by Nikki Chase
Megan parts her lips, but she doesn’t say a word. The gears in her mind are turning. She’s trying on this new perspective for size.
“Here’s a hint: they don’t care,” I say. “And even if they do, it wouldn’t affect me at all. My shares might dip by a few points and a handful of people might even boycott my shopping centers, but do you see any of those things having any long-lasting impact?”
“No,” she says tentatively.
“Exactly. I’m too big now for my shareholders to concern themselves with gossip. And if you were only going to write about how ruthless I am, that could even be a good thing because it would show that I put my investors first. Did you think of that?”
Megan shakes her head slowly.
“And what’s the deal with the letter that you left me? You were going to pay me back everything I’ve ever paid you for your work? Who does that? You know the richer spouse is the one who’s supposed to pay alimony, right?” I ask.
“But I was secretly spying on you. I was doing some other job, and my work at your office was just some kind of a cover.”
“Yeah, but you did a better job than some of the assistants I’ve had in the past.”
Megan stays quiet this time.
“You know you could’ve asked for some of my assets in the divorce, right?” I ask. “We do have a pre-nup, but it’s not an airtight document. You could’ve easily found a lawyer who’d take on your case for a cut of however much money I settled for. But you didn’t even speak to a lawyer, did you?”
“No,” she says.
“It’s no different from the way you expect so little from your mom. She can give you more. The world can give you more, if you’d just ask for the things you want.”
I can tell that I’m hitting a nerve. I know how Megan feels. I’ve seen it in so many talented people. They can do better, but they don’t have the guts to ask for what they’re worth.
I pause before I add, “I may be able to give you some of the things that you want. Is there anything you want from me, kitten?”
“I just want you to forgive me,” she says as her eyes fill with water.
“Of course I forgive you. I know now that you have good reasons for doing the things that you did. Just do me a favour and stop calling yourself stupid. I know I have a bad reputation, and that exposé on me would’ve sold pretty well. So I can’t blame you for wanting to write a compelling story—you’re a journalist.”
“Really?” Megan asks as tears roll down her cheeks.
“Really what, kitten?” I ask softly as I step forward.
I can’t stand not having her in my arms anymore. I can’t just watch her cry and do nothing. I need to comfort her. More than that, I need to do everything in my power to fix everything for her.
I realize these are the same sentiments that she probably felt as a teenager, when her mom was hurting after losing her business and her husband. She just wanted to fix things, and she thought she could do it by attacking me.
I put my arms around Megan’s shaking shoulders and pull her against my chest. As her tears seep into the fabric of my suit jacket, I stroke her hair gently.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, kitten. I’m sorry I caused you pain.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Ethan,” she says between sobs. “I know now that it wasn’t personal. It was just the decision that made sense to you at the time.”
“Still, I could’ve done more.”
“You needed to do your best to keep your investors happy. You were trying to get Penny back at the time, right?”
“Yeah, I was.” My heart squeezes. She has been perceptive enough and empathetic enough to put herself in my shoes and see things from my perspective. I don’t know why she keeps calling herself stupid. I ask, “So do you forgive me, then?”
“Yes,” she answers quickly.
“You don’t hate me anymore?”
“Not at all.” With red eyes still full of tears, Megan looks up at me. One of these days, those big doe eyes are going to get me into trouble. She can make me do anything when she’s gazing at me like that.
“Kitten, would you consider moving back in with me?”
“You really want me back?”
“Yeah. How else are we going to get on the next edition of gossip tabloids?”
She laughs, even as tears wet her creamy cheeks. “They’re going to freak out.”
“Right? It would be fun.”
“Are you sure you want even more attention from the media right now?” Megan asks, concerned about other people before she thinks about herself, as usual.
“We’ll talk to Eliza and she’ll come up with some kind of a plan. She’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
“If I’d written that exposé on you, Eliza would’ve been the person to clean up the mess. And now she’s on my side. That’s so weird to think about.”
“Life’s funny that way. Sometimes old enemies become friends,” I say. “Now, since you’re all packed, shall I just take you to our marital home?”
Megan laughs. “Don’t call it that. It’s not even a real marriage, Ethan.”
“Maybe I want it to be,” I say.
Megan’s eyes grow as big as saucers. Her jaw drops.
“I’m not saying we have to decide anything now. I just want you to know that it’s on my mind. You don’t have to say anything. Just tell me if you want to move back into my apartment and make it your home, too.”
“Yes, I want that,” she says as she puts her delicate little hands on my back and pulls me closer.
The corners of my lips tug up to form a smile.
She’s back now, and I’m never letting her go again.
She’s mine. For keeps.
Megan
I follow Ethan into his apartment. I never thought the wheel of my luggage would squeak in this apartment again, but I’m glad to hear it now.
We haven’t discussed sleeping arrangements, but I don’t protest when he drags my luggage into his bedroom. I’ve never shared a bedroom with a man before, but this feels right.
It would be weird for me to go back to my old room. I feel like I’d be sneaking into his room most nights anyway, or the other way around.
