Читать книгу Tied Up With Love: A feel-good, romantic comedy to make you smile - Holly Martin - Страница 14

Chapter Five

Izzy watched Ethan step out. Despite the wintry cold of the day, he was only wearing a black t-shirt. His strong forearms and muscular upper arms almost gleamed like bronze in the weak winter sunlight.

Kirsty, the intended target, was obviously going for an Oscar and Izzy was somewhat grateful that they were in the middle of nowhere.

‘Help! I’m being kidnapped,’ screamed Kirsty before Ethan had even taken a step towards her. ‘Someone help me.’

She turned to run away but if Kirsty thought Ethan was the type of man to give chase she had another think coming. Before she had even taken one step away from the van, Ethan had grabbed her, one arm round her waist, one hand over her mouth and hauled her tight against his body. Jealousy slammed through Izzy, unwelcome and unbidden. Kirsty struggled a little bit but it was quite useless being held so tight in Ethan’s arms.

‘We’re from KMW, do exactly as you’re told and you won’t get hurt,’ Ethan said, his voice a menacing growl that only added fuel to the desire raging through Izzy’s body at that moment.

Kirsty nodded weakly.

‘Now get in the van.’

Kirsty did as she was told, flashing Izzy an enormous grin as she got in. Kyle stepped forward and blindfolded Kirsty and proceeded to tie her hands together. Ethan stepped back into the van and the brief look he gave Izzy was dark.

The door closed and for a short moment, the darkness blinded her, but as her eyes became accustomed to the limited light, she realised he was standing almost directly in front of her, staring at her. She looked up at him as he held onto the metal rail above her head. As the van careened around several corners Ethan was solid, unmoveable, where Izzy needed the side of the van for support, not least because her legs felt like jelly right now.

In the background, she was vaguely aware that Kyle was explaining to Kirsty what would happen once they reached the house, that she had been won in a card game by some billionaire called Nick O’Shea. Kirsty was obviously humming with need and she let out a tiny moan at the name of her husband.

Oakwood House came into view and Izzy had a better look at it this time. It was large, maybe six or seven bedrooms. It looked like a quiet, unassuming country house set in its own grounds. Little did the people of this town know what went on behind closed doors.

As the van came to a halt, Ethan was already stepping out. He picked Kirsty up with ease, carefully sliding her over his shoulder. Without a word, he turned and strode into the house. Izzy quickly followed him down the stairs into the basement where the day before she had been tied up. What a lot had changed in the last twenty-four hours.

‘Is this her?’ a deep voice said as Ethan reached the bottom of the stairs. Kirsty whimpered again with excitement at the sound of her husband’s voice.

‘This is your prize sir, she put up quite a fight,’ Ethan said, and as he moved into the basement Izzy got her first look at the husband. Based on her experience with the husband the day before, she expected all the husbands to be sad, aging, nerdy types desperate for a last saucy fling – but Nick was stunning. Wearing only jeans, he was tall, muscular with a mass of dark, wavy hair and piercing green eyes. He was holding a glass of red wine in his hands, swirling it around casually as he played the role of the winning billionaire.

‘Take the blindfold off, I want to see what I’ve won.’

Ethan slid Kirsty down to stand between him and Nick, pulled the blindfold off her head and turned her round to face her husband.

Nick whistled appreciatively. ‘Wow, I… didn’t expect her to be so beautiful. Your boyfriend was a fool for putting you as collateral in our card game. You’re mine now and I don’t intend to ever let you go.’

Nick trailed a finger down her cheek and Kirsty quivered.

‘Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do whatever you want, whatever you need, just don’t hurt me.’

‘I want you naked on the bed, now.’

Ethan turned and snagged Izzy’s arm, pulling her back up the stairs. Although Izzy had no intention of being there when the heat was turned on, she couldn’t help one last look back as Kirsty was slowly undoing the buttons on her shirt and Nick was staring at her hungrily.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Ethan closed the door and stared at Izzy.

‘Well, one successful kidnapping. What did you think?’

Izzy pulled at the neck of her hoodie, feeling the sweat prickling her back. There was only one word to describe what had just happened. ‘That was hot.’

Ethan stared down at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. His laugh was loud, infectious and heartfelt and it caused Izzy to laugh too.

‘Come on, I’ll show you around.’

He walked into a room opposite the basement door into what looked like a very plush office, a huge desk commanded the attention in the middle of the room, and a big leather office chair stood behind it. There was a computer, a sofa in the corner and the walls were lined with several official looking certificates.

‘For the boss and secretary fetish,’ Ethan explained. ‘Not one of my favourites but there is some demand for it.’

