CHAPTER SIX
After a long, tiring day, Chloe had hurried home, feeling more than a little guilty that she hadn’t left something cooking in the crockpot for Ethan’s supper. Not that she felt like she had to cook for him every day, but, hey, she had to eat too. She’d worked late tonight, helping Clay prepare for the upcoming week. He’d be leaving for Denver again Monday morning, the murder trial was taking longer than he had anticipated, the defense bringing in new, never before disclosed evidence. That meant Chloe had at least another week with her unexpected houseguest. She’d hoped once the trial was over that Clay could take Ethan in. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep her hands to herself.
She opened a loaf of bread, laying out six slices of bread for grilled cheese sandwiches. Just as she was about to heat the skillet, the front doorbell rang.
Her first thought was that her parents had come over for a visit. That would be nothing unusual, but not something Chloe wanted to deal with after the day she’d had. She assumed her parents had figured out Ethan was staying with her, but she really didn’t want to actually verify that fact with them.
“Hi, Chloe, I brought pizza.” Clay stood in the hallway, holding two pizza boxes in one hand, a six-pack of his favorite beer in the other.
“Oh, Clay, how thoughtful.” Chloe smiled at her boss and eagerly reached for the boxes. Before she could grab them, Clay added, “And, I ran into this pretty lady in the parking lot. She’s looking for Ethan.”
“Hi, there, I’m Amy. You must be Chloe.” A small, petite woman stepped out from behind Clay’s large frame holding out her hand. Chloe, being raised to mind her manners, had little choice but to take it.
“And where’s our poor, sick baby?” She looked about the apartment as if Ethan would suddenly appear out of thin air. He did so, not two seconds later.
“I’m right here, sweetheart.” Ethan walked out of the bedroom without his crutches, barely a grimace on his face. Had he known the woman was coming? It appeared that he had because he was wearing fresh clothing and looked like he’d just stepped out the shower. Chloe’s first nasty thought was that he couldn’t have Miss Hot Pants thinking he was an invalid and use his crutches. He headed straight for the woman, embracing her in a warm hug that had Chloe clenching her teeth.
“Hi, Amy, I’m glad you could come by.”
“No, problem. You know I’d do anything for you.” She gazed up at him through her thick lashes and Chloe suddenly felt sick to her stomach.
Ethan wrapped his hand around her arm and said, “If you’ll excuse us for a minute.” He walked the woman straight back into his bedroom—no, Chloe’s bedroom—and shut the door with a thud.
When she continued to stand frozen in the doorway, Clay gave her a not-so-gentle nudge and stepped fully into the apartment. Chloe automatically closed the door behind him. “I know you’re hungry, Chloe. Let’s eat.” Chloe had been hungry. In fact, she’d been on the verge of making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, but she’d suddenly lost her appetite.
“Sure.” She led the way to the couch. Clay followed her, but Ethan and the other woman didn’t come back out.
“Thanks for the help today, Chloe.” Clay flipped open the pizza box and the smell of pepperoni permeated the air. Pepperoni and cheese, Chloe’s favorite.
“Sure.” She took the piece he handed her by rote, her attention focused solely on the closed bedroom door. He had the gall take a woman into her bedroom?
“Take it easy, Chloe. I think Tom sent her over.”
“What?” Chloe drew her gaze away from the door.
“Tom, Ethan’s second-in-command. I think he sent the woman over to give Ethan some information.”
“Why didn’t Tom just call Ethan?”
Clay finished his pizza and leaned back against the couch. “There have been some developments in the case, I think. All hush-hush.”
A squeal of laughter had her head jerking around just in time to see the bedroom door open.
“Any of that pizza left?” Ethan took a seat in the muted red chair facing Chloe’s brown sectional. The blonde sat down beside Clay, giving him a coltish smile. Wasn’t one man under her spell enough, Chloe thought with disgust?
“Sure, plenty to go around.” Clay pushed the almost empty box across the coffee table. Chloe realized with a start that she had mindlessly eaten almost half of a large pizza all by herself.
“Want some?” Clay asked the blonde, opening the other pizza box and returning her engaging smile.
