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

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

had a point. What

staying the night,” Ashton announced, extending his

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< Chapter 98

asked, confused

he said simply.

eyes widened in surprise. “You want to stay

you want me to sleep at your door?”

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but he added, “It’s not like

slept in the same room before, and nothing

him my keys, and we went

around. “I’ll sleep on

long enough for s omeone of Ashton’s height. His legs would definitely hang off the

was another room in the apartment–my parents‘

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

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

Taking the slippers, he walked to my room while I grabbed my

enter my parents‘ room, Ashton called out, “Wait a minute.”

to look at him. He was standing in the doorway

had calmly shared a hotel room before, but here, in this familiar

“I think it’s more appropriate

stared at him, speechless.

your room,” he

like I was somehow mistreating

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

about quiet men being the most cunning seemed to apply

off before retreating to

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

hadn’t shown up, my meager defenses might not have been enough, and the consequences

been

odds he decided to come see me tonight? The timing seemed almost

Ashton. I wondered if he was really sleeping on

He was still awake,

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