‘This is part of your package?’

Ethan nodded. ‘It’s all fake.’ He picked up the computer screen with one hand. ‘It’s a prop, just in case they want to sweep the stuff off the desk dramatically.’

‘The certificates, the papers in the trays?’

‘Fake. Come on, I’ll show you the kitchen.’

He walked out and Izzy stared at the room in shock. The room was perfect, exactly what an office of a rich, successful businessman should look like. There was so much more to this kidnapping business than met the eye.

She followed Ethan down the corridor into a huge kitchen. There was a big black marble breakfast bar in the middle of the room and Izzy was getting the sense that these large flat surfaces were designed for one thing only. There was also a massive dining table and large floor to ceiling windows that opened onto a beautiful garden.

‘This is a real working kitchen, it was part of the original house but has been completely redecorated since then. There are some couples who have food fetishes. Or get hungry after sex. As part of the package we ask them if they want any food provided, at an extra cost of course. Most people will just order a pizza after they’ve finished but some like strawberries to be left in the fridge, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, champagne, that sort of thing.’

‘And then there’s the dining table or breakfast bar if they’re still feeling horny?’

Ethan smiled. ‘You’re catching on.’

He pushed a door open into a lounge that had a long black leather sofa and a huge widescreen TV. He didn’t pause long in here, Izzy guessed it was pretty self-explanatory. Moments later they were back in the hall again.

‘I’ll show you upstairs.’

Izzy followed him up the oak lined staircase, the bannister was a beautiful twisted wooden creation that swept up the stairs but all she could focus on was the tight, gorgeous arse in the black jeans ahead of her.

‘This is the suite. It used to be four bedrooms and we had it converted into a lounge area, bedroom and en-suite bathroom. There are two other bedrooms up here but generally our clients will use the suite. It’s very plush and adds credence to any of the billionaire stories that our clients like to act out.’ She followed him into a foyer area that had a black table with a startling array of welcome flowers in the middle. There was an ivory tiled floor and white walls with stunning pieces of modern art adding vibrant splashes of colour to the room.

‘This part is the bedroom.’ Ethan pushed open the door and Izzy saw a giant, tall four poster bed and what looked like a very sleek bathroom through another door beyond the bedroom. Izzy walked in and looked around. It was stunning, resembling something from a very exclusive hotel, with a trace of historical romance too. There was a large painting above the headboard. It was a couple, entwined in a passionate embrace, but their limbs and bodies merged together as one. She took a step towards it, marvelling at the sheer lust and fire that was cleverly depicted in the artist’s strokes.

Suddenly from behind them was the sound of giggling.

‘Nick I want you to ravish me. Remember that time in Milan, I want you to take me like that,’ Kirsty said, her voice drifting closer.

‘Damn it,’ Ethan hissed, grabbing Izzy’s arm and dragging her into the nearby walk-in closet, he quickly closed the door behind them just as Nick burst into the room carrying Kirsty dressed now in just her underwear. Izzy stared at them in shock through the tiny crack in the door. There was no way she wanted to be in here whilst they were doing… whatever it was they were going to do.

There was no room in the closet, Izzy was suddenly painfully aware of that. Ethan was standing right behind her, his breath warming the back of her neck, his heat burning her. The smell of him was dark, tropical, heady. As she shifted back an inch away from the door, she was met with a solid wall of muscle against her body.

‘Nick hurry, quick, I want you inside me now,’ panted Kirsty and Izzy pulled a face.

Izzy turned round and glared at Ethan in the semi darkness. ‘Why are we in here, while they’re out there doing that?’ she whispered, although she imagined she could shout it – Nick and Kirsty would be too busy to hear.

‘We’re not supposed to be here, I promised them the house to themselves. I just didn’t expect them to be finished with the basement so soon.’

‘I’m not standing here listening to that.’

‘Oh god, Nick, you great big beast.’

‘Why, it will give you a good idea of how our operation works.’ She could see Ethan smirking at her. ‘Fortunately I have an escape route.’

With some difficulty, Ethan turned away from her, brushing his hard back against her face. She heard the sound of wood scraping against wood and a stale breeze washed over her. Ethan suddenly stepped away from her and to her great surprise walked down a short dark corridor at the back of the wardrobe. As the groans and thuds grew louder behind her, she hurried forward after him.

‘Are we going to Narnia?’ she whispered.

‘Somewhere far duller I’m afraid.’

