Chapter 42
Henry kissed you? OMG! I’m jealous. I want to be kissed by a hot billionaire too! Tell me everything!
Old message from Grace to Kate after the Halloween masked ball
Grace
Ethan and I spent the entire drive from the villa to the hotel kissing.
We both deserved a medal for refraining from tearing each other’s clothes off in the limousine.
Every fibre of my being, my heart included, ached to be with him.
I just couldn’t get enough of him, and he seemed to feel exactly the same about me.
On the way to The Darlington, he kissed every inch of my skin not covered by clothes.
We didn’t pull apart until Wallace parked the car in the underground car park.
With a knowing smile, he wished us a pleasant evening.
The moment the lift door slid shut behind us, Ethan’s lips were on my mouth again, his hands roaming all over my body. Then they gripped me firmly at the waist.
“I need you,” I murmured, breathless.
Ethan kissed me hard. “I need you too.”
The lift announced its arrival at the private floor with a soft chime.
It was completely quiet up here. No one was around, which meant we didn’t have to hold back.
We practically stumbled to Ethan’s penthouse flat, neither of us wanting to let go of the other.
At the door, we had to pause for a moment for Ethan to let us in.
As soon as the door closed behind us, we were tangled up in each other again.
I tossed my handbag aside carelessly while Ethan shrugged off his coat.
He grabbed my jacket and tore it from my shoulders.
Pressing his mouth against my skin, he kissed his way along my collarbone and up my throat until he reached my lips. I let out a low moan and wrapped my arms around his neck, and then we were lost in another deep kiss.
“Bedroom?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
He didn’t switch on the lights, manoeuvring me through the dark into his bedroom. I only realised we were by the bed when I bumped into the mattress.
“Turn around,” he murmured into my ear.
I obeyed.
He swept my hair forward over my shoulders, his fingers skimming my skin, feather-light.
I shivered, half out of desire, half in anticipation of what was about to happen.
Slowly, Ethan unzipped my dress, baring my back.
His warm breath brushed the back of my neck.
With his lips, he traced kisses down my spine as he eased the dress from my body, inch by inch, until it slipped to the ground with a soft rustle.
His mouth brushed over my backside, first the left cheek, then the right, before giving me a gentle nip.
I squealed, and with a laugh, he licked the spot he’d just bitten.
Next, he undid the straps on my heels. I stepped out of them and turned back to face him.
A smile played on his lips, and he ordered his smart-home system to switch on some soft lighting.
A few lamps glowed to life, casting soft shadows on our bodies.
Ethan’s expression darkened with desire, and I saw the quick flicker of his eager tongue between his lips.
He was still fully dressed, while I wore only white lace underwear.
I hadn’t dared wear a bra under the dress, knowing it would show.
“Do you have any idea how stunning you are?” Ethan asked, his voice low.
I caught hold of his lapel. “No. Tell me.”
He gave me a sly smile. “How about I show you instead?”
“That’s an even better idea,” I replied, and after taking off his jacket, I started unbuttoning his shirt.
Button by button, I uncovered his torso, lifting my hand to trace the contours of his muscles with my fingertip.
The sight of him sent a deep aching pulse between my legs.
His stomach tightened the closer I got to the waistband of his trousers, which concealed a very obvious bulge.
There was something dark and alluring in Ethan’s gaze when our eyes met.
Without looking away, I unfastened his belt.
But before I could pull his trousers down, he grabbed me and kissed me with such force that my knees buckled—and I found myself lying on the bed with Ethan on top of me.
There was no better feeling in the world.
I moaned into his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer, but he resisted.
Slipping easily out of my hold, he kissed his way down my body to my breasts.
He closed his lips around one nipple, teasing it with his tongue while his fingers slid further down my stomach before slipping between my legs.
I gave a strangled gasp as his fingers pressed against the fabric of my underwear. Impatiently, my hips pushed against his hand. Thankfully, Ethan didn’t seem to be in the mood to torture me today. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of my underwear and slid it off.
