The day drags on as I wait for Ethan to call or text me. Even without him saying a word, I’m absolutely certain he’s seen and heard everything, and as each minute passes by with radio silence on his part I’m this close to barging into his office.

In fact, the only thing that stops me from doing so is I have no idea of what to say if we do come face to face. I know what’s happened must have angered him, but a large part of me refuses to think that it would have made me jealous.

To do so would mean that I’m acknowledging the fact he likes me that much---

And you can’t handle that, my inner badass finishes with a snort, because you’re letting your insecurities win again.

I shove the thought away and force myself to work. Whatever. I flip to a new page of Japanese text for translation and start typing doggedly. I’m not here to moon over a guy or after the loss of one. I’m here to complete an internship so I can graduate.

That’s all.

Right?

But try as I might to convince myself of this by the time the workday is over I realize I’m even more distraught than I was at the start. The need to talk to Ethan or even just see him burns agonizingly inside of me. Won’t he even let me explain?

I delay leaving as much as I can, quietly and desperately hoping that his shadow would fall over me and he’d be there, finally willing to listen to me. But he doesn’t come, and in the end I reluctantly sling the strap of my bag over my shoulder and head towards the doors. When I pass by his office, my footsteps slow down automatically. I know it’s foolish but I can’t help hoping that maybe what happened before will happen again.

Maybe…maybe he’d suddenly pull me inside of his room, and all this unnecessary fretting will be over.

But nothing happens.

I’m already several feet past the double doors of his office, and nothing still happens.

I guess this is it, I think numbly as I step inside of the elevator. Leaning back against the mirrored walls, I close my eyes tiredly, and they stay closed when I sense the doors sliding open just a few seconds after.

It’s probably stopped at the floor below us, I think disinterestedly. Unusual, considering how as far as I know the entire floor is still under construction, but right now I don’t give a---

A pair of lips suddenly covers mine, and my eyes fly open just as I open my mouth to scream.

Ethan!

It’s the last thought I have before his kiss deepens, and my eyes once again close. I wrap my arms around his neck even as relief makes me shudder against his hold. I know I should be worried about people seeing us, but I’m just so glad he’s with me again I can’t make myself care.

When I hear the elevator doors chime open and Ethan sweeps me up in his arms, I don’t murmur a single word of protest. Instead, I hide my face against the crook of his neck, overwhelmed by my need to be close to him.

How has life come to this?

I lift my head when we get inside his limousine, and as the chauffeur drives it out of the basement Ethan sets me on the space next to him. His handsome face is hard and unreadable, and I gulp.

“You’ve been a very bad girl, Evan.” The words are spoken so softly they’re barely audible, but even so something about it makes me shiver. With this man I feel like I’m in more danger when he’s not visibly angry or growling at me.

“W-will you let me explain?” I whisper tremulously.

Ethan slowly shakes his head. “I’ll be the one to ask questions, baby.” And when his green eyes glint---

Oh!

That’s when I realize I was right. Ethan’s beyond angry – he’s furious.

And Ethan suddenly grates out, “Did you mean for him to see it?”

His words make me blanch, and I cry out, “No! Of course not---”

“Did it make you realize,” Ethan goes on snarling under his breath, “you like having two men after you?”

“No!”

But Ethan doesn’t seem to have heard me, and his tone remains bitingly cold as he growls, “Does he turn you on like I do---”

His words leave me aghast, and before he even finishes speaking I find myself reacting involuntarily---

My hand connects with his cheek in a resounding slap, and I stare in shock as the force of it causes Ethan’s head to turn to the side.

Oh God!

I didn’t mean to hit him. I didn’t. But he wasn’t listening to a word I was saying, and he was hurting me with all his accusations---

“I’m sorry,” I choke out in a whisper as his head slowly turns towards me.

He doesn’t speak, his gaze unreadable, and I slowly lower my head as my shoulders start to droop.

I know I’m not to blame for this. But even so I’ve never struck anyone in my entire life, and guilt tears at me, making my body tremble.

I hear Ethan swear under his breath, and I bite my lip hard.

