“Hungry?” he asked.
“Yeah, they have a Denny’s chilli cheese dog here?” I joked, slipping my arm around his waist.
He just laughed and kissed the top of my head. “I wish.”
Taking our food into one of the large marquees, we ate and chatted at the same time, joking around and flirting. A brass band was sitting in the corner, playing old fashioned show tunes and people were dancing on the grass. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Every date night seemed to get better and better. Ashton surpassed himself on the thoughtful, romantic stakes every week. I knew he was still doing his job perfectly but, even so, he always managed to make me feel as though I was the most important girl on the planet.
When we’d finished eating, he took my hand and gave me a little tug in the direction of the makeshift dance floor. We danced for a couple of songs, fooling around and laughing the whole time before I stopped and nodded over my shoulder towards the exit.
“Let’s go do some other stuff. I want to make sure we do everything before we leave.”
As we stepped out of the marquee, the Ferris wheel caught my eye, so I dragged him over to it. Sitting on the Ferris wheel with him was extremely romantic. The fairy lights twinkled, the stars were out in force tonight and the music could still be heard from the marquee. I sighed in contentment and sagged against him. He grinned down at me before placing his lips over mine softly. I whimpered against his lips and kissed him back, reaching up and tangling my hand into the back of his hair. I hadn’t kissed him like this since LA; we’d toned it down a little at school this week because people already knew we were together, so we didn’t have anything to prove now. When he nibbled gently on my bottom lip, I gladly deepened the kiss. Our tongues danced together in perfect unison, and I moaned at the taste of him. I’d missed this more than I realised.
The moment was perfect, and I actually didn’t want it to end. When the ride stopped, I looked up at the operator and pouted. “Can we go again?”
The guy laughed and flicked the switch, starting the ride again. Ashton moaned in the back of his throat and instantly crashed his lips back to mine. After a further two rides, we finally climbed out, and Ashton bought me a pink cotton candy. As I bit into it, he looked over my shoulder and laughed as he gripped my hand and tugged me over to a shooting stall. A wicked grin stretched across his face as he handed the guy five bucks and picked up the gun.
The old man that ran the stall smiled, tipping the brim of his cap. “Five shots. Get three on the target to win a small prize, get five on the target and you get one of the big ones. You ever done this before, son?” he asked Ashton.
“Nope,” he lied, grinning.
“That’s cheating,” I whispered, giggling.
He laughed. “Mmm,” he winked slyly at me before looking at the target and shooting his five shots – only getting one in. “Damn it,” he mumbled, smiling.
The guy laughed. “Aw, never mind, son. I’m sure your girlfriend’s not too disappointed, are you, darlin’?” he mocked, winking at me jokingly.
I smiled. “Never mind, Pretty Boy, you can’t be good at everything,” I teased.
Ashton laughed and slid another five bucks across the counter. “Let’s win her one of these damn things then,” he stated as he raised the gun again and shot all five directly into the centre of the target. The guy’s mouth dropped open as his eyes widened. Ashton shrugged innocently. “Beginners luck?”
I burst out laughing and the guy shook his head, looking a little bemused. “What’ll it be then, darlin’?” he asked, smiling kindly at me.
Glancing at the prizes that hung from the sides of the stall, I spotted what I wanted and pointed to a green monkey. The guy pulled it down and handed it to Ashton, who immediately passed it to me.
I smiled gratefully; hugging it to my chest and feeling the soft fur of it tickle my skin. “Thanks.”
Ashton looked down at his watch and frowned. “It’s getting pretty late. We’ve probably got time for another ride before we go if you want,” he offered, pushing a stray hair behind my ear.
I looked around to see if we had missed anything. “We haven’t been on the ghost train or the swan boats yet, so you choose.”
“Hmm, well I like the sound of both,” he replied, wrapping his arm around my waist and guiding me to the ghost train first. After the ghost train we went to the swan boats. It was a slow, lazy ride. Basically, you just floated around a shallow canal with the current. Ashton’s arm was wrapped around me, so I twisted in my seat, swinging my legs over his lap, just enjoying being close to him. After a minute or so, we started heading towards a makeshift plastic cave. I giggled as I read the sign that was over the top.
“Tunnel of Love?” I giggled.
“I didn’t know that’s what it was, I swear,” he replied, holding his hands up innocently, looking a little uncomfortable.
I laughed as our boat floated in. It was dark inside, and the only light was coming from the water that was illuminated underneath. Soft music was playing. I sighed and pulled him closer to me by his shirt. You couldn’t really go into a tunnel of love without making out, there had to be some law against that, surely.
“Well, it is supposed to be romantic, after all,” I mumbled as I pulled his lips to mine.
