The Billion Dollar Girl

(Chapter 41)

CHAPTER 41

Ͼ Ella Castillo Ͽ

His fingers found the hem of my shirt and tugged, as if trying to pull it off, his lips still on mine. In my dazed mind, I just about managed to register it.

“No,” I mumbled against his lips. “No!”

Ash pulled away and I stared at his blue eyes, glittering with lust. He looked like a wolf, intent on devouring its prey.

“Why not?” he snarled, his desire evident in his husky voice.

I smiled and kissed Ash’s forehead. He blinked, and that wolfish glare was gone.

“I’m sorry, Ash,” I told him. “But I’m not ready. I can’t do it, not yet anyway. I do want this, it’s just that…I can’t, when my face is all busted up and my leg’s like this. I just…want it to be perfect. I’m sorry.”

Ash stared at me for a moment, before taking a deep breath and giving a shaky laugh.

“Damn, Ella,” he sighed. He laced his fingers through mine, giving me a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about your feelings. I just assumed that love would mean… Never mind. Sorry, Ella.”

“Will you…be okay?” I said, in a small voice.

Ash laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Men aren’t animals. I can control myself.”

But he sounded unconvinced.

We spent the rest of the night snuggling on the bed, listening to the sound of each other’s hearts both realizing that for the first time in the long time, we were no longer alone.

***

With my broken leg, there wasn’t much we could do at the ski resort so we decided to cut the ski trip short and returned to Paris the next day. Ash and I then spent the rest of the week touring Paris. We visited the Louvre – something I’d dreamed about for many years. Though to be honest, Ash didn’t seem really into the paintings and instead dragged me into the dark, unopened section to make out. We emerged half an hour later. Ash looked cool and collected, his hair still perfectly arranged. On the other hand, my face was burning, my words incoherent and my hair bedraggled. I caught Ash smirking at me and I glared at him.

The trip seemed to end far too quickly and before we knew it, we were flying back home. With the time difference, we would arrive pretty early in the morning. Ash wanted to then take the rest of the day off, but I insisted on doing to school right away. He grumbled about it, but I was worried about my marks. I mean, Ash was okay with meaning almost last, but I had to keep my grades up. It was the only part of life that had always remained the same.

On the plane back home, I switched on my phone for the first time the whole trip, and suddenly saw a whole bunch of missed messages. They were from Zack, Will, but mostly from my Mom. I bit my lip, feeling guilty. I’d completely forgotten to call her and tell her I would be missing for a while. She’d probably been worried sick.

I called her back immediately.

“Mom?” I said. “Hello?”

There was a silence and at first I thought there was something wrong with the connection, but then I heard her voice.

“Young lady,” she said, very seriously. She never called me young lady unless she was very angry. “You are in massive trouble. Do you know how worried I’d been? I called all over for you, and no one said they knew where you were! Did you know how I had to find out? From a magazine. That’s right, a magazine showing you and Ash in Paris, on some romantic getaway.”