Текст книги "Traded"

Автор книги: Rebecca Brooke

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

I groaned and flopped back into the seat. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off I was exhausted and wanted to get the hell out of there. “Elena’s piece of shit husband wanted to make a payment tonight. I met him at the stadium and right off the bat he starting spouting off all kinds of bullshit about her. I lost it.”

“Did you kill him?” Dad asked, no emotion in his voice.

“No, but he’s out cold. Eye swollen shut, broken nose.”

“Sounds like the fucker deserved it.” There was some shuffling on the other end of the line. “What inning is it?”

I looked at the scoreboard again.

“Bottom of the fourth.”

“Okay, give me about half an hour. I’ll have someone over there to deal with it. Is Brock with you?”

“Yeah,” I said, just as Brock returned to the seat next to me and stared at the blood on the floor, shaking his head.

“I want you to leave at the top of the ninth. Tell Brock to stay until the end of the game. I’ll have a car pick him up.”

“All right, I will.”

“Stop by tomorrow on your way to the restaurant.”

“Okay.”

We hung up and I stared at the floor. All of the reasons why I wasn’t thrilled with being part of my father’s business were sitting in front of me. Getting into fights wasn’t something I did—at least, not since elementary school. There was a difference between a non-payment and flying off the handle.

A bag of ice appeared in front of me.

“Otherwise you’re knuckles will swell and it’ll be obvious you were in a fight tonight,” Brock explained, his shirt covered in blood. He needed to change too.

Taking the ice from him, I placed it over the bleeding splits. It burned the second the cold touched my skin and I had to hold back the wince. How the hell was I supposed to explain to Elena what happened tonight?

“Thanks.”

“Fucker deserved that. Had you not beat his ass, I would have.”

“Yeah, except now I have to go home and explain it to Elena.”

“If she hasn’t learned what a cocksucker her husband is already, this ought to do it.”

I sat forward, my arms on my thighs, keeping the ice on my hand. “Oh she knows. I’m more worried about her reaction to me knocking him senseless.”

Brock held up his hands. “Look it may not be my place, but I’m going to give you a bit of advice. I may be wrong, but it seems like you’re not ready to give this chick up. Maybe it’s time to introduce her to what you do—like your dad did. This way she won’t be shocked when shit like this happens.”

“You do know that if I didn’t consider you a friend, you’d be next with comments like that.”

Brock smirked. “You wouldn’t lay a hand on me.”

I rubbed the back of my neck trying to release the tension. “You’re probably right though. I was supposed to bring her the other night and decided not to.”

“Don’t chicken out. Just do it.”

I watched the scoreboard count the innings until I could leave. During the seventh inning stretch there was another knock at the door. Dominic hadn’t made a sound until the sixth inning and that was just grunts and groans.

Brock got up to answer the door.

“Good evening, Mr. Hawes. I’m Victor, you’re father sent me to take care of a mess for you.”

“Yes. I guess my father called ahead to the will call booth.”

He nodded. “He did. It’s almost the top of the eighth. During the change in innings, you should leave while the crowds are out of their seats. I’ll send Brock on his way between the eighth and ninth. By then, I’ll have everything ready to go.”

Whoever this man was, my father obviously trusted him and by the looks of it, dealing with a simple fistfight was probably an easy night.

“Dad said wait until the ninth.”

He nodded. “I know. We talked. This would be less obvious.”

“Thank you, Victor.” I looked around the box.

“Go, I got this,” Brock offered, holding out my jacket. I shrugged it on, fastening it at the front to cover the bloodstains. “You need to get yourself together before you draw attention to yourself out there.” He pointed at my hand. “Make sure you leave that in your pocket until you’re in the car.

I nodded curtly. “Good-night.”

Without another word, I left the club and stadium behind.

CHAPTER 16

Ashton

Despite the number of people at the game, the parking lot was desolate as I walked to my car, the disarming of my alarm the only sound. I climbed in and started the ignition. My knuckles were still bloody and raw.

“Fuck,” I yelled, slamming the palm of my hand into the steering wheel.

