Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
ZOE
“Let me check my calendar,” I said, turning to glance at my computer.
I was just finishing up a meeting with another attorney, Mark Smithson.
He’d asked me for consultation and representation in a domestic dispute case with his ex.
Mark was a high-profile corporate lawyer in Seattle.
He likely made more money in a week than I did all year.
I’d been surprised when he called. I hadn’t agreed to take the case yet and would be reviewing the legal documents before I made a decision.
“How about next Wednesday at ten?” I asked, glancing back at him.
Mark was the epitome of suave. He wore black suits that probably cost a small fortune.
He had straight dark hair and dark eyes.
I could objectively notice he was handsome, but he didn’t do a thing for me.
He was too polished and carried himself as if he expected women to notice him.
He’d been all compliments when he arrived today, declaring he’d heard great things about my work.
I appreciated that, but it was also pointless.
I had a thread of unease about him, and I couldn’t put my finger on why.
Mark glanced at his phone and tapped the screen a few times. “I’ll make it work,” he replied with a smile.
I surmised the smile was intended to make me feel special.
He had a way of maintaining eye contact that felt too purposeful.
For a flash, it made me think of Ethan. He had an intense, direct way of looking at you.
Yet, with Ethan, it didn’t feel calculated.
It was just how he was. He approached everything quite directly.
I shook him out of my head and nodded at Mark before standing to walk him out.
As I opened my office door, I heard Ethan’s voice—that distinct British accent of his with the teasing underlay.
My belly fluttered and heat rolled through me, along with a little buzz of joy.
I shouldn’t have gotten so excited he was here, but should and shouldn’t ideas only seemed to amp up everything I felt about Ethan.
Distracted, I didn’t notice Mark had stepped a little too close for comfort as we walked to the reception area.
Ethan glanced over just as Mark slid his hand around my waist and dropped a kiss on my cheek. I was so surprised, my body jerked away.
Mark, ever smooth and polished, merely smiled. “I’ll hear from you soon. Thank you, Zoe.”
The familiarity and warmth to his tone grated on me and confused me.
I didn’t know what he meant, but I didn’t particularly like it.
I was tempted right then and there to tell him I wouldn’t take his case, but I forced myself to stay quiet.
The last thing I needed was to piss off a lawyer who could send rumblings around about my work.
I’d find a professional reason to turn his case down and calmly explain over the phone.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened as he flicked his gaze from me to Mark.
He stayed where he was by Jana’s desk. Jana glanced our way as well, a flash of annoyance flickering in her eyes.
She’d immediately informed me she thought Mark was an arrogant prick before she escorted him into my office for his appointment.
I knew she’d notice his too close for comfort touch and get protective.
Before anything else could happen, I stepped away from Mark to the desk.
Feigning a focus on the calendar on Jana’s desk, I spoke over my shoulder. “Thank you, Mark. I’ll take a look and let you know what I think,” I managed to say.
He left the office. A few seconds passed after the outer door shut behind him before Jana spoke. “Oh my God. What the fuck was that about?” she demanded, rapidly flipping a pen back and forth between her fingers.
“I have no idea. He startled me,” I muttered with a shrug.
Jana looked over at Ethan and then back to me. The air was tense, and I didn’t quite know what to do about it.
“You’re not taking his case, right?” Jana asked.
I shook my head fervently. “Definitely not. I just need to find a reason to say no that won’t piss him off.”
I finally looked back to Ethan. His eyes were dark and he was unusually still. A thread of unease slid through me. “Hey, I didn’t know you were stopping by,” I said, aiming for a light tone.
“I texted, but it looks like you were busy. Can we talk?” he said abruptly.
Before I had a chance to reply, Jana was standing up. “You two chat, but I’m taking off. I promised myself I wouldn’t blow off my workout today.” She grabbed her purse and jacket before all but running out the main door. “I’ll lock up since it’s after six,” she said quickly as she whirled away.
The door bolt clicked audibly behind Jana.
I was standing at the corner of her desk with Ethan a few feet away in front of it.
He stared at me, a muscle in his jaw visibly clenching.
The air felt heavy, taut with something I didn’t quite recognize.
It mingled with the usual hum between us.
I couldn’t seem to be anywhere near Ethan without my body feeling alive with need.
After a few beats, he spoke. “Who was that?”
“Mark Smithson. He’s a big deal corporate lawyer who asked me to consider representing him in a domestic dispute.
I’ve never met him until today. I won’t be taking his case because…
Well, he makes me uncomfortable. I just need to give him a decent reason for saying no.
I can’t really tell him I’m turning his case down because he makes me feel weird. ”
Ethan nodded tightly. After another heavy silence, he closed the distance between us.
I could feel the heat and strength of him once he was directly in front of me.
His eyes coasted over my face and dipped down.
It was as if he was actually touching me.
Everywhere his eyes landed, sparks skittered under the surface of my skin.
After a moment, he lifted a hand and caught the ends of my hair in his fingers, idly twirling it.
I’d taken to wearing it down more often than I used to. I didn’t quite want to admit to myself it was because Ethan asked me to, but that was the reason.
“I stand corrected,” he said gruffly.
“About what?”
“It’s not fair for me to say it, but I don’t want you to wear your hair down. I’m not usually a selfish man, but when it comes to you it seems I am.”
“Oh,” was all I could manage. I should’ve thought it was ridiculous he cared who saw my hair down, but I didn’t. Instead, thinking of it sent liquid need spinning through my veins.
