by Faye Avalon
She leaned into him, loving the warmth of his body, the heady masculine scent that was pure male and pure Ethan. “I was thinking about Marco.”
He said nothing and looked away.
“Did he say anything?” she persisted. “When I’d gone to the cloakroom, did he say I wasn’t your type or something?”
He turned back to face her, a puzzled expression softening the hard look of a few moments ago. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that I wondered if he mentioned my arm. People are always surprised when they first see my scars. It’s natural enough they want to know what happened.”
“But that’s not what you think Marco wanted to know, is it?” He leaned closer, his masculine scent mingling with the salty air. “You want to know if he thought it made you less attractive in some way.”
There was an edge to his voice she hadn’t heard before, which made her even more certain that the men had exchanged words. “No.”
“Damn right it is. What would you say if I told you he wanted to fuck you? Asked me outright if we could do the threesome thing?”
Her stomach fluttered. Whether at the notion of Marco’s suggestion or the biting tone of Ethan’s voice, she couldn’t be sure. “He did?”
It wasn’t that she wanted to have sex with Marco, but it was a heady thought to know he found her attractive enough to want to have sex with her. First Ethan, now him. If two fabulously hunky men wanted to bed her, she couldn’t be that repulsive to men, could she? The possibility of that being true would put Trevor’s nasty remarks forever on the scrapheap.
But it didn’t matter about Marco. She had Ethan. Apparently, he wasn’t remotely bothered about her physical blemishes. If anything, he always seemed genuinely surprised when she brought it into the conversation, as if it wasn’t even worth mentioning because it mattered so little to him.
“Marco was only winding me up.”
Ethan’s statement put the proverbial pin in her sudden and rapidly inflating balloon of sexual confidence. Not that it really mattered, since Ethan found her attractive and he was the one who counted. He always wanted—and boy, did he always seem to want—to have sex with her. He took every opportunity to tell her she was beautiful and to make her feel as if she were the sexiest, most desirable woman he’d ever bedded.
She stopped and turned to him, bringing her hand to his cheek. She let her palm rest there for a moment, then brushed her fingers over the frown lines on his forehead. “You’re scowling again.”
“Because Marco’s a prick.”
She glanced around, checking for people, and then smiled wickedly as she brought her fingers to his mouth and ran her thumb along his lower lip. “It’s not Marco’s prick I’m thinking of right now.”
Like magic, the frown disappeared and lust lit his beautiful eyes.
She drew her hand down his throat, along the front of his shirt feeling the hard sheath of muscle beneath, then down to the bulge in his trousers. With her eyes on his, she began a slow, steady stroke over his erection.
His eyes darkened, eyelids hooded as he watched her but said nothing.
She licked her lips, loving her newfound feminine power as she slowly pulled down his zip. Her fingers delved inside the opening of his fly and found him hard, thick, and hot.
He jerked against her hand as she gripped his cock and gave a low, desperate groan.
When he tried to yank her hand away, she held fast. “Remember that shop doorway?” She waited until he nodded. “Well, that was all you doing to me. I want my turn, so just stuff your hands in your pockets, lover, and let me return the favor.”
“They’re not going in my pockets, green eyes.” He ran his fingers up the sides of her waist and cupped them under her breasts. “But go ahead and return the favor all you like.”
Amber tried to focus on giving him pleasure as she stroked his throbbing erection, but he made it damn hard with the way he flicked his thumbs over her nipples. She caught his rhythm and rubbed him in slow, steady strokes, feeling him pulsate beneath her hand.
“Okay,” he said between breaths. “We’d better move this someplace else.” Now he did remove her hand and zipped up his trousers. “Let’s go.”
He pulled her along so that she had to virtually run to keep up with him, and in heeled shoes negotiating pebbled footpaths was no easy task. When they reached the car park, he yanked open the door to his SUV and all but shoved her inside.
