Illegally Yours |+18|

2. I think you became my idol.

Aaron.

I've gone mad.

Or if not, what explanation do you give to what I'm doing now?

I watch in silence as Bess eats the lasagna that the waiter brought a few minutes ago. Her eyes sparkle with something too pretty as she does her best to eat calmly. I almost laughed because I know that eating slowly, she is taking all her effort. Rather, gulping down the entire meal in one gulp is what I would have expected from her. But there she is, looking embarrassed, but at the same time so happy as she eats something I bought her.

And there is something there, in the fact that I am the one feeding her, that brings a strange pleasure to my body.

I pass her the drink when I see that she has forgotten about it, because I am afraid that she will choke if she doesn't drink some liquid.

She thanks me with a sweet look under those long black lashes that mask a pair of huge brown eyes, those eyes that make her look more innocent than she surely is.

What the hell am I going to do with her?

I ask myself again and the only answer I am sure of is that I am not going to leave her unprotected.

It only took one look at that pair of brown eyes to see the transparency behind her. And for her to steal a f*****g fiver when she could have stolen my whole wallet? Christ, that was hilarious and adorable at the same time.

But when the effect of her stupid action wore off, I wondered what someone like her was doing stealing from a restaurant and then, seeing her skinny body and her wretched clothes gave me the answer. However, it never crossed my mind that she was a minor.

And yes, damn, yes. She looks young, but something inside me told me that she couldn't be under eighteen. But she does have them, she does, and that can bring me a lot of problems if I decide to help her.

A small burp brings my focus back on her. Bess smiles at me sheepishly, apologizing for her rude action.

"Sorry," she bites her lip as a nice blush fills her cheeks.

And I decide.

Hell, she's worth any trouble.

"When do you turn eighteen, Bess?" I ask, loving the way her name slides off my tongue.

She takes a long drink of her drink before replying, "In two months, January fourteenth."

I nod, however, inside I think it's too long.

What am I going to do with a minor for two months? Because locking her in my apartment 24/7 is definitely not an option. And it's not because I don't want it, it's because I know she's not going to accept it.

Somehow, Bess reminds me of myself.

My real father abandoned me when I was a child and although I was fortunate that my mother got a good man who accepted me as his son, rejection is something I could never get rid of. But Bess was not only abandoned by her father and her mother, but also by her entire family. So how much pain can you carry inside? However, she looks so happy and not at all bitter about life that makes me question how pure her heart is.

Bess is like a breath of fresh air.

"You finished?" I ask when I see that her plate is empty.

“Yes” she nods as she brings her hands to her tummy. “That was very tasty! What did you say his name was?!”

"Lasagna" I say, watching as she pronounced the word like it was her new favorite word in the world. "I can buy you for later, would you?"

When she starts to nod, she stops and then shakes her head.

"No" she whispers weakly, then she looks determinedly into her eyes to repeat again more clearly: "No".

"No?"

"No" she denies again. "I have to go, so..."

I stretch out in my own seat and grab her shoulder, gently forcing her to stay in her position across from me.

“What the f**k are you doing with my shoulder?!” She looks at me angrily. "Leave me alone!"

I bite my lip to keep from telling her that I'm holding her shoulder because I'm afraid to hold her skinny arm and break it.

God, she looks so skinny.

How often does this girl eat?

“So I have an offer for you, but I need you to calm down and listen to me” I look her straight in the eyes. "First, I want you to know that I'm not going to hurt you, do you believe me?"

"Really…" she looks at me with narrowed eyes. "I don't believe you".

"Do you think I would have fed you if I wanted to harm you?" I ask under my breath, because damn, I'm not used to someone doubting my word.

“Just spill the beans and tell me your proposition, i***t,” she growls as she rolls her eyes.

Well, well, she wants to know now.

"I can..." Damn, brain,work fast. “I can get you a job” I say when I think that I can hire her in my company. Sure, no one can know she's underage, but I can fix that.

"I'm underage," she says, stating the obvious. "They're not going to give me a job."

“When I tell you that I can get you a job, it's because I can do it” I say clearly and perhaps a little too harshly. "You understand?"

Her eyes widen at my demanding tone of voice, however, she nods.

Good girl.

"I understand".

I try to hide my smile when I see her obedience with satisfaction.

Maybe this won't be so hard.

"Fine" I put my hands together on my table. "Where do you live?"

I wait patiently for an answer that never comes. After a long minute, I get it.

