Chapter 12
Ethan Quinn
Natalie and I got through the Halloween madness without leaving the bed a whole lot. If we weren’t at my place, we were at hers, which made my commute to work awfully short. Her living right across the street also allowed me to take frequent breaks in between sessions with clients.
I couldn’t lie, I was fucking obsessed. She was on my mind day and night, to the point where I had to put reminders on my phone to do other shit. I’d heard about this, of course. A new relationship, you didn’t wanna spend a single night apart—I’d just never experienced it for myself.
People noticed too. Lias accused me of smiling too much. Elise lit up and immediately said, “You’ve met someone!” Avery smirked knowingly and said I was done for. Even my staff noted I looked happier.
No fucking shit. I was sharing my bed with a hellcat every night, and she didn’t mask her eagerness at seeing me either.
One rainy Thursday, I was waiting for a client who was late, so I deleted the damn dating apps from my phone. I was so done with that bullshit. And part of me couldn’t believe this was happening. Man, did she make me laugh. Just talking to her and being around her was like waking up from a coma.
“Boss?”
“Huh?” I turned around to see Laurie walking toward the front desk.
She lifted her brows. “Are you okay? You’re covering Tyse’s spin class in five minutes.”
Oh fuck. And here I was, staring at a blank screen. I hadn’t even noticed his class had arrived.
I was screwed.
“Yeah, no, I’m on it. I was just gonna log out here.” I cleared my throat and hit some keys on the screen.
Well done.
When I met her gaze again, she was grinning.
“It’s Natalie Nolan, isn’t it?” she prodded. “You can’t take your eyes off her whenever she’s here.”
I chuckled and grabbed a fresh towel from under the desk. “Is this a gossip station now?” I paused as I walked by her. “But yeah. It’s absolutely her.”
“I knew it!”
I smiled to myself and kept walking.
Spin class, right. Then dinner with my girl. She was making chicken and roasted vegetables with some Cajun seasoning she’d raved about. I was looking forward to it.
I headed down the hall where we had our group training in rooms behind glass walls, and I was surprised to see Natalie’s sister outside room three, where I was headed.
It’d been a year or two since I’d seen her here.
“Afternoon, everyone,” I said, unlocking the door. “Grab a bike. We’ll start in a couple of minutes.” I smiled politely at Chloe. “Good to see you again, Chloe.”
She smirked. “It sure is, Ethan. I just had to see it for myself.”
I felt my eyebrows lift. “See what?”
We had to wait until everyone had entered the room, and then she responded.
“That you’re the reason Nat has declined my last three dinner invitations, of course.”
Oh. Well, shit. Maybe that was my fault. She’d been about to text Chloe last time and accept the invitation, but I had come out of the shower… Actually, that was on her. She had attacked me. I just hadn’t protested one fucking bit.
“My sister is many things, but subtle isn’t one of them,” Chloe went on. “So when she’s avoiding meeting up, but sounding like she’s walking on air when we talk on the phone, I can put two and two together.”
I cracked a grin, unable to help it. “If you want information, go to her. Not me.” Not that Natalie and I were hiding shit, but we were evidently the same in wanting to close ourselves in for the time being.
“I think I know everything I need to know,” she chuckled and walked into the room. “I’m lookin’ forward to having you both over for dinner soon.”
All right, then.
Being cornered by the protective older sister, check.
“I wish you didn’t have to go…” When her voice got all light and breathless like that, it was almost impossible for me to leave the bed. “Your bed and I will miss you too much.”
She said shit like that, and my chest felt all warm and tight.
I hummed and kissed my way up to her neck, all while I squeezed her ass to me. Fucking hell, she was pure sin. We’d literally just gotten off ten minutes ago, and I was already thinking about the next time.
“So, come with me.” I dropped an openmouthed kiss below her ear, and she moaned and tried to pull me closer. So what choice did I have? A beat later, I was on top of her, and she wrapped her legs around me.
Those thighs, man. I couldn’t get enough. I kneaded her left one roughly as I pressed my cock against her, and it wouldn’t be long before I was rock hard again.
“What, to your brother’s place?” She tilted her head back, and I dove in and sucked on her neck. Her skin was so damn soft. All of her was soft, and it drove me fucking crazy.
“Yeah…” I drew in a breath when she reached between us to stroke my cock, and we met in a deep kiss.
Her tongue could drive me insane too. Whether she was seducing me with intoxicating kisses or she was sucking me off, she had me on my knees.
“It’s a nice day, and it’s beautiful up there.