Amber laughed as her foot caught and she fell facedown on the back seat. Her laugh turned into a giggle as Ethan popped a lever and the back of the seat fell away. She started to turn, but Ethan crawled on top of her. She heard the beep of the doors engaging as he locked them.
Her pulse sped up when she realized his intentions and she tried, unsuccessfully, to turn over again. “I’m not sure this is a good idea, Ethan. It’s a public car park.”
“There’s only a handful of cars left,” he said as he caught her earlobe between his teeth. “Chances are, they’re parked overnight. Besides, don’t you want to live a little dangerously?”
As if on cue, sounds of girly laughter accompanied by the click of heels across the tarmac, reached them. The footsteps got closer and closer.
“That’s Ethan’s car.” The feminine voice was full of interest. “He must still be back at the bar.”
Mortified that they might be caught, Amber squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into the seat’s upholstery. Ethan’s response was to run his hand over her ass. She wanted to chastise him, but knew they had to keep quiet. Apparently, Ethan didn’t have the same inhibitions she had and she wondered in that moment if he wouldn’t relish getting caught.
“No.” Another female answered the first. “I saw him leave. Kept trying to get his attention all evening, but it was virtually impossible. He seemed besotted with that girl.”
“Yeah. Who is she anyway?”
The women had stopped right at the back of the SUV and seemed in no particular hurry to depart.
Amber held her breath and hoped to goodness the back windows didn’t start steaming up, alerting the women to their presence inside the car.
“She was with him at Marco’s party the other night. Must be his latest squeeze.”
“Well, I noticed she had Marco’s attention at one stage tonight. Perhaps they’re into that threesome thing again. Wish to heaven they’d invite me into their little ménage games. Not sure I’d be able to resist.”
The other woman laughed. “She’s not Marco’s type. He likes them perfectly formed. Did you see her arm?”
Amber’s breath caught in her throat and above her she felt Ethan tense.
“Yeah. Poor thing. I was in the cloakroom when she came in. Tried not to look but, hell, it’s hideous. I’d have to have something done about it, but whatever else I certainly wouldn’t go without full length sleeves to cover it up.”
Heat pierced Amber’s face and her throat closed up. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her face harder against the seat. Ethan’s hand closed over hers and he squeezed her fingers. In support, she realised, but it didn’t stop the stabbing hurt in her heart.
“Doesn’t seem to bother Ethan. He couldn’t stop touching her.”
“But then he’s a nice guy. Not like Marco. Mr. Perfectionist. Do you know, Lisa went out with Marco once. She said they had great sex and yet he didn’t call her after. She was really…”
The sound of their voices faded as they moved away and the click of their heels indicated they were heading over to the far side of the car park.
Ethan drew in a breath as he squeezed her hand again. “They don’t know shit.”
For a moment, Amber wasn’t sure she could speak. Her throat burned and her breath had backed up in her lungs.
Ethan touched her shoulder and eased her around to face him.
There wasn’t much light, and she was glad of it. She felt mortified, embarrassed as hell, and so bloody hurt she wanted to find a hole to crawl in
to and just weep. “They were only speaking their mind.”
“And like I said, they don’t know shit.”
Despite how she felt, she gave him a shaky smile. “Thanks.” Her voice trembled.
Ethan pulled her into a sitting position and drew her across his lap.
Her eyes moistened at the tender way he held her, and she pulled her jacket closed, holding it tight to her chest.
“You don’t have to do that.” Ethan’s voice was low, almost menacing, but his eyes held only tenderness and concern.
“Not everyone’s like you, which has just been painfully acknowledged. My appearance doesn’t seem to matter to you, but it does to other people.”
“Then they’re shallow,” he grated. “Why the hell would you let them get to you?”
She took a breath, let it out on a shaky sigh. “Because it’s hard not to believe that Trevor was right, that people, men mostly, were repulsed by my appearance. That he was repulsed by it. He said he couldn’t enjoy sex with me anymore because I was…disfigured.”
