Ashley's Story

I knew it. I knew that child was mine. That must mean that either we forgot to use a condom or one broke. I hated that I was drunk I couldn't remember, but somethings happen for a reason. What the reason was, I had not a clue.

After the break in at Ashley's and seeing that picture I had to find out what was going on with them. I looked up Shannon's record and found a lot of drug arrests and a lot of doctor's visits to OB-GYN. Then I found a hospital stay. But no birth certificate for the baby that she gave birth to, just the hospital bill.

She had to have put Ashley's name on the birth certificate. That was the only thing I could think of. The question was why. It also showed a death certificate for Shannon. Cause of death was an overdose. But no adoption papers. Again, why? I needed to go to the source. That beautiful brown eyed vixen was the answer to it all. Damn.

So that was why I found myself parked in the driveway outside of Ashley's home. I knew I needed to talk to her but I wasn't sure how to go about confronting her on the whole Shannon thing.

Well, here goes nothing. What am I going to do if I was right? How was she going to take it? Would she kick me out? Would she hate me? What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck am I thinking? Who cares. I needed to know if that was my child. Damn it.

I rung the doorbell and waited. When the door finally opened, Ashley was standing in front of me in a pair of very short shorts. Dios, does she own anything else. This pair were jogging shorts and they hugged her every sweet curve. My cock immediately began to throb and grow. Fuck, I didn't need a hard on right now. She was wearing a pink cami top. Her firm little breasts filled it out so nicely. I knew I was screwed.

She flashed me that smile and I couldn't help but smile back. "Hi, Mr. Manoso. How may I help you? Is everything okay?" She asked clearly worried. I looked into her milk chocolate eyes and all I wanted to do was kiss her. Find out what she tasted like. Dios, I really needed to get laid.

"No, everything is fine." I assured her. "I was wondering if I could talk to you. And it's Ranger, please." I told her once more. She smiled that sweet innocent smile of hers once more and I wanted to take her in my arms. My cock continued to throb.

"Please come on in." She moved back to allow me entrance and I brushed against her on purpose. She jumped back and I decided right then that before we discussed anything I had to have her sweet lips against mine. I had to kiss her, see what she tasted like. Delve my tongue into her hot little mouth.

She went into the kitchen and turned to me as I followed her. "Would you like something to drink, Mr. Manoso?" She asked me. I wanted to shake her and demand she call me Ranger. She opened the fridge door and I walked silently behind her. I wasn't touching her but when she turned I knew she would be up against me.

"Water is fine." I answered softly. She jumped a little when she realized how close I was to her. She grabbed a bottle of water quickly, shut the door and turned around. When she turned around she backed up into the fridge and I advanced on her so she couldn't move away. However, I still wasn't touching her.

She handed me the bottle of water and I set it on the counter next to us. I slipped my hand in the pocket of my cargoes and hit the scramble button. Now every camera in the house was scrambled. I looked into her eyes and fear flashed in the deep depths of her chocolate eyes.

"Are you afraid of me, Ashley?" I asked. Her eyes widen at the question, but she answered honestly.

"You do have me pinned against the fridge." She replied. I did and it was nearly killing me knowing I was this close and wasn't touch her... not yet anyway.

"If you're scared of me, why did you let me into your house?" I asked. I wanted to hear that she did on some level trust me. She bit into her lower lip as if she was deep in thought.

"You are the owner of my security company. I never thought I would have to be scared of you, Mr. Manoso." She answered. This Mr. Manoso shit was pissing me off and apparently it showed in my face because her eyes got wider. I didn't want her scared of me, so I slid my blank face on. She relaxed a little so I took a step closer to her so our bodies were barely skimming each other.

"Say my name, Ashley. Call me Ranger." I demanded of her. That pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips and I growled.

"Ranger." She whispered so I barely heard it. "Say it again, Ashley." She swallowed hard and my cock jumped. I shifted and it only made the pain worse.

"Ranger." She whispered it again. She was almost breathless and it only turned me on more. I hope I didn't screw this up worse.

"Now, let's see if you can scream my name." I said roughly. Before she could predict what I was going to do, I pulled her into my arms and settled my mouth over hers. She went into shock and didn't move so I ran my tongue along the seam of her lips before nipping her bottom lip. She gasped and I took advantage. I slipped my tongue between her lips and caressed the inside of her mouth, running my tongue along her front teeth. Dios, she tasted like toothpaste and peppermint.