We could go on a hike after I help Lias. ”
She smiled and swiped the tip of her tongue across my bottom lip. “I’d like that.”
I smiled back and just watched her for a moment.
Her strength was returning, and with it, her confidence.
Slowly but surely, she was on her way to her goal of fitting into her leather jacket, the one she wore in that profile shot on her website.
She’d said she was the happiest with herself then, and I was the lucky fucker who got to witness her progress.
The renewed energy, the higher demands, the determination, and the excitement were all milestones—not to mention a drug for me as her trainer.
“Someone’s getting ready,” she whispered and kissed me.
“No wonder,” I murmured. “All the years I tried to act like a twentysomething-year-old, and a week with you, and I’m a fuckin’ teenager.”
She laughed softly.
I didn’t need her hand anymore. I threaded our fingers together over her head instead, and I pushed my cock deep into her and kissed her hard.
Goddamn. Every single time.
She let out a moan, and her breathing hitched when I couldn’t go deeper. Fuck me, she was tight. And soaked. All for me. Never before had I felt territorial and possessive of someone—but it made sense. Natalie was different.
“For what it’s worth,” she said breathily, “I love everything that shows your age. The silver is straight-up porn for me.”
I chuckled through a grunt and set a measured pace. Trust me, I’d noticed. And I used it to my advantage as frequently as I could. She loved it when I towered over her too. My little sassafras was about two shits high.
I drove in harder and made her gasp. “Good thing you’re coming with me to my brother’s, then. The lumberjack thing was your idea.”
“Oh God, and now I get to see it live,” she moaned. She reached up and kissed me hungrily, possibly fueled by her fantasy, and I was happy to roll with it. If she wanted to watch me chop wood for my next chores-that-are-good-exercise project, by all means. I reaped all the rewards from it.
Time to drive her crazy. I pulled out and sat back on my heels, and I told her to get on all fours.
“Fuck yes,” she breathed.
“Grab your little vibrator thing,” I added. “You brought it, right?”
“Hnngh. Yes, sir.” She reached for it in the nightstand drawer. A magical little toy she’d introduced me to the first night we’d spent at her place. When she rubbed her clit with it, I could focus on fucking her brains out, and she sure loved that.
The moment she was good to go and that buzzing sound filled the air, I pushed into her again and felt her clamp down around me.
“Good girl. Squeeze my cock like that.” I slid my hands over her ass and withdrew slowly. “So fucking wet.” My cock shone with her juices. Maybe my last load too. It was how I wanted her, constantly with a bit of me in her.
Mother of fuck, just imagining a future in which I could fuck her to knock her up was enough for me to laugh at the past me who’d sworn off children. With Natalie, the thought had been there from the beginning since she’d sought me out in her quest to get healthy for a future pregnancy.
I didn’t know how many times I’d thought that was never gonna be me. Having a family and shit.
“I need more, Ethan,” she pleaded. “Fuck me.”
“Give me a sec. I’m appreciating my view.”
She sucked in a breath and clenched.
I grinned. Fuck, that felt incredible.
I rubbed her ass cheeks and pushed in just as slowly as I’d pulled out, and I was rewarded with her desperate whimpers.
In the end, I gave us both what we wanted. I gripped her hips tightly, and I fucked her hard. If we were going to hike after I helped Lias fix a radiator and we made the video of me chopping wood, we had to get going. Natalie was probably gonna wanna run by her place to get her hiking boots.
The only downside to Natalie staying as far away from sugar as she could was that I had to eat her crumble in secret. She could make things for me, but she didn’t want them around the house, and I respected that.
One day, I legit walked into Darius’s restaurant to heat up the latest crumble in his kitchen. He was giving me a weird look when I returned to the bar so I could eat. They’d just opened, so the lunch crowd wasn’t here yet.
“Why are you holding somethin’ that smells and looks delicious?” he asked. “That’s so unlike you.”
I barely spared him a glance. He could stand there and rack wineglasses all he wanted. I was busy. I only needed a stool and the bartop. In an hour, I had to be back at work.
“Let me eat my crumble in peace,” I said.
He walked closer and looked at the dish. “What’s in there?”
“Caramel apple with some crispy oats thing and rum.” I stabbed it with my fork and tucked in.
Fucking divine.
“Can I tr—”
“No. It’s mine.” I formed a protective shield around the food with my arm. “Nat made it for me, not you.”
He sucked his teeth. “Do you even know how to eat pie these days?”
“It’s motherfucking crumble,” I told him. “Can people get it right?”
He rolled his eyes.