Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ethan poured himself a bourbon and stepped back onto the balcony off his living room. Piper wasn’t on birth control.
For some reason, the thought didn’t scare him as it normally would.
But if Piper were to become pregnant, he would have no choice but to tell her who and what he really was.
He’d almost marked her. Ethan wasn’t sure how much longer he could stop himself from sinking his teeth into her flesh. Of course, marking her would most certainly make her a target for anyone seeking to hurt Ethan.
“I’m sorry,” Piper announced, stepping out onto the balcony.
Ethan glanced at her over his shoulder. “For?”
“For my lack of contraceptives. I haven’t dated in a couple years, so I haven’t had a need for it. I—”
“You didn’t seduce me, Piper. And I don’t recall asking you if you were on birth control.”
She sidled up next to him. “You’re not worried at all about this?”
“I’m more worried about you than anything. How is your arm? Did I hurt you?”
Piper gave him a lopsided smile. “The only thing you hurt was my favorite thong.”
Ethan found himself returning her grin. “I’ll buy you another pair.”
“Deal.” Piper tucked some of her hair behind her ear, exposing her beautiful shoulder. “I have a meeting with Calibri’s next week to finalize everything. I’m going to go alone.”
Ethan shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll go with you.”
“No,” Piper argued. “I’m going alone. You can send someone to watch from a distance if you’d like, but this is something I need to do for me, and only me.”
Although he didn’t like the thought of Piper going without him, Ethan understood. “Fair enough.”
Piper yawned, her beautiful eyes weary. “It’s getting late.”
Ethan took her by the hand. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”
* * * *
The next few weeks flew by with Ethan barely able to concentrate at work for worrying about Piper.
He’d grown to love coming home in the evenings to find her in his penthouse, her hair twisted up on the back of her head and working furiously on a new design.
Ethan found he could stand there and watch her for hours. Or at least until she ran him out.
The nights were the best, crawling up into bed with her and sinking into her tight, hot body. The condoms were a pain in his ass, but Piper insisted they use them.
His new secretary buzzed the phone on his desk.
“Yes?” Ethan answered, pressing the button.
“Billy is on his way up.”
“Thank you, Linda.”
Ethan adored his new temporary secretary so much he’d officially hired her after only two days. She had kind eyes, was very efficient, and never nosed in his business. Of course, it had only been a couple weeks. But the little, gray-haired woman had quickly found herself in his good graces.
“Oh, and Linda?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Lunch is on me. Take the company credit card and enjoy yourself.”
There was a brief pause. “Thank you so much, Mr. Seaborn. That’s very kind. Would you like me to bring you something back?”
“That’s okay, Linda. I’m actually taking Billy to lunch. See you this afternoon.”
Billy strolled into his office a minute later. “You about ready?”
Ethan stood. “Does steak sound good to you?”
“Does a frog have warts on his ass?”
With a grin, Ethan rounded his desk. “I don’t know about frogs, but I bet Mack Steinberg does.”
“No doubt.” Billy laughed, following Ethan to the door. “How’s Piper doing?”
Ethan’s chest tightened at the mention of Piper’s name. She invoked a kind of emotion in him that bordered on insanity. “She’s doing good. Bored of sitting around the penthouse, I’m sure. But there’s nothing I can do about that yet.”
“Hear anything else out of Foster?” Billy pressed the button on the elevator, waited for the doors to open, and stepped inside.
Ethan entered beside him. “Not a word. Which worries me even more.”
“You think he’s planning something?”
“I don’t know,” Ethan admitted, hating the insecurity in his voice. “But I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Billy made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. “How much longer before we take him out?”
“Soon,” Ethan drawled, stepping out of the elevator on the bottom floor. “Very soon.”