Lexi
My body jolts with pleasure, and I bite my lip as I fantasize about Ethan going down on me again like he did last night. I can still feel his hands on my legs moving them apart, his tongue pushing against my clit. Opening my eyes, I realize I’m not dreaming. Ethan is waking me up in the best way possible.
My back arches off the bed. “Ethan,” his name floats from my lips as my fingers curl in his hair. God, I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.
While Ethan’s thumb is still circling my clit, he begins kissing up my stomach, then taking my nipple in his mouth.
“Today, you will cum on my fingers,” Ethan whispers in my ear. His lips move down my neck to the spot he knows always pushes me over the edge. He plunges a finger inside and I dig my nails into his back, screaming as I cum.
As my body relaxes, I look at Ethan. “Best wake-up call ever,” I tell him as he kisses me.
He brings his fingers to his mouth and starts sucking on them. “I could wake up like this every morning.” He gives me a wink as his phone rings. “What?” he barks into the phone. I watch him as he walks into the bathroom. “I’ll be working on it.”
Ethan’s already told me he isn’t leaving Washington until they sign the papers to get his plans for the mall approved, and I believe him. Ethan's a man who knows what he wants and does what it takes to get it. He’s started focusing more on the children’s center recently since it hasn’t gone as well as he’d hoped.
As soon as I found out about Emily and the center, I called a friend of mine who night be able to help Ethan. He agreed to come today to talk to him. I called him because he has a children’s center of his own, and he and Ethan have the same business mindset, but I’m not sure if Ethan will agree to it when he sees who it is.
Finally getting out of bed, I walk past Ethan to I get in the shower. He's been on the phone for the last hour. I can only guess it's Selena, since she’s who he’s on the phone with most of the time.
Popping my head out of the shower, I say in a seductive tone, “I’m naked and wet, where do you want to be?” I smile at Ethan and he looks at me.
“Selena, I’ll call you back.” Ending the call, he pulls his shirt over his head and steps in the shower. “Always with you.” Ethan starts kissing the back of my neck.
“That’s the right answer.” Turning around, I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “I have someone coming today to talk to you about the children’s center. Don’t fight with me about it, just hear them out, please,” I say, getting on my knees before he can ask me who it is.
I know Ethan is a great businessman and I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, but I also know this could be good for him and allow him more free time with a little less stress.
***
Taking my ringing phone off the table, I look over at Ethan working on his laptop at the table before answering. “Hi, are you here?” I ask.
“Yes.”
"Come right up. I told the doorman to let you in.” I end the call and put the phone down. I look over at Ethan. "I think this is a promising idea, so please don't say no right away." I say as Ethan walks over to me. I hope he will at least give this a chance, but he’s giving me that look I've seen so many time when he’s talking to Selena. He’s not happy, and he wants to say no.
I go to walk to the door when there's a knock, but Ethan pulls me back to him. “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not part of it, then. All I’m doing is introducing you to someone who might be useful. If you don’t like him or his ideas, then say no and I won’t mention it again.” Kissing him, I walk away.
“Lexi?” he starts, and I turn to face him. “Never mind.” Putting his hand in his pocket, he waits for me to open the door.
I’m a little nervous about this, but what’s done is done. I open the door with a huge smile on my face. “Mr. Williams,” I say, kissing him on the cheek. “Please, come in.” I look over at Ethan, his eyes locked on mine. I’m not sure whether this is a ‘what the fuck are you doing’ look, or what.
“I had to come meet the man that took you away from me.” He looks at me with a smile then over at Ethan. “Mr. Knight,” he says, putting his hand out for Ethan to shake.
Ethan stands with his hands in his pocket, and I shake my head at him. “Mr. Williams,” he acknowledges before finally shaking his hand.
“So, before Ethan goes all crazy on us, let me tell you why Mr. Williams is here.” I walk over to stand next to Mr. Williams. “You need someone to help with the center, and he already owns three successful ones in New York. Two of them have teachers working with them. Now, I could go on and on about this, but I don’t know the business side of it. I’ve told him, and now I’m telling you. If you don’t want to work together, then don’t.” This is a business arrangement; it has nothing to do with me. “Now, I'll leave you two to talk,” I say, walking over to my bag.
“And where do you think you’re going?” I hear Ethan say from behind me.
“I thought I would go shopping while you two talk,” I tell him. Why would I want to be here while they talk about a business I’m not that interested in?
