EIGHT

ETHAN

I stood up, pulling her to her feet, keeping her hands in mine. I looked closely into her eyes. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

She opened her mouth to answer. I leaned forwards ready to take her, to own her, to possess her body and her mind. Then her phone rang.

"Shit," she said, fumbling into her pocket. I didn't even know her skirt had a pocket. "Sorry."

I stepped back, trying not to laugh. There was me asserting my dominance over her, waiting for her to say yes. And then this.

"Hi, Mum," she said into the phone, mouthing, "Sorry," to me.

"It's fine," I whispered back, gathering up the plates to take them into the kitchen.

"I know you rang last night. I saw the missed calls. No, I'm not dead. I was just tired."

I pushed my way through to kitchen. Things weren't going exactly how I had planned but she was still here. That was the important thing. I decided to make a couple of calls while she was on the phone. The first was to the office to check in, let them know I wouldn't be in today, get a few meetings rescheduled. The second was to let my lawyer known Jason Fry was back in town. He knew to tighten down the contact points, make sure no other ideas slipped out to him.

We could afford to take the hit on one idea, even if it had taken a year to work up. But we couldn't afford for him to steal everything and I knew he would if he thought he could get away with it. I'd seen the look in his eyes after the auction, that bitterness that said he would be looking for any chance at revenge he could get.

I finished on the phone then dumped the dishes in the dishwasher. Once that was done, I returned to the dining room. She was still on the phone. "Of course I'll be there, I wouldn't miss Sunday dinner with you for the world but do we have to talk about it now? I'm just a bit busy that's all. No, I'm not doing drugs." She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"I'll be in there," I mouthed, heading through to the conservatory. It was where I kept my gym equipment. It was too soon after eating for running or cycling but I could do my regular morning weightlifting without too much trouble while she finished on the phone.

As I pulled off my top and lay down on the bench, I found myself comparing her relationship with her mother to mine with my parents. It was intriguing to see how different they were. Her mother clearly worried about her as if she was still a child.

My parents had never worried about me. They'd never called to have a conversation like that. I always thought that was what made me so independent. From when I was a kid, I had to take care of myself. The only thing they knew was problems could be solved with money. For me, it wasn't that simple. If I fell over and scraped my knee, all the money in the world wouldn't make it heal quicker. All I wanted was a bit of attention. Instead I got a new bike.

I found myself lifting faster, gritting my teeth at the ache in muscles, doing my best to ignore it. I started to sweat as I moved onto leg lifts. I got through my whole routine and she still hadn't appeared. That gave me time to shower.

I'd had a shower room installed next to the conservatory. It meant I could work out while looking out at the grounds and not have to traipse upstairs to get clean afterwards.

There was a fresh suit in there ready for me, same as every morning. I was just stripping out of my shorts when I heard a knock on the door. I thought for a brief second before saying, "Come in."

She walked in. "Sorry about-" she began before stopping dead. She looked straight down at my cock, her eyes widening before she forced her gaze back up to my face, "that." She began to stutter. "Y...y...you're naked."

"I'm about to shower," I said. "Hard to do it with clothes on."

It was a deliberate test. I was tired of mucking about. I didn't have forever with her. Once she'd seen my body, she'd either run or stay. This was the quickest way to find out which. If she ran, so be it.

She didn't run.

She didn't move. She just stood there repeating herself. "You're naked."

"You never answered my question."

"Wh...what question?"

I took a step towards her, lifting her face by putting my finger under her chin. "Whether you want me to kiss you."

She paused and in the quietest voice imaginable, she said, "I do."

I leaned towards her, pressing my lips against hers. From the moment I kissed her, something passed between us. It was a spark running from her into me, something that was mine forever, something that could never be taken away.

I knew she felt it too, she closed her eyes and warmed to the kiss, her lips parting slowly as my hands slid around her back, drawing her towards me.

I ignored the throbbing desire in my cock. All I wanted to do in that moment was hold her close, feel her warmth, her slight trembling frame as I stared at her, unable to believe it was finally happening. I had wanted so much more but I hadn't realised this was all I needed, one kiss. It was enough to tell me she couldn't leave, she couldn't walk away.

I had to stay with her. She had to stay with me. Everything else that followed was a direct consequence of that tiny spark that passed between us. I knew that I would do whatever it took to keep that spark alive, to nurture it into a burning fire that she had created, something no one else had ever done for me before.

It was immensely powerful and the longer we embraced, the stronger it became until by the time we parted, I was a changed man. I didn't just want to use her body, I wanted to own her soul.

"That was nice," she said, swaying on her feet.

"Now I need to shower," I said, thinking already of the future. Leave her wanting more, it would not be long before she was begging me for more kisses, for much more than just kisses too. But that could wait. First I was going to get clean. Or so I thought.