“Oh, no, I have to watch my waistline.” She patted her stomach beneath her body-hugging top. Not an ounce of fat could be seen on the bi—
Chloe cut off her negative thoughts. The woman had done nothing to deserve that.
Nothing except flirt with and make goo-goo eyes at the man you love, her inner voice supplied.
Chloe silenced that little voice that taunted her on a daily basis. She did not love Ethan Hollister, she firmly told herself.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to my apartment and finish recuperating?”
Chloe’s eyes widened at the blatant suggestion. Knowing her expression would betray her, she refused to look up even though it felt like everyone was watching her. She picked up the empty pizza box and took it into the kitchen. Ethan appeared to hesitate before he answered.
“Thanks for the offer, honey, but I’m good.”
Relief warred with anger. Chloe hated the endearment he used on the other woman almost as much as she hated that his answer filled her with a spark of hope. Hadn’t she warned herself repeatedly against letting her feelings for Ethan get out of hand? She sagged against the countertop, wondering about the rollercoaster of emotions that had filled her since that woman had entered her apartment.
Was she jealous? And if she was, then what exactly did she want from Ethan? A relationship? And what did she really feel for him? Lust? Definitely. But that wasn’t something to build a relationship on. Relationships required trust and respect. She wanted that, and she wanted more. She wanted security and companionship. If you added those things to the lust she felt for Ethan, could it add up to more?
And if she were honest with herself, didn’t she already feel more than lust for the man? She’d seen him at his worst and still wanted to know more. She craved his confidence, his affection. And damned if something about the man didn’t make her want to protect him.
He’d probably laugh his fine ass off if he knew that.
“Well, since I can’t convince you to come to my place, I guess I’ll let you go. For now.”
The husky tone wasn’t lost on Chloe and she was glad she’d kept her back turned away from the living room. One look at her face right now was sure to get her into a boatload of trouble.
“We’re going now, Chloe.” Clay’s voice sounded behind her.
“Okay. Thanks for supper.” She managed to turn around with a warm smile on her face. She wasn’t mad at him.
“No problem, you deserve a lot more than a carryout pizza, Chloe. You’ve been a godsend during all this. I couldn’t manage without you.” Chloe knew he wasn’t solely referring to the extra hours she’d put in today, or last week, or the week before. His practice ran smoothly ninety-nine percent of the time, and Chloe knew it had a lot to do with her professionalism. Not that she liked tooting her own horn, but she had to say she made a fantastic office manager, paralegal, and secretary all rolled into one. And, she had to admit she had a boss that appreciated her.
Clay gave her a telling last look then walked to the door, waiting on Ethan and Amy to finish saying goodnight. When the woman stood on her tiptoes to kiss Ethan goodbye, Chloe had to turn away. An open cabinet door took the brunt of her anger. She slammed it shut, the loud whack of wood against wood echoed through the small apartment.
“In a snit, are we?”
She turned to find Ethan leaning negligently against the wall, staring at her with a look that said he knew exactly why she was in a so-called snit. “I’m sorry you think I’m in a snit.” She smiled tightly. “I’d just prefer not to have my house full of your bimbos while you’re here. I don’t think the building manager would be too happy with those sorts of women coming and going at all hours.”
“Well, well, Miss Prim-and-Proper. You’re jealous.”
Chloe gasped at his assertion. “I am not jealous. I just don’t want to be thrown out of my apartment. And I certainly don’t want anyone thinking that I’m like your… your friend. My reputation…”
“Is goody-goody. I know,” Ethan stated matter-of-factly, moving slowly toward her.
“If not being easy is your idea of goody-goody, then I guess I am.” Chloe gulped as he moved closer. Nervous, she started to step back. No, you don’t, she scolded herself. You’re going to face whatever this is.
“So, you’re upset because a woman came here, to see me, is that right?”
“No, I’m not upset.” She crossed her arms, staring him directly in the face. Working for Clay she’d had to learn to tell little white lies without flinching.
“Tom sent her over with some intel.”
“Why couldn’t Tom give you the message?”
“Because he’s working the case. My team’s getting ready to raid a warehouse and Tom wanted me in the loop.”
