggling at how uncomfortable he looked. I had completely hit the nail on the head; clearly that was the exact reason. "So, what would you do for a second date then? Because, technically, the lake was our first date, you said so yourself," I said matter-of-factly, enjoying him squirming.

He cleared his throat. "Well, on a second date, we'd probably skip the bar and just go to her place."

"And the third?" I inquired, grinning.

"I've never been on a third date," he shrugged, shovelling his food into his mouth.

My mouth popped open at this admission. "Seriously? When you said you'd never had a girlfriend, I thought you meant like a serious one, not like you'd never been on more than two dates."

"I've never met a girl I wanted to date. I told you that," he replied, finishing his food in record time and heading over to the sink.

I rolled my eyes. "Right, I know, you're not a player, just misunderstood," I mocked, grinning as I finished up my food too. I held out my empty plate for him to take. He seemed remarkably domesticated, aside from cooking; he was very adept at tidying up after us both.

"Hey, you want to go shooting tonight? While I was on the net last night, I found one that's not too far away. We could go join," he called as I walked to the bedroom.

I gulped. I wasn't actually sure if I could see a gun again after my dream last night, but I didn't want to have to explain that to him. "Um, sure."

School was good, just like the day before. As promised, Ashton's presence kept all of the guys away from me so I didn't need to worry about anything. Again, we had lunch with what was fast becoming our group of friends. Before the end of lunch, I exchanged numbers with Rosie. I could see the disapproval on Ashton's face – probably because of the 'safety factor' as he so often called it, but to me it was no big deal. Rosie was actually a genuinely nice girl, I liked her.

Throughout the day, Ashton kissed me a few times again. Each kiss seemed to spark something deep inside me. It was like some sort of age-old primal instinct that I had no control over. I both liked and hated it at the same time.

Too soon though, we pulled up at the shooting range that Ashton had found. Nerves were churning in my stomach, and I wrung my shaking hands, chewing furiously on my lip as he cut the engine in the parking lot. I wasn't sure I could get out of the car. My whole body was stiff, frozen in place as Ashton climbed out and walked around the car to my side.

This was all because of the dream last night. The dream was the whole reason that I was terrified of guns. During my time with him, I'd seen Carter shoot people, but that was the only time I'd ever had a gun put into my hand. The experience had scarred me deeply.

"You okay?" Ashton asked, as he opened my door and bent down to see why I hadn't moved to get out. I shook my head in answer. He reached in, unbuckling my seatbelt before taking both of my hands and squeezing them gently. "I promise it's fine," he cooed.

I flicked my eyes up to his face, seeing the concern in his eyes. "I don't think I can," I whispered, shaking my head.

Without answering he leant forward and planted a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth, squeezing my hands again. All of my worries seemed to melt away as his warmth and safety washed over me, giving me the confidence to move my heavy legs and let him help me out of the car.

"You can," he replied, nodding sternly. "But if you don't want to, then we'll just go home. It's your choice."

I closed my eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths before clasping his hand in a vice-like grip as I nodded in agreement. With him at my side, I could do it, and if I couldn't, then I'd just ask him if we could leave. "I want to. Just don't let go."

"I won't," he promised. I gulped, swallowing the squirming terror that was building in my chest as he led me inside.

I pressed into his back as he filled out a couple of forms, signing us in and setting us up a membership so we could go whenever we wanted to. When he was finally done with the paperwork, the guy led us to one of the lanes in the middle. Thankfully, we were the only ones in there, so it was quiet apart from the radio humming old eighties tunes in the background.

I whimpered and turned to Ashton, watching as he sent off one of the little target sheets the same distance away as I had it last time. When he was satisfied with the sheet, he turned and put my goggles on for me before he covered my ears with the headphones. He smiled and reached behind him, unclenching my hand that I had fisted onto the back of his shirt, holding him tightly.

"You sure you want to do this?" he checked, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb as he straightened my aching fingers for me. I hadn't even known I was holding him that tightly until then. I nodded weakly, eyeing the door warily as I decided if I should run or not. Before I could make up my mind, he moved behind me, pressing his chest against my back as his arms wrapped around me tightly. "Breathe, Anna," he instructed. I gulped and sucked in a ragged breath as he picked up the little, black handgun from the box he'd been given. Immediately, I shrank back away from it, trying to melt into his chest. He rested his chin on my shoulder as he held the gun out in front of me. "Take it when you're ready."

My hands were sweating, so I had to wipe them a couple of times on my jeans before I reached up and let him put the heavy gun into my hand. "Oh God," I whimpered.

His hands closed over mine, holding them tightly. "Remember the safety button, and whenever you're ready, go."

I took a couple of deep breaths to try and steady my nerves. When I realised that it wasn't going to get any better, I flicked the safety off, aiming for the target and shot all six bullets in steady succession. It actually wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. The whole dream thing must have distorted it in my head. Deep down though, I knew that having Ashton there was the key, he was the only thing keeping me together.

Wordlessly, he took the gun and changed the cartridge for me. The whole time, his arms were around me securely. After shooting another six rounds, I finally put the gun onto the counter and breathed a sigh of relief. Ashton turned me around and hugged me tightly, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm so proud of you. I didn't think you'd be able to do it when we were at the car," he congratulated.

I smiled back. "Neither did I."

"Let's see your skills." He pressed the button, calling in my sheet. I smiled, not actually that bothered where my shots had gone, I was just happy to have overcome my fear and not crumbled under the pressure of it. As it turns out though, I'd done pretty well considering my hands were shaking. Almost half of my shots were within the outline of the body.

"Are you gonna have a go?" I asked, eyeing the gun cautiously. It was weird but I wanted to see him in action. The couple of times that I'd seen him with a gun he'd looked menacing, yet sexy in a weird way.

He shook his head. "Nah, it's okay," he replied, shrugging.

I wasn't expecting the disappointment that settled over me. "Oh come on, I haven't seen you shoot yet."

His head cocked to the side, regarding me curiously before he finally nodded. "You," he pointed to me, "there," he continued, pointing to the side of the booth where we were standing.

I grinned at his order and did a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

He laughed and walked over to me, taking my ear defenders and putting them back on for me before trailing his fingers across my cheek softly. "Don't move."

I gulped and nodded in agreement as he walked back to the counter, sending off a fresh target off into the distance. He didn't stop it at the point I had mine at; instead, he sent it all the way back to the other wall, a solid sixty feet away.

The way he stood was sexy as hell: one leg back, knees a little bent, slightly turned to the side and arms out front. I could just imagine him standing like that in his uniform that I'd seen in that photo. _Talk about mouth-watering,_ I mused.

I saw him glance at me from the corner of his eye before he picked up the gun, aimed and squeezed off six shots, changed the cartridge and then shot the other six, all in the space of about fifteen seconds.

My mouth popped open in shock because it had all happened so fast. He turned back to me and laughed. I was vaguely aware that my eyes were wide and that my mouth was hanging open in awe of what I'd just seen. I'd actually never seen anything so sexy in my life.

He put the gun down and motioned me over to him. "Go on then, pull it in." He nodded at the recall button.

I pressed it and we waited while the paper made its way all the way back to us. When it stopped, I was a little lost for words. Every single shot that he'd made was on point. In fact, he had made two little groups of shots, one on the centre of the chest and the other in the centre of the head. He had grouped the shots so closely that it actually looked like two large holes instead of twelve little ones.

"Holy shit, that was incredible," I gushed, still looking down at the paper in awe.

He shrugged as if it were nothing. "You forgot I was a badass?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "How did you even do that so fast?"

"Practice, lots of practice," he winced as he spoke, probably at the memory of being made to shoot continuously or something, like when he'd told me about having to swim all night as punishment for pulling a prank.

The training academy that he went to sounded like torture; I had no idea why he'd liked it there so much. "And you can honestly say that you enjoyed your training?" I asked incredulously.

He nodded, putting all of the guns and equipment back into the box. "Yep, best time of my life," he confirmed. "Well, up until that point anyway."

I raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Up until that point?"

"Yeah. You're the best time of my life now," he replied, closing his hand over mine and walking off to the reception without waiting for me to answer.

A blush crept over my face as I bit my lip, fighting a smile. My heart was crashing against my ribs because of how sweet that comment was. I knew he was only joking around, as usual, but for some reason his comment made my skin prickle with excitement.

The days passed quickly. Ashton and I were growing closer and closer the more time we spent together. I was just so comfortable with him now that I didn't even pay attention to how close he was to me. The pretending to be a couple charade seemed to be getting easier and easier, and I actually couldn't seem to get through the day without a few of his hugs. His arms were comforting to me in a way that I never expected.

Since that night when I thought he'd left, Ashton and I had shared a bed a couple of times. Of course, we had the swanky new sofa bed in my room, but that night after going shooting, I hadn't wanted to be alone so I'd snuck over into the sofa bed with him, just needing to be comforted. The next night I just asked him to sleep in with me because I was actually becoming addicted to that safe, contented feeling that I got whenever his arms were around me. I slept so much better when he was snoring in my ear. Luckily, I'd managed to contain my slutty side that liked being in his arms _way_ too much.

Before I knew it, Friday arrived, which also meant our 'date'.

Unfortunately, I was still tired because the night before it had taken me hours to fall asleep because I'd never been on a proper date before. Jack and I had been out to places, but because we were just kids, we only went to fast food restaurants or the movies or something.

I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the skin just under my eye, squinting, trying to see if I needed to add a little make-up to hide my sleepless night. A knock at the bedroom door made me jump. "Anna, I'm just gonna go next door and speak to Dean about tonight. I'll be back just after seven, alright?" He actually sounded a little nervous, probably because he was leaving me in the apartment on my own. He took his job extremely seriously.

"Yeah, sure," I called, grinning at his overprotectiveness. Turning back to the mirror, I decided that I could forgo the extra make-up. I'd already applied a little and done my hair into a cute little up-do. As I skipped over to my wedge heeled, cherry red sandals, I smiled, excited to go to this restaurant that Ashton had adamantly refused to tell me about. Much to my disgust, it turned out that the boy liked surprises.

Just before seven, I adjusted the red belt that accompanied my little, black dress and headed out to see if he was ready, but the apartment was still empty. Sighing, I sat down at the kitchen counter, waiting for him to come back. Less than a minute later, there was a knock at the front door. I glanced at it hesitantly. Ashton had strictly forbidden me to answer the door, ever. When the knock sounded again, I decided that I could take the risk. It was probably him, but if it wasn't, then no doubt I'd get scolded for it and a stern warning about my 'safety being of utmost importance to him'.

I pulled the door open quickly, and my heart jumped up into my throat. Ashton stood there looking incredibly handsome. The clothes that he'd chosen for our date fitted him perfectly, clinging to him in a way that would have any designer begging for him to model their clothes. His jeans were faded and just the right amount of scruffy, a white T-shirt clung to his body, and he accentuated it with a chequered blue and white shirt over the top, which he wore unbuttoned. My mouth started to the water at the sight of him. I was very aware that I was practically ravaging him with my eyes, so I reluctantly dragged my gaze up to his face.

As excited as I was about the date, I actually didn't want to go anymore. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to drag him inside and take his clothes off him because I knew they would look even better in a heap on my bedroom floor.

When I looked back at his face, I realised that he was still staring at me; doing exactly the same thing I had been doing moments before. I hid my grin and cleared my throat dramatically. "My eyes are up here, Ashton," I stated, trying to sound annoyed, even though I was actually flattered he was paying so much attention to my body.

He jumped, as his eyes flicked up to meet mine. "Right, yeah, sorry. I... er... I was just, er..." he gulped, shaking his head, clearly flustered at being caught.

"Checking me out?" I offered, shrugging.

He grinned sheepishly. "Right. I was just checking you out," he confirmed guiltily. I chewed on my bottom lip, tasting the sugary sweetness of my strawberry lip gloss that I'd applied. "You look stunning, Anna. You take my breath away," he breathed, letting his eyes wander my body again.

I internally swooned at his sweetness. _Does he just pull those comments straight out of a how to make a girl fall for you book or something?_ "You look extremely hot too," I replied. He didn't take my breath away exactly; it was more like he made it speed up with excitement. I grabbed his hand and gave him a little tug into the apartment. "Come on in, my boyfriend's just popped out so he won't even know," I joked, breaking the tension.

He laughed and brought his hand out from behind his back, producing a beautiful bouquet of white roses. I gasped, shocked. "Second favourite after dandelions, right?" he teased, grinning. I smiled weakly. I remembered telling him that in our little 'getting to know you' session on the dock when he'd first started. "I didn't want to give you dandelions because I thought that was Jack's thing, so I went for these instead," he added, looking a little uncomfortable as if he thought he was going to upset me or something.

Overwhelmed by emotions, but for once, not in a bad way, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment. I stepped forward and kissed him, slipping one arm around his neck as I pressed my body against his. Silently, I wondered how on earth one person could be so sweet. He was killing me with kindness. I was so confused that, at this point, I almost didn't even know which way was up.

After a small intimate kiss, I pulled away and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, they're beautiful." I headed over to the sink and picked up a jug to put them in.

"I got Peter to buy us a vase for you to use. I put it under the sink yesterday," he said easily. I smiled over my shoulder because of how thoughtful that was. This was already the most perfect date I'd ever been on, yet we hadn't even left the apartment. Leaning down, I found the glass vase and filled it with water before putting the flowers in so they wouldn't die. I'd arrange them properly later. "I got you something else too, but this wasn't specifically for our date, I just waited to give it to you until today," Ashton said behind me, sounding a little uncomfortable.

I turned to see him holding out a small, rectangular red velvet box. I gulped; already knowing that the box contained jewellery because of the name on the top of the box was the one from the jewellers in the shopping mall near the lake house. I hadn't seen him buy anything, but then again, he had left me with Dean for a few minutes while I was trying on clothes, so maybe he'd snuck off to buy it then.

"You shouldn't have bought me anything."

"Open it," he instructed, holding his hand out to me again.

I stepped forward and took the box from his hand, prying open the lid, holding my breath the whole time. Inside was a breathtaking, thin and delicate gold chain. Attached to it was a little, round pendant set with a green stone. It was so beautiful that my vision blurred as my eyes filled up.

"You said green was your favourite colour." He took the box from my hand, fiddling with it and removing the chain. "Did you know that the colour green is supposed to make you feel calm and safe? I thought it was appropriate for me to give you an emerald considering it's my job to keep you safe." He stepped behind me, setting the chain around my neck before fiddling with the clasp.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He'd brought me an emerald necklace? He seemed too good to be true, this boy. Once he'd secured it, I turned and shook my head in awe, reaching up to grasp the little pendant in my fist carefully. I couldn't help but notice how he seemed a little unsure of himself, his smile a little weak.

"It's so perfect. Thank you," I whispered, knowing that my voice would crack if I tried to speak properly.

His shoulders relaxed and his smile turned more genuine, and in that second it dawned on me that he was worried I wouldn't actually like it.

"You're very welcome, Baby Girl." He held out a hand for me to take. "We'd better go so we don't lose our table."

I sighed happily and placed my free hand in his, letting him lead me out of the apartment and to the car. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as he drove to the surprise restaurant; not once did I let go of the little pendant. I was already in love with this necklace and didn't ever want to take it off.

When we pulled up outside where we were eating, I burst out laughing and turned to him to see if this was a joke. "Seriously? You're taking me to eat at... Harvest Grill?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear as I read the sign above the awful-looking restaurant. It actually looked more like a truck stop café than a restaurant you would go to on a date.

He held up one finger to silence me. "Ah, just wait and see! You think I'm crazy now, but keep an open mind, okay?"

I shrugged, already feeling overdressed as a guy wearing a pair of jazzy, green board shorts and a string vest walked out. I sat in the car, waiting for him to come around and open the door for me. That was another one of his 'rules' that was apparently for my safety. I didn't see the point in it all, but he seemed more relaxed if I just went along with what he wanted.

As we walked into the place, I grinned, biting my lip so I didn't laugh. The place was practically empty aside from two other people. Casting my eyes around, I noticed that the tables were covered in some sort of plastic cloth, the chairs were old and had a worn covering on the base of them, and as Ashton pulled me forward, my foot stuck to the floor in a couple of places. I was definitely overdressed.

In the corner of the restaurant, there was a reserved tag on the table. "Lucky we got here on time, wouldn't want them to be overrun and have to give our table away," I joked.

Ashton laughed, waving for the waiter's attention. "Open mind, remember?" he muttered as the guy walked over to us.

By the time I was done eating, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling. As it turns out, despite the lack of ambiance in the place, I was actually having a fantastic time. The food was merely average, my chicken was a little rubbery and the fries were a little cardboard-like, but the company was faultless. Ashton and I chatted easily the whole time, laughing, joking and even flirting a fair bit too. It was the best date I'd been on by a clear mile.

When the waiter came and cleared our table, he and Ashton exchanged a secret look before he turned to me and grinned. "Now for the real reason we came here." He nodded over my shoulder and I twisted in my seat, seeing the waiter coming back. On the table in front of me he set down a ginormous slice of chocolate fudge cake and a little pot of hot fudge sauce. My eyes widened in surprise as my mouth immediately watered. Ashton had remembered my favourite dessert and pre-ordered it for me?

Ashton leant back in his seat with a smug smile. "I asked around, apparently this is the best chocolate fudge cake in the whole of Arizona."

I shook my head, bemused. He was so incredibly thoughtful. I hadn't expected anything like this in the slightest. "Seriously, I just... you've put so much thought into this, huh?"

He shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Well yeah, I guess. I just wanted to make it special," he explained. "Well try it then," he laughed, pointing to my cake.

"Aren't you having anything?"

"Nah, I need to watch my figure," he joked, winking at me playfully. More excited than I should be over a piece of cake, I grabbed my spoon and cut off a huge mouthful. "Wait, wait!" he cried, as my spoon was half way to my mouth. "You have to try it properly," he smiled and picked up the little pot of sauce, and poured it over my dessert before waving his hand, giving me the go-ahead.

After scooping a little of the sauce onto my spoon too, I greedily shoved it in my mouth. The sickly sweetness and richness of it made me moan in appreciation. It was easily the best thing I'd ever tasted. "Oh my God, you have got to try this!" I mumbled with my mouth full.

He chuckled wickedly. "Very lady like," he teased, grabbing a fork and cutting off a piece, shovelling it into his mouth. "Holy shit, that is good!" he agreed with his mouth full too. I burst out laughing, covering my mouth with my hand as I laughed so hard I thought I was going to choke.

When we finished eating, I thought we were going home, but instead of walking left to the car, he turned right and led me down a darkened side street. "What's down here?" I asked, confused.

"Just wait and see," he answered as we carried on walking. At the end of the little street, we rounded a corner and the place opened up into a sort of square. There was a small marquee covering a makeshift dance floor, with little fairy lights covering the ceiling as couples slow danced underneath. A live orchestra played classical songs nearby.

My eyes widened, stunned by the intimate little setting. "Did you know this was here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I found it on the 'what to do in your town' tourist website," he answered, smiling at my astonished face.

He took my hand, laughing, and gave me a little tug towards the dance floor. His arms wrapped around me, and I smiled as we swayed slowly to the beautiful, yet haunting music that surrounded us. It was perfect. As I looked up and his eyes met mine, my stomach fluttered erratically, and my heart started to race.

We danced for about an hour before I started to feel slightly chilly. He frowned, chafing his hands up my arms as I shivered. "Want to go?" he asked.

I shook my head quickly. I didn't ever want to leave, actually. "Not yet. Can we just stay a little longer?" I pouted, not wanting this night to end.

He smiled sadly before pulling out of my arms. I sighed, knowing the experience was over. But instead of leaving, he stripped out of his shirt and wrapped it around my shoulders instead, helping me put my arms into the holes before fastening a couple of the buttons for me.

My heart melted at the thoughtful gesture. "You're just too sweet, Ashton. Seriously, you're going to make some girl really happy." I stepped back into his body, resting my head on his chest.

"Yeah? Some girl like you?"

I sighed wistfully. "Yeah, maybe not as screwed up as me though. You need someone who'll treat you right, and not give you shit," I answered. I closed my eyes, enjoying being close to him.

"Maybe I like being given shit," he joked, tracing his hands up my back.

"What are you, a masochist?"

"All things worth having are worth fighting for," he replied firmly. I didn't know what to say in response to that. I agreed with his statement wholeheartedly, but some things were just not worth having, and I was certainly one of those things.

We danced for another few songs before the cold seemed to seep into my very bones and I could no longer repress the shivers, even with his shirt and arms wrapped around my body. "Wow, I'm really cold now," I admitted. "Maybe we could come back another time, and I'll bring a jacket," I suggested, smiling at him hopefully. I loved it here; I would definitely like to come back again with him.

He pulled back and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry; I should have thought to bring you a jacket."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, don't do that! You've been so thoughtful, and I've had a great night," I insisted, hugging him tightly.

"Me too." He kissed my temple as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, guiding me back down the windy street to where we'd parked the car. During the drive home, I watched him from the corner of my eye, just wondering what it would be like if things were different and if this were real, instead of being a ruse to fool people into believing we were dating instead of him guarding me.

When we pulled up at home, Dean's car rolled into the space next to ours. My mouth fell open in shock. "Was Dean following us?"

Ashton grinned and nodded. "Yeah, of course," he confirmed, opening my door for me.

"Why?" I asked, slightly annoyed that he had watched our private date.

"That's his job, Baby Girl," he replied casually.

I sighed and shook my head; they really were taking this too far. As Dean caught us up and stepped into the elevator, I forced a smile. "You did a great job tonight. I didn't even see you once," I congratulated, trying to keep the irritation out of my tone.

He nodded and smiled as the doors slid open on our floor. "Thanks, Annabelle, I'll see you tomorrow."

Ashton stepped out first, looking around. "Tell Peter that we're back and his shift starts now, so he's to get his ass downstairs in the lobby quick smart." His face showed he was joking, but the tone of his voice showed that he meant every word. Dean nodded and watched us walk into the apartment.

Once we were safely inside, I turned and smiled tentatively at Ashton. My daring side was coming out because I wanted this perfect night to end the perfect way. "So, do I get a goodnight kiss then?" I asked shyly. His eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn't say anything. I smiled. "What, you wouldn't kiss me at the door if this was under different circumstances?" I teased.

"Yeah, I guess I would," he smiled and stepped closer to me, putting his hands on my waist and pushing me back gently so that my back was against the wall. I couldn't breathe as my eyes settled on his luscious lips. I gulped, forcing myself to meet his eyes as he started inching his mouth towards mine. The passion was building inside me.

His lips brushed against mine gently for just a couple of seconds. My whole body tingled and heat spread through my veins, warming every part of my body. His eyes were shining with excitement and happiness as he pulled away.

I fought the urge to throw myself at him, to wrap myself tightly around him and ravage his mouth with mine. He always seemed to make me lose myself, this boy. It was like he had a secret power over me that made all of my inhibitions and worries fade into insignificance.

"Thank you for an incredible night, Anna."

I smiled. It had been incredible, and I was glad he'd had a nice time too.

He sighed, tracing his finger across my cheek. "I like it when you smile. Your whole face lights up." His hand dropped from my face as he nodded over his shoulder towards the bedroom door. "Go get changed, I'll check the windows and stuff."

Once in the privacy of the bedroom, I shrugged out of my clothes and into a pair of pyjamas, and then used a wipe to remove my make-up. When I was ready for bed, I sat down on the corner of the mattress and looked at my photo of Jack on my bedside cabinet. I sighed; I just didn't know what to feel anymore. I didn't want to go back to the life I used to have before Ashton. I was enjoying college, I loved my classes, the people here were nice and made me laugh, and of course, I had Ashton. He made my life easier. He was great. Actually, he was _really_ great, and he made me happy.

My gaze locked on my fifteen-year-old carefree face in the photo; I was smiling so happily with Jack. I hadn't ever expected to feel happy again after what happened, but I just couldn't help it lately. There was just something about Ashton. He was slowly fixing me, I could feel it. The trouble was though that I actually felt guilty for letting him. My head was telling me that I should stay the broken girl that walked through life alone, that I shouldn't be allowed to be happy after what had happened to Jack and that he'd died because of me. But my heart was telling me that I was being irrational and that just because he was gone, didn't mean that my life had to be over.

I just didn't know the answer anymore. Everything that I knew and was absolutely sure about before I met Ashton was now a little fuzzy and confusing.

Behind me, the bedroom door opened, and he walked in with a smile on his face that made my heart stutter – which, in turn, made me feel even guiltier because I just didn't have any control over my body at all anymore. I hated that. Control was something that Carter had taken away from me, and I'd fought with everything I had in me to regain it. But Ashton took it with just one of his smiles.

He smiled and started stripping off his clothes while I just stood there watching him unashamedly. _Why is every move he makes so freaking sexy?_ My eyes took in every inch of him. His body was amazing; I'd never seen anything like it. Jack's body had been nice because he'd been captain of the football team, but it was nothing like Ashton's. Ashton was just flawless, not too much muscle but clearly defined, and wasn't too bumpy to lie on comfortably. When he started unbuttoning his jeans, I had to look away, because my body was starting to long for things that I shouldn't and couldn't have.

When he picked up the spare blanket and started walking towards the sofa bed, the words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. "Will you sleep with me again tonight?" I winced, turning and climbing into the bed as my face flamed with heat. I hated the fact that I wanted his presence around me all the time.

"You want me to?"

I nodded in response, flopping down onto my front and burying my face into the pillow. Moments later, the bed dipped next to me. I turned to the side and smiled gratefully as I scooted closer to him, melting against him and pressing my face into the side of his neck as his arms circled around me. I loved him touching me, everywhere he touched, my body would tingle. His attention made me feel special and needed. At times like this, with his arms looped around me tightly, I pretended that he really was my boyfriend instead of just doing his job. I pretended that he really did want me and that he saw past the broken, dirty and used girl, to see the real me inside. The girl that I didn't let anyone else see.

"Ashton?" I mumbled against his skin, half asleep already.

"Mmm?"

"That was the best date I've ever had," I admitted.

His arms tightened around me, pulling me impossibly closer. "Good."

### Chapter Nineteen

Six weeks passed in a blur of school, drawing, laughing and flirting. The days and weeks passed so fast that I could barely keep up; somehow, Ashton made every day seem better than the last. He was always sweet and kind and considerate, always had something to talk about, or some way to make me laugh. He would kiss me occasionally, making me yearn for him so badly at times that I swore it would kill me soon. Every time it would be him that broke off the kiss first and not the other way around. Another thing that had changed in the last six weeks: I no longer slept alone. I gave up fighting the fact that I liked his hugs way too much, and in the end just suggested that we forgo the sofa bed in favour of sharing. So far it had worked out perfectly and I revelled waking each morning being wrapped up tightly in his arms.

