Guarding the Broken Read online

  “You think I care where you live?” she frowned, looking a little hurt because I was kind of implying that she was shallow.

  I shook my head quickly. I didn’t think of her like that at all. “No, I know you don’t. It’s just a little embarrassing, that’s all. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s nothing like our place,” I explained, shrugging and pulling into an empty space in the parking lot outside my apartment block. I winced as I looked around at the other cars; this car was going to stick out like a sore thumb. “This car is insured, right?”

  She laughed at me. “Yeah, Pretty Boy, don’t worry.”

  I sighed as I climbed out; waving her out of the car after checking it was safe. When I popped the trunk, she was too preoccupied with looking around and smiling to notice me get her case out of the trunk too. My hand closed over hers, pulling her close to my back as I led her across the parking lot and towards the rickety, old elevator in the lobby of my apartment building.

  When we got to the third floor, I guided her along and stopped outside the door to my place. I held my breath as I pushed the key into the lock, silently praying that Nate had tidied up a little. Once the door was open, she stepped in first, and I followed behind, barely able to breathe. Nate was a total slob and liked to live in his own filth. For the last few years that we’d shared a place, I’d been the one to tidy up. The images I had in my head of what we were going to walk in on were horrifying. But, much to my surprise, it actually didn’t look too bad.

  As I stepped into the lounge, I felt my body relax. There were no dirty dishes or clothes anywhere, and no slutty magazines on the table; he even looked like he’d run the vacuum around. It wasn’t too bad at all for a bachelor pad; I was actually quite impressed with him.

  Anna smiled as she looked around. “I thought you said it wasn’t a nice place, this is great.” She went straight over to the photos on the wall and started looking through them. “Are these your friends?” she asked, motioning to one of me and my boys at the races last year.

  “Yeah. That one’s Nate,” I confirmed, pointing out my best friend.

  She whistled appreciatively. “Right, I can see why he gets the girls.”

  My heart stopped. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of her liking Nate. He was a good-looking guy and all the girls fell at his feet. I felt sick, jealousy coursing through me. What the hell would I do if she liked my best friend?

  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.

  “I don’t want you to keep buying me things,” I grumbled.

  She flopped down onto the bed beside me and leant in, kissing me softly on the mouth, silencing my protest. �
��Please don’t start. You’ll hurt my feelings. I put a lot of thought into each one, and I wanted to get you them, so please just shush,” she ordered, smirking at me. I groaned as she picked up the three smaller packages, placing them in my lap. “Open them, and smile please?” she pouted and gave me the damn face that I couldn’t resist.

  I rolled my eyes and ripped open the first one. Out fell James Patterson’s new book. I grinned excitedly. We’d spoken about this a couple of weeks ago and I’d told her I wanted to read it. “This is great, thank you.” If she’d only bought me this, it would have been the best gift I’d ever had.

  She smiled. “I thought you’d like that one. Open the next one,” she breathed excitedly, motioning towards my lap. I grinned and opened the next one; it was The Peacemaker on DVD. I laughed as I looked it over. “I didn’t know if you already had it, but I saw it and wanted to get it. I hope it’s the right one. You said it was your favourite movie,” she waffled, playing with her necklace like she did when she was a little nervous about something.

  “It’s definitely the right one, and no, I don’t have it.” I turned it over, looking at the back. I genuinely loved this movie.

  “Next one,” she prompted.

  I laughed at her enthusiasm and tore the paper from the last small package, revealing a black square jewellery box. I frowned down at it curiously as I lifted the lid. A chunky silver watch was nestled inside. My eyes widened at how expensive it looked. I flicked my eyes up to her and shook my head because it was too much, I couldn’t accept it. Before I could say anything though, she held up one hand to halt my protest. “Before you say no, hear me out,” she pleaded. “You don’t have a watch. You’re always checking the time on your cell phone. I really wanted to get you something you could use, and I saw this and really wanted to get it for you. Everyone needs a watch. Please just accept it in the manner which it was given. I want you to have it.”

  I gulped. “Anna…”

  She pouted. “If you don’t like it, you can change it,” she offered.

  I looked down at the watch. It was perfect, incredible even, and something I would never have purchased for myself in a million years because I’d never have this kind of money to spare. “I love it, it’s just-”

  Her hand closed over my mouth. “If you love it, then just put it on and smile. I wanted to get it for you.”

  I could see how much she wanted me to accept it, clearly it meant a lot to her, and she’d obviously put a great deal of effort into buying it and choosing it. I sighed and pulled her hand from my mouth. “Thank you,” I conceded.

  She squealed happily, clapping her hands excitedly as she nodded towards the medium sized package. “Great! Now do that one.”

  “These were enough, you shouldn’t have bought me anything else,” I scolded, leaning over and kissing her lips gently. In all honesty, that kiss would have been more than enough for me.

  “Just open it or I will. I’m not good at waiting for presents to be unwrapped. You should see me at Christmas, I can do a pile of presents in like a minute flat,” she stated proudly. I didn’t doubt her words at all.

  “Calm down, anyone would think it’s your birthday,” I joked.

  Her face fell, and her eyes tightened. “I don’t like my birthday, so I like to celebrate other people’s.”

  Understanding hit me like a ton of bricks. Her boyfriend had been murdered on her birthday, and she’d tried to kill herself for the last two years on the anniversary of it. Christ, how stupid could a guy get? “I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I shouldn’t have said that.” I took her hand, looking at her apologetically.

