NEGLECTED

Chapter Nineteen

KEATON ALDLER

How could somebody so unbelievably beautiful be so unbelievably insecure?

I wanted the name and address of every stuck up asshole that thought they could treat such a woman with anything but respect. A woman like Ffion deserved to be admired and appreciated. Every curve, every freckle, every hair on her head and every other hair on her body. Every inch of her figure and personality not only deserved to be admired, but needed to be. 

If she would let me, I'd spent however long she wanted me to absolutely praise every inch of her person. From top to bottom, inside out. 

"There's no hot single Dad" Her soft voice brought me from my endless thoughts, my eyebrows forming a frown as I glanced down at her, staring out the passenger window of my car. I noticed the way she ran her finger slowly over the inside of the door and found myself wondering what her touch felt like. I practically craved it. 

"No?" I questioned, sounding curious when I was anything but. Thank fuck there was no hot single Dad. I hope there was no one that wasn't me. Ffion rolled her head on her shoulder, big grey eyes meeting mine as a perfectly kissable mouth smiled up at me. I glanced at the road before back down at her, feeling my chest tighten around my ribs as her eyes lazily outlined my facial features. 

I shouldn't look at her and dream about kissing her, but fuck, if I could help it. Her face was practically imprinted in my brain, allowing me to see her even when she wasn't around. I was becoming an obsessed, addicted man and I knew better than anyone that was nothing short of unhealthy. But I didn't give a damn. 

"No" Ffion confirmed, her voice going quiet, breathing becoming harder the longer she stared at the side of my face. I continued to stare at the road, hands tightening around the steering wheel as I tried to think of quite literally anything that had no relevance to the beautiful woman at my side. 

"No guy at all?" I found myself asking. Ffion continued to stare at me for a couple beats longer than usual before she turned to look back out the window. 

"I don't know" I hated that answer. I hated it with every fibre of my being and if I could I would erase that three worded sentence from Ffion's vocabulary forever. 

Soon enough I was pulling up in front of Ffion's apartment building, turning the car off and hopping out before Ffion could say thank you and bid me a goodbye. 

I wasn't ready to say goodbye. 

I grabbed her half open door, pushing it the rest of the way open, Ffion smiling at me, shaking her head as she laughed, hopping out of the car. I shut it behind her, placing my hand on the small of her back, indulging in the little contact I could get as I followed her up the steps and into the apartment building. Ffion greeted the security guard with a smile before we headed for the elevator, it opening only a couple seconds after I pressed the button to Ffion's floor. 

"You remembered my floor?" Ffion asked, looking up at me in surprise. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, nudging her into the elevator with my arm. 

"I remember a lot of things about you, Ffion" I stated, walking in behind her and catching the way her cheeks slightly flushed in the elevators reflection. We both stood on opposite sides of the elevator, facing each other. 

The elevator got hotter by the second, the tension so thick between us as we stared at each other you couldn't cut it with a knife even knife you tried to. Ffion stared up at me through her eyelashes, not even realising she was gnawing on her bottom lip until I subconsciously licked mine. She immediately stopped, and looked down at the ground, sucking her lips into her mouth as her cheeks burned a hot red I wanted to reach out and touch.