This is it, I think dumbly. He’s going to---

But the rest of my thought disappears as Ethan suddenly hauls me into his arms.

For one long moment I can only remain stiff in his embrace, unable to believe that he hasn’t dumped me yet.

And then I hear him say harshly, “I’m sorry.” His lips brush against my hair. “I know you did nothing wrong.”

My eyes start to sting at the unexpected words, and I have to bite my lip again, but this time it’s just to keep myself from crying. Pulling back, I say in a small voice, “I’m sorry I hit you.”

“I deserved it.”

I start to shake my head. “No---”

His lips twist. “Yes, Evan. I did. And I’m the one who should be apologizing, not you.” His chest heaves as he inhales heavily, and self-contempt underscores his voice as he says, “I have nothing to say in my defense except that…Realizing what happened and what he’s seen drove me out of my fucking mind with jealousy.”

The harsh condemnation on his face wrenches my heart, and I can’t help touching his chest, whispering, “But he didn’t really see anything---”

A humorless laugh spills past Ethan’s lips. “That you honestly think so is just proof of how little you understand men, Evan.” He cups my chin, saying grimly, “You’re too innocent, baby. And you don’t know David like I do.”

I open my mouth to protest, but the way his gaze glints in warning makes me close my mouth.

“David is my half-brother.”

My eyes widen.

“No one knows it, and we both agreed to keep it that way out of respect for my mother. Our dad cheated on her when he had an affair with David’s mom, who had been working as his secretary at that time. I only learned about David when my father confessed to me on his deathbed. I reached out to him immediately, and while we see each other as brothers David understands the situation I’m in.”

Ethan pauses, and unease fills me when I see an inscrutable mask once again fall over his gorgeous face.

“David knows I pulled some strings to get you to work on the top floor.”

I shake my head faintly, incredulous that he has done such a thing. In all the articles and news reports written about him, people say over and over that Ethan Alexander is ruthless when it comes to his principles and he’s never mixed business with pleasure.

And yet---

“David was understandably surprised when he found out what I’ve done, and I can see you on your face you understand why.”

I nod.

“Needless to say, it’s made David suspicious of you. He thinks you’re a gold digger.”

“But I’m not,” I can’t help blurting out. “Y-you know that, don’t you?”

“I do.” Ethan slowly caresses my cheek with his knuckles, but the tenderness of the gesture is offset by the intensely possessive look in his green eyes, which makes me swallow hard.

This man is just too, too beautiful, and when he looks at me like that---

He can make me do anything.

“And now David knows that, too. He knows he’s wrong about you, but thanks to what happened earlier---” His lips compress. “The situation is a lot more worse.”

“W-worse?” I stare up at him, completely without a clue. Shouldn’t it be better since David no longer thinks I’m a gold-digger?

“You really don’t see it, do you?” Exasperation flashes in his green eyes.

“I’m sorry.” I feel like I have to apologize, with the way Ethan’s looking at me. “Why is it worse---”

“Because,” he cuts me off grimly, “he now sees what I’ve seen from the start.” Ethan’s jaw clenches. “David knows how perfect you are now, you little idiot, and it’s made him want you---”

I can’t help gaping at him, protesting, “That’s crazy!”

Ethan only looks at me.

“B-but…” I bite my lip. “I mean, doesn’t it sound crazy?”

After a long moment, Ethan makes an abruptly dismissive gesture with his hand. “Let’s not argue with this.” His tone is hard, and so is the way he looks at me when he says, “I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

My eyes widen.

“I won’t take no for an answer this time, Evan.” Ethan’s voice is harsh. “Not after what David’s seen.”

“He’s your brother---”

“He’s a man before anything else, and I know there’s only one thing a man would feel after what he’s seen.”

I gulp hard, sensing his resolve and knowing that I could very well lose him if I don’t agree.

But…

Taking a deep breath, I say slowly, “Could we…work with a compromise?”

Ethan’s green gaze narrows at me. “I’m not the type to make deals.”

My heart stops as I recall all the things that have been written about him – and I realize that what he’s saying isn’t a threat.

