Chapter 4
Ethan had absolutely no idea what he was doing in Talia’s bedroom. Well, he knew what he had intended to do here, and that was have a conversation where he suggested she stay here when he left, and have her flatly refuse. But he was no longer sure why, faced with a naked Talia, it had seemed like such a good idea to climb from his balcony to hers in order to have that conversation.
It was obvious from Talia’s bare shoulders and the swell of her breasts that she was completely naked beneath the duvet. That, and the fact she had been pleasuring herself when he entered the bedroom.
How fucking sexy was that?
Watching Talia lying back against the pillows, her eyes closed and her cheeks flushed, her hands beneath the duvet as she touched herself, had been so erotic, his cock was now pressing against his jeans begging let me in, let me in.
A fact Talia was fully aware of if the way she couldn’t lift her gaze above the area of his bulging cock was any indication. “Can I take your silence as a yes?”
“No.”
He bit back his disappointment. “Okay. I’ll just— What are you doing?” he prompted as Talia threw back the duvet before standing up.
As Ethan had thought, she was completely naked.
Sleek, sexy, and completely fucking naked.
Caution and waiting be damned. Fucking was exactly what he wanted to do to her right now.
Her long blonde hair cascaded onto her shoulders and down her back. The swell of her breasts had a delicious uptilt tipped by engorged and rosy-hued nipples. Her waist was slender, curving out at her hips, her legs long and shapely, with a golden nest of curls covering her mound.
Ethan licked his lips at the thought of tasting her again. “This doesn’t look like a no…”
She gave an enigmatic smile as she sank down onto her knees in front of him. “I was only saying no to you getting into bed with me. You’ve already made love to me once and offered to do so again. I can’t have you accusing me of being a cock-tease.” She unfastened the button on his jeans before sliding the zip down, his lack of underwear meaning his naked cock instantly bobbed in front of her, begging for attention.
Ethan gave a shuddering groan, his hands fisting at his sides as Talia used both hands to curled her fingers about his cock and gave it a long and leisurely stroke downward. “Again,” he encouraged hoarsely as pre-cum bubbled up to the surface.
Talia hadn’t planned this, only knew Ethan had been the one to give her all the pleasure yesterday, and now she wanted to do the same for him.
He had an almost pained expression on his face as she stroked her fingers downward again. She’d seen Ethan’s cock yesterday but hadn’t touched him. The skin was velvety soft over the hardness, like steel encased in velvet, with thick-ridged veins running the length of it. The bared and engorged glans was a deep purple as she used the soft pad of her thumb to spread the slickness down his rigid length.
He smelled amazing, a mixture of body wash and male musk. She groaned in ecstasy as, having leaned forward to lick up the pre-cum still leaking from the slit at the top of his glans, the taste of him exploded in her mouth. It was both salty and sweet, and totally addictive as she parted her lips and took that bulbous top fully into her mouth and continued licking and sucking on that pre-cum.
Her head bobbed up and down on his length, while the fingers of one hand continued its up-and-down stroke and the other cupped the furred sac beneath. Ethan gave another low groan, his fingers entangling almost painfully in her hair to hold her in place as he began to thrust slowly in and out of her mouth.
Talia had never sucked on a man’s cock in her life before today, but it felt exhilarating to know, to feel this powerful and self-assured man moaning and shuddering his pleasure as she caressed and teased that hard length with her hands and mouth.
“God, you’re good at this,” Ethan groaned breathily. “That is so, so good.” His fists tightened in her hair as he began to thrust harder and deeper into her mouth. “Damn it, I’m going to come,” he murmured achingly a few seconds later. “You need to back off, Talia,” he warned, pushing on her shoulders as he attempted to pull out.
Instead, Talia tightened her grip, deepening the stroking of her hand and squeezing his sac. She felt Ethan’s cock swell, growing longer and thicker before the long and salty spurts of his seed hit the back of her throat to be swallowed down greedily.
Long seconds later Talia lifted her head and released his softening cock before sitting back on her heels, her gaze lowered as she licked the last of that hot, salty-and-sweet nectar from her lips.
Which was when reaction set in as to exactly what she had just done. This was Ethan. An experienced man twelve years older than her. The same man she had lusted after for so long, she couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t wanted him.
