Nothing Left to Lose (46 page)

“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.

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.