I’d never seen a dead body before. On TV, sure, but this was different. The blood looked kind of fake—dark and like syrup instead of the bright red people think of when they think of bleeding. And it scared me how still the man was. There wasn’t any movement to be found on him, not even a gust of wind whisking his hair away. Instead, he was as still as the pavement he lay on.
Louis had shot Tommy in the back while he was focused on me and I found I was eternally grateful for that. Anyone else could call it cowardice, but Louis saved my life. And right now, I was relieved because it meant I didn’t have to look at the dead man’s face.
Would his eyes be open? Milky white? Or would they still look like the same color they had been? Maybe they would be altogether closed.
I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know. I wanted to forget this whole damn night, pretend like it had never even happened. I knew that was likely to be impossible, but at least I wouldn’t be haunted by the man’s dead, unseeing face.
Looking up from the body finally, I looked at Louis. “T-thank you.” I silently cursed myself for the stammer in my voice, how shaky it was, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Louis frowned a little, whether at my gratitude or my trembling words, I couldn’t say.
Before he could say anything, Ethan shifted me in his arms and looked hard at his trusted enforcer. “You saved her?” he confirmed, though it was obvious. I sure as hell hadn’t killed Tommy.
Louis nodded. “Yeah. Son of a bitch thought he could get the drop on me, but I wasn’t down for the count.” He fingered a spot on his head that I now realized was red with drying blood. It looked swollen and a little gruesome, but compared to the general size of the man, it wasn’t much. He was still larger than life and that bump on the head could have been a mosquito bite. “Guess I should be lucky he didn’t shoot me.”
“Why didn’t he?” Ethan asked, and I could hear the low, dangerous suspicion in his voice. A small part of me worried for Louis.
Louis didn’t waver as he said, “Probably didn’t want anyone to know he was here. Sound would’ve given him away.”
Ethan said nothing. Instead, his large hand rubbed along my back, soothing away the rawness in my nerves. I leaned on him a little harder, grateful for his presence and for the fact that I didn’t have to stand on my own.
There’s a dead man right there. How can there be a dead man right there?
I was probably in shock. I was a goddamned hairdresser for Christ’s sake. For a long, hard second, I found myself thinking I was in way over my head. This wasn’t my world and I shouldn’t be involved in things like this.
But even as I thought it, I had another thought: this is my damn shop. This is my damn life. And I wasn’t going to let people bully me anymore. Screw that.
I’m glad he’s dead, I thought and it was a little jarring to have a thought like that, but instantly I knew why.
Death meant he couldn’t hurt Cody—or me. And it also meant Ethan’s operation was safe and my business could continue as it had. When I looked at it from that perspective it was easy to see how killing someone was a lot more effective than calling corrupt cops.
“Are you all right?” Ethan mumbled into my hair.
I realized he was holding me tighter and he had been kissing my hair softly.
Pulling myself together, I nodded, my head still resting against his chest. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
I heard the worry in his voice, so out of place in a man like Ethan, and pulled away a little so I could look up into his face. His brow was furrowed and his full lips were pursed together, the corners of his mouth pulled down into a heavy frown. I studied that expression, deciding it was just as strange to see on him as it was to hear concern in his voice. He just wasn’t the type of man to show those sorts of things, even when he felt them.
It touched me to know I brought that out in him.
Swallowing back what lingered of my fear, I nodded. Then I pushed up onto the tips of my toes and pressed my lips against his. He responded immediately, melding his mouth to mine and using the strong arms wrapped around me to pull me closer to him. I had meant for the kiss to be reassuring, but not really lingering.
But I should have known better than to assume that any kiss with Ethan would be less than explosive.
One hand wound into my hair, pulling it free of its bun so he could clutch tightly at the strands. The other went lower to move over the pockets of my jeans. He squeezed my ass tightly, pulling me against his crotch at the same time. I felt his tongue slide against the seam of my lips, demanding entrance. And like all his demands, I obliged.
We tasted each other. I let his hands explore my body all over again, dipping beneath my shirt to my bare back. I knew I wasn’t wearing a bra. I was waiting for that moment when his fingertips would reach the underside of my breast.
When they did, I heard the clearing of a throat.
Breaking the kiss instantly, I flushed with embarrassment, glancing over at Louis. He was the standard picture of calm. Our little display hadn’t bothered him, but he must have wanted to get back to work.
“Don’t worry. Louis doesn’t mind,” Ethan told me in a low husky tone, repeating those same words he’d used on me that first time.
I swatted at him. “Yeah, well, I mind. There’s a damn body on the street!”
Ethan shrugged like it didn’t bother him, but he didn’t try to pull me back in for another kiss. Instead, he turned to Louis. “Did you actually call Todd?” he asked and I winced. I worried that if Louis answered yes, it would not be good for his health.
“Ethan,” I began, but both men ignored me.
“Yeah, boss. I did. I really fucked up.”
Ethan went stiff against me, letting me know Louis really was on thin ice. “Why? I explicitly said no one else.”