Of course, Ashton was doing his job perfectly. I no longer had problems with guys hitting on me because he was the perfect, little, possessive boyfriend when someone got too close to me. Our 'relationship' was blossoming too. Every Friday we would go out for date night, going to different places like the movies, dinners or walks in the park. It was lovely. Another thing that was in our routine now was the shooting range and with each passing session it seemed to affect me less and less. I still hadn't gotten a better shot though, much to his amusement.

We were hanging out with our group of friends a lot too. Usually every Saturday, we would go to a bar or a party or something. Rosie was my favourite; she was adorable and funny and our personalities seemed to click instantly. I was even getting more comfortable with the guys of the group too, so much so that when Tim put his hand on my shoulder whilst laughing one night, I didn't even freak out and want to break it. I owed everything to Ashton, if he wasn't here I would still be an aggressive, quivering wreck.

I thought of Jack less often – which did make me feel guilty. Sometimes it seemed like the guilt would crush me. Whenever I was feeling down though, Ashton would always cheer me up with a joke or a hug, or a little gift. He was terribly romantic at times, downloading songs he thought I would like, or writing me little messages in the mirror so I would see them when I had a shower. He'd honestly make the perfect boyfriend for someone one day.

Today I was repaying him a little for his kindness that he'd shown me over the last few weeks. It was his birthday in a couple of weeks, and although I'd already arranged most of his gift by phone, I still had a little bit of shopping to do for it. The only problem was how I was getting away from him so I could surprise him. Of course, I'd debated sneaking out when he was in the shower, but I had a strong feeling he would freak out and worry himself to death about me. So instead I'd opted for a little white lie that Dean and Peter were helping me with.

"Hey, Pretty Boy, I'm going out with Dean today," I said casually as I made my way up the hallway on Sunday afternoon. I'd left it until now to spring it on him; otherwise he would use the advance warning to come up with some way to ensure he came with me. He was obsessive about not leaving my side even for a minute.

"What? Why? Where?" he asked, walking up behind me and taking my hand, stopping my escape.

"I have an appointment," I lied, shrugging and looking longingly at the door.

He frowned; his body tensing. "Your legs don't look that hairy to me," he joked, looking me over in my cropped jeans.

I laughed weakly. "Well, maybe I'm not having my legs done." I smirked at him, tapping his nose with my finger.

He groaned, turning to grab his car keys. "I'll come with you."

I shook my head sternly. "No way! You'll look like an obsessive stalker boyfriend that can't let his girl go to get waxed without him being there! You said I could have some privacy for this," I whined, pouting. I'd become pretty adept at getting what I wanted from him. He didn't seem to be able to tell me no very easily, unless it was something about my safety and then he would refuse point blank and not budge an inch.

"Well, you can't go with one guard so..." he trailed off, shrugging as if it was decided.

I rolled my eyes. "Peter's coming too." I pushed him away from the door gently and took the keys from his hand, tossing them back onto the side. "I'll see you later." I grinned, knowing I'd won. As I turned to make my exit, his hand closed over my arm, holding me in place as he put his cell phone to his ear.

"Hey, Dean, are you taking Anna for her appointment? Yeah, Peter's going too though, right? Okay, well I should have been told. I don't know why I wasn't informed earlier. Look, just stay with her. I want you inside the store. No, inside! Peter can be outside. Right, I know. Yeah fine. Call me when you leave there," he growled into the phone sounding a little grouchy and extremely authoritative. There was no doubt that Ashton was in charge out of the three of them; even though he was only twenty-one, the other two really respected him. He disconnected the call and looked at me sternly. "Anna, you do not leave Dean's side. You do as you're told, and you call me and let me know you're okay when you get there and as you're leaving," he ordered, his face stern and warning.

I giggled. I love the sexy SWAT agent mode he switched into sometimes. "Yes, sir," I purred, pursing my lips. I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm serious, Anna," he stated, looking me straight in the eyes.

I sighed. "I know you're serious. You only call me Anna when you're serious. I promise I will stay with Dean at all times, and I'll call you when I get there," I reassured him, smiling.

He frowned, still looking annoyed. "And when you leave," he added.

I nodded, grinning. "And when I leave," I agreed. "If you're really worried, you could always call me." I stepped forward and kissed his cheek softly.

When he hugged me I could feel how tense he was all over, his muscles all bunched up and tight. "Be safe, please?" he begged.

"I will," I promised. "Make sure you do something fun while I'm not here. Sleep with some girls, walk around naked, call Nate, I don't know," I suggested, waving my hand in an example of the various things he could do while he was free.

"Sleep with some girls? You know you're the only girl I sleep with."

"Sorry, bad choice of words. Go get laid, Ashton, and chill out," I replied grinning.

"Maybe I will, what will you say then?" he teased.

My heart suddenly stopped, and I got so jealous that I could feel the anger bubbling up inside me, bursting to come out. _Holy crap, he's not yours, Anna! The man has needs, stop being an idiot; you don't want to be with him._ However, my mental scolding didn't stop the jealousy from brewing inside me.

"I would say, use protection and don't make my bed smell like sex," I lied, frowning, trying to sound blasé about it.

He sighed deeply and frowned; I got the distinct impression that wasn't the answer he wanted. "Right. Well, be safe," he muttered, pulling open the front door.

I frowned angrily at myself. What the heck was wrong with me? Why was I so jealous? I wanted to wait outside the apartment, stalker-style, and wait to see if a girl showed up and if she did, I wanted to rip her head off. I took a few calming breaths and forced myself to stop being possessive over a man that wasn't actually mine. As I walked out of the apartment, I could see Ashton in quiet talks with Dean and Peter. They both looked appropriately abashed so I would imagine they were being berated for not telling him we were planning on going out for a while.

Without waiting for them, I pressed the call button on the elevator and stepped in when it opened. "You two coming or am I going on my own?" I called teasingly as my finger hovered over the close doors button. Ashton's hand slammed against the door frame, holding it open as he raised one eyebrow in silent warning and then ushered my two far guards in with me.

As the door closed, I winced in Dean's direction because he was the one that seemed to have taken the brunt of Ashton's annoyance. "Sorry. Thanks for doing this guys, I know he's gonna be calling and being a general pain in the butt until we get back." I smiled apologetically at the pair of them.

He shook his head and smiled back. "Don't worry about it, Annabelle, he's harmless. Well, as long as we bring you home in one piece," he joked as the elevator lurched down towards the parking lot floor.

An hour and a half later, I had everything that I wanted. "Do you guys mind keeping all of this stuff at yours?" I asked as we pulled up at our apartment.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, no probs," he agreed, picking up the numerous bags containing my shopping. "Come on; let's get you back with Ashton before he has kittens. He's already called me eight times," he suggested, grinning.

As soon as I walked through the door of our apartment, Ashton grabbed me into a huge hug; I laughed and hugged him back as he lifted me off my feet so he didn't have to bend. My legs seemed to act of their own accord as they wound around his waist, clamping myself to him tightly. He carried me into the lounge and sat on the sofa with me still wrapped around him, not wanting to let him go. It was weird being without him actually; I'd missed him so much more than I thought I would. I was certainly used to being around him all day everyday.

"Does our bed smell like sex?" I mumbled into the crook of his neck.

"No. I did her up against the wall," he answered. I laughed, but part of me was crying out for reassurance. I pulled back to look at him and he put his hands either side of my face, looking me right in the eyes. He looked stressed; his hair was extra messy where he'd probably been running his hands through it a lot. "I missed you," he whispered. I could see by his fierce expression that he meant it, and it made my heart throb.

"I missed you too," I admitted. He smiled and pulled my face to his, planting a soft kiss on my lips for a few seconds before pulling me into another hug.

I sighed contentedly against his skin of his neck as I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to press my mouth against his again. His kisses sparked this needy reaction in me every time. "So, what did you do with yourself?" I asked, making no moves to get off his lap.

"Not much. I watched a bit of TV, then worried about you. Went on the internet, then worried about you again. Spoke to Nate, and oh yeah, I worried about you some more."

I smiled and pulled back to look at him. "You are such an overprotective guy. Seriously, what are you going to do with yourself in six months when you don't have me to worry about anymore?" I asked, genuinely curious as to what he would do with his spare time.

"I'll still be worrying about you, trust me," he answered, stroking my face.

At that moment, my stomach growled loudly. "Wow, embarrassing. Shall we order a pizza? Or maybe Chinese?" I asked, not wanting to cook.

"Yeah okay, I'd probably prefer Chinese," he agreed.

A little while later the food arrived; I'd already changed into my lounge clothes of tank top and sweats. We ate sitting on the sofa, watching TV, joking around and flicking rice at each other. I hadn't mentioned his birthday and neither had he. He'd probably forgotten that I even knew the date. Based on what he'd said before about not celebrating Christmas or birthdays, I had the distinct impression that he wasn't expecting anything for his birthday from anyone.

When we'd finished eating, he settled onto the sofa and found an old horror movie for us to watch while I took the empty plates back to the kitchen. "Come lie with me," he suggested, holding his arms open for me as I walked back into the room. I went to him immediately. My body just seemed to respond to his every request; it was like I didn't really have a choice. Smiling to myself, I lay down next to him on the sofa. His arms wound around me tightly, holding me against his chest so that his whole body pressed against mine from behind.

"I really missed you this afternoon," he whispered.

His words hit me harder than I ever expected them to. "I missed you too, Pretty Boy," I replied, snuggling into his embrace.

About half way through the movie I lost interest in it, all because Ashton was trailing his fingers along my upper arm. I didn't think he was even aware he was doing it, but my whole body was almost vibrating with excitement. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than the smooth silkiness of his fingertips against my skin. I moved my hand back and rested it on his thigh. Scooting backwards, I tried to get impossibly closer to him. Because of the position we were in, I could feel that he was starting to get a little excited downstairs. I gulped at the feel of it as my body seemed to come alive. The desire that I felt for Ashton frightened me, but when it hit me it was almost as if I had no control over myself.

Holding my breath, I rolled over to face him. He smiled that little smile that seemed to make my stomach flutter and my body ache. Needing to be closer, I bent my head and pressed my lips against his. As soon as the kiss started, something inside me snapped, and all my restraint seemed to fly out of the window. He made no moves to do anything else other than kiss me back, the same as always, but I needed him tonight, I couldn't take it anymore.

Seemingly of its own accord, my hand slid down his chest. A little shiver of anticipation overcame me as my hand got to the waistband of his jeans. When I pushed one finger inside, following the outline of it across his skin, he broke the kiss and pulled back, his eyes wide and wary.

I gulped, meeting his bewildered eyes as the temperature in the room seemed to increase by ten degrees – or maybe that was just my body. I nodded in encouragement and bent forward, pressing my lips against his again. As soon as it started, I knew the kiss was different. It wasn't just the usual soft, chaste kisses that he gave me occasionally when we were at school or sometimes at home when he seemed to forget himself, no, this one was full of fire and passion. The small moan that he made in the back of his throat made my body go into some sort of frenzy.

When the kiss deepened, he moved so that he was half hovering above me, but he still didn't make any moves to take things further. Knowing I needed to spell it out for him, I slid my other hand down his chest too and got to work on his belt buckle, pulling it open before starting on the buttons.

He grunted and pulled back slightly, his eyes wide and shocked. "Anna... what?"

I smiled and bit my lip; the need for something else was making me ache. I wriggled under him. "It's okay," I whispered, reaching up and gripping the back of his head, guiding his mouth back to mine again.

Obviously taking the hint, he kissed me back desperately as his hands finally seemed to catch on to what I wanted. I whimpered under him, closing my eyes as his hands traced my body slowly, slipping under my top and finding their way to my breasts.

I couldn't keep still as he kissed down my neck, biting my overheated skin gently. As I finally got the last button on his jeans undone, he groaned, pressing against my hand. My mouth watered as I felt the hardness of him through the material of his boxers. Thoughts of the one time I'd been with him bombarded my brain as I longed to get closer, to be consumed by him, to have him possess me completely.

My fingers traced the outline of his erection as his hot mouth wandered my body before latching onto my nipple through my bra. I gasped, arching my back, loving the feel of it. My shyness and overthinking mind was long gone now, only to be replaced by a needy, desperate being that needed this to happen more than anything in the world. I pushed my hand inside his boxers, closing my fingers around his shaft. His whole body seemed to stiffen as he groaned. With my free hand, I gripped the back of his hair and pulled his mouth up to meet mine again.

As I got to work, stroking him softly, his hand seemed to be hovering at the waistband of my sweatpants as if undecided if he should do it or not. I squeezed my eyes shut, lifting my hips in silent invitation.

Just as I thought his hesitance would drive me insane, he pushed his hand inside slowly, trailing his palm over my thigh and squeezing my ass gently. The kissing turned a little animalistic then as he practically devoured me, kissing me with such intensity that if I'd been standing, it would have knocked me clean off my feet.

He moaned into my mouth and slipped his hand inside my underwear, tracing his fingers over my wet folds. I wriggled, gasping as a little burst of pleasure erupted inside me. Tingles spread across my body from every place that his hand touched. I continued to pump him while his hand slid further down and he slowly pushed two fingers inside me. I moaned his name, before biting on his lip roughly in an attempt to try and get a hold on the pleasure he was creating as he slowly worked his fingers inside me to the same rhythm than I was stroking him.

When he flicked his wrist the other way around, massaging me with his thumb at the same time, I almost lost my mind as the pleasure became almost too much to bear – almost, but not quite.

His movements were speeding up, his breathing coming quicker and shallower as I sped up too, squeezing gently with each stroke. "Anna," he murmured against my lips as he kissed me passionately, almost making me dizzy. I was almost there, I could feel it building. With each thrust of his fingers, he was pushing me closer and closer to the edge of that cliff.

My pulse was drumming in my ears; I was barely able to breathe. Suddenly, my body felt like it exploded with pleasure, making me arch my back into him. I threw my head back and cried his name as my body vibrated and convulsed around his fingers. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over me, dragging me under, drowning me in it. I'd heard girls talk about seeing fireworks when they climaxed, but I'd never actually believed them until now. Ashton's body tensed against mine as he pressed his face into my neck. He made an incredibly sexy, little grunting sound as he came onto my hand.

I sighed and closed my eyes as my body slowly came down from the extreme high. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. My body felt relaxed and satisfied. When he eased his fingers out of me, my body jerked from the after effects of my orgasm. Forcing my eyes open, I saw him grinning down at me before he dipped his head and kissed me softly.

I smiled against his lips as he settled down next to me on the sofa, propping himself up on his elbow. He looked just as I felt: happy, contented and tired.

Scooting closer to him, I closed my eyes and breathed in his delicious smell that always made me feel safe and protected. His lips pressed to my cheek softly before trailing little kisses down the side of my neck. I giggled and squirmed as he nibbled on my earlobe. Finally, he pulled away and laid his head down next to mine, just watching me silently. I had the distinct impression he was waiting for me to speak first.

The edge of sleep was already tugging at my eyelids making them heavy. "Thanks," I mumbled.

He burst out laughing at my comment. "You're welcome, ma'am," he whispered, causing goosebumps to break out over my skin. His heavy arm was placed over me as he pulled me closer to him, stroking my back until I was asleep.

I woke up cuddled in his arms. My body was draped over his chest; we were both fully clothed. I raised my head and realised we were in bed. Silently, I wondered how on earth we got there. I definitely fell asleep on the sofa.

"Good morning, Baby Girl," he said quietly.

I blushed as suddenly all of the memories from last night washed over me. I moved off him and rolled back onto my own pillows, leaving a bit of space between us. When he didn't move to me, disappointment washed over me. _Did he not enjoy last night? Is he not even going to try and kiss me this morning?_

"Morning," I replied sheepishly, unable to look into his eyes because I was a little embarrassed.

"You okay today?" he asked, watching me nervously.

I gulped. What was I supposed to say? Was I okay? I felt okay. Actually, I felt fantastic; my body was, for once, relaxed and satisfied. I had a feeling he was asking because of Jack. The last time something had happened between us, I'd freaked out and ran off to the cemetery. But this time my confusion and unease wasn't just because of Jack and the fact that I felt disloyal to him for wanting someone else, there was something else this time too.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. You want some breakfast?" I climbed out of bed quickly, wanting to avoid this conversation. I had no idea what I actually wanted or what I felt about last night, and I knew I wouldn't be able to think about it while he was there. Whenever he was near me, all I could think of was him.

He sighed deeply. "Yeah sure."

I couldn't look at him. I left the room quickly and headed straight to the kitchen, pressing my forehead against the fridge to try and calm myself. Confusion was making my head swim. I'd enjoyed last night, _really_ enjoyed it, in fact, and my body was begging for me to go back to the bed and do it again – and an awful lot more, too. But my head was telling me that I needed to keep him at a safe distance from my heart. I just couldn't stand anymore heartache, and Ashton Taylor was not the commitment kind of guy. He'd be with me just long enough for me to really fall for him before he would run away screaming, taking my heart with him. I couldn't feel heartbreak again; I wasn't strong enough to lose someone again. I needed to tread extremely carefully here because I was in some real danger of being crushed beyond repair by him.

Absentmindedly, I scrambled some eggs and made some toast, deliberately taking my time so he could shower; that way I could go in and get dressed and hopefully avoid being alone with him until tonight at least. Maybe I would figure out what I was going to say to him by then. Last night was entirely my fault again. _I_ was the one making all the moves. _I_ was the one who touched him and gave him the green light. I'd instigated it all, and this confusion and awkwardness that I felt inside was all of my doing.

"Stupid, stupid idiot!" I scolded myself, shaking my head.

"Who's a stupid idiot?"

I spun on the spot, gasping in shock as he emerged from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go, looking every inch the gorgeous man that he was. "Er, no one. I was just thinking about something," I lied, shaking my head dismissively and quickly serving up two plates of food. I set one on the counter for him and picked up the other, deciding to eat in the bedroom today so that I could be alone.

As I walked past him, he held his arm up, blocking my path. "Why aren't you eating out here with me, like normal?" He sounded so terribly sad that it made my eyes prickle with tears.

"No reason. I just want to finish some stuff for our class this afternoon, so I thought I'd make a start while I'm eating. It'll save some time," I lied.

He sighed deeply and let his arm drop down to his side. "Right."

Clearly he knew I was lying, but neither of us said anything. I made my way to the bedroom quickly, sitting on the bed and stuffing my food down my throat even though I didn't actually want to eat. I felt strange inside. Although I didn't actually feel bad when I thought about what had happened between us last night – maybe that was the problem.

I showered and dressed in black leggings and a tank top, throwing an oversized blue and white checked shirt over the top, leaving it undone. I put on my bangles too. I didn't bother with any other jewellery anymore, the only necklace I ever wore was the one that Ashton had given me on our first date; I hadn't taken it off yet and had no plans to either. I pulled my hair into a pony tail for the day and pulled on some ballet flats. When I was dressed I didn't want to go back to the kitchen, I wasn't ready to see him again yet. So instead, I sat on the bed, watching the clock, waiting for the time we would need to leave.

At exactly eight thirty, I made my way to the kitchen, where he was standing reading the newspaper. "Hey, I'm ready to go," I mumbled, grabbing my bag and turning for the door. I heard him walking behind me, and I knew that he was waiting for me to bring up the subject first. I silently wondered how long he'd wait before he cracked and said something; hopefully I'd at least have time to figure out what I want to say.

"Morning guys," Dean greeted us happily, waiting outside the door for us as usual.

"Morning," I grunted, going to the elevator and letting them lag behind me. Usually Ashton would be holding my hand by now and making me smile, but today there just seemed to be this colossal rift between us.

I dropped my eyes to the floor and stood there in silence. Ashton didn't even glance at me, well, at least I didn't think he did, but I didn't dare raise my eyes to him in case he caught me looking. The car ride to school was silent too. When he came around my side of the car to open my door for me, he didn't take my hand like he usually did.

I gulped, hating the change in routine. I was missing his contact, missing his presence at my side. Even though he was still there, it felt like he was too far away from me. He sat next to me in classes, not speaking to me apart from when he asked to borrow my pencil sharpener. My stomach was really hurting now. I felt incredibly rejected and lost without him being his usual self. Every time I looked at him, he would smile weakly at me, but it didn't reach his eyes, it wasn't a real smile. I hated those smiles with a passion.

At the end of our morning classes, I threw my stuff roughly into my bag, not caring if my sketches got ruined or my pencils spilled from their cases. I was getting angry; I hated this cold, distant guy. I needed the old Ashton back, the one that could make me feel better in an instant by smiling or saying something silly, or flirting his butt off with me. I'd ruined everything for a quick thrill, and I hated myself for it.

I followed him down to the cafeteria, buying a sandwich and plopping down at our table of friends, making sure to choose a seat that was a couple of spaces away from him, knowing he would hate it.

"Anna, why don't you come sit next to me?" he suggested politely, but looking at me with a small warning gesture.

"I'm fine here, thank you, Ashton," I replied, using his name as he'd done to me. He hardly ever used my name, and it hurt my insides that he was doing it now. I turned away from him to talk to Rosie.

She raised one eyebrow in question. "Trouble in paradise?"

I sighed. What was I supposed to say to that? _'Yeah, he's just pissed because I finally let him touch me last night, and then refused to speak to him this morning.'_ I had a feeling that wouldn't go down remarkably well.

I shrugged. "I guess."

A frown lined her forehead. "You two are perfect for each other! What's happened? He can't have cheated on you; I've never even seen him look at another girl, not once," she shook her head sternly.

I smiled sadly. "No, nothing like that. It's just little things at home, that's all." I picked my sandwich apart, not hungry in the slightest.

Ashton leant over Rich so he could talk to me. "Anna, want to go for a walk before next class?"

I shook my head quickly. "No thanks. I really need to talk to Rosie about something," I lied, looking at her pleadingly. She nodded in confirmation, helping me out, but looking a little uncomfortable because of it.

"Anna, please?" he asked.

I huffed angrily and dropped my ruined food into the carton. _Why can't he just let me have some time?_ "Ashton, for goodness' sake, I said I need to talk to Rosie about something. Why don't you go do something with the guys?" I snapped.

He recoiled instantly, and a hurt expression spread across his face. Guilt settled in the pit of my stomach. I hated being a bitch to him. This wasn't his fault, it was mine. He hadn't done anything wrong; this was my problem and my mistake.

I sighed and stood up, walking over to his side. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. Maybe we should go for a walk," I agreed, looking anywhere but him because I didn't want to see the hurt on his face. Wordlessly, he stood up and followed behind me, putting his hand on the small of my back as we walked past a group of rowdy guys.

As we got outside, I instantly headed towards the picnic benches out the front, sitting down and staring at the sky. It was a really nice day, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue and the clouds were white and fluffy, but it could have been raining for all I cared at the moment.

Instead of sitting next to me, he squatted down in front of me, putting his hands on my knees. "Anna," he said quietly, trying to get my attention. My heart was racing. I had no idea what to say to him. I reluctantly dragged my eyes to meet his and saw what I hadn't wanted to see there all morning: hurt and confusion. "Anna, talk to me. Don't shut me out like this, please, I can't stand it," he begged.

My chin trembled as my emotions threatened to boil over. I fought desperately to keep them in check and not break down and weep. "I don't know what to say," I admitted weakly. "I guess I should say that I'm sorry. I should say that I shouldn't have done that last night and that I won't do it again. But I don't want to say that. I'm _not_ sorry. I enjoyed it." I frowned, not knowing how to express this conflict that was going on inside me. I decided to tell him the truth – well, half of it at least. I figured it was best to leave out the fact that I was frightened to death that he'd break my heart. I took a deep breath before I spoke, "Look, I like you. You are the sexiest damn thing I have ever seen, and I want you so badly that it hurts sometimes. I've never wanted anyone the way that I want you, not even Jack. But the fact is that I love Jack, and I shouldn't be doing this when I'm not over him. And the thing that is tearing me up inside is that I know I'll never be over him," I winced, dreading his reaction. This was the first time I'd ever let him into my messed-up head. Maybe this would send him running from me. He'd finally see how screwed up I was and he'd bolt.

He didn't bolt though; instead, he put his forehead to my knees and sighed. "I knew that was it. I knew this was about Jack," he mumbled, his voice muffled against my knees. "Anna, do you really think that because you don't know what to say to me, that saying nothing is better?" he asked sadly, not raising his head.

I couldn't stand the pain in his voice; I tangled one hand in his hair. "I'm sorry, but you didn't say anything either," I countered, trying to make him shoulder some of the blame that was clearly all mine.

He sighed. "I wanted to give you space, Baby Girl, I knew you needed space. I figured you'd come talk to me when you were ready, but I just can't wait any longer." He lifted his head from my knees and looked at me intently. "I really like you," he whispered, trapping me in his eyes so I couldn't look away.

My breath caught in my throat. I liked him too, but I just couldn't let him in, I couldn't. Even aside from the fact that I was still messed up over Jack, I couldn't go through another heartbreak. Everything I touched turned to shit and left in the end, and I couldn't stand for that to happen to him. Having him in my life as a friend, or even as an acquaintance, was much better than not having him at all.

"I like you too," I muttered, "but I just want us to be friends. There's something between us though, I don't know if you feel it too, but it's like a need, like something I long for, but I can't have it. I can't let you in, I'm sorry." And I truly was sorry. Sorry for all the times I may have led him on and used him for a quick bit of self-pleasure, support and comfort. That wasn't fair of me, I knew that. The words were painful to say; it felt like I was ripping my heart out, and the pain that I felt scared me even more. It was then that I realised that I'd already let him in to a certain extent.

"You can't let me in, or you won't?" he countered, not taking his eyes from mine.

"Both." I was fighting the urge to cry, I could feel my eyes prickling with tears.

He sighed. "I don't like hurting you. I think I should just request a reassignment so it'll make things easier on you."

Panic surged through me at the thought of being without him. I couldn't do it. I needed him way too much for my own good. I threw myself at him, knocking him flat onto his back as I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, afraid to let go. The emotions that were threatening to break free merely seconds before now hit me full force.

"No! Oh God, please don't go. I'm so sorry. I won't shut you out again, I won't. Please don't leave me," I choked out between sobs, gripping fistfuls of his T-shirt.

He gasped, wrapping his arms around me tightly too, stroking the back of my head soothingly. "Anna, shush. It's okay. I won't leave if you don't want me to. That was just a suggestion, that's all. I just don't like hurting you all the time. You're killing me, I swear."

I sniffed in a very unladylike fashion and pulled back so I could look at him. "I'm so sorry. I just need you around me. Please don't leave," I begged. "I just can't be with you in that way. I can't do that to you or Jack, please understand."

He sighed, cupping my face in his hands. "I understand. Just don't put me through this again, alright? I hate seeing you upset and knowing that I caused it."

"You didn't cause it. It was my fault. I'm so sorry. Please say you forgive me?" I begged. The emotional pain at the thought of him leaving me was crushing me inside.