"s**t, Bess, where the hell are you staying?" She looks away, uncomfortable. Without thinking, I reach out and gently take her jaw between my fingers, forcing her to look at me. She looks at me with big brown eyes, always so surprised when I touch her. "Where do you live?"

"Over there," she replies awkwardly, and then a flicker of vulnerability appears in her eyes, that same vulnerability that appeared moments ago when I called the police.

So. again, for the first time, I am soft with someone who is not my sister.

"Come on, pretty." I caress her cheek gently and she trembles slightly under my touch, her eyes filling with tears that she won't let fall. "I need you to be honest, where do you sleep?"

She swallows hard before replying: "Somewhere in central park."

I harden my jaw to try not to blurt out all the curses that want to come out of my mouth.

Christ, this girl needs to be protected.

I stand up, drop a few bills on the table, and grab Bess's hand, pulling her out of there.

"Where are you taking me?" She asks, awkwardly keeping up with me.

I start to walk more slowly so she can lead me.

"To my apartment" I look at the backpack that has been hanging behind her shoulders all the time. "I must assume that in that small backpack you have all your belongings, right?"

She nods and my anger grows.

All I want to do is take her for a shower, wash the dirt off her body and dress her in silk clothes that contrast with her pearly skin. Then tuck her into a comfortable king-size bed while I rock her in my arms, trying to heal all the wounds she'll never let me see.

God, what the hell is wrong with me?

When I wonder why she isn't objecting, I find that she is too busy looking at some muffins on display in the pastry shop we passed.

I stop my stride, causing her shoulder to collide with mine.

"You want?" I ask when she looks at me with confusion.

"Muffins?" A huge smile spreads across her lips as I nod. "Yes!" She says excitedly, then she seems embarrassed, so she says more calmly, "Yes, I do."

Holy Christ, this girl is going to finish me off.

Still holding her hand, I walk over to the bakery and order a good supply of rolls. Bess meanwhile looks around with bright eyes, delighted.

“Do you want something else?” I ask when I have the rolls in hand.

Instead of asking me, she hands me something.

I am shocked when I see that it is the five pound note that she had stolen from me.

“To help you pay for them,” she explains, pointing to the muffins in my hand.

I want to tell her that she doesn't have to help me pay anything, that this is the cheapest gift I've ever given a woman in my entire life, and yet her smile is the greatest reward I've ever received. But instead, I stay silent and accept the bill from her, sure it will make her feel better.

And it is that she is not a girl only in age, she is also a girl inside. She is obviously embarrassed to receive the muffins, but she wants them so much that she is unable to refuse them.

I hand her the bag of muffins as we continue our walk to my car.

“Where are you telling me you are taking me?” she asks, holding the muffins as if they were a treasure.

I laugh softly at her attitude.

“Are you going to let me take you?” I ask, glancing at her as I walk, cursing that I left my car so far away.

"You fed me, you're going to get me a job, and you bought me muffins," she shrugs slightly. "I think you became my idol, so yeah, go ahead and take me wherever you want."

I don't think she knows how provocative those words sounded.

I shake my head.

Damn, Aaron, she's just a kid. Control yourself!

“I'm taking you to my apartment,” I look at her, waiting for her to give me a look that tells me she thinks I'm a pervert. But nothing, she only looks at me for a short second before looking back down from her to the muffins, nothing but innocence shining in her eyes.

"And why am I going to your apartment?"

"You can stay there for a few days, while we find you another place" I tell her slowly so as not to scare her. Again, she just looks at me innocently, as if she doesn't know of the existence of evil, something completely absurd considering her situation. But I guess sometimes purity can never really be damaged, and that's what she is, purity. "You can stay in the guest room."

I expect a denial, but in return, all I get is: "Why are you doing this?"

And that question caught me off guard.

Why do I do it?

I decide to be honest.

"I want to protect you".

"Why?" She asks again.

And since I still don't have a coherent answer to that question, I decide to lie: "You remind me of my sister."

Bess nods silently, apparently accepting my answer.

When we get to my car, I open the passenger door for her to get in, and for a moment, she looks so surprised I wonder if anyone was ever nice or gentlemanly to her.

Apparently not, and again an incredible anger fills my body.

Damn, what's wrong with me?!

I glance at her as I drive, watching as she astonishedly details the car. She doesn't look dazzled, no. Rather she looks uncomfortable. As if something as luxurious as my car made her feel out of place.

"So you have a sister," she says after a few minutes of silence. "Is she my age?"