Ethan pushed her roughly back so he could look at her. “We’ve already established that Trevor is a fucking idiot. As we’ve also established that I think you’re the hottest woman I’ve had. Being a man, that puts me in idiot Trevor’s ‘men mostly’ category, and I can vouch for the fact that you are fucking beautiful. Period. Plus, I threatened to put my fist in Marco’s face tonight because he wouldn’t keep his hands to himself.”
She touched his cheek. “Marco was winding you up. You said so yourself.”
“He’s wound me up before with women, but never told me he wanted another threesome.”
Amber smiled, but her heart wasn’t in it. She couldn’t even begin to believe that what Ethan said was anything but an attempt to make her feel better. How could she after hearing that Marco was a perfectionist and liked his women blemish free.
Ethan, it seemed, was on a roll. “He thinks you’re hot. That you like him.”
“I do.”
“That’s not exactly what I want to hear right now.”
Now Amber laughed. How was it that in the depths of her gloom he could make her laugh? “I like you more.”
“Good answer.”
He kissed her, a gentle kiss that teased her tongue, her lower lip.
When he broke away, he looked her right in the eye and frowned. “Don’t let an asshole like your ex make you feel anything less than what you are. Awesome.”
She kissed him back, a light, easy kiss that warmed her insides a little and took away some of the chill. “You make me feel awesome.”
“Another good answer.” His hand slid to her breast. “How about we go back to my place and you can make me feel awesome?”
She laughed again, but the chill hadn’t completely disappeared. Beneath it, there was a niggling feeling nurtured by what those women had said, that Ethan was basically a nice guy. Nice guys wouldn’t make a woman feel anything less than perfect, even if they thought it. Maybe Ethan really was simply being nice. Maybe he really did find her disfigurement repulsive, but was too good a man to let her see it.
Amber pushed the ridiculous thought away. If that were the case, why in hell would he continue to want her? He would have made his excuses after that first time.
Despite her deliberations, Amber couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had changed, and her new found confidence was again plummeting to the floor. She knew Ethan was right and she shouldn’t let other people’s comments get to her—hell, she knew it herself—but maybe she was still too raw to really move on.
“I just want to go home.”
“Only if I get to come with you.”
She wanted that. She wanted Ethan. But right then, she desperately needed to wallow. “I’m not in the mood. Don’t be angry.”
“Not angry. Disappointed maybe. Pissed that you let idiot comments affect you, hurt you.”
“I’m working through it. Really, I am. Just not quite there yet. Maybe I can call you tomorrow?”
She thought he might press, might argue, try to convince her to let him come home with her and spend the night. Instead, despite looking a little put out, he nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
Chapter Eight
Ethan waited until after five the next afternoon before calling Amber. Since the guys had clocked off, he was alone with paperwork. He felt pissed she hadn’t rung him yet. Even more pissed that she’d been affected by those fool women.
She was beautiful, smart, and a goddess in the sack. Why the hell couldn’t she see it? Because her damn fuckwit ex had slept with her best friend, then had the audacity to lay the blame at Amber’s door.
While he tried to be sympathetic and understand where she was coming from, he couldn’t quite bury the overwhelming need to shake her out of it, make her see herself through his eyes. She’d already admitted that he made her feel good. Awesome, she’d said. But he wasn’t convinced she truly believed in her power to make him hard as a rock simply by existing. He had to make her believe it, but he was damned if he knew how.
She’d see right through flowers, chocolates, sexy underwear. If fact, the latter might only serve to make her consider he was trying to make her more beautiful because he didn’t think she already was. Shit. He was clueless as to how to play this.
Sitting back in his chair, he fiddled with his pencil as he thought it through. A weekend away where he could keep her in bed the whole time and prove how fantastic she was? Sex toys? A few porno movies?
