“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 h*ps 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 p**n 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.