Chapter Twenty-Six
Piper shifted uncomfortably in her chair. How did Ethan know she hadn’t been honest about her injury?
The thought disturbed her. “Okay,” she softly admitted. “I was out for a run and noticed a car following me. I cut through a neighbor’s yard and got a little too close to the rosebush behind my house. It’s really nothing. In fact, I don’t even know that I was being followed. It could have been a coincidence.”
“It was no coincidence.” Ethan continued to stare at her with his whiskey-colored gaze.
Pushing her dessert aside, Piper wiped her mouth with a napkin as warning bells went off in her head. “You know something about it?”
Ethan leaned forward, covering her hand with his. “I have a lot of enemies, Piper. Which makes you a target by association.”
Piper’s stomach turned over. “So, I’m I danger?”
“I don’t know,” Ethan answered, tightening his hold on her hand. “But until we figure out who was following you, I think it best if you stay here for a while.”
Surprised by his suggestion, Piper gaped at him. “You want me to move in with you?”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
It took Piper a moment to respond. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks. I mean—”
“Consider it a temporary arrangement,” Ethan interrupted. “If it’ll make you more comfortable, you can stay in the guest room.”
Piper pulled her hand free of his. “But my work, my cat. I mean, I can’t just pack up and leave like that.”
“You can work from here, as well as bring your cat. Listen, Piper, if you’re on the radar of one of my enemies, you’d be a hell of a lot safer here than alone in your home.”
Piper couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re scaring me, Ethan.”
“And I’m sorry about that, love. I really am. But please consider staying here for a while. It would make me feel a hell of a lot better.”
Unsure of what to think, Piper merely nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
“It’s either that, or I’m staying with you,” Ethan warned, getting to his feet. “And this is definitely the safest place.”
Piper decided not to argue. They could discuss her living arrangements at a later time. For now, she had other concerns.
She stood as well, following him to the balcony. “Tell me about the cash in your closet.”
His shoulders stiffened slightly. Resting his hands on the railing, he stared out at the scenery below. “I purchased a compound a few years ago in the mountains of Alaska. Completely off the grid. If things ever get too hairy over here, the money is my safety net. Untraceable, and enough to sustain me for several years.”
“How much is it?” she couldn’t help but ask.
He glanced over at her. “Two million in one hundred dollar bills.”
Piper nearly swallowed her tongue. “You’re insane, Ethan. What if your building were to catch fire, or one of your staff decided to help themselves to your bounty?”
“I trust my staff. Besides, none of them would dare cross me.”
“What does that mean?” Piper studied his gorgeous profile.
Ethan shrugged, turning away from the railing. “Let me see your injury.”
“Nice subject change,” she pointed out, holding up her arm.
He carefully peeled away the bandage to reveal the deep cut underneath. It was red and angry looking.
Ethan stared down at the wound for long moments before steering her toward the glass doors. “Let’s go put something on this before it gets infected.”
Piper let him lead her upstairs, through his bedroom, and into his beautifully elaborate bathroom.
He lifted her onto the counter without effort. “Stay put.”
Watching him go to a door on the opposite wall, Piper couldn’t help but check out his ass as he opened it, bent, and grabbed some items off a bottom shelf.
She quickly looked away before he turned to face her.
He laid the items down on the counter next to her and reached for her arm. “Did you get a good look at the men that were following you?”
Piper shook her head. “No. They were in a black car with dark-tinted windows.”
His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, hating the shift in his mood. “It’s not your fault.”
“It is my fault.” He finished cleaning her wound and covered it with a fresh bandage before backing up a step. “I’m the reason you’re being followed. I should have left you alone when I had the chance. But I can’t seem to stay away from you.”
Piper carefully slid down from the counter. She took a step toward him, hesitating as a low growl rumbled deep in his throat.
The muscle ticking along his jaw did little to calm her anxiety. But nothing prepared her for the dangerous light suddenly burning in his eyes.
"I'm not afraid of you, Ethan."
"You should be. I’m not good for you, Piper. I know that. My life is complicated. There are things you don’t know. Things I can’t tell you right now. Things I might never be able to tell you. Can you live with that?”
Could she? She inched a step closer, her heart pounding with indecision. “I don’t know what I can or can’t live with, Ethan. I only know that I think about you constantly. I can smell you when I close my eyes. I feel your mouth on me in my dreams.”
“Fuck,” he snarled, jerking her hard against him.
His mouth closed over hers before she could fully gasp.
Piper’s eyes slid shut. This was what she needed, what she craved every hour of every day.
Ethan’s dominate nature was like a drug she couldn’t seem to get enough of.
In all her life, Piper had always been independent, sure of herself, and strong. But with Ethan, she felt vulnerable and fragile. He made her feel alive and more of a woman than she’d ever felt before.
Her entire body felt liquid and on fire.
Ethan broke off the kiss, spun her around, and pressed her against the wall.
Yanking her hair to the side, he sucked the skin of her neck into his mouth before sliding his teeth down to her shoulder.
Piper’s palms flattened against the wall, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps.
Ethan gripped the hem of her skirt and yanked it up her thighs.
Oh God, Piper thought, her pussy growing wetter by the second. She’d never been so turned on in her life.
He suddenly ripped the waistband of her panties and yanked them free of her body.
Piper could hear the zipper descending on his jeans. He stepped forward, wrapped a hand in her hair, kicked her ankles apart with his booted foot, and thrust into her.
Piper cried out with the sudden invasion, only to suck in another breath as he drove into her again.
One hand slammed against the wall by her face, while the other circled around her hips to cup her pussy from the front.
His fingers strummed her clit with every thrust of his cock.
“Come for me, Piper.”
Goose bumps peppered her flesh.
His voice dropped another octave. “Feel me inside you, stroking you.” He thrust deeper. “Come on my cock, Piper. Mark me.” Another thrust that brought her to her toes. “You own me.”
The erotic growl of his words, coupled with his ever-moving fingers and his continuous driving erection, pushed Piper over the edge.
With her face pressed against the wall, her mouth open in silent ecstasy, Piper gave herself over to the powerful orgasm now racing its way up her spine.
“Ethannnnn,” she cried, her knees buckling beneath her. If not for Ethan’s arms coming around her, she would have crumpled to the floor in a climatic, boneless heap.
“Fuck!” he roared, crushing her against the front of his body. She could feel the hot jets of his semen coating her vaginal walls.
He shuddered one last time before dropping his forehead against the wall next to her face. “I’m sorry, Piper. I seem to have no control when it comes to you.”
“I like when you lose control. But this is twice now that we’ve had unprotected sex. If we’re going to continue this relationship, we need to start using condoms until my gynecologist appointment.”
Ethan stilled but didn’t comment. He gently pulled from her body and straightened her skirt. “I’ll take you to get some of your things in the morning. In the meantime, I want you sleeping in my bed.”
Piper turned in time to watch him stroll from the bathroom. Was he pissed at her for not being on the pill?
Suddenly anxious and more than a little nervous, Piper picked up her torn panties, tossed them in the trash, and set about cleaning herself up.
No more unprotected sex. No matter how spontaneous.