Destined (Embracing #3)

by Delisa Lynn

  Following his monstrous truck, I pull into a parking lot behind him. I wipe my face with a tissue. There are sweat beads across my nose. Makes sense, considering I just ran a marathon.

  “Hey, I hope you like Mexican.” He smiles.

  “For breakfast?”

  “Ansley, they sell breakfast food too.” I watch as he runs his hand over his head and flexes his abs through his thin shirt. I have to force down the moan that was getting ready to escape my lips.

  “Oh.” I grin. “Let’s eat, then.”

  We walk in. The host, an older man, asks, “Ashton, how is the family?”

  “Good, thank you. This is my friend, Miss Dolce,” he says with his hand in the small of my back.

  The older gentleman nods. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Smiling, I say, “Likewise.” We walk over to our table, which is actually a small booth. I slide in and Ashton slides in next to me.

  “What have you been doing since you’ve been here?” he asks.

  “Just working and that’s about it.” I think before I speak again. “I work all week. On the weekends, I watch TV and work on papers.”

  “You know, that’s not healthy. You’re like a hermit.”

  I elbow him and laugh. “Are you calling me a crab? I take offense to that.”

  “Yes, I am. You need to get out and meet people. Come to dinner tonight. You can meet Lila and Megan. Lila has a house full of kids, but she would love to have another friend. Her best friend lives in Alabama and she and Meg normally do girlie things on the weekend.”

  “She’s your cousin?” I ask.

  “She’s married to Liam, my cousin. They have two girls and a boy. Actually, Addie and Maddie are in the class next to yours. You’ll probably have them next year.” He takes a drink of his water. “Megan is Kade’s…Well, hell, I’m not sure what they are. Kade is my cousin and they have an odd relationship.” He laughs.

  “Oh, I see.” I brace myself for my next question. “What about AJ’s mom?” I see the look in his eye before he turns his head.

  “Not much to say. She chose whoring and drugs over my son. She sees him sometimes. The last time she was with him, she was supposed to take him to a kids place called Jump Around. I followed them and she ended up dropping him off at a friend’s house and using the money I gave her for him on herself.”

  “I’m sorry.” I sip my water. “He’s a good kid. I enjoy having him in my class.”

  “Don’t be. Thank you. He’s very fond of you as well. Let’s order, shall we?” I can see that he is hurting. I want to hug him. I wrap my tiny fingers around his large hand. “Anytime you want to talk, remember we’re friends now.” I smile.

  “That goes both ways, Miss Dolce.”

  “Got it. So, what’s good here? I don’t like eggs. I think of baby chickens every time I see one.”

  “Damn woman, you done ruined my omelet craving.”

  “I’m sorry.” I feel my cheeks turn red.

  “Pancakes are good, but I’m going to go with the breakfast burrito, minus the egg, with extra bacon.” He smiles and I feel my inner thighs clench. Those damn dimples.

  “That sounds delish. I’ll have whatever you have.” It’s hard for me to order at restaurants. I never really went to them. My parents never bothered with them, and when I was with Morris, he cooked at home, since he’s a chef.

  Placing his arm around the back of my neck, he asks, “Why did you become a teacher?”

  “It’s something I’d dreamt about doing all of my life. My parents never supported my dreams. I moved away from home when I was eighteen and haven’t been back since.” I can’t believe I actually said that aloud. Morris and Nina are the only ones I’ve ever talked to about my past and Morris didn’t even know the half of it.

  “Again, that’s their loss. Sweet cheeks, you’re amazing. I see the way you look at your students and I see the way they look at you.”

  The waitress approaches us and sits our plates in front of us. The aroma from this food has me drooling. “Can I get you two anything else, Mr. Ashton?” she asks, refilling our water glasses.

  “Not right now, but thank you.”

  “Why are you so nice to me?” I laugh nervously. “Thank you for the compliments. This food looks delish. I’ve never had Mexican food for breakfast.”

  “I told you, I like you. Ansley, one thing about me is I don’t bullshit. I’m straight forward. If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you. I’ve learned that you don’t get anywhere holding back your feelings.”

