A tremor went down Ashton’s body the moment her soft arms went around his torso. It was a strange feeling, and it left him perplexed. He had se* with random women since the age of eighteen, yet he never felt this way with anyone. What was this feeling? It was like a restless uproar within his body, an overwhelming need to feel more of her. He wanted to feel her pressed against his back. Could he try the time-tested trick he knew of? There wasn’t any other way available for him.
He applied the brakes for a jolt and it had the desired effect. With a gasp, Hayley tightened her hold around him while her body eased closer to his, flush against his back. A smile of satisfaction lit up his face while Hayley blushed furiously.
Feeling his hard, muscular body against her own made her heartbeats race. It was a new feeling altogether, and she loved it immensely. The way her body fitted against his made her feel as if she was meant to be with him. She could spend a lifetime this way, pressed close to him.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. It was exhilarating to be so close to the man she’d crushed on all her growing years. She did not know when that crush intensified into a deep feeling of love. Now feeling herself flush against him made her feel even more in love with him. Did he feel something for her, too?
“Are you enjoying your ride?” he asked, slowing down to make himself be heard.
“Yes. I like Fang. He’s quite sturdy.” Ashton smiled at her description. Would she describe him in the same way?
“Right! And me?”
“More muscles than bones!” Ashton chuckled at her description. So she did feel his muscles like he wanted her to.
“Is that a bad thing or good?” He couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face as he waited eagerly for her reply.
“Okay.” He rolled his eyes at her non-committal reply.
“Maybe you prefer bones to muscles like your Shaun Peterson has!” He couldn’t hide the jealousy in his tone. Hayley groaned and released him immediately, holding onto her seat.
“Why do you bring him up all the time?” Ashton immediately missed her soft touch and reached out to grab her hand back to wrap it around himself.
“Hold me,” he barked, but she shook her head.
“No.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Now hold me,” he pleaded, and she again wrapped an arm around him. “With both hands.” If he weren’t riding Fang, he would have done it already instead of pleading with her.
“We’ve reached already. Drop me here, Ashton.” Ashton looked around the secluded street and shook his head.
“No, I’ll drop you right in front of your gates.” Hayley panicked at the thought of her parents seeing them through the security cameras.
“No, dad will see us. There are security cameras everywhere,” she protested, but Ashton didn’t pay any heed to her and stopped right in front of her gate. She took off the helmet and handed it out to him.
“I’m not afraid to face your dad, Hayley. Tell him I dropped you home. Bye, see you tomorrow after your duty. Come over to my cottage for dinner.” He didn’t wait for her reply and rode off, leaving her dazed. Was it another date? A smile lit up her face as she went inside to face the music.
“Where were you, Hayley? You didn’t even put up an appearance at work today,” scolded her dad.
“I was with the girls at Alyssa’s place, dad. I’ll surely go tomorrow.”
“Who dropped you home just now? I thought I clarified you cannot go out with random guys. Jason wouldn’t approve,” said her mom, scowling at her. Hayley hesitated, but Ashton’s words echoed in her mind and she decided to come up with the truth.
“Mom, I didn’t go out with any random guy. I told you I was at Alyssa’s apartment. Ashton dropped me home.” Of course, her mom knew who Ashton was since Hayley knew the Van Every’s for the last ten eight years.
“Ashton has grown up so much that I couldn’t recognize him. Why didn’t he come inside?” she asked, relaxing a little.
“I didn’t ask him to.”
“Is he still working at Van Every’s office?” asked her dad.
“No, he’s now working as the Assistant Administrative Manager at Silver Spring Resorts.”
“Isn’t that next to our hotel?” Hayley nodded and walked towards the staircase. As she reached the landing, she froze upon hearing her granny’s words.
“I wonder why Ashton chose to work right next to your hotel, Chris. Do you think he has some designs on Hails? She’s young and innocent. It’s easy to manipulate her!” said her granny.
“I don’t think so, granny. Van Every adores the boy and is willing to hand over his business to him, but he isn’t interested. If money would have been a motive, he would have dated Hayley on the sly and we wouldn’t have known about it.”
“Yes, I agree. He might have just dropped her home,” said her mom, but her granny wasn’t so easily convinced.
“Maybe, but I would watch out for him if I were you,” she grumbled. Hayley sighed and went into her room with a strange feeling of dread in her heart. She didn’t like her granny’s tone. Ashton wasn’t that way at all! He was the most selfless person she had ever seen. Highly indebted to the Van Every family, he lived in their shadow, especially Alexander’s, all his life. He didn’t give himself credit for anything, staying content with what he had. From a very young age, he started earning his own bread, although he didn’t need to. Alyssa’s parents loved him as much as they loved them, but Ashton never took advantage of their kindness.
Hayley wanted to rush downstairs and fight for him, but that would prove her feelings for him. She didn’t want that sort of complication in her life now. She sat down to study, although she couldn’t concentrate much. Memories of Ashton’s hard body pressed against hers drove her crazy and she instantly started missing him like a sore thumb.
After a while, she gave up and lay on her bed. Her glance fell on her mobile phone and she picked it up, gazing at his number saved there. Would he mind if she called him? Had he fallen asleep? Maybe she could shoot a message to him, but what would she write? She couldn’t tell him how much she was missing him!
Her phone buzzed with two incoming messages and she checked to see that they were from her APE. Was he thinking of her, too? Opening the message, her eyes popped out at seeing two pictures of him. A smile stretched across her lips! He had sent two shirtless pictures of himself. One playing with a golden retriever pup and another kissing it! She called him immediately, unable to stop herself.
“Ashton, did you get a puppy?” she asked breathlessly.
“Hey! No, it’s a colleague’s. You can come down tomorrow to meet him,” he said, as if to lure her more.
“I definitely plan to. Good night, Ashton.”
“Don’t you want to know his name?” said Ashton, ignoring her plans to disconnect the call.
“Do you want to tell me, anyway? Shoot!” laughed Hayley, her heartbeats picking up pace. Just talking to Ashton made her so excited that all the sleep left her completely.
“No, I’ll tell you when you come over. So what were you doing?” he asked, his voice taking on a raspy note. She could hear the puppy go away, which meant he was now alone in his cottage.
“Lying on my bed.”
“And?”
“And talking to you?”
“And?”
“And planning to sleep.”
“And?”
Ashton wanted to know what she thought of the photographs he sent her, but couldn’t ask her outright.
“And Good night. Sweet dreams.”
“Not any for me!” he groaned, but she chuckled, disconnecting the call. Clicking a picture of herself, she sent it to him, just to tease him.
She lay down with a sigh and checked out the shirtless pictures he had sent, her eyes taking in every contour of his body. He was extremely gorgeous. There was no doubt about it. She blushed when her eyes fell upon his ripped abs and the urge to run her fingers over them made her aroused. Why did he have to send them when she was having a tough time already? Did he want her to see him? Maybe he wanted her to desire him, but why? The only plausible reason could be that he wanted her, desired her!
Her phone buzzed with a message, and she smiled, seeing that it was from Ashton.
Damn! I don’t think I can get any sleep tonight.Ashton.
Hayley’s heart skipped a beat, and she knew her photograph was having the same effect on him as his pictures were having on her. Her face flushed with color and she stared hard at the photograph she sent him. She was wearing a pale pink night suit, unlike him. How could anyone have sleepless nights on seeing it?
Serves you rightHayley.
Ashton stared at her message, and a strange excitement filled his body, realizing what it meant. His photographs were having the same effect on her. That was the sole purpose of sending them. Wasn’t it? She might be just eighteen, but she wasn’t immune to his charms.