  She shook her head and smiled again. “Just open it!” she cried, pointing excitedly at the present.

  I laughed and ripped open the packet. My eyes went wide at the picture on the box. A camera. I couldn’t speak. This was just the perfect gift; no one could have picked anything better for me. I desperately wanted a photo of us two together, I had a couple of my cell phone but I couldn’t print them off.

  “Oh shit, this is incredible. Thank you so much,” I gushed. “But you know I’m gonna be taking photos of you though, right?” I added.

  “If you’re thinking I’m gonna be posing naked for you, you’re wrong,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at me.

  I laughed wickedly. “Well, I wasn’t thinking that, but I definitely am now.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Whatever, pervert.” She slapped my arm playfully.

  I leant over and kissed her lips, just once. “Thank you, I love this, it’s incredible.” I looked back at the box in my hands, not actually believing that this girl was real.

  She picked up the last two boxes and put them in my lap. “These two go together, but open this one first,” she instructed, pointing to the flatter of the two. I was still in shock over the camera, I couldn’t wait to take it out tonight and get some photos of us together. I looked over at her and noticed that she was watching me expectantly, so I reluctantly dragged my eyes from her and ripped off the gift wrap.

  My breath caught in my throat, and my body jerked – as would any red-blooded male that got this for their birthday. On my lap sat a PlayStation 4. They weren’t even out yet. “Anna, what the actual fuck? How did you get this?” I gasped.

  “I had my dad pull a few strings. He’s old friends with someone who works for Sony,” she answered happily. “I knew your face would look like that!” she grinned smugly. “Open the other box. They go together.”

  Still in shock, I unwrapped the other gift, tearing the tape off the cardboard box, seeing an extra controller and six games inside. She settled herself against my side and waved her hand at the box. “I didn’t know what games to get, so I asked the guy what a twenty-two year old male would like, and these are what he came up with. I hope they’re alright,” she winced, looking a little worried.

  I grabbed her waist and pushed her down onto the bed, pinning her underneath me. Could I tell her that I loved her? Would it ruin everything? I couldn’t risk it, she’d undoubtedly freak out. “You are the sweetest, kindest and most thoughtful girl I’ve ever met, Anna. Thank you so much for everything, and for coming to LA, and for just being with me. I really, really appreciate it.”

  She grinned. “You’re welcome. Happy birthday.”

  I kissed her again, setting my body on fire as I pressed against her tightly, relishing in the feel of her curves. When I pulled away, we were both breathless. I sat up, looking back at the PS4. “I can’t believe you got me this,” I breathed, shaking my head in awe. I was already itching to play it and eyed the soccer game on the top of the pile.

  “Actually, I didn’t buy these for you,” she replied, shrugging and pointing to the console and games.

  “Oh yeah? Did you get it for yourself?” I grinned. I’d love to play against her. Girls playing videogames was sexy!

  She shook her head. “No, I got this for Nate,” she answered, grinning smugly.

  I raised one eyebrow. “For Nate? I don’t understand.”

  She smiled and reached for the box that had contained the games. She tipped it up and a little headset thing fell out onto my lap. “You miss your friends, so I got this for Nate. The games are interactive which means you can play against other people. This little headset means you can talk to each other while you’re playing. I got one for Nate, which is this one, and I left your one at home. They’re exactly the same,” she explained.

  Oh my freaking God! Not only did she buy me this, but she bought the same for my best friend so we could play against each other because she knew I missed him? Damn it, I need to marry this girl! Please let her fall in love with me, I promise I’ll make her happy, please! I begged silently.

  “Anna, this is incredible. So thoughtful. I’m kinda speechless.”

  She grinned and shrugged as if it was nothing. “I wanted to do something for you. I owe you more than I could ever give you for what you do for me. I just wanted to make up for that in some small way so you
know I appreciate you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” I countered, frowning. Everything I did for her, I did because I wanted to. I wanted to be there for her and make her happy; I knew deep down inside that was what I was made for.

  “I feel like I do,” she shrugged.

  I sighed and looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, wishing I could make her see that we were made for each other. “Well you don’t,” I dismissed.

  She smiled and shrugged, reaching for my book. “Let’s just agree to disagree.” She flopped back against the pillows, flicking through the pages.

  I shook my head, wondering if she’d ever see how special she was. I didn’t think she would. I settled back against the pillows too, looking through the games with a huge grin on my face. They were all things that I would choose for myself, and I couldn’t wait to play them. After a couple of minutes, I rolled on to my side, resting my arm over her stomach, just taking her in.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, snuggling closer to her.

  She turned her head to the side and smiled that mesmerising smile that melted my heart every time. “You’re welcome, Pretty Boy.”

  Closing the distance between us, I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her softly.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ~ Anna ~

  After a couple of minutes of kissing, I pulled away. He looked so incredibly happy and heart-stoppingly handsome this morning. Twenty-two certainly suited him.

  “I’m gonna go make some coffee. Maybe we could get some breakfast out or something?” I suggested.

  “Sure,” he agreed, before looking down at the items in his lap. “What the hell am I gonna tell Nate?”

  I smiled. “Well, I thought about that a bit, and figured maybe you could say that you won two in some competition. Tell him that you’re giving him one so you could play against each other.” That was the only thing I could come up with that fitted; he couldn’t exactly tell him that the Senator’s daughter bought it.