“You can sit that sexy ass back down. You’re not going out alone with that crazy asshole still out there.” Ethan points to the couch. Folding my arms across my chest, I look at him and huff. “You can look at me like that all you want. Sit the fuck down and shop online or whatever. I don’t give a shit, but you’re not leaving without me,” he says, leaning on the back of the couch with his eyes locked on mine.
Throwing my bag on the floor, I walk over to the couch and sit down, grabbing the magazine off the table. I look up and see Mr. Williams staring at me and shake my head at him because I know what he’s wondering, and the answer is no.
“Lexi, can—”
“No,” I look at Mr. Williams, and he looks between Ethan and me. “You’ve come to talk about business, nothing else,” I tell him.
“Am I missing something here?” Ethan asks, looking back at us both, but I don’t break eye contact with Mr. Williams.
“This man was willing to pay millions to go on a date with you, and knowing about Sam, he’s still standing next to you. Lexi, why you haven’t told him? Are you planning on leaving him, or are you just scared?” Mr. Williams sits on the couch next to me. “When you called to tell me that Sam found you, I told you then, and I’m telling you now. The condo in New York is yours.”
“So, have we found a new lady friend, yet?” I ask him, and he starts laughing.
Mr. Williams turns to Ethan. “I take it she’s still as stubborn as always.”
“Good to know she isn’t just a pain in my ass.” Ethan looks at me and gives me a wink, but I'm aware this conversation isn’t finished no matter how much I might want to avoid it.
They both spend ages going back and forth about the center. I heard a few words here and there, but nothing that interested me. Ethan called Selena to come over with all the paperwork for the new plans.
On top of that, Travis has been calling a lot today. He would call with good news, then turn around and call with something bad. Ethan would yell at him, telling him how useless he was. In the end, he told Travis to come over too, since talking to him over the phone was getting him nowhere.
“You two want some coffee?” I ask, walking over to the kitchen.
“Please,” Mr. Williams says.
“Yes,” Ethan says looking through the papers without looking up at me. I know when Ethan is in business mode, he’s not looking at things around him.
“Ethan, the word please means—”
“Mr. Williams, you’ve come to talk business,” I cut in. I’m not ready to tell Ethan why please is a word that has been drilled into me. It never got me anywhere—I still had to beg. To me, please is a word you should use and should get some respect for using it too.
“All I was going to say was, the word please means more than you can imagine,” Mr. Williams tells him. Ethan looks over at me, holding my eyes for a moment, and I can already see the questions running around in his head.
Breaking eye contact with him, I go back to making the coffee. Standing there for a moment, I bite my inner cheek, close my eyes, and take a deep breath in trying to forget the day I begged. Please didn’t help me that day.
Placing the coffee on the table for them, I hear the doorbell and turn to answer the door. “I can get it.” I walk away from them. “He’s pissed with you,” I say with a smile at Travis and Selena as they walk into the apartment.
“He’s angry all the time.” Travis kisses me on the cheek. There’s no fighting with that reasoning because he’s right—Ethan is pissed all the time.
"Travis, give me five minutes. Selena, give Mr. Williams the paperwork, and you…” Ethan points at me. “Follow me.” I look over at Mr. Williams because I already know what this is about. “Now, Lexi. I have work to do,” Ethan shouts from his room.
“Looks like someone is getting a spanking,” Travis says in a playful way that makes me laugh. Shaking my head at him, I walk over to Ethan’s bedroom.
Ethan closes the door behind me. “Why is it that Mr. Williams knows everything about you, and I know fucking nothing?” Ethan asks, putting his hands in his pockets and watching me.
“Well, you know more than you think. You know how to kiss my neck to make me—”
“Don’t. Don’t think you can talk sexy and I'll forget,” he snaps. Yes, that was the plan.
“For the first few months, Mr. Williams wanted someone to talk to about his wife and their life together. Then, one day, he asked about mine. I only told him things that you already know. There was a weekend that I had to cancel on him because I thought Sam had found me. He hadn’t, but it was enough to scare me. The following weekend, Mr. Williams looked so worried about me. He said there was something different in my voice. We had gotten to the point where our relationship was so much more than just a business deal. I saw him as a very close friend, so I told him about Sam,” I tell him, who's watching me carefully. I don’t know if he's pissed off with me, or what. He’s so hard to read.
