Chapter 13 Ethan
THIRTEEN
ETHAN
The weekend dragged by way too slowly, but the good news was the four guys, who referred to themselves as the saints of hell, came through on Enzo’s task and delivered twice the amount of money Peter Reed owed for sugar as well as photos of him beaten to hell.
Which meant Enzo was happy and had sent them to do more work. They’d been added to the payroll this morning and had already crossed four of the ten tasks off their list, which he’d given them.
Enzo was impressed. Hell, I was impressed. Even Fox nodded and commented that it was damn good work. It looked like these new guys were really worth the risk of taking them on. I was on board with it. It meant less work for us.
By the time Cole walked through the front door with Rosalie that evening, I was beside myself. Of course, I vowed I’d finish my work before coming out of the basement so I could devote the rest of my time to her.
I’d spent the weekend holed up in the basement, trying to get ahead on things. But it was more than that. It was a distraction because I was worried about Cole and Rosalie being gone.
Cole had called us once Rosalie was asleep about her phone call to Anson. Enzo chewed his ass out about telling her in the first place, but Cole said it needed to happen, and now we’d all be able to sleep at night without the threat of Ass Hat trying to steal our girl.
I didn’t like that Anson and Rosalie were hurting, but I also knew it was necessary.
While I was still fine with Anson joining us, even after he continually tried to take her away, Rosalie needed to let him go.
Cole and Enzo were a firm no on the subject.
Anson was being dragged along for the ride. It wasn’t right, that much I knew.
Of course, I didn’t think that marrying Bianca was the way to go. From what I gathered, Dominic was going to kill him and Matteo now. It was a fucking mess.
By the time I’d finished working, I was more than ready to see Rosalie. I rushed to her bedroom and found her sitting on her bed.
“Sweetheart.” I swept Rosalie into my arms. Immediately, she twined her arms around my neck and kissed me.
“I missed you. I’m so glad you’re home,” I continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t come out sooner.”
“Mm, I missed you too,” she replied, pulling away from me. “I know you were working.”
“Are you OK?” I asked. I cradled her face, knowing she was hurting. “I know Cole told you about Anson and Bianca.”
“I’m OK,” she said, giving me a reassuring smile. “I only… I guess I don’t understand why he’s doing it. It’s dangerous to mess with the kings. I worry about his safety.”
“What else?” I asked softly, cradling her face.
She sighed. “I-I don’t know. I guess it hurts because he was right.
We probably got too close, and the lines were blurred.
I feel guilt and disgust over everything.
I know that I would have been hurt if you guys did this to me.
So I’m sorry, Ethan. It’s you and the guys.
Forever.” Her voice cracked, and tears glistened in her eyes.
She was broken from this ordeal with him.
I understood probably better than anyone how much shit like this sucked.
I had let the lines blur with Macy months ago.
It hadn’t been my intention either. I had no feelings for her other than friendship, but she felt for me.
I’d punished myself, fearing I was going to lose Rosalie.
So the situation might not be exactly the same, but it was close enough that I could empathize with her.
“Sweetheart, I never thought otherwise.” I hugged her again. “It’s OK to mourn these things. My therapist says it’s better to mourn them than to bury them entirely. If we fail to mourn, we spend a lifetime questioning things.”
“I don’t want to upset you guys,” she said softly.
“You won’t upset me,” I replied. “And I know Fox understands. Enzo and Cole… well, we can sort them. Enzo is better at understanding than Cole, but I know how much they both love and care about you. They won’t press you on it. We’re just happy you chose us. Grateful even.”
“I will always choose you.” She looked up at me, tears on her cheeks. It broke my damn heart that she was feeling this way.
“And I will always choose you.” I brushed my lips against hers before wiping away her tears. “Always, Rosalie. There will never be another woman out there whom I’d ever want. You’re the love of my life.”
She hugged me tightly.
My words were my truth. I loved her so damn much. She was my moon and stars. I was a mess of a person, and each time I felt like I was progressing as a good human, I’d stumble and fall, fucking everything up.
But she always stood by me. I wanted to be worthwhile to her. I wanted to prove I could handle my shit and be a good man for her. Devoted. And maybe, someday, I’d be good enough to give her a baby.
