She accessed the internet on her phone, found a picture of an old lady with a grey cardigan, thick tights and hair in curlers and sent it to him ‘I was thinking more along the lines of this.’
‘Perfect,’ came the almost instant reply. ‘Every man’s fantasy.’
Izzy smiled. They were flirting.
Another text came through. ‘Wear whatever you feel comfortable in, but I was thinking bedroom sexy rather than your normal day-to-day sexy. What do you wear in bed?’
Izzy supposed she should be embarrassed by that personal question but she was used to it by now.
She quickly got changed into her red fleecy Mickey Mouse pyjamas and arranged herself into a sexy pose on the bed, knowing that any attempt at being sexy would be quickly undone with the oversized cosy pyjamas. She snapped a selfie of herself and sent it over.
He replied almost instantly. ‘Hahaha. You’re killing me. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.’
Izzy stared at the text and then another one immediately came through. ‘I mean seeing what you wear.’
She laughed and another text came through. ‘I realise how sordid that sounds, I didn’t mean it like that.’
She texted him back. ‘Pervert.’
‘It’s you, you make me say things I wouldn’t normally say.’
‘Like compliments.’
‘Yes, it won’t happen again.’
She smiled. ‘We’ll see.’
Chapter Eleven
‘So are you going to tell me why I had to meet you here instead of you picking me up?’ Izzy asked as she propped her bike up against the van the next day, clicking the bike lock into place.
‘We had stuff in the van, you wouldn’t have fitted,’ Ethan said. ‘Come and look.’
She followed him round the other side of the van and stopped when she saw the bed. It was covered with a deep pink satin duvet cover and matching pillows and looked like it was fresh from a boudoir.
‘Classy.’
‘It will attract people’s attention. Plus if you get cold we can just cover you with the duvet.’
‘People are not going to be interested in seeing me tucked up in bed, though I do appreciate the sentiment.’
‘I have an electric blanket inside the duvet, it’s plugged into the van.’
‘That’s very sweet, thank you.’
She started to unbutton her coat and saw the mischievous smile from Ethan as he waited to see what she had worn. She saw the questioning gaze from him as he spotted the jeans and big jumper.
‘There was no way I could cycle here in what you wanted me to wear, it would have been a bit chilly.’
‘So you have it on underneath?’
He was smirking, teasing her, knowing she wouldn’t have worn what he suggested. She climbed up into the shelter of the van and undid her jeans, pulling them off slowly as Ethan watched. She pulled off her jumper and did a little twirl. This was a big step for her, she hadn’t thought of herself as sexy for many years and although she didn’t feel particularly attractive, the harmless flirting with Ethan had encouraged her to brazen it out a little bit. Wearing the black satin hot pants and the satin camisole top was as close as she could get to the sex kitten porn star look Ethan wanted.
She chanced a look at him and saw all smiles and flirting had vanished.
Shit. It wasn’t good enough. What she had hoped was sexy probably looked like mutton dressed as lamb. ‘I’m sorry… I thought it was sexy… It’s not what you were looking for is it?’ She went to grab her jumper again but Ethan reached into the van and stopped her.
‘Izzy.’ He cleared his throat. ‘You look fucking hot,’ Ethan muttered. ‘I know that’s not an appropriate thing for me to say but it’s true.’ She stared at him, suddenly feeling beautiful in his eyes. His hypnotic gaze burned into her. ‘I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.’
‘I couldn’t have worn the bra and pants, I have horrible scars on my belly that would have…’ She trailed off and in her mind, smacked herself round her head. Why would she say that? No one apart from Bex and Alex knew about her scars and just when Ethan was looking at her like he wanted to eat her, why did she have to put the image of horrific scars into his head?
‘What kind of scars?’
‘Burns, it was a barbequing accident. They’re gross.’ Why did he command so much honesty from her?
He stepped up into the van and shut the door behind him, shutting out the world outside. He stood, towering over her in the semi darkness. God, everything he did was so hot, just standing next to her and staring at her made her want to grab him and kiss him. The sexual tension was unbearable. He reached above her and turned on the interior light. He undid his shirt. Holy shit. Surely they weren’t going to do this now, in the van in the middle of a busy shopping centre. He opened his shirt and immediately she saw the scars across his chest, one deep gash down his side and several others star bursts of white. He turned around and she saw the scars across his back – pink raised slashes, skin that was buckled or creased with other scars. He looked like he had been severely beaten. She ran her finger lightly over one of the biggest scars, feeling the rock hard muscles underneath.
‘What happened?’
‘I was in the army and I got caught in an explosion. My leg is a lot worse.’
She trailed her hand over a few of the other scars. Her stomach quivered with need.
He turned back to face her. ‘Does it make me less of a man in your eyes? If we were in bed together would it put you off, knowing they were there?’
She shook her head truthfully, if anything it made him even hotter. ‘It’s different for a man though, scars make you look rugged and manly. Mine are disgusting. My ex even said they were.’
His face turned to thunder. ‘He said what?’
‘Well it’s true.’ She tried to laugh it off.