When I moved out, I couldn’t even imagine that Ethan would ever invite me back, much less come and find me at Mom’s place and move me into his bedroom.
I even called it “wishful thinking” to hope that Ethan, Penny, and I could be a real family.
I guess Ethan’s right. I don’t expect much from the world, or from the people around me. Maybe I’ve been disappointed too many times before to believe.
I find it easier to keep my expectations low. It’s less exhausting that way, especially when so many things are outside of my control.
“How was it, living with your mom?” Ethan asks as he takes a seat on the edge of his king-sized bed.
“It was okay,” I say, standing awkwardly at the door. The sunlight shines from the glass wall behind me, casting my shadow on the floor.
“That bad, huh?” Ethan grimaces.
I laugh.
“You know, I had to stay with relatives for a few years while I was trying to get my business off the ground,” he says.
“Really?” I’m glad it’s his turn to tell me a story now.
Being the one to disclose information makes me feel vulnerable—not that I don’t trust Ethan, but it just drains me.
I’m used to being the one to ask the questions, the one with the recorder and the notepad for conducting the interview. But today Ethan has turned the game upside down and made me play defense for a change.
“Yeah.” He puts his hand on the soft white sheet of the bed, patting the empty spot next to him. “Come here and I’ll tell you all about it.”
I approach, taking slow steps as my whole body begins to tingle all over. I’m alone with Ethan now. Not even Penny is home because she’s still in school. It’s just the two of us.
I know we’re inevitab
ly going to end up naked in each other’s arms, but I don’t know if it’s going to be right now or tonight at bedtime. Or both.
As I sit my ass down beside Ethan, I feel the heat of his gaze searing into my flesh. We’re not even touching, and yet I can feel his desire for me, threatening to eat me alive.
And the crazy thing is, I want it, too.
I want Ethan to unleash his lust on me, like he did when he took my virginity and showed me a whole world of new sensations I’d never felt before.
“So at the time, I had just gotten funding for my business idea, but I was still broke. That was the capital for the business, you see. I didn’t personally have any money yet. My savings were drained because of my medical treatments, and—”
“I don’t think you ever told me what your illness was,” I cut him off.
“I had brain tumor.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Brain tumor?” I ask slowly, as if that could change the meaning of the words.
“Yeah. I had a seizure in the middle of the night. I was still married at the time, and Ashley got me to the hospital. She hated me, but not so much she wanted me to die.” Ethan chuckles, as if there’s anything funny about what he’s telling me. “There wasn’t much chance of survival, even after a complex and expensive surgery, but I made it.”
“I had no idea you went through something like that.”
“You even touched the scar,” Ethan says with a sexy smirk. “There’s a raised scar on my head, which you would’ve touched when you were grabbing my hair.”
“Can I touch it now?” I ask. I raise my hand to the top of his head in an attempt to divert his attention from my reddening face, although I think he notices anyway. We both know the only time I ever grabbed his hair was when we were being intimate.
“Of course.” Ethan takes my hand and places it on his head so my fingers trace a long, raised scar that’s shaped like a big C.
My heart races as I touch his hair, my brain bringing up memories of other parts of our bodies tangled together.
“So anyway, Ashley had also just left me. When I survived after the surgery, she finally filed for divorce and managed to get some of what little money I had left.”
“She left you when you were sick?”
“Yeah, she actually said that I was going to die anyway, and that she had to learn to look after herself and Penny. So she left and took Penny with her.”
“What the hell?” I curse. What kind of a monster would say something like that?
Ethan bursts out laughing. “This is the first time I’ve heard you curse. I like it.”
“You like it?”
“I like that you’re comfortable enough around me to do that, and I like that you’re getting angry on my behalf.” He gives me a panty-melting smile, accompanied by a loving gaze. He puts his arm on my shoulder, pulls me closer, and plants a kiss on my forehead.
I beam. I’ve never used that word before, but I really can’t find a more suitable word than that. I’m beaming at Ethan, knowing how much I’m being treasured, knowing he’s going to treat me like a queen.
“So I lost everything to medical treatments and to Ashley,” he says. “And all the money I had left went to the lawyer, who was fighting to get Penny back to me. It wasn’t easy. The courts often sided with the mother back then. They still do, but not to the extent that they used to.”
I nod.
“So I lived with my dad’s sister. My aunt isn’t cruel or anything, but she’s… Well, like me, she’s not very warm to most people, and she likes her personal space. I eventually got Penny back and we lived there for a while, but I moved out as soon as I could. I felt like I was intruding.”
“That’s how I felt, too.”
“I’m surprised you’d feel that way at your own mom’s house. That’s where you grew up, right?”
“Well, it’s not just my mom who lives there. There’s also Frank, her boyfriend.”
“Right. I didn’t get to meet him,” he says.
“You’re not missing out.” I laugh wryly.
“I take it you don’t get along, then?”
“That’s one way of putting it, yeah.”
“Did he ever… Did he ever do anything to hurt you?” Ethan asks, concern reflected in his darkened eyes that have suddenly turned stormy.
“No, it’s not like that,” I say quickly. “He never beat me or anything. He’s just selfish and angry. I hate the way he treats my mom.”