I kissed him hungrily. It wasn’t sweet like the Ferris wheel, I think it was the darkness; it made it hot as hell. As he kissed me back, it was almost frantic and desperate. My desire spiked as he moaned into my mouth. I pushed myself up and sat on his lap, straddling him as he kissed down my neck. When his hands slid up the back of my shirt, I moaned and pressed myself closer to him. Underneath me, I could feel how excited he was getting, and the feel of it was driving me into a state of wild abandon. My body ached for relief that I knew wouldn’t come.
“I hope they don’t have cameras in here,” I breathed as he bit my neck gently. I felt him smile against my skin as he pulled the hood up on my sweater, shielding my face. I giggled, closing my mouth over his again as he pinned me onto his lap and kissed me as if he could devour my soul.
The tunnel was getting lighter now as we neared the exit. I sighed, frowning because the ride was over, and so was our intense make out session. He slid one hand up and cupped my cheek, just looking at me adoringly before bending forward and kissing me again softly. His eyes sparkled in the semi-darkness and my heart stuttered in my chest. The way he looked at me sometimes made me feel as if I was flying. It was incredible how one look from him made me feel so free and unshackled. I had no idea that people like him even existed in the world.
As we got out of the boat, he grabbed my stuffed monkey from the seat, handing him to me. “I think he saw more than he bargained for,” he joked, grinning. “We should probably get going. It’s after midnight.”
“One more cotton candy?” I pouted as we walked past the little stall. He grinned and purchased one, handing it to me and rolling his eyes. Happiness bubbled inside me and I practically skipped to the car, swinging our hands between us.
I must have fallen asleep on the drive home because I woke up as he was lifting me out of the car. “Hey,” I mumbled sleepily.
“Hi,” he whispered, picking me up bridal style and carrying me as if I weighed nothing at all. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes again, drifting back to sleep. I vaguely heard the door click shut and then I was laid onto something soft. He tugged at my jeans, pulling them off before lifting the sheets up under my chin. After pulling off his clothes, he slipped into the bed next to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me against him.
A sleepy smile crept onto my lips as I buried my face into his chest. “Thank you for tonight. That was the best date ever. I know I say that every week, but that beat all of the others, hands down,” I yawned.
“Yeah, I agree,” he whispered as he pulled himself up to kiss me.
The remainder of the passion from the tunnel of love ride was boiling up inside me as I pressed myself against his
body. I bit my lip, fighting with myself as to whether I could beg him for sex. The week since LA had been a long one, and I missed his body and the physical intimacy terribly.
“Can we go back to the fair another time?” I asked, hoping to distract my body that was itching to take things further.
“Sure, Baby Girl, anything you want.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. I actually felt happier than I had ever felt in my life. I knew everything was down to him. He truly was an amazing guy, probably the nicest and sweetest guy in the world, and I was immensely lucky to have him. Right then and there, I decided to make the most of every single second with him because every minute took us one step closer to when he would leave me.
The following three weeks were extremely eventful and seemed to pass in a blur. That wasn’t something that was going on in my life though, that was something that was going on with my father. Election Day. The event that he had been building up to practically all of his life finally arrived. In the lead up to it, I saw him everywhere I went – in newspapers, on TV, posters on walls, magazines. I couldn’t escape it. But it all paid off in the end. He won the election by a landslide, as most predicted he would. My father would become President Spencer in just a few short weeks.
My pride was something that I hadn’t expected. I had actually burst out crying when I got the call from him moments after the results had been announced. For years, he and my mother had worked tirelessly towards his goal, and now it was paying off.
It also meant, however, that come January when he was inaugurated, I would officially be the first daughter. That thought I wasn’t as keen on, but I couldn’t begrudge my dad his dreams, so I’d plastered on a fake smile and told him how happy I was about it.
The week following the election was actually my father’s birthday, so they had organised a rather large soirée to celebrate, which would also serve as a kind of victory party for him and his staff too. Ashton and I were told we had to attend to show a united front, so we were flying over there for the weekend. Personally, I was dreading the party. No doubt, everything would change now. My life was about to spiral out of my control once again, it seemed.
To be continued...
Follow the rest of Anna and Ashton’s journey in:
Nothing Left to Lose, part 2: Blurring the Lines.
With Ashton at her side, Anna begins to feel more like her old self again. Together, they’re rebuilding her life and attempting to heal old wounds. The more time they spend together, the closer they become, but unfortunately this only serves to complicate matters further. The undercover pretence of being boyfriend and girlfriend slowly ceases to be a game as both find themselves increasingly blurring the lines between the act and the reality.
With her father now President-Elect, Anna and Ashton are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain some semblance of privacy. With the world’s press obsessing over the future First Daughter, Ashton’s job of protecting her has just become a whole lot harder.
All the while the trial grows ever closer, looming over them both, taunting them, reminding them that it isn’t over yet. After all, Carter Thomas will stop at nothing to be reunited with his ‘Princess’.
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Guarding the Broken: (Nothing Left to Lose, Part 1) (Guarded Hearts) Page 43