‘Let me see,’ he said, softly.
He stared at her, waiting. She bit her lip and slid her top up a few inches so he could see the scars. He stepped back a bit so he could see them and she waited for the look of revulsion that never came. He ran his hand over the scars, tracing his fingers over the thinner strands. She watched his face, looking for any sign of disgust but his eyes were dark, filled with lust as he caressed her. His other hand joined the first, cupping her waist between his giant hands as he trailed his thumbs over her scars. He let out a shaky sigh, his eyes snapping back to hers.
‘You are incredibly beautiful, and these scars don’t change that.’
Her heart soared with his words. She suddenly, impulsively reached up and kissed him. For a split second his fingers tightened at her hips and she was sure she heard a soft moan escape his lips as his mouth fastened over hers hard, but the next second he was stepping back with his habitual scowl back in place.
‘Don’t get any ideas. I might think you are beautiful, but nothing is ever going to happen between us. I’m your boss, not your lover. If you ever kiss me like that again I’ll fire you on the spot.’
How mortifying. Had she completely imagined those dark looks he gave her, the tension that was between them like an unexploded firework? She moved to get out of the van but he caught her hand and pulled her back. His face was softer now.
‘I shouldn’t have touched you, my apologies. I’m all wrong for you, in every possible way. I have a terrible reputation with women, I don’t do relationships, I don’t do flowers or making love. As you said, I fuck women and then cast them aside for the next.’
‘I wasn’t expecting marriage and eternal love, I just wanted to say thanks for making me feel sexy for the first time in… in a long time.’
She turned away again, wanting to be out of this enclosed space – away from him and away from his intense gaze. But he pulled her back again.
‘You are undeniably sexy but you deserve to be with a man who would treat you like a queen, who would carry you everywhere and worship your body, every little perfect inch of it.’ He swallowed. ‘I’m not that
man. I’m a grumpy bastard and my work is the only thing I care about. And on that note we have some leaflets to hand out.’ He gestured for her to leave and she opened the van doors and hopped down into the coldness of the morning. Kyle and Jim stared at her as she lay down on the bed. Instantly she felt the warmth of the electric blanket seep through her.
Ethan knelt on the bed, his face a mask of professionalism, and fastened her hands to the headboard with the rope. He slipped the eye mask on and the darkness of the previous day returned.
‘You ok, you comfy?’ Ethan asked.
‘I’m fine.’
‘I’ll be right here –’
She smiled slightly. ‘I know.’
She felt him get off the bed and she was left alone in the dark with her confusion and, despite the rejection, feeling incredibly aroused.
*
Ethan had been chatting to potential customers for over an hour when Jim came up to him.
‘It’s not exactly the best marketing ploy is it?’ He pointed his thumb disdainfully in the direction of Izzy. Ethan had studiously been trying not to look at her since he’d tied her to the bed a while before. He looked over now and felt that kick of desire slash through him.
‘What do you mean, loads of people have come to see what we’re doing?’
‘Her snoring her head off isn’t exactly the sexy image that we were trying to portray. We’re all busting our arses off handing out leaflets and talking to clients, she’s lying there fast asleep.’
Ethan frowned and as he moved closer he realised Jim was right. She was snoring softly.
Kyle snorted with laughter. ‘Brilliant, I think we should video this and post it on our Facebook page, that’ll teach her.’
Ethan moved forwards to wake her – though he was reluctant to do so, Jim did have a point.
Kyle stopped him. ‘Don’t wake her. We can work with it.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Get on the bed with her.’
Ethan flushed. ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate.’ Especially not after what had happened in the van the hour before.
‘Did you see how big the crowd was yesterday when you were feeding her, it was the sexiest thing that these people have seen for a long time. I’m not suggesting you do anything sordid, I’m pretty sure we’d all get arrested for that, just… lie with her.’
Ethan looked at Izzy again then took off his shoes and socks, untied her hands from the headboard, slipped off her blindfold and lay down next to her. She didn’t even stir.
Jim stalked away, muttering to himself.
Ethan lay there for five minutes, not quite sure what to do. He understood why Izzy had fallen asleep though. With the heat from the electric blanket and the boredom of looking at the inside of her own eyelids, it’d be hard to do anything else. But Kyle was right, him lying there was attracting interest. He rolled over onto his side to watch her. Being this close to her, lying next to her in bed, it did things to him he didn’t like. He eyed the crowds, watching them curiously and slid a finger gently down her arm.
Izzy mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over towards him, he rolled away from her onto his back but her head was suddenly on his chest, her arm round his stomach.
He hesitated for just a second before he wrapped his arm round her and instinctively kissed the top of her head.
It was probably this that woke her, as he felt her heart leap and her body jolted awake.
She looked up at him in confusion.
‘You fell asleep.’
‘And what are you doing?’
He swallowed. ‘Don’t get any ideas. I’m putting on a show.’
‘Oh. Should we have sex now or later?’
‘Later, during the lunchtime rush.’
She smiled and he felt a rush of… something for her. Need, desire, lust? Affection. He could probably stretch to that, though he refused to admit it was anything more.
