Naked Naked Page 20 I plugged into my iPod on the train. Might as well listen to some Jimi and think about what to tell Ethan when I saw him. Blackstone Security was in Bishopsgate at the center of old London with all of the other modern skyscrapers. Somehow this was not a surprise to me as I tried to picture Ethan behind a desk—in a sexy suit—and smelling delicious. I exited the Tube at the Liverpool Street station and started walking up to street level. I stumbled on a crack in the concrete step and grasped for the handrail. My knees were spared but my shopping bag dumped out, contents scattering. I muttered a curse as I turned to bend down to retrieve everything and faced the same guy I’d seen in line at Boots with the Hendrix tat. He efficiently helped me with my stuff and handed the bag to me. “Watch your step,” he said softly and continued on up the stairs. “Thank you,” I called to his retreating back, muscles rippling under a black dress shirt. I’d barely made it out to the sidewalk when my phone started buzzing. Ethan Blackstone: <--- is worried. Where r u? <end text message> Brynne Bennett: <--- is almost there. Patience!!!! <end text message> The marquee in the lobby listed Blackstone Security International on floors forty through forty-four, but Ethan had told me to find him on the forty-fourth. I walked up to security and gave my name. The guard smiled slightly and handed me a pen to sign in. “Mr. Blackstone is expecting you, Miss Bennett. If you’ll just step this way, I’ll create your badge so you may just scan through on future visits.” “Oh…all right.” I let the man do his job and within minutes I was gliding up to the forty-fourth floor sporting my own Blackstone Security ID badge. My heart pounded a little faster the closer I got to my destination. I swallowed a few times and rearranged my black leather jacket. The black skirt and red boots paired with it were not slum wear by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t dressed for a business office either. I felt suddenly self-conscious and hoped people didn’t stare at me. I hate that. With my purse on my shoulder and my Boots shopping bag in my hand I stepped out of the elevator and walked into a very sleek and artfully designed space. There were black and white framed photographs of architectural wonders from all over the world on the walls, big glass windows looking out over the city, and a very pretty redhead behind the desk. “Brynne Bennett here to see Mr. Blackstone.” She looked me over pretty thoroughly before getting up from her desk. “Oh he’s expecting you, Miss Bennett. I’ll take you back through to his office.” She smiled as she held the door for me. “I hope you like Chinese.” I followed her and dismissed the comment, but not because I didn’t want to answer, but because everyone was watching us. Every head at every workstation turned in our direction and stared. I wanted to sink through a crack in the floor and hide. That would be after I killed Ethan. What the hell had he done? Announced in a mass email that his girlfriend was stopping by to give him a blow job in his office? I felt my face heat up as I followed the cute receptionist who did indeed have an engagement ring on her left hand. I probably only noticed because I refused to look up at all those faces. “Wow…quite a welcome wagon you’ve got here,” I muttered. “Don’t worry, they’re just curious to see who’s got the boss’s attention is all. I’m Elaina by the way.” “Brynne,” I said. She stopped and knocked on a magnificent set of ebony double doors before entering. “And this is Frances, Mr. Blackstone’s assistant. Frances, Miss Bennett has arrived.” “Thank you, Elaina,” Frances smiled and addressed me. “Miss Bennett, it is a pleasure to meet you.” She extended her hand and shook firmly. I wondered if it was very bad to love the fact that Ethan’s personal assistant was probably older than my mother and a fan of polyester suits. My insecurity meter shot down a few notches as I smiled back at Frances. Still, she was kind and confident as the ruler of her domain when she pointed to the second set of doors. “Please go on in, dear. He’s been waiting for you.” I opened the heavy looking door that was so smooth my pinky could have pushed it, and fled inside to Ethan’s office. I shut the thing and collapsed against it, seeking him with my eyes closed and finding him with my nose. “That’s right. Keep on with what you’re doing. Yes. I want hourly reports when you’re in the field. Protocol...” He was on the phone with somebody. I opened my eyes and watched him from my post against his office door. So confident and beautiful in his dark grey pinstripe. And low and behold, another purple tie! This one so dark it was nearly black, but man did it look good on him. He ended the call and looked over at me. I felt the door click against my back. He grinned with one eyebrow up. I glared back at him. “All those people staring at me, Ethan! What did you do, send an email to the whole frickin’ office?” “Come over here and sit on my lap.” He pushed back from his big desk and made room for me. No reaction to my accusation whatsoever. Just a confident demand out of that beautiful mouth that I come over to him immediately. Well I did it. I marched my red boots over to him and plopped down as ordered. He put his arms around me and tugged me into his body for a kiss. It helped my mood considerably. “I might have let it slip to a few that you were coming to see me.” He pushed a hand up my thigh and under my skirt, his temperature hot to my feeling. “Don’t be mad at me. You took forever to get here and I had to keep checking up front with Elaina to see if you’d arrived.” “Ethan? What are you doing?” I murmured against his lips as his hand kept trailing those long fingers toward their destination. He forced my legs to part so he could get up in between them to my pu**y. “Just touching what’s mine, baby.” He traced my folds through the red lace panties I’d worn and then pushed the material aside. I flexed my muscles in anticipation and panted harder. “How many times did you go out to check for me?” “Only a few…four or five.” His finger found my clit and starting rubbing circles over the now slick bundle of nerves, making me incoherent as usual. “That’s a lot of times, Ethan…” I barely got the words out I was so captured by the pleasure going on from his magic fingers. I opened my legs a little wider and rode his hand. “The door—”
Naked Naked Page 21 “—is locked, baby. Don’t think about anything but me and what I’m doing.” Ethan gripped me hard with one hand and captive with the other. There was nothing for me to do but focus on where he was taking me. He switched to his thumb and rubbed a little harder. Two fingers entered on a slick slide and started stroking. “You’re so f**king wet for me.” He slammed his mouth onto mine and claimed that too. I cried out as I came atop Ethan’s lap with his fingers inside my pu**y and his tongue in my mouth, totally overcome and dominated. And very satisfied. He held me firmly like he was afraid I would try to leave, but he needn’t have worried. I breathed deeply, the sensations still filtering through my bloodstream as I tried to process his effect on me. I had no self-control around Ethan. None. I looked at him when I could manage it and got drilled by those incredibly blue eyes of his. “Your hand must be a mess,” I said, knowing what he’d said was true. I was soaking wet. He grinned naughtily and wiggled his fingers still inside me. “I love precisely where my hand is right now. I wish it was this though.” He thrust his c**k up against my ass and I didn’t doubt he did. I could feel how hard he was and shivered. “But—we’re in—it’s your office.” “I know, but that door is locked and nobody can see in here. We’re totally private.” He nuzzled my neck and whispered, “Just you and me.” I moved to get off him but he held me firm, a flicker of displeasure crossing his eyes. I tried again and he let me go this time. I slid to the floor to my knees and faced his crotch, my body mostly hidden behind his desk. I put my hands over his erection and pressed. I looked up at him and saw the look of want and desire in his eyes and knew what I needed to do. “Ethan…I want to suck—” “Yes!” It was all the direction I needed. I unbuckled and unzipped and uncovered my prize. God he had a beautiful penis. Ethan hissed when I took him in hand and licked the tip, loving the salty taste of his flesh. I pulled back and looked some more. This thing had been inside me—a few times—and I’d never