8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
A t my demand, Ethan’s lips curve. “And you saved your question. What will you ask?” He cups my face and leans in close, his lips near my ear, his breath a warm tickle on my neck. “How about, please?”
Oh my. This man is the undoing of me, without a doubt. My nipples pucker and my thighs are slick as he eases back and adds, “But it’s your question to use how you wish.”
Somehow, I’m witty enough to say, “Please is a statement, not a question.”
He laughs, and the deep rumble slides through me and settles low in my belly. I decide I could become addicted to that sound, and the man who owns it, far too easily for my own good. But I’m in this now. I’m not turning away.
His hand slides away from my waist, and the heat of moments before is instantly cooled, leaving me feeling a wicked craving for his touch once again. But I don’t have to wait long to fulfill that hunger. The fingers of one of his hands catch my fingers, and the connection is back between us, electric, charged in every way. Tingling slides up my arm and across my chest, and my nipples tighten into hard little balls. I don’t think it’s the boldness of holding hands in the restaurant that affects me, but rather the promise of the boldness that awaits us just upstairs.
In a hotel room.
Where we will do all kinds of naughty things to each other.
We should be walking, leaving this place, but instead, we’re just standing here, staring at each other, and there’s this fluttery sensation in my chest. He’s studying me, searching my face, and I think he’s trying to judge my commitment to what’s about to happen.
“No regrets,” I say. “You don’t have to hold onto me like I’m going to dart away. I’m not.”
“You sure about that?”
It’s a question that reads like a dare and a challenge, as if he wants me to prove to him I’m all in, as if he needs me to be all in. I simply don’t know him well enough to be certain, but I don’t think a lot of men as rich, powerful, and good-looking as he is, would care if I hesitated. They’d just herd me to a hotel room. But not him, and it’s contrary to who I’ve assumed him to be, a bit confusing, and yet charming. Especially since I don’t believe he’s a man who holds back, to want and not take, and yet, he seems to need to know I’m all in, as well. These observations only make me want him more. “Am I sure? Yes,” I reply. “Am I nervous? Absolutely. I don’t do this kind of thing.”
“Then why now, why with me, tonight?”
“Honestly, I really don’t know. You make me want to. And we’re on a tropical island where seduction seems to sing with the waves.” I laugh and press my free hand to my face. “I’m not as drunk as that cheesy statement sounded. Okay, maybe I am drunk, but it’s liquid courage and—”
He cups my face, the intimacy of touch between us growing comfortable and right, and he leans in and kisses me, a slow slide of his tongue that I feel in every part of me. When his lips part mine, I’m breathless, and my teeth scrape my bottom lip. “If I take you upstairs, Zoey, you need to know that I’m going to fuck you every which way you’ll let me. I’m going to take advantage of you in every possible way. And yes, I’m going to make you say please, more than once.”
I suck in a breath, and my belly clenches. No one has ever talked to me like this man, and all I can say is exactly what he has made it clear he not only wants me to say, but expects me to say. “Please,” I whisper before I can stop myself, my hand pressing to his warm, hard chest as I say, “That’s a statement, not a question, and if I was too drunk to make up my mind, I wouldn’t even remember that fact.”
His eyes burn with amber fire, and his fingers catch my fingers. “Let’s go upstairs.”
I nod, feeling the rush of adrenaline consume my body, and we maneuver away from the table and exit our little hut, where the waiter greets us. Ethan takes the time to compliment his service, but I can feel the same pulse of urgency in him I feel in me. The tension between us has been building for hours now.
When finally we are walking again, I don’t look at him for fear I’ll melt right here in the middle of the restaurant. We say our goodbyes and exit into the main hotel, nerves fluttering like hummingbirds in my belly, singing a song of nerves. I’m all about the songs tonight. The waves. The birds in my belly, which, while sober, would most likely be butterflies. Everything has a different shade and shape when you’re well lubricated, which should warn me that this night will as well, but my body is not hearing it. It wants what it wants, and that means I want what I want.
Which is him.
He releases my hand, but his palm settles on my lower back, which is somehow lower and far more intimate—a branding, a promise of an exploration involving his hands and my body. My hands and his body, because I’m not about to be too shy to miss the chance to enjoy him in every way possible. We’re halfway to the elevators when a tall man, I guess to be mid-thirties in a power suit, steps in front of us. “If it isn’t the great white shark himself. How you doing, man?” He holds out his hand.
Ethan accepts his grip and greets him in a friendly way. “It’s been a long time, Casey.”
He’s no longer touching me, and I have this sense of him being uncomfortable. This man is from his world. I am not. The two don’t mix.
“What are you doing here?” Ethan asks.
“I’m working on a big investment deal related to the hotel.” The stranger, Casey, glances at me and gives me a once-over. “Who might you be?”
“Zoey,” I say, and the lie leaves my lips way too quickly. “A friend. But let me give you two a moment alone. I’m going to find the ladies’ room.” Before Ethan can stop me, I dart away, and the bathroom is not my destination. But the elevator is. I’m not with him. I don’t belong with him. Casey just saved me from me. I punch the elevator button hard over and over, but nothing happens. I lean against the wall and shut my eyes. “What was I thinking, considering a one-night stand? That’s not like me.”
The elevator dings, and I push off the wall and step inside the open car. It’s over. I’ll never see Ethan again. That is, until Ethan steps into the car and punches the close button.