‘Sorry for falling asleep.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘I was dreaming about you.’
His heart leapt into his throat. He didn’t want her dreaming about him, not least because she already filled his dreams.
‘We should get back to work. The leaflets won’t hand out themselves.’
‘Wait. Tie me back up but make it sexy.’
‘What do you suggest?’
‘I don’t know, make it look real.’
He thought about it for a moment, and was annoyed with himself when he found his fingers absently twisting round her ebony hair.
In one swift movement he rolled over, trapping her tiny body underneath his. She let out a tiny gasp of shock as he stared down at her, then he slowly ran his hands up her arms, pinning her hands to the metal headboard. He tied her hands quickly and proficiently, not taking his eyes off hers. Then he scooted down the bed, his face mere inches from touching her as he moved to her hips. He stared up at her and she looked down at him, fearful and excited at the same time.
Without touching her again he climbed off, giving her dark looks that were a million miles away from fake. He grabbed his stash of leaflets and turned away.
*
Izzy sat in the van as Ethan drove her back to the office later that night. She wanted to check the emails briefly and so Ethan had offered to take her back. It was silent between them, the events of the day surrounded them, hanging between them awkwardly like a velvet blanket, swamping them, making it difficult to breathe or think of anything else but how it felt when they kissed, what it felt like to have his hands on her. She wondered if he was thinking about it too.
There was a car waiting for them in the car park and as they pulled up, a tall, beautiful brunette climbed out, looking stunning in a tight black dress that showed off every curve.
Ethan groaned.
‘One of your past conquests?’ Izzy couldn’t help herself. Would she become like that one day, would the sexual tension between them become so tangible that something would inevitably happen – and then would she be hanging onto him like a leech, desperate for just one more night?
‘An ex-client.’
Izzy stared at him. ‘You slept with a client?’ That was a new low even for Ethan. ‘Someone’s wife and you kidnapped her and then slept with her.’
He shook his head. ‘No, nothing happened between us, not even a kiss. I just kidnapped her like I kidnap all my clients and she’s been stalking me ever since. She’s developed a bit of a crush on me’ He looked at Izzy. ‘I swear, I’ve not done anything to encourage it. She wants to have an affair but I’ve been very clear that I never sleep with married women… but then last week she left her husband and turned up here begging me to sleep with her.’
‘Please tell me you didn’t.’
‘Of course I didn’t. I mean, she’s beautiful but I’m not going to be a thing on the side for her just because she’s going through some kind of mid-life crisis.’
‘Why not? You’re quite happy to have a bit on the side whenever you fancy it, but then the shoe is on the other foot when someone wants to treat you like that?’
‘I’m not getting involved with a married woman, separated or not.’
‘Have you tried telling her you’re with someone?’
He laughed. ‘My reputation precedes me. I don’t have girlfriends or anyone important, everyone knows that.’
Izzy sighed. ‘I could be your girlfriend, I’m supposed to be tomorrow night anyway at this Hornblower party, we might as well get some practice in now.’
Ethan stared at her.
‘Don’t worry, you defined the boundaries very clearly today. Nothing is ever going to happen between us. I got that message loud and clear. No kissing but…’ she yanked a ring off her middle finger and pushed it onto her wedding finger. ‘We could be engaged.’
His eyes bulged at the horror of such a thing. But as the woman was approaching the van, he didn’t have long to decide.
He got out and Izzy climbed out too, not sure whether he was
going to go along with it or not. She pulled her bike out the back and propped it up against the side of the van as Ethan walked round to speak to the woman.
‘Miranda, hi. What a surprise to see you here. How’s Dan, that lovely husband of yours?’
‘I left him, as you are fully aware. Now quit playing games Ethan, there’s no point dancing around this attraction anymore. When are you taking me out, and this time I’m not taking no for an answer.’
Ethan looked at Izzy and back at Miranda and then clearly decided that being with Izzy would be the lesser of two evils.
‘I’m sorry, I should have told you before, but this is Izzy, my fiancée.’
Miranda stared at Izzy in shock. ‘You’re engaged.’
Ethan nodded, sliding his arm round Izzy’s shoulders.
She eyed the ring. ‘To each other?’
‘Yes, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Look, you’re a beautiful woman and if you really don’t want to be with your husband anymore there are plenty of men out there that would treat you like a queen and carry you everywhere.’
Izzy’s skin prickled with humiliation as he trotted out the same line he had used on her hours before.
‘I’m not that man. You deserve so much better than me.’
Miranda’s face fell and she quickly stomped back to her car and drove off. As soon as the dust settled after Miranda’s dramatic wheel spin, Izzy elbowed him in the ribs and stalked away to grab her bike.
‘Izzy, what the hell was that for?’ Ethan shouted after her.
‘You used the same line on her as you used on me, it’s just a standard line isn’t it? When all these desperate women throw themselves at you, you just use the standard line for everyone to let them down gently. You’re an ass.’
She grabbed her bike but he was already standing behind her and reached round her to grab the bike too, preventing her from leaving.
Tied up With Love Page 12