He tilted my head down and kissed the tip of my nose tenderly. "There's nothing to forgive, Baby Girl. I enjoyed last night as much as you did." He wiped my tears off my cheeks using his thumbs. "Just promise me we'll talk through stuff in the future. Don't shut me out again, promise?"

I nodded quickly. "I promise."

A gorgeously wicked smile crossed his face. "Good. Now, how about we skip the rest of the day and go catch a movie or something?"

I laughed, wiping away the last of my tears; he always did seem to know how to make me feel better. "You're a bad influence on me, Agent Taylor," I scolded, grinning now too.

"Yeah, but you love it," he teased, rolling so that I was under him and then pushing himself up to his feet.

"Yeah, I do," I admitted. I smiled and took the hand he offered, letting him pull me to my feet. We walked hand in hand to the car as he called Dean to tell him we were leaving. As we climbed into the car, I silently prayed I could always keep Ashton in my life somehow.

### Chapter Twenty

### ~ Ashton ~

I woke in the morning with Anna nudging me gently in the ribs. I smiled and opened my eyes. She was wide awake, looking at me, grinning like the Cheshire cat. The same as every morning, her eyes were still droopy from sleep and her hair was messy and sticking out. Still, she took my breath away.

"Hi. What are you grinning at me like that for?" I asked, confused. Had I done something to make her happy? I thought back over the last few days but couldn't think of anything specific, today was just a random Thursday, so nothing was going on that I could think of.

"Well, I've got you something for your birthday on Saturday, but I need to give it to you now."

"What? How do you know it's my birthday on Saturday?" I asked, rubbing my sleepy eyes and propping myself up on my elbow.

She chuckled. "You told me, remember? When we were at my parents' house, when you first started," she explained, shrugging and leaning away from me. My stomach clenched as it always did when she was about to move away from me. I reached out and put my hand on the small of her back so I could savour the last touch before she got dressed and we were back to just being bodyguard and client. When we were all cuddled up in bed, I liked to believe we were more than that.

Instead of getting out of the bed though, she reached into her bedside cabinet and pulled out an envelope with her name on the front, but I noticed that it was addressed to next door, to Dean and Peter's apartment.

She sat crossed-legged on the bed and held the envelope out to me, grinning wildly. I smiled. Anna liked to do things for me; even just little things like making my favourite food seemed to make her happy. I loved it when she smiled.

"Here." She bit on her lip like she always did when she was excited.

Seeing her lip in her teeth like that made my mouth water. I wanted to bite her lip like that. Thoughts of her lip between my teeth and her tongue in my mouth started to play out in my mind. I felt a stir in my boxers, so I quickly looked away from her, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to think of other things.

I took the envelope from her hand and frowned uncomfortably. This was my first birthday present since my parents had died over eleven years ago and I didn't really know how to deal with it. "Baby Girl, you shouldn't keep buying me things."

She didn't need to spend money on me; to be honest, the best thing she could give me, she gave me every day – just a smile, a laugh, and her time. All I ever wanted was just to be with her. It almost killed me just to be her friend, but that was what she wanted and needed, so I tried my hardest every day to make her happy. She was everything that was good in my world, the most important and precious thing in my life, and I would always love her, even if she couldn't feel the same about me.

"I like to buy you things. Now, will you just open it before I do?" she cried, practically bouncing on the bed with excitement.

I laughed and opened the envelope, pulling out a sheet of paper. It was an itinerary for tomorrow. I frowned, confused because we didn't have any plans for tomorrow. I scanned the details quickly. At eight in the morning we were to be at the airport, ready to fly to her parents' house on the lake. Apparently a helicopter would meet us at the airport, transfer us to the Lake House, where I would deliver the jewel. The helicopter would then take me back to the airport in time for flights to LA.

My mouth was dry. "What's this?" I asked, not liking the sound of delivering the jewel and then leaving without her.

She laughed happily. "I got you the weekend off and booked you flights to go home for the weekend so you can spend your birthday with your friends!" she chirped, her eyes dancing with delight.

No. Fucking. Way!

"Anna, what?" I gasped, reading over the paper again. Apparently I was to deliver her to her parents, then fly to LA. She'd booked a rental car too for me to pick up at the airport that I would use all weekend. On Monday morning I had flights to go back to the Lake House to pick her up again and escort her back to college.

"I'm going home for the weekend, and you, Dean and Peter get the weekend off. The only trouble is that you'll be travelling most of Friday and Monday because they're being all pathetic and won't let me fly on my own, I'm sorry," she said, frowning angrily.

_She's planned for me to spend the whole weekend without her? No way, I'm not doing that!_ "You want to go home and send me off for the weekend?" I asked, shocked. I was actually a little hurt because she looked so happy about being away from me for the weekend. _Does she not feel anything for me at all?_ I immediately mentally chastised myself for that thought. I knew she felt something for me, and that she was doing this for me. Maybe she didn't realise that it would almost kill me to be away from her for that long. I couldn't do it, not for a whole weekend. I physically didn't think I was strong enough to be away from her, not just because I was desperately in love with her, but because I'd be worrying about her too damn much. What if something happened to her? What if that was the day they came for her, and I wasn't there to protect her?

She cocked her head to the side, looking like a curious puppy. "Why are you not looking happy about this? I thought you'd want to see your friends for the weekend." Her face fell, and I immediately felt terrible because I was obviously hurting her feelings.

I grabbed her and pulled her down next to me. "Baby Girl, this is really thoughtful of you, really, no one has ever done anything like this for me or put themselves out so much for me, and I love it, I do," I started, unsure how to word it. I took a deep breath, composing my thoughts. "But I just can't do that," I added, looking at her intently.

Confusion crossed her face. "You can," she insisted. "I've arranged everything; you just need to take me back to my parents first."

I shook my head. "Anna, you're not understanding me. I love the gift, but I can't go. I can't leave you," I stated, willing her to understand and not be upset.

She rolled her eyes. "Pretty Boy, seriously, you worry about me too freaking much. There are over ten guards at my parents' house, you know that. Plus, they have all the security on the house too. There's nothing that can hurt me there," she countered. "I promise I won't sneak off without guards," she said sarcastically. I smiled at her blatant lie. We both knew she would sneak out to see Jack; there was no way she'd take a guard there.

I shook my head in rejection. "I'm sorry that I'm ruining your gift, but I'm not going," I said sternly.

"Why?" she cried, looking hurt and a little annoyed.

"Anna, I don't want to be without you for the weekend. You've done this so that I'll have a nice birthday, am I right?" I asked, waving the itinerary at her, watching her face. She nodded and pouted, shooting me the begging face that I had zero resistance to. I groaned. _Oh shit, not the face! Please don't use the face on me because I can't give in on this!_ "Well, I won't have a nice birthday without you. I can't leave you," I explained, trying not to sound too much like an obsessive stalker.

A smile played on the edges of her mouth. She obviously liked what I'd said about not leaving her, and it made my insides do a flip. "But you'll get to see your friends, go out with them and get drunk. You'll probably get some birthday sex," she teased.

I mentally sighed. It was so hard being in love with this girl when she had no idea. She was making a casual comment about me getting laid, when in all honesty, I was pretty sure that I'd never want sex again if it wasn't with her. I just didn't even see other girls anymore, everyone just looked so plain compared to her and I knew they always would.

"Anna, I'm not going. Thank you for the thought, it's honestly the most special thing anyone has ever done for me, but I'm not spending my birthday without you." That was the end of it. We were staying here and I would have the best birthday ever, even if I just got to hold her for a couple of seconds. Her eyes started to fill with tears and I felt my heart break. "Aww shit. Please don't cry. I just want to spend my birthday with you," I insisted, wiping her tears quickly and kissing her cheek tenderly. She was fighting for control; I knew she didn't like to cry.

"I just wanted to give you a nice birthday," she explained, her voice breaking.

"It'll be the best birthday I've ever had, as long as I'm with you," I promised. Nothing would ever top that; just waking up next to her on my birthday would make it the best ever.

She smiled weakly. "You're just too damn sweet, Pretty Boy," she whispered, making my heart beat faster and my hands itch to touch her soft skin, to hold her and caress her, and to finally be able to tell her that I loved her.

"You know they say that it's the thought that counts? Well that's true, and this thought blows my mind, so thank you." I smiled, pressing my body against her side lightly, feeling her warmth seep into my skin and my legs brush against hers. Goosebumps broke out all over my body at the small contact of her skin on mine. I lay down next to her and sighed contentedly.

"Please think about it," she begged, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers.

I shook my head. "I can't. I don't even want to think about a weekend away from you, I'd miss you too damn much. I'd be pining for you the whole time, which would suck big time."

"But you'd get to see Nate," she countered, obviously still trying to persuade me.

"Anna, the only way I'm going to LA is if you come with me," I rebutted. _Wait, that's a great idea! I can take her with me to LA and introduce her to my friends, show her around where I live and the places that we've talked about!_ Excitement started to build in my chest at the thought of it. "Come with me," I suggested, pushing myself up so I could look at her face. She laughed, obviously thinking I was joking. I raised one eyebrow, waiting for my offer to sink in.

Her smile slowly faded. "Seriously?"

I nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah! You want me to see my friends, and I want to be with you, so that's a great solution." I was already starting to plan it out in my head. I'd have to keep Nate and Seth away from her, they were total players and probably wouldn't care that she was mine.

"Ashton, I can't," she laughed nervously, looking at me like I was crazy. She playfully pushed on my chest, so I grabbed her wrists, pinning her arms above her head. I rolled on top of her, being careful to keep my weight off her. My heart swelled at the fact that she let me do this to her. If anyone else – even her own mother – pinned her to the bed, she'd be going crazy, but she was smiling at me while I did it, her trust in me evident in her eyes. She wasn't scared of me, and I loved it. She was meant to be with me, I just needed to make her see it too.

"Sure you can. I'll get to introduce you to my friends. We'll have to keep up the girlfriend charade though because they don't know I'm assigned to you, they think I'm in Washington in Division Two," I explained, grinning happily. This was going to be great. I could tell she wanted to, her eyes were excited, but she was trying to hide it from me.

"I'd love to come, but I can't. Dean and Peter are getting time off too, I can't ask them to give up the weekend, it's been planned for weeks. We can't even stay here, we'll have to go to the lake house if you won't go to LA," she protested, shaking her head firmly.

I smiled persuasively. "How about I make you a deal?" I offered, smiling and pulling her arms higher above her head so her hands were touching. She looked so incredibly hot and trusting under me like that. I wanted to kiss her so badly that it was almost painful, but I wouldn't, she wouldn't want that.

"What kind of deal?" she asked.

She shifted one of her legs out from under me, only to hitch it over my hip and lay it across my ass so my crotch was pressed against hers. My body reacted immediately to the intimate position. I gulped and scooted down slightly so that my groin was pressed into the bed between her legs rather than onto her. She didn't need to know just how freaking crazy she drove my body. The girl had some talent, that's for sure; she could turn me on just by looking at me in the right way. It was ridiculous. I'd never felt anything like this attraction for her, it was almost animalistic, and if we were dating for real, I'd probably want to make love to her for twenty three out of the twenty four hours in the day, only allowing her time off for eating and bathroom breaks.

My brain was like mush as I struggled to remember what we were talking about before she moved and made me think of other things.

I cleared my throat as I finally composed myself. "Here's the deal. You come with me to LA if I can get them to agree to it, or if I can't, then we both stay at the lake house," I offered. "Either way, I'm spending my birthday with you," I tagged on the end.

She sighed sadly. "Ashton, I'm not gonna be able to go. It's not fair to pull Dean and Peter out of a weekend off. Dean's going home to stay with his mom; he said he hasn't seen her for almost a year."

"Is it a deal or not?" I asked, grinning slyly. I was pretty sure I could convince them to let me take her, but even if they refused, it was a win-win situation for me. Whatever happened, I would get to be with the love of my life.

"Okay, deal," she agreed dejectedly. I could tell she was disappointed; clearly, she wanted me to see my friends and was feeling bad that it wouldn't happen now. I bent and kissed her lips lightly just for a second, pulling away before I wouldn't be able to. She whimpered unconsciously as I pulled away and I couldn't help but smile. I loved that she wanted me, even if she wasn't interested in a relationship.

I climbed out of the bed, being sure to keep my back to her so she wouldn't see my painful arousal. That was another thing she did to me, she made me so damn hard that it hurt. I was literally stiff as a board, and probably spent a solid three to four hours that way every day. Not that Anna knew that, of course, I did well to keep it from her. I pulled on a pair of jeans, arranging my erection so it wasn't too noticeable.

"Where are you going?"

I turned to look at her over my shoulder and quickly looked away because she was doing the face. The pouty, pleading, hurt face that made me want to throw myself at her feet and beg her to take me, to let me spend my life making her happy, to give her any damn thing in the world. I'd known her for two months now, and in that time I'd fallen so in love with her, it was ridiculous. I would do anything for her, absolutely anything.

"I'm going to see if I can get us to LA for the weekend," I replied, smiling to myself as I imagined her waking up in my tiny apartment.

I walked out of the room and pulled the door tightly shut, unlocking my phone and dialling Maddy's phone number. "Senator Spencer's office," she answered immediately.

"Hi, ma'am, it's Agent Taylor. How are you?" I asked, being polite. I needed to get her on my side; hopefully if this went well, she would need to rearrange a lot of things for the trip tomorrow.

"Oh, Agent Taylor, I'm very well. How are you and Annabelle doing?" she asked cheerfully.

"We're both really good. Actually, I was hoping to speak to the Senator, is that possible?"

She tapped away on her keyboard. "Well, according to his schedule, he's free for the next fifteen minutes. Let me buzz you through," she chirped, putting me on hold.

I waited a few seconds, heading over and boosting myself up onto the kitchen counter. "Agent Taylor, is everything okay? How's Annabelle?" the Senator asked as he came onto the phone.

"She's very good, sir. I just wanted to talk to you about this weekend." I mentally crossed my fingers that he would say yes.

He laughed. "Ah, she's finally told you."

I smiled. "Yes, sir, she did." I winced, praying he'd consent. "Sir, Anna and I have been talking and we wondered if it would be possible for her to come to LA with me."

"To LA?" he repeated.

"Yes, sir. Anna really wants to go. I think it would be good for her, she's doing so well here." Anna was actually doing brilliantly at the moment; she loved school and was settling in really well and making friends.

"Agent Taylor, that's not possible. Your far guards have been given the weekend off, as have you. You should make the most of it. It's not a scheduled school break, but I won't ask the far guards to give up a weekend that's been promised to them," he said sternly, his tone implying that I was crazy even to suggest it.

"Sir, I wasn't asking for the far guards. I could take Anna to LA on my own. She would stay at my apartment with me. I live with another agent, his name is Nate Peters. He graduated second under me at the academy, and I know that he would be willing to protect Anna with me if I needed him to. She really would like to go," I persuaded. I had no doubt in my mind that Nate would protect her if the need arose.

"Agent Taylor, are you seriously asking me to let you take Annabelle to LA without a far guard? Do you understand what you're asking of me? Carter Thomas' organisation has been threatening her constantly and the trial is only three months away," he replied condescendingly.

I frowned angrily. Did he think I didn't know that? Did he not know that I thought about that asshole constantly and that if I ever saw him, I would rip his heart out, and wrap it in gift wrap for her?

I took a deep breath, trying not to growl my answer. "I am very well aware of the situation, sir. But I will be able to protect her; you know I can. I would die for Anna, and I would never let anything hurt her. Sir, I think you should let her go. In a little under a month's time, there's a very good chance that you're going to be elected President. Once that happens, Anna will probably never get the opportunity to be normal again. You can trust me, Sir. I give you my word that she'll be safe with me," I promised. Nothing would hurt Anna as long as I had breath in my body.

He took a deep, shaky breath, and I squeezed my eyes shut. _Please, come on, please!_ He was quiet for about thirty seconds, and disappointment ran through my veins. Lake House it was then. At least I'd get to spend time with her there, and she'd get to go and visit Jack, she'd like that.

"I'll ask Maddy to arrange the details," he answered and my heart leapt into my throat as my mouth popped open in shock. "Agent Taylor, please take care of my little girl," he begged, not sounding like the next President, but like a worried father.

"I will, I promise." I jumped off the stool, fighting the urge to do a happy dance in the middle of the kitchen.

"I know you will, son, and if it was any other Agent asking for this, then I'd say no, I just want you to know that. She trusts you, and so do I," he stated. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at his words.

"Thank you, Sir. I won't let you down," I vowed, grinning from ear to ear.

Instead of going straight in to tell her, I grabbed some bagels and spread them with cream cheese. I made two cups of coffee, putting it all on a tray, along with one of the roses from the bunch that I had bought her last week. I'd been buying her flowers every week, trying to be romantic. I grinned as I made my way back into the bedroom, seeing it empty.

I set the tray on the bed and walked over to the bathroom door, hearing the shower running in there. "I made breakfast. Are you gonna be long?"

"No, I'm just about to get out," she called back as the water snapped off.

I shivered as I imagined her standing naked in that room, just a few feet away from me, her glorious body all wet and dripping. I groaned at the thought. "Damn it," I mumbled, quickly coming away from the door and taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

She came out a couple of minutes later, a towel wrapped around her body that came to her mid-thigh, her legs still glistening. I reluctantly dragged my eyes away as she walked to the bed, pulling her pink robe over the top. A cute, little confused expression crossed her face as I placed the tray on her lap. This wasn't the type of thing I usually made her for breakfast; I usually stuck to fruit salad, toast or cereal, because everything I cooked burnt to a crisp for some reason.

I grinned smugly. "It's a typical LA breakfast."

She looked even more confused for a couple of seconds, before understanding and then excitement shot across her face. "I can go with you?" she cried, spilling half a cup of coffee all over the tray as she jerked up excitedly.

My heart leapt at her excitement. I nodded in confirmation, grinning like an idiot. "Yep, you can come."

She squealed and grabbed me, spilling the other half of the coffee over the tray in the process. As she clung around my neck, I lifted the tray off her lap and set it on the bed. Suddenly her body stiffened against mine. "Oh," she said quietly, pulling back. I looked at her beautiful face, watching the excitement fade. She looked a little sad, guilty even.

"What's up?" I asked, reaching out and brushing a loose hair up into the towel she had twisted on top of her head.

"I just feel bad for Dean, that's all."

I laughed quietly. She really was incredible this girl, always thinking of other people. "You don't need to feel bad for Dean, he's not coming. He and Peter still have the weekend off," I informed her, smiling proudly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Well, who are they sending? Not Mike, I hate Mike," she sneered at his name.

I laughed at her reaction. "No, not Mike. You don't need to worry, you like who you're going with," I said confidently. She raised her eyebrows, clearly not believing me. She didn't like any of the other guards. She had warmed to Dean, and I think she quite liked Peter too, but she hated the guards at the lake house.

She eyed me suspiciously. "Well, who's taking me then?"

I grinned proudly. "Me."

She looked at me expectantly. "And..."

"And me," I replied, grinning at her.

She gasped. "Just you? Are you freaking kidding me? No far guard?" she cried with wide eyes.

I nodded. "Just me, no far guard," I confirmed, smiling, my chest throbbing painfully because of how excited she was.

She squealed and threw herself at me; the force of it caught me off guard and threw us both off the bed. I twisted so I took all of the impact of the floor and held her protectively to my chest. It hurt a little but not too bad. I laughed as she gasped, obviously shocked at what had happened.

She cupped her hands around my face, looking at me worriedly. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

I shook my head, laughing. "I'm fine."

A smile spread slowly across her face as she took in the news again. "I really get to come to LA? Just with you?" she asked, pressing her perfectly toned body to me tightly.

I nodded. I couldn't speak; I was incredibly turned on by this position. She was straddling me and leaning over me so our chests were pressed together. Her robe had opened at the bottom, and I could see one of her legs right up to the top of her thigh. I was rock hard, and there was no way to disguise it this time, she was sitting on top of it, for goodness' sake.

"Thank you," she breathed as she bent her head and kissed me, hard, making my whole body yearn for her.

I brought my hand up to the back of her head and tried to get her closer, moaning in the back of my throat as the desire took over my body. I had the bare minimum of control when she jumped on me like this. Most of the time I could manage to keep in my mind that I couldn't upset her. If I didn't love her so much then I wouldn't even try to stay away from her. It was weird, but because I loved her, I almost didn't want to be with her, because I couldn't stand to see her upset afterwards. It was impossible to reconcile, the need to be with her, but yet, at the same time, wanting to stay away.

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.

### Chapter Twenty-One

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.

As she sat down, she brushed her fingers across the lettering of his name. "Hey. I'm really sorry I couldn't come sooner, I wanted to, but it's just too far away from my new school." She ran her hands over the grass absentmindedly. "I'm doing really good. I haven't said that in a long time, but I really am." My heart throbbed in my chest as I listened to her admit that. "I love my school. The teachers are great, and I've even made some friends," she smiled weakly.

"I brought someone with me today. He's my new near guard, the one I told you about the last time I came. He seems to be lasting well so far," she joked, laughing quietly. "He's really great, and I know you would've liked him if you'd gotten the chance to meet him. We're going to Los Angeles for the weekend. I always wanted to go there, remember?"

When she sighed deeply, my heart started to race. This was it. This was the part where she would get upset and sob, and I would have to watch it while my heart broke in two.

"Jack, I know a lot of stuff has happened that you've probably seen from where you are, and I'm sorry, but I need him. He makes me feel better, so that's not bad, right? You forgive me for trying to be happy, don't you?" she asked quietly, picking a blade of grass and rolling it around between her fingers.

I winced, shifting on my feet uncomfortably. Had she forgotten I was here? Surely I wasn't supposed to be hearing this one-sided conversation.

"People always say that you wouldn't want me to be sad, but it's really hard to believe that after what happened to you and then... after. I don't know what to think anymore. Everything is so confusing now. I hope you forgive me for letting someone else make me happy."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn't watch from a distance any longer; I walked up behind her and sat down, spreading my legs either side of her and scooting close to her back. As I was doing it, I was mentally shouting at myself for intruding on her private moment. No doubt she was going to freak out because I was doing this, being close to her in front of Jack's grave.

But, much to my surprise, she didn't freak out.

Instead, she pressed back into me and put her hands on my knees. I literally stopped breathing because she was showing me some affection in front of Jack's grave. Was that supposed to mean something? I didn't even know anymore.

"Hey, I'm nearly done." She turned her head and smiled at me over her shoulder, her face inches from mine. I nodded, unable to speak. Even if I could force a word out, I wouldn't know what to say. She turned back to the gravestone. "This is Ashton Taylor; he's been looking after me for the last couple of months. He's a great guy." She squeezed my leg affectionately, but I still couldn't speak. "So, my dad might get elected in a month and then I could officially be the President's daughter. I guess I'd better shape up my act, huh?" she joked, chuckling to herself, changing the subject. "And Carter's trial starts again in three months' time, but you don't need to worry about that, he won't get out. There's still a lot of evidence and stuff, so he'll pay for what he did to you, don't worry, okay?"

I scowled at the sound of his name. I silently wondered if she realised that she didn't mention what Carter had done to her at all. It was a little scary how she just blocked everything out like that; it couldn't be healthy for her.

She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry that I can't stay longer, but my parents are insisting I spend some time with them before we leave." She leant forward and trailed her fingertips across his name once more. "I'll come back next time I'm here, okay? I miss you. Bye." She pushed herself up and turned back to me, holding out a hand to help me up.

She didn't look too bad as we made our way silently to the car. She didn't look like the other two times we had walked away from here, like she was dying inside.

No one spoke as we climbed in the car, and I signalled to the other guard that we were ready to leave. After a couple of minutes of driving silently, she turned to me. "So, are you going to take me to this Denny's place that you keep going on about?"

I looked at her smiling face, shocked. My insides started to hurt. We'd just visited Jack's grave, she'd let me sit with her, and she didn't look like her heart was breaking. Was she finally letting go of him? Was she finally ready to move on?

I gulped. "Yeah, I'll take you to Denny's at some point before we leave LA," I promised. Anna would love it there; they served the best chilli cheese dogs in the world. After Nate, it was the thing I missed the most about not living in LA.

When we got back to the lake house, her parents had arranged lunch on the terrace for the three of them. As I was about to leave, Anna clung to my hand and silently begged me with her eyes, thwarting my escape. I smiled weakly as I sat down at the table with them, watching silently as her mother ordered another place setting because the table had only been laid for the three of them. I shuffled uncomfortably in my chair, knowing that they would probably prefer to have time alone with her, but the way Anna was clinging to my hand told me that she didn't want me to leave.

For the first ten minutes, talk was a little strained as they caught up on how her course was going and what the apartment was like. After that though, she seemed to relax and her forced smile turned into a genuine one as her dad reeled off stuff about his campaign and her mother talked nonsense about the prize begonias she was growing.

By the end of the second hour that we were scheduled to stay at the lake house for, I was slightly less intimidated by her father, and actually having a nice time. It was heart-warming to see their reactions to her smile and her laugh. It was like they were seeing her for the first time in years – well, technically, they probably were. The happiness that I could see in her mother's eyes made my skin prickle.

When the time was finally up, Maddy called Senator Spencer to tell him that the helicopter was ready for boarding. As we walked towards the noisy chopper, her father placed his hand on my arm, pulling me to a stop and letting the girls go ahead.

"Agent Taylor, I've not seen my daughter this happy in years. I don't know how you're doing it, but thank you," he said, smiling gratefully.

I grinned and shook my head. "You don't have to thank me, sir." I didn't do it for my job. Whenever she was happy, my heart would melt into a puddle on the floor, it was like this was the reason for my existence – to make her happy.

"Well, I want to. Anyway, have a nice weekend, and happy birthday for tomorrow."

I smiled uncomfortably. _Does everyone now remember my birthday?_ I mused. "Thank you, sir. And don't worry about Anna, I promise to take care of her," I vowed, wanting to add 'forever' on the end. I ran to catch up with her, and we climbed in the helicopter, setting off for the airport, both of us grinning excitedly.

The flight to LA was good. As we walked through the airport at the other end, I was careful to keep her close and check for danger. The thought of not having a far guard was a little worrying, but I didn't doubt my ability to protect her. Also, it would help that no one knew she was here with me, apart from her parents and a few guards. As far as everyone else was concerned, she'd dropped off the face of the earth; even the name she travelled under today was fake.

As we made our way over to the car rentals desk, Anna was grinning like crazy. "Hi, we have a car reservation under the name of Taylor," she informed the attendant.

His face lit up. "Ah, yes! Very unusual request for a rental. It's right outside in bay two. Here, I'll get the keys." He turned and fished through the cupboard.

Once he'd found what he was looking for, he slid a form across the counter to me. I looked it over, noticing there were no details other than 'special request' written across the top. I signed it wearily, and he led us back through the depot. Anna was practically skipping at my side. I frowned, wondering why she looked so excited.