The man she had also gone to ask for help in finding her father. Ethan had been suspicious enough of her motives yesterday. How much more so would he be after what she’d just done?
Ethan would be lying if he said it was the first time a woman had given him release that way, but it was certainly the most enjoyable. Enjoyable! It had been fucking amazing, the biggest turn-on of his life, to have a naked Talia kneel down at his feet and take his cock in her hands. To watch her take him in her mouth and see how his cock stretched her lips wide each time it pumped in and out of her throat. He’d thought the top of his head was going to explode and his knees buckle when he came so powerfully. He hadn’t been able to stop coming as he watched the slenderness of her throat move as she swallowed his cum.
“Talia…?” he prompted, reaching out to cup his hand beneath her chin and raise her head as he realized she was no longer looking at him. “Are you okay?”
Her gaze still avoided meeting his. “Of course.”
“Then why— Did I hurt you? Was I too rough?” He dipped his head lower, trying to get her to meet his gaze. Her lashes stayed firmly in place over those dark blue eyes. Shit. “Answer me, damn it.”
“No, of course you didn’t hurt me.” She pulled away from his hand before standing up and moving toward the bathroom. “I just need to—”
“You just need to talk to me.” Ethan had caught up with her and grasped hold of her arm before turning her back toward him, hating the fact she still wouldn’t look at him. “Talk, Talia.”
She gave him a quick glance before looking down again. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
His body tensed. “Why shouldn’t you?”
“Never mind.” She shook her head. “I’m tired and need to brush my teeth before I go back to bed. No doubt everything will seem less black-and-white once I’ve had some sleep.”
How could Ethan have forgotten, however briefly, that Talia’s father was missing? Yes, he might think the other man was a scumbag, but Ivan was still all the family Talia had. Ethan’s own family drove him insane at times, but he loved them all and certainly couldn’t imagine his life without them.
“I’m going to find your father for you,” he reassured her softly.
“And there it is.” Her breath released in an impatient sigh.
“There what is?”
“My mistake. I suddenly realized you were going to think that I…did that as a way of persuading you to help me find Papa.”
Ethan scowled as he let go of her arm before stepping back. “Did you?”
“No, but you’re such a suspicious bastard nowadays, you aren’t going to believe that, are you.” Talia gave a disgusted shake of her head.
“I hadn’t even thought about it until you mentioned it.” He’d been far too busy enjoying having her hands and mouth on him to question why she was doing it.
“Give it a couple of hours, maybe less, and you would have,” she scorned.
“You don’t know that.”
She sighed. “Yes, I do. The Ethan you are now suspects the motives of everyone and everything. Just remember that you came to my bedroom, not the other way round. I’m going into the bathroom.”
“Stazzi is going to organize some clothes for when we wake up.”
“Good. Now please leave. And use the damned door this time.” She disappeared into the bathroom, and Ethan heard the lock turning seconds later.
Which was when he realized he had carried out the whole of the latter part of their conversation with his semihard cock hanging out of his jeans.
Oh, very fucking suave, Ethan, he rebuked himself as he adjusted his clothing, more annoyed with himself than he was with Talia. He should never have thought he could come to her bedroom and they would simply talk.
Except he was drawn to this woman like a fucking moth to a flame. With as disastrous results.
He had been shocked as hell last night when he walked back into the finca and found Talia waiting for him. Shocked enough to treat her like a fucking criminal and accuse her of all sorts of ridiculous things that couldn’t possibly be true.
Talia was right, these past six months had turned him into a suspicious fuck.
When the truth of the matter was he had already been planning to go to Talia once he had Alizoti off his back.
Well now, Talia had come looking for him, and Alizoti was still a threat. Meaning, if Ethan wanted to keep her safe, he would have to start keeping his distance from her. All Talia required of him right now was to get her father back. Any personal involvement between the two of them would be putting her in the danger he had been trying so hard to avoid the past six months.
Maybe he should have remembered that before he made love to her yesterday and then let her reciprocate today.
What happened between them just now was going to make persuading Talia to remain here when he left so much harder.
“Stazzi said you had already given her the money for my new clothes?” Talia hadn’t meant her words to sound accusing, but they had definitely come out that way.