“Oh.” Suddenly Chloe felt ashamed of herself. She was jealous because the other woman had the nerve to take the risk of getting involved with Ethan while she chose to hide behind her ideas of what a relationship needed to be. It gave her no right to be catty. “She’s your type.”
“She used to be,” Ethan replied quietly.
Knowing that meant something but not really understanding what, Chloe pressed on. “She seemed to really want you to go with her.”
“She lives in a one-bedroom apartment.”
Chloe lifted her head, staring up at him. He stood so close that she could feel the heat from his hard body. His dark hair tumbled carelessly over his forehead, making his eyes appear even darker and the five o’clock shadow shading his cheeks gave him an aurora of danger. “I…I don’t think she’d mind sharing.”
His dark head bent, and Chloe’s breath caught at the look of desire on his lean face. “I don’t care who she shares with, but it won’t be me.”
“No?” Chloe asked, her heart beating painfully. “Why is that?”
“Because the only woman I want to share a bed with is you, that’s why.”
He kissed her then, the touch of his lips on hers starting a white-hot flame of fire inside her veins. His hands lifted to cup her face and he shifted to readjust his stance, deepening the kiss until Chloe could no longer breathe. She didn’t care. If getting oxygen meant giving up his touch, she’d gladly die right there in his arms.
“Chloe? Open your eyes, sweetheart.”
She did so slowly, dragging air into her burning lungs. “Why…why did you do that?”
Ethan smoothed the hair from her cheek, tucking the silky strand behind her ear. He’d always prided himself on his control, but he was having a difficult time talking when he wanted to do so much more. But Chloe deserved to hear what he had to say. “My plan was to seduce you tonight. Then Clay and Amy showed up and ruined everything.”
“And just how were you planning to do that?” Chloe had never felt such intensity with a man. Her past relationships certainly hadn’t been based on friendship, but there had never been this heat, this need that sizzled in the air between them.
“I was going to take you out to dinner and use my lethal charm, of course.”
“Of which you have a double portion.” Chloe grinned, surprised to note that the nervousness she’d felt earlier had disappeared, replaced by a need greater than anything she’d ever experienced.
“You think so?” His grin was a satisfyingly smug.
“You know you do.” Chloe reached up to lay her hand against the middle of his chest, her confidence rising meteorically at his indrawn hiss of breath. “What else?”
“I was going to regale you with stories of my heroic acts in past cases until you swooned at my feet. And if that didn’t work, I was going to buy a really good bottle of wine.” His fingers traced her face, outlining the contours as if etching them into his memory.
“I’m already impressed, Secret Agent Man.” He smiled down at her, his eyes roving over her face with a look that said he couldn’t believe this was really happening. He wasn’t alone. “And if wine didn’t work?”
“Then I was going to hold you close.” His arms closed around her, pulling her infinitely nearer. “Like this. And then I was going to tell you how much I like you.”
“You do?” Her voice was a mere whisper of sound.
He nodded. “I like everything about you, Chloe. I like the way your hair refuses to obey your attempts to corral it and the way the strands curl around my fingers when I touch it. I like the way your eyes reflect everything you feel as you’re feeling it. I like the way you take care of me. And I especially like the way you feel in my arms right now.”
“And if that didn’t work?” She whispered, placing her hands on the back of his neck, the move sending her lower body into searing contact with his.
He closed his eyes on a groan, then opened them to look at her, his hunger visible. “Then I was going to wait until—”
“Ethan?” She interrupted softly.
“Yeah?” His lips were mere inches from hers and moving lower as if drawn by an invisible cord.
“You don’t have to wait any longer.”
The last word whispered against his lips as he claimed hers. There was nothing tentative or sweet about this one. It was pure need. Long overdue and out of patience.
Tongues explored at will. Teeth bit and nipped. Lovers shared and tasted, exploring one another. All sense of time and place was lost. Chloe was overwhelmed by the pure essence of Ethan, his taste, his feel, his smell. All male and utterly dominating. Intoxicating.
She wrapped herself in his arms, pasting her body against his. His hands moved strongly, surely in heated strokes up and down her back. His hips pressed into her, the evidence of his arousal already apparent.
“I need you naked. Now,” Ethan gasped hoarsely.