really gotten a good look. He was big and hard and smooth as velvet. I stroked him up the length and smiled up at him. He was biting his lip and staring down at me like he could snap in two with the slightest pressure. “You’re perfect,” I murmured, and then I closed my mouth over him and drew his beautiful pink c**k into me. Ethan gripped the chair and thrust to the back of my throat. I worked him good, stroking with my hand and sucking him deep into my mouth. With my tongue, I flicked over the big vein that fed his erection and heard him groan. I didn’t stop my pace or where I was going with this. It would be all-the-way-to-the-finish-line with me and I intended to get my way. He must have read my body language because his hands moved to my head and held me as he f**ked my mouth. I took it all without gagging once and when his balls tightened up and I knew he was close, I gripped his hips hard with both hands so he couldn’t pull back. “Oh, f**k I’m gonna go so hard!” He stiffened to iron and spilled the warm essence down the back of my throat, holding my head with two hands as he climaxed. “Jesus Christ… Brynne.” He panted out deep gulping breaths. I lifted my eyes when he left my mouth. I swallowed slowly and saw his bottom lip tremble as he watched. He pulled me toward him, up from the floor, both hands still holding the sides of my face and kissed me slow and deep and so sweetly, I soared at the gesture. I was glad to have pleasured him. It made me happy to make him happy. Back on his lap again after restoring our clothes, we got comfortable and sat in his chair together. He trailed his fingers in my hair and nibbled at my neck. I played with his engraved silver tie clip that looked like something vintage and just let him hold me for a bit. “This is beautiful,” I told him. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered against my ear. “I love your office. The photographs in reception are gorgeous.” “I love it when you visit me at my office.” “I can see that, Ethan. You are quite…welcoming.” I giggled at him. He tickled me and let me squirm for a little too long in my opinion. I smacked his hands away from my ribs. “What did you bring me from your shopping? I hope it’s a sweet,” he said reaching for the Boots bag. “I like Jolly Ranchers. Cherry is my favorite—” I grabbed the bag from him before he could look. “Hey! Don’t you know better than to dig through ladies bags? You might find something to embarrass us both in there.” He pursed his lips together and sighed. “I suppose you could be right,” he said far too easily. Then he grinned like a demon and snatched the bag completely out of my hands. “But I want to look anyway!” He held it out of my reach and started pulling out items. He got quiet when he extracted the purple toothbrush and then a tube of toothpaste. He set them on his desk and put his hand back into the bag. Out came a new hairbrush, some moisturizer and the lip gloss that I use. He kept bringing out all the stuff I’d bought at Boots. My brand of shampoo, shaving gel, and even a small bottle of Tommy Hilfiger’s Dreaming finished off the toiletries. He lined everything up neatly and looked at me very still and very serious. “But I thought you couldn’t, Brynne.” “Me too.” I took out the one thing he had left in the bag. My prescription. “But Dr. Roswell gave me this, and some hope that I can do it.” I touched his hair and smoothed it. “They’re pills to help me sleep so I won’t wake up like I did last time. I mean, if I’m your girlfriend then I want to…try to stay over with you sometim—” He cut me off with a kiss before I could say anymore. “Oh, baby, you’ve made me so happy,” he told me between more kisses. “Tonight? You’ll stay tonight? Please say yes.” His expression told me all I really needed to know. He wanted me to stay, f**ked-up sleeping habits and all. I looked down at his tie clip again and spoke to that. “If you’re willing to try it and so am I, then how can I say no?” “Look at me, Brynne.” I did and saw the hard set of his jaw behind the goatee. I could see lots of emotion in him too. Ethan did not really hide it from me ever. He might be reserved in public, but in private with me, he wore his heart on his sleeve. What you saw was what you got. He told me what he wanted from me with no apology for how blunt the words were.
Naked Naked Page 22 “I want you to see it in my eyes when I say that I am so willing to try, and so happy that you are too.” He kissed my hair. “And I want you to pick a word. Something you can say to me if you need to leave because you’re scared or if I do something you don’t want to happen.” He held my face to his. “You just say the word and I’ll stop, or I’ll take you home. Just please don’t ever walk out like that again.” “Like a safe word?” I asked. He nodded. “Yes. Exactly like that. I need you to trust me. I need that, Brynne. But I need to trust you too. I can’t—I don’t want to feel like that again. When you left me that night—” He swallowed hard. I saw the movement of his throat pulsing and knew this was something important to him. “—I don’t want to feel how I felt when you were gone.” “I’m sorry I left you like I did. I was overwhelmed by you. You overwhelm me, Ethan. You need to know that because it is the truth.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and spoke. “Okay, but just tell me when. Say your word, whatever and I’ll back off. Just don’t leave me like that again.” “Waterloo.” He looked at me and smiled. “Waterloo is your safe word?” I nodded. “That’s it.” I looked over at the food set out on the table for our lunch and inhaled. Chinese from what Elaina had said, my nose agreeing. “Are you going to feed me or what? I thought I was getting lunch out of this deal.” I poked him in the chest. “A girl needs more than just an orgasm you know.” Ethan threw his head back and laughed and delivered a firm smack to my ass. “Off you go then. Let’s get you fed, my beautiful American girl. We have to keep you in top form. I have big plans for you tonight.” He flashed me a wicked wink. I knew I was lost. 10 My phone rang as I packed my overnight bag. I saw who was calling and looked at the clock. Ethan had said he would be here by seven to pick me up. It was quarter to right now. “Are you having second thoughts and crying off for our sleepover tonight, Ethan?” He laughed. “No chance of that, and I hope you have your bag ready, baby.” “So why aren’t you here to whisk me away?” “Yes, well I had to send a car to collect you. Some business related emergency pain in my ass. I’m so sorry. The driver’s name is Neil and he works for me. He’ll get you into my apartment and I want you to just make yourself at home until I get there. Will you do that for me, my darling?” “I guess so.” My mind was spinning with the implications of me on my own in his house. I wasn’t really scared, but the idea did not thrill me either. “Are you sure, Ethan? I mean—we can do this another night if you’re busy—” “—I’m sleeping with you tonight, Brynne. In my bed. End of discussion.” “Oh boy.” I smiled into the phone. “Can I start dinner for you then? Is there food in the house or should I have your driver stop at the supermarket?” “No need to stop. There’s food and even some things in the freezer. My housekeeper cooks meals and freezes them. You choose whatever you like—excuse me.” I heard muffled voices and Ethan speaking to someone. “I have to go, baby. I’ll see you as soon as I can get there.” I said goodbye, but he was already off. I stared at my phone for a moment before setting it down, lost in the surreal, and feeling like Alice in Wonderland again. My life seemed to be careening in fast-forward with me unable to switch modes. I’d gone from single girl to girlfriend in just over a week with no sign of a slow-down. At all. My phone lit up again with no screen ID on display. “Hello?” I answered. “Ma’am, my name is Neil McManus. Mr. Blackstone instructed me to pick you up. There’s a black Rover waiting down at the curb for you now.” The smooth English accent formed the words efficiently. Neil. I remembered what Ethan had said about the driver. “Sure. Be right down.