Lexi
Ms. Jackie called me this morning to let me know she had booked my ticket to New York so I could speak to Mr. Williams about my current circumstances. She asked me not to tell him the truth, but I wasn’t going to lie to him. I respect him too much to do that.
Drinking my coffee, I think about what I’m going to say to him. I know he’ll understand because he's the sweetest person I know. Looking at the laptop, I figure I may as well do some shopping while I’m there too. I have four million dollars to spend now, so I may as well spend it making myself look beautiful. Shoes are usually at the top of my list, but I have been eyeing up this designer dress that I might pick up. That and a coat I’ve seen celebrities wearing which would look perfect with it.
Ms. Jackie told me that she was going to speak to the girls about my situation. Ethan will probably have me going right to his place at the end of the day, so I might not be at the office for a little while. I’m still going to send Ms. Jackie daily messages telling her where I’ll be. I don’t trust him just yet.
Wrapping my fingers around my coffee mug, I think back to Ethan’s comment yesterday. As we were leaving, he said he was going to make this difficult until I gave him what he wanted. Last night, I thought about the things I should have put in the addendum, but didn’t because I wasn’t thinking straight. I'm so angry with myself about it. He’s going to tease me until I’m begging for sex. If I’m the one to ask, then it won’t be breaking the contract, ‘No matter what happens, you are not sleeping with him!’ I mentally give myself encouragement.
Looking down at my phone as it pings with an incoming message, I roll my eyes at the name that pops up.
Ethan– Be here at 2pm.
Seeing it’s twelve, I get off the couch and start getting ready. Ethan didn’t tell me anything about this meeting. I still don’t know what I can and can’t wear. Looking through my closet, I decide on a baby-pink wrap dress and white peep-toe shoes.
***
When I walk into Ethan’s apartment building, I hear someone yelling my name. Turning around, I smile and nod at Joe.
“Mr. Knight told me to give you this.” He hands me a key to Ethan’s apartment.
“Thank you,” I say, taking the key from him. “So, how long have you worked here?” I ask him. He has such a friendly vibe about him.
“Too long,” he says with a chuckle. “I can say this, though. You're the most beautiful woman to walk through these doors in a very long time.” Taking my hand, he places a kiss on it.
“Joe, you're making me blush.” I smile at him before I walk to the elevator and take it to Ethan's floor.
Opening the door to his apartment, I take a look around the entrance area. Ethan is nowhere to be seen. Placing my bag on the table, I walk to the kitchen. My mouth waters at the amazing aroma from the stove. I lift the lids on the pots to see what he’s made for lunch. I remembered not to eat this time. I didn’t want a repeat from before, and be made to eat a second meal just because the jerk said so.
Walking around the apartment, I stop at his massive DVD collection.
“Do you see one you’d like to watch?” I turn around to see a shirtless Ethan. His hair is still wet, so I can only assume he just got out of the shower.
Shutting my mouth, I swallow hard and take a step back as he walks closer to me. My back hits the shelves before Ethan stops, standing directly in front of me. God, he smells so manly.
“Maybe later. I’m thinking…something scary,” he adds.
My body shivers at the sound of his deep, husky voice. “Sure, maybe I’ll get tips on how to cover up a murder,” I say with a smirk. I walk away from him before he starts getting under my skin. I won’t back down, but him walking out smelling and looking that sexy doesn’t help my resolve. “Should I plate lunch?” I ask, walking over to the kitchen.
“Yes.” He follows me, then looks through the cupboards.
“Do you want to put some clothes on?” I ask, looking at his chest and abs. He doesn’t have a six-pack, but he does have a body I would love to touch.
“You like what you see?”
“No, I’m trying very hard not to throw up looking at you,” I bite back. Yep, this is going to be so much harder than I thought.
He laughs for the first time. I look up at him in awe of his beautiful laugh. It’s genuine and goes all the way to his eyes, causing them crease at the sides. I can’t help but smile back. Only after he walks out of my line of sight do I get back to plating the food.
I’m putting the plates on the table when I hear Ethan behind me.
“Wine?” he asks as he walks past me to the freestanding wine cooler.
Before I can answer him, he’s walking back with two glasses. I watch him closely because I have a gut feeling he’s up to something. His eyes travel up my body, stopping at my neck. After taking a sip of his wine, he tells me to put my hair up. I keep wanting to ask him if he ever learned the word ‘please.’
Placing my glass of wine on the table, I pull a clip out of my bag and look at my reflection in the window to do as he asks. I’m not going to argue with him about it. I mean, it’s just my hair and maybe he wants me to look a certain way for this meeting. He’s still watching me, his eyes never leaving my neck as I pull my chair out. I stop when I feel his hand on mine. I swear an electric shock just went through my body.
“Why am I here so early? Isn’t the meeting later this evening?” I watch him move around the table. God, he walks like a model.
“I wanted to talk about the new additions to the contract,” he says, pulling his chair in toward the table. “I made a few changes. Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything over the top.” He slides it over to me.
Over the top? He’s already done that, so nothing else he does is going to shock me now.
Looking through the papers, I see all the changes we already agreed on: I'll be presented to everyone as his girlfriend. I'll spend five out of seven days with him…
I look up when I read this. “You will have something scheduled that requires my presence five out of seven days?” I wonder what his game is, because this is beginning to look like this is more than trying to get me into his bed.
“No, I won’t. I don’t have anything for a few months, but I still want you here for company.”
I look back at the papers and mentally roll my eyes. Yeah, right. He must think I’m an idiot if he thinks I believe he only wants my company. “What if you're working?” I ask before taking a sip of my wine.
