Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

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.