He moved to kneel while I lay completely naked before him.
His gaze wandered over my body appreciatively, gliding from my breasts down to my stomach.
My heart was racing, my blood simmering with desire.
Being with Ethan was always intoxicating, always sensual, always breathtaking—but in this moment, it felt even more intense.
“Spread your legs,” he ordered, his voice rough.
I opened myself up to him, and his eyes settled between my thighs. I was wet and throbbing for him. He devoured me—though, unfortunately, only with his gaze.
“Ethan?”
He looked up at me.
“We’re not in a museum. You’re allowed to touch. Unless you want me to take matters into my own hands again?”
“Don’t you dare. You’re mine.”
He’d said the very same thing weeks ago in the pool, when I’d made the same empty threat. Back then, his words had seemed insignificant, said in the heat of the moment, but tonight I knew they were true. I belonged to Ethan. And he belonged to me. Because we belonged together.
“Prove it,” I challenged him, just as I had that first night.
The corner of his mouth twitched. He remembered.
And just as he had back then, he proved it.
He lowered himself between my legs and put me out of my misery with a deep kiss that I felt rush through my entire body.
I gave a throaty moan as he breathed a sigh of satisfaction against me.
His tongue circled my clitoris before sliding into me.
“Oh God,” I gasped, but instead of falling back and simply savouring the sensation, I propped myself up onto my elbows so I could watch him.
His voyeuristic tendencies seemed to have rubbed off on me.
I understood it now. The sight of him alone was almost enough to make me come.
Lying between my thighs, he looked like sin incarnate.
The dim light cast a glow over his face and his blue eyes, which were fixed on me as he licked me.
Holding his gaze became harder with every flick of his tongue, but I refused to close my eyes.
Heat crept into my cheeks, down my neck, and into my breasts.
My gasps grew louder, my breathing more uneven.
Finally, Ethan slid two fingers into me while his tongue continued to pleasure me. I was on fire, desperate to climax.
“Don’t stop!” I whimpered.
And he didn’t. He kept going, fucking me with his fingers relentlessly. Caressing me with his tongue. My feet tingled . . .
And then I came. My hips jerked towards his lips, and the heat of his kisses flashed through my entire body.
Panting, I dropped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Everything hummed and buzzed, and I was pretty sure I saw stars. “You really outdid yourself this time,” I managed, breathless.
“And I’m nowhere near done with you yet.”
I heard Ethan take off his shoes and then his trousers.
The mattress shifted, and then he was above me, bracing himself with his arms on either side of me.
His black hair fell over his forehead, and although his eyes glowed, his sinful expression had vanished.
He gazed at me tenderly before pressing his lips to mine gently and kissing me without haste or greed, as if he knew that I needed a moment of calm after that incredible high.
He lowered his body carefully until his full weight was on me. “Am I too heavy?”
I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck to hold him close.
His weight on me felt perfect. And although only moments ago we had been desperate to be together, we were suddenly no longer in any rush.
I stroked Ethan’s back tenderly, and he caressed my waist. I kissed his jaw, and he nibbled at my neck.
I buried my fingers in his hair and pulled him towards me for a kiss.
My breathing had become less ragged, but my heart was still pounding wildly for this man, who had taken so much pain and loneliness from me over the past few weeks and given me so much understanding and support.
“I want to feel you,” I murmured between kisses.
Ethan hummed his agreement against my mouth as he reached, without breaking the kiss, for the bedside table where he kept the condoms. But before he could open the drawer, I stopped him, catching his hand in mine and lacing our fingers together.
He pulled back a little and looked at me, confused. His cheeks were flushed, his pupils dilated with desire.
“We can leave the condom, if you want.”
He swallowed hard. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I have an IUD. Unless you’re worried . . . ?”
“No. I’m clean. It’s just . . . I’ve never done it without a condom before.”
I smiled at him. “Want to try it?”