It was a thought I kept cycling through my head. After talking to Cole about it, it made me think. Add to it that I’d seen how happy he was as he bought things for a baby online or in every shop we passed, I thought maybe I’d like to feel that way too.
It still terrified me, and I was in no way ready to be a father since I had a lot of work to do on myself, but the thought was starting to form. All I knew was that there wasn’t anyone else in this world I’d want to have a kid with. Rosalie was it for me. I meant that when I said it.
“Do you want to watch a movie or something? I’ll listen if you have a new song to show me.
” My voice trailed off. She’d not been doing shit with her music.
Maybe she thought I didn’t notice, but I did.
She wasn’t singing while making dinner anymore.
Not in the shower. Not bird watching with Cotton.
Nothing. That was a huge red flag to me. It was scaring me.
“I don’t have anything new,” she whispered, pulling away from me and hugging herself.
That wasn’t normal. She was always working on something new.
“Um, how about we write a song together?” I ventured, desperate to bring her back to her passion.
She wiped at her eyes. “You want to write a song with me?”
I nodded. “I do. I think it might be fun. I have some ideas. I’m not great at the stuff, but I can play piano and show you what I have.
” I winced. I dabbled in writing, but I was nowhere near the level Rosalie was.
I’d probably look like an idiot showing her my stuff, but I was willing to do it if it got her excited again.
“I’d like that,” she said, wiping at her eyes again. “We don’t ever do that together.”
I smiled, relief flooding through me. “I’m not good at it, sweetheart, so be gentle with me.”
“Ethan, you’re always perfect to me.” She returned to me and brushed her lips across mine. “Can we go to the practice room?”
“Yes,” I said immediately.
“I’ll check the schedule.”
I watched her grab her phone and tap through the screen.
Fuck, please be open. I wasn’t above beating someone to get them out of there so she could have this.
“It’s open. I put my name in.” Her eyes shone brightly, a hint of excitement in them.
I exhaled. “Perfect. Get ready. I’ll grab my folder.”
She nodded excitedly, and I left to grab my stuff.
Quickly, I rifled through my desk and grabbed the folder where I kept all my random poems and thoughts. I never showed anyone this stuff. It was deeply personal to me, and I wasn’t great at expressing my feelings, but fuck it.
I went back to Rosalie’s room and found her grabbing her bag and reaching for her guitar. I snagged the guitar away from her quickly, making her smile a little.
“I got it,” I said, leading her downstairs. I sent a quick text to Cole to let him know we were leaving before leading her outside to my new Mercedes. I helped her in before getting behind the wheel and pulling out of the garage.
We drove in silence, our men falling in line behind us. Enzo made it a rule that if we left, someone would follow.
I caught Rosalie glancing in the rearview mirror, her body tense. I knew she hated this, but it was just our life now.
We drove in silence for a bit before her phone buzzed. I glanced over to see a smile on her face.
“Who is it?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Oh. Uh, it’s this guy. Riley. I met him in New York at Fox’s award ceremony. He’s really great. He’s a musician too. He just sent me a new song and asked me what I think about it.”
“Let’s hear it,” I said immediately.
She smiled and pressed play on the message. A heavier song blared through the device before a man’s raspy voice came on. I tapped my fingers on the wheel as I listened to him crooning about never fitting in and wanting some girl he secretly loved to notice him.
The song ended with a heavy sigh, and then his voice asked Rosalie to be brutally honest.
Her thumbs flew over her phone as she messaged him back.
“It was good,” I said after she sent the message. “I really liked that. Does he have a band? Like, is he on the radio because he sounds like he should be?”
“He has some guys he plays with, but lately he’s been doing all the instruments. He’s really talented.”
I nodded. “He sounds it. Maybe you guys could do a song together.”
She smiled. “Yeah, maybe. He asked me. I said we could. Schedules and things have just been off.”
“Well, I can’t wait to hear whatever you guys come up with.” I reached over and rested my hand high on her thigh. “What time does the practice room close?”
“Ten,” she replied. “So we have a few hours.”
I breathed out. Good. We’d likely need it if I were going to try to live up to Anson or this Riley guy. I was small potatoes, but even small potatoes could grow when planted. Or some shit like that.
Three hours in, and I really thought we had something. I turned on my phone to record this last part because we’d been recording things the whole night.
