“What was that downstairs? Are you not talking to me?” she asked hastily.

I crossed my arms over my chest defensively, knowing that we were about to talk, whether I wanted to or not, so it was balls to the wall, or nothing at all.

“Why, London?”

“Why not?” she countered immediately.

A billion responses hit me. Stay for me, start a life with me, be my girl, let me make up the past five years. “Why runaway when everything you need is here?”

She dropped her gaze to the floor defensively, and I knew I’d hit something inside her. “I’m not running.”

“Bullshit,” I said with a huff, and took a step until I was standing before her. “You’re running, and you’ve got nothing to run from. Look at what’s around you, Ashlyn, and standing right in front of you. Then tell me if you’re making the right decision.”

Anger, confusion, and trepidation covered her face. Like a switch had been turned on, she went from placid to pissed off in seconds. “What do I have, Josh? London is a new beginning. Its closing one fucked up chapter and writing a new one. I had plans for where I was headed, but you know what? Plans change, people change, dreams crash and burn.”

She tore her gaze from mine and started shoving her belongings into her own bag. We fell into heated silence, both simmering with words that should be said, but neither willing to divulge. It was a conversation I didn’t wish to have in my parents’ house, but a conversation I was desperate for.

“You can always come and visit,” she said under her breath as she picked up her dress from the floor. Her eyes flashed to mine with hope.

“Or you can always just stay,” I shot back.

This was one thing we would never agree on, and I would continue to fight it until I made her realize she wanted to stay.

“The pussy I had on Friday was unbelievable. Where have you been, though? I have to actually work for it now, and not just get the friend of the chick you hook up with. ”

Duke had arrived just after seven, and was firing on all cylinders. The car ride back from my parents’ had been silent, aside from Ashlyn’s soft humming along to the radio. We were both stubborn, so neither backed down. As soon as we got back to my apartment, she disappeared into her room. I collapsed onto the couch, and was joined an hour later by Duke to watch the game.

“Good to see you are as charming as ever, Duke,” Ashlyn shot as she appeared from the hall wearing the jeans that made her ass look incredible and a black tank top that fit her body like a glove.

“And good to see you are looking as fuckable as ever, Ashlyn.” Duke’s eyes roamed freely over her body, and my jaw tightened at his blatant eye fucking.

“That’s what every girl wants to hear.” Ashlyn laughed. “I’m ordering pizza from downstairs. That okay, Duke?”

She hadn’t looked at me once, and was acting like I didn’t exist. Duke looked between the two of us, while I stared at her waiting for any kind of acknowledgement.

“Are you two having a lovers tiff?” Duke mused, not knowing how right he was.

“I’m ordering pizza.” Ashlyn strutted into the kitchen and shot me an aggravated look over her shoulder, before she disappeared out of view.

“What the hell was that?” Duke asked, after I turned back to look at the television. “I swear you two act like a married couple with a non-existent sex life.”

“Give me a sec.”

I stood from the couch, and didn’t wait around to hear what he had to say. Crossing the living room and entering the kitchen, I refused to let this go on any longer. This was getting sorted now. Her voice was soft as she ordered dinner, and green eyes collided with mine when I appeared. I leaned against the kitchen island and waited while she finished up. After placing her phone in her pocket, she crossed her arms protectively over her chest and waited.

“Give me your phone,” I stated firmly and held out my hand.

“Why?”

I shot her an exasperated look, and with a huff she handed over her phone after unlocking the screen. With a few clicks, I went to her photo album and found the photo we took on the pier.

I lifted the phone and showed it to her. “This is what I want you to remember from the weekend. This photo and what led to it. Not this fucked up argument, or misunderstanding, or whatever the fuck it is. I don’t want you moving to London, it’s as simple as that. I want you here where I can see you every day, and not have to worry about fucked up time zones, or planes, or asshole British guys trying to get in your pants. I’m going to be selfish about this, and I won’t be sorry about that fact.”

Her eyes softened as she looked from the phone to me. “London is only eight hours away,” she said softly.

“And your apartment is only eight yards away.”

“Can we just enjoy our time together before I leave? I don’t want to be arguing when we could be . . .” she said wistfully.

“Could be what?”

“Enjoying my last couple of days here.”

“We better make the most of it then. Last night was fun, Ashy. Really fucking fun,” I said softly as I moved toward her.

She watched every step and pulled her lip between her teeth. “You are making it very hard for me to stick to my no-men rule. You, your fingers, and your mouth are dangerous. I need to get back to my apartment so I can gain some strength,” she said, not hiding the fact that she allowed her eyes to freely roam over my face and land on my lips.

“Me, my fingers, and my mouth crave that sweet body of yours, so there’s no way I could stop, even if I wanted to.”

“Damn it. Stop with your swoony talk. We have a guest. Do you really want Duke to witness me visiting Josh Land?” she quipped with a raised brow, and my chest swelled with pride at hearing her use the term Josh Land.

“Fuck no.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Silence fell between us, but our gaze remained locked. I had been replaying the previous night continually in my head. I refused to allow one moment to destroy what was pretty fucking awesome. “Are we good?” I asked hopefully.

“We are good.”

Her eyes darted away from mine, and it immediately grabbed my attention. When she avoided my gaze, it was usually because something was bothering her.

“Lachlan messaged me earlier,” she whispered.

My jaw ticked at the mere mention of his name, yet I was glad she didn’t feel the need to hide it from me any longer. Her eyes glazed over, as the demons she was fighting started showing themselves. She met my stare, and I got lost in the emotion circling her stunning green eyes. She was fighting something. He had said something that was bothering her.

“What did he say? What can I do?” I asked softly.

She smiled sweetly, then grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen and back into the living room. “Eat pizza, sit beside me on the couch, and watch the game.” Her avoidance was on full display.

“Is the lovers tiff over?” Duke asked when we both sat on the couch. “I thought I’d have to choose between you two. And I’m sorry, Josh, but Ashlyn would win. She has something you don’t.”

“You are an asshole,” I shot and glared at him.

“What? A pussy is a huge bargaining tool,” he stated and shot Ashlyn a wink for good measure.

“Are you seriously talking about my pussy?” Ashlyn laughed from beside me.

Duke hooted. “I fucking love the fact that you say pussy.”

“What else would I call it? Vagina doesn’t sound as sexy as pussy, and I refuse to call it the c-bomb, because that just makes it sound dirty, and believe me there is nothing dirty about downstairs.”

She shot me a quick look that screamed of my knowing exactly how perfect her pussy was, and it made me feel like I was a fucking king, ready to work my ass off to make her my queen.