As we walked out of the door, I burst out laughing when I saw what she'd done. She'd rented me a brand spanking new yellow Camaro, an exact replica of the one from the Transformers movie. That was something else I had said to her when we'd joked around about buying a car for us to use at school. The car was beautiful, and my hands were itching to run across the top and feel the shiny paintwork.

"Seriously? You rented this for the weekend? Damn, these are expensive!" I laughed, shaking my head at her thoughtfulness.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't turn into a giant robot though. I tried my best..." she shook her head, faking sadness.

I pulled her into a hug. "You are too funny. This is incredible. Honestly, I've never met anyone as thoughtful as you. Thank you," I gushed, holding her tightly against me.

She hugged me back. "You're welcome. No speeding though," she replied, giggling.

I grinned and popped the trunk, putting our suitcase inside. When I went to pick up the other one containing the 'girlie stuff', she pulled it away and lifted it herself, carefully setting it next to the one we were sharing. "That one's mine, so hands off, okay?" she instructed, playfully tapping her finger on my nose.

"What the hell is in there?"

"None of your business," she replied, grinning wildly.

I frowned but decided to let it go. "Let's get to my place then, and we can order some food."

She rolled her eyes. "You ate two hours ago."

Pulling open her door for her, I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a growing boy."

She chuckled, and I pushed her door closed before practically skipping around to the driver's side.

As I drove down the familiar streets, worry started to settle into the pit of my stomach. My place wasn't exactly a palace, and Anna was used to living in luxury, I definitely should have booked a hotel or something for the weekend. "Um, Anna, my place isn't exactly what you're used to. It's not really what you'd call a nice place," I said, grimacing.

"You think I care where you live?" she frowned, looking a little hurt because I was kind of implying that she was shallow.

I shook my head quickly. I didn't think of her like that at all. "No, I know you don't. It's just a little embarrassing, that's all. I mean, it's okay, but it's nothing like our place," I explained, shrugging and pulling into an empty space in the parking lot outside my apartment block. I winced as I looked around at the other cars; this car was going to stick out like a sore thumb. "This car is insured, right?"

She laughed at me. "Yeah, Pretty Boy, don't worry."

I sighed as I climbed out; waving her out of the car after checking it was safe. When I popped the trunk, she was too preoccupied with looking around and smiling to notice me get her case out of the trunk too. My hand closed over hers, pulling her close to my back as I led her across the parking lot and towards the rickety, old elevator in the lobby of my apartment building.

When we got to the third floor, I guided her along and stopped outside the door to my place. I held my breath as I pushed the key into the lock, silently praying that Nate had tidied up a little. Once the door was open, she stepped in first, and I followed behind, barely able to breathe. Nate was a total slob and liked to live in his own filth. For the last few years that we'd shared a place, I'd been the one to tidy up. The images I had in my head of what we were going to walk in on were horrifying. But, much to my surprise, it actually didn't look too bad.

As I stepped into the lounge, I felt my body relax. There were no dirty dishes or clothes anywhere, and no slutty magazines on the table; he even looked like he'd run the vacuum around. It wasn't too bad at all for a bachelor pad; I was actually quite impressed with him.

Anna smiled as she looked around. "I thought you said it wasn't a nice place, this is great." She went straight over to the photos on the wall and started looking through them. "Are these your friends?" she asked, motioning to one of me and my boys at the races last year.

"Yeah. That one's Nate," I confirmed, pointing out my best friend.

She whistled appreciatively. "Right, I can see why he gets the girls."

My heart stopped. I hadn't even thought about the possibility of her liking Nate. He was a good-looking guy and all the girls fell at his feet. I felt sick, jealousy coursing through me. What the hell would I do if she liked my best friend?

She turned back to me. "What's wrong?" Concern coloured her tone as she reached up and touched my cheek.

"Nothing," I lied, stepping away from her.

"Hey, don't lie to me. I can see that something's wrong. Tell me," she demanded, grabbing my hand.

"Nothing. All the girls like Nate. He's your typical heart throb – blond hair, blue eyes, every girl's dream. Just your type," I stated, shrugging, trying to appear unconcerned.

Understanding crossed her face as she giggled wickedly. "Are you jealous about what I said?"

I jumped. _Shit! What the hell do I say to that?_ "No," I lied.

"You're a terrible liar," she teased, stepping forward and putting her hands on my chest.

I groaned. "Okay fine. Yeah, I was jealous," I admitted uncomfortably.

She smiled again. "You don't need to be. He's not right for me at all. Besides, I already have a boyfriend, and he's extremely hot," she flirted, running her hands down my chest and catching hold of my belt loops.

My body was going crazy at her casual, playful touch. "Right, yeah, I forgot you already had someone," I grunted, my voice sounding thick with lust. I wanted her so badly that it was almost driving me insane.

"You forgot? Maybe I should remind you more often."

I gritted my teeth. "Maybe you should."

She smiled seductively and stepped closer, pushing me down onto the sofa, falling on top of me. She kissed my forehead and nose. "You don't have anything to worry about, boyfriend. You're the only one I could ever let this close to me," she promised, kissing along my cheek. Her breathing was speeding up with excitement, making me long for things that I shouldn't even think about.

How could I have been so stupid? She couldn't even let other men close to her, that was how I knew I was the one for her. When her soft lips connected with mine, I kissed her back, hard, rolling so that she was trapped underneath me. As the kiss deepened, one of her legs wrapped around my waist and clamped me against her. I moaned into her mouth, enjoying the last few seconds before I knew I had to pull away.

"Anna, come on, Baby Girl, let's stop now, huh? I can't have you getting upset," I rasped, breaking the intense kiss but staying on top of her.

She sighed dramatically. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes it's just hard to resist you. You're so goddamn sexy, Ashton," she frowned, looking slightly annoyed about the fact that she couldn't resist me.

I grinned at her comment. "Thank you, Baby Girl, and you're so goddamn sexy too." I sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late. How about we make some food and then unpack and go to bed?" I needed to get off her because my traitorous body was begging for me to upset her again.

"Yeah, okay." She actually looked both sad and relieved at the same time.

After eating a grilled cheese sandwich that I'd burnt beyond recognition, we unpacked. While she went to the bathroom to change, I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into my bed. She strutted out a couple of minutes later in the tiny, little shorts and tight tank top pyjamas that I both loved and hated at the same time. I loved them because they clung to her body and made her look so freaking hot it was unreal, and I hated them for exactly the same reason. As she slipped into the bed next to me and scooted over against me, tangling her legs in with mine, I sighed as desire for her started to build. It looked like this was going to be another long night for me.

In the morning my eyes fluttered open, seeing Anna's beautiful face just inches from mine. Smiling happily, I dipped my head and kissed her forehead gently before moving back so I could watch her sleep. About twenty minutes later, she stirred and moved closer, pressing herself to me and burying her face in my chest. This was my favourite part of everyday – the time when she was just waking up and she would always try to get closer to me, no matter how close she already was. This small little bit of attention got me through the whole day. I smiled to myself. _Yep, best birthday ever!_ She opened her eyes, a slow smile spreading across her face.

"Morning," I greeted, brushing the hair from her face.

"Good morning. Happy birthday," she sang, happily.

I laughed. Those two words sounded a little weird to me. "Thanks. So, do I get a birthday kiss?" I asked hopefully.

She nodded, smiling teasingly. "Sure, who from?"

I grinned as I leant forward and kissed her softly. She responded immediately, kissing me back and tangling her fingers in my hair. I pulled away after a couple of seconds, not wanting to push my luck too far. She didn't take her hand out of my hair as she looked at me excitedly. "Want your presents now?"

I groaned in exasperation. "Anna, you didn't buy me anything, did you? Seriously, this was already too much," I whined. I hated that she spent money on me, I didn't need it, the only thing I needed was her.

She didn't answer, just pulled out of my arms and jumped out of bed, skipping over to the suitcase that Dean had brought. She hadn't unpacked it last night, and now I knew why – she'd hidden my gift in there. I sighed as she wheeled the case over and lifted it up onto the end of the bed.

My brow furrowed as she lifted the lid. I had known there would be a gift when she jumped out of the bed, but instead, the case was almost full. I could clearly see two large boxes, a medium sized one, and three smaller ones.

"I don't want you to keep buying me things," I grumbled.

She flopped down onto the bed beside me and leant in, kissing me softly on the mouth, silencing my protest. "Please don't start. You'll hurt my feelings. I put a lot of thought into each one, and I wanted to get you them, so please just shush," she ordered, smirking at me. I groaned as she picked up the three smaller packages, placing them in my lap. "Open them, and smile please?" she pouted and gave me the damn face that I couldn't resist.

I rolled my eyes and ripped open the first one. Out fell James Patterson's new book. I grinned excitedly. We'd spoken about this a couple of weeks ago and I'd told her I wanted to read it. "This is great, thank you." If she'd only bought me this, it would have been the best gift I'd ever had.

She smiled. "I thought you'd like that one. Open the next one," she breathed excitedly, motioning towards my lap. I grinned and opened the next one; it was The Peacemaker on DVD. I laughed as I looked it over. "I didn't know if you already had it, but I saw it and wanted to get it. I hope it's the right one. You said it was your favourite movie," she waffled, playing with her necklace like she did when she was a little nervous about something.

"It's definitely the right one, and no, I don't have it." I turned it over, looking at the back. I genuinely loved this movie.

"Next one," she prompted.

I laughed at her enthusiasm and tore the paper from the last small package, revealing a black square jewellery box. I frowned down at it curiously as I lifted the lid. A chunky silver watch was nestled inside. My eyes widened at how expensive it looked. I flicked my eyes up to her and shook my head because it was too much, I couldn't accept it. Before I could say anything though, she held up one hand to halt my protest. "Before you say no, hear me out," she pleaded. "You don't have a watch. You're always checking the time on your cell phone. I really wanted to get you something you could use, and I saw this and really wanted to get it for you. Everyone needs a watch. Please just accept it in the manner which it was given. I want you to have it."

I gulped. "Anna..."

She pouted. "If you don't like it, you can change it," she offered.

I looked down at the watch. It was perfect, incredible even, and something I would never have purchased for myself in a million years because I'd never have this kind of money to spare. "I love it, it's just-"

Her hand closed over my mouth. "If you love it, then just put it on and smile. I wanted to get it for you."

I could see how much she wanted me to accept it, clearly it meant a lot to her, and she'd obviously put a great deal of effort into buying it and choosing it. I sighed and pulled her hand from my mouth. "Thank you," I conceded.

She squealed happily, clapping her hands excitedly as she nodded towards the medium sized package. "Great! Now do that one."

"These were enough, you shouldn't have bought me anything else," I scolded, leaning over and kissing her lips gently. In all honesty, that kiss would have been more than enough for me.

"Just open it or I will. I'm not good at waiting for presents to be unwrapped. You should see me at Christmas, I can do a pile of presents in like a minute flat," she stated proudly. I didn't doubt her words at all.

"Calm down, anyone would think it's your birthday," I joked.

Her face fell, and her eyes tightened. "I don't like my birthday, so I like to celebrate other people's."

Understanding hit me like a ton of bricks. Her boyfriend had been murdered on her birthday, and she'd tried to kill herself for the last two years on the anniversary of it. _Christ, how stupid could a guy get?_ "I'm sorry, I didn't think. I shouldn't have said that." I took her hand, looking at her apologetically.

She shook her head and smiled again. "Just open it!" she cried, pointing excitedly at the present.

I laughed and ripped open the packet. My eyes went wide at the picture on the box. A camera. I couldn't speak. This was just the perfect gift; no one could have picked anything better for me. I desperately wanted a photo of us two together, I had a couple of my cell phone but I couldn't print them off.

"Oh shit, this is incredible. Thank you so much," I gushed. "But you know I'm gonna be taking photos of you though, right?" I added.

"If you're thinking I'm gonna be posing naked for you, you're wrong," she teased, sticking her tongue out at me.

I laughed wickedly. "Well, I wasn't thinking that, but I definitely am now."

She laughed and shook her head. "Whatever, pervert." She slapped my arm playfully.

I leant over and kissed her lips, just once. "Thank you, I love this, it's incredible." I looked back at the box in my hands, not actually believing that this girl was real.

She picked up the last two boxes and put them in my lap. "These two go together, but open this one first," she instructed, pointing to the flatter of the two. I was still in shock over the camera, I couldn't wait to take it out tonight and get some photos of us together. I looked over at her and noticed that she was watching me expectantly, so I reluctantly dragged my eyes from her and ripped off the gift wrap.

My breath caught in my throat, and my body jerked – as would any red-blooded male that got this for their birthday. On my lap sat a PlayStation 4. They weren't even out yet. "Anna, what the actual fuck? How did you get this?" I gasped.

"I had my dad pull a few strings. He's old friends with someone who works for Sony," she answered happily. "I knew your face would look like that!" she grinned smugly. "Open the other box. They go together."

Still in shock, I unwrapped the other gift, tearing the tape off the cardboard box, seeing an extra controller and six games inside. She settled herself against my side and waved her hand at the box. "I didn't know what games to get, so I asked the guy what a twenty-two year old male would like, and these are what he came up with. I hope they're alright," she winced, looking a little worried.

I grabbed her waist and pushed her down onto the bed, pinning her underneath me. Could I tell her that I loved her? Would it ruin everything? I couldn't risk it, she'd undoubtedly freak out. "You are the sweetest, kindest and most thoughtful girl I've ever met, Anna. Thank you so much for everything, and for coming to LA, and for just being with me. I really, really appreciate it."

She grinned. "You're welcome. Happy birthday."

I kissed her again, setting my body on fire as I pressed against her tightly, relishing in the feel of her curves. When I pulled away, we were both breathless. I sat up, looking back at the PS4. "I can't believe you got me this," I breathed, shaking my head in awe. I was already itching to play it and eyed the soccer game on the top of the pile.

"Actually, I didn't buy these for you," she replied, shrugging and pointing to the console and games.

"Oh yeah? Did you get it for yourself?" I grinned. I'd love to play against her. Girls playing videogames was sexy!

She shook her head. "No, I got this for Nate," she answered, grinning smugly.

I raised one eyebrow. "For Nate? I don't understand."

She smiled and reached for the box that had contained the games. She tipped it up and a little headset thing fell out onto my lap. "You miss your friends, so I got this for Nate. The games are interactive which means you can play against other people. This little headset means you can talk to each other while you're playing. I got one for Nate, which is this one, and I left your one at home. They're exactly the same," she explained.

_Oh my freaking God! Not only did she buy me this, but she bought the same for my best friend so we could play against each other because she knew I missed him? Damn it, I need to marry this girl! Please let her fall in love with me, I promise I'll make her happy, please!_ I begged silently.

"Anna, this is incredible. So thoughtful. I'm kinda speechless."

She grinned and shrugged as if it was nothing. "I wanted to do something for you. I owe you more than I could ever give you for what you do for me. I just wanted to make up for that in some small way so you know I appreciate you."

"You don't owe me anything," I countered, frowning. Everything I did for her, I did because I wanted to. I wanted to be there for her and make her happy; I knew deep down inside that was what I was made for.

"I feel like I do," she shrugged.

I sighed and looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, wishing I could make her see that we were made for each other. "Well you don't," I dismissed.

She smiled and shrugged, reaching for my book. "Let's just agree to disagree." She flopped back against the pillows, flicking through the pages.

I shook my head, wondering if she'd ever see how special she was. I didn't think she would. I settled back against the pillows too, looking through the games with a huge grin on my face. They were all things that I would choose for myself, and I couldn't wait to play them. After a couple of minutes, I rolled on to my side, resting my arm over her stomach, just taking her in.

"Thank you," I whispered, snuggling closer to her.

She turned her head to the side and smiled that mesmerising smile that melted my heart every time. "You're welcome, Pretty Boy."

Closing the distance between us, I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her softly.

### Chapter Twenty-Two

### ~ 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.

### Chapter Twenty-Three

As soon as we arrived at the club we would be going to, we were ushered through because apparently Ashton and Nate knew the guy on the door. The security guy didn't even look twice at me, which was fantastic considering I wasn't actually old enough to be in the club in the first place. As we made our way through the crowd, Ashton seemed a little tense; he practically stuck himself to my back as we walked past a group of guys who were eyeing me. I wasn't quite sure if he was trying to do his job properly, or if he was just being possessive, I had a feeling it was a mixture of both.

I followed Nate to the far side of the club, seeing Seth, Wayne, and Ryan standing there flirting with a couple of girls. Even though he'd only left us just over an hour ago, Ryan's lopsided smile told me he was already slightly tipsy.

When we stopped and exchanged pleasantries, I spotted a pretty blonde girl standing alone at the bar. I touched Nate's arm. "Right then, let's find you a woman," I chirped. "You like blondes, I bet."

"Yeah, I like anything that's female," he agreed, laughing.

"Okay, I've got you a suitable candidate. Try not to make a fool of yourself, alright?" I joked. "Who wants what to drink? My round," I offered, looking around at them all. Everyone answered with beer, apart from Ashton who just took my hand.

"I'll come with you."

I tugged my hand out of his and stepped closer to him, smiling reassuringly. "But I'll be right there. There's no need to worry, I promise. You can even still see me," I murmured, going up on tiptoes and planting a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Please? No one even knows me here," I whispered so that no one else could hear. He sighed, and his shoulders tightened as his eyes scanned the bar before he finally nodded in agreement. I grinned triumphantly. "Great, what do you want to drink then?"

"Orange juice."

I frowned at that. "Can I put vodka in that?"

Ashton shook his head sternly. "No, Anna," was all he said. I knew that was a definite no, he only used my actual name when he was serious.

Walking off before he could change his mind, I made my way to the bar, squeezing in next to the blonde girl I'd scouted for Nate. I smiled at her. "I love your dress, it's gorgeous."

She smiled before brushing the skirt of her red dress gently. "Thanks! I got it on sale. It only cost thirty-five bucks, can you believe that?"

"No way, that's awesome," I gasped, looking down at it enviously, wondering if I could ask Ashton to hunt out this mystery store so I could buy one before we left to go back to school. The barman stopped in front of me and smiled expectantly. "Hey, can I have four beers, an orange juice and a rum and coke?" I asked, praying he wouldn't card me.

He didn't even bat an eyelid as I reeled off my alcohol order. While he was making it, I turned my attention to the girl again. "Are you here on your own?"

She sighed and frowned, looking around quickly. "I'm supposed to be meeting friends, but I'm a little early."

"Do you want to come over and wait for them with us?" I asked, raising my eyebrows innocently. "I'm with my boyfriend and his friends." I nodded over to where they were. They'd snagged a table, so were now sat around it, laughing and chatting.

Her gaze flicked in that direction and her eyes widened. "Wow, they're freaking hot!" she gasped. I chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Which one is your boyfriend? Ah, I bet it's the one with black hair, he hasn't taken his eyes off you yet." She nudged me in the side, smiling.

I grinned, looking over to see that Ashton was indeed watching me like a hawk to make sure I was alright. "Yep, that's him," I confirmed. "You can wait with us if you want, it's no problem. It's better than standing here on your own."

She nodded in agreement, smiling gratefully as she picked up her drink. "I'm Michelle, by the way."

"Anna." When the barman set a tray down on the bar, I slid my money across the wood and then we made our way across to the boys' table. "Guys, this is Michelle, she's going to wait with us for a bit for her friends," I introduced, nodding at her.

Nate's face lit up as he stood. "Hi, Michelle. I'm Nate." He took her hand and looked straight into her eyes, leaning in a little too close for an informal greeting. A blush spread across her cheeks.

I laughed and turned my attention to Ashton, who looked like he was finally relaxing now that I was back at his side. On quick inspection, I noticed that there weren't enough chairs with Michelle here too, so I smiled and sat myself on Ashton's lap, placing his orange juice down in front of him.

"So, what will it take for me to get you to drink and enjoy your birthday?" I inquired.

He grinned, shrugging. "I don't need to drink to enjoy my birthday. I've had the best day of my life with you today."

My insides melted as I pressed myself closer to him. I still wanted to see him loosen up though. "Please? Just a drink or two, I'll do anything you want," I offered, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

He gulped, and I could almost see the dirty thoughts running through his mind. "I don't want anything," he protested, but at the same time he licked his lips. I was no body language expert, but that subconscious move told me that he wanted something.

Raising my hand, I ran one finger around the collar of his shirt, tracing his skin with my fingertip. "There must be something that you want, or that I can do for you," I whispered in his ear. My skin prickled as I thought about all the things that I could do as a bribe for getting him to have a drink with me. There wasn't that much that I wasn't up for tonight. Tonight I would make sure he had a spectacular birthday. I smiled and pulled away teasingly, making him groan. "One drink and you can name your price," I offered, smirking at him.

"Baby Girl, come on, I can't. It's not that I don't want what you're offering because damn, that sounds like the best offer I'm ever going to get in my life, but I can't do that, I won't," he answered sternly.

I sighed and shook my head. I'd keep working on him; he'd cave eventually even if I had to insist that he suck a shot from my belly button. "You will by the end of the night," I disagreed knowingly. He shook his head sternly and smiled confidently, both of us sure of the outcomes. He'd give in though, I was sure of it, he wasn't that strong.

Giving up for now, I turned my attention back to Nate. He and Michelle were locked in the middle of a full scale makeout session. I smiled and shook my head incredulously. The stories that Ashton had told me about his best friend being the master of seduction were clearly not exaggerated.

Two hours later and I was having a fantastic night. Michelle's friends had turned up a little while later, so she'd made her exit – not before keying her number into Nate's cell phone and telling him to call her later. I'd made sure not to drink too much; I'd only had three drinks before moving onto orange juice too. Nate and Ashton's other friends were growing on me more and more by the second. Los Angeles was turning out to be everything I thought it would be, and more.

"Ashton, your turn for drinks, bud," Nate announced, knocking on the table to get his attention. Ashton groaned and stood, sending me a meaningful look that told me to stay put and not move. I watched as he deliberately walked to the corner of the bar so that he could still see me easily. I grinned and shook my head at how overprotective he was. Nate turned to me and smiled. "So, where did you two meet anyway? Ashton never said."

_Okay, time for some fun; let's see how gullible Nate is!_ "We met in a strip club, I gave him a dance," I lied, shrugging casually.

"Shut up! You're a stripper?" Nate cried with wide eyes.

"No!" I snapped, faking horror.

"Oh, sorry, I just thought when you said... oh, never mind," Nate stuttered, smiling apologetically.

"I'm most certainly not a stripper. I'm a lap dancer," I replied, trying not to laugh as he choked on his beer.

"A lap dancer?" he asked, shocked.

"Yep, there's a big difference."

Ashton came back then, setting the drinks down on the table. He smiled but didn't ruin my game as he slid into the seat next to mine.

"Really? You're serious?" Nate inquired.

I grinned. It looked like Nate was extremely gullible after all! "Yep," I nodded, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, how much, Anna? I'll take one," he chirped, grabbing his wallet out of his pocket, grinning like crazy.

"How much you got?" I leant in as he opened his wallet.

He counted for a couple of seconds. "Fifty eight dollars and twenty five cents," he answered, looking at me hopefully.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nowhere near enough," I replied, scrunching my nose up. Ashton laughed, so I turned to him and raised one eyebrow. "You, on the other hand, can get one for one drink. Two drinks will get you a private one. And for three drinks, I'll do it in my sexiest underwear," I offered. He groaned and a pained looked crossed his face.

"I'll buy you three drinks, Anna," Seth interjected, jumping up quickly.

I shook my head, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Seth, your price is much higher. This one's just for my man," I explained. I scooted to the edge of my seat, pressing my side against Ashton's as I leant in closer, leaving our mouths millimetres apart. "Three drinks is all it takes. I might even forgo the no touching rule, seeing as it's your birthday." My body was begging for him to accept, I would definitely forgo the no touching rule they usually had for lap dances.

"I can't," he whined, looking at me pleadingly.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Offer expires at midnight, that's when your birthday is officially over." I ran my nose up the side of his, listening to my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

"Anna, please?" he begged, closing his eyes.

"Anna please... what?" I asked, nibbling on the edge of his jaw.

"You're killing me," he moaned, shaking his head. I pressed my lips to his, kissing him gently before pulling back and grinning wickedly.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Nate stand and walk off. A minute later he came back and set three shot glasses down in front of Ashton. "You've only got until midnight before the offer expires, Taylor. If I were you, I would drink them the hell down, right now," he suggested, looking at me longingly.

Ashton glanced at his watch and groaned. "It's ten to twelve now."

I smiled. He was definitely wavering. "Well, how about you do one shot and I give you a taster, and if you like it you can do the other two," I offered. I watched his face as the offer sank in. He wanted it badly. As if unable to help himself, he picked up one of the glasses. My stomach clenched in anticipation of having to give him a lap dance in front of everyone, but the alcohol in my system was giving me the confidence. Putting my hand on the bottom of the glass, I guided it towards his lips, watching his face as he tried to decide.

Before he could make up his mind though, a fight broke out in the bar. I didn't even get the chance to flinch before Ashton was out of his seat and had yanked me to my feet, pushing me against the wall as he stepped in front of me protectively. As sounds of a struggle rang out, I hooked my fingers into his belt loops and stayed still and quiet, just like he had taught me to.

Within minutes, it was broken up and two drunks were thrown out of the bar. Ashton turned to face me, cupping my face in his hands as he bent and planted a sweet kiss on my forehead. "I'm not having a drink. Now don't ask me again," he said sternly. His tone told me that this was the end of the conversation. I nodded in agreement, knowing he wouldn't change his mind now. That little fight had spiked his protective instincts, he wouldn't waver again.

When we got back to the table, he took a seat and gripped my waist, pulling me down onto his lap. Nate shook his head and laughed. "Bud, talk about overreaction. That fight was never coming over here," he mocked.

"I don't care. I'm not having Anna near anything like that," Ashton replied, shrugging.

Reaching out, I picked up one of the shots, pushing another towards Nate. "Cheers." I chinked my glass against his and then knocked back the shot.

Nate smiled and downed the drink at the same time I did. "Is it after midnight already?" he asked, grinning as he rolled his eyes at Ashton. "I can't believe you blew your chance."

"Maybe another night then," I said shrugging. I hadn't ruled out the possibility of giving him one anyway if he asked me nicely. After what he was doing for me, I owed him something. If I wasn't here with him tonight, he would be drinking with his friends, instead of working. I was ruining his birthday celebrations. Ashton looked like he wanted to say something. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. "Cat got your tongue, Pretty Boy?" I teased, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

He nodded. "I guess. It's just... what's got into you today?"

I smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just having a great time here in LA with you."

He grinned at me happily. "Well I'm having a great time here in LA with you too," he replied, kissing my cheek.

"Hotties at three o'clock!" Nate announced, nudging Seth in the side.

