Chapter 27
Maggie watched the soft orange-blue of the setting sun poke through the trees outside the car. Ethan was quiet behind the wheel. Had been quiet the entire drive.
She shot him a glance beneath her lashes before looking back out the window. They’d spent the entire day at the hospital, yet neither of them had brought up Jay or the bar or the kiss. Not once. She’d expected him to mention it last night. Then this morning. Then this afternoon.
Nope. Was he waiting for them to get to his house?
Sure, they’d talked. About everything but Jay.
And God, he’d been great. Sitting with her.
Getting her food and drinks and making sure she was okay.
Polly had spent a chunk of the day with them as well, and the guys from Ethan’s team had filtered in and out.
Maybe that was why neither of them had brought it up—because there’d been a constant barrage of people.
When they reached his house and stepped inside, it felt so quiet, especially compared to the busy, loud hospital.
He kissed her temple before setting her bag in the bedroom. When he returned, he went straight into the kitchen. “What do you feel like for dinner? We could do tacos? Or make a couple of pizzas?”
Was he avoiding the conversation as much as she was? “Anything’s fine. I might have a shower, if that’s okay. Get rid of the smell of the hospital.”
He turned to frown at her. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Absolutely fine.” She didn’t even have a headache anymore. Thank you, Tylenol.
In the bathroom, she closed the door with a soft thud and leaned her back against the wood.
Just do it, Maggie. Stop avoiding. Talk to him about the kiss.
She straightened and opened the door—only to gasp at the sight of Ethan. He was right there, hand up like he was about to knock.
“Hi.” Her voice was breathless.
“I didn’t kiss her.”
Maggie swallowed the lump in her throat.
He inched closer, his hand going to her hip. “She confirmed what you already knew. That she had feelings for me. Apparently, my entire team knew.”
It wasn’t in her head. The idea of Jay caring about him hadn’t been built on her insecurities.
“She kissed me,” Ethan continued. “I was caught off guard.”
The sight of her lips on Ethan’s flashed through her mind for what had to be the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours.
“Maggie.” He touched her chin and tilted it up. She hadn’t realized she’d dropped her gaze to his chest. And when she met his eyes, his expression was almost pleading. “I didn’t kiss her back. I pushed her away and I told her it’s you I love. That it’s always been you. And it always will be.”
“I shouldn’t have run. I’m sorry. I saw her kissing you and all I could think was—of course. Of course she’s what you want. Of course my aunt was right. Of course you’d choose someone like her over someone like me.”
Ethan’s brows slashed together. “Every time you say something like that, I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. I wish you could climb inside my chest and feel how my heart beats for you.”
“I’m trying. I’m trying to love myself. I’m trying to push past all the stuff I believed for so long but shouldn’t have.”
“You don’t have to do it alone. I’m here.” He lowered his head and kissed a spot behind her ear before whispering. “You never have to earn love from me. You have it. It’s yours. You just need to take it.”
She closed her eyes, his words squeezing her heart. A silent hum zipped over her skin at the soft kisses trailing down her neck.
When he lifted his head, she cupped his cheeks. “I love you, Ethan Moore. I’ve loved you for so long.”
Fire burned in his eyes. Then they were kissing. She wasn’t sure who initiated it. She didn’t care.
Their tongues tangled and they kissed like it was their first and last. Like this was the only kiss that mattered.
His hands slipped down to her ass, and he lifted her against his chest. She wrapped her legs around him, hugging him tightly with her thighs. He stepped backward and set her on a dresser, and she could feel him right there between her legs.
He grabbed the bottom of her top. “Lift for me, honey.”
She lifted her arms, and he tugged the shirt off. Then his mouth trailed down her neck with soft kisses as his hands reached behind her. The click of her bra unsnapping was loud in the quiet room. Then air brushed over her sensitive breasts.
“So damn beautiful.” Three whispered words before his head lowered and he cupped her breast and took her nipple between his lips.
It was like fire, and she felt the burn deep in her belly.
It made her throb and yearn for him. She whimpered, her fingers weaving into his hair and tugging as he sucked and swirled her nipple, the man’s effect on her almost magical.
“Ethan.”
He switched to her other breast, casting the same spell.
She grabbed at his shirt and pulled it over his head before dropping it to the floor.
His bare, muscular chest glimmered in the soft glow of the room. She ran her fingers over the hard ridges. There was so much power in his body. And God, she loved him. All of him. She lowered her head and kissed his chest. Gently. Barely a graze. She did it again.
A sound slipped from his chest, something between a growl and a hum. When he cupped her cheek, she looked up to see him staring at her like she hung the moon and the stars. No one had ever looked at her like that before. And for some reason, she almost wanted to cry.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
She cupped his cheek, running her thumb over his lips. “I’m so much more than okay.”
His eyes darkened. Then his fingers went to the waistband of her yoga pants. She pushed her body up, and he removed them with her panties, his eyes not leaving hers. Once they were off, she helped with the button and zipper of his jeans.
The second he stepped out of them, he returned to her, standing between her thighs, his tip pressing against her core. Desire hummed throughout her body.
She nipped at his bottom lip before sliding a leg around his waist and urging him a bit deeper.
He cursed. “I’m not wearing anything.”
When he started to step away, she tightened her leg around him. “I went on the pill.”
“You did?”
“Mm-hmm.” Another nip of his bottom lip. “I want to feel you. No barriers.”
He growled, his mouth dropping to hers before he pushed all the way inside her. Stretching her. Filling her. Making her his.
The combination of Maggie’s walls hugging his cock and her soft, warm body pressed against him like silk made Ethan so fucking wild, he wasn’t sure how he was still standing. And the taste of her, fuck it was sweet and so damn intoxicating, it was like a drug. She was like a drug.
