Beatrice flashed her a confident smile and then turned back to Ethan to deliver the death blow.
‘Please don’t,’ Izzy said but Beatrice ignored her.
‘Ethan, I forbid you to have anything else to do with Isabelle. This silly little relationship is going to stop now.’
Ethan’s eyebrows shot up and he looked across at Izzy briefly before returning his attention to his mum.
‘You don’t want me to see her anymore?’
‘No, I forbid it.’
He took a step back. ‘You forbid it?’
‘I want her out of here too.’
Ethan took another step back and looked over at Izzy again. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t even breathe.
Ethan stared down at his feet, rubbing his neck awkwardly. ‘I think you should go,’ he said, quietly.
Izzy’s heart sank, pain punching through her chest. Beatrice smiled smugly.
The phone rang between them but for the first time she ignored it. How the hell had this happened? The day had started so well, waking up in Ethan’s arms, making love to him. They had finally reached the point where they were heading down the same path in their relationship, where they were happy with each other, where Izzy was actually looking towards the future with him and now this. Well she wasn’t going to let him go without a fight.
She ran round the desk towards him and grabbed his hand, feeling pathetic that she would have to beg for him like this. ‘Please, Ethan. Don’t let this come between us.’ He looked at her, stroking her hair from her face sadly. ‘I… I know it’s only been a few days and you still want to take things slow, but we have something special here, you know that. Please don’t throw it all away over some silly family feud… you mean the world to me, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before …’ she trailed off at the huge grin that was spreading across Ethan’s face. He cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears, then kissed her hard. Izzy heard Beatrice gasp but she didn’t care. Was this a goodbye kiss? Was this the last time that she would see Ethan? She wrapped her arms round Ethan’s neck and kissed him like her life depended on it.
Finally he pulled away slightly to look at her, then with his arm clamped tightly round her shoulders he turned back to face his mum.
‘As I said, I think you should go.’
Izzy felt the colour drain from her face. He hadn’t been telling her to go before, he had been talking to his mum. She thought she had lost him and that wasn’t the case at all. Oh god, the huge almost-declaration of love was stupid and needy and completely unnecessary.
‘I am your mother. You will do as you’re told.’ Beatrice drew herself up to her full height.
‘I’m not going to get into an argument with you Mother, but I’m thirty years old and the time when you could tell me who I can or cannot date has long since passed.’
‘I only want what’s best for you.’
‘If that was the case you would see how ridiculously happy Izzy makes me and not let some silly argument between you and Jack forty years ago affect what happens between me and Izzy now. There is nothing that would stop me seeing her, so you will have to live with that.’
Beatrice had no words and after a few moments of her mouth flapping open and visibly deflating like a popped balloon, she walked out without another word.
Ethan turned back to Izzy, his eyes casting over her with concern. ‘Are you ok?’
‘Yes, no.’ She buried her face in his chest. ‘I wish I hadn’t just begged you to stay with me, when you weren’t actually planning on leaving.’
‘I like it when you tell me what I mean to you, when you show that you need me as much as I need you.’
‘I don’t do aloof very well,’ she muttered, not daring to look at him.
‘This isn’t the first time you’ve declared your feelings for me.’
She looked up at him with confusion. ‘It’s not?’
‘No, you were pretty clear about your feelings on Friday night when you came home absolutely pissed out of your head and ripped my shirt off.’
‘I… what?’ She felt her cheeks flush with shame.
‘You told me I was a sex machine and that… well I don’t remember the exact words but you said you were pretty keen on me and then insisted that we went upstairs and made love. If I remember rightly, it was the best sex we’ve had so far.’
‘I… the best sex we’ve had so far? I don’t even remember it. I don’t remember any of this?’ Izzy wailed and turned away from him. How utterly embarrassing.
He caught her arm and pulled her back, grinning like a loon. ‘I like you declaring your feelings for me. You have no idea how much it means to me.’
She looked up at him, her heart suddenly pounding for a different reason. He smiled at her fondly.
