The inside of the limo was silent except for the sound of the traffic filtering through the windows.
Ethan studied the woman sitting across from him staring through the tinted window. He noted the tense shoulders and the worry in those green eyes, the same ones that had once enchanted him beyond reasonable thought.
That is, until she had shown herself for the shallow woman she really was, by breaking their relationship simply on a whim.
Nicky’s sleek bob framed a face that hadn’t changed much in the past five years, except for a certain self assured maturity in her features. Ethan allowed his gaze to travel down the flattering green blouse that brought out the color of her eyes, the short, black skirt that showed off her legs to advantage.
His eyes came to rest on her hands, clasped primly on her laps, showing off a nice looking, diamond engagement ring - simple yet undoubtedly worth a small fortune. The engagement to Ryan Silverton, of the New York Silvertons, and heir to a large fortune, had made the news two years ago.
The press had dubbed it, ”A match made in billionaire heaven’
She turned, flushing when she noticed his scrutiny and nervously lifted a hand to tuck a stray strand of blonde hair back into its sleek bob.
“Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, Ethan,” she said, her voice subdued yet still tinged with that upper class Boston accent he remembered. “I know how busy you must be, so I appreciate it.”
Ethan’s lips curled in a derisive smile but he made no reply. He could feel nervousness and uncertainty emanating from her in waves, and he experienced a brief flash of satisfaction at seeing the cool princess so uncomfortable .
She shifted in her seat and crossed her bare legs, giving him a good view of smooth healthy skin. Curiously, that should have sparked his interest - he was a red blooded male after all - but he felt nothing.
Curiouser and curiouser.
She cleared her throat delicately and continued. “I want to apologize Ethan, for what happened -”
“You said you wanted to discuss the hotel.” Ethan cut in, in no mood to listen to her excuses for the past.
He had the satisfaction of seeing a brief flash of irritation cross her face, before it was quickly replaced by a fake smile.
“Yes,” Nicky replied, running her tongue over her lower lip to moisten it. “But I feel I should at least try to apologize for calling off our relationship in the way I did.”
Ethan glanced at his watch and gave her a pointed look.
“I’m not interested in the past,” His voice was hard. “If that’s what you want to talk about, I’m afraid you’re wasting your time. And mine.”
Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. “Fine. Look, I just want to ask you to stop what you are doing to my family and Erin. They have nothing to do with what happened between us. If you have any issues about the past, take it up with me, and leave them out of it.”
The atmosphere in the limo was thick with tension. Ethan kept his gaze fixed on Nicky, disdain showing in the curl of his upper lip and narrowed eyes.
“Issues?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “What issues, pray tell, Nicky?”
“You’re obviously still hung up about us, and you’re using it as an excuse to punish my family. Why else would you buy out my uncle’s company from under his nose? Plus, Erin told me the awful things you said to her the other day at your office, you threatened and insulted her!”
He chuckled, the sound devoid of humor. “So, Miss Snob came running to you? How ironic. I thought she wore the pants in this relationship both of you have going on. Or was I wrong?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“She says jump, and like an obedient little ferret, you jump as high as you can.”
He leaned back against the seat and folded his arms across his chest, his expression as mocking as his tone.
“Frankly Nicky, I’m surprised Erin gave you permission to speak to me. Now I’m curious to know, did she ask you to plead on her behalf?”
Nicky glared at him, and he could clearly see how she struggled to keep her temper from flaring up.
“Erin doesn’t make me do anything,” she said through clenched teeth. “I am more than capable of making my own decisions.”
The brows went up even higher. “Indeed?”
She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the shrill ringing of her phone. Thrown out of focus, Nicky frowned at her white purse for a moment, then opened it and pulled out her still ringing phone.
She glanced at the screen, pursed her lips and pressed the red button before shoving the phone back in her purse and looking up at him.
Something in his expression didn’t sit well with her and her own expression turned sour.
“What?” She snapped.
He shrugged and reached for the leather briefcase resting on the seat beside him, snapping it open and pulling out a bulky folder. He spread it open on his lap and nonchalantly retrieved a fountain pen from his breast pocket.