I then used my tongue to play with hers, trying to get her to respond. I pulled back just a little bit. "Come on, little vixen, kiss me back." I ordered against her mouth. I once again went back to her mouth and caressed my tongue with hers. Her tongue just barely reached out and I sucked it into my mouth. She moaned low and throaty and I sucked harder. I let go to slip my tongue back into her mouth. I ran my hands in her hair and angled her head better so I could get a better taste. My tongue was now almost buried in her throat.

She ran her little hands up my chest and I couldn't stop the growl that I let out into her mouth. She snatched her hands back and I pulled away from her. "Put your hands back, little vixen." I demanded.

She was breathing hard and barely managed to squeak out. "But you didn't like it."

I smiled at her and her eyes widen. "Oh I liked it now put 'em back." I told her. My hands were still tangled in her hair so I brought her face closer to mine and I slanted my mouth back over hers. She moved her hands back to my chest and I moved closer to her. Our bodies were now touching from chest to feet. I moved my knee between her legs so her sweet little center was riding my thigh. She moaned and put her arms around my neck. I moved away from her mouth and started kissing her jawline. I nibbled and sucked my way across her neck and throat. Her head rolled back and she finally said it. "Ranger." The sound of my name coming from her; her voice full of passion and lust, almost did me in, and I had to mark her. I bit down softly on the junction where her neck met her collarbone before licking away the pain. She made a little mewing sound and my cock throbbed even harder. I pulled back to look at where I bit and smiled The bruise was already forming. I was glad that I marked her.

I heard a baby cry and immediately she was pushing me away. I allowed her to because after all, wasn't that my child crying. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were full of passion. Passion I put there... even better. She walked past me and jogged up the stairs.

I fixed my throbbing length to a more comfortable situation. Damn, I let that get way out of hand. I had to remember she had my child. At least I think she does. After a minute, the baby cries are disappeared and I heard her coming down the stairs. She walked back into the kitchen but stayed on the other side of the counter. Smart girl, but I hoped she didn't think that would stop me.

"You said you wanted to talk. About what?" She asked. She sounded unsure and off kilter. I hope I could reassure her.

"I do what to talk to you, I didn't mean to get carry away with kissing you." I told her. She nodded her head.

"So you're apologizing for kissing me." She asked. I raised my eye brow at her.

"Oh no, Little Vixen, I'm not sorry for kissing you." Her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh."

"I would like to talk about your daughter." I started slowly. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"You want to talk about Sophie?" She asked; completely lost.

"Shannon was Sophie's mom, am I right?" Her beautiful eyes narrowed in anger and fear. Fury is flashing in those chocolate depths.

"No, in every way that matters, I am Sophie's mother. Not Shannon. Please leave, now." Her voice was shaking but firm.

"Please, Ashley. Is Shannon the biological mother of Sophie?" She let out a deep breath. It was almost a sigh.

"Yea she is." Ashley finally admitted.

"Explain, Ashley. Tell the whole story. Please." I told her.

"How far back do you want me to go?" She asked me. I stalked towards her, my eyes on hers. I went with something I wanted to know for personal reasons.

"Start with Jeremy. Who is Jeremy and what is he to you?" No I'm not jealous. Not at all.

She took a deep breath and started explaining.

"My parents and Jeremy's parents have been best friends since middle school. They all went to the same college, they got married together, went on their honeymoon together and tried to get pregnant together. Jeremy's mom, Sky got pregnant first. They were so happy but at the same time it was heartbreaking for my mom. Four years later I was born. Jeremy declared me his best friend. At my birth."

So her and Jeremy were only friends and nothing more. That I found hard to believe. "So you and Jeremy are only friends?" I asked. I just wanted to know, it wasn't like I was jealous.

"Yea we are. Best friends." She answered. The guy has to be an idiot or something.

Ashley took a deep breath and continued. "I met Alexa in grade school. We became fast friends. Shay was next and we met in high school and she was different. She was more out going then the rest of us. She was a little more wilder. Then Shannon a year later. Shannon was a goody two shoes, kinda like me. But worse."

A goody two shoes... that was fucking hot. When did a goody two shoes become hot? I needed to get laid. I motioned with my hand to keep going.

"My dad is a judge, Jeremy's dad is a heart surgeon, Alexa's dad is a District Attorney. Shay's dad is an oil tycoon. Shannon never knew her dad. Her mom was a waitress and the light of Shannon's life. Shannon never thought she fit in with us because of our dads. Our Dads are a big part of our lives and Shannon sometimes had a hard time handling that. I think its what kind of drove her into the drugs. About three years ago, she met a man named Jimbo. He got her pregnant and she got an abortion."