“I’m sorry, kitten,” Ethan says as he strokes my hair.
“What for? You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You’ve been through so much, and I didn’t even have any idea. I could’ve done something to help you.”
“Like what?”
Ethan pauses. “I don’t know,” he admits. “It just breaks my heart to know you’ve been suffering and I haven’t done anything to help you.”
“You’re really sweet.” I smile as I return his gaze. I raise my hand up to his cheek, caressing his skin, grazing against the rough stubble on his jawline.
Ethan laughs. “I don’t get told that very often.”
“That’s because you put on this tough front and you’re always all business—which, I mean, it’s fine, because I used to only see you at the office before. But you don’t really open up to anybody, do you?”
“I don’t really have much time for a social life. I have to take care of Penny,” Ethan says. “I don’t mind it, though. Not until you came along and showed me just how much better things could be. You made me miserable when you left.”
“‘Miserable’? Really?” I level my gaze at Ethan. A guy like him must have better things to occupy himself, rather than mope around over an ordinary girl like me.
“Yes, kitten. I think I’ve fallen for you,” he says with the kind of sincerity that can’t be faked.
His dark blue eyes reach deep into my soul; it’s like we’re communicating so much more than mere words can convey. Our marriage may be fake, but whatever is going on between us is real, even if it wasn’t there at our wedding.
Then, a kiss.
I admit I expected it—hoped for it, even. And now that Ethan’s hot, firm lips are on mine, it feels even better than I could imagine.
Ethan grazes his lips lightly against mine. I open my mouth for him, but he’s already gone. I keep my eyes closed, knowing he’s coming back for more. Sure enough, his breath feels closer and suddenly he brushes his lips over mine again. This time, I move closer, but again he’s gone.
He’s teasing me, I realize. It makes me impatient. I want him, and I want him now. It annoys me that he’d taunt me like this, but at the same time I have to admit it only whets my appetite.
Finally, I lean my entire body forward, landing in Ethan’s embrace, searching for his lips. His strong arms wrap around my waist as he places me on his lap.
And then he kisses me. Really kisses me. He captures my mouth and claims it as his own. He licks, he nibbles, and he bites, giving me a preview of what’s to come, showing me how much he wants me.
It has only been a couple of weeks since we last kissed, but this feels like new again. My heart is thumping in my chest, knowing and wanting where this is going, but anxious about it nonetheless. He feels strange and familiar at the same time.
Ethan’s hands pull me flush against his chest, squishing my tits against his hard body. He grabs my hair and pulls it to the side, exposing my neck. Without asking for my permission, he bites the sensitive flesh of my neck, making me gasp.
He’s biting so hard it starts to hurt, but it feels too good for me to stop him. I never knew pain could feel this amazing. He’s going to leave a mark on my skin, but I don’t care. Why should I worry about what strangers would say about me?
He’s getting rougher, more desperate. There’s no more teasing now. Gone is the gentle Ethan who looked at me like he wanted to shield me from the world, replaced by a primal version of him.
“You’re so sexy I can’t st
and it,” Ethan says in a low, gravelly voice. He grabs my waist and pulls me down until I’m straddling him, sitting right on top of his hard bulge. “See what you’re doing to me?”
I bite my lower lip and sink down on his lap. I don’t know how I figure out what to do, but I get the urge to rock back and forth against him. Instinctively, I just know that’s going to help with the ache between my legs.
“I asked you a question, kitten,” Ethan says. It’s hard to focus on his words when his body is doing all the talking necessary. But he wants me to answer with words, and I want to please him. He knows he's got me. Sneaky bastard. He repeats, “Do you see what you’re doing to me?”
“Yeah.” Tentatively, I follow my intuition. I rest my weight on my knees, which are splayed out on either side of him, and start rubbing myself against him.
I feel too self-conscious to say much. I may be a wordsmith, but at a time like this, I’m at a loss for words. Still, my body can show him what I feel.
“Fuck,” Ethan groans as he pushes his hips up, letting me grind myself on him more easily. His mouth gapes open over my neck, huffing his hot breath on my skin. I’m surprised and flattered by his reaction. I have no idea what I’m doing. Yet here's this beautiful man, looking like I’m slaying him with my hips.
Getting bolder, I put my palms on the lapels of Ethan’s designer suit jacket and pull it open. An asymmetrical smile appears on his handsome face as he shrugs it off and throws it down on the floor.
My hand stays on his chest, tracing the hard ridges and lines of his muscles underneath his crisp white shirt. My heart races as my breathing gets more labored.
It's strange. Pictures of attractive men on magazines have never appealed to me. But it's different with Ethan. Just imagining his naked body gets me leaking onto my panties. His heart beats rapidly against my palm, telling me he feels the same way.
“I’ll take it off if you take off yours, too.” Ethan looks deep into my eyes as I play with his shirt buttons.
“Okay,” I say as I unbutton his shirt hurriedly, eager to feel his skin on mine. I lift my hands up when I’m done, letting Ethan pull off my shirt and dump it on the floor to join his suit jacket.