“Mmm,” she murmured, her lips pressed against the strong, tanned column of his throat. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Then, let’s take this to the bedroom.” Ethan bent slightly as if to pick her up in his arms and Chloe backed away quickly, her hands on her hips, and that glint of steel in her eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Ethan pushed back the hair she’d ruffled out of place and looked down his nose at her. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you to bed.”
“I don’t think so, buster.”
“But—”
Chloe laughed as he looked at her with a hangdog expression. She knew exactly what he was thinking—that she had changed her mind. “Your leg, Ethan. Your leg.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, heading straight for the bedroom.
As soon as they walked through the door, Ethan grabbed her and leaned back against the closed door with her in his arms. His mouth covered hers in a hard, hungry kiss. His hands slid down her back and further down her legs, gliding up under the skirt she’d worn to the office. She hadn’t had time to change out of her work clothing, merely kicking off her high heels by the front door. He gripped her hips in his hands, kneading the mounds beneath. “God, I love your ass,” he whispered against her lips.
“Ethan,” she scolded him even as she returned his hot, urgent kiss and pushed back against his hands, loving his touch.
“Well, I do.” He moved his mouth along her jaw, nudging her chin up with his to give him better access to her throat. There he placed a string of open-mouthed kisses along the stretched tendons. After long torturous moments, he found his way to the base of her throat. He licked the hollows of her collarbones before kissing his way down, his beard-roughened jaw tugging along her soft skin.
A hot and delicious swirl of desire swept through her. Every bone in her body suddenly felt like molten lava, making her knees weak. Instead of stopping at the involuntary sag of her body against his, Ethan simply tightened his hold and continued.
“Damn,” he cursed when his efforts to nudge aside her blouse failed. “This has got to go.” With a swift move that belied the seriousness of his injury, he reversed their position, leaning her against the door.
He placed his hands above her head, taking the weight off his bad leg. “Take off your shirt for me, Chloe.”
Chloe licked her lips, watching with half-closed lids as Ethan watched her, his eyes also half-lidded. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and started to ease it up over her head. As soon as she felt the first whisper of air against her bare skin, she panicked. What did she think she was doing?
She looked up at Ethan, his features so familiar. His eyes were the same chocolate color she’d always known. Maybe a little darker now from his arousal, but still the same. He wore the same serious expression she’d seen on his face a dozen times before. He was the same man she’d always known—and had always desired. But now…if she took this next step, things would change.
“Stop it, Chloe. Turn off that brilliant mind of yours for once and don’t think. Just feel.” His gaze held hers as he straightened, his hands covering hers. With the half-sided grin she’d become so fond of, he helped her ease her shirt over her head. He dropped it to the side. “You are so damn beautiful.” He placed his fingertip against the pulse of her throat and slowly, so devilishly slowly, he dragged it down, down, down, stopping only when he reached the top of her bra. With deliberate movements, he traced along the bra’s satin edge, back and forth over both breasts until Chloe’s nipples stood out in sharp relief.
Finally, when Chloe couldn’t take it anymore, she grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “I didn’t take you for a tease, Agent Hollister.” She pressed his hand against her needy breast.
Immediately his hand opened, and his palm cradled her full flesh. His free hand covered her other breast and soon his fingers were digging beneath the bottom edge of her bra, forcing it up to reveal her rosy centers. He made a small noise that sounded like a growl to Chloe, but how could she be sure? The blood was pounding in her ears as she struggled to process all the sensations running through her body. When his mouth closed over one taunt center, she cried out, realizing she’d been waiting for this moment all her life—well, at least since Ethan had first walked into Clay’s office.
Yes, she finally, fully admitted to herself as she thrust her fingers through his hair, holding him closer, she wanted this man more than she wanted her next breath. “Oh, God, Ethan, that feels so good.”
She groaned as he continued to taste her. His mouth worked on one breast then moved to the other. Sipping, nipping, consuming. His fingers pinched and pulled on the nipple that wasn’t being suckled deep within his mouth. She collapsed fully against the door, unable to stand beneath the onslaught of his touch. The move caused his mouth to disconnect with her breast with a soft plop. They stood staring at each other for one, long hungry moment, both breathing deeply.