Never once had there been an issue with a collection. Obviously there had been incidents like the one with Reynolds, but nothing this bad. They always left on their own two feet, with the understanding that they were to not call attention to themselves. They knew the consequences of not being able to pay back the money. This was the first time I’d had to call for a cleanup.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel until pain flowed up my arm, forcing me to loosen my grip. Backing out of the space, I peeled out of the parking lot; probably not the best way to stay under the radar, but my temper was such that I didn’t really give a shit. Thoughts of Elena and the whole fucked up situation paraded through my head. I must have been on autopilot because I was surprised when the turn off for my street came into view.

Pulling up the driveway toward the garage, I noticed the lights at the front of the house were off. Elena must have gone to bed early. The conversation about what happened tonight would have to wait until morning. There was no way I’d wake her up just to upset her.

Quietly, I walked through the door of the garage into the kitchen. I moved through the house cautiously so I didn’t run into anything. Light shone from the upstairs, brightening the stairwell enough for me to climb without a problem.

I reached the landing and realized the light was coming from my room. Julia must have left it on for me, knowing I’d be home late. Too bad Elena had told me no when I asked her to stay in my room. My dick grew hard just thinking about her in my bed.

Stepping through the door, I froze in my tracks.

Elena lay asleep in my bed.

“Holy fuck,” I whispered. Excitement poured through me.

The sound woke her, her long lashes fluttering open to reveal her warm brown eyes.

“Ashton?” she called, her voice still thick with sleep.

I sat down next to her on the bed and brushed a few wayward strands out of her face. “You said no”

She shook her head. “No, I said I wanted to do it because it was something that I wanted, not to please you. I actually started out in my room tonight and realized that I missed your warmth, the smell of you on the sheets.”

My mouth swooped down, taking possession of hers. When her luscious lips parted, I wasted no time slipping my tongue inside for a taste of heaven—exactly what I needed after the night I’d had. Forgetting all about my knuckles, I slid my hand under the little pink nightie she wore to bed and winced when the fabric caught on the raw skin of my knuckles.

I’d hoped she wouldn’t notice, but Elena was too smart for that. She pulled back and watched me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I moved my hand out of sight.

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Ashton,” she warned, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest. I reached my good hand up toward her face but she smacked it away. “I don’t think so. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

Sighing, I pulled my hand out and showed her. The bruising had started to come out and dried blood caked around the cracks.

“What the hell happened?” Without waiting for an answer, she climbed from the bed and went into the bathroom. A few seconds later she brought back a damp washcloth and placed it over my hand.

“Did you just curse at me?” I laughed.

“Don’t start. What’s wrong with your hand?”

“Boy, did you get bossy.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and my cock jumped in my pants. Not once in my entire life had a demanding woman ever turned me on. Something about Elena made everything sexy—even angry. Everything was different with her.

“Your asshole husband showed up tonight and couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

She flinched at the mention of Dominic. “What did he say?”

I shook my head, really not wanting to tell her, but I knew she’d push after the way she’d acted so far. “A bunch of shit about you that no husband should ever say about his wife. I lost it.”

“You defended me?”

“Of course I did. What would you expect?”

“I’m just not used to it.” Her eyes sparkled. “I have to say I like it. You’re not going to get in trouble are you?”

“No. My dad sent someone down to the stadium to take care of it.”

Gently peeling away the washcloth, she examined the cuts, the heat from her hands warming the cold skin, and all I could think about was those delicate fingers wrapped around my cock.

“Elena.”

Her eyes darkened but she made no move to touch me. Not once since the first time I tasted her lips had she taken the lead. Probably another fucked up thing her husband taught her.

I plunged my hands into her hair, ignoring the pain, and captured her lips with mine. The taste of strawberry mingled with the flavor of whiskey on my tongue and her hands slipped up my chest, stopping there.

Nipping at her bottom lip, I sat back on my heels and began unbuttoning my dress shirt. Her breath hitched when I popped the last one and pulled the shirt off, dropping it to the floor. Elena’s hand came forward, abruptly stopping and dropping to the bed. I caught the longing in her gaze before her eyes shifted away from me.

“Put your hands on me, Elena.”

Her head jerked up. Questioning eyes caught mine. Taking her hand from the bed, I placed it on my chest. Her eyes rounded and I needed to know how deep it went. “You’ve never touched a man?”

Her head shook, eyes filling with moisture. “Not like this. I wasn’t . . . wasn’t allowed. Dominic told me where to touch.”

Fuck.