Damn it. That would probably shove her right over the edge into self-flagellation mode. He could imagine she’d spend the time comparing herself to the air-brushed, silicone-filled beauties on the screen and come up lacking.
So porno movies were a definite no-no, but sex toys were a possibility. He dismissed the idea almost before he’d finished forming the thought. Amber might believe he needed some enhancements to make him get off because she didn’t do it for him.
Shit. This was making him crazy.
So deep in thought was he that he sent the pencil flying across the room when his phone rang. “Monroe.”
“You want to work on your telephone answering technique or get yourself a receptionist, buddy boy.”
Marco’s deep laugh only hiked up Ethan’s temper levels.
“It’s after five. I’ve clocked off for the night.” Ethan tried to ignore the way his breath had hitched in that millisecond between answering the call and hearing Marco’s dulcet tones. He’d hoped it might be Amber.
“With no expectation of getting Amber between the sheets tonight, by the sound of your voice.”
Despite Marco’s razzing, Ethan noted the hint of concern in his friend’s statement. “She was supposed to call.”
“What? You have a fight?”
“Not exactly.” He wasn’t about to tell Marco what had happened. Amber wouldn’t thank him for it.
There was a long silence, then Marco said, “Maybe I can get in there fast, before she has time to change her mind and call you.”
Ethan might have been pissed, but he knew the difference between Marco being an asshole and Marco attempting to lighten the load. He took a long breath as an idea, not altogether pleasing, took root. “Are you just trying to provoke me, or are you really interested?”
Marco’s silence gave Ethan time to suffer the hot burning sensation building in his chest and do his best to ignore it.
Marco’s answer, when it came, held the cautionary tone of a man shoved into a corner. “Both?”
“For God’s sake, Marco. Answer a simple question.”
“Fuck. Give me a break.”
Ethan had to take another breath, though his throat ached with the effort. “Then answer the damn question.”
Still Marco hesitated and Ethan could imagine him working through what he thought Ethan’s reaction would be to his answer, before admitting in a careful, quiet tone, “I’m interested.”
Ethan’s stomach jumped and his blood heated. Well, he’
d started it, he might as well see it through. “If I set this up, it’s a one time only deal.”
“Shit, man. Are you for real? I thought you were seriously into her.”
“I am.”
“Then what’s going on? You’re actually giving me permission to fuck your girlfriend?”
Ethan almost jumped down the phone to personally strangle the life out of his friend. Until Marco had spelled it out in such glorious prose, he’d thought he maybe could go through with it. But now?
He took the time he needed to steady his racing heart, his pounding blood before he trusted himself to respond. “I’m talking about you joining us in the sack. Like I said, one time only.”
“What the hell for? Hey, that last time was just some fun. We all three of us knew that. And while she was seriously hot, I don’t remember either of us chomping at the bit for anything more. But Amber?”
Ethan’s blood had reached boiling point, but now he felt chilled. He had to work for every breath as the muscles of his chest squeezed. “She’s got this confidence problem.”
“What kind of confidence problem? And how will us making like a sandwich solve it?”
His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. Why did this have to be so bloody difficult? He wanted to tell Marco the truth, but couldn’t risk breaking Amber’s confidence. “She found her bastard ex in bed with someone else and said bastard blamed her for pushing him there.”
“Asshole.”
“Yeah.” Say what you like about Marco, but he always erred on the side of honor. “I want to make her feel special. Want to give her a night to remember, to build up her confidence.”
“And you can’t do that by yourself?”
Shit. Why couldn’t the moron just go along with it? He was offering him Amber on a plate. No strings. Most men would bite off his arm for the opportunity. Except, Ethan realised, he wouldn’t be offering it to any other man. Only Marco. The only man he really trusted to do this. He would never hurt Amber, never treat her with anything but respect and consideration. Between the two of them, they’d make Amber feel like the goddess she was.
“Hey, Ethan?” Marco’s tone was low, cautionary. “This confidence thing? Is it anything to do with her scars?”
