The Billion Dollar Girl

(Chapter 29)

ῼ Ash Castillo ῼ

“Ella –!” I yelled, bursting into the room.

Ella’s hand was gripped on James’s. Their faces were identical masks of concentration and anguish. Veins stuck out from their foreheads and they were both panting. Each had one elbow on the mahogany table in the middle of the room.

“No, James! You can’t cheat and use two hands! That’s not the point of an arm wrestle! Oh, Ash. When did you get here?”

“Ella…” I muttered, shocked. “James…you…”

Ella finished it, using one of her hands to slam both of James’ onto the table. I advanced, pulling Ella away and grabbing her by her shoulders. She made a little noise of surprise.

“What are you doing?” I yelled, shaking her hard. “Why are you alone in a room with man?”

Ella slapped me off, her cheeks red and her ebony curls slowly unraveling from her updo.

“Are you out of you mind?” she snapped, glaring at me and rubbing the angry red marks I’d left on her skin. “What did you do that for? We were just messing about! Ash, what’s wrong with you?”

I shoved left hand at her face, holding it just in front of her eye.

“Do you see this?” I spat. “This ring means you’re mine, and mine alone. Do you know what it also means? You do not hang out in rooms with other guys, and damage my family’s reputation. Do I make myself clear?”

Ella grabbed my left hand as well.

“Well, I’m pretty sure,” she yelled, wavy locks of hair falling out of her elegant hairstyle. It framed her face perfectly. Even in her anger, she looked like some kind of Goddess, with her long, flowing hair and her perfect features. I couldn’t help but stare at her full lips as she talked, “that this also means you should spend time with me at these stupid events, instead of the dozen or so socialites, all of whom you’ve slept with.”

She threw down my hand, as if just touching my skin disgusted her.

“Don’t you dare,” she snarled, articulating every word, drawing them out slowly, “tell me what or what not to do. You think just by acting a little cute lets you have power over me? I can talk to whoever I want, spend time with whomever I want and even date whoever I want.”

She stared at me, letting the words settle in. The ebony curls that contrasted so heavily with her blood-red lips, loosened and finally spilled out, falling past her shoulders. The hairpins, useless now, were stuck in ostentatious points of her hair.

“Do you understand?” Ella asked angrily, not quite realizing just how beautiful she was.

She was panting slightly from her long speech. Blazing green glared into mine, waiting for my reply. A smirk formed at my lips. I took a step in, and Ella’s eyes widened. She backed away slightly. So she did know fear.

My fingers, slowly, drifted to her cheek. Ella flinched and I, still smirking, redirected my hand to her hair. One by one, I pulled out her hairpins, letting myself get closer and closer to her. Finally, as I pulled out the last pin, my mouth was just over the delicate skin of her neck. I parted my lips. Just the barely audible sound of skin leaving skin made her gasp.

“I think you’ll find,” I whispered, my voice small enough for her to hear but James to not. I took her hand and forced her palm open, “that the contract we both signed says that you have to do…everything…I…want…”

I dropped the pins into her open palm. She was frozen, from shock.

“And if,” I breathed, “what I want is for you to stop seeing any other guys, then you’ll do that. You want you to stop seeing other guys, and only see me. Am I clear?”