  “I like your honesty. Do you say grace before eating?” I ask and feel a little uneasy. My parents were never religious, but I always thanked the lord for what I had. Sometimes all I had was peanut butter, but I was thankful.

  “Not always. We can now, though, if you’d like?”

  “Okay, I’d like that. Will you start?”

  “Of course.” He places his hand in mine. “Dear Heavenly Father, we would like to thank you for the food we are about to consume. Thank you for bringing Ansley into our lives. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.”

  “Amen,” I say as I choke back some tears. He said into ‘our lives.’ He must mean his and AJ’s.

  “Let’s eat, I’m starving,” he says. “What are your plans? Can I take you with me for the day?”

  “I need to shower. You can follow me home and I’ll shower quickly.”

  “That works. I need to pick up some things to make my famous cheesecake for tonight.”

  “You cook?” I scrunch my nose. I can’t see this man cooking anything.

  “Well, yeah, sweet cheeks, but I like to bake more than cook.”

  “Yeah, I can’t cook at all. My…Morris, my ex-husband, he did all the cooking.”

  “Looks like I’ll have to teach you.”

  “Okay, but if I suck, then you’ll just have to cook for me.” I laugh.

  “Anytime. Just say the words.” He winks, then reaches over and cuts a piece of my burrito with his fork. “Sorry, that looked good.”

  “It’s okay. I’m full, to be honest. This is a lot of food.” I push my plate toward him.

  “It is. Hang on and I’ll grab a to-go box. It’s good reheated.”

  “Thanks.” I smile and reach for my wallet, hoping I’d have enough on my credit card to cover this. Morris left me broke. Even after he said he wouldn’t, he did.

  “Hey, put that away. This is on me. When you’re with me, I pay for everything. Got it?”

  “Oh, okay.” I feel a little odd, but I’m not going to argue about it. After paying my mortgage last week, I only have enough to survive until my next paycheck. Teacher’s salary isn’t as good as you’d think. I spent so much money on college. After my aunt’s money ran out, I was married to Morris and we shared accounts. Thank God he had bought my car before he left. We paid cash for it, so that helps a lot. I love my job, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I’m so damn broke.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks as he lifts my chin with his index finger. “Look at me, sweet cheeks,” he orders.

  “I’m fine. Why do you call me that?”

  “’Cause you have some sweet cheeks, and not the ones attached to your face.” He laughs.

  “Ashton! You’re looking at my butt?” I all but yell.

  “Baby, you know I’m a man, right? Who wouldn’t look at that ass?”

  “Ugh, I thought we were going to be friends.” I scoot from the booth and he surprises me by wrapping his arms around my waist.

  “We are friends.”

  “I think our friendship is going to go a lot different than I planned.” Shit, I said that aloud.

  “Yes, it is. Yes, it is.” He laughs. Damn it, I’m in for it. I like him, though. I like him a lot.

  Chapter Eight

  Ashton

  Having breakfast with Ansley was amazing. I followed her to her little house and waited for her to shower. It took everything in me not to walk in there and claim her. I swear that woman’s
ass looks like a masterpiece. My jeans get tight just looking at her.

  Her dog is cute. I know she likes dogs. That’s why I wanted her to go with me today. I’m getting AJ a dog. He’s been begging for one. We leave her car at her house and she climbs into the truck with me.

  When I pull into my driveway, I see that Ansley’s a little nervous. I grab her hand and say, “Look at me. AJ isn’t here. So, if you’re worried about what he’ll say, don’t.”

  “Oh, no, it’s okay. I was just thinking that my condo would fit inside of your garage.”

  “Well, we could move it in if you want to.” Hopping out, I rush over and open her door. “Come on, I can smell myself.”

  “You smell amazing to me.” She covers her mouth. “I mean, you don’t smell bad.”

  “You can make yourself at home. The media room is downstairs. Movies and video games galore. I shouldn’t be long.”

  “Is it okay if I sit on your deck?”

  “Of course, you can sit on whatever you want.” Hell I have plenty of places that would love to have her fine ass sit on them.