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and made it out to the street at a quick clip. The car that waited looked exactly like Ethan’s Range Rover, but I skidded to a halt when I got a load of Neil-the-driver; huge, muscular, bleached blonde, spiked-haired with very dark eyes. “You!” I said, completely shocked. It was the guy with the Jimi Hendrix tat from today. “Yes, ma’am.” He held open the passenger door for me, his expression giving away nothing. “You were following me around today!” It was no question as I am sure Neil realized. I dropped my bag to the ground, folded my arms beneath my br**sts and went for a Mexican stand-off instead. “Give me one good reason why I should get in that car with you, Neil.” Neil smiled briefly and looked down to my bag on the sidewalk. “I work for Mr. Blackstone?” I gave Neil my best stone face. He tried again. “He will fire my ass if I don’t get you delivered to his apartment per his instructions?” He looked back up at me, his black eyes sincere. “I very much like my job, ma’am.” My head started spinning with more wild thoughts of what I was doing, what Ethan was up to, how many people were involved in my business, and my list could have gone on and on. Man, oh man, did we need to have a discussion or what! Still, it wasn’t fair to take out my frustrations on Neil, who for all appearances was just doing his job. “Fair enough, Neil.” I picked up my bag and got in the back seat. “But the deal’s off if you keep calling me ma’am, got it? My name is Brynne. And if Mr. Blackstone doesn’t like it you can tell him that he can kiss my informal Yankee ass. He should know that American girls despise being called ma’am!” Neil tilted his head at me and cracked a grin as he shut my door. He started driving as I seethed in the back seat. The silence just irritated me so I figured I might as well get it all out in the open. “So Ethan hired you to stalk me around London, huh?” “Protection, ma’am…ahhh…Brynne. Not stalking you,” Neil answered. “Protection from what?” I demanded. “Are you watching when I go for my runs in the mornings too?” Neil looked up at me through the rearview mirror. “The city can be a dangerous place.” His eyes went back to the road. It had started to rain and the buzz of the windshield wipers dragged rhythmically back and forth. “He’s just very watchful is all,” Neil said quietly.
Naked Naked Page 23 “Yeah, I know.” Ethan is watchful and controlling and more than a little high on the arrogant scale for my tastes much of the time. He was so in trouble with me. “So how long have you worked for him, Neil? Ethan tells me absolutely nothing, so I figure you can enlighten me.” I smirked into the rearview for his benefit. “Six years now. We met in the SF.” “That’s Special Forces right? So are you guys some kind of James Bond for the British government?” Neil actually laughed and shook his head. “I can see why Mr. Blackstone keeps a watchful eye over you, Brynne. You have quite the imagination.” “Yeah, Ethan’s told me that one too,” I said dryly. As annoyed as I was with Ethan’s presumptions—which were well beyond out of line—I couldn’t really take it out on Neil. He seemed like a decent guy, and he had great taste in music. I liked him. Neil was simply doing his job. Whatever that was in regards to me. Neil got the car parked and us into the elevator through the garage entrance. Before I knew, I was inside Ethan’s gorgeous home again, just this time, without Ethan. Neil had me put his number into my cell and said he would be close if I needed anything. “How close is close? Am I private here? You can’t watch me in his house can you?” I checked his eyes for telltale signs of subterfuge. “Do not even think about lying to me, Neil. I will be out that door so fast Ethan will feel the wind ruffle his hair all the way from here to wherever the hell he is at the moment.” Neil actually winced. “In here you are totally private. There are no cameras in the apartment, but out in the hall there are. So if you were to leave, I will see you. I’m in another flat across the way. Not far. Mr. Blackstone really just wants you to make yourself at home.” He put his phone up to his ear and jogged it. “Call me if you need anything, Brynne.” The door latch clicked and my protector was gone. Well this was weird. Alone in Ethan’s home with my overnight bag and a scrambled head. I wondered if I would ever feel normal again. First things first, I went to the fridge, took out a chilled water bottle and drained half of it. The inside of Ethan’s refrigerator was well stocked with plenty of fresh things to work with so no problem on the dinner. I explored his coffee maker next and started drooling. Very nice indeed. I set a pot to brewing and checked out his sub zero freezer. Ethan’s housekeeper appeared organized to the point of labeled and dated frozen meals in nice plastic containers for easy identification. I passed on those. I wasn’t really hungry anyway after the massive Chinese lunch he’d fed me at his office. I moved on to the bedroom and was instantly hit with remembrances of the last time I was in this room. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of Ethan. He was everywhere even when he wasn’t. I stepped into his bathroom. The grotto shower of travertine marble was gorgeous, but that magnificent tub was a fantasy for a girl who did not have a proper bathtub in her flat. I knew what I was going to do first. An hour later my skin was pink from the heat and soft from the bubbles. I’d dressed in my Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and a pair of Ethan’s silk boxers that were very swishy on me. I’d organized my purchases from Boots in a bathroom drawer, shaved my legs and slathered myself in primrose scented lotion. I wandered back to the coffee maker and fixed myself a mug before drifting into the other rooms of Ethan’s apartment. The home gym had a state of the art treadmill facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view took my breath away. I love a city lights view, but imagined it was just as spectacular in the daytime. I found what I believed to be his office and turned the handle. The room behind the door was indeed an office. Flanked by a massive oak desk, the opposite wall held a panel of TV monitors and other high-tech equipment. But it was the wall behind the desk that really caught my attention—a salt water aquarium glowed with light and colors and bubbles over the rippling water. I came closer and took in the rainbow of fish darting around elegant coral formations. The Lion Fish did not dart. He came up to the glass and fluttered an array of multi-colored fins at me as if in greeting. “Hey, handsome. What does he call you I wonder?” I spoke to my fishy companion and sipped my coffee. I ate a cherry yogurt at the kitchen bar and fixed a second cup of coffee. One whole wall of the main room held shelves of books. I perused his collection which was eclectic to say the least. Classics, mysteries, mainstream stuff and tons of historical fiction filled out most of it. There was some military history and books on photography. A large amount on statistics and gambling too. He had popular fiction and even a few books of poetry which made me smile. I liked that Ethan valued books. I snagged a book of letters Keats had written to Fanny Brawne and took it into the living room to sit on the sofa and enjoy. I had my coffee, angsty love letters from a poet to his girl, and the twinkling night lights of London displayed before me. I spent a nice hour before I set the book aside. I looked out at the city. This was the spot where Ethan had undressed me, right in front of his balcony window. He’d stepped back and told me that nothing compared to the sight of me standing in his house. Oh, Ethan. I decided to text him. Brynne Bennett: <---is pissed at u about the Neil thing. R u crazy?!!! <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: <---crazy for u we need to talk about things. Miss u very much. <end text message> Brynne Bennett: <---is wearing ur boxers right now and u better believe it, buster! <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: <---just got a hard-on picturing u in my shorts. Pls leave on pillow cuz I’m never laundering. <end text message> Brynne Bennett: <---still pissed and thinks u have a beautiful coffee maker. <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: <---thinks I have a beautiful girlfriend. Did u eat sthg? <end text message> Brynne Bennett: <---ate sthg. U have a pet lion fish. <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: That is Simba. I pamper him he tolerates me. U 2 have much in common <end text message> Brynne Bennett: Ur getting no more BJ’s just 4 that comment. <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: <---so wants to spank u right now… kiss u… f**k. Ur killing me baby <end text message> Brynne Bennett: <---is getting sleepy. Gonna take pill and get in ur bed. Don’t tease me.