“She's a little older than you.” I watch as she fiddles with the bag of muffins. "Her name is Lizzy and she's twenty, but she doesn't live in the country...Would you like to have a muffin?"

She looks at me in amazement.

"Doesn't it bother you that I eat inside the car?"

"Of course not, pretty" I smile at her so she believes me. "Come on, eat."

And of course, she does it right away.

[...]

When we get to my apartment, Bess looks around warily. And again, being surrounded by luxury just seems to make her uncomfortable.

“This is absurd,” she says as I close the door behind me. “What is someone like you doing helping me?” She narrows her eyes at the huge TV in the living room. "And worse yet, why am I agreeing?"

“Because if you hadn't agreed, I would have called the police,” I say softly, touching her lower back to urge her deeper into the apartment.

And s**t, maybe I should have taken her to my grandmother. I'm sure she would have accepted it in her house. Christ, even my parents would have. But something about Bess makes me too possessive. Something about her makes me selfish. So I just want her with me.

"Will it only be a few days?" she asks, turning to look at me. "And then?"

"With the money you earn at the job I'm going to find you, I'll help you find a place to live" I lie, because I'll do my best to have her with me. At least until I think she can be sure.

My eyes drop to her collarbones and I suppress my urge to run my fingers to her skin to erase the smudge of dirt there.

Shit, she's a girl — I remind myself over and over again.

"Do you want to take a shower?" I ask, taking in one of my hands the few rolls she has left.

Bess nods awkwardly.

"I'm not going to lie to you" she says looking at her feet, hiding her embarrassed face from mine. "I want this, but I also don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of it."

I lift her face up with two of my fingers under her jaw and force her to look at me. The brown of her eyes collides with the blue of mine, and her cheeks take on a deeper pink.

Oh so pretty.

It is she who should be thinking that I want to take advantage, not the other way around.

"I'm not thinking anything, Bess," I smile when her name slips out of my mouth. "I just want to help you, I told you."

She looks at me for a few long seconds in which I look captivated by her eyes. I can hear her breathing start to quicken and that's when I notice my fingers have moved to her lips, touching them in a slow caress.

Damn!

I take a step back, awkwardly running my hand through my hair.

When I dare to look at her, she is calm again. No curious or reproachful look in her eyes. As if what happened before said nothing to her.

"I'll take you to your room and show you the bathroom" I say when I've managed to calm down.

Bess nods as I put the bagels on one of the couches.

I walk into the guest room and show it to her. I seem to see moisture in her eyes when she looks at the bed, but I don't say anything about it.

I stand at the door of the room, inviting her in. She does and again, seeing her there, standing in the middle of the room that is mine, makes me feel a pleasure that expands from my chest out.

"The bathroom is at the end of the hall," I say with an apologetic look. "Sorry if you're not in the same room, but..."

"Okay," she cuts me off, looking at me happily. "This is perfect".

“In the bathroom there is everything you need. There are also towels and I think a new toothbrush.”

No one has used that bathroom or this room. The few times my sister stayed here, because she usually stays at my grandmother's house when she comes to Wolverhampton, she would sleep with me in my room, talking late.

“Thank you” she says again, never stopping smiling.

God, I could freeze that smile and frame it in a painting to see every day when I wake me up.

Damn, where did that come from?!

“Come, I'll take you to the bathroom” I say, needing to push those thoughts away.

Bess follows me out of the room and I lead her down the hall to the bathroom. It's big, spacious, so I dare to enter the place with her.

"Wow," she says, looking with that happy-girl look. "This looks like paradise."

I smile at her genuine enthusiasm.

"I'm going to bring you some clothes, I'm sure something of mine will work for you" I look around the place uncomfortably, because suddenly I feel suffocated being in this intimate space with her.

“I have clothes,” she says, lowering her backpack from her shoulders. She shows me a faded pair of jeans and a faded T-shirt that she pulls out of her backpack. "I can wear this..."

"No" I remove the hideous backpack from her hands along with her clothes.

She immediately gets angry.

"Hey, i***t, that's mine."

"I'm going to put it in the wash," I add quickly. "It looks dirty, Bess."

"Well, maybe a little, but..."

“I'm going to get you some clean, comfortable clothes,” I say, heading for the door. "Take a shower, now I'll hand you your clothes."

"Fine, whatever you say!" She says with an exasperation that brings a smile to my lips, a smile she doesn't see because I continue walking towards the door.

Just before I close the door behind me, I hear her say. "Douchebag".

And I just laugh, because it's been a long time since anyone had the pants to call me that.