Her hand trembled under mine as I held it against my body. Without breaking eye contact, I told her, “That man doesn’t deserve anything other than someone’s fist or a fucking branding iron. I want your hands on me anytime you want to put them on me. Unless I have you tied up.” I leaned forward and licked her quivering bottom lip. “And then, that’s only because I want to bring you to heights of unmatched pleasure.”

She moaned at my words, the sound going straight to my cock. Her body responded to me but I had a feeling if I let go she’d take her hands back, and that wasn’t happening. Using my own to guide her, we traced over the skin of my chest. I let her explore without fear. My muscles jumped when her hands grazed over my nipples. It took all of my self-restraint to keep from bucking my hips, afraid of destroying the progress we were making. Not to mention the fact I found the whole situation erotic.

When her hands continued to explore on their own, I moved mine to remove my belt and open the button on my pants. Freeing my dick, I breathed a sigh of relief. Pulling a few fast strokes, I noticed Elena’s hands had once again frozen, her eyes wide but she didn’t look shocked.

She looked aroused.

I took hold of her hand again, guiding it down my body. Our hands reached my cock and I bent forward, close to her ear.

“Touch me.”

If felt weird to have those words roll of my tongue, yet for some reason they felt right.

Her delicate fingers wrapped around my shaft and stroked lightly. Everything about it was tentative, but that just made it so—much—better. Sensation traveled everywhere, igniting a firestorm in my body and the desire to flip her to her back and plunge into her over and over again surged through me. Gritting my teeth, I kept my ass rooted to the bed.

Tonight was about Elena.

Tonight, she was in control.

Hooded, molten brown eyes watched me, her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, her breathing keeping time with each stroke. Our bodies were in sync. The atmosphere in the room turned electric, and something flipped in her gaze, and when she leaned forward and for the first time kissed me there was no way I could keep my hands completely to myself. Cupping her face, I tilted her head to gain better access to her mouth.

Passion ignited and she pushed me back onto the bed, and a low growl rumbled up my throat. She pulled back from the kiss and I opened my eyes to find hers wide, her fingers pressed to her lips.

“I—”

“Don’t stop now.”

I guided her back down. Our lips connected and the heat returned.

Suddenly she sat up again but when I opened my mouth to protest she covered my mouth with her finger. I stilled and waited for her to make her next move. Her hands went to the hem of her nightie, pulling the skimpy material over her head and letting it drop to the floor. Her panties quickly followed.

I lunged off the bed, removing the rest of my clothing and grabbing a condom from the drawer. Taking her hand, I placed the foil in her open palm and closed her fingers over it. Her nose scrunched.

“Tonight is about what you want. I want you to take control.” To show her I was serious I lay back on the bed, hands behind my head.

Her eyes searched mine. “And if I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself?”

I laughed, my dick bobbing against my stomach with the movement. “Oh sweetheart, I have no intention of keeping my hands or any other part of my body to myself. I simply want you to take you lead. If you haven’t noticed,” her eyes followed mine as they ran down my body towards my cock, “everything you’ve done up to this point has me harder than nails.”

“Then touch me, please.”

Reaching up I cupped her breast, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her already hard nipple. A soft whimper passed her lips. Her hands landed on my chest and her leg slipped over my stomach to straddle me, the weight of her body pressing down on me only heightening the pleasure. Her wet core slid over my shaft and I had to grip the sheets to keep from thrusting up and finding my way inside her delectable body.

I noticed the glint in her eyes and knew I was in serious shit. Whatever had been holding her back before, she’d obviously pushed it to the back of her mind. Bending down she ran her tongue over my nipple.

“Oh fuck, Elena.”

Her tongue traced a path down my chest and back up, laving the other nipple with the same attention and the shocks that raced through my body had me wondering if I was going to die before the night ended. She licked back up my chest, her tongue trailing from the hollow of my throat, up my neck, until she captured my mouth. Letting my eyes slide closed, she devoured my lips, hunger and passion leading the way. Some small functioning part of my brain recognized that this is what women felt when I had their gorgeous bodies below me. Fuck, it was amazing.

“Do you like that?” she whispered against my lips.

“Feel for yourself.”

As she pushed my desire higher, my cock grew harder, and my body began to tremble. “Oh God, Elena, if I don’t get inside you soon, I’m going to come all over my stomach.”

She nipped at my ear. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Leaning back, she ripped open the foil pack and her hands shook as she attempted to roll the condom down over my shaft.

“Relax, you’re doing just fine.”