"I call the redhead!" Seth said quickly.

"Damn it! I was gonna call the red!" Nate grumbled, clearly annoyed. I laughed and shook my head as they stood up and walked over to the girls with their game smiles plastered on their faces.

"Wanna dance?" Ashton offered, nodding at the busy dance floor. His hand traced my back slowly, causing my skin to break out in goosebumps. I nodded in agreement, and we wove through the crowd.

Dancing with Ashton seemed to spark something in me every time it happened. Maybe it was just the way that his body fitted so perfectly against mine, or maybe it was the close proximity, or maybe it was that his hands rested firmly on my ass. Whatever it was, it seemed to send my body into a frenzy of excitement.

As we swayed to the heavy beat of the song, his eyes never left mine. Everything around us faded into insignificance as I lost myself in his gaze. My heart was racing in my chest as my stomach fluttered with excitement and longing. Raw passion was building inside me, and this time I wouldn't be able to contain it or stop it. Tonight I was giving him the best birthday ever, and at the same time I was going to allow myself to be happy for once. I wanted one night of pure, unadulterated bliss in his arms, with no guilt about it after, and no regrets. Tonight I was thinking of myself and putting aside what always held me captive to my emotions. Tonight I was going to pretend that what Ashton and I had was real, instead of just being for his job. If we made some rules, and agreed on one night, tomorrow we could pretend this never happened and we could both move on from it.

When the song changed to a slow one, he pulled me closer to him. His eyes didn't leave mine as the desire raged inside me. My heart clenched as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He really had the most incredible smile I'd ever seen. Dancing with him in the semi-darkness, with his body pressed against me and his face inches from mine was easily the most romantic moment of my life and my whole body was tingling.

I gulped, swallowing the lust that made my mouth dry. "Ashton, will you take me home please?" I tangled my fingers into the back of his hair and pulled his forehead against mine.

He nodded, kissing the tip of my nose before pulling back and taking my hand. He led us back to the table, smiling at Wayne and Ryan. "We're leaving, see you tomorrow. Tell Nate and Seth we said bye," he said. I waved and let him lead me out of the bar. As we walked the short distance to his place, neither of us spoke, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

Once we got back to his apartment building and climbed the stairs to his door, he fumbled in his pocket for his keys. I couldn't wait any longer. The ache for him was actually painful, and I felt like I was trapped inside my own body and I needed to get out. Stepping between his body and the door, I went up on tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. His body stiffened, but he kissed me back immediately, pushing me against the door, pinning me there with his body. I moaned into his mouth as the kiss deepened. My whole body was throbbing with excitement.

When his hands slid down to my rump, lifting me off my feet, I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him passionately, releasing all of the feelings that had been trapped inside me since this happened two months ago. He fumbled with his keys and then we were inside the apartment. He kicked the door closed behind us and carried me to his bedroom, never once breaking the kiss as he pressed me into the soft mattress.

My hands wandered his back, pulling him impossibly closer as his mouth ravaged mine. Little sparks of pleasure were popping and fizzing inside me, his hands left a burning trail on my overheated skin as they slid down my bare legs, kneading my thighs.

_Rules, Anna. Set the rules!_ My brain was screaming it at me, but my body was lost. My trembling fingers worked the buttons on his shirt, pushing it down over his shoulders as my eyes wandered down his chest and my mouth watered in anticipation.

My mind was whirling: Was it going to be as enjoyable as I remembered? Had I distorted the memory of it and I was thinking that this mind-blowing thing had happened to me, when in reality I was just setting myself up for disappointment? The real thing couldn't have been as good as I remembered it.

He caught the bottom of my shirt, slowly pulling it up as if waiting for me to protest. I smiled reassuringly and arched my back to make it easier for him. There was no way I was stopping tonight. He groaned and pulled my shirt off, tossing it carelessly over his shoulder as his eyes dropped to my chest.

Wait, rules, sort the rules before this ruins everything!

"Ashton," My voice was so thick with lust that it didn't sound like mine at all.

"Mmm?" he murmured, dipping his head and licking the skin between my breasts as his fingers went to the button of my shorts, tugging eagerly.

I gulped, swallowing my lust. "Ashton," I repeated, trying to get his attention. I shook my head quickly, closing my hand over his and stopping him from unfastening my shorts. Once my shorts were off and his hands were there, I would surely forget what I needed to say.

He stopped immediately. His eyes widened in horror as he pushed himself up off me, rolling to his side, holding his hands up innocently. "Shit, I'm sorry! I got carried away. I didn't mean to take it that far, I'm really sorry. Are you okay, Baby Girl?" he apologised, wincing.

I smiled reassuringly because he'd clearly jumped to the wrong conclusion about why I asked him to stop. I rolled to the side, pushing him onto his back before swinging my leg over his body, straddling him. As I looked down at him, I tried extremely hard not to notice how excited he was downstairs or how nice he felt between my thighs. I needed to concentrate, and that thought wouldn't help at all.

"I need to talk to you," I muttered.

"Okay," he nodded, moving to sit up but I put my hands on his shoulders, pushing him back down onto the bed.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and my raging hormones. I silently prayed that he was agreeable because I needed him tonight. "I want you right now," I admitted.

A breathtaking smile stretched across his face. "I want you right now too."

He moved to sit up again, so I pushed him back down, leaving my hands on his shoulders. I needed to explain before this went any further, he needed to understand and agree to it before this could happen. "I just want you for tonight, that's all. Tomorrow we pretend like this never happened," I offered, biting my lip, begging him with my eyes to accept.

He frowned. His expression was like I'd just slapped him in the face. He looked both hurt and shocked. "Anna, what? I don't want to pretend that it never happened."

My heart sank. "Please?" I begged. "I need you. Ever since that first time we were together, I just can't stop thinking about it. Sex, no strings, one night, I'll do whatever you want. It's your birthday, so you name it and I'll do it," I bargained as I ran my fingertips down his chest.

"Anna, I don't just want you for one night." His voice was a little strained and the sad tone of it made my heart ache.

"I just want to make myself happy, just for one night. I promise I won't feel guilty about it tomorrow and get upset. I promise, please?" I leant down so our faces were inches apart. Indecision was clear across his face. "Please? I want you and I know you want me too. Just for tonight?"

"Tell me why you won't let me in," he said suddenly. "Try and explain it to me." His eyes searched mine for answers that I myself didn't even know.

I blinked, a little shocked at his request and the sudden change in conversation. I sighed, feeling dejected. Clearly my request was ruining the easy relationship we had. I shouldn't have wished to be happy, even for one night, because I obviously didn't deserve it.

"I just... can't. I let Jack in and when he died, it killed me inside. I'm broken. I don't have anything to give you. Jack took all of me when he died," I whispered, closing my eyes. I knew that wasn't true though, Jack didn't take everything, I thought for the longest time that he had, but since I'd met Ashton, I'd started to feel again. I couldn't be dead inside because I could feel the tug at my heart when Ashton looked at me just as he was looking at me now: pleading and hurt. I wanted to make him feel better; it was almost painful to see that look on his face. So that was how I knew that my heart didn't die when Jack did. The trouble was, I couldn't let Ashton have my heart. I couldn't feel heartbreak again; I wouldn't live through it a second time. I wasn't strong enough to go through another man leaving me; I couldn't open myself up like that again. But I could give myself to him physically and give us what we both wanted.

"But if you could just give me a chance..." He looked at me pleadingly, begging me with his sad puppy dog face.

I shook my head fiercely. "No. I've been there and felt what it's like to have your heart ripped out. I won't ever let myself get in that position again, not ever. I can't." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "But I just want to feel happy for one night. I want to be normal and not worry about anything or anyone. Please? Will you just... make me forget everything, Ashton?" I begged.

I could feel the disappointment and devastation building inside with each passing second. Tears welled in my eyes as I pressed my face into the side of his neck, willing them not to fall as I breathed in his smell that I was fast becoming addicted to. His arms wrapped tightly around me and hugged me to him while I fought for control.

After a couple of minutes he spoke, "This is what you want? Just one night? Sex, no strings?" I nodded, not taking my face from its nice little hiding place; I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. He rolled suddenly so I was under him again. "You know I want more than that, don't you?"

My eyes widened in surprise. Was he about to say yes? "I can't give you more than that," I whispered in answer. His eyes fluttered closed as he sighed. I waited, feeling hope building in my chest. When his eyes opened again, they burned with a passion that made my stomach twist into a knot. After a slight nod of his head, his lips claimed mine in a scorching hot kiss that resonated through every single cell in my body.

I whimpered as the excitement became almost too much to bear. I smiled against his lips as my hands hurriedly went to his belt buckle. My fingers were shaking, making the process hard as I unfastened the buttons on his jeans and pushed them down slightly, sliding my hand down the back of his underwear, feeling his tight little behind. A moan of appreciation left my lips as the kiss deepened and turned into something that burned through my senses, leaving me barely able to breathe.

As he unfastened my bra and slid it off, his heavily-lidded eyes showed his appreciation. "You are so beautiful, Anna," he whispered, dipping his head and flicking his tongue over the tip of my nipple. I moaned and arched my back, trying to get closer to him as his tongue lavished attention on my sensitive skin. He smiled and blew gently across the wet trail, making my skin tighten and my arousal bump up another notch.

While his hands worked the buttons of my shorts and pushed them down, his mouth travelled further down, sucking on the skin of my stomach, dipping into my belly button. His weight shifted off of me as his thumbs hooked into the side of my panties, easing them down my thighs teasingly. His hot tongue made its way down my leg before coming back up again. He nudged my thighs apart as he settled himself between them and looked up at me with a devilish glint to his eyes.

My body jerked involuntarily as he dipped his head and his tongue traced my wet folds. Gasping from both shock and pleasure, my fingers fisted into the sheets as I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. This was pleasure like I had never experienced, it was concentrated and strong; waves of it were rolling over and over me in time with the movement of his tongue.

I whimpered and tried to squirm away from him because it was too much, too good, and I couldn't cope with it. But before I could get away, his arms wrapped around my thighs, clamping me in place as he carried on with his beautiful, yet torturous assault. My moans bordered on obscene as I raised my hips, trying to get closer to his mouth, yet at the same time I wanted to be further away from it. At this point I didn't know which I wanted more. As his fingers pushed into me at the same time, he made a deep moaning sound in the back of his throat.

I gasped his name as the pleasure suddenly took me to new heights. My body felt like it was on fire as he pumped his fingers at the same rhythm as he was working his tongue. I could feel my climax building; my whole body trembling and shaking. When his teeth nipped me, it felt like I shattered inside and everything came to a glorious and beautiful head. My body jerked as I cried out his name breathlessly.

He chuckled, easing his fingers out of me as I lay there panting for breath. I blinked a couple of times, trying to come back to reality as I looked up in time to see him sucking on his fingers. "Was that the thing that you liked that I did with my hand?" he teased, smirking at me confidently.

I giggled and nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. His eyes flashed with excitement as he hovered over me, just looking at me with that soft and tender look that he always had for me.

I smiled happily. "My turn now," I announced, pushing on his body and guiding him onto his back. My eyes flitted down his body, taking in every glorious inch of it before I bent and trailed my tongue across his abs, following the lines of his muscles. His skin tasted delicious and made my scalp prickle. As he put both hands behind his head and smiled down at me in obvious enjoyment, my tongue and lips worshipped every line of muscle on his sculpted chest, every bump, every groove. He was perfection, and I had never seen anything more beautiful. His jeans were already loose around his hips so I tugged them off easily, along with his boxer shorts. The sight of him naked made my ache inside me come back with a vengeance. I sat up, just looking him over unashamedly, taking in every beautiful inch of him and memorising it so I could see it when I closed my eyes at night.

When I couldn't stand not touching him any longer, I reached out and closed my hand around his erection. My breathing sped at the feel of it and memories of how good it felt inside me surfaced and made my stomach quiver with anticipation. But first I owed him something. I bent my head and licked the drop of wetness from the tip, before tracing my tongue down the underside and back up again. Taking the tip of it into my mouth, I sucked gently before pushing down further, sucking harder as my hand started to move too. I wasn't even there a minute though before he groaned and gripped the tops of my arms, pulling me up his body as he shook his head.

My face filled with embarrassed heat. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked, horrified because he hadn't liked what I was doing.

"No, of course not. The opposite, in fact." His hand tangled into the back of my hair. "I don't want this over too quickly and your hot, little mouth sucking on me like that is gonna make me finish way too soon," he answered, grinning wickedly.

I giggled, wriggling on top of him as a sense of pride swept over me because I'd clearly pleased him. He guided my mouth back to his again and as my tongue touched his, I could taste myself on his tongue. Strangely, it made the kiss even better, even more erotic and sexy. His hand trailed down my back, cupping my ass and shifting me so that we rubbed together. A breathless moan erupted from within me as I bit on his bottom lip roughly.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked breathlessly, genuinely not caring if he didn't.

He nodded in answer, reaching over towards his bedside drawer and pulling it open. As he fumbled in there and pulled out a strip of condoms, I moved off him, watching as he ripped off a packet and tore it open with his teeth. He got to his knees, carefully rolling it on before looking back to me with a stunning smile that I couldn't help but return. When he grabbed my thighs and jerked me forwards, I fell back into the pillows and giggled. He laughed too, manoeuvring himself on top of me as he kissed me again.

The air in the room seemed to be getting thicker as I wrapped my arms around his body, digging my fingers into his back. His hand gripped the back of my knee, guiding my leg up around his waist as he pressed forward gently, easing himself into me so slowly that it made every nerve ending in my body scream. I was so on edge that I accidentally bit down onto his shoulder and dug my fingers into his ass as I raised my hips to meet his.

He groaned as he buried himself into me entirely. "Shit. So good. I forgot," he moaned, kissing me deeply as he moved slowly, starting up a rhythm that made my heart hammer in my chest.

It was strange when I was like this with Ashton; it was like it was meant to be. He fitted me so perfectly, and everything in my world seemed good, healed, and incredible. He was the only one in the world I could be this close to, and let have this power over me. I trusted him and only him.

I couldn't keep still under him as he controlled my body perfectly, strumming it, playing it like we had done this hundreds of times before. It seemed like he knew exactly how and where to touch me. My mind was slowly melting at his touch. Sweat covered my skin in a thin sheen as I raised my hips to meet his and clawed at his back in ecstasy. My body was racing towards its climax; with every thrust he was pushing me towards my end. His mouth lavished attention on my body, driving me into a state of wild abandon.

As my body seemed to get hotter and hotter, my pulse drummed in my ears and finally my body shattered, coming apart under him and his expert touch. I cried out his name as my eyes filled with tears because of the intense sensations. My whole body was quivering in pleasure and my heart crashed in my ears. It felt like heaven, like a waking dream. His lips claimed mine in a kiss that felt like it could devour my soul as he let out a long groan. His body stiffened on top of me and he thrust another couple of times as he reached his end too.

When he pulled back slightly, I looked up into his face. He was smiling down at me, his eyes filled with passion, tenderness, and something that I could easily mistake for love, but it couldn't be that. I dismissed it as gratitude because he hadn't had sex for two months.

"Holy shit, Baby Girl, that was incredible," he growled, kissing along my cheeks to nibble on my earlobe as he eased out of me.

"You were just okay," I joked breathlessly as he rolled to the side and pulled the condom off, throwing it into the trashcan before turning back to me to wrap me in his arms.

"Don't tell me... you've had better," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes jokingly. My heart stopped at his words. I'd only ever been with him and Carter. Tears stung my eyes as my throat seemed to tighten. Ashton's eyes widened as he gasped and shook his head, cupping my face in his hands. "Fuck. I'm so sorry. I didn't think, I didn't mean it like that. I was just kidding. I'm so, so sorry!"

I forced a smile even though my heart now hurt at the reminder. It seemed like I would never escape the fact that I was dirty and used, not even for a moment. "It's alright. Don't worry," I lied.

He grimaced and kissed the tip of my nose. "I'm sorry," he murmured, kissing my nose.

"Just forget it, it's fine." I knew he hadn't meant it that way at all, but it was just the reminder that hurt. I didn't for a second think that he had meant to bring up Carter; it was just a joke than he hadn't thought through. "Just for the record, I think you were incredible too, and I'll never have better," I said honestly. I knew that for a fact because I'd never have anyone else. I kissed him again, cuddling close to his side as I buried my face in his chest, breathing in his delicious smell. I instantly felt better. His body didn't relax at my reassurances though. His muscles were still bunched; his arms were too stiff around me. I moved back, looking up to see his tense face. He was clearly angry with himself. Reaching out, I smoothed his frown line from his forehead. "It's okay, I promise."

He sighed heavily. "Man, I'm such a douchebag. I can't believe I said that to you."

I smiled. "Just forget it. I have." I decided then that I refused to think about anything bad after I had just had the most incredible sex ever. He rolled to his side so we were facing each other. His body was still tense, so I snuggled closer to him and kissed his lips softly. For a few minutes, we just lay there in silence, looking at each other as his fingers tickled up and down my spine. Finally, he spoke, "Thank you for today, I've honestly had the best birthday ever," he said quietly.

I smiled. "I had a great day too," I replied. "Although I feel guilty because you've technically been working and couldn't drink and stuff because I'm here. You really should have just come on your own; you would have had so much more fun."

He shook his head in protest. "Baby Girl, _you_ are what made my day great. I don't care if I don't drink," he countered. I smiled and he leant forward, kissing me again hungrily. He moaned in the back of his throat and tightened his hold on me. Where we were pressed so tightly against one another, I could feel that he was starting to get excited again. I grinned against his lips, and he pulled back, smiling at me tenderly as he combed his fingers through my hair. "What's funny?" he asked.

"You're like some kind of machine. It's lucky we agreed on one night, and not one time, huh?" I teased, running my finger down his chest and raising one eyebrow when I got to his groin. He grunted, obviously shocked, but a slow smile spread across his face before he covered my mouth with his and we started all over again.

### Chapter Twenty-Four

I woke in the morning, naked and wrapped in his arms. He was stretched out behind me, spooning me. One of his hands rested on my hip, and the other was cupping my breast. The thought of being naked in his bed and us being in such an intimate position made a blush creep up onto my cheeks. Not that I had to worry about him seeing me naked though, after all, he'd probably kissed every inch of my body last night during the three times that we'd had sex.

A satisfied smiled crept onto my lips. I refused to feel guilty about it today, I was entitled to one night of pleasure after the years of misery I'd had recently. I pressed myself back into his body, wanting to melt into him. I loved waking up next to him in the morning, he was so warm and comforting and the fact that he had never spent the night with another girl made me feel special.

He moaned sleepily and wrapped his arms tighter around me, lazily kissing the back of my head. I turned my head to look at him, leaving my body pressed against his, not wanting him to let go yet.

"Hi," I murmured sheepishly.

He grinned not making any moves to let go of me. "Hi. How are you feeling this morning?" He looked a little worried, as if he were waiting for a meltdown at any moment.

"Happy and satisfied," I confirmed, smirking at him.

He burst out laughing and kissed my cheek. "Hmm, what a coincidence, me too." I felt a stirring against my thigh as he started to get excited again; he moved his hips away from me so that I didn't feel it – the same as he usually did in the morning when it happened.

I grinned and raised one eyebrow. "This could still count as last night if you want," I suggested, wriggling back into his body and smiling at him over my shoulder. His erection prodded into the back of my leg, and my whole body seemed to thrum with excitement.

He grinned. "Oh it can, can it? So, what you're asking is if I want to have sex with you again. Hmm let me think," he teased.

I tried hard not to laugh. "Well if you don't want me then..." I trailed off and scooted away from him.

He gripped my hips tightly, thwarting my efforts to get away. "I never said that I didn't want you. I don't think I'll ever say that, Baby Girl," he whispered. His lips pressed against the back of my neck, his teeth nibbling gently and I felt goosebumps break out on my whole body. "Can you pass me a condom from the drawer?" he murmured, still kissing the base of my neck.

I nodded quickly, scooting to the edge of the bed and pulling open the drawer where he'd got them from last night. The empty box stared back at me, taunting me. I groaned when I realised what that meant. "Damn it! There's none left," I whined. I felt so disappointed that I could cry.

He pulled me back to him again. "I'll go get one from Nate's room, he didn't come home last night so he won't even know," he said grinning. He pulled away from me and I whimpered at the loss of his contact, feeling empty and needy. He chuckled at my face and kissed my nose. "I'll be right back, I promise."

I watched as he jumped up and ran out of the room, butt naked. I laughed at how eager he was, he'd almost run into the door because he didn't wait for it to open fully. He was back within about ten seconds and pounced on the bed, grinning.

"I brought two, just in case, maybe, in a little while, that might count as last night too," he explained, looking at me, hopefully holding up the two packets as evidence.

"Don't push your luck, Pretty Boy," I teased, grinning.

An hour and a half later, we were both exhausted. I flopped off him and lay on my back, trying to catch my breath. He rolled onto his side, moving closer to me, putting his arm over my stomach and nuzzling into my neck. I was sweating. My whole body felt weak and like I'd been on a thirty minute sprint. That last time was extremely tiring, and I could do with going back to sleep for a couple of hours.

"So tell me, how come you'll let me do that until I nearly pass out, yet I can't run on the treadmill like I want to?" I asked, grinning.

He bit my neck lightly. "Because I don't get anything out of you running on the treadmill," he joked, laughing.

I laughed and slapped his hard chest playfully before rolling onto my side and sighing contentedly. "Thank you," I said gratefully.

He raised one eyebrow in question. "For what?"

"For last night, well and this morning, that was the best night of my life. Thank you." I kissed his soft full lips, marvelling over how they seemed to be my exact match.

"Well in that case, thank you for the best night of my life too, ma'am," he replied, smiling at me.

I groaned at the word 'ma'am'. That word from his lips did strange things to my insides. "Ashton, don't keep calling me that. My body is already aching all over, I can't go again," I whined.

"Well, maybe later," he shrugged, looking at me hopefully.

I winced at his expression, praying that this didn't ruin our friendship because I needed him in my life. "Ashton, we agreed..." I trailed off uncomfortably.

He sighed. "I know. I had to try though, right?" He kissed the tip of my nose. "You want me to run you a bath, and I'll make breakfast for when you get out?" he offered. He glanced over at the clock and laughed. "Well, actually it'll be lunch," he corrected.

I smiled at how thoughtful and generous he was. "Sure, that'd be great," I answered, biting my lip at how adorable he was. He certainly was going to make someone incredibly happy one day. The thought made me so jealous that it actually hurt. He looked me over slowly and laughed at something. "What?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head and climbed out of the bed; he pulled on his jeans and made his way to the bathroom. I winced and bit my lip when I saw he had some red scratches on his back. I could hear water running, so I got out of the bed and stretched my tight muscles; it genuinely did feel like I had been working out.

When I looked in his mirror, I gasped. "Holy shit!" I cried, as I looked at the red marks on my neck and breasts. Immediately, Ashton ran back into the room, looking around worriedly. "Ashton, seriously, what the hell?" I asked, rubbing the marks as if they would come off.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise I did it. I guess I got a little carried away," he explained, grimacing.

I laughed and slapped his arm. "A little carried away? There are five hickeys on me!" I scolded, laughing incredulously.

"Six actually. I've just seen another one on your cute, little butt," he stated, slapping my behind gently. I gasped and turned to look in the mirror and sure enough, there was another hickey on my butt cheek.

I giggled. "Well, at least I can cover that one up."

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away gently. "Go turn off the bath, Pretty Boy, before your apartment floods," I suggested, grinning. He jumped like he'd forgotten it and ran out of the room quickly. He called me in there after a couple of minutes, and when I walked in I saw that he'd drawn me a bubble bath. I couldn't hold the little 'aww' that escaped my lips as my heart skipped a beat at the thoughtfulness of him. I climbed in and sighed as my strained muscles started relaxing. I closed my eyes and replayed some of the memories of last night; I had a feeling I would be revisiting those memories a lot.

After a little while, I forced myself to focus and washed my hair and body before getting out and wrapping myself in a towel. Once I was back in the bedroom, I looked through the outfit choices I'd brought with me. Settling on something casual, I dressed quickly in black leggings and a fitted white shirt. Not wanting to spend too much time on my hair, I pulled it over one shoulder and braided it. Happier than I had felt in years, I practically skipped to the lounge. My whole body was relaxed and contented. My need for Ashton's body that I had been struggling with for the last two months was finally satiated.

Ashton paused his video game that he was playing as I walked in the room. "Wow, you look beautiful."

Seeing him sitting there, smiling at me, and with the memories of last night still fresh in my mind, the need for his body came back with a vengeance. "Thanks." I walked over and sat next to him on the sofa. "Can I play too?" I asked, nodding at the TV screen, needing a distraction before I dragged him back to his bedroom again.

He grinned. "Actually, I'd love that. That's every guy's fantasy, a girl that plays video games, did you know that?" he replied, winking at me playfully before standing up and getting another controller for me, adding me on to his game.

I smiled. "Oh really?"

He nodded in agreement, passing me the controller and restarting the game as he sat at my side.

As it turns out, I sucked royally at video games. We were playing some kind of war game, but all I was doing was running around aimlessly and getting killed. Ashton seemed highly amused by my lack of ability though.

After about half an hour, the timer on the stove beeped and he paused the game, setting his controller onto the sofa. "I'm gonna go get lunch, no cheating while I'm gone," he teased, kissing me quickly on the lips but pulling away way too quickly for my liking. I watched him go into the kitchen, and a few minutes later he returned with the only thing he could cook without cremating it – tuna and cheese baked potatoes.

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Ashton."

"So, what shall we do today?" he asked, digging into his food.

I shrugged. "I don't know, what is there to do?" I smiled down at my full plate. I was actually ravenous after all of the exercise this morning.

"Do you want to see my training academy? I'm sure my captain would like to meet you."

"Sure. Sounds great," I agreed, grinning. I would love to see the academy he raved about so much.

"I'll have to call my Captain to see if I'm allowed to take you in there," he winced as he pulled out his cell phone, dialling quickly. After a couple of seconds the line obviously connected, so I listened to his side of the conversation. "Hi, sir, it's Ashton Taylor. No, everything's going great actually. I'm in LA with Miss Spencer and she's requested to see my academy, do you think that would be possible? Yeah, she's good. No, she's not being difficult at all," he smiled at me, so I blushed and looked away. "She'd really like to come, sir. No, but I can get the senator's permission if it's needed." He looked at me with wide eyes before his face relaxed. "Yeah great, we'll be there in about half an hour or so. Thanks, g'bye, sir." He grinned happily and pushed the phone back into his pocket. "It's all arranged, so whenever you're ready."

I smiled and tucked into my food. I had a feeling he would enjoy showing me around there. When he was done eating, he showered quickly and threw on his clothes while I did the dishes.