“Oh, nothing you want to know,” he replied, injecting boredom into his tone. In truth, he was already bored of this conversation.
“As I was saying before,” Nicky leaned close, her voice earnest, as though she needed to convince him of her assertion.
“I don’t need Erin’s permission to make decisions and carry them out as I please. I’m a grown woman, soon to be a married woman. Perfectly capable of doing things on my own.”
“And yet, you allowed yourself to be manipulated by your dear, sweet cousin.” He observed drily, his attention on the documents he was signing.
She bristled, and prepared to launch into another bout of protests, but Ethan had heard enough. He held up a hand for silence, leaned back slid open the privacy partition between the front and backseat.
“Please pull over, Karen,” He said to the middle aged woman driving the vehicle. “Ms. Gosling will get off here.”
“Yes Sir.”
Nicky glared at Ethan when he faced her again.
“I was not done with our discussion.” She said frostily.
“That so?” He replied, raising an eyebrow. “Regretfully, I have a meeting in five minutes so I’m afraid this conversation is over.”
The limo came to a stop, and seconds later, his driver pulled open the passenger door.
“Have a nice day, Nicky. And congratulations on your impending nuptials.”
Her expression turned ugly, but she wisely didn’t say a word, merely gathered her purse with an enraged huff and slid out. Karen shut the door and returned behind the wheel.
“Where to now, Sir?”
“The office.”
As the car slid back into traffic, Ethan stared out the window, lost in thought.
"What the hell did you think you were doing getting into that car with him?" Erin demanded, the minute Nicky finally picked up her call.She could hear the sounds of passing traffic in the background, and wondered just where they where."I wanted to talk to Ethan, what do you think?" Nicky replied, her tone snappy and strained and Erin wondered what had happened to rile her normally cool cousin."We agreed you should stay away from him." Erin forced the irritation from her voice, keeping it mellow. Nicky was obviously in a bad mood, no need to annoy her with demands."You said I shouldn't talk to him," Nicky emphasized the 'you' with a tinge of resentment. "I only agreed because you were obviously upset about your dad. But I couldn't just sit back and let you fight my battles for me. I had to do something."What was with the anger at her? Erin pinched the bridge of her nose, as concern for her cousin flooded her."Are you okay, Nicks? Did that bastard do something to upset you?"See,
"So, you're going on a date with a guy you met less than three hours ago?"Erin peeked out the huge walk in closet where she was busy hunting for her shoes and peered at the woman perched on her bed, legs, encased in designer jeans, tucked beneath her lithe frame."Is something wrong with that?" Erin asked, adjusting the towel wrapped turban style around her head. "It's just dinner, Kim, not like I'm gearing up for a night of wild sex."Kim shrugged slim shoulders and bit into a chip, chewing for a moment before she replied."Not wrong for me. But it's so completely out of character for you. I mean, you're always so cautious and over analyze every single thing. For heaven's sake, it takes you a good fifteen minutes to decide on what flavor of ice cream you want. Now you're going out with a total stranger on a whim.""I do not analyze everything," Erin huffed, indignant. "I simply like to make sure I'm making good decisions. And Todd's not a total stranger. He's my dad's surgeon and we
Imogen Holland sauntered towards Ethan, stunning in a short, red dress that hugged her body and drew the eye of every red blooded male (and female) in the restaurant to an impressive cleavage and shapely ass.Fully aware of the effect she had on men, she gave Ethan a smile that brimmed with confidence in her body and sex appeal.Under the combined force of that body and smile, Ethan mentally revised his earlier plans for the evening. He let his gaze sweep boldly over Imogen, frank male appreciation glittering in his eyes, lips curved in a devilish smile."Wow!" He drawled out the word, rising from his spot by the bar, where he'd spent a half hour waiting and approached her, not missing the way her body instinctively arched towards him, as if offering him a taste of heaven right there and then."Hey handsome," Imogen's voice was soft, filled with sultry promise. Her own gaze raked over him, lips curving in approval at the pale blue dress shirt tucked in to black chinos, a tailored, bla