The answer was written all over his face. Even so, he hesitated, searching my eyes for any trace of uncertainty—which he wasn’t going to find. I trusted him completely. “You’re really sure?”
“Yes. I want to feel all of you.”
I needed to feel all of him.
Ethan responded to my words with a deep kiss, yet another confirmation that he felt just as intoxicated as I did. My hand was still holding his. With the other, he reached between us and positioned himself, the tip of him against me. But he didn’t enter me right away.
I shivered with anticipation.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“More than ready,” I assured him, brushing my fingers over his cheek.
He lowered his head and kissed the palms of my hand before pushing into me.
Once he was fully inside, we both paused and looked into each other’s eyes, savouring this new sensation.
I’d imagined it would feel different without a condom, but the reality surpassed anything I’d expected.
Feeling Ethan like this was indescribable.
There was nothing stopping us now, nothing between us, physical or emotional.
And that made the moment all the more precious.
This wasn’t just sex. It was an understanding.
A promise. A union. Not just of desire, but of love.
Ethan lowered his face to mine and kissed me once more before he began to slowly move inside me. I moaned, clenching around him.
He gasped. “You’re my downfall.”
“Then I’ll go down with you,” I retorted, spreading my legs wider to feel just a little more of him.
When we fucked, it was uncharacteristically slow, as if neither of us wanted this moment to pass too quickly. It felt incredibly intense, and I knew it would change me forever. After this night, and after everything Ethan was making me feel, there was no way I could ever be the same again.
He squeezed my hand, and I watched the beads of sweat gather on his forehead.
The tendons of his neck became more pronounced with every thrust. He was clearly fighting for control, and I wasn’t doing much better.
As intimate and tender as this felt, my body longed for more, needing that sweet release.
I wrapped a leg around Ethan’s hip, a silent but unmistakable invitation.
He let out a relieved breath and kissed me one last, feverish time before releasing my hand and bracing himself on the mattress to drive into me with more force.
As his thrusts grew faster, I threw my head back with a gasp and clung to him, a glorious pressure building up inside me and wiping out every coherent thought.
Eventually, all that remained were the heady sensations.
Ethan looked at me from beneath half-lowered lids. “I’m close.”
It wasn’t a question—and yet it was. He was giving me a final chance to change my mind, to tell him not to come inside me. But I still wanted all of him. I wrapped my other leg around him too, pulling him deeper into me.
Ethan swore. His thrusts grew even harder. I moaned and whimpered, no longer in control of myself. My whole body trembled, and even though I’d felt my orgasm building, its intensity still caught me off guard. I gave a strangled cry, and my muscles tightened around Ethan . . .
And then he came too. I felt him pulse inside me, felt his heat melt into mine.
When it was over, I unwound my legs from his hips, and he eased out of me slowly.
He told me to stay where I was, then disappeared into the bathroom.
A moment later, he returned with a warm flannel and a glass of water.
Without a word, he handed me the glass while he gently cleaned me up.
I’d still have to go to the bathroom sooner or later, but my body needed a moment before it would cooperate.
After my quick wash, Ethan drank the rest of the water and set the empty glass on the bedside table before lying back down beside me, his arm stretched out in silent invitation.
I snuggled up to him, and he pressed a gentle kiss to my temple.
When I lifted my head to look at him, he was smiling blissfully, and I was fairly sure I looked just as content.
He caught my look. “Are you good?”
“Better than good. That was . . .”
“It was,” he agreed before I could finish the sentence. I was grateful, because I had no idea how I would have ended it.
There were no words to describe how I felt in that moment, but perhaps none were needed. All that mattered was that lightness, the ease in my chest. I couldn’t help thinking of something Ethan had said a few weeks ago—that things would eventually get better. And he’d been right.
It had got better. Because of him. Because Ethan had been there for me, had listened, and had seen something in me at a time when I barely recognised myself. And for that, I would always be grateful to him.