When we got there, Ashton was beaming his kilowatt smile. He grabbed my hand, dragging me in behind him. A balding older man wearing a black SWAT T-shirt and black pants came over. The warm smile and the way he shook Ashton's hand told me that they liked each other.

"Officer Weston, this is Anna. Anna, my old captain," Ashton introduced, waving a hand between us.

The man turned to me and smiled, somewhat nervously. He had obviously read my file too and was erring on the side of caution.

I held my hand out to him. "Nice to meet you, Officer Weston," I greeted politely. His eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at Ashton, who nodded and smiled encouragingly.

Officer Weston tentatively shook my hand with his rough calloused one. "You too, Miss Spencer," he replied, his face betraying his total and utter confusion.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Anna's fine, not Miss Spencer."

He nodded. "Well, I wasn't expecting a visit from you. What are you two doing here in LA? And where's your far guard?" he asked, glancing behind me.

"We're on our own for the weekend, sir. It was cleared by Senator Spencer," Ashton answered quickly.

The older man's eyes snapped to Ashton. "Seriously? He let you bring her to LA on your own?" A proud smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Ashton nodded and smiled down at me, squeezing my hand that he was still holding. "You must be making an impression there, Taylor."

I laughed at that. "Oh he is," I chimed in, smiling suggestively at my pretend boyfriend.

Ashton choked back a laugh and nodded. "Well, I'll be showing Anna around then, sir," he chirped happily. Officer Weston nodded and handed me a visitors' badge as Ashton dragged me off up the hallway, grinning like a mad man.

His tour was pretty thorough. As we went into the swimming pool, combat rooms and gym, Ashton was telling me little stories about what him and Nate used to get up to in there and how many ways they got into trouble with their superiors. It sounded like they were a nightmare to control. It surprised me that Officer Weston seemed to like him; actually, it surprised me that they graduated at all, what with all the pranks and practical jokes they'd pulled.

After we'd seen practically everything, he smiled excitedly at me. "Wanna see the shooting range?"

"Sure." I shrugged. I didn't want to, but he looked so excited about it that I didn't want to ruin his fun.

Instead of taking me to some dingy room like we'd been shooting in, we went outside. "Hey, Carl, let me borrow your gun, would ya?" he shouted over my shoulder. I turned to see a guy decked out in full SWAT uniform.

My breath caught in my throat because it was even hotter than I imagined it to be. If I saw that on Ashton, I was pretty sure I would just burst into flames, and all that would be left of me was a pile of dust on the floor. "Ashton, why the hell didn't you put that on for me last night?" I whined, digging my fingers into his waist as a thousand fantasies of him calling me ma'am in the hot uniform flooded my brain. I squeezed my eyes shut and moaned, the thought alone made my legs feel weak.

He chuckled wickedly. "Whoa, chill, Baby Girl. I have mine at home if you want me to show you," he whispered, his teeth nipping my earlobe as he wrapped his arms around my waist. My mouth started to water. That was definitely something I would be requesting before we left LA. He winked at me and turned back to the guy, who had now reached us.

"Hey, Taylor, what are you doing back here? I thought you were in Washington," the guy called Carl said as they shook hands and did the one-armed man hug thing.

"Yeah I was. I've got the weekend off, but they just called me in at the last minute to sign for something. We were on our way out, so I had to bring my girlfriend in too," Ashton lied, rolling his eyes, faking exasperation.

Carl looked me over and grinned wolfishly. "I didn't know you did girlfriends."

I smiled suggestively. "Oh, he does them alright," I interjected, winking and holding out my hand to him, smiling. "Anna."

He shook my hand. "Carl."

"So, can I borrow your gun for a sec? I just want to show off for my girl," Ashton repeated. Carl nodded, swinging what I assumed to be an assault rifle off his shoulder.

I jumped and jerked back away from it. My breath seemed to catch in my throat. Ashton took the offered gun and moved it away from me. "It's alright, I promise," he smiled reassuringly at me. Carl took off his ear defenders that were hanging loosely around his neck and held them out to me. I took them and nodded a thanks, though my eyes were still firmly fixed on the gun.

"Use Station Four, it's just been set up," Carl instructed, nodding off to the right.

Ashton grinned. "Cheers, man." He pulled me over to the grass next to a number four sign, and laid himself down on his stomach, fiddling with the gun for a few seconds before patting the grass next to him. Taking the hint, I lay down at his side and looked out into the direction that he was looking in. I couldn't see a thing, only grass and more grass. "You ready? Put those on," he instructed, nodding at my ear defenders that were in my hand. I nodded and slipped them on, not knowing what to expect. He let off a series of shots in bursts of two, and then clicked the safety back on less than a minute later. "What do you think?" he asked, smirking at me.

I shrugged in response. "It's a big gun?" I offered, not sure what else to say.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "Look through the eyepiece."

Confused, I did as I was told. At first I had no idea what I was looking at, but then I spotted it. There was a target out there, one of the paper ones like we usually practiced with. Pulling my eye away from the eyepiece, I squinted off into the distance. I couldn't see it at all. When I used the eyepiece again, I noticed that the black shape of the head had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth all made out of bullet holes.

I burst out laughing. "I can't even see that! How far away is it?" I asked, searching the horizon for it again.

"Five hundred yards," he answered, shrugging.

I gasped in awe of his talent. "You shot a smiley face from five hundred yards away?"

"Yeah, but you should see Nate shoot. He could literally shoot a fly if it landed on that target," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You're incredible. Honestly, your talent just boggles my mind," I breathed. _How on earth can one man be so skilled at his job, yet look and act the way he does?_ I turned my head to see his face inches from mine; his beautiful green eyes sparkling. I moved my head closer and pressed my lips to his softly. Instead of it being a chaste kiss though, it turned into something else. His hand went to the back of my head as the kiss deepened and he moved so that I had to roll onto my back with his body half over mine. When I seemed to lose all control of myself, he took my hands off his butt and pinned them above my head, smiling against my lips.

"You're so adorable," he purred, pressing himself to me tighter as his lips found mine again. Someone cleared their throat behind us, and Ashton groaned. "Go away, Carl. Can't you see we're busy?" he muttered, kissing me again.

"Agent Taylor, that's not exactly appropriate behaviour. If you were still under my charge, you'd be doing kitchen duty for a week!" Officer Weston growled.

Ashton jumped up quickly. I'd honestly never seen anyone move so fast in my life. He turned, standing straight and saluted his officer. The sexy little display of respect made my stomach quiver. "I'm sorry, sir. I was just showing Miss Spencer how to shoot, sir," he lied, holding down a hand to help me up while still standing straight as a poker.

"Really? Showing her how to shoot, is that what you kids call getting it on nowadays?" Officer Weston countered. An amused smile played on his lips. My face burned with embarrassment at being caught and I pressed into Ashton's back, trying to hide.

"Yes, sir," Ashton answered, his tone amused.

"Well, I'm glad you're taking your role as boyfriend seriously, Taylor," Weston said, shaking his head and walking away, chuckling to himself.

Ashton turned to me and winced. "Oops."

"That was so embarrassing!" I giggled.

"Embarrassing? I thought he was gonna have my balls," Ashton countered, shaking his head in amusement. He leant down and grabbed the gun from the floor, folding in the little legs before holding his hand out to me. "Come on, let's go to that museum I was telling you about. I'd really love to take you."

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. "You'll be bored," I countered.

A heart-stopping smile crept onto his face as his hand squeezed mine. "Not if I'm with you, I won't."

I didn't think it was possible to have a better day than the one we'd had previously, but I was wrong. After a few hours at the museum, we ate ice cream in the park while he told me little stories about living in LA, what he loved and hated about it. The more he'd spoken about it, the more in love with it I'd fallen. I'd decided there and then that if I managed to graduate and get a job, I would try to relocate to LA. Maybe then Ashton and I could hang out occasionally. Of course, that was three years into the future, and I still had a long way to go before I could think about graduating at all.

Once we'd finally grabbed one of the hotdogs that he raved about, we headed back to his apartment. He even allowed me drive, much to his horror and white knuckles. Ashton drove all the time usually, he said it was in case he had to take evasive action, but I knew it was just my driving he hated. I must admit, maybe I did drive a little too fast at times and tended to stomp on the brakes a little too hard occasionally.

We'd already arranged to go out again with his friends tonight. One of Nate's cousins was a doorman at a bar that had a live band playing, so that was where we were heading tonight.

Once we were back at his apartment, I changed into a little black dress and some hot pink heels. My hair was unsalvageable, so I just unfastened the braid and clipped it up in a little twist at the back of my head. While Ashton dressed next to me, the red scratches on his back came into view again.

I winced. "Did I hurt you last night? I'm really sorry," I muttered, nodding at his back when he seemed confused.

He twisted, looking in the mirror before laughing. "Looks like you marked me too then," he mused. He slipped on a shirt, covering it up and smiled over at me. "You weren't hurting me, trust me."

I chewed on my lip and stood up, smoothing down my skirt. "Look okay?"

"You look stunning." His eyes shone with adoration as he held out one hand towards me. "Ready?"

I nodded and grinned, excited for my second night out with him in LA.

When we arrived at the bar, Ashton led us past the huge line to the front and gave his name to the doorman. Much to my amazement, we were waved straight through.

Ashton scanned the bar from the doorway. I assumed he was looking for his friends, but couldn't rule out the possibility that he was surveying the area for hostiles because he never seemed to relax. Nate's blond head caught my attention, and I frowned as I spotted Seth standing a few feet away from him with his tongue down a girl's throat already. I looked back at Ashton and felt unreasonable jealousy settle in the pit of my stomach as I wondered if he had a different girl every night like his friends seemed too. If he did, it would explain why he was so killer in bed.

"They're over there," I stated, pointing towards Nate.

He smiled and took my hand as he guided us through the crowd. Nate's eyes widened as we stopped next to him. "Wow, you look hot Anna. Fuck me," he said, looking me over slowly.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass," I joked, shrugging.

He grinned. "You're funny."

"Did you have fun last night? I was worried when you didn't come home," I teased.

"Aw, that's sweet. Were you concerned about little old me? Or did you just want someone to rock you to sleep?" he asked, winking and smirking at me.

"Yeah, you know anyone?" I shrugged, playing along.

Nate looked at Ashton and grinned. "You know, Taylor, you said I'd be in love with her by the end of the weekend and damn, I think you're right." He slapped Ashton on the shoulder proudly.

"Too bad I'm taken, huh?" I joked.

Nate stepped closer to me. There was a calculating edge to his eyes that made me slightly nervous, not in the frightened way, but in the 'he's up to no good' way. "I think we should play a little game," he suggested, grinning wickedly.

"What kind of game?"

His smile widened. "A dating game. Let's see who can get the most phone numbers from the opposite sex tonight."

I laughed and shook my head, stepping closer to Ashton. "I have all the phone numbers I want, thanks," I declined.

Nate pouted. "Oh come on, a little competition. If I win, then I get to drive your rental car for an hour tomorrow, and if you win, hmm well, what do you want?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

I laughed wickedly as a plan formed in my head. "If I win, you get up on stage and sing a song of my choice," I bargained.

He laughed, looking way too overconfident in his ability. "Deal. There's no way I'm losing this bet. Getting girls' digits is my specialty," he announced proudly.

I turned to Ashton and raised one eyebrow. "You okay if I play this, Pretty Boy? You know I'm coming home with you, right? Not gonna have a jealous hissy fit?" A jealous hissy fit wasn't actually what I was expecting, more like a panic attack because I would be more than four feet from him while out in the open.

"As long as you know you're mine, we're all good," he answered, bending and kissing my cheek. He turned to Nate and smirked confidently. "You really shouldn't play against my girl, buddy. She's gonna kick your ass."

Nate made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat and waved his hand dismissively. "Winner is the one who has the most numbers by the end of the night," he explained with a confident smile plastered on his face. His eyes were already scanning the area for potential girls.

I shook my head quickly. "I don't want to play all night. Let's make it an hour instead." Nate nodded in agreement, looking at his watch. "By the way, are there any rules as to how to get these phone numbers?" I asked curiously. I didn't want to be accused of cheating.

"Nope, no rules. Anything's allowed. Hour starts now." He winked at me and then strode off into the crowd and up to a couple of girls that were giggling off to one side, dancing drunkenly. They didn't stand a chance against him. He was a serious charmer, and his awesome personality was matched by his good looks. I smiled and shook my head at his slutty behaviour, but I just couldn't bring myself to dislike him for it. He was such a great guy, women were clearly his downfall.

Turning back to Ashton, I smiled. "Wanna dance?"

He frowned. "You're not doing the game?"

I nodded, taking his hand and giving him a little tug towards where some other people were dancing already. "I am. I just don't need an hour to kick his butt."

After about half an hour of us dancing and flirting, Nate stopped at my side and grinned. "I've got four so far, how many have you got?"

"I haven't started yet." I shrugged.

He frowned, looking slightly annoyed. "Are you not playing?"

"Yeah, I'm playing. I'm just about to make my move actually, wanna watch?" I asked, winking slyly at him. I strutted confidently through the crowd and up to the bar. I leant over to the barman and gave him a seductive smile. "Hi, I need a favour; do you have a microphone I can borrow?"

"Er yeah, I've got one here so I can announce the band," he replied, picking up and microphone, looking a little baffled.

"Any chance I can borrow it and stand on the bar?" I asked hopefully, pouting and trying to be persuasive.

He blinked a couple of times and nodded, handing me the microphone. "Er... sure."

I put a twenty dollar bill on the bar. "Can I get a shot of whatever you have there," I asked, pointing to the nearest bottle. While he poured it, I lifted myself up onto the bar, trying to be ladylike considering my dress was relatively short. I grinned as I spotted Ashton and Nate both watching me with confused looks on their faces.

I stood up and took the shot from the barman as he held it out to me. After flicking the on switch on the microphone, I tapped the top of it, making a loud noise and a little screech. "Excuse me? Hi. Can I have everyone's attention, just for a minute?" I said into the microphone, making my voice ring out through the bar. People stopped and looked at me, obviously wondering what was going on. "So, my name's Tracey, I'm twenty-one, and I'm only in town for the next three days. I'm a part time lap dancer, and I've just found out my boyfriend cheated on me with my sister!" I lied, downing the shot. "He's here tonight. His name's Nate. He has blond hair and blue eyes; he's wearing a blue shirt. So, girls, if he comes up to you, I'd think twice about it, fucking asshole!" I scowled, trying to sound annoyed. "So anyway, I'll get straight to the point. I'm looking for some no-strings-attached rebound sex. If there are any single guys in here interested, then come and give me your number. I'll be over in the corner with my gay friends." I pointed over to the corner where Seth and Wayne were. "Thanks for your time." I sat down carefully and then eased myself off the bar. I smiled gratefully at the barman and placed the microphone onto the bar.

"I'll give you my number," he said quickly, scribbling on a napkin and holding it out to me.

"Great, I'll give you a call tomorrow," I looked down at the paper, "Paul," I added, reading his name off it. He grinned, and I walked back over to a shocked Ashton and Nate. "Beat that," I teased. "Oh, and I think something by Queen would be good." I patted Nate's chest, giggling at his astonished, yet slightly proud face.

"I told you not to play against my girl," Ashton chimed in, shaking his head in disbelief.

By the time I got back to where Seth was standing, I already had six numbers. Nate shook his head in protest. "You cheated," he accused.

"No way! I asked you if there were any rules and you said that anything was allowed. Isn't that right, Wayne?" I asked, grinning.

Wayne nodded. "Yep, dude, those were your exact words," he agreed, laughing as Nate punched him in the shoulder.

I grinned at Nate triumphantly. "So, how many do you have? Can we stop now?" I asked as another guy came up to me and handed me his number.

He sighed dramatically. "Yeah, okay. You win, I guess," he grumbled dejectedly.

I grinned and turned to Ashton, cupping his face in my hands. "What? You're secretly in love with me, and you're not really gay?" I cried. He flinched, taken by surprise at my outburst, but I didn't give him time to recover before I pressed my lips to his, kissing him passionately.

### Chapter Twenty-Five

### ~ Ashton ~

As we walked back to my apartment, I held Anna's hand tightly. I'd had another incredible night. The band had been great, dancing with her was great, and Nate singing at the end of the night was priceless. Nate was easily the worst singer I had ever heard in my life, so Anna couldn't have chosen a better forfeit for him to do.

Nate was coming home with us tonight too. Due to Anna's little _'he slept with my sister'_ stunt, he hadn't managed to hook up with anyone tonight, much to his disappointment. From the corner of my eye, I glanced at Anna and silently wondered if she was going to want me to make love to her again tonight. Every part of my body hoped that she did. The girl literally blew my mind. Last night and this morning was the best sex I'd ever had in my life, and I'd savoured every last second of it in case I never got to do it again.

In a way, Anna had ruined me. I couldn't even look at other girls anymore; they were nothing in comparison to her. She was just incredible inside and out and what we had was more than just sex, it was everything that was good in my world. Being that close to her and knowing she would never allow another in my place made me feel as if I were the only man in the world.

When we got to my apartment, it was a little after one in the morning. "Hey, wanna play PlayStation?" Anna chirped.

I grinned; she honestly was the perfect girl. "Yeah, if you want to."

Nate jumped over the side of the sofa. "First game!" he called excitedly. I rolled my eyes; he was such a kid at times.

"You two play first, I'm gonna go change," Anna suggested. As she walked past me, she trailed her hand across my ass teasingly. I had the strong urge to follow her into the bedroom, but I wasn't sure she'd want that. Instead, I plopped down onto the sofa next to Nate. We were in the middle of a mission on Grand Theft Auto when Anna walked out of the bedroom. She'd let her hair down so it fell messily around her shoulders. She had on one of my T-shirts and nothing else. Her long, toned legs were bare and begging to be touched. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Holy shit, come sit by me, Anna," Nate suggested, smirking at her and patting the chair next to him. Jealousy reared its ugly head, as it kept doing when he hit on her, so before I knew what I was doing, I'd punched him in the arm.

Anna giggled and shook her head. "I'm gonna make a sandwich or something, you two want anything?"

"Yeah, sounds good. You need a hand?" I asked, silently adding 'or any other body part' on the end.

"Nah, I think I got it, Pretty Boy," she smiled her sexy smile and disappeared into the kitchen.

Instantly, Nate turned to me with wide eyes. "How the hell do you cope with that all the time?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Cope with what?"

"With dating Anna. I mean, damn, she's so hot, I'd just want to bone her all day. You really like her, huh?" he questioned. He wasn't teasing, which was surprising.

"Yeah, I'm so totally in love with her that it's not even funny."

"You'd better not screw this up, bud, because seriously, I'm gonna ask her out if you do," he said, looking at me warningly. His serious expression told me he wasn't joking.

"I won't screw it up," I promised. I just prayed that at the end of my assignment she'd still want to be around me.

"Good, because I really like this one, I think she's a keeper."

"Who's a keeper?" Anna asked as she strutted back into the room with a plate of sandwiches, which she set on the coffee table.

"This girl on the game," Nate lied quickly.

Anna looked at the screen, and a little frown lined her forehead because we were driving down the street in a stolen police car, no girl in sight. She picked up a sandwich and sat next to me, swinging her legs up into my lap. My attention was now solely on her bare legs and not on the game at hand so, of course, I was killed within a minute and passed my controller on to her. The position certainly wasn't helping with my inappropriate arousal that seemed to happen all the time around her, and she was sure to feel it poking her in the leg but, thankfully, she didn't mention it.

Unable to resist, I traced my hand up her leg, marvelling over the feel of her soft skin. My heart started to race as my hand reached her inner thigh. Her leg twitched, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she looked at me and sank her teeth into her bottom lip. I gulped loudly as she sat up and manoeuvred herself onto my lap. Her hand fisted into the back of my hair as her eyes locked on mine. The pure, unadulterated lust that I saw on her face sent shockwaves through my whole body. She leant in, pressing her chest against mine tightly as her mouth inched towards mine before stopping a hairsbreadth away.

"Bedroom, Agent Taylor. Now." Her lips brushed against mine as she spoke.

I grinned, catching on immediately. "Yes, ma'am," I answered, taking the controller from her hand and tossing it to a shocked and envious Nate. I gripped her pert little ass and pushed myself up off the sofa, taking her with me. Her lips crashed against mine as I carried her to the bedroom and kicked the door closed behind me.

As the kiss deepened, I pressed her against the wall. My fingers dug into her thighs, trying to cope with the sheer luxury of having her body wrapped around mine again. Slightly confused as to what she wanted, I broke the kiss and put my forehead to hers. "Anna, what are-"

Her lips pressed against mine, silencing me before I could voice my question fully. Her hands immediately went to my belt buckle, pulling on it frantically. My excitement bumped up another level as she wrenched the buttons open and slipped her hand inside, releasing my now painful erection. I groaned as her small hand wrapped around me tightly.

"Now, please, right now," she begged breathlessly.

I nodded and fumbled in my pocket, pulling out my wallet intending to find the condoms that I'd purchased from the bathroom of the club, but her mouth closed over mine and she shifted her hips on me, crushing herself against me tightly.

"What are you waiting for, you want me to beg?" she asked breathlessly.

I grinned against her lips. "That would be pretty hot," I admitted.

Her teeth sank into my bottom lip in reprimand as her thighs tightened around my waist. I chuckled wickedly, but her hand started stroking my erection gently and I knew I was done for. Now almost desperate, I dropped my wallet carelessly and took hold of her hips, lifting her higher and positioning myself at her entrance. I could feel the heat that was waiting to envelop me. I held my breath, waiting for the intense pleasure of her as I pushed her panties to the side and pulled her down onto me, forcing my body inside hers. She threw her head back, accidentally banging it on the wall behind her as she moaned my name. I hissed through my teeth as her inner muscles instantly gripped me in a vice-like grip. She fitted me like a glove. It was like she was made for me. Slipping one arm under her ass, I held her still as I used my free hand to tug off the T-shirt that she was wearing. She squeezed herself tighter to me, forcing me in another inch, taking my whole length inside her. The pleasure of her was so immense that it was almost dizzying.

She gasped and gripped the back of my head as she pressed her forehead to mine, looking me directly in the eye as she spoke. "This still counts as last night."

Disappointment rushed through me at the thought of not being with her like a real boyfriend tomorrow, but the disappointment soon faded as she shifted her hips, making me move inside her.

I groaned and lifted her hips, starting up a rhythm that seemed to suit her. I kissed her passionately, wishing I could make her love me like I loved her – even half as much would still be more than I thought it was possible to love anyone. I loved her with everything I had; everything that was important to me just disappeared in a puff of smoke when she came into my life. I would do absolutely anything for her. She felt something for me too, deep down I knew it, but she was just scared of getting hurt again. I could wait though; I'd wait as long as she needed.

Her inner muscles started to tighten with each thrust; it was getting harder to move inside her as her moans became louder and more frequent. Suddenly her hips bucked and her whole body jerked as her eyes squeezed shut. Her inner walls tightened and convulsed around me, trying to force me to finish too, but I couldn't allow that to happen. In the back of my mind, I was acutely aware that I hadn't put on a condom, so I needed to be careful. At the tip of her climax, she gasped my name. The sound of it made my heart ache. I panted through her orgasm, trying to remain in control as the pleasure of her coming apart at my touch was becoming almost too much to bear.

Once her body started to relax and she slumped against me, I held her still against me and carried her over to the bed. Laying her down gently, I pulled out of her and just stared down at her in awe. She was gasping for breath with a look of pure pleasure and happiness stretched across her face. Pride swelled inside me that I had made her, the broken and emotionless girl, feel happy. Reaching out, I snagged my camera from the side and took a picture of her face.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she protested, trying to grab it from my hands.

I smiled and held it out of reach. "I just love that look on your face, and if I'm not gonna get to see it again after this trip, then I want to be able to have a picture of it," I explained, shrugging. I didn't need a photo though, I was confident that I'd be able to see that face every time I closed my eyes. As she smiled up at me and ran her fingers through my hair, I silently wondered why I couldn't have met her four years ago before all that terrible stuff happened to her. Maybe then I could have stolen her from Jack, and she wouldn't be afraid to fall for me.

Suddenly her smile faded, replaced by a horrified expression. "Oh no! We didn't use a condom!"

I smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, I didn't finish." I brushed her hair from her sweaty forehead.

She gasped. "You didn't?" She looked both relieved and angry at the same time.

I winced, knowing that she was going to chew me out for not using a condom. "I was going to put one on, and then I got distracted. You said now, and I just, I don't know, I lost my thoughts. I remembered though, I didn't finish, it should be fine," I rambled, trying to explain my irresponsible act.

She put her hand over my mouth, stopping my garbled excuses. "Just shush," she whispered, lifting her head and brushing her nose up the side of mine. She gripped my shoulders and pushed me onto my back, moving to straddle me. "So you haven't finished?" she asked, grinning wickedly.

I shook my head, watching her, waiting for her reaction and scolding. Instead, she stood up on the bed above me, one foot either side of my hips. She unclasped her bra, sliding it off slowly, making my breath catch in my throat as her breasts came into view. She swung her bra on one finger teasingly before dropping it in my face. I groaned and moved the material quickly so I could watch her. She was grinning as she ran her hands across the waist of her panties before slipping her hand inside the hips of them, pulling them down slowly, running her hands down her legs as she did it. With every inch that the panties moved down, my heart rate seemed to speed up. With every inch of creamy flesh that her hands traced over, I felt my arousal heighten. She didn't once take her eyes from my face. This was killing me slowly; it was the hottest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I moaned as she kicked them off, standing stark naked above me, making my mouth water as she exposed all of her brilliance.

"Anna," I breathed, I couldn't summon any more words than that, my brain was like mush. Clearly I'd unleashed a sex-crazed freaking monster. Whatever the hell she was doing was almost painful. I gripped my hands around the back of her knees and pulled, making her knees buckle. She fell onto me, giggling. I could feel her naked skin pressing on every inch of my chest making me tingle with excitement. I ran my hands up her legs, from her knees, following the curves of her body, all the way up to her breasts.

She pushed herself up to sitting, straddling my chest, looking at me sternly, grabbing my hands from her body and pinning them above my head. She shook her head forcefully. "No, Agent Taylor, I'm in charge, and you'll do as you're told," she scolded, grinning wickedly. My stomach clenched and, impossibly, my dick got even harder.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, ma'am," I replied, knowing she'd like that.

She narrowed her eyes and moaned breathily. "That is so damn hot, Ashton," she purred, licking her lips slowly. I smiled at how turned on she was too, it seemed like she was loving this just as much as I was. "Now, where are your handcuffs, Agent?" she asked.

_Holy fuck._ "Seriously?" I asked breathlessly. My excitement was spiking to new heights at the thought alone.

"I'm serious, Agent. Where are your handcuffs?" she repeated, biting her lip.