I sucked in a breath at the thought of abortion. What if Sophie...don't go there, Manoso. I talked myself down and turned my attention back to Ashley.

"She came home late one night. At the time we were all living together. I shared a room with Lex and Shannon and Shay shared a room. Shay came in, scared and terrified. She said Shannon wasn't herself. We rushed her to the hospital. She almost died that night of a drug overdose. We got her there in time. Barely."

She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of water from the counter. She took a couple of drinks and set it down. She turned back to me.

"The next three years were hell on me, Jeremy, Alexa, and Shay. Then one day she came to us talking about this wedding that her and her then boyfriend, Chad crashed. She said it had good food and free alcohol. She said she met a man and spent the night with him. Then a month later, she tells us she's pregnant. She wanted an abortion. We talked her out of it, but about a month later, she tried to overdose on purpose. She didn't lose the baby and that pissed her off. She tries again about three weeks later and again she doesn't succeed. After that, we all took turns caring for her. Staying up all night and because I'm an author and I don't punch a time clock. I stayed up with her most nights."

She took another breath and continued.

"I barely got any sleep, I hardly ate or even went out. But the night she went into labor and had Sophie, it was all worth it. She was beautiful. She was perfect. Shannon didn't want her. She wrote my name on the birth certificate and put the father as unknown. She told me to name her and I did. Sophie after my mother and Elizabeth after my Dad's grandmother. We thought things would get easier now that Sophie was born. We were so wrong. Two weeks after Sophie was born, Shannon got mad over something stupid and took off with Sophie. We found them six hours later and Sophie was so cold. We rushed her to the hospital. She was going to be okay, but we filed a charge against Shannon. She went to court and made bail."

When she paused, I interrupted. "Are you taking care of Sophie at this point all by yourself?" I asked. She nodded her head. Wow, not even her child. "Go on." I told her.

"About a month later, Sophie is almost three months, Shannon comes back saying she's changed and she wants to help. At first I fight her on it, but she weighs me down. The first time my back is turned she runs again with Sophie. This time its to sell her. She found a couple that would do anything for a baby. But this couple was blonde and blue eyed and they were mad when Sophie wasn't. Shannon now even more mad, tries to sell the baby to a crack dealer. He's disgusted, but takes the baby to the police station, where Jeremy, Alexa, Shay and myself are waiting. That's about the time, we moved here. A week later, Shannon was found dead. She died of a drug overdose. She had heroin, coke, acid." She paused and I could tell she was fighting back tears. "She had it all in her system. She wanted to die."

She took the water bottle off the counter and took a few drinks. I grabbed it from her and finished it. I threw it in her trash can. I'm pissed off. My child was barely six months old and has went through so much.

"Do you know who the father is?" I asked and Ashley shook her head no. "Shannon wouldn't tell us. She said it was the best night of her life and she wasn't naming names. We just figured it was another junkie and let it go."

"How did you come to adopt her?" I questioned.

"Shannon actually left a will and it named me as guardian and my name was already on the birth certificate. So it didn't matter. The records were all sealed." That would explain why I couldn't find anything.

"Did your father push it through?" I asked and almost instantly regretted it. I could see that I said the wrong thing when her beautiful eyes narrowed in anger.

"No, he didn't Mr. Manoso." She grounded out. In a flash I had her pinned against the counter, her hands behind her back, her small wrists in one of my hands.

"What did I tell you to call me?" I retorted. Her eyes flashed. I knew I was pushing it, but I didn't care.

"Let go of me." She demanded as she yanked on her hands. I cupped her face with my other hand and brought her lips to mine. She tried to move her head but I had her locked in place. My tongue demanded entrance and she denied me that. I let go of her wrists and brought my hands down to grab her hot little ass. She gasped and her mouth opened, just as I thought it would. I buried my tongue in her throat and she moaned deep in hers. She runs her hands back up my chest and pushes against me, dislodging me.

"Stop doing that." She choked out; clearly breathless.

"Why?" I asked. She dodged the question.

"Do you think you're Sophie's father?" She asked.

"I don't think, I know. I was the man at the wedding. I do want a paternity test however." I told her. She nodded her head and reached for her phone.

"Who are you calling?" I wanted to know.

"Alexa." She replied.

"Why?"

"She's Sophie's doctor and the only one I'll trust." She told me. I nodded my head in approval and she glared at me.

I gave her a smile. "Then by all means, Little Vixen, call her."