Naked Naked Page 24 <end text message> Ethan Blackstone: Never…Go 2 sleep my beauty. I will find u. <end text message> I got up from Ethan’s sofa and headed back to the kitchen to wash up. I cleaned out the coffee maker and set it up for the morning. All I would have to do is start it. I used my new purple tooth brush and took the pill. The super soft sheets of Ethan’s bed smelled of him; soothing and comforting me in my solitude. I filled my head with his scent and crashed. Firm arms held me. The smell I adored floated around me. Lips kissed me. I opened my eyes to the night and saw shadows. I knew who was with me though. My waking was peaceful and gentle, something good, and for me, a totally new experience. “You’re here,” I murmured against his lips. “And so are you,” he whispered. “I f**king love finding you in my bed.” Ethan’s hands had been busy in my sleep. I was naked from the waist down, his silk boxers long removed. Ethan was naked too. I could feel his hard muscles and solid flesh trying to meld with mine. My shirt was pushed up and my br**sts being devoured by his rasping lips, whiskers tickling the sensitive flesh, teasing my ni**les with sucking pulls until I was a moaning, writhing creature beneath him. I buried my hands in his hair and felt the movement of his head as he worshipped my ni**les and plumped the weight of my br**sts with his hand. He stopped and pulled my shirt all the way off and stared down at me, hungry and beautiful. The light from the master bath filtered in enough to allow me some vision of him and I was glad. I need to see Ethan when he comes to me. It reassures me that I will be safe with him. “Your bed smells like you.” I said. “You are the only thing I want to smell, and right now I need the taste of you in my mouth.” Then he spread me wide and descended. “Oh, God, Ethan!” The work of his tongue on my cleft, swirling and smoothing over heated flesh opened to him switched me from sleepy to sexed in less than a second. I couldn’t keep still even though he held me down and open at the inner thighs. The orgasm came upon me so fast and so violently that I heard myself shout through it, riding his tongue like a wanton, my muscles clenching and throbbing in scorching pleasure. Ethan growled against my pu**y lips and pulled away, probably staring at what he wanted to take with his cock. He didn’t ask. Ethan took. He lifted my legs over his shoulders and pierced me hard and deep. He made sounds as his c**k filled me. I was pinned by his invasion while still reeling with an orgasm so I could only hang on as he f**ked me. The sex was fiery and demanding with him telling me how good I felt and how much he wanted me here in his bed and how beautiful I was. All words to bring me closer to him. More dependent on him. More tangled up in his world. I knew it. Ethan made me climax again; nearly punishing strokes meant to claim first and pleasure secondly. But the pleasure was exquisite when it arrived simultaneous with him filling me up with his own explosive orgasm. I felt tears sliding down to the sheets as I accepted what he gave to me. He choked out my name, his eyes locked onto mine like the other times. I knew he saw my tears. He moved my legs off his shoulders and propped himself against me, holding my face and stroking, his blue eyes searching, still buried in me flexing slow and deep with his talented cock, drawing out the pleasure. “You’re mine,” he whispered. “I know,” I whispered back to him. Ethan kissed me reverently with our bodies joined; gentle explorations of my lips and feathery pulls and nibbles with teeth that only grazed. He held on to me and kissed me for a long time before he finally moved out of my body. Fucking Ethan can only be described as beautiful in my head. I know to others it would be p**n ographic, but to me it was simply a beautiful act of us together. To be intimate like that with him wanting me so intensely was an addictive drug. More potent than anything I’d ever experienced before in my life. I think I could forgive Ethan just about anything that he might do to hurt me. And this was my very great mistake. 11 Ethan brought me my coffee in bed the next morning. I sat up against the headboard and pulled the sheet up to cover me. He raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully handed the mug over. “I think I did it right, but you have a taste and tell me.” I took a sip and made a face. “I put half cream and three spoonfuls of sugar,” he said with a shrug, “you set up the coffee yourself. All I did was press brew on the machine.” I kept him hanging for another minute before cracking a smile and taking another sip of my delicious coffee. “What? Just making sure you’re trained in proper coffee prep. I have my standards.” I winked at him. “I think you’ll do in a pinch, Mr. Blackstone.” “You devil woman, teasing me like that.” He leaned in to kiss me, careful of the hot coffee. “I like having the coffee maker set up the night before. I wonder why I never thought of it.” He stayed close to my face, looking intently over me, his hair still messy from sleep and all the sex and still managing to look like a god. “I think you should be here every night to set it up just before you get in my bed.” He put his mouth right at my neck and grazed. “So I can bring you your coffee like this in the mornings, with you all naked and lovely, and the smell of me all over you from a night of f**king.” I shivered from the words, and the images of that reality but we still had things to discuss. And this was an issue between Ethan and me. We didn’t talk enough about what needed to be worked through. When he got near me, the clothing dropped away, my body responded to him, and well, not much talking ever got done after that. “Ethan,” I said gently, my hand at his cheek to stop him, “we need to talk about what’s going on. The bodyguard thing with Neil? Why would you do that and not tell me?” “I was going to tell you last night after I brought you here but it didn’t work out like that.” His face fell away from me and he looked down. “The city is full of strangers right now, baby. You are a beautiful woman and I don’t think it’s safe for you to be taking the Tube and walking all over on your own. Remember that ass**le at the club.” “But I was doing that before I met you and I was just fine.” “I know you were. And you were not my girlfriend then either.” He gave me one of his Ethan looks—the kind where I tense up and wait for the blast of Arctic air to hit me. “I run a security firm, Brynne. It’s what I do. How can I have you going all over London when I know the dangers?” He put a hand up to my face and started in with the thumb rubbing action. “Please? For me?” He put his forehead against mine. “If something happened to you it would kill me.”