She watched me for a moment then nodded. She took a deep breath and her eyes focused on my cock, seamlessly gliding the rubber along my length, the gentle squeeze of her fingers making my stomach ache. Clenching my eyes shut, I held the orgasm back before it exploded with the soft touch of her fingers. Lifting up, she held herself over me, pausing for a moment before she slammed her body down on mine.

“Holy hell.”

“Shit, that feels good.” My eyes popped open and I watched in wonder as her face flooded with something indescribable and her eyes hooded with lust.

“Cursing twice in one night.” I chuckled, unable to hold it back.

She cocked a brow. “You feel like laughing?”

Oh shit.

She lifted up like she might get off, but the breath punched out of my lungs as Elena began to ride me. I held my hands up for her to grip. Her pace picked up and I felt my body building faster than ever in my life.

“Please tell me you’re close,” I begged, my words hissing out from between my clenched teeth.

“So close,” she panted.

I reached down to thumb her clit and her back arched, her pussy gripping my cock as she exploded around me. It was all I needed to follow her. Finally, her body settled and she collapsed on top of me. I brushed the hair from her face and placed a kiss to her upturned lips.

“I knew you had it in you.”

She shook her head, her eyes drifting closed. “I didn’t.”

Her breathing evened out. After one, truly fantastic round of sex, sleep sounded perfect. I slipped from beneath Elena to clean up and ditch the condom. I needed to talk to her about getting tested. Elena I trusted; the fuckwad she was married to, not so much. Tolley probably couldn’t keep it in his pants, but hopefully he’d worn a condom with his other women.

She was still in the same spot when I crawled back into bed. Not a sound traveled through the house. Gathering her in my arms, she cuddled against my chest and the moment was so perfect that it was hard to consider that any of this might temporary. But the decision was Elena’s. Whatever she decided, I’d just have to wait and see.

CHAPTER 17

Elena

My body felt lighter than it had in a long time. The bed felt different: bigger, softer, warmer. I kept my eyes shut, letting myself enjoy everything about the moment. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t have the overwhelming dread that came each time I opened my eyes—or the exhaustion. Every morning since I arrived, the weight seemed to get a bit lighter.

This morning it was completely gone.

I felt a featherlight touch across my back and my eyes fluttered open; the desire to see Ashton flowing through me so strong it was almost too much to handle. Deep, mesmerizing green eyes connected with mine.

“Good morning.” His voice was a sultry whisper and it sent chills up my spine. Good chills though; the kind that made my heart swell.

“Morning.”

Now fully awake, my nerves kicked in. I was safe with Ashton, but with everything that had happened the night before, instinct took over and I braced myself for the reaction I knew in my heart wasn’t coming.

He held me captive with a glance and lifted his hand to caress my face. “I like waking up next to you.”

The second the words passed his lips, I melted into his touch. “Me too.”

Thoughts of more mornings like this paraded through my head. If only the situation wasn’t temporary. Ashton called to me on a level no man ever had. A dream: that’s what staying with him was. Then again, I never thought I’d be on stage, singing the way I’d always wanted to. Dreams could come true, when you got yourself out of a bad situation.

His finger caressed my rapidly hardening nipples and despite all that we’d done thus far, here in the bright light of day, I wanted to hide my nakedness from his gaze. His touch was simple, yet exposing. Without the heat of the moment, my confidence deserted me.

“Don’t be shy. Not after last night.”

I broke the connection of our eyes. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

His hand continued its ministrations while the other slipped around my nape. “You do, but there’s a million things I want to show you,” he said against my lips, before taking possession of them in a heated kiss.

Our tongues danced until we needed to breathe. Ashton lifted his head to watch me. “Your first rehearsal is today, right?”

“Yeah.” I peeked over at the clock. “I have about an hour and a half until I have to be there.”

“I’d start right now, but I don’t want you to be late.”

I attempted to sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed but Ashton pushed me back down.

“Stay here,” he demanded, standing and pulling on a pair of track pants. “I’m going to bring you breakfast. You’re going to relax until you have to get ready.”

He didn’t give me a chance to argue. Spinning on his heel, he darted out of the room and down the stairs.

The problem with lying alone in the silence was that it gave me too much time to think. My mind wandered back to earlier in the morning.

Am I falling for Ashton?

