Chapter Seven
Ethan’s shifter-sensitive ears could hear Piper’s heart pounding from across the table.
He leaned back in his chair once more, throwing his face in shadow and lowering his gaze to her scooped neckline.
The pulse thumping rapidly in her throat quickly told him two things: his contract offer had excited her, and she was more nervous than she let on.
Ethan loved that she showed strength in the face of her uncertainty. She had no clue what he was about, yet she held her shoulders stiff and her chin high, hiding her insecurity behind a mask of confidence. “Can I get back with you on it after I meet with Calibri’s?”
“Of course,” he responded, inwardly smiling. She’d just assured him that he’d see her again.
Truth was, Ethan didn’t care about the money or the clothing line for that matter. He wanted Piper Hollister in his bed, and he would do whatever it took to have her there.
Ethan had known Piper would be his the moment she’d stumbled into him outside the Hilton. His wolf had sensed it even before she’d blasted him with those pale green eyes of hers.
Now, here she sat, looking for all the world like a beautiful goddess, and smelling good enough to drape her across the table in front of him.
Yeah, her scent drove him mad with lust, if his throbbing erection were any indication.
Shifting to a more comfortable position, Ethan willed his wolf to settle and flagged the waitress over. “I’ll have a steak, rare, and the artichoke soup with black truffle.”
“Very good, sir. And the lady?” The waitress turned her attention to Piper.
“I’ll have the same.”
Ethan’s cock twitched again. Piper had ordered a rare steak. Surely to God, he had to be in heaven.
He loved that she wasn’t afraid to order what she wanted. Most dates he’d been on consisted of his date ordering a salad and maybe a dessert. Which they would rarely finish.
But not Piper. No, she exuded confidence, which made her even more appealing to him. If that were possible.
Once the waitress refilled their wineglasses and meandered away, Ethan took a healthy drink and studied Piper’s exotic features. “Tell me a little about yourself.”
“There’s not a lot to tell,” Piper murmured after taking a sip of her own wine and dabbing at the corner of her mouth with the white linen napkin. “I grew up here in Orlando, did some modeling for a few years, and I’ve been designing clothes ever since. Nothing exciting, you realize. But it pays the bills.”
No coy remarks, he noticed. She didn’t vamp up her story to make herself more appealing. She simply leveled the field and told it like it was.
“What about you?”
Caught off guard by her quick spotlight shift, Ethan rolled the stem of his wineglass around in his fingers, watching as the candlelight reflected off the golden liquid inside. “I moved here in my late teens.”
“Moved from where?” she interjected, watching him intently.
Ethan had never been more attracted to a woman than he was in that moment. Her no-bullshit, straight-up attitude stirred his beast to life and ramped up his desire to dominate her.
“Texas,” he rumbled, heat forming behind his eyes.
Nodding for him to continue, Piper took another sip of wine.
Ethan took a calming breath, forcing the wolf inside him to heel. “I was raised by a single mom. Life wasn’t a bed of roses growing up, but she did the best she could. She passed away right after I got out of high school. I stayed in Texas for a little while before striking out for Florida. I’ve since made this my home.”
Something flickered in her beautiful eyes. “And your father? Where is he?”
Ethan shrugged. “Never met him. And mom never talked about him. He died before I was born.”
He purposely left out that his father, Darren Foster had been killed by the Seaborns, and that the two families had been enemies ever since. He also neglected to mention that his mother gave Ethan her last name after his father’s death.
“I’m sorry.”
The last thing Ethan wanted was her pity. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I turned out all right.”
Piper grew quiet for a moment before she asked, “Is there a Mrs. Seaborn?”
Ethan’s stomach tightened with a warm energy. Piper had just asked if he was married. “No wife. What about you? Have you ever been married?”
But he already knew the answer to that. He’d done his homework, had learned just about everything there was to know about the exotic beauty sitting before him now.
Her gaze lowered to her drink before lifting once more. “I’ve never had a desire to marry. I think I’ve always been independent. I love that I’ve made it this far in life on my own. If I ever do decide to share myself with someone, it’ll be out of want and not necessity.”
Ethan’s wolf stirred once more. The self-assured, almost defiant way she spoke of sharing herself was a challenge he couldn’t back away from. He would have her, no matter what he had to do to make that happen.
They continued talking for long moments until the food began to arrive.
Piper ate like she did everything else, with poise and grace. She didn’t pick at her food or nibble on her salad. No, she was far too confident for that.
After the meal was over, they continued to talk, finishing off the bottle of wine and ordering another.
Ethan couldn’t recall ever having enjoyed the company of anyone as much as he did Piper Hollister.
“So, we’ve established that you’ve never been married,” Piper casually remarked. “What about kids?”
Her question caught Ethan off guard. “I have no children.”
“You don’t want kids of your own someday?” She relaxed back against her seat and crossed her shapely legs.
Ethan shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant. He couldn’t tell her that any children he sired ran the risk of being caught in the crosshairs of the Fosters.
Though Darren Foster had been dead more than thirty years now, Darren’s father, was still very much alive.
To say that Isaac Foster blamed the Seaborns for Darren’s untimely death would be an understatement. And it positively roasted the old man’s ass that Ethan had moved to Florida to take his rightful place as alpha of the Sorrento pack once Wallace Seaborn stepped down.
Ethan had alpha blood flowing through his veins from both sides of his family. Although, he didn’t consider the Fosters to be family.
Looking Piper square in the eyes, Ethan lied. “No. I’ve never desired to have children.”
She didn’t respond, simply sat there, watching him as if she could see into his very soul.
The waitress picked that moment to return. She discreetly deposited the bill next to Ethan’s elbow and scurried away.
Ethan pulled out a credit card, tucked it inside the black leather sleeve, and then laid his napkin on the table. “Wanna go somewhere else?”
“Sure. How about the Blue Sapphire?”
Damn, he loved her straightforwardness. “Would you like to ride with me?”
Piper uncrossed her legs and stood. “I’ll meet you there.”
She turned on her heel and left before the waitress could return to take his credit card.
Ethan inwardly smiled.