Naked Naked Page 25 I brought one hand up to his hair and dug my fingers in. “Oh, Ethan, you want a great deal from me and sometimes I just feel like I’m getting pulled under. There’s so much about me that you don’t know.” He started to speak and I shushed him with my fingers over his mouth. “Things I am not ready to share just yet. You said we could go slow.” He kissed my fingers pressed to his lips and then tugged them down. “I know, baby. I did. And I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize you and me.” He kissed my neck and nipped at my earlobe. “Can we talk about a compromise?” he whispered. I tugged at his hair so he would stop the seduction tactics and look at me. “First you need to actually talk to me and not try to distract me with sex. You’re very good at distracting me, Ethan. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll tell you if I can do it.” “How about you accept a driver?” He took a finger and traced over the tops of my br**sts where the sheet was slipping down. “No more walks to the Tube and hailing cabs in the dark. You have a car to take you anywhere you want to go,” he paused and pinned me with his very expressive eyes that told me so much about his desire to protect me, “and I can have some peace of mind.” I took another sip of the coffee he’d brought to me and decided to ask my own pointed question. “And why do you need peace of mind about me?” “Because you’re very special, Brynne.” “How special, Ethan?” I whispered because I was a little frightened to hear. I was frightened of my own feelings for him already. In such a short time he’d possessed me. “For me? As special as it gets, baby.” He smiled his signature one side up twist and made my stomach flutter. He didn’t say he loved me. But I hadn’t said it to him either. I knew he cared about me though. He looked down again and picked up my free hand palm up. My wrist scar showed. The one I’m ashamed of and try to hide, but is impossible to conceal when it’s daylight and I am naked. He traced over the jagged line with his fingertip, so gentle it felt like a caress. He did not ask me how I got my scar and I did not offer to tell him. The pain of remembering, added to the shame paralyzed me from talking about it. I had feelings for this man but I couldn’t share that with him quite yet. My indignity was too ugly and horrid to bring between us. Right now I just wanted to be wanted. Ethan wanted me. And that was enough to make me agree. Baby steps. I would accept his conditions for a driver, and he would accept my inability to share my past with him. We would go slow. “Okay.” I leaned forward and kissed him on the throat above the vee of his t-shirt, the hairs of his chest tickling my mouth, his male scent already familiar to the point of downright necessity along with food and water and breathing. “I’ll accept the driver and you’ll tell me up front what you’re doing. I need honesty. I like that you are so blunt with me. You tell me what you want and I get it—” “Thank you.” He started kissing me again. My coffee was set aside and the sheet was tugged away. Ethan pulled his shirt off and ditched the sweatpants and stretched out over me. I finally got a really good look at his body. Completely naked. In the light. Sweet Jesus! From his chiseled chest and tight ni**les down to his impressive and beautiful cock, I was mesmerized. He was trimmed up neatly, nothing weird, just nice and totally masculine. He stopped and tilted his head. “What?” I pushed him back so he sat on his knees and pulled my own self up. “I want to look at you.” I trailed my hands over him, over his ni**les and that V-cut which was so sinfully sculpted it was truly unfair to the rest of the male population, to his thighs hard with muscles and dusted with dark hair. He let me touch him and control the moment. “You’re so beautiful, Ethan.” He made a sound in his throat and his body shuddered. Our eyes met and there was an exchange; a communication of feelings and an understanding of where we were heading in this force connecting us. I looked down at his shaft, hard and pulsing. A drop at the tip confirmed how ready he was for me. I wanted him so badly I hurt. I wanted to give him pleasure and make him come apart like he did to me, totally blown into a million fragments. I lowered my head and took his beautiful prick into my mouth. I got my wish a few minutes later. We broke in the shower too, or I should say I did when he propped me in the corner, dropped to his knees and returned the favor. The sex never ended with this man. And I was on board the sexy train right with him, flashing my frequent traveler pass. I had not had so much sex in— Don’t go there and don’t ruin this time with him. Ethan had a tattoo on his back. Right across his shoulders were medium sized horizontal wings. They looked a little Goth and almost Greco-Roman in their black inked starkness. I loved the quote underneath the wings. No more yielding but a dream. I saw it in the shower when he turned to get the soap. “That’s Shakespeare, right?” I smoothed over the ink with my hand and that’s when I saw the scars. Many white lines and ridges. So many you couldn’t count them. I gasped a sharp breath, desperately sad to think about how badly he’d been hurt. I wanted to ask but I held my tongue. I didn’t offer to tell about my scars. He turned back around and kissed me on the lips before I could say another word. Ethan didn’t want to talk about his scars any more than I wanted to talk about mine. More than a week of nights at Ethan’s place and I needed to get back to my flat for other than a grab of fresh clothing. I needed a recharge in my own home. Ethan agreed to come over here tonight. I told him slumming was good for the soul. He teased me back, saying it wouldn’t matter as long as we had something to eat and a bed because we’d both be naked for his sleepover. I told him that if Gaby showed up he’d have to get dressed; that I wasn’t going to allow my roommate the chance to lust after my boyfriend’s godlike physique. He laughed and told me he loved the sound of jealousy in my voice. I told him to show up hungry for dinner and fully clothed. He was still laughing when we hung up. I changed into some yoga pants and a soft t-shirt after Neil dropped me back home. He’d picked me up from the Rothvale, plus a quick stop at the supermarket for ingredients for the Mexican dinner I’d planned. Ethan knew that Mexican food was my favorite and I was determined to recruit him over to my team. On the menu tonight? Chicken tacos with corn salsa and avocado. If Ethan hated it then I would fix him a burrito. No guy can resist a burrito packed with meat, beans, cheese and guacamole. I hope. Brits were weird about food.
