More Than A Favor

< More Than A Favor

Chapter 98

* Get 5*

Menu

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.

I

he said, “That guy made it all the way to

a point. What if the man returned?

staying the night,” Ashton announced, extending

15:27

30.63%

< Chapter 98

asked, confused by his

he said

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

else? Do you want me to sleep at your door?” he asked, his tone

Get 5 >

= Menu

to protest, but he added, “It’s not like we haven’t shared a room before.”

was true. We had slept in the same room before, and

I handed him my keys,

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said.

was over ten years old, small, and barely long enough for s omeone of Ashton’s height. His legs would definitely hang off

the apartment–my parents‘

my room,” I offered. “I’ll take my parents‘ room.”

put down my bag and rummaged for a pair of my dad’s old

I grabbed my pajamas and checked to make sure there was nothing

enter my parents‘ room, Ashton

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

It was absurd. We had calmly shared a hotel room before, but

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

stared at him, speechless.

your room,” he continued. “I… I’ll

me feeling like I was somehow mistreating

was trying to push me, slowly

men being the most

brushing him off

night, I lay in bed but couldn’t sleep. The fear from earlier still lingered, and my mind replayed the

defenses might not have been enough,

been disastrous.

odds he decided to come see me tonight?

wondered if he was really sleeping on the couch or if

from the living room. He was still

15:27

30.54%