“But I’m listening.”

Realizing that I shouldn’t let this chance go to waste, I wet my lips, and almost immediately I see his nostrils flare.

Oh!

Although such an evident sight of his desire for me still makes my cheeks heat up, it’s also something I welcome with relief. It’s a good omen – the exact sign I need to know that what I’m about to do would work.

With my heart pounding against my chest, I turn to him, saying, “I was thinking you c-could make up an excuse…”

“About keeping you close to me?”

I give him a small nod, and I’m not at all surprised that he gets it right away. His self-made fortune is no product of sheer luck, after all.

“You’d rather be my private assistant than my girlfriend?”

“Yes, well…” I had already expected him to say those things, and though I’ve already prepared a comeback for it, I still find myself infinitely nervous. Oh dear God, I’ve never done this before.

Looking at him below my lashes, I say huskily, “I could make it worth your while.”

Silence.

And then I hear him say roughly, “Go on.”

Heat slithers down my spine, and my entire body tremble. Oh God. Am I really going to do this? But even as the question swirls in my mind, I’m already sinking to my knees and I hear Ethan hiss when I half crawl towards him.

Positioning myself between his legs, I reach for his zip with trembling hands.

“Are you sure?” I hear him ask over my head.

“Yes.” My voice is quivering as I answer him, but we both know it’s not just out of fear.

It takes me a bit of time to unzip him, and when I finally free his cock from its restraints I can’t help but gasp.

It’s so huge!

My fingers curl around it hesitantly, and when Ethan stiffens, my head snaps up in alarm. “D-did I hurt you?”

A strained look crosses Ethan’s handsome face. “No, baby.” His tone is even rougher now. “It’s the exact opposite.”

Oh!

“Don’t stop.”

The desire coating his voice is unmistakable, and my pussy quivers in reaction. Returning my attention to his cock, I slowly move my hand up and down, stroking him while familiarizing myself with its texture. Its satiny hardness is both terrifying and fascinating at the same time, and I can’t help wondering how this massive organ of his could actually fit me.

He might just rip me apart!

The thought pops out of nowhere, but instead of scaring me I find myself shamefully excited, and my fingers move faster on its own accord. I hear Ethan groan, and the sound makes me want to moan.

When I find my rhythm and I feel Ethan’s hips start to move, the next step feels entirely natural---

As my head starts to descend, my gaze clashes with his, and I catch sight of his stunned expression as he realizes what I’m about to do.

“Evan.” His chest heaves as my fingers keep stroking his cock up and down. “Are you sure?”

I answer him in the only way I should, with my lips closing over the swollen head of his erection.

A groan erupts from Ethan, and the sound works like an aphrodisiac. Even though my lips feel like they’re being stretched in a way they’ve never been stretched before, I force myself to move, my head bobbing up and down as I try to take as much of his erection in while pleasuring him.

Eventually, his fingers thread through my hair and Ethan silently tutors me on how to pace the movements of my mouth.

“That’s it...”

And I know I’m doing it right, when his fingers tighten its grip on my hair.

“Suck me harder, baby.”

Everything he says I do, and pleasure unfurls inside of me because what arouses Ethan arouses me, too. I suck him long and hard, squeeze his balls, stroke his cock, and soon Ethan’s movements become slowly uncontrollable and wild. He’s literally fucking my mouth now, his cock reaching all the way to the back of my throat---

And I love it.

Oh God, I love having his cock in my mouth.

I love it.

And when I feel him tense, and Ethan rasps, “Let go, baby.”

I do the opposite and suck harder.

Ethan inhales sharply. “Evan. I’m going to come in your mouth if you don’t---”

So come, I think, delirious now in our shared pleasure.

And moments later, I hear him mutter, “Fuck it.”

His hips thrust aggressively right after, and he’s shoving his cock in and out of my mouth just a little bit harder and faster, and oh God, I want more and more---

“Evan!”

It’s my name he groans as he comes, and oh God, I love it.

Hot, sticky, salty cum pours down my throat and even though I gag at the start I do my best to take it all in.

This is his taste, and I want it.