No. It wasn’t possible. My emotions must stem from convenience. He was showing me a better life, filling me with confidence, renewing my dreams. It was normal to feel some gratitude toward him. That was what I was feeling.

Gratitude.

If that were the case, then why did my heart lift when I saw him? In fact, I didn’t even have to see him. Just seeing a text from him was enough for that fluttery feeling to take over my stomach. As soon as I knew he was on his way home, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

I tucked my hand underneath the pillow, pulling the sheets up over my shoulders, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to sleep.

Thoughts, feelings, thoughts about feelings; they all ran through my head.

Within moments I was kicking off the sheets, my temperature spiking and falling at a rate whereby it was near impossible to get comfortable. I pulled myself up, my back against the headboard, and let out an audible sigh, thankful that Ashton was far enough away for him not to hear because if he did then he would surely question it. There was a word that kept taunting me, teasing me with its significance, dancing around in the back of my mind so that I was unable to ignore it, yet unable to justify its use given the newness of whatever Ashton and I had.

It was an unusual situation; one I hadn’t even considered. And that was scary. There had to be another word for this.

There had to.

I needed to find a way to deal with Ashton without giving my thoughts away. He couldn’t know that I’d even considered the possibility. I didn’t need pity. Since leaving Dominic I’d worked really hard to push and become someone stronger.

I heard Ashton coming down the hall and did my best to school my features, sitting up in the bed, pulling the sheet tighter around my chest.

“Tsk, tsk. I’d love to watch those breasts as you eat.”

He set the tray in front of me and dipped his finger into the hollow between my breasts, slowing pulling the sheet away. I felt exposed and sexy all at the same time—something only Ashton had ever made me feel.

Needing to focus on something other than his hands, I looked at the tray, noticing that he’d made me his special omelet. Ashton picked up the fork and slid it into my fingers, which was strangely erotic. Picking up a piece of the omelet, his eyes followed the path the fork took all the way to my mouth. A groan escaped him as the fork left my lips.

“Shit, watching you eat like that is incredibly fucking sexy.” He reached down to adjust himself. “I’m going to do my best to keep my hands to myself and let you eat, but I make no guarantees because right now I want to flip you over and fuck you until neither of us can move.”

The moan slipped out before I could pull it back. Images of all the things I’d like Ashton to do to me but was too shy to ask for ran through my head.

“Elena,” he said, his voice throaty. “I don’t want you to be late and I see the look in your eyes. I’m going to go take a really fucking cold shower, but tonight you’re mine.” He captured my lips, stealing my breath, and left through the door to the bathroom.

My eyes darted back and forth between the food in front of me and the door, where I could hear the shower running.

Squirming in the bed, I shoveled down the omelet and got up to make my way into the bathroom.

The outline of his body was visible through the frosted glass and my nipples hardened into tight little buds. With one arm up on the wall in front of him, he was the picture of raw sensuality. And I wanted to have a taste.

Stepping into the shower behind him I wrapped my arms around his waist. Taking him into one of my hands, I gave his hard length a few slow strokes. His head dropped forward for a second before he turned around. I didn’t want to give him a chance to stop me so, stealing myself, I dropped to my knees, taking him into my mouth.

“Elena,” he hissed. “You don’t—”

I sucked him deeper, effectively cutting off any argument he planned to make. It was my first time giving a blowjob where each stroke didn’t come with an insult. Dominic would tell me what a bad job I was doing. Strange that, considering he always managed to get off. The sounds of Ashton’s satisfied grunts and groans led me to believe I was doing something right.

When my tongue drew small circles around the tip, Ashton slid his hands into my hair, his fingers clenching, tugging. It stung, but not in a bad way. His skin was silky against my tongue as I sucked him deeper. His hips pistoned forward and he stopped suddenly.

“Elena, I’m sorry—”

Not wanting to let go, I grabbed his ass cheeks, pulling him to me. He took the hint and began to slide in out of my mouth. All the while, I cupped his balls, rolling them around in my hands. His movements sped up, becoming stuttered and without rhythm.

“I’m gonna come, Elena,” he panted.

I knew why he was warning me, but I wanted it. I drew him into the back of my throat, gripping his ass, making sure he couldn’t pull out as I brought him over, his essence spilling into my mouth and down my throat. The second he finished I was yanked up and his mouth was on mine, my lips covered and possessed by his.

Lips parted.

Tongues dueled.