"Over in my top drawer on the right," I answered quickly. I was so excited that I could barely breathe. She grinned and climbed off me, walking naked to my drawers. I watched her pert ass sway as she walked. The little red hickey that I'd put there the previous night actually made my mouth water. As she pulled the drawer open, she giggled excitedly as she reached in and produced my SWAT tactical waistcoat. Her eyes lit up as she looked back at me and raised one eyebrow as if silently asking my permission. I gulped and nodded. Almost instantly, she slipped it on and zipped it up. I groaned loudly because of how hot she looked in that. I'd never be able to look at my uniform the same way again. She sashayed her way back to me, crawling on all fours over the bed, her eyes playful. Every nerve in my body was on fire with desire as she climbed onto me, straddling me before kissing me deeply. She held up the handcuffs and smiled as she reached my hands, pushing them through the bars on my headboard before clipping the handcuffs around my wrists. I'd honestly never seen anything more beautiful than her sitting on top of me, wearing just my waistcoat, and that sexy smile.

She grinned at me wickedly. "I'm gonna go play PlayStation with Nate," she smiled teasingly, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you dare," I warned.

She laughed and put her finger to her chin, pretending to think. "Hmm, actually I think maybe I'll have more fun here with you," she purred. "I'm gonna tease you until you beg for mercy." She grinned wickedly, and I knew then that I would probably die before this night was over.

"As long as you fuck me after, I don't mind," I answered.

She bent forward, tracing her nose along the edge of my jaw. "Oh I will, don't you worry about that, Agent Taylor."

My heart was crashing in my chest. I loved this girl so much; I really wished she knew it.

Once she'd finished with me, she slumped down against my chest, pressing her face into my neck, breathing heavily. Our bodies were slick with sweat. I bit my lip when I wanted to confess my love for her, she really didn't need to know that.

I turned my head and kissed her temple, still feeling my heart fly in my chest. "That was freaking awesome," I muttered breathlessly. Annabelle Spencer certainly had a wild side, and although some of the time she'd looked a little insecure and had silently asked my permission for stuff, she had undoubtedly been liberated by what we had just done.

She sighed happily and ran her hands up my arms, pushing her hands through the bars of the headboard and interlacing our fingers. "Mmm," she mumbled.

I gripped her hands tightly, afraid to let go. The sad truth was that I wanted her forever, but she just had no idea.

After a few minutes, she raised her head and smiled lazily at me. "That was the most fun I've ever had," she whispered, kissing my mouth.

I grinned; she'd taken the words right out of my mouth. "I'm glad, Baby Girl. Now, can you take these damn cuffs off me so I can wrap my arms around you?" I asked, looking at her longingly. I needed to touch her, hold her, make the most of every second of her before this agreement was over.

She laughed and sat up on me. "Hmm, I'm not sure I want to let you go just yet. Where exactly did you put your camera?" she teased. I looked at her warningly, and she giggled. "Okay, okay. Where are the keys?" She bent down and kissed me, making my world spin faster. I needed to get these cuffs off and hold her, my whole body was aching for that closeness, that reassurance that I wasn't going to lose her.

"Same drawer where you got the cuffs," I mumbled against her lips. She climbed off me, looking somewhat reluctant, and went to the drawer. I glanced at the clock, shocked to see that it was quarter to three in the morning, which meant that we'd been at this for over an hour and a half.

She came back with the key, smiling teasingly. "So, what's it worth, Pretty Boy?"

"Whatever you want." I'd give her anything she asked for – not that I'd tell her that though because she already ran rings around me.

"How about I have a girls' night at our place when we get back," she blurted quickly, a hopeful expression on her face.

I looked at her curiously. _She wants some girlfriends over? I don't mind that._ "Sure." I shrugged. I was getting off easy with that one.

"You're not allowed to be there. You have to wait next door with Dean and Peter," she added, grimacing.

"What? No way, that's not happening!" I said sternly.

Her shoulders slumped with disappointment as she crawled to my side. "Please? Not all night, just for a couple of hours. Maybe a movie and some drinks?" she suggested, pouting and shooting me the face that I had serious issues saying no to.

I swallowed hard, trying not to give in. "Anna, I can't do that," I said apologetically praying she wouldn't keep asking.

She sighed sadly, and my heart sank. I hated telling her no. "Okay, never mind, it was just a thought," she muttered, reaching out and unlocking my hands.

As soon as I was free, I grabbed her into a hug and rolled to my side, pulling her close to me. I ignored the fact that her naked body fitted perfectly against mine and that her breasts were pressed tight against my chest. "Please don't be upset, Baby Girl. I just can't let that happen," I whined, feeling awful.

"I know. I shouldn't have asked. I just wanted to be a normal girl for a change. Don't worry about it; it was a stupid idea anyway. I knew you wouldn't go for it," she shrugged, smiling weakly, but it was a forced smile and I could see the disappointment in her eyes, even though she was trying to disguise it.

I groaned, knowing I shouldn't allow it but not being able to stand the look on her face. It wasn't even as if she was asking for the world, it was only a couple of girls. I'd just have to pray her father didn't hear about it, otherwise I'd be in trouble for neglecting my duties.

"Okay fine," I agreed. "But not all night," I added quickly.

Her head snapped up. "Seriously?" A smile crept onto her lips and her eyes widened with excitement.

I grinned; I loved seeing her happy. "Seriously," I confirmed, nodding and hooking my leg over hers, pulling her closer to me.

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.

### Chapter Twenty-Six

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.

She giggled and poked me in the ribs, which just started a tickle war that she most certainly lost before she begged me to stop, claiming she was about to pee herself. Happier than I had been in a long time, I settled down on the sofa next to her, just breathing her in as we talked about nothing in particular. In the back of my mind, I knew that I had to be the luckiest guy in the world because Annabelle Spencer was in my arms.

When the sound of the front door opening cut through the happy cloud I seemed to be floating on, my heart took off in a sprint. Reacting instinctively, I jumped up and wrenched my gun from my ankle holster, pointing at the door ready to shoot if it was Carter or one of his men.

Instead though, Nate gasped and his hands flew up innocently. "Whoa shit! It's me. Damn it, Ashton, calm down!" he shouted, shaking his head in disbelief.

I recoiled quickly, immediately clicking on the safety on my gun. "Shit, sorry, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," I admitted sheepishly.

"Soon? Dude, I've been gone an hour," he grumbled, frowning at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"Oh, I didn't realise," I admitted, running a hand through my hair. I hadn't realised we'd been cuddling and talking for that long. My eyes flicked down to Anna; she was sitting up, seemingly frozen in place, her eyes wide, and her mouth agape. I knelt down next to the sofa and shook my head. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl. Are you okay?"

She nodded, finally closing her mouth. She pushed herself up to her feet, not looking at me. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

As she walked off, my gaze dropped to her hands, noticing that they were shaking. I frowned, hating myself because I'd frightened her. Following her up the hallway, I slapped Nate on the shoulder apologetically. My hand closed over hers as she got to the bathroom. "Are you really okay? I'm so sorry that I scared you. It was a shock, I wasn't expecting anyone, I just reacted," I explained.

She nodded. Her face was pale, and her eyes were a little vacant. "It's fine."

I traced my hands up her arms, gripping her shoulders. "If it's fine, then why are you shaking all over?"

A tear escaped down her face. "I... I just thought, when you jumped up like that, I thought for a second he was there and he'd come back for me," she whispered. Her lip trembled as she spoke.

I groaned, looking up the hallway to see that Nate was watching us curiously. I couldn't have this conversation in front of him. Reaching behind her, I pushed the bathroom door open and guided her in there, closing the door tightly behind me. "He won't hurt you again, I promise. You don't need to be scared anymore. I won't ever let him hurt you," I vowed, kissing the top of her head as I pulled her in for a hug. She nodded and clung to me tightly. "I'm so sorry I upset you, this is my fault."

She shook her head quickly. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I'm such a stupid idiot." She pulled away from me and swiped at her face roughly, wiping the telltale tears away.

"You're not an idiot, Baby Girl. You're perfect." I hated the way she thought of herself so badly. She always seemed to turn everything bad around and make it her own fault. It was no wonder she didn't cope particularly well sometimes; she shouldered too much guilt and blame.

She sniffed and looked over at the shower. I took that as my cue to leave and dipped my head, kissing her cheek before walking to the door. "I'll just be outside," I muttered.

"Wait!" she called just as my hand closed around the door handle. "I don't want to be on my own. Will you stay with me?" she begged. "Please? Just sit on the toilet or something."

She wanted me to stay in here while she was in the shower? "Er, yeah, sure okay," I replied, nodding. I made my way over and sat on the toilet, watching as she brushed her teeth before turning on the shower. I groaned internally because I was about to be in the same room with her, naked. As my shirt that she wore fluttered to the floor, I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't see.

"You're really going to sit on the toilet with your eyes closed?" she chuckled weakly.

"Mmm hmm," I mumbled, not trusting my voice to speak. The sound of the water changed, so I knew she was under the spray. I put my head in my hands and tried to think of something else other than the water caressing her flawless body. This felt like torture.

"Ashton?"

"Yeah?"

"We're still in LA, you know," she giggled.

My body jerked. _Does that mean what I think it means?_ "And?" I prompted, not wanting to get my hopes up.

"And, get your hot ass in this shower with me and make me think about something nice instead of what I'm thinking about right now."

I stood so quickly that I almost stumbled as my hands went to the bottom of my T-shirt. She didn't need to ask me twice. Once naked, I stepped into the shower and groaned because of how stunning she looked.

She smiled weakly. "That was fast," she teased.

"Well, that was an offer I couldn't refuse," I answered, my voice husky and thick with lust. I watched as the water ran down her body, caressing every inch of her. She gave me a sexy smile and stepped back further into the spray, holding out one hand towards me. I gripped her trembling hand, vowing to take her mind off what happened even if it killed me.

The day passed incredibly fast. While she packed her clothes, I hung out with Nate in the lounge. Although we were playing a video game, I couldn't keep my mind off the hot, little shower scene that had gone down hours before. I'd probably never be able to take a shower again without thinking of it. That was another thing she'd ruined for me.

Suddenly, Nate groaned and looked down at his watch. "I have to leave for work. Where's that sexy ass of a girlfriend you have? I want to say goodbye."

"Bedroom, packing." I pushed myself up and he followed me into the bedroom, where she was still gathering stuff up. I noticed that she'd started packing my clothes for me too.

"Hey, Anna, I've got to go to work now. It was really good to meet you," Nate said, walking up to her with his arms out. I stiffened, knowing that she wouldn't want to be that close to him.

I saw her hold her breath as she hugged him. "Yeah, you too, Nate. Thanks for letting me stay in your bachelor pad."

He grinned wolfishly. "You know what, you can come and stay anytime you want." He turned back to me, slapping me on the arm. "Seriously, Taylor, bring her back here, she's a lot of fun." I could tell by the way he said it that he'd meant it, he genuinely liked Anna.

"I will," I confirmed. I would certainly be working on her, trying to convince her to come back here with me in her next scheduled school break. Hopefully her father would go for it a second time, seeing as this trip was so successful.

He gave me a hug and slapped me hard on the back. "I'll give you a call, we can arrange a time for playing," he chirped excitedly. I grinned and nodded in agreement, thinking lovingly about my PS4 that I had waiting for me at our apartment.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll call you."

Anna smiled and waved as he left the room, closing the door behind him. "Nate's a great guy. I can see why you like him."

"Yeah, he's cool, all the girls think so," I replied, grinning at her.

"Hmm, that's funny; he just doesn't do it for me," she winked at me, and we both laughed and packed up our belongings. Before we left the apartment, I took a few shots of the place. I already had the exact pictures that I wanted on here. There were at least fifteen good photos of me and Anna, and more than that of just her on her own, looking like a goddess.

On the way to the airport, we stopped by Denny's to get another chilli cheese dog. That was another thing I would miss about LA. Before we boarded, I called Dean to make sure that he knew where and when to meet us on the other side of the flight. Once everything was set, we were ushered through and seated in first class. As soon as we were in the comfy chairs, she scooted closer to me and I wrapped my arm around her tightly. Within minutes, my eyes became heavy due to my lack of sleep the previous night. When I knew I couldn't fight it anymore, I rested my head back on the chair and just let myself doze.

" _Ashton, help me please!" she begs. I can hear that she's crying, her breathing is hitching somewhere off in the darkness, but I can't see her. I turn, running in the direction that I think she is, but I can't find her. Doors and corridors stretch off into the distance, and her crying seems to echo from the walls so I can't get a sense of direction. The place is like a maze. "Please, he's coming. Please help me!" she screams._

Desperation makes me feel sick as I run and run, crashing through door after door, trying to get to her. "I can't find you, Anna! Where are you?" I shout, spinning in a little circle as I grip my hands into my hair, totally panic stricken.

" _Please help me," her voice is a whisper and it breaks my heart as I start running aimlessly again._

A wicked laugh echoes down the corridor and my hair stands up on the back of my neck as I hear his voice. "Well hello, Princess, long time no see."

I jerked up, gasping for breath as my hand shot straight down to my ankle, fumbling as I reached for my gun. But it wasn't there, my holster was empty. I'd had to check it in, so it was locked in a little box in the cockpit with the pilot because of the standard air travel procedure. Sweat beaded on my brow as I looked around quickly, realising that I wasn't in some darkened maze trying to find her; I was, in fact, still sitting in first class. Anna looked up at me worriedly, her sketchpad balanced on her knees.

"Ashton, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Baby Girl. I just had a bad dream." As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't.

"Really, what about?" she asked, snuggling against me. Her touch made my panic fade marginally.

I grasped wildly at anything that wasn't to do with Carter. "Car crash."

She recoiled, scrunching her nose up. "Maybe I should drive when we land," she replied, raising one eyebrow teasingly.

I shook my head and laughed, feeling my tense body relaxing. "No. You were driving in my dream."

She slapped my chest playfully. "I'm not a bad driver!"

"Yeah right, I won't trust you to drive our kids around," I joked.

She poked me in the side playfully. "I'm not having your babies, Pretty Boy."

I shrugged casually. "Hopefully you'll change your mind. I still have time to make you fall for me. I predict we'll be engaged within a year," I teased, pulling her body closer to mine, noticing how she tensed at my words.

Her forehead creased with a frown as her eyes tightened. "You still under the impression that I'm gonna fall in love with you?" she replied sarcastically.

"I'm hoping." I smiled and couldn't help but laugh; if she knew I was serious, she'd freak the hell out! Knowing I needed to change the subject before she saw though my playful joke that wasn't actually a joke, I nodded at her sketchpad. "What you drawing?"

She smiled and turned it around so I could see. On the page was a perfectly drawn portrait of Nate and me sitting on the sofa in my apartment.

"That's incredible." What she could do with a piece of paper and a pencil amazed me.

"Thanks," she nudged my shoulder with hers. "So, that girls' night..." she trailed off, looking at me hopefully.

I suppressed my groan and forced a smile. I had agreed to it after all, so there was no backing out now. "Yeah, whenever you want."

She beamed at me and her whole face seemed to light up. "I'll talk to them about it tomorrow then, maybe we'll arrange it for Friday night?" she suggested, watching my face.

I nodded and looked away so she didn't see that panic that was starting to burn inside me at the thought of leaving her alone. Technically, I wasn't allowed to leave her alone if there was someone else with her, but I would be right next door. I could maybe have a background check done on them before they came, just to make sure nothing flagged up. Today was only Sunday, so I had a few days to get some searches run before Friday. I'd definitely keep that secret though, she'd probably kill me if she knew I was screening her friends.

### Chapter Twenty-Seven

### ~ Anna ~

As I slowly started to wake up on Saturday morning, I realised my head was pounding. I groaned and put my hands up to my head, squeezing my temples, trying to get the pain to subside. The previous night had been girls' night, and I had certainly made the most of it. Though my head was now telling me that there had been way too much giggling, pizza, popcorn and vodka.

"Suffering?"

I groaned again because of the loud voice that was almost gloating near my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, nodding. He laughed and my ears instantly rang. "Shh!" I mumbled, rolling onto my front, pressing the pillow over my head. "Ugh, don't let me drink ever again!" I moaned.

He laughed, and the mattress dipped next to me. "Here, I brought these in for you, I thought you'd be a little delicate this morning," he whispered, sounding amused. I lifted the pillow off my head to see him sitting up, fully dressed, holding out a glass of water and two pills.

"Thanks," I mumbled gratefully, pushing myself up and swallowing them quickly. Looking down at myself, I saw that I was still wearing my shirt that I had on last night. My jeans were in a pile on the floor though. I didn't even remember coming to bed, but clearly I'd been too intoxicated for pyjamas.

Ashton smiled widely. "Come on then, get up and get dressed, I'm taking you out for breakfast to make you feel better."

I looked him over while he spoke. He looked super sexy today. He had on a pair of light blue ripped jeans and a white T-shirt with a black hoodie over the top. I swallowed my wave of desire quickly. It had been almost a week since we'd been back from LA, and keeping things on a purely friends' level had been a struggle. Now that I knew how good being with him could be, I couldn't help but wish for it to happen again and again, but we were managing to move past it and behave in a respectable manner.

"You look nice today," I muttered, lying back down and throwing my arm over my eyes to keep out the light.

He laughed and lay down next to me. "Are you still drunk? I thought you would have cut out the flirting now that you aren't stumbling all over the place," he teased, moving my arm and smirking at me.

I shook my head. "Was I drunken flirting with you again?" I asked, smiling apologetically.

"Oh yeah, Baby Girl. After I carried you to bed, you begged me to fuck your brains out, you cursed angrily because my belt buckle wouldn't unfasten and, therefore, must have been made by ugly goblins that didn't agree with sex, and then in the end you made me go to sleep right on top of you when I turned you down," he said, chuckling.

I smiled sheepishly, feeling a blush creep up my face and neck. "Sorry. I guess I forget myself when I'm drunk."

He grinned and nodded in agreement. "Don't worry though, I was a perfect gentleman. I didn't even let you blow me like you were begging."

I squealed and threw my hands over my face. "Oh God, stop. There's a reason that people don't remember these things in the morning, you're not supposed to remind me! The alcohol induced memory loss is a form of protection from all the stupid things you did the night before."

He chuckled wickedly. "Alright, fine. I won't say another word." He sat up. "Can we go eat? I'm starving."

I sat up and winced as the movement made my head a little fuzzy. "You're always starving," I teased. He grinned and leant in, planting a soft kiss on my forehead before standing up and leaving the room.

Forgoing the shower because I didn't have the energy, I dressed and then put on a large pair of shades to keep the brightness of the day out of my eyes.

"Hey, you ready?" he chirped as I walked out of the bedroom. I nodded, picking up my purse. "I'm in the mood for bacon, what about you?" he asked, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers.

I shrugged. "Anything, as long as it's greasy and bad for me."

In the local café that was a five minute drive away from our apartment, I ordered a huge plate of bacon and eggs, and surprisingly, it did make me feel better. Or maybe that was the two espressos that I had to accompany it.

"So, about our date tonight, I know where I want to go. Make sure you dress casual and warm, and no heels," Ashton instructed, grinning as we waited for the waitress to bring his change. I frowned. Our date night was usually on a Friday, but because I'd had my girls' night, we'd shifted our date to tonight instead.

I cocked my head to the side. "Where are we going?"

He shook his head, smiling teasingly. "Surprise."

"Oh come on, tell me, please?" I whined. I hated surprises, and he knew it.

"Nope," he answered, popping the p. The bell above the door rang, signalling someone either coming in or leaving the café. His eyes flicked to the door and his body stiffened. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see a group of five guys walking in. They were all loud and boisterous, like they were still drunk or high from the night before. "You ready to go?" he asked, still discreetly watching the group of guys as they started harassing a couple of women a couple of tables away. I nodded, standing up. Ashton's hand wrapped around mine as he pulled me close to his back on the opposite side to the men than were laughing and jeering, pushing each other playfully.

When we were about four feet from the door, one of them stepped in front of us and smiled. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, excuse us." Ashton smiled politely, tightening his grip on my hand.

"Well, maybe your lady would rather stay here," the guy suggested, smiling at me.

I snorted in disbelief. "No thanks."

Ashton shifted on the balls of his feet. "Seriously, bud, excuse us before you get yourself hurt," he growled. The guy laughed but stepped out of the way, waving us through. As soon as we walked past him, he grabbed my hand, yanking me backwards. My instincts took over and I turned, throwing my knee up into his groin. He groaned in pain and Ashton shoved me towards the door as one of the other guys stepped forward.

"Son of a bitch!" he ranted.

"Leave with Dean!" Ashton growled, pushing me towards the door again.

"What? No!" I cried, horrified. There was no way I was leaving him here with five guys.

"NOW, ANNA!" he ordered.

I flinched at the authority in his voice and quickly turned for the door. As soon as I was outside, I ran to Dean, who was about a hundred years away, leaning casually against the wall. "There's a fight. Go help him!" I shouted, pointing frantically at the café. I felt sick with worry. He was going to get hurt, I just knew it. My heart was pounding out of my chest.

Dean's eyes widened as he looked back at the café but didn't move. Suddenly he shook his head. "No. I need to take you away." His hand clamped around my elbow, starting to drag me forward.

_What the hell? He's going to leave Ashton on his own?_ "Dean, what the hell are you doing? Ashton's in there with five guys!" I screamed, trying desperately to shake off his hold.

"Then I feel sorry for the five guys. My orders from him are to take you away if there's trouble," he replied simply.

I didn't want to hurt him, but if he carried on dragging me away then I was going to break his face. "For God's sake! You can't just leave him in there. Get the hell off me! Dean, will you stop? Ashton's in there on his own, please go and help him!" I shouted, struggling to a stop.

Another pair of hands gripped my hips, and I squealed from the shock. "Chill out, Baby Girl, I'm here," Ashton said in my ear.

My breath caught as my heart stuttered. I turned to face him and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "What happened? Are you okay?" I asked, gripping onto him for dear life, probably choking the life out of him.

Instead of answering, his arms circled my waist and he lifted me off my feet. "Dean, let's get her to your car," he ordered. He moved one hand to my ass and forced my legs around his waist with the other as he started to jog in the direction of the car.

"I can walk, Ashton," I protested, unwrapping one of my legs, but he just hooked it back there again and continued to jog towards the parking lot where we'd left the cars.

"I know you can, just humour me, okay?" he countered, gripping me tightly. My breathing started to slow, and my stomach unclenched now that he was here with me. When we got to Dean's car, Ashton set me in the passenger seat and slammed the door, talking to Dean outside. I took the opportunity to look at every inch of his exposed skin, trying to see a red mark or blemish that indicated that he'd been injured, but there was nothing.

Suddenly, he slapped Dean on the shoulder and turned on his heel, running off towards the café again. I gasped and tried to open my door so I could follow him, but Dean pushed me back into the car and locked the door before running around to the driver's side.

"What's going on? Where's he going? Is he okay?" I shouted as he started the car, pulling out without even buckling his seatbelt.

"He's fine. Someone called the police, he needs to go and handle that. It's best that you're not there so he doesn't have to explain the whole undercover thing," he explained.

I gasped, looking back over my shoulder, hating that we were driving away and leaving him. "Someone called the police? Well, what happened?" I cried, wiping my face, I didn't even realise I was crying until I did that.

Dean shrugged. "He took care of it.

_Took care of it? What the heck does that mean? There were five guys in there for goodness' sake!_ "What? How?"

Dean grinned and shook his head as if I'd said something silly. "Annabelle, he's an excellent Agent. You shouldn't worry about him."

I scowled at him. "I'd worry about you too, you know. I just don't think you should have left him like that! He wouldn't do that if that was you. He wouldn't have left you!" I ranted angrily.

He laughed loudly. "Annabelle, Ashton would kill me himself if it meant he could stop you from getting hurt. I have no doubt in my mind about that," he replied, still laughing.

I sighed angrily and looked out the window, not wanting to talk to him anymore. I hated the thought of Ashton just being left like that on his own. Anything could have happened to him, he could have been seriously hurt and that thought made my whole chest tighten with worry.

When we arrived at our apartment, Dean walked me in, doing a quick survey of the rooms to check they were empty before he left to wait outside the door. I sat down on the sofa and put my head in my hands. The silence was deafening as I sat there watching the clock tick around slowly. My nerves were making me feel sick. I couldn't seem to stop myself from crying silently as I imagined all of the horrible things that could have happened to Ashton today. I could barely breathe. Unconsciously, my hand went to the inside of my elbow, pinching and picking at the skin there as I tried to regain control of my emotions.

Well over an hour later, the front door opened. I jumped up with my heart crashing in my chest. My trembling legs barely supported me as I rushed around the corner and looked up the hallway. When I saw his black head of hair, I dashed to him, jumping on him. I obviously caught him off guard because he staggered back under my weight and we both crashed into the door with a loud bang. My lips slammed against his as I kissed him fiercely. He seemed shocked but kissed me back after a second or two, wrapping his arms around me as we slumped to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs.

"All I needed to do was get in a fight to have you throw yourself at me like this? I wish I'd known that two months ago," he joked. My tears were flowing uncontrollably again as I kissed every square inch of his face before burying my face in his neck and sobbing in relief that he was unharmed and safe. Thoughts of losing him, of him leaving me just like Jack did made my heart ache so much that it was almost unbearable. I dug my fingers into his shoulders as I pressed myself to him tightly, completely lost in my overwhelming emotions. "Hey, come on, Baby Girl. Shh, everything's okay," he said as he stroked my hair soothingly.

Suddenly anger boiled inside me as I realised that he'd made me feel like this. By not letting me stay and help him, he'd put me through this. It hadn't needed to be like this, I hadn't needed to feel this pain again.

I pulled back and smacked his chest as hard as I could which resulted in making my hand sting. "Don't ever do that to me again!" I shouted angrily. His mouth dropped open in shock as he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "You stupid damn boy! Don't you realise how worried I was about you? You couldn't even wait long enough to tell me you were okay before running off?" I shouted, pushing myself off him as he opened and closed his mouth again, looking a little lost for words.

"Anna, calm down," he finally said, clambering to his feet. I scowled angrily. I was so mad that I didn't even want to look at him. I turned and stormed off to the bedroom, but he followed me in there. "That's my job," he said sternly.

"That's your job?" I repeated incredulously. "Your job is to leave me fucking worried sick about you? You couldn't have stayed there for one minute to show me you were okay? You couldn't have just left the car door open while you talked to Dean so I could hear what was going on?" I almost screamed. I was so angry that I wanted to smash something.

"Anna, calm down! My job is to get you as far away from trouble as possible," he countered, reaching for my hand.

I jerked it away from him before he could touch me, glaring at him. "There was no damn trouble! You carried me to the car like a fucking child!" I spat, wiping my traitor tears away angrily.

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "What the hell do you want me to say? Do you want me to apologise for doing my job?" he asked desperately.

