Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

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.