  She has my dick so hard, I’ve been adjusting it all day. My balls are so damn blue, I’m Papa Smurf. For the first time in years, I’m going to beat off in the goddamn shower.

  I start the shower and look out of the double doors that lead to my balcony. I see her beautiful body curled up on the lounger. She’s just staring out at the ocean.

  “Friends?” I laugh. We’ll see how long that will last because right now, the thoughts I have about her are thoughts I wouldn’t have about my friends. I strip my sweaty clothes off and climb into the shower. The hot water streams across my face. My fucking dick is still hard. I pour a little body wash in my left hand.

  Placing my right hand on the cold tile, I grab my cock with my left hand and glide my hand up and down. Feeling some relief, I start thinking about that blue-eyed beauty downstairs. I bring my fingers to the tip and rest them on my Prince Albert. I adjust the silver ring, massaging the tip.

  Thinking about bending her over and sliding in her, I move my hand back to the base of my cock, feeling my balls tighten. I move faster, bracing myself with the wall. I pump a few more times as my semen fills the drain. Goddamn, that felt great. Now I can shower and hopefully not get hard when I look at Ansley.

  ***

  “What kind of dog are you getting him?” she asks as I pull into Jose’s driveway. He’s one of Toom’s friends.

  “A pit bull. There’s a snow white one with a black spot on his ear. I knew, once I saw it, that AJ would love him.”

  “Oh, those are big dogs.”

  “Yeah, they are great with kids. Toom has one and his son grew up with it.”

  “Is that their real names? Toom and Taz? I’m not judging, but those aren’t very common.”

  I laugh. “No, those aren’t their birth names. They’re nicknames that stuck with them throughout the years. I’ve known them since we were kids.”

  “I thought my name was odd.” She turns her head, then looks back at me. “I like that you’ve known them a long time. I never really had many friends growing up. I guess you could say I was the ugly duckling.”

  “There’s not anything ugly about you, sweet cheeks.” Who the hell would think she was ugly? She is drop dead fucking beautiful.

  “You trying to win brownie points with me, Ellis?” She laughs.

  “Something like that.” I wink. “Let’s get my boy a puppy.” I smile as I climb out of the truck.

  ***

  Ansley

  I’ve been with Ashton all day. We’ve had breakfast and lunch together. He got AJ a puppy. I can’t wait to see AJ’s face when he talks about the puppy in class. He’s a story teller. I can see he gets it from his father. His green eyes light up when he speaks. Ashton hasn’t mentioned dinner, but I know that’s where we will be heading. I need to prepare myself. I’ve never been around a large family like his before.

  Morris’s folks rarely had family functions. My family never did. Sometimes I wonder what my family would have been like if my parents were different. I’d never really thought about them much until all the shit happened with my ex. There are some things and some people that you want to leave in the past. I hope I never run into my parents. One good thing about moving so far away is that I don’t have to worry about that.

  “Hey, you okay over there?” Ashton asks as we pull into the parking lot of PetSmart.

  “Yes, just thinking.” I feel comfortable with him. The words flow so easily off of my tongue.

  “I hope you know that you’re going to dinner with my family tonight. My mom would be heartbroken if you didn’t show up.” He winks as he leans over and unfastens my seatbelt. His scent is intoxicating. I close my eyes and inhale him. “Let’s go get this beast some toys.”

  I hope he isn’t naming the puppy Beast. He’s supposed to be letting AJ name him. I climb out of his huge truck and see he is standing there, waiting for me. He has the dog under his arm. This man is so damn sexy. I want to trace all of the ink on his body. Not with my finger, either. Oh hell, what is he doing to me?

  “We’ll need a cart. There is a lot you’ll need, since he is new,” I say as I grab a cart and push it through the double doors. “Let’s start with food. Did they say what he eats?”

  “No, I’m sure we can just get puppy food. I’ll get several different kinds.”

  “Aww, look at this bed. I think it will suit him for now.” I pick up a blue bed with drawings of white bones all over it. Then I see that there is also a matching blanket and pillow.