Louis shook his head. “He worked with me and Diana.” He motioned with his head towards me. “But I didn’t tell him we were moving the stash tonight. I just told him to be on alert, you know? Like I was. To make sure nothing suspicious was going on.” Louis let out a sigh and shook his head. “I should’ve fucking killed that guy.”
Ethan waved him off. “Already taken care of. Prick’s in the damn store.”
Louis nodded, but said nothing else. I realized he was waiting for Ethan to make some kind of decision. When I looked over at Ethan’s face again, I saw it was blank. Devoid of emotion. He was thinking on everything, coming to a conclusion.
Gripping his shirt, I whispered, “Ethan.”
I didn’t know if he heard me or not, but a moment later, he sighed and said, “Don’t screw up like that again. I don’t put up with fuck ups for long.”
Louis’s shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, the only indication that he had been concerned about Ethan’s decision. Then he nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Jesus, two bodies in one night,” Ethan muttered, glancing back at Tommy.
I still didn’t want to think about dead people, so I worked hard to keep my gaze focused on Louis instead. He glanced first at Tommy, then towards the shop.
“I’ll take care of ‘em, boss,” he said gruffly. “Since it was my fault anyway.”
Ethan gave a single quick nod. “Fine. I’m taking Diana home. If there are any more problems, you call my cell. No one else. Understand?”
Louis assured him that he would call if there were any hang ups. Ethan walked me to his car, even opening the door for me. I was pretty sure it was only because I was in shock, but I appreciated the gesture just the same. Sliding down into my seat, I was grateful when Ethan got in and started the car.
The ride was blissfully silent, but when Ethan pulled into my driveway, he turned to me. “Have you reconsidered after your little taste of life in the fast lane?” He offered me a smirk and clearly was trying to play this off as no big deal, but I sensed that my answer was important to him.
I tilted my head to the side so that I could look at him. I was exhausted, so I didn’t try to be snarky. Instead, I just said, “No. I meant what I said. I’m in. Partner in full, so don’t forget it.”
His smirk widened into a grin and he nodded once, then got out of the car.
Groaning, I made myself open the door and got out. Together we walked to the door and I unlocked it, then pushed it open and headed inside. I half expected him to tell me he’d see me later and leave, but instead he followed me inside. We lingered just past the door and for a moment I had no idea what to do. Then I remembered I was an adult and we’d already hashed all this out.
Louis was taking care of the bodies, which I refused to think about because that would probably make me have to deal with whatever psychological drama that caused. My son was safely tucked away at Jessie’s. There was nothing else to think about except the fact that Ethan Chambers was standing in my living room looking just as sexy as he had when he appeared on my doorstep a couple of hours earlier.
“Do you want to have a seat?” I asked, gesturing to the couch.
He smiled at me. “Sure. I’ll sit, but only because I want you to ride me.”
Fire ignited within me, eager after the danger and the death tonight. I felt it run along my skin beneath my clothes, spreading until heat coalesced between my legs. I let out a shaky breath and when he started confidently walking to the couch, I followed him.
He sat down, slouching in the middle of the couch. His legs were spread wide until it seemed like he was taking up all the available space. Then he looked up at me with dark, lusty eyes and he motioned for me to sit. On him.
I swallowed and did what he wanted. I straddled him, putting one leg on either side of his hips until my core hovered just above his manhood. His jeans were strained and my underwear was wet. I thought briefly about standing back up to undress myself, but then his hands were on either side of my face, pulling me to him. His lips crashed against mine, insistent and ravaging. I lost myself to him.
His hands went to my rear, squeezing me and pulling me against him, encouraging me to begin moving over him. I gasped when I felt his hardness beneath his jeans.
I began to move on my own, grinding myself against him, wishing we’d paused long enough to get undressed. I moaned into his mouth when he squeezed my butt again, and kept moving as his hands traveled up higher. They slipped beneath my shirt to find bare skin, rising higher and higher up my back until they could confirm that I wasn’t wearing a bra.
He had to momentarily break the kiss, because his hands hadn’t stopped moving, but they couldn’t lift the shirt any farther while we were connected. So I pulled back slightly and lifted my arms, letting him push the shirt up until my breasts were exposed. I jerked the shirt off the rest of the way, and threw it on the couch beside us.
Ethan took a moment to appreciate my breasts, which he loved from the beginning. His hands went to them, weighing them in his palms and then squeezing them.
I gasped, “Yes!”
His thumbs ran over the nipples until they were hard pebbles, and then I felt a spark of pleasure and surprise when I felt his mouth slip over the left one. I groaned as his teeth grazed the hardened peak, my hands going to his hair to rake through it.
I held him to my breast, grinding my core against him at the same time, working us both up into a frenzy.
“Ethan, yes, please,” I murmured.
His left hand drifted from my breast, down my waist and to the waistband of my jeans. Moving towards the middle, he found the button and popped it. Then he undid the zipper so he could slip his fingers down the front to find my aching, wet core.
The door opened. I froze.
“Oh my god, Diana!”
It was Jessie and she was horrified.