“Get on the bed, baby,” he ordered in a deep, husky voice she’d never heard before.
She obeyed instantly, taking the few steps to her bed. Just as she was about to climb on, he stopped her with his hands on her waist. If another man had touched her like that, she would have cringed and pulled away sharply. But not with Ethan. With him, she wanted his touch—anywhere and everywhere he wanted to touch her.
He bent his head, kissing the top of her shoulder as he removed her bra. That task completed, he slid his fingers inside the waistband of her skirt. He eased down the side zipper and let it fall to the floor. As it did, his fingers dug into her sides.
“Damn it, Chloe, do you wear this every day?”
“I, oh.” She realized dazedly that he was talking about her choice of underwear. She had what might be termed as a small fetish for silky panties. She knew the ones she wore covered her ample bottom, but the material itself revealed more than it covered.
And, she wore thigh high stockings under her dresses. Now she wished she’d kept on her high heels so that he would have gotten the full effect.
“If I had known you were wearing something like this every damn day…” he trailed off, growling in her ear. “I would have taken you over your desk and to hell with the consequences.”
She reached back with one arm, encircling his neck and pulling his mouth to hers. Their tongues tangled, and he stroked his hand down her body, briefly dipping between her thighs to give her a taste of what was to come. The silken texture of her panties added to the pleasure before he eased them down her legs.
“Step out.” She obeyed him and bent to remove her stockings.
A hand on hers stilled her move. “Leave them on.”
Just as she turned around, to press her body against his, he maneuvered her to the edge of the bed and, before she could protest, he’d lifted her beneath her arms, propelling her into the center of her bed.
The move both surprised her and made her melt. Being a bigger girl, it was difficult to find a man who had that kind of strength. She watched as Ethan moved back from the bed to strip. First, he reached behind his head and removed his shirt, revealing the hard, muscular planes of his chest. A chest whose center was covered in a mat of hair, not to thick, not too thin—just right.
Just like Ethan.
He was just right—for her.
Then she remembered he was injured and maybe not up to such physical activity.
“Ethan, your leg…”
“Is the last thing on my mind, sweetheart.”
She licked her lips as he gave her a wink that had her heart fluttering. Next, he unsnapped his jeans, sliding the zipper down slowly. Had he worked undercover as a male stripper before, she wondered briefly. Because he was giving her a hell of a show right now.
He slowly pushed his jeans down but before she could see anything of interest, he turned around and sat on the bed to finish the job. She guessed instantly what that was about. There was no way he could—with any form of masculine grace—remove his jeans while standing. Not with his leg anyway. She smiled at the obvious attempt to save his ego. Didn’t he know she’d still want him even if he had to do the bunny hop to get to her bed?
As quickly as he could, Ethan divested himself of his jeans. As he did, he felt movement on the bed. He glanced over his shoulder to discover Chloe moving towards him on her hands and knees, her large breasts swinging slowly with each movement. He felt himself tighten all over again. Damn, he wanted this woman badly. Before she could reach him, he reached for her. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, him on top.
He pushed back her hair on one side, tucking it behind her ear. “I want you, Chloe.”
She gave him a smile that made a large crack in the wall he’d built around his heart. It was beautiful, bright and welcoming. As if this was the only place she wanted to be in the world. In his arms. When had he ever felt that way with another woman? Never.
“I can tell,” she pushed her body against his, their naked flesh sliding together sensuously. He was hard and hurting and he knew she wanted him. So why was he hesitating? Maybe because of that innocence staring so brilliantly back at him from the depths of her caramel eyes?
“Now who’s overthinking things?” She raised her hand, rubbing her fingertip across the wrinkle on his brow. She tilted her head to place soft, open-mouthed kisses along his jawline. “We’re both adults, Ethan. I want this. You want this. Just—”
And that was the last words that were said by either of them for a very long time.
They explored each other’s bodies. With their tongues, their hands, their mouths. They became lovers. The night quickly faded into day and still, they continued to touch and taste. It was well after dawn before they collapsed, exhausted, in the warm cocoon of Chloe’s bed, wrapped tightly in each other arms.