“And the word please, why does that word have so much meaning?” I tense up a little as he walks over to me. “I don’t want you to hide from me, Lexi,” he says before placing his hands on my waist. “I want to know everything. I want to know what I can do to make you happy.”
I shake my head because he doesn’t get it. “Ethan, the only reason I haven’t moved and changed my name again, is because of you. You make me happy. I’m here because I’m falling in love with you. I’m scared that Sam will take it all away from me,” I tell him, leaning my head on his chest.
He wraps his arms around me pulling me closer to him. “I don’t need to say I’m falling in love with you, Lexi. The second I kissed you, I knew I was in love with you,” he says, bringing my arms around him. “Talk to me, please.”
“When everyone has gone and your work is finished for the day, I’ll tell you.” I heard Ethan say he loves me, but right now, I have no idea how to take it. It scares me that I’m falling in love with him, and it scares me even more knowing that Sam can use it to hurt me.
“They’ll all be out within the hour.” He kisses my lips softly. “Lexi, I'll never hurt you, and I'll never let anyone else hurt you, that’s a promise,” he says in a whisper. Looking up at him, I smile.
***
After more than an hour, everyone has finally gone. Travis and Ethan got a plan together for the London mall they're working on and will start on it when we get back from Washington.
Then there was Selena. I have no idea how much he pays her, but I can say it can’t be nearly enough to deal with how awful he treats her. He's downright mean to her sometimes. He went as far as to tell her to call the police if Edward or Angie even call the office as he has had enough of them.
In the end, Ethan and Mr. Williams agreed to work on the center together. His PA and Selena will get in touch with each other to get this started, and things can move forward. Mr. Williams mentioned a few teachers they’re going to interview. I’m so happy it worked out for them both.
Yes, I was worried Ethan would hate Mr. Williams just because he used to be my client. But, being the businessman he is, Ethan stuck to being a professional. He hasn’t made his millions by letting personal things get in the way of his good business sense.
“Wine?” Ethan hands me a glass. Giving him a smile, I take the glass from him. “So, that took longer than I thought,” he says, sitting down next to me.
Leaning my head on his, I cuddle up next to him. “Ethan, it’s not that I want you to say please to me—that’s not the case. I used to beg Sam to stop doing things to me. I said please so many times, and it got me nowhere with him. Please is just a word I like to use to show respect, or hear to feel like I’m being respected.” Taking a deep breath, I move away from him. “Sam didn’t run right after he killed my dad. I lied about that because I was too scared to tell you the truth,” I say, then drink the rest of my wine in one swallow before walking away from him. “Sam is a sick asshole. After he killed my dad, he raped me. I didn’t beg him to stop because I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I knew he was going to make me pay for leaving him. I begged, said please so many times over the years that it's drilled into my head. I still remember screaming please to him.” Licking my lips, I look at Ethan. “I begged him to shut my dad’s motionless eyes. Even though he was dead, I…” I pause as my words get stuck in my throat. “I needed them closed so that his last images weren’t of me not defending myself and not begging to be released. I already knew he was disappointed in me— that deep down he hated me for being weak. But I couldn’t let him…”
Ethan wraps his arms around me and pulls me in tight. “I don’t think your dad hated you. He wanted to protect you. He wanted you to be safe.”
I pull away from him. “That’s what I mean. Sam is so fucked up that he killed my dad to get me. What the fuck do you think he will do to you? I'm trying so hard not to fall in love with you, so that if Sam does do something, I won’t lose myself like I did after my dad. As much as I try not to, I can’t help but love you,” I say taking a step back from him as he takes one closer to me.
I need him to understand that anything can happen, and I’m scared he will get hurt.
“Lexi,” he says, taking a step closer to me. “Please look at me.” I lift my eyes to his as he tells me, “Nothing will happen to me or to you, and I promise you that nothing is going happen to us.” Ethan’s voice is calm and soothing. We both look down at his phone vibrating on the table. “Lexi, I love you more than I can say. I won’t let you move away, and I won’t let you push me away,” he says, walking closer and closer to me. I know he means every word he says, but that doesn’t mean I’m not scared of what can happen. Ethan sits back on the couch and pulls me to sit on top of him. “You’re stuck with me for a while, yet. I'm not saying right now, and maybe not even in a year’s time, but the next time you change your name, it’ll be to Knight.” He kisses me on the cheek.
I don’t say anything because I'm so far away from thinking about getting married. I mean, I haven’t even thought about it once. But, Lexi Knight does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?