His gaze darkened and he slid his fingers into my hair to cup the nape of my neck. A prickle of awareness ran down my spine. I opened my mouth to say something—nothing sensible—and then his mouth slammed against mine.
His kiss was hard, hot and overpowering.
His tongue tangled roughly with mine as he stepped closer, bumping me into the desk behind us.
He tore his lips free and blazed a hot wet trail down the side of my neck, kissing, licking and nipping his way down into the valley between my breasts.
Everything he did was rougher than usual, and I loved it.
He yanked at my shirt, tearing the flimsy cotton at the corner of where it buttoned.
He paused for a beat, dragging his lips off of my skin and lifting his head.
His eyes flicked to mine and then back down.
My nipples were already so tight they ached.
He loosened his hand from my hair and trailed his forefinger down my neck to circle one nipple and then the other.
A fractured moan broke from me. I was already soaking wet, the silk between my thighs damp, and I wanted him inside of me. Now.
Though I might’ve been a virgin before Ethan, I wasn’t completely inexperienced.
I’d dated and made out often enough in college to know that, until Ethan, not one single man could work me up like he did.
It had only been minutes since Jana locked the door behind her.
Sex hadn’t even been on my radar before that.
Now, it wasn’t enough for him to close his lips over a nipple, wetting the thin silk and driving me wild.
My hips were rocking against him, restless for the hard heat of his cock to fill me.
“Ethan, don’t…”
Whatever I meant to say got lost in a low keening moan when he sucked a nipple into his mouth and scored it lightly with his teeth. He drew back and lifted his head.
“Don’t what, luv?”
I managed, with a bit of effort, to drag my eyes open. “Make me wait,” I choked out when he arched into the cradle of my hips.
His eyes darkened further and he slid his hands down to the hem of my fitted skirt.
In a flash, he’d yanked it up around my waist and was dragging my silk panties off.
I kicked them free before he lifted me onto the desk.
His eyes flicked down, and he dragged a finger through my folds.
“I love how wet you get,” he murmured, his voice
rough.
Much as everything he did only made me wilder inside, I was restless and needed him inside of me as soon as humanly possible.
I reached between us and undid his fly inside of a second, sighing at the feel of his cock—hot and velvety—when I shoved his jeans and briefs down just enough so it bounced free.
I started to yank him closer, but he pushed my hands away as he reached into his back pocket.
I shook my head and swatted at his hand. “I want to feel you,” I murmured.
When he froze, his eyes locking to mine, I suddenly got self-conscious.
I hadn’t told him I’d been on the pill all this time.
Jana had dragged me down to take care of that matter months ago.
She’d declared she thought it was stupid not to be on the pill as a back up.
She’d had her own pregnancy scare once upon a time, all over a broken condom, so she was practical about it.
She’d been determined to make sure I didn’t let the lack of birth control keep me forever a virgin.
I’d also done some sleuthing on professional athletes and learned they were routinely screened.
With that and the knowledge that Ethan was absolute when it came to his condom use, I figured it was safe to carry on without worrying about them.
What made me want to squirm was it was all over wanting to feel him with nothing between us.
Ethan was quiet, his eyes boring into me. The air got heavier around us, weighted with a depth of emotion I didn’t know how to interpret. My heart thudded against my ribs as I stared at him.
“I’m on the pill, and I just thought maybe it…”
I stopped talking when he shook his head sharply. “Obviously it’s okay. If you were wondering, I’m clean. I get tested every few months. We all do.”
“I figured,” I muttered, getting more embarrassed by the minute.
Somehow admitting what I wanted—no barriers between us—felt huge, and I didn’t quite know what to do with it.
“I’m clean too,” I added, belatedly realizing that was probably pointless, seeing as I’d been a virgin before him and hadn’t even gone on a date anytime in the recent past. Intellectually speaking, I knew there were other ways to worry, but I wasn’t thinking too sensibly just then.
His mouth curled at one corner, and he finally dropped the hand that had been hooked in his back pocket. Only to lift it and brush my hair away from my face. Shivers chased in the wake of his touch when his fingers brushed my ear.
His eyes never left mine as he reached between us and positioned his cock at my entrance. He held still for a beat before sinking inside, his eyes falling closed on a rough groan.
I almost came right then. I was so emotionally wrought and already teetering on the edge.
It didn’t take much with him. It felt so amazing to feel him bare inside of me.
I could feel every ridge of his hard cock.
My body adjusted to him filling me. I didn’t realize my eyes had fallen closed until he spoke.
“Zoe.”
Through the haze of need, I met his gaze. I felt almost drunk—it felt that good to be with him like this.
He stared at me hard, his gaze searching—for what I didn’t know. “I don’t think I can take seeing another man touch you. I thought I was going to fucking lose my mind when he kissed you.”
His words were fierce.
My answer was swift and true. “I barely know him. I didn’t want him to touch me. I don’t know why he did.”
“I know,” he murmured, his lips so close to mine, I could feel them move. “It wasn’t you, but it doesn’t change that it made me want to clock him.”
I shouldn’t have savored his words, but I did. It felt oddly good knowing he felt possessive of me. I meant to say something else, but he curled his hands around my hips and pulled me past the edge of the desk, looking down as he began to move.
My gaze followed his. I watched as he drew back and sank inside of me again and again. The sight of his cock, wet and glistening from my fluids, sliding in and out of my swollen folds nearly undid me. It was so hot.