Naked Naked Page 26 As soon as I got the chicken started and my hands were washed I decided to call my dad. It would be morning for him but he’d be at work by now and if he wasn’t too busy we could have a chat. I set my phone on speaker and dialed his office. “Tom Bennett.” “Hey, Daddy.” “Princess! I’ve missed hearing your sweet voice. This is a surprise.” I smiled at my dad’s choice of name for me. He’d been calling me Princess ever since I could remember. And now that I was twenty-four years old, he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest about continuing with the nickname either. “I thought I’d call you for a change. I just miss you.” “Is everything all right over there in London? Getting excited for the Olympics? How was Benny’s show? Did you like how your pictures looked when they were blown up huge on canvas?” I laughed. “That was four questions all at once, Dad. Give a girl a break would ya!” “Sorry, Princess, I just get excited to hear from you. You’re so far away and busy with your life. The proofs you sent of your photos were magnificent. Tell me about Benny’s show.” “Well, it was a success. Ben did well and the pictures sold. I’ve had some more jobs too, so I’m just taking it slow and we’ll see where this leads.” I was happy I could talk to my dad like this and that he supported my modeling. He thought it was good for me, unlike my mother who was embarrassed by her daughter posing sans clothing. “You’re going to be famous the world over,” he said. “I’m proud of you, Princess. I think that the modeling is going to help you. I hope you feel that way.” He sounded a little off to me, almost sad. “What are you doing right now?” “I’m making dinner. Tacos. I have a friend coming over in a bit. Dad, is everything okay with you?” He hesitated for a moment before answering me. I could tell there was something on his mind. “Brynnie, you heard about the plane that went down and Congressman Woodson’s death?” “Yeah. He was the one they were going to tap for vice president? That was big news even for over here. Why, Dad?” “Have you heard about who is replacing Woodson on the ticket?” I never expected the name he told me. And just like that the past reared up and dug its claws in again. “Oh no! Do not tell me Senator Oakley got the nomination! You’ve got to be kidding me if that—that—man, could be the next Vice President of the United States! How is it possible they want him? Daddy—” “I know, sweetheart. He’s been working his way up the food chain these last years. First State Senator and now U.S. Senator—” “Yeah well, I hope they all go down in a big ball of flames.” “Brynnie, this is serious stuff. There’ll be digging into his past to find dirt on Oakley—on his family—by the incumbent party. I want you to be careful. If anyone approaches you or sends you anything suspicious you need to let me know right away. These people have the resources to dig down deep. They are like sharks. When they scent even a drop of blood get ready for a sneak attack.” “Well Senator Oakley is the guy with the demon seed for a son. I’d say he has a very big problem then.” “I know, sweetie. And Oakley’s people will work just as hard to keep his family secrets buried. It’s not a nice situation and I hate that you’re so far away from home. But I do think in this case it might be a good thing that you’re in London. I don’t want anyone to hurt you and the further removed you are the better. No evil stories to surface in the news or…anything else.” Like a video. I knew that’s what my dad was thinking of. That video was still out floating around in cyberspace somewhere. “You’re doing so well, Princess. I can hear it in your voice and that makes your old dad smile. So who is this friend you’re cooking dinner for? It’s not a man is it?” I smiled as I mixed up the corn salsa. “Well I met someone, Dad. He’s really special in a lot of ways. He bought my picture at Benny’s show. That’s how we met.” “Really.” “Yeah.” It felt weird telling my dad about Ethan all of a sudden. Maybe because I’d never talked to him about boyfriends much. There had never been reason to. I hadn’t wanted one for a long, long time. “Tell me more. What does he do for a living? How old is he? Oh and go ahead and let me have his number while you’re at it. I need to give him a call and set him straight on the ground rules with my baby girl.” I laughed nervously. “Well, I think it’s a little late for that, Dad. Ethan’s pretty special like I said. We spend a lot of time together. He really listens to me and I feel truly…happy with him. He understands me.” Dad got quiet for a minute. I think he was shocked to hear me talk about a man like I really cared. And I shouldn’t have been too surprised either. Ethan was the first in a long line of firsts with me. “What is this Ethan’s last name and what does he do for a living?” “Blackstone. He’s thirty-two and he owns a private security company. He’s so paranoid he has me assigned to a driver so I won’t take the Tube to get around. All the influx of people for the Olympics has him nervous. So you don’t have to worry about my safety at all. Ethan is a pro.” “Wow, that does sound serious. Are you…are you guys sleep—in a relationship?” I laughed again, this time feeling sorry for my dad in his obvious discomfort. “Yeah, Dad. We’re having a relationship. I told you this one’s special.” I waited into the silence on the other end of the phone and started warming tortillas. “In fact he won some big poker tournaments in the states about six years ago. I thought you might have heard of him.” “Hmmmm,” Dad muttered. “Maybe, I’d have to check.” I heard some muffled talking in the background. “I should let you go, Dad. You’re working and I just wanted to say hi and tell you what’s been happening with me. I’m doing well and things are good.” “Okay, Princess. I’m so glad you called. And I’m happy if my baby girl is happy. Be safe and tell your new boyfriend if he hurts you he is a dead boyfriend. Don’t forget. And give him my number too. Tell him your dad wants to have a little man-to-man with him sometime. We can talk about poker.”
Naked Naked Page 27 I laughed. “Right. Will do, Daddy. Love you!” Ethan walked in just as I ended the call. He had a six pack of Dos Equis and a predatory smile on his face. I’d given my key to Neil who passed it along to Ethan so he could get in downstairs. He plunked down my key and the beer on the counter before asking, “Did I hear you telling someone you loved them just as I came in?” I grinned and nodded slowly. “It was a man too.” He came up behind me at the counter, his hands to my shoulders and started rubbing. I leaned into his hard body and let myself enjoy the massage. “That bloke is one lucky fellow then. Wonder what he did that was so special.” He peeked down at the food sorted out in bowls and snagged a piece of cooked chicken. “Mmmmm,” he said as he savored it, his mouth at my neck. “Well he read me bedtime stories. Combed out my wet hair without snagging and hurting. Taught me how to ride a bike and how to swim. He always kissed my boo-boos when I got scraped, and most importantly, opened his wallet frequently, but that wasn’t until later.” Ethan grunted, “I can do all those things for you and more.” He stole another piece of chicken. “Especially the more part.” I smacked his hand away. “Thief!” “You’re a good cook,” he murmured against my ear. “I think I must keep you.” “So you do like my Mexican dinner. I see you went with the theme and brought us Dos Equis. Smart move, Blackstone. You’ve got potential.” I started moving bowls to the table. “Dos Equis is from Mexico?” He made a noise and shrugged. “I just chose that one because I like the ads…the most interesting man in the world.” He grinned malevolently and helped me transfer the rest of the food. “A liar and a thief.” I shook my head sadly. “You just blew all your potential, Blackstone.” “I’ll change your mind later I’m sure, Bennett.” He grinned over at me from the sink where he washed his hands quickly and then opened two beers for us. “I have an abundance of potential,” he said wiggling his eyebrows. Ethan delivered my Dos Equis and looked over everything set out on the table, head tilted in perusal. “Help me out here. How do I put your chicken tacos together, which smell very nice by the way.” I couldn’t help laughing at him. The way he said ‘tacos’ in his British accent cracked me up. And how he worded things too. It just made me laugh. “What’s so funny? Am I amusing you now, Miss Bennett?” “Here let me fix it.” I showed him how to put on some chicken, the corn salsa, a drizzle of sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a couple slices of avocado on the tortilla and fold it. “You’re just adorable that’s all, Mr. Blackstone. That accent of yours—it makes me laugh sometimes.” I handed him his taco on the plate. “Ahhh, so I went from losing all my potential to adorable in a very short time. And just by speaking.” He accepted the plate and waited for me to fix mine. “I’ll have to remember that, baby.” He flashed one of those million dollar Ethan smiles at me and took a sip of his beer. “So go ahead and take a bite. Give me your verdict and be aware that I will know if you lie to me.” I tapped my head. “Super powers of deduction.” I picked up my taco and took a bite, moaning in over exaggerated sounds of pleasure and arching my neck back. “So delicious I feel hot all over,” I purred across the table. Ethan looked at me like I’d just sprouted devil horns and swallowed hard in his throat. I knew he would get me back later for the merciless teasing. I didn’t care. Ethan was fun. We had fun