  “That’s fine, just no frilly shit.” He laughs. He hands me the dog and grabs a crate and some other things. I carry the dog as he pushes the cart through the store. I think he has enough stuff for five dogs.

  “When you decide on a name, you’ll have to come back and make him a name tag. I got Sal’s from here, when we moved.”

  “We can do that. Does Sal need anything?” he asks as he picks up some more toys.

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “Well, he’s getting some new toys. I hope he likes these chew things too,” he says as he throws a bag of bones in the cart.

  Laughing, I shake my head. “Okay, I think you have enough stuff here. Maybe we should go before you decide to adopt a cat.”

  He looks at his phone. “Yeah, I need to pick little man up. I want to give him Beast before we head to my parents for dinner. It’s about a forty-five minute drive. And I don’t like cats.”

  “Are you sure it’s okay that I tag along? Good, me either. They meow too much.” I really didn’t want to spend the evening alone anyway.

  “You’re kidding, right? AJ will love that you’re with us. He is very fond of you, Miss Dolce.” He winks and takes the items from the cart. I can see the way the cashier is eyeing him. She’s a young blonde. She looks like she’s still in high school.

  “I like the ink. Those are nice,” she says, staring at him. I instantly feel jealous.

  “Thank you, doll.” He smirks as he pulls out his credit card to pay for everything.

  Smiling at her, I run my hand over Ashton’s arm. “We better get going or we’ll be late for dinner.” I clutch Beast in my arms. Take that, blondie.

  ***

  I feel a little nervous as we pull into Ashton’s driveway. I’m not sure if it’s because AJ will see us together or the fact that I’m going to meet all of his family. God, I would love to have a bottle of Ellis Wine right now.

  “After I get everything in the house, we can pick little man up.” We walk into Ashton’s house and I realize I’m still holding Beast.

  “You sure it’s okay for me to go?” I ask again. I’m not sure if I’m looking for him to say no or just hoping for reassurance that he and his family actually want me there.

  “I want you there, that’s all that matters.” He places his finger under my chin. “Look at me. It’s going to be okay.”

  We leave everything he just purchased sitting on his
kitchen counter and head out of the same door we walked in.

  Ashton takes the dog from under my arm and grabs my arm with his free hand. We walk down a small sidewalk that leads to his cousin’s home. My stomach drops to my toes. I see AJ five days a week. I don’t think it’s him that’s making me feel like this. Maybe it’s actually meeting the rest of the family. Whatever it is, it’s making my damn legs shake. Ashton is still holding my hand. He looks at me and nods before we walk up the front steps.

  A beautiful, pregnant blonde woman swings the door open before we reach it. Her hair is gorgeous and, even with her round stomach, she looks breathtaking. She smiles and grabs Beast from Ashton and cuddles him.

  “AJ is going to flip. This has to be one of the cutest dogs I’ve ever seen.” She smiles and hands the dog back to Ashton. “I’m so sorry, I’m Lila Carls-Ellis. You must be Ansley.” She embraces me and I feel at ease.

  “Nice to meet you, Lila. Yes, I’m Ansley Dolce.” She backs away from me. From the corner of my eye, I see Ashton talking to a very handsome man. He looks about the same age as Ashton. He hugs me and I realize I met him at the bar.

  “Ansley, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Liam Ellis. We met at the bar a few months back. You have mad pool skills.” He smiles. “I see you’ve met my beautiful wife. The kids are all out back, with Kade and Megan. Come on and I’ll introduce you to Meg. Then we can all head over to Gill and Nan’s.”

  I follow her through a beautiful foyer. The walls are brown and there are pictures hanging everywhere. Some are of the kids while others are of Lila and Liam. I walk through the ginormous kitchen and see another handsome man leaning against the wood deck, drinking a beer. He notices us and smiles. Then I realize he was at the bar as well.

  “Well, you must be Miss Dolce. Nice to see you again.” He reaches his hand out. He must not be a hugger like the rest of them. “I don’t know why he didn’t get your number when you kicked his ass in pool months back.”