Chapter Fourteen
Piper arrived home a little after seven a.m. the next morning.
After waking in Ethan’s guest room, she’d showered and slipped downstairs to find a five-course breakfast waiting for her.
Ethan had eaten with her. Well, actually, he’d watched her while she ate. Watched her beneath hooded eyelids, to be exact.
Piper had recognized that look. Hell, she wanted him just as much, if not more.
Ethan insisted that she stay until he returned from his morning meeting, but Piper had refused.
She had, however, promised to return for dinner that evening. And also, refused to sign the clothing contract with him, citing it was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure.
What was she doing? she wondered, heading upstairs to change into more comfortable clothes. She’d turned down a hell of a lot of money to continue seeing Ethan on a personal level.
But she couldn’t bring herself to regret her decision. There was something about Ethan Seaborn that called to her, something that ignited feelings inside her she never knew herself to be capable of.
Hot, erotic thoughts of the man plagued her every thought. It was as if he were in her head, orchestrating every sexual fantasy she’d ever had. And she’d a few. Only no one had ever tapped into them before.
Rolling her eyes at the direction her thoughts were taking, Piper pulled on a pair of soft cotton shorts, a white T-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops before making her way down to her office.
Her cell phone vibrated from her desk. She snatched it up, slid her thumb across the screen to find a text message from Ethan. Just arrived back home. I can smell your sweet scent everywhere.
Piper’s stomach flipped. He knew exactly what to say to make her feel good.
With a grin, she hit reply and typed out a return message. Must be your last date. I don’t wear perfume.
It’s not perfume I smell, Piper. It’s you…all you. See you tonight.
I’ll be there, she sent back, setting her phone aside.
Piper blew out a breath and switched on her computer. She had a lot to do before leaving to spend the evening with Ethan, and focusing on her work would be a good start.
No matter how hard Piper tried, she couldn’t seem to keep her mind from wandering to Ethan Seaborn. His whiskey-colored eyes, haunted her. He had the sexiest eyes she’d ever seen. He had a way of undressing her with simply a look.
Pushing back from her desk, Piper leaned her head back and revisited her last moments this morning with Ethan.
His shirt had been open down the front to reveal a light dusting of hair on his muscular chest.
Piper had wanted to run her palms up and down his exposed skin so bad, she found it difficult to concentrate on anything else.
Ethan affected her emotionally as well as physically. She hadn’t been able to think of much else since the first night she’d met him.
And it went beyond his looks. Sure, he was God’s gift to masculinity, but he was much more than that. He was sensitive, caring, and strong.
Piper’s stomach clenched as realization dawned. She was falling for Ethan Seaborn. And falling hard, if her unending thoughts were any indication.
Laying her forehead against the cool glass of her desk, she took several uneven breaths. She needed to pull back on the reins a little where Ethan was concerned, before it became too late. If it wasn’t already…
* * * *
Piper dressed in a short turquoise skirt, a cream-colored blouse, and silver-toned sandals. She’d arranged her long auburn hair up twice before deciding to wear it down.
A silver necklace and matching earrings made up the rest of her ensemble.
The doorbell rang, signaling Ethan’s driver had arrived.
Piper hurried down the stairs, pulled the door open, and came face to face with Ethan. “Hi. I was expecting your driver to pick me up.”
“Are you disappointed?” Ethan rumbled, propping his hip against the doorjamb.
Piper could barely respond for staring into his incredibly sexy eyes. “No, not at all.”
“Are you ready to go?”
With a nod, Piper grabbed her small handbag from the end table and took a step forward.
Ethan didn’t move.
Piper’s heart began to pound in anticipation of what he would do next. She didn’t have long to wait.
He pushed away from the doorjamb, brought his hands up to her face, and bent until his lips brushed against hers.
She could feel his warm breath feathering across her face.
“You smell so damn good.” His mouth closed over hers.
Piper’s eyes slid shut with the first swipe of his tongue across the seam of her lips. If she lived to be a hundred, she would never get used to the taste of Ethan Seaborn.
Doubt abruptly crept in to unsettle her already pounding heart. An image of all that money in his closet drifted through her mind.
She broke off the kiss, her breathing as edgy as her thoughts. Though one of the hardest things she’d ever done, she had to know. No, she needed to know.
“Why do you have a truckload of money in your closet?” she blurted before she changed her mind.