Erin stared at her untouched plate, mind still very much on the scene in the hallway.Ethan's scent - a warm earthy fragrance - still permeated her nostrils, making every breath impossible to take without inhaling the very essence of him that brought to mind hot steamy nights and writhing bodies atop silk sheets.She frowned and stabbed at a piece of food with her fork, wishing it was Ethan Lachlan's head. He was the enemy and she was not supposed to be having lustful thoughts about a man who had brought nothing but misery her way.Erin lifted her eyes and risked another glance at the object of her thoughts. Ethan seemed unaffected by their earlier encounter.If anything, the bastard looked to be having a good time, flirting shamelessly with his stunning date who was hanging on his every word and flirting right back. Did the poor woman have any inkling of how deadly and vindictive Ethan was? She guessed not.Unconsciously, her fingers tightened over her fork, jealous at how much a goo
A wave of anger surged through Ethan as he stared at the annoying minx. In all his thirty-four years, and numerous encounters with women of every kind, he had never met a woman who could get his temper burning as quickly as Erin.Even more exasperating was how little control he had over his body when it came to her.For fuck's sake, he'd been with women far lovelier and certainly better behaved, but none of them had eroded his self control or ignited his desire the way Erin did. He was supposed to despise her, bring about her complete and utter humiliation and yet, here he was, offering to give her a lift and having to watch her throw his offer back in his face.Foolish woman.A valet handed him his car keys, and Ethan took it without taking his eyes off her.Even acting like a spoiled little brat, she still looked utterly stunning and his groin responded accordingly, much to his disgust. He gritted his teeth and moved closer, each step slow and intimidating and he had the satisfactio
The persistent buzz of the phone finally pulled Erin from sleep. Raising her head from the pillow, she squinted at the morning sunlight pouring through the windows, and winced when the motion set off a pounding headache."Hell."Erin groaned, the inside of her mouth the consistency of cotton wool. How many glasses of wine had she drank last night? She searched her memory but came up blank. Her brain was probably still asleep.The phone rang again, the sound extraordinarily loud and painful. Erin winced and groped for the offending object."What?" She snapped into the receiver."Have you seen the paper this morning?" Nicky went straight to the point. Something in her cousin's tone made Erin frown."No," Erin pulled herself up, careful not to jolt her head too much. "I just woke up. What's in it?"Nicky paused for a moment, and Erin could feel waves of disapproval even through the phone."It's not something easily explained over the phone," she said slowly, "You should see it for yourse
I'm in trouble.The thought crossed Ethan's mind as he took in the splendid form of the naked woman glaring up at him, brown eyes sparking righteous indignation. His dick, which had been aroused from the moment he stepped into Erin's apartment, became rock hard, as his gaze slowly traveled over pale flawless curves, the delicate arch of her throat, lingering over full, well-rounded breasts topped by twin dusky rose aureoles.Even as he looked, they tightened and hardened into tiny pebbles that made his mouth water with the need to take them in his mouth and suck, taste her, inhale her scent, drown himself within her till he found bliss and sweet relief. Ethan swallowed the lump forming in his throat and forced his gaze to move south, down to where her tiny hands ineffectively tried to cover her most intimate spot from view, the tension in the room so palpable with lust he could almost taste it.God! How had he never noticed just how beautiful Erin was? Ethan wondered, his body pulsing
“I don't think Ethan did it.” Nicky said, taking a sip of her latte, fingers wrapped around the cup for warmth. She studied her cousin over the rim. “We may have only dated for eighteen months, but I know him enough to know he never lies. He's always brutally honest.”Erin sighed, pressing two fingers of each hand to her temple in an effort to ease the throbbing headache that had plagued her since Ethan had stalked out the apartment two hours ago.“I don't know what to think Nicky. There's too much coincidence involved for me to just believe he had nothing to do with it.”“Well, I believe the dude's as guilty as sin.” Kim declared, still reading the offending article, nose wrinkled in disgust. “I mean c'mon, he swore to humiliate you, Erin. What better way to do that than this?"“That's jumping to conclusions Kim.” Nicky shot Kim a quelling look. "You can't prove that he did, either."“Oh please. How much proof do you need to see past your nose?” Kim flung the paper aside and sat up,