It took him a moment to move. To slip out of her before thrusting back in.
Her groan carved itself inside him.
He thrust again, slow, deep movements. Returning to her felt like coming home.
She trailed her fingers down his neck and set them on his shoulders. Her nails dug into his skin, the bite of pain in such contrast with everything else she made him feel.
This woman wasn’t simply enough for him. He was a slave for her. Chained in every way. It had never been a choice to love her, she’d simply walked inside his heart and never left.
He cupped her breast, palmed it. Found her nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.
She tipped her head back, her chest heaving, the sound of her breathing so loud it annihilated the quiet.
He lifted her and turned. When he reached the bed, he lay on his back, keeping her on top of him. Without missing a beat, she moved, rising and lowering onto his cock, her breasts bouncing, palms flat on his chest.
Watching her ride him was the most beautiful fucking thing he’d ever seen.
He touched her core, running his thumb over her clit.
Her strangled cry cut through the room.
He continued to touch her, watch her, absorb every emotion that crossed her face.
When she lowered to kiss him, he thrust up into her, his movements fast and deep. Taking everything she had and giving it all back.
He knew the second she was close. Her breathing became loud and ragged and uneven, and the muscles in her body tensed. He kissed behind her ear and ran a circle over her clit.
And that was it. Her cry was loud and almost pained as she broke, her head dropping to the crook of his shoulder.
He thrust inside her three more times before breaking with her. Losing himself in the feel of her walls pulsing around his cock. The whispers of her breath on his neck and the way her soft, warm body surrounded him.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed. It could have been seconds. It could have been minutes. When he could finally breathe again, he asked, “Are you okay?”
She nuzzled into his chest. “I’m not sure ‘okay’ quite covers what I am.”
He chuckled, arms tightening around her.
For a while, neither of them moved. They just remained exactly as they were, holding each other, still connected in the most intimate way.
But finally, Ethan got up and carried her to the shower, where he washed every inch of her body. He did it slowly, worshipping her. Because God, she deserved it.
Back in the bedroom, he helped her into one of his shirts before basically forcing her into bed while he prepared dinner.
And it was only when he left the bedroom that he allowed himself to feel it again.
The return of the rage, the frustration, the million emotions that had been living inside him since last night at the bar.
He could have lost her. The sheer fucking thought made a hollowness settle inside him. It felt big and gaping and made him want to press a palm over his chest to dull the ache.
But he hadn’t lost her. She was okay. She was safe in his bed.
He shot back some whiskey and was about to put together a quick meal when his phone vibrated with a text.
Connor: Ethan, did you and Maggie get home from the hospital okay?
Ethan: Yeah, we’re good.
Ryan: Need anything from us?
Ethan: Not right now. But I appreciate the support this last twenty-four hours.
He set down the phone and opened his fridge to see it fully stocked. His lips twitched. Shit, he loved his team.
He took out precooked chicken and some stuff to make salad. He was slicing the cucumber when his phone vibrated with another text. He didn’t look at it. He already knew it would be the guys. Once their text chain got started, it went for a while.
He was midway through the salads when the soft pad of footsteps sounded. Maggie stepped into the kitchen, his shirt drowning her, and fuck, how could he get hard again already?
She offered a soft smile. “Hey.”
“You’re supposed to be on bed rest.”
She stopped beside him. “I got bored. I can help.” She reached for a knife.
He growled and lifted her to the island. “You sit and relax.”
“Ethan—”
“I’m serious, Maggie.”
She rolled her eyes, but there was a half-smile on her face as she lifted a piece of cucumber and nibbled on it. “I never asked… How’s it been being out of the military?”
“Different. The first year was challenging, but that was mostly because I was away from the guys. They’re family, and being separated after being together for so long was hard.”
“But now you get them back.”
“Thanks to an anonymous donor.”
She frowned as she chewed. “Do you think Maureen has a secret stash of cash?”
“I have no idea. I’ve done background checks on a lot of the locals, and from what I can find, no one seems to have that kind of money.”
“Someone does.” Her bottom lip disappeared between her lips. “You were the main reason I came back, you know.”
He paused. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm. When Polly told me you were in Deep River, I couldn’t stop thinking about you being here.
Being back. I wondered what you were doing.
Whether you were visiting Basil and the river and all the places we used to hang out together.
” She paused. “At first, I thought there was no way you’d ever forgive me for what I did.
Then this little voice said, what if he does?
What if he doesn’t hate you? What if you can have everything you ever wanted?
Then that stuff continued happening in LA and I just…
I got on a plane and came here. You’ve always been my safe place. ”
“You coming back here was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
A small smile curved her lips.
His phone vibrated with another message, and he went back to chopping the vegetables.
Maggie lifted a brow. “You’re not going to answer that?”
“It’s probably Joel talking about his cat.”
“Joel got a cat?”
“Kind of came with the house.”
“I want to read about the cat.” She lifted the cell and her smile dropped.
“What?”
She handed him the cell. “It’s Jay.”
He took the cell and opened the texts.
Jay: Can we talk about what happened?
Jay: Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. But I don’t want to lose you as a friend.
He clicked out of the messages and set the phone on the counter before stepping between Maggie’s thighs. “Maggie, look at me.”
She did.
“It’s not going to happen.”
She frowned. “What’s not going to happen?”
“Jay and I aren’t going to talk about what she did and just go back to what we were before. She lost me the second she kissed me.”
“But you’ve been friends for so long.”
“Yeah, and she knew I loved you the entire time. She did what she did anyway. You are my priority.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “God, I love you.”
“You have no idea.” He kissed the top of her head, thanking every God out there that Jay’s kiss hadn’t broken them. That Maggie was here, with him. That she was his.