‘You are right, I do want to take things slowly, this is all new and terrifying for me, but there is no place I’d rather be than here with you.’ He held her close, resting his head on top of hers. He pulled back slightly to look at her again. ‘Now do you have anything urgent that you need to do for the next half hour or so?’
Izzy looked over at her desk and shook her head. ‘Nothing that won’t keep.’
Ethan flashed her a mischievous grin. ‘Good, so how about we use this sofa and I can try to jog your memory about Friday night and the best sex we’ve ever had.’
‘Well that sounds very urgent to me.’
*
Izzy pushed through the front gate and walked round the back of her uncle’s house. She hesitated a moment and then went through the back door. Jack was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a coffee and attempting to do a crossword. Fang was curled up in the crook of Jack’s arm. She smiled that Jack had adopted Fang almost as his own, he had been gutted about Pete dying.
‘To strike together with force, seven letters,’ Jack said, by way of greeting.
Izzy kissed him on the cheek, before sitting down opposite him. ‘Collide.’
‘Ah you really are the brains of the family, well done. He quickly wrote in the answer, then he put his glasses down and surveyed her across the table. ‘So things with you and Ethan are getting pretty serious, I hear.’
‘I love him.’
He stared at her with wide eyes for a moment; that obviously wasn’t the answer he was expecting. Suddenly he smiled. ‘I’m happy for you.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, why wouldn’t I be? He makes you happy, I can’t possibly find fault in that.’
‘Ethan’s mum doesn’t seem to be as understanding as that.’
Jack sat up straighter. ‘What did she say?’
‘She forbade Ethan to have anything to do with me because of my association with you.’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Silly, bitter old fool.’
‘What happened between you two?’
‘It was a long time ago.’
‘Evidently it’s still relevant now.’
Jack sighed. ‘You can’t tell anyone this. Ever.’
She nodded.
‘She had the biggest crush on me when she was a teenager. I was two years older than her and she used to follow me around like a lovesick puppy. I liked her but she was Nico’s sister and you know how our families have always hated each other. Well one night, I was in the barns at my parents’ farm and she turns up and… well… I was her first lover, though she certainly wasn’t mine. She thought we were going to get married and have twins. I did have a soft spot for her but she was still a child, she was only seventeen. Also, going out with Nico’s sister was never going to end well. Plus I was sort of quite good looking in my youth, I had girls throwing themselves at me. I wasn’t really interested in being tied to one girl. So I told her I wasn’t interested and broke her heart. We were in the park at the time. She was hysterical and threw herself off the canal bridge into the icy water and nearly drowned under the ice. Probably would have done as well if I hadn’t jumped in and pulled her out. Nico showed up a few minutes later with his crew and he
declared that the feud between our families was over. She was humiliated and told Niko that she fell in. I didn’t argue against it, I’d already done enough to hurt her. But she’s never forgiven me for it since. I’m sorry that she’s holding that against you. Would you like me to have a word with her?’
‘No. I really don’t think that will help. But at least I know now where that bitterness and anger comes from.’
‘I’m sorry. I was a boy myself, having fun. I never thought it would hurt her this much.’ Jack shook his head, sadly.
‘It says a lot about her if she can’t let go of the past after all these years. I better go. I’m staying at Ethan’s again tonight. He just took Psycho to the vets to get his jabs and I needed to grab some clothes.’
Jack smiled at her. ‘Have fun. I’ll look after Fang.’
She kissed him on the cheek, scratched Fang behind the ear and stepped outside.
At least Ethan seemed to slowly be letting go of his past with Charlie and moving forward with her. Although something told her they shouldn’t be planning for their future just yet.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Izzy stood on the side of the road, pretending to listen to some music as Kyle covertly filmed her from behind the bushes. The van tore round a corner and screeched to a halt in front of her. Ethan stepped out, fixing her with a hungry gaze, and she instinctively stepped towards him.
‘CUT!’ Kyle yelled.
Ethan glowered at his little brother.