Ethan had been gone from her bedroom earlier when she returned from the bathroom, as she had requested, after which she had gone back to bed and slept most of the day away. There had been half a dozen shopping bags placed just inside her bedroom when she woke up, though, so someone had entered quietly while she was sleeping and delivered what turned out to be several new outfits, a silk nightshirt to sleep in, and extra toiletries.
Talia was wearing some of those new clothes this evening: a pair of tailored black trousers and a royal blue silk blouse. Both her size, thanks to Stazzi.
The first thing Talia had done was go in search of the other woman to thank her and ask how much she owed her for the new clothes. She’d had to wait to have that conversation while she was introduced to Stazzi’s two children and the other woman finished playing with them before they went off with their nanny to have a bath.
Learning Ethan had already paid Stazzi had resulted in Talia immediately seeking him out in Alexandre’s study, where Stazzi said she had last seen him. Talia didn’t need Ethan to pay for her new clothes, thank you very much. Money had never been something Talia was short of, although nowadays she preferred to spend her own money rather than her father’s. Even if, as Ethan had accused, that money had been earned by illegal hacking.
There was a frown between his eyes when he finally glanced up from the screen of his laptop. “Don’t worry, I’ll be putting the new clothes on your bill.”
That took the wind right out of her sales. “Oh.”
“Anything else?” His impatience was barely contained.
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t get snappy with me.”
He leaned back in the leather chair behind Alexandre’s imposing mahogany desk, wearing a new black button-down shirt and stone-washed jeans. “I believe you snapped first.”
Well. Yes. She had. Their earlier encounter in her bedroom had left her feeling defensive. Learning from Stazzi about Ethan paying for her things as well as his own had given Talia the perfect excuse to challenge him.
Except he had challenged her right back.
Hadn’t he always?
She should have remembered that wrong-footing this man was virtually impossible. Even last night, when she had managed to disarm his alarm system and sneak into his finca, he had turned the tables on her by making love to her until she screamed out her release.
“What are you thinking about?” he taunted. “But maybe I don’t need to ask when your face is so red?”
Her cheeks instantly blazed with fresh fire. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you— What are you doing?” She instinctively backed up as Ethan surged to his feet and crossed the study in two long strides.
His eyes were narrowed to steely slits. “I’m wondering why you’re deliberately trying to provoke an argument with me?”
Her chin rose. “Why would I do that?”
“You tell me.”
She couldn’t. Not without thoroughly humiliating herself. Ethan had already admitted to knowing she’d had a crush on him five years ago. She had no intention of admitting that crush had come back, with reinforcements. No, that wasn’t true. It hadn’t come back because it had never gone away. She also doubted it had ever been a crush. Not when she’d only had to see Ethan again yesterday to melt into a puddle of want and need.
She avoided meeting his steely gaze. “Have you spoken to Gabriel yet?”
A shuttered expression came over his face. “Several hours ago.”
“And?”
“And he has Zander checking into who flew in or out of Nassau, and also the names of any passengers on boats arriving or leaving in the two days before and after your father disappeared.”
Talia’s eyes widened. “I didn’t tell you where we were living when Papa disappeared.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“You knew where we were before I came looking for you.” It was an accusation, not a question.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You aren’t the only one who can hack into secure data.”
“Why would you do that?” she added incredulously.
He shrugged. “I didn’t. Zander did.”
“Why?”
“You were a job unfinished.”
Talia took a step back. “What?”
“You and your father, disappearing in the way you did three years ago, made you a job unfinished.”
Talia looked at Ethan searchingly. His eyes were still steely, with none of that warmer gold about the iris. His jaw was tight, the muscles tense in his shoulders and chest.
“How long have you known where I was?”
“Seven months.”
He couldn’t have told Talia any more clearly he also considered her a job unfinished.
Then what had last night and earlier today been about?
Talia felt sick. In fact, she thought she might actually be sick if she didn’t get away from Ethan. Right now. “Fine.” She nodded. “Stazzi said to tell you dinner is in twenty minutes,” she added before turning and walking away.
It took every ounce of pride she had to keep those steps steady and measured, when what she really wanted to do was run and keep on running. Until neither Ethan nor anyone else could find her.
But she knew she couldn’t do that when she needed Ethan’s help.