No Attachments - By Tiffany King Page 0,25

the breath right out of me. Gasping, I took stock of any possible injuries while I ignored the dust bunnies under my bed that I now had a bird's-eye view of. Of course, it would be at that moment that Nathan decided to knock on my front door.

I jumped to my feet, forgetting once again that my jeans were still around my ankles.

"Mother all fuck," I grumbled as I found myself flat on my stomach for the second time with a loud crash. My lungs had just forgiven me for my last fall, and now seized up again, making me gasp for breath like a drowning victim. Halfway between berating myself for my complete dipshitedness and wishing my floor was at least carpeted in a situation like this, I heard my front door open.

"Ashton, are you okay?" Nathan's worried voice called out.

I was in hell. For the briefest of moments, I actually contemplated trying to slide under my bed to hide.

"I'm fine," I answered, using the little bit of breath I had managed to recoup. I frantically tried to shimmy my jeans up over my legs although my prone position wasn't helping much.

"I thought someone was attacking you," the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment said from my bedroom doorway.

I was wrong before. This was hell. "That someone would be my jeans." My answer came out muddled thanks to my predicament as heat filled my cheeks.

"Are you okay?" he asked, obviously concerned to see my panty-covered ass face up while I tried in vain to hide my face in the wood flooring.

"By okay, if you mean 'would I like to die at the moment?' That would be a resounding yes," my voice came out muffled due to the wood flooring against my face.

"Would you like my help?" he asked. Now that he knew I hadn't suffered some stroke or cracked my head wide open, he was completely amused.

"No, I think I can handle this," I said sarcastically, flipping over onto my back so I could hike up my jeans. It was only after I was in the middle of flipping over that I realized my sweater had hiked up to my neck, exposing my bra-covered chest.

"I kind of thought we would work up to this, but hey, I'm all in," he joked, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Seriously, God must hate me," I mumbled, abandoning my jeans so I could pull down my sweater. "I'll be out in a minute," I said, trying to salvage the smallest bit of dignity I had left.

"Are you sure? I have no problem assisting you," he said, winking at me.

"Out," I demanded, trying to ignore the heat that flowed through me from his wink. It was unfair that even in mortification his wink had the power to seduce me.

He chuckled, pulling my bedroom door closed behind him and leaving me alone in my misery.

Chapter 8: Appetizer anyone?

Nathan

I pulled into Ashton's driveway ten minutes early and debated waiting in the car for a few minutes. As a rule, I never showed up early for a date. Women appreciated punctuality but loathed being surprised with an early arrival. As with everything concerning Ashton, all my rules were a wash. I wanted to see her, and I didn't want to wait.

I tried to at least discipline myself to walk to the front door like I had some kind of control. I knocked, expecting her to answer, but was surprised when I heard a dull thump from within the cottage like something had fallen or had been knocked down. Going by instinct, I reached out and tried the doorknob. Finding it unlocked, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Adrenaline raced through me as I heard struggling coming from the other room. Calling out to Ashton was only a formality since there was no way in hell I was waiting around to see if someone was attacking her or something to that effect. Her muffled response only fueled my fire as I prepared to kick someone's ass. Little did I know what I would find instead.

Perhaps the finest panty-covered ass I had ever seen greeted me. Seeing that Ashton wasn't being attacked, I allowed myself to enjoy the show. Offering my assistance made her creamy skin take on an enticing shade of pink that begged to be touched with my hands and lips.

By the time she had regained her composure long enough to kick me out, I was fully aroused and fighting the temptation to scoop