Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

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.