I growled in frustration. "Oh, just go away, Ashton! Thank you for doing your job. Thank you for making sure I was safely away from trouble. Thank you for making me worry so damn hard about you that I felt sick. Thank you for thinking so little of me that it didn't even occur to you that I would be worried about you. Just thank you, Agent Taylor!" I shouted almost hysterically. My breathing was shallow. A full blown panic attack was building up inside me as the feelings of being powerless, abandoned, and helpless resurfaced and started trying to drag me under. My hand flew to my elbow that was already red raw from what I'd inflicted on myself earlier. Using my nails, I pinched the skin there as hard as I could, feeling them cutting into my flesh, but not caring in the slightest.

Ashton groaned and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me and crushing me against his chest. "Please calm down, Baby Girl," he begged, gripping his hand into the back of my hair, holding my face against his neck securely. "I'm sorry. I should have stayed and showed you I was okay. I didn't think about that. All I could think about was my need to have you safe and as far away from trouble as possible," he whispered, rubbing my back soothingly. As if he knew what I was doing to myself, his hand closed over mine that was pinching my inner elbow and he pulled it away, guiding my arm around his waist instead. "Stop that," he whispered. "I'm fine, I promise. Please just breathe properly and calm down."

"I hate you," I mumbled against the skin of his neck.

"No, you don't," he whispered, pressing his mouth into my hair.

I sniffed and wrapped my arms around him tightly, letting his familiar smell fill my lungs. "I hate that I care about you," I admitted, digging my fingers into his back and pressing myself closer to him.

He laughed quietly. "I know." He kissed my temple softly.

I whimpered and clutched him tightly. "You're really okay?" I asked, trying to regain control of myself.

"Yeah, I promise. I'm so sorry, I didn't think," he whispered. His hands traced a circle on my back as my breathing started to slow. His arms wrapped around me, lifting me off my feet as he walked to the bed and sat down on the edge, pinning me on his lap and rocking me gently. When I pulled back to look at him, he smiled sadly and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "I hate myself for making you cry."

I sniffed loudly as I took hold of his chin, turning his head one way and then the other, checking for bruises. "You really didn't get hurt?" I asked, finally satisfied as I pressed my forehead against his.

"I didn't get hurt."

I closed my eyes, and a little whimper left my lips. "Don't ever do that to me again. I was so worried about you. I started thinking all these terrible things, and imagining you being hurt. I couldn't stand to see anything happen to you, Ashton. Please, don't do that to me again," I begged quietly.

"I won't, I promise. I didn't mean to upset you," he whispered, holding me tightly, stroking my hair. He moved under me and took hold of my wrist, straightening my arm and looking down at the damaged skin on the inside of my elbow. A bruise had already formed, blood was just under the surface, and there were little scratches there oozing with blood from my nails digging into my flesh. "Jesus, Anna," he groaned, shaking his head. "Why do you-"

"Don't," I interjected. I reached up and tugged on the sleeve of my shirt, covering it as best I could. I didn't want to talk about it. I couldn't explain to him that sometimes pain was the only thing I could control in my life, or that pain was the constant that never left me, and was the one thing that made me think about something else when all else around me crumbled.

His eyes closed and his jaw tightened as his arms looped around me again, crushing me against him. Silence lapsed over us as I just let myself relax into his embrace. My body sagged against his with relief as I rested my head against his shoulder. I was emotionally drained.

"What happened in the café?" I asked a couple of minutes later.

He lay down and rolled onto his side, holding me tightly to his chest. "I arrested them," he said simply.

I couldn't help but laugh. There were five guys in there, all looking to smash his face in. "You're a badass," I chuckled. He just smiled and kissed my nose and we just lay there for a few minutes, looking at each other in silence. It was nice just being close to him, we only really did this at night time and then we were usually trying to go to sleep. After a couple of minutes, his cell phone rang.

He laughed and shook his head. "Wow, good timing, Dean," he grumbled, looking at the screen. He answered his phone, still holding me tightly. "Hey, what's up?" he asked, rolling his eyes. I didn't hear Dean's answer, but I felt Ashton's body jerk in response. "Really? Yep, okay, that's fine. Yeah, in a bit. Absolutely." He disconnected the call. His face was tight with worry, but he was trying to disguise it.

I smiled and reached out, brushing a lock of his hair back into place. "If I wasn't allowed to hear the conversation, maybe you should have gone outside," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.

He chuckled and rolled so that he was on top of me. "Hmm, you know you're not interested in the secret agent's stuff," he teased, smirking at me.

"Yep, totally boring stuff," I confirmed, gripping his hips with my knees, stopping him from going anywhere.

He laughed and brushed my hair back from my face tenderly, smiling at me. "So, about that date... shall we say seven?"

I sighed dramatically. "Can't you just tell me what it is now? You know I hate surprises."

"Nope," he answered, kissing my nose and pushing up off me.

I tightened my grip on his hips, smirking at him. "If you don't tell me, then I'm not letting go."

He shrugged as his emerald green eyes sparkled with mischief. "Hmm, well maybe I don't want you to let go. This is a kind of nice position to be in," he retorted, waggling his eyebrows.

"Pervert," I scolded, slapping his chest as I released my grip on him.

He stood, bending to grab my hands as he tugged me to my feet. "I'm only a pervert around you," he replied, laughing sheepishly.

"Yeah right, player." I scoffed sarcastically as he pulled me from the room.

"I'm not a player!" he protested.

"Mmm hmm, yeah, whatever."

As I turned to walk off, a small slap to my behind made me squeak in surprise. "I'm not a player! I'm a one woman man," he stated, shaking his head.

"Oh really? So that just means that you've never had a threesome?" I joked.

He rolled his eyes at my comment. "Miss Spencer, you are the only girl for me," he answered, bowing theatrically.

I giggled. "Whatever you say, boyfriend." I blew him a kiss and headed to the lounge to work on my project for school. I didn't bother to try to listen when he slipped out of the front door to talk to Dean about the secret agent's stuff that I wasn't allowed to know about.

### ~ Ashton ~

I smiled to myself. The word 'boyfriend' was bouncing around in my brain as I made my way to the door to go and speak to Dean. When I stepped into the hallway, I saw him standing there waiting for me, his face pale and worried.

I slapped his shoulder and took the letter from his hand, trying to appear unconcerned. "This it?" I asked, swallowing my anger. He nodded in confirmation. I looked at the address on the envelope. It was addressed to Anna but had been sent to the College's office address, so at least he didn't know the address of our apartment.

"The school just sent it over by messenger," Dean replied, shaking his head nervously. I scowled when I flipped it over, seeing the prison address on the back. I didn't want to read it, but I had to. "Maybe we should send it on to Senator Spencer and not open it."

"No, I'll send it on to him after," I disagreed. I needed to know what he said. If this was a threat against her, I would be wasting time sending it over to the Lake House and back again. I tore it open and held my breath while I read it, thankfully it was fairly short.

Dear Princess,

I see you've started a new school. You've already been there for a couple of months from what I hear, so hopefully you'll stay at this one longer than the last.

I miss you and can't wait to see you. The trial is less than three months away now, and I can't wait for us to be together again. I dream about you every night, how I want to run my tongue over every inch of your body and hear you call my name. God, I've missed your beautiful face so much and I hope that you've missed me.

Maybe once all of this is over, we can move away somewhere nice. I know you didn't much care for Miami, so we can talk about it. I hope you're behaving yourself while I'm not there. If I find out that you've been with anyone else whilst I've been locked in this shithole, I will be very angry, Princess. You're mine, and mine alone. I can't even bear to think about you with other men, but I know you wouldn't do that to me, so I try not to dwell on it too much. I guess that's just me being my usual jealous self. I've just been apart from you for so long now that it's starting to drive me crazy, I can barely think about anything other than holding you in my arms and taking you into our bed again.

Life here is much the same as usual, nothing ever changes in this place, I guess that's why I hate it so much – well, that and being away from you. I wish you would visit me, even just for a few minutes so I could hear your voice and see your face again. Sometimes I think I'm losing grip of you, at times I cannot picture the exact shade of your hair, or the exact fragrance of the perfume you favoured. All of that will change soon my Princess, just a few more months and then we'll be reunited, and nothing will keep us apart this time.

Well, I'll write you again next week. Good luck in your new school; see you in a couple of months.

As always, I love you.

Carter

xxx

I could barely breathe through my anger. Dean was watching me curiously, so I shook my head. "It's not a threat. It's a love note from Carter," I stated, almost spitting his name. Dean's face turned angry too. "I'd better call her father. You tell Peter about this when he gets up. Don't say anything to Anna, I'll ask her father again if she can be told, I really think she should know about this." I shoved the note back into its envelope and slid it into my pocket. I didn't offer to let Dean read it, there was nothing of interest in there, and if these notes ever did get back to Anna, I knew she wouldn't want people to know about them anyway. She valued what little privacy she had.

Dean was watching me, waiting for more directions; I closed my eyes and thought everything through. He wouldn't get to her; if anyone came anywhere near her, then I would kill them. He was talking about seeing her at the trial and about the future, so he wouldn't order anyone to hurt her in any way. He loved her.

I opened my eyes. "Okay, she already has pretty tight security; I think we need to pull in a little further. We'll cut far guard distance from a hundred yards, to fifty instead. Make sure you have your gun with you at all times. We'll still go tonight otherwise she might get suspicious, but I think that both you and Peter should come, if you don't mind. I'll authorise overtime payments for you both for any extra hours that we need when we go out and stuff," I instructed. Forcing a smile, I tried not to show the panic that was building inside me because she was in the apartment on her own, even though I was standing outside the only door.

Dean nodded, so I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialled Maddy's number. "Senator Spencer's office," she answered cheerfully.

"Ma'am, it's Agent Taylor. I need to speak to the Senator, please."

"That's not possible, Agent Taylor. He's in a meeting at the moment," she replied apologetically.

"Ma'am, please put me through immediately and tell him I need to speak to him," I ordered sternly.

"Um, okay, hold on," she answered nervously. I was put on hold for a minute then he came on the phone, sounding slightly panicked.

"Agent Taylor, what's happened?"

I took a deep breath. "Sir, we've received a letter from Carter here at the college. It was addressed to the college offices, thankfully, and not the apartment, so there's a good chance he doesn't know our exact location. It's another love note, not a threat," I stated.

He drew in a sharp breath. "Oh God. Do you think she needs to leave school and come home?"

"No, sir, I don't. I don't think he wants to hurt her at all. He refers in his note to seeing her at the trial; I honestly don't believe that he would actually strike against her."

He sounded like he breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"Well, I've already tightened her security. I'd like your permission to authorise overtime payments for times when I want to take extra agents out with me. Like tonight, for example, it would be helpful to keep Agent Michaels on for an extra couple of hours because we're going out in public. That kind of thing," I explained.

"Yes, yes of course, you authorise whatever you need. Do you want me to send you another agent as well?"

"Not at the moment, sir. If a threat comes in then I may request one, but at the moment I don't believe the danger is any greater than it was," I admitted. Sure, he knew which college she was in, he obviously had someone keeping tabs on her because he knew that she'd been here for a couple of months – but that didn't mean that he was going to do anything about it.

"Okay. Let me know if there's anything that you need," Senator Spencer sighed heavily.

I cleared my throat. "Sir, I really feel that now is the time to tell Anna about these letters. It would make her safer if she understood why we're always being so cautious with her security," I explained, closing my eyes and hoping he would say yes. I knew she'd worry, but at least she would be more responsive to us guarding her.

He was quiet for a minute, obviously thinking about it. "No, I really do think it's best if she's kept unaware. She doesn't need to be worrying that he's coming after her."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Part of me wanted to argue the case that it was morally wrong to keep this information from her, but the part that loved her and wanted to shield her from everything bad, was actually a little relieved that she would still be in the dark. Her reaction to me drawing my gun on Nate was in the forefront of my mind. She'd been terrified that Carter had come back for her. I didn't want her to start to worry about that now. I decided not to push him to change his mind.

"Okay sir, it's your decision. I'll have this letter forwarded to you and keep you apprised of the situation." I couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed with him because he was making the wrong decision. As just her guard though, it wasn't my place to make that kind of decision and I had to go with what he said.

"Okay, thank you, Agent Taylor."

He disconnected the call and I sighed, looking over to Dean. "We still can't tell her. Let Peter know that we're going out at seven. If you could both be ready, that'll be great. If this gets too much for you two then let me know, I've been authorised to bring in another agent," I stated, grimacing, because I had no idea how I would explain another agent to Anna.

"Right, I'll see you at seven then," he nodded, and headed over to take his position in front of the elevator again.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and went back into the apartment, praying that nothing would ever hurt my girl. In the kitchen, I sought out an envelope, shoving Carter's note into it and addressing it to the lake house. Peter could arrange for it to be sent special delivery tomorrow.

I hung around in the kitchen for a while, trying to calm my nerves. Anna was like a mind reader at times, she could tell just by looking at me if something was wrong. When my body relaxed, I made two coffees and went into the lounge, watching her work on her project for college. My heart was throbbing painfully with the need to wrap her in my arms and keep her safe and never let her go, but I refused to make this any harder for her than it was every day. She needed to have fun, and tonight I would give her exactly that.

### Chapter Twenty-Eight

### ~ Anna ~

At six o'clock, I went for a quick shower. I dried myself quickly and straightened my hair, putting on a bit of make-up. Then the long process of choosing something to wear to our date started. Casual and warm, he'd said. I chewed on my lip as I settled on a pair of jeans and a fitted black shirt, pairing it with some black converse.

Once satisfied with my choice, I made my way out to the lounge where he was already waiting for me. "Wow, you look incredible," he purred, looking me over slowly. I smiled and blushed under his intense inspection. "You'll need a sweater though, it might be cold."

I frowned; confused as to where we would be going that would require warm clothing. "Where are we going, Ashton?" I called as I strutted back into the bedroom and found a hooded sweatshirt.

"It's a surprise, stop asking."

I rolled my eyes and slipped the sweater on, going back out to the lounge again. "Do I pass the examination this time?" I asked sarcastically, twirling on the spot.

He grinned and nodded. "Trust me, you pass every time, but I want you to be comfortable so..." he trailed off, taking my hand again and leading me to the kitchen. Sitting there on the counter was a dozen white roses; he hadn't given me any for two weeks because last date night we were in LA. He handed them to me, grinning.

I smiled gratefully as I smelled them, breathing in their sweet aroma. "You're so romantic, Ashton. Thank you," I gushed, running my finger over the soft petals. He opened one of the drawers and held out a rectangular silver tin. "What's this?" I asked curiously.

"Open it and see," he instructed, leaning on the counter next to me.

I opened it to see a brand new set of inks, the professional expensive kind that would be perfect for my project at school. I gasped from the surprise. "My God, these are perfect!" I cried excitedly. "Thank you!" I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"You're welcome, Baby Girl," he answered. He pulled out of my arms and picked up the bouquet of flowers, putting them into a vase and filling it with water. "I'll let you arrange them later. Come on then, let's go before the suspense kills you," he teased.

The drive to the secret location for our date took about forty minutes, and he even overstepped the mark by making me sit with my hands over my eyes for the last couple of minutes. "Oh come on, you're taking this a little far," I complained.

"Will you stop whining? Jeez," he scolded, laughing. I huffed and sat in silence. It was killing me, but I actually didn't peek like I normally would have done, he was so excited about it that I didn't want to ruin anything for him. The car rolled to a stop, and his door opened then closed. A couple of seconds later, my door opened too. "Keep your eyes closed," he instructed as he took hold of my elbow and helped me climb from the car.

Sounds of screaming and laughing filled my ears, and in the background there was soft music playing. The air smelled sweet, like popcorn. I grinned, not having a clue where we were. The suspense was killing me. "Ashton, come on, please?" I whined, bouncing on the spot.

He chuckled wickedly. "Okay fine." His hands closed over my shoulders, turning me the other way. "Open your eyes."

Pulling my hands from my face, I blinked a couple of times as bright lights and colours overwhelmed me. I gasped as it all started to make sense. A fairground. I could see the Ferris wheel going around with twinkling fairy lights looped around every post. There were guys dressed up as clowns walking around on stilts, roller coasters, stalls where you win prizes, food stalls. I laughed excitedly and turned to Ashton, grinning, finally understanding the reason for the warm, casual clothes.

"Ashton, this is awesome," I chirped, grabbing his hand and stepping closer to him.

"Do you like fairground rides?" he asked as he guided me over to the ticket booth, paying for two wristbands.

"I love them," I admitted. "Provided you hold my hand," I added quickly.

He smiled as he wound the blue plastic band around my wrist before holding my hand tightly. "Now that would definitely be my pleasure," he flirted, dragging me into the park. We both ignored Dean and Peter, who paid for entry only behind us and followed us in.

Deciding to do the scarier rides first, Ashton and I went on a couple of rollercoasters which, of course, made me scream like a little girl. My near guard had found my high pitched girlie scream extremely amusing. After, he led me to a hot dog vendor.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, they have a Denny's chilli cheese dog here?" I joked, slipping my arm around his waist.

He just laughed and kissed the top of my head. "I wish."

Taking our food into one of the large marquees, we ate and chatted at the same time, joking around and flirting. A brass band was sitting in the corner, playing old fashioned show tunes and people were dancing on the grass. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Every date night seemed to get better and better. Ashton surpassed himself on the thoughtful, romantic stakes every week. I knew he was still doing his job perfectly but, even so, he always managed to make me feel as though I was the most important girl on the planet.

When we'd finished eating, he took my hand and gave me a little tug in the direction of the makeshift dance floor. We danced for a couple of songs, fooling around and laughing the whole time before I stopped and nodded over my shoulder towards the exit.

"Let's go do some other stuff. I want to make sure we do everything before we leave."

As we stepped out of the marquee, the Ferris wheel caught my eye, so I dragged him over to it. Sitting on the Ferris wheel with him was extremely romantic. The fairy lights twinkled, the stars were out in force tonight and the music could still be heard from the marquee. I sighed in contentment and sagged against him. He grinned down at me before placing his lips over mine softly. I whimpered against his lips and kissed him back, reaching up and tangling my hand into the back of his hair. I hadn't kissed him like this since LA; we'd toned it down a little at school this week because people already knew we were together, so we didn't have anything to prove now. When he nibbled gently on my bottom lip, I gladly deepened the kiss. Our tongues danced together in perfect unison, and I moaned at the taste of him. I'd missed this more than I realised.

The moment was perfect, and I actually didn't want it to end. When the ride stopped, I looked up at the operator and pouted. "Can we go again?"

The guy laughed and flicked the switch, starting the ride again. Ashton moaned in the back of his throat and instantly crashed his lips back to mine. After a further two rides, we finally climbed out, and Ashton bought me a pink cotton candy. As I bit into it, he looked over my shoulder and laughed as he gripped my hand and tugged me over to a shooting stall. A wicked grin stretched across his face as he handed the guy five bucks and picked up the gun.

The old man that ran the stall smiled, tipping the brim of his cap. "Five shots. Get three on the target to win a small prize, get five on the target and you get one of the big ones. You ever done this before, son?" he asked Ashton.

"Nope," he lied, grinning.

"That's cheating," I whispered, giggling.

He laughed. "Mmm," he winked slyly at me before looking at the target and shooting his five shots – only getting one in. "Damn it," he mumbled, smiling.

The guy laughed. "Aw, never mind, son. I'm sure your girlfriend's not too disappointed, are you, darlin'?" he mocked, winking at me jokingly.

I smiled. "Never mind, Pretty Boy, you can't be good at everything," I teased.

Ashton laughed and slid another five bucks across the counter. "Let's win her one of these damn things then," he stated as he raised the gun again and shot all five directly into the centre of the target. The guy's mouth dropped open as his eyes widened. Ashton shrugged innocently. "Beginners luck?"

I burst out laughing and the guy shook his head, looking a little bemused. "What'll it be then, darlin'?" he asked, smiling kindly at me.

Glancing at the prizes that hung from the sides of the stall, I spotted what I wanted and pointed to a green monkey. The guy pulled it down and handed it to Ashton, who immediately passed it to me.

I smiled gratefully; hugging it to my chest and feeling the soft fur of it tickle my skin. "Thanks."

Ashton looked down at his watch and frowned. "It's getting pretty late. We've probably got time for another ride before we go if you want," he offered, pushing a stray hair behind my ear.

I looked around to see if we had missed anything. "We haven't been on the ghost train or the swan boats yet, so you choose."

"Hmm, well I like the sound of both," he replied, wrapping his arm around my waist and guiding me to the ghost train first. After the ghost train we went to the swan boats. It was a slow, lazy ride. Basically, you just floated around a shallow canal with the current. Ashton's arm was wrapped around me, so I twisted in my seat, swinging my legs over his lap, just enjoying being close to him. After a minute or so, we started heading towards a makeshift plastic cave. I giggled as I read the sign that was over the top.

"Tunnel of Love?" I giggled.

"I didn't know that's what it was, I swear," he replied, holding his hands up innocently, looking a little uncomfortable.

I laughed as our boat floated in. It was dark inside, and the only light was coming from the water that was illuminated underneath. Soft music was playing. I sighed and pulled him closer to me by his shirt. You couldn't really go into a tunnel of love without making out, there had to be some law against that, surely.

"Well, it is supposed to be romantic, after all," I mumbled as I pulled his lips to mine.

I kissed him hungrily. It wasn't sweet like the Ferris wheel, I think it was the darkness; it made it hot as hell. As he kissed me back, it was almost frantic and desperate. My desire spiked as he moaned into my mouth. I pushed myself up and sat on his lap, straddling him as he kissed down my neck. When his hands slid up the back of my shirt, I moaned and pressed myself closer to him. Underneath me, I could feel how excited he was getting, and the feel of it was driving me into a state of wild abandon. My body ached for relief that I knew wouldn't come.

"I hope they don't have cameras in here," I breathed as he bit my neck gently. I felt him smile against my skin as he pulled the hood up on my sweater, shielding my face. I giggled, closing my mouth over his again as he pinned me onto his lap and kissed me as if he could devour my soul.

The tunnel was getting lighter now as we neared the exit. I sighed, frowning because the ride was over, and so was our intense make out session. He slid one hand up and cupped my cheek, just looking at me adoringly before bending forward and kissing me again softly. His eyes sparkled in the semi-darkness and my heart stuttered in my chest. The way he looked at me sometimes made me feel as if I was flying. It was incredible how one look from him made me feel so free and unshackled. I had no idea that people like him even existed in the world.

As we got out of the boat, he grabbed my stuffed monkey from the seat, handing him to me. "I think he saw more than he bargained for," he joked, grinning. "We should probably get going. It's after midnight."

"One more cotton candy?" I pouted as we walked past the little stall. He grinned and purchased one, handing it to me and rolling his eyes. Happiness bubbled inside me and I practically skipped to the car, swinging our hands between us.

I must have fallen asleep on the drive home because I woke up as he was lifting me out of the car. "Hey," I mumbled sleepily.

"Hi," he whispered, picking me up bridal style and carrying me as if I weighed nothing at all. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes again, drifting back to sleep. I vaguely heard the door click shut and then I was laid onto something soft. He tugged at my jeans, pulling them off before lifting the sheets up under my chin. After pulling off his clothes, he slipped into the bed next to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me against him.

A sleepy smile crept onto my lips as I buried my face into his chest. "Thank you for tonight. That was the best date ever. I know I say that every week, but that beat all of the others, hands down," I yawned.

"Yeah, I agree," he whispered as he pulled himself up to kiss me.

The remainder of the passion from the tunnel of love ride was boiling up inside me as I pressed myself against his body. I bit my lip, fighting with myself as to whether I could beg him for sex. The week since LA had been a long one, and I missed his body and the physical intimacy terribly.

"Can we go back to the fair another time?" I asked, hoping to distract my body that was itching to take things further.

"Sure, Baby Girl, anything you want."

I closed my eyes and smiled. I actually felt happier than I had ever felt in my life. I knew everything was down to him. He truly was an amazing guy, probably the nicest and sweetest guy in the world, and I was immensely lucky to have him. Right then and there, I decided to make the most of every single second with him because every minute took us one step closer to when he would leave me.

The following three weeks were extremely eventful and seemed to pass in a blur. That wasn't something that was going on in my life though, that was something that was going on with my father. Election Day. The event that he had been building up to practically all of his life finally arrived. In the lead up to it, I saw him everywhere I went – in newspapers, on TV, posters on walls, magazines. I couldn't escape it. But it all paid off in the end. He won the election by a landslide, as most predicted he would. My father would become President Spencer in just a few short weeks.

My pride was something that I hadn't expected. I had actually burst out crying when I got the call from him moments after the results had been announced. For years, he and my mother had worked tirelessly towards his goal, and now it was paying off.

It also meant, however, that come January when he was inaugurated, I would officially be the first daughter. That thought I wasn't as keen on, but I couldn't begrudge my dad his dreams, so I'd plastered on a fake smile and told him how happy I was about it.

The week following the election was actually my father's birthday, so they had organised a rather large soirée to celebrate, which would also serve as a kind of victory party for him and his staff too. Ashton and I were told we had to attend to show a united front, so we were flying over there for the weekend. Personally, I was dreading the party.

No doubt, everything would change now. My life was about to spiral out of my control once again, it seemed.

To be continued...

### Follow the rest of Anna and Ashton's journey in:

Nothing Left to Lose, part 2: Blurring the Lines.

With Ashton at her side, Anna begins to feel more like her old self again. Together, they're rebuilding her life and attempting to heal old wounds. The more time they spend together, the closer they become, but unfortunately this only serves to complicate matters further. The undercover pretence of being boyfriend and girlfriend slowly ceases to be a game as both find themselves increasingly blurring the lines between the act and the reality.

With her father now President-Elect, Anna and Ashton are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain some semblance of privacy. With the world's press obsessing over the future First Daughter, Ashton's job of protecting her has just become a whole lot harder.

All the while the trial grows ever closer, looming over them both, taunting them, reminding them that it isn't over yet. After all, Carter Thomas will stop at nothing to be reunited with his 'Princess'.

Available Now

### Other books by Kirsty Moseley:

Single titles:

The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window

Poles Apart

Reasons Not to Fall in Love (novella)

Best Friend series:

Always You

Free Falling

Guarded Hearts Series:

Guarding the Broken: Nothing Left to Lose part 1

Blurring the Lines: Nothing Left to Lose part 2

Enjoying the Chase

One wild Night (An Enjoying the Chase Novella)

Fighting Series:

Fighting to Be Free

Worth Fighting For

### Connect with Kirsty Moseley:

Be notified when Kirsty has a new release: <http://www.subscribepage.com/newreleasekirstymoseley>

Website: <http://www.kirstymoseley.com/>

Facebook: <https://www.facebook.com/authorkirstymoseley>

Twitter: <https://twitter.com/KirstyEMoseley>

Smashwords: <http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/kirsty1000>