It was sensational.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. “You didn’t have to do that,” he whispered, his breathing still labored.

“I wanted to.”

“Mmm . . . feel free to do that anytime you want.”

Those simple words banished more of the fear and insecurity.

“I will.”

He caressed down my stomach. I knew what he had in mind. Taking hold of his hand, I brought his palm to my lips. “You can have me tonight. Otherwise we’ll both be late.”

He kissed me quickly. “I hate it when you’re right.”

We finished our shower and got ready to face the day. Ashton’s would be much longer than mine, but there was something I needed to take care of when I got home from rehearsal.



Rehearsal went better than I expected; the only problem being how quickly it flew by. Nerves hit me. Although probably the easiest of all my problems to deal with, I wasn’t sure if I was quite ready to face more demons.

After Lewis dropped me off at the house, I sat in the living room staring at the phone. Not dialing, or talking on. Simply staring at the phone in my hand. My fingers trembled as I pressed each button and my stomach churned up the contents of my lunch.

What would they say? I hadn’t talked to them in five years. Had they given up and disowned me? Would they even still have the same number? The call connected and I almost puked. A soft, female voice answered.

“Hello?”

I took a deep breath and spoke. “Mom?”

“Laney?”

Hearing her use the name I’d grown up with made my throat close and I couldn’t breathe.

“Laney, is that you?”

“It’s me,” I croaked.

“Oh my God.” This was a muffled scraping and then Mom was yelling. “Lance. Lance. Our Laney is on the phone.”

There was more shouting.

“Put her on speaker,” my dad said.

“Laney, are you still there?”

I had to laugh at their antics. In five years, nothing about them had changed. “Yeah, I’m still here.”

“Where are you?” Mom asked the same time Dad said, “Are you still with that asshole?”

I sighed. “I’m still in Colorado and technically yes, but I’m going to start divorce proceedings.”

“Oh thank God,” my mother chanted. “What changed?”

I fiddled with the edge of the pillow. “I met a man—”

“You met someone?” Her voice was a little giddy. “Are you and Dominic separated?”

She had never been a fan of Dominic. When I’d called to tell her we’d eloped, she cried, but they hadn’t been tears of joy. That was when Dominic began whispering in my ear, telling me my mother didn’t want me to be happy; saying that if she did, she would have been as excited as I was. It was the first step down a very treacherous path that left me alone in the world, except for Dominic.

If I’d only known.

“Yes, we’ve been living apart for the last month or so.” My parents didn’t need any more information than that. “And I did. He’s charming and handsome.”

“Oh, honey,” her voice held a hint of sadness. “You thought Dominic was all of those things too.”

“Yes, but . . . ” Just the thought of Ashton brightened my day. “He’s so different. He cares about what I want, and what I need. He listens when I talk and refuses to let me help with dishes when we have dinner together. And you’ll never guess what else he did?”

She sniffed down the line.

“He helped me get an audition for an off Broadway show and I got one of the lead roles.”

My mother didn’t answer, but I could hear her sobbing when my father did. “Oh, Laney, that’s wonderful.”

“Mom, are you okay?” Why was she crying? She knew when I went to college this was what I wanted to do.

“I—” She drew in a sharp breath. “I . . . just never th-thought we’d hear from . . . you again,” she sobbed.

Tears sprang to my eyes faster than I could stop them and I let them run, unchecked, down my face. “Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry.”

“Baby girl, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Mom argued. “He warped all of your views.”

“That’s one thing I’m learning. Ashton is a good teacher.”

“When do we get to meet this mysterious man?” Mom asked, and I could almost hear her smile.

Shit.

That was something I hadn’t thought about. Obviously, I could explain to my parents that the situation was temporary—how I ended up here in the first place—but that was something I’d rather they not know. But Ashton had already done so much for me. Could I really ask more and ask him to meet them?

“I don’t know. But I’ll work on finding time to come and see you both. I miss you so much,” I cried.

“We miss you too, sweetheart.”

The conversation continued. My parents asked questions about what I’d been doing but, afraid of their reaction to just how bad my life had been, I left out many of the details. They, in turn, filled me in on what was going on with my family back East. Eventually, I noticed the time and knew Ashton would be home from work soon. As a surprise I wanted to have dinner ready when he got here. He might be annoyed that I was cooking but tough, it was my choice. Something I wanted to do.