Kyle emerged from the bushes, baseball cap on backwards, obviously taking his role of director very seriously.
‘What was wrong with that take,’ Izzy protested, annoyed slightly that the chance for Ethan to grab her and throw her over his shoulders had been thwarted again.
‘Look, I know you two are at it like rabbits, Gizmo knows, Mum knows, hell we all know but for the purposes of this video, this role play, you two are strangers. Ethan is supposed to kidnap you, you’re not supposed to voluntarily get in the van.’
Izzy sighed. Although he did have a point.
Kyle leaned into the van to talk to Gizmo. ‘Take the van round the corner again and this time guys, try to be less obvious.’
Ethan, muttering under his breath, climbed back in the van and Gizmo sped back up the road again.
‘Try to look a bit scared eh Izzy,’ Kyle mumbled and then into the radio he shouted, ‘Action.’
The van swerved round the corner again, slamming its brakes just in front of Izzy. Ethan stepped out, and Izzy forced her best scared look on her face as Ethan stalked towards her.
‘CUT!’
‘What now,’ Ethan roared, though Kyle was undeterred.
Izzy smirked. Ethan had been very enthusiastic about the filming this morning – because he knew after the foreplay of the kidnap, ultimately would come the sex – but now Kyle was delaying the inevitable.
‘Izzy, are you just going to stand there while Ethan tries to kidnap you, looking like The Scream by Edvard Munch? At least put up a fight or try to run away.’
‘I’m not fucking chasing her,’ Ethan said.
‘This is for our customers remember, they want to see some action.’
‘They’re not expecting some big American blockbuster with explosions and the van driving on two wheels.’
‘Do it again, this time Izzy if you could be walking away from the van and Ethan you can grab her from behind.’
Ethan arched an eyebrow and she looked away from the sudden heat in his eyes. Shaking his head, Ethan got back in the van and Gizmo drove back up the road. Izzy resumed her position walking nonchalantly up the side of the road as the van skidded to a halt behind her. Strong arms were suddenly around her waist and she screamed and kicked and wiggled and fought as hard as she could as Ethan dragged her unceremoniously into the van. She gripped the sides of the van and Ethan tried to pry her fingers away from the doors.
‘CUT!’
Ethan relaxed his hold, gently steadying her to her feet.
‘What the hell was wrong with that?’ Izzy asked. ‘I fought back.’
‘You’re going to terrify our customers, they don’t want to see the woman fighting for her life.’
Ethan nodded. ‘I have to agree.’
‘How do you suggest I do it then?’
‘Ok, I’ll be you, Ethan get back in the van and come out and grab me.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Just do it.’
Muttering swear words under his breath, Ethan got back in the van and closed the door. At a nod from Kyle, Ethan stepped out and moved to grab him.
Kyle put on a high pitched girly voice, ‘Get off me you big brute.’ Kyle slapped him a few times around his chest and then swooned and fainted into Ethan’s arms. Ethan looked at his casualty for a moment and then dumped him unceremoniously on the side of the road.
‘I’m not fainting or swooning. You can forget that.’
Kyle clambered up. ‘Why not, it looks good.’
‘It looks pathetic.’
‘Well it was better than doing nothing or beating the crap out of Ethan.’
‘I’ll think of something.’
‘Fine,’ Kyle grabbed his camera, clearly annoyed that his swooning idea had been snubbed. ‘Let’s go from here, I’ve already got the van, I’ll film the grab from a different angle.’
Ethan climbed back in and slammed the door. A second later he burst back out again and as Izzy stood staring at him, wondering what she could do to make it look realistic but not scary, Ethan knelt, grabbed her legs and threw her over his shoulder.
A delicious thrill of excitement ran through her but then she remembered just in time that she should be fighting back. She half-heartedly kicked her legs, not wanting to hurt him, punched him lightly on the back and wriggled around a bit as he stepped into the van and closed the door behind them. He slid her down from his shoulder but kept her pressed against his body.
‘Let’s make the most of this before Kyle yells cut again,’ he said, kissing her hard.
