Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud.
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Ashlyn's smile wavered at the surprise in his voice.
Derek, noticing how his voice must have sounded, shook his head, and leaned against the door with a relieved smile.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon," he breathed, his eyes fluttering as he blinked in disbelief.
Ashlyn's shoulders dropped in relief, and the corners of her smile lifted with the rush of confidence she felt. He wasn't disappointed to see her, merely surprised. This fact made her feel more at ease.
Biting the inside of her lip, Ashlyn held the pizzas out to him.
Before Derek could respond, a little body pushed their way under his arm and jumped in front of him.
"Pizza!" Poppy squealed, her eyes following up Ashlyn's body, to the pizzas she held, then her face. The smile that split Poppy's cheeks grew tenfold as she started to jump up and down, her head ramming into Derek's stomach with each jump.
"Ashlyn! Yay. Yay. Yay!" Poppy continued to squeal in excitement, a new yay spoken for each jump.
"I want to see," Sage grumbled from behind Derek, her little arm reaching around to push Poppy out of the way. A harmless fight ensued between the twins as they each fought over who got to see Ashlyn, the pizza they'd been waiting on, forgotten.
Ashlyn looked to Derek, and the two of them laughed while they watched the twins try to negotiate.
"I think they're more excited to see you than the pizza," Derek chuckled, his eyes locked on hers. If Ashlyn had to weigh-in, she'd have thought he felt the same as the girls.
When Sage managed to break through the human wall, she ran into Ashlyn and squeezed her legs in a tight hug. Ashlyn swayed beneath the force and threw out her hand to grip the doorframe, the pizza she was supposed to be holding rocking precariously atop her other arm.
"Woah, I gotcha," Derek said, his arm wrapping around her waist to catch her. The pizza boxes squished between them as he pulled her closer, Sage's body the only distance that stood between them.
Ashlyn's breath hitched as she released the doorframe and placed her hand on his shoulder. Tilting her head back slightly, she looked up at him and smiled, a simple upturn of her lips.
Two tiny hands snaked up between them and grabbed the pizza boxes, tugging against Ashlyn's hold.
Ashlyn's grip on the boxes tightened before Sage ended up wearing a cheesy pepperoni hat. Derek released her waist and took a step back, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he perused the cheeky pizza thieves.
Quicker than they could have responded, Derek scooped each of the girls up, one held under each arm and ran into the apartment, leaving the door open for Ashlyn to follow.
