AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ella shook her head. “He can just stay in my room. With me.” She wrapped her hand tighter around mine, if that was possible.
I choked, my eyes wide. I’d never have expected her to be so bold. As if us being together wasn’t obvious. My jacket still engulfing Ella’s thin frame, her hand in mine.
Her mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “Ella, can I talk to you in the other room?”
Ella sighed. “Sure, Mom.” She dropped my hand, looking back at her dad. “Play nice.” Her eyes flashed to mine, and she mouthed,Sorry.
I shook my head. It wasgoodto see that they were worried about who their daughter was dating. She didn’t understand,because she’d grown up with parents who loved her enough tocare. When had I had that, besides them caring about me not messing up my future career?
Her dad stepped up, pinning me with a glare. “What exactly are your intentions with my daughter? Because if you’re going to hurt her, or break her heart…”
“I care about her, sir. All I care about is making her happy.” Breaking her heart would be like breaking my own. Not that I was ready to admit that out loud. “It’s still new between us, but I plan on staying with her for as long as she’ll let me.” Swallowing roughly, I kept my eye contact with her dad. Hoping to show him how serious I was. But words didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, did they? It was actions that mattered.
“No funny business?” He asked, and I shook my head.
“I promise. She’s it for me.”
Stephen Ashford stared at me for a long moment before nodding his head, clearly finding whatever he’d been searching for in my face. “Keep her safe.” He stuck his hand out again, but this time, the handshake felt almost welcoming.
“Always,” I agreed.
Ella and her mom returned from the other room a moment later. I tried to catch her face—was she upset? What had they talked about? Was her mom really okay with this? A thousand questions were racing through my brain, but it all quieted as Ella gave a little smile, sliding back to my side.
I didn’t know what to expect from her mom, but she came over and squeezed my shoulder before standing back with her husband. A littlewelcome to the family,it almost felt like. Maybe that was too good to be true—too soon, but I wanted it. Wanted these people to become my family one day.
“Everything good?” she murmured, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Mhm,” I said in response, taking a moment to inhale her scent.
“We’re going to bed,” Ella’s mom announced, guiding her husband back into the bedroom.
“Good night!” Ella yelled back, wrapping her hand back in mine and dragging me up the stairs behind her.
“So, this is your childhood bedroom, huh?” I couldn’t help but look around. “It’s cute.” The walls were painted her favorite shade of light blue, and they’d been decorated with paintings of princesses and other memorabilia from her childhood. Dolls sat on top of her bookcase, filled with titles I recognized reading when I was younger, too.
Ella’s cheeks were pink, and I pulled her in close, my hands palming her ass as I placed a kiss on her nose.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she murmured back, her hands tangled in my shirt.
“I can still go sleep downstairs if you’d rather, baby. We’re not doing anything tonight.”
“We’re… not?”
I laughed, shaking my head. “In your parents’ house? I think your dad would kill me to know I defiled his daughter under his roof.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks were pink. “But you’re still gonna sleep in my bed, right?”
I kissed her softly. “That depends.”
“On…” She let my jacket fall down her shoulders.
My eyes looked over at her drawers. “What are you wearing to bed, Princess?”
She smiled, kissing me back before rummaging through and pulling out my t-shirt. “This?”
I smirked. “Good girl.”