Kyle yanked the door open and daylight flooded in. ‘Put her down. That take will have to do.’ He sighed dramatically. ‘Let’s do the next one in here. Ethan you can tie her up, put the blindfold on, do the spiel. I’ll film from here so we have more light.’ He held the camera to his face. ‘Ok, action.’
Izzy quickly sat down in one of the seats and Ethan knelt in front of her, his eyes searing into hers as he spoke. ‘We’re from KMW, do exactly as you’re told and you won’t get hurt.’
He wrapped the rope around her wrist but didn’t tie it tightly. He showed her the blindfold and then slipped it over her eyes, shutting out every slice of daylight, but then his hands returned to hers, entwining his finger with her own.
‘Ok, that was fine, right let’s go to the house and I’ll film Izzy on the way, just a few seconds of her looking nervous. Get your hands off her, we’re selling the experience and you’re not part of it. We’ll have women signing up just to be manhandled by you,’ Kyle said, and Izzy heard the door slam closed.
‘Film her from the shoulders up, then you won’t see my hands,’ Ethan growled and as there was no argument from Kyle, Izzy guessed Ethan had followed up that comment with one of his death glares.
As the van drove round the streets, Ethan slowly stroked the inside of her hands and her wrists with his thumb and she felt her breath accelerate at the thought of being with him in the house.
She felt the van come to a stop.
‘I’ll get out,’ Kyle said. ‘And film you coming out.’
She heard the door open and close behind him and immediately she felt Ethan’s breath on her ear. ‘I can’t wait to be alone with you,’ he whispered.
But before she could say anything, she was suddenly swung over his shoulder again, being upside down and blindfolded was hugely disorientating. She felt the coolness of air and then heard the echo of feet on wood.
‘Ok, cut. Do that last part again, I’m just going to film you from inside the
house as you come in.’
She felt Ethan turn round, heard his feet on the gravel and then felt him stride back into the house again.
‘Ok can you do that one more time, but a tiny bit slower this time – you walked so quick, I only had you on camera for a second.’
Ethan sighed and turned back outside again. This was the longest foreplay ever and it was beyond frustrating.
Ethan repeated it again.
‘Good, I’m going into the basement and I’ll film you bringing her downstairs and laying her on the bed.
As she heard Kyle’s footsteps run down the stairs, she felt Ethan run his hand up the inside of her thigh. ‘Just a few more minutes baby, then you’re all mine.’
‘Action,’ Kyle yelled.
Ethan strode down the stairs and Izzy felt jostled at the movement, but the next moment she was being laid on the bed and the rope was slid off her wrists.
‘That was great,’ Kyle said. ‘Now let’s film some kissing and undressing and we should be done.’
‘We’re not shooting a porn film,’ Ethan growled.
‘The customers need to see some of what goes on in here.’
Izzy nodded, lifting the blindfold slightly so she could see what was going on. ‘We do need to do a bit, but of course we’re not going as far as the sex. Just, you know, a few words from you, you undressing me a bit, that’s as far as we’ll go.’
‘Fine,’ Ethan snapped. ‘But I’ll take care of the filming of that, you can sod off,’ he said to Kyle.
‘You can’t film while you’re undressing her.’
‘We’ll set it up on a tripod, or put it on these drawers, I’m not having you here whilst I’m undressing my girlfriend.’
Izzy froze. Did he just use the girlfriend word? Although Ethan hadn’t seemed to notice.
‘But I’ll see it anyway when we do the edits and all our customers will see it, there’s no point being shy now,’ Kyle protested.
‘Yes, but our customers are not going to be yelling “cut” every five seconds while I’m doing it.
Kyle sighed and then she watched him deliberately taking his time setting the camera up on the drawers. She lowered the blindfold and waited. She heard his footsteps retreating up the stairs and the door slamming above her. Knowing where this was ultimately going to lead sent a wave of desire straight to her groin. She heard Ethan’s footsteps slowly come closer.
Tied up With Love Page 24