“I like this line,” Rosalie mused, staring down at the words I’d scribbled months ago on paper. “You should’ve walked, but you stayed. Guess you like me better when I’m frayed.”
I wrinkled my nose and raked my fingers through my hair. “You like it?”
She nodded and looked at me, her green eyes bright. “It’s really good. You write from your heart, Ethan.”
I smiled awkwardly at that.
“But just so you know, I love you in all the ways, frayed or not.”
My smile widened, and I felt my cheeks heat. Fuck, what she could do to me.
“I want you to have this song,” I said.
“Really? It’s good. You should sing it.”
I shrugged. “Who would I sing it to? I’m not good at that stuff. Besides, it’s not my dream, it’s yours. This is my gift to you. Someday when you’re famous, I want you to sing it onstage and think of me.”
She gave me a sad smile, her eyes glistening.
“Will you?” I ventured softly.
Her bottom lip wobbled. “Yes. Maybe someday.”
The pain of losing her to her dreams ebbed through me. I was trying my damndest to work through those emotions. I knew I depended on her and the guys way too damn much, but deep down, I wanted them all to have their dreams. I just sucked because maybe I didn’t have my own.
She went back to writing, adding things and removing things for another hour while I tried to pound out the tune on the piano. I had to hand it to her. Rosalie was fierce. She didn’t hold back on me, instructing me on changing keys and shaking her head when she didn’t like something.
She probably put Anson through his paces, but I knew Anson. He did it all without batting an eyelash.
By the time it was nearly ten, she crushed her lips to mine. I immediately stopped playing and kissed her back.
I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but knowing I made her happy today pushed me to my next move.
A gasp left her lips as I lifted her and placed her ass on the keys, making the notes sound out.
She stared up at me with wide eyes.
“I’m going to assume the answer to my question is no, but sweetheart, have you ever been fucked on a piano before?”
She parted her lips and shook her head slightly.
“Well, cross it off your list,” I whispered against her lips as I pushed her panties aside.
“You’re going to fuck me? Here?” she choked out.
“Yes,” I answered back, guiding my dick to her waiting pussy. “I want to make you sing for me. Can you do that?”
She nodded wordlessly, and I pushed deep inside her body. Her head fell back as I thrust in and out of her, the keys sounding out their discordant notes as I fucked into her.
I pushed her top down, exposing her breasts, before I sucked against the delicate skin of her throat, marking her several times as she twisted her fingers into my shirt.
“Sing,” I whispered against the shell of her ear. “I want to hear you.”
“E-Ethan,” she rasped as I jutted into her.
“Please. Sing for me, sweetheart.”
She opened her mouth, a gasping note coming out before another.
Fuck, I loved the way it sounded.
I moved faster, urging her to keep singing.
Her pussy tightened before I tugged her off the piano to let her come. Her legs wrapped around me as she jerked in my arms, her face buried in my neck. I felt her lips on my skin, sucking, marking me like I marked her.
It made me come hard with a low groan. My cock twitched deep inside her trembling body before I gently placed her back on the piano. I tilted her chin up so she could look at me.
“I like making music with you, sweetheart,” I said softly, smiling down at her.
Her lips twitched. “You’re a hell of an artist.”
“You make me better.” I glanced over to see that my phone had recorded the entire thing. “Cole is going to be so jealous.”
She laughed before pulling my face down to kiss me. I went easily, relishing in all that was my girl.
“It’s getting late,” I whispered against her soft lips. “We should go.”
She nodded. “We should.”
We stayed that way for another long moment, me still very much buried inside her, before I lifted her off the piano and placed her on her feet, my cock slipping away.
She winced, giving me a bashful look afterward.
“You OK?” I asked, tucking myself into my pants.
“Yeah. Sore. A-And really turned on.”
I chuckled at that. “Me too, babe. Me too. Let’s go home and snuggle.”
She nodded eagerly, her tits back in her dress and her skirt down.
I quickly gathered her things and wiped the piano down before taking her hand and leading her back to my car.
Ed and Curtis were still waiting for us.
I gave them a quick wave to let them know we were good before helping Rosalie into the passenger side.
I got behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Home?” I asked, looking over at her.
She nodded, her eyes sparkling.
I put the car into gear.
Hell yeah. I finally did something right. I was feeling pretty proud of myself.
About damn time.