together and that was part of what I loved about him. Love. Did I love him? He lifted the taco to his mouth and took a bite. He stared at me as he chewed and swallowed. He wiped his mouth on a napkin and looked up in contemplation, pretending to count on his fingers. He took another sip of beer. “Well, let’s see…” He focused on me. “Chef Bennett, I give you a five on execution. Laughing at me got you a five point deduction right out the gate. I think a six on presentation—all that moaning and thrusting at the dinner table was a bit unfair, don’t you think? And a nine-point-five on taste.” He took another bite and grinned. “How did I do?” He was so handsome sitting there at my table, eating the tacos I’d made, and sweetly telling me he liked my cooking, and just being Ethan, that I knew the answer to my question all in an instant. Did I love Ethan? Yes. I do love him. 12 Surprising Ethan at his office seemed like a good idea but I wasn’t willing to do it without some assistance. I enlisted Elaina’s help first. I really liked her. She seemed honest and very straightforward which I respected in a person. She was also engaged to Neil. I found that out after I started sleeping over at Ethan’s place. One morning when we hit the elevators to leave for work, I saw Elaina and Neil coming out of the apartment on the other wing, hand in hand. Ethan saw my surprise and told me they were getting married in the fall. I was relieved Elaina didn’t act jealous about her fiancé driving me around London. I think she was happy that Ethan had a girlfriend. I’d noticed that his employees really seemed to care about him. And I liked that too. “Hi, Elaina, it’s Brynne.” “Hello, Brynne. Why didn’t you call through to his cell?” Smart girl, Elaina, always aware of logistics. “I was thinking of surprising him with lunch. Can you check his schedule for me?” I heard some flipping of pages and then she put me on hold. “He is in office today. Busy with conference calls and such but no appointments away on his schedule.” “Thanks, Elaina. I would just ask Frances but Ethan has her on speaker and he hears when I call so I can’t do a surprise. Can I bring you all something from King’s Delicatessen? I am just going to pick up sandwiches but I was thinking if you could get Frances to tell Ethan she was ordering then he won’t know it’s me being lunch lady today.” Elaina laughed and put me on hold again while she got food orders from everyone. “Frances told me to tell you she likes your style, Brynne. Keeping the boss on his toes is good for him.” “I think so too,” I said, writing down the sandwich orders. “Thanks for your help and I should be there within the hour.” We hung up and I phoned the delicatessen to order the food, and then Neil for a ride. I cleared up my area and organized supplies while I waited. I was done here for the day and wouldn’t be returning for nearly a week. Final exams were coming and I needed to study. My plan was to hole up at Ethan’s place and hit the books while he worked, use his home gym and magnificent coffee maker, and basically go off the radar for a while. I needed the time and so did my grades.
Naked Naked Page 28 I took a last look at Lady Percival and felt a burst of pride. She had come along nicely and the best part was I now knew the name of the book she held in her hands. Ethan had helped me solve the mystery when he’d brought me to work one morning and I’d invited him back here. The book my mysterious lady held was in fact so special and so rare that the Mallerton Exhibition wanted her included in the show even though she was not even close to being fully conserved. They wanted to showcase her as an example of how ambiguous clues can be revealed with proper restoration and cleaning. The disclosure of what she held in her hand had also enhanced the provenance for the artist in general. Sir Tristan Mallerton was now enjoying a renaissance of renewed interest and exposure even though he’d been dead for a very long time. My phone buzzed with a text from Neil. He’d arrived outside so I gathered my things and took off, waving to Rory as I checked out. Neil helped me with the food and used a company credit card to pay for everything which got him a stern look from me. “Well he thinks Frances ordered lunch and this is how he does it. If you pay he’ll be a right prick about it when he finds out,” Neil said. “Has he always been so controlling, Neil?” I asked once we were back in the car and on our way. Neil and I had developed an easy rapport. We respected the others position and needs so the relationship worked. “No.” Neil shook his head. E had a hard edge to him when he got out of the SF. But then war changes everybody who gets too close to it. E got as close as it gets and made it out alive. He’s a walking miracle.” “I’ve seen his scars,” I said. “Did he tell you about what happened in Afghanistan?” Neil looked up at me in the rearview. “No,” I answered truthfully, realizing that the information coming from Neil would stop and I would be no closer to understanding Ethan’s past than he would be about knowing mine. Elaina helped us dole out the food to the proper parties and Frances ushered me into Ethan’s inner sanctum with a smug look and shut the door. He was on the phone. My gorgeous guy was busy with work but still held out his hand to me. I set the sandwiches on his desk and went to him. He snaked his arm around me and pulled me down onto his lap, and kept right on with his business call. “Right, I know. But you tell those fools that Blackstone represents the Royal Family and when Her Majesty shows up for the opening ceremonies to give her blessing there will not be one f**king exit left unattended. Period. No negotiation…” Ethan continued with his call and I began unpacking his lunch. He moved his hand up to the back of my neck and rubbed. It felt divine with him touching me even though any idiot could see he was dreadfully busy. I set out his food on a plate and then unwrapped mine. I bit into my chicken salad on wheat while he massaged my neck. A girl could seriously get used to this. Ethan was so affectionate and I loved the way he wanted to touch me all the time. My touchy-feely guy. I was nearly done with half of my sandwich before he ended his call. Both hands reached and turned me, still on his lap. He gave me a very nice kiss and groaned. “Finally. It’s like talking to a brick wall sometimes,” he muttered. He smiled at me and looked at the plate. “You brought me lunch…and your delicious self.” I smiled back. “I did.” “Which should I devour first, the sandwich or you?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, his hands starting to roam up the side of my sweater. “I think you better devour your sandwich before you get another phone call,” I told him. His phone rang. He scowled and resigned himself to it. The second call was relatively quick though and he managed to start his roast beef on rye before the third one came through. He put that call on speaker so he could eat and converse at the same time. Not very elegant, but it worked. I was content to sit with him and listen to his work business while he smoothed a hand up and down my back. Ethan made me feel glad I had stopped by even though this would be no social lunch for us. The timing was crazy for him and me. I can’t imagine his job could be any more complicated than at the moment with the Olympics looming and London hosting the whole thing. He should have just sent me a note that said, ‘I just bought your portrait and I’d really like to get to know you—sometime in mid August.’ He kept his phone on speaker and we managed a few quick kisses in between calls and bites, but soon it was hard to justify as a lunch hour any more. “I should get going, Ethan.” I kissed him and started to get up. “No.” He held me on his lap. “I don’t want you to go yet. I like having you here with me. You soothe me, baby.” He rested his head on top of mine. “You are my ray of light in a fog of ignorance and frustration.” “Really? You like that I came and complicated your day and forced food on you?” I fiddled with his tie clip and smoothed his tie. “You’re so busy with your work and I’m interrupting.” “No you’re not,” he traced his lips along my throat. “It tells me that you care for me,” he said quietly. “I do, Ethan,” I whispered back. “So you’ll stay for a while?” How could I say no to him when he was so sweet with me? “All right, just an hour more. But then I have to really go. I need to stop by my flat and get some things. I have to study for exams and I want to get in a workout. You’re not the only one around here that’s busy.” I tweaked his chin and made him grin at me. “I want to get busy with you right here on my desk,” he growled and lifted me up, plopping me ass first on his big, executive desk. I squeaked as he pounced, pushing my legs apart so he could get in between with his hips. “Ethan! You’re office! We can’t!” He reached under his desk and I heard the click of the door locking. “I want you so badly right now. I need you, Brynne. Please?” He was all over me, hands gripping, pushing me back on the desk and thrusting hard at my center. I let him press me down and slide me to the edge, my body already softening and heating up for him. His purposeful long fingers made their way to my panties and peeled those babies right down my legs, over my boots and dropped somewhere on the floor of his office. I’d found that Ethan was definitely an opportunist whenever I chose to wear a skirt. “You’re a crazy man,” I murmured, not really caring anymore that we were about to f**k on his desk in the middle of his place of work.
