More Than A Favor

< More Than A Favor

Chapter 98

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Ashton had come looking for me quite a few times before, but this time, he was standing right at my door.

“What do you want now?” I asked, trying to mask my confusion and lingering unease.

“I agree,” he said simply.

I frowned. “Agree to what?”

“To date you and be your temporary boyfriend,” Ashton clarified.

I blinked in surprise, caught off guard by his change of heart. “Why did you change your mind?”

“If I didn’t, you’d keep putting yourself in dangerous situations, like going on blind dates with men who follow you home,” he said, his tone a mix of exasperation and sternness.

His blunt answer amused me. In the dim light of the hallway, his reluctant yet resigned expression brought a smile to my lips.

“You’d be doing something against your will,” I teased. “Won’t that make you unhappy?”

Ashton must have caught on to my playful tone because he took a step closer. Instinctively, I backed away, but the railing behind me left me nowhere to go.

He reached out an arm, placing it on the railing and effectively pinning me between him and the cold metal. My breath hitched.

“Ashton…” I murmured, my voice trailing off.

“How could you be so foolish to go on blind dates like that?” he scolded softly, his voice warm and close to my ear.

A shiver ran down my spine. His words chastised me, but his tone was laced with something tender, almost affectionate.

I didn’t move or speak, the moment stretching between us.

The silence wasn’t awkward–it was charged, alive with an energy I couldn’t quite put into words. Standing so close to him, I could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong.

After a while, Ashton withdrew his arm and stepped back. “You’re not allowed to come home this late by yourself again.”

“Okay,” I replied quietly, unable to argue.

A moment later, I remembered my manners. “Thank you,” I added, my voice soft.

I was thanking him for saving me earlier, for agreeing to help me deal with the Mercer family, and for being there when I needed someone the most.

he simply looked at me. I gestured toward the stairs. “I’m going home now.”

he said, “That guy made it all the way to your building. Who knows if he’ll come

a point. What if the

night,” Ashton announced, extending

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< Chapter 98

confused by

keys,” he said simply.

eyes widened in surprise. “You want to stay at my place?”

me to sleep at your door?” he asked, his

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mouth to protest, but he added, “It’s not like

was true. We had slept in the same room before, and nothing had happened.

my keys, and we went

around. “I’ll sleep on the couch,”

looked at the couch and frowned. It was over ten years old, small, and barely long enough for s omeone of Ashton’s height. His

apartment–my parents‘ room–but I couldn’t let

I

and rummaged for a pair of my dad’s old slippers, handing

didn’t argue. Taking the slippers, he walked to my room while I grabbed my pajamas and checked to make sure there

I was about to enter my parents‘ room, Ashton called out, “Wait a minute.”

to look at him. He was standing in the doorway of my room, his gaze steady.

shared a hotel

a moment of silence, Ashton spoke. “I think it’s

at

room,” he continued.

like I was somehow mistreating

I knew what he was doing–he was trying to push me, slowly but surely, toward making him

saying about quiet men being the most cunning

brushing him off before

lay in bed but couldn’t sleep. The fear from earlier still lingered,

meager defenses might not have been enough,

have been disastrous.

were the odds he decided to come see me

Ashton. I wondered if he was really sleeping on the couch or if he had

the living room. He was still awake, likely

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