“You will be here when I get back.” He stops for a moment like he's trying to read my mind for what I'm about to ask. What about my life? Is the question I want to ask. “You can do whatever it is you normally do, and I'll message you when I leave work. I expect you to be here when I arrive.”
“Fine.” I look back at the papers. Yes, that came out bitter, but I don’t care. This is senseless, and I’m still beating myself up for agreeing to this from the start. He didn’t change anything else until the last page. There it is in black and white, the one thing I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do. ‘Every Wednesday is dinner with my family, which you will attend’. I begin to panic. Closing the file, I reach for the wine and drink it all in one go.
My eyes meet Ethan’s, and I force a smile. I know he’s going to ask the one question I won’t answer. “Can I have some more wine, please?”
“Yes. Sign the papers.” Ethan places a pen on top of the file, then walks away. I don’t look to see where he goes. I just stare at the pen begging it to self-combust. “Here.” Ethan places a glass of wine on the table, then takes his seat in front of me. “Is everything okay?”
I watch him as he leans back in his chair. “Yes, everything’s fine. Nothing’s wrong,” I tell him. I can’t tell him my worries about family, but I can see he’s not buying it either. Quickly grabbing the pen, I sign the papers and then push them back to him. “So, what meeting is this evening?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“There isn’t one. I wanted you here to talk about this. You can stay for dinner, read about my family, then we can watch a movie.”
Swallowing a mouthful of food, I drink my wine. “I’m not really dressed for a cozy day in.” I look down at my dress then back up at him. He’s got that devilish smile on his face again.
“I can always take the dress off for you,” he says as he pushes his plate away. Ethan leans forward with his elbows on the table. “Feed me some food.”
Please! Taking some food on my fork, I slowly bring it closer to his mouth. Our eyes connect the closer I get to him. Ethan begins to open his mouth.
I lick my lips slowly, then turn the fork, bringing it to my lips. “Mmmm, so good,” I say, licking my lips again. If he wants to play games, then I’m more than happy to play along.
Picking up the file on his family, I walk over to the sofa to start reading. I can feel Ethan behind me, and it’s taking all my willpower not to react to him being there. He walks around to the front of the couch and kneels in front of me. He moves his hand down my leg without touching me, and it’s erotic as hell. He stops at my shoe, takes it off, then does the same to the other leg.
“I want you to be comfortable here.” He moves closer to me with his face only inches away from mine, almost as if he's going to kiss me.
I bet he’s a good kisser. He’s bossy and demanding, and I bet his kiss is the same. Oh, my God. Am I saying I like it when he’s being an overbearing jerk to me?
I quickly move away from him, then look back down at the file. “Ethan, your mom owns the cinnamon and pretzel place?” I sit close to him. “I love that place. I order cinnamon buns from there every day!” The excitement in my voice is almost squeaky. “Can you ask her how she makes the sweet pretzels?” I look at him, still kneeling in front of me with a huge smile on his face.
“Every day? What do you eat from there?” Ethan places his hand on my bare thigh.
“I order a few things, but the lemon cake is the best, I think. Oh, and the white chocolate cookies, and the salty treats… those are amazing.”
He looks me up and down. “Where does it all go?”
I put my legs up on the couch with Ethan’s hand still on my thigh. “I run,” I tell him. Why does his hand on my leg feel so nice? I cannot start liking him. I need to remember he’s an asshat and treats me like shit. Moving away from him, I continue to read the file, and he turns his attention to his phone.
I place the file on the table before standing up. “Would you like some tea or coffee?” He’s working on his laptop, and without looking up, he nods.
I walk off toward the kitchen. I’m not sure which he likes but I’m making myself a coffee, so that's what he will get as well. He looks like a coffee person. Walking back, I grab a bag of chips. You have your sweet-toothed people, and then the ones who prefer salty snacks. I’m a salty person. Give me some chips, and I'll finish the pack without even stopping. I have a jar in my kitchen filled with pretzels or chips. I go through them so much that I have to fill the jar back up at least twice-a-week.
Placing the coffee on the table, I take my bag of chips and walk over to the DVDs. “Do you have much more work to do?” I ask as I stands on my tiptoes to look at the ones on the top shelves.
“Do you have something in mind? I’m more than happy to stop for you.” I don’t bother turning around to look at him. I know what he has on his mind.
“Maybe we can go out for a bit. Otherwise, we'll be stuck indoors all day.” I continue to look at the DVDs, unsure what the best angle is to work him yet. Normally, I get a vibe from a client right away, but him, I get nothing. Putting some chips in my mouth, I turn around.
He puts his laptop on the table before walking over to me. Taking a chip out of the bag, he brings it up to my lips. “Open.” Please. I stare at him for a moment then open my mouth and watch as he places the chip in my mouth. “Close.” Please. I shut my mouth with his finger still there. He nudges me back on the DVD shelves, caging me in with his other arm. “If we go out, then I have to share you. Suck.” Please!
Holy shit, this is turning me on, and he knows it too. Not breaking eye contact, I suck his finger softly. I should not be doing this, but I can’t stop either. I feel him pulling his fingers out, so I flick my tongue around them one last time.
He pushes his body against me, and I can feel his breath on my neck. God, I wish he would stop that. His finger leaves my mouth and trails down my chin to my neck and then to the top of my breast. I must put a stop to this. This cannot happen. His mouth is so close to my neck that I can feel the heat of his breath caressing me.
I quickly move away. “Shopping! Can I go shopping?” I ask. I need to get away from him, and his perfect smell, and perfect lips.
“What would you like to buy?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Ummm, not sure yet,” I say in a panic. I grab my bag and wait for him to say something.
“Yes, I have a meeting anyway.” He picks up his laptop. “Be back for dinner,” he says, walking away from me.
Thank you, God.