Naked Naked Page 29 “Crazy for you,” he said, fingering my clit and getting me wet. I heard his belt jingle and then his zipper go down. And then he was sinking that delicious heat all the way in me, slow and deep. He leaned over me and took my face in both hands. He kissed me hard, thrusting his tongue into my mouth as he liked to do. Ethan dominated during sex. He wanted his tongue and his fingers and his c**k in me all at once. Like that way he could claim me more completely. I don’t know why, it was just his way. And I loved it. His way was honest and totally direct. I knew what I would get with Ethan and it always ended with an orgasm that left me trembling. Ethan started moving and so did I. We were wild with it too. Totally abandoned and lustfully f**king on top of his desk when the phone rang. He’d left it on speaker. “Don’t answer it,” I gasped, nearly ready to climax. “Hell, no,” he grunted, pounding faster into me, his c**k swelling to the bone hard density it got right before he came. He slid his magic fingers over my clit and I broke apart, biting down on my lip to keep from crying out. Ethan was not far behind me. He covered my mouth with his to keep us both from shouting and pumped his orgasm inside me. The unanswered call went to voice mail, but still on speaker. “Ethan Blackstone is not available. Please leave a message and I’ll get back with you as soon as possible…” The beep sounded and we panted at each other, our faces just inches apart. I smiled at him. He smoothed my hair so gently and kissed me like a lover would. I felt precious to him. He made me feel that way. “You’re an ass**le, Blackstone. I hired you to protect my daughter, not to f**k her! She’s been through hell and the last thing she needs is another heartbreaking betrayal. The way she talks I think she’s in love with you—” Ethan fumbled with the phone to shut it down but it was too late. I heard my own father’s voice on the phone. I knew…the truth about Ethan and me. I shoved at him, fighting to get him off. “Brynne, no! Please let me explain—” He looked white as a sheet and totally stone-cold terrified as he held me under him, our bodies still joined. “Get off me. Get your c**k out of me and let me go, you mother-fucking liar!” He held me to him, eyes on me. “Baby…listen to me. I was going to tell you—I was ready to a long time ago, but I didn’t want to bring up bad memories for you. I don’t want to hurt you—” “Get. Off. Me. Now.” “Please don’t leave. Brynne, I—I—didn’t mean to hurt you but I was protecting you from remembering. There’s a threat out there to your safety…and then I met you…and I couldn’t stop wanting you. I couldn’t stay away from you.” He tried to kiss me. I turned my face away and closed my eyes. All the trust I had for this man was gone. In its place a terrible ache filled my heart. He knew about me. He knew what had happened to me. Probably had seen the video. And now there were people out to hurt me? Why? He was hired by my dad and all this time he knew and I didn’t. How could he? How could he be the Ethan I’d fallen in love with and betray me like this? “Waterloo.” I turned back and stared. “No…no…no,” he chanted. “Please no, Brynne.” He shook his head back and forth, his eyes devastated. “Water-fucking-loo, Ethan. And if you don’t get off me I will scream the walls down.” I spoke clear and soft, my heart hardened and bleeding black blood. Blackstone blood. He moved out of me and helped me sit up. I hopped off his desk and lunged for my bag. He zipped up his pants and tried again. “Brynne, baby, I—I love you. I love you so much; I would do anything not to hurt you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so f**king sorry.” I tried to get out the door but it wouldn’t budge. “Unlock it,” I demanded. “Did you hear me just now?” I looked at him and nodded. “Open the door so I can leave,” I spoke very evenly, surprised I was not a weeping wreck crumpled to the floor. I just needed to get out of here and to my flat. I had one purpose and it was to flee to safety. He rubbed his head and looked down, and then moved to his desk and reached the button or whatever it was that held me in. I heard the click and I was out of there. “Thank you for the delicious lunch, dear,” Frances called as I bailed. I waved at her but was unable to speak. I just walked out. I had my purse and no underwear, but I wasn’t going back in there to find them. Just get me out of here and home…just get me out of here and home…just get me out— Oh my god I was leaving Ethan. We were done. He’d lied to me and I couldn’t trust him anymore. He said he loved me. Is that what lovers do? They lie? I didn’t speak to Elaina at reception either when I headed for the elevators. I pushed the call button and realized he was right behind me. Ethan had chased me down and still I didn’t break. “Brynne…baby, please don’t leave me. God, I—I f**ked up. I love you. Please—” He put his hand on my shoulder and I flinched. “No you don’t,” was all I could manage. “Yes I do!” he yelled, his voice getting angry. “You can leave me but I’ll still be protecting you. I’ll still be watching over you to make sure you’re safe and that nobody can hurt you!” “What about you hurting me?” I spat back at him. “And you’re fired, Ethan. Don’t ever contact me again.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I stepped in and turned around to face him. He rolled his head up and opened his mouth in a pleading gesture that told me he was hurting. Not as bad as I was but he looked ragged and desperate. “Brynne…don’t do this,” he begged as the doors started to close me in alone. I heard a loud bang coupled with one very comprehensible f-bomb shouted as the car started to take me down. Down to the street where I would hail a cab to drive me home to my flat. Where I would fall apart as soon as I could get inside, and where I would crawl into my bed and curl up and try to forget him. Ethan Blackstone. I was doomed to failure. I knew that. I would never be able to forget Ethan. Never. The End