Ethan pushed open another wooden panel at the end of the short corridor and stepped out into another closet. He pushed the closet door open and walked into a smaller bedroom with a large white bed, covered in a beautiful patchwork quilt. Izzy stepped out blinking into the bright bedroom and Ethan closed the door on the groans and shouts behind her.

‘Secret passageways? Does that sort of thing happen a lot then?’

‘My dad built it for us when me and Gizmo were younger, so it connected our rooms. We loved it, we spent hours of fun pretending to be spies or robbers running from the law.’

Izzy smiled. ‘This was your room?’

Ethan nodded and looked round the room with sudden affection. Quite why this new information suddenly added to his sex appeal Izzy didn’t know, but it did. She tried to imagine Ethan as a small boy, playing here and what the room would have looked like all those years before.

She looked around at the beautiful country landscapes and the vases of flowers. Fairy lights twisted round the bed’s headboard. It was cute. ‘I like this room.’

‘Thought you might. This is for the romantics, generally the ones that like to be rescued use this room.’

‘That’s really not my thing.’

‘Being rescued?’

‘I can take care of myself.’

‘Of that I have no doubt.’

She wasn’t sure if that was a knock or not. Obviously she wasn’t Ethan’s type. He certainly liked to be the one in charge in a relationship.

‘Have you ever brought a woman here, a girlfriend, acted out your fantasies, used the facilities so to speak?’

‘No, never. Business and pleasure don’t mix.’

‘So, the whole kidnapping thing, that’s not a fantasy of yours?’

‘Not really, my fantasies are consensual.’

Izzy wondered what exactly his fantasies involved.

‘The fantasies here are clearly consensual as well. Kirsty obviously wanted Nick as much as he wanted her. As you said, the ‘forced’ sex is only part of the role play.’

‘Yes but that really doesn’t do anything for me.’

‘How did you get started in this business if you don’t actually like this sort of thing?’

Ethan sat on the bed. ‘It was a mate of mine, he wanted to do something different to surprise his girlfriend. He asked me if I would help him to kidnap her. I wasn’t keen to do anything that might scare the crap out of her so we made sure she knew that I was going to be involved and when, although we didn’t give her all the details. She loved it. After, he said to me they’d had the best sex they’d ever had. When one of his friends asked me to do the same thing I started to realise that we could offer something here that no one else was really offering. I didn’t expect it to be so popular. It took off really quickly, especially with the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. I thought it would just be the kinky couples that would get involved, but even with the seemingly normal looking couples, they were willing to try it for a bit of fun, something a bit different. I poured everything I had into this, especially refitting the house. Every hour, every day, every penny. And for the first time in my life it felt like I had actually made a success of something.’

Izzy stared at him as he pulled at a stray thread on a tiny hole in his jeans. She had not expected such raw honesty from him today.

His head suddenly snapped up, horribly aware he had said too much. He stood up and the frown he wore almost as part of his uniform was already back on his face. ‘Are you ready to go, we haven’t got time to hang around here all day.’

‘I… Yes of course, but I haven’t seen the last room yet.’

‘That’s nothing, we don’t use it.’

‘Is it open to the public?’

‘Yes but no one is ever interested in using it. I rarely mention it now.’

‘I want to see it, maybe we can change something about it to make it more appealing.’

‘Fine.’

Ethan strode out of the room and she followed him onto a brightly lit hallway, lined with thick red carpet. Some more stunning landscapes graced the walls, these were ocean views and were incredibly detailed. He opened the door opposite and gestured for her to go inside. But she could already see what the room was. An artist’s studio. There was a large, comfy looking sofa up one end and a large easel and no other furniture at all. But the walls were lined with pictures of women in various states of undress, in a variety of different mediums; chalk, oil, charcoal, watercolours. They were stunning and obviously painted by someone with a ton of talent.

Izzy had never had any kind of artistic talent, there wasn’t one single creative bone in her body but she could still appreciate the talent of others and these pictures and paintings were beautiful.

‘You know the scene in Titanic when Jack draws Rose, I was kind of thinking people might want to create their own personal masterpieces. Stupid really,’ Ethan said.

‘I think it’s a wonderful idea. The artist and his muse, now that’s a sexy role play.’

His eyes burned into her for a moment before he looked away. ‘No one is interested in it. No one has ever used it.’

‘No one?’

Ethan smirked and lifted one of the used sheets from the back of the easel and pulled it over to the front. She laughed at the pictures of stick men in several sexual positions.

‘Oh well, at least they had fun. To be fair these pictures are pretty intimidating.’ She gestured around the room.

‘Intimidating. In what way?’ The snap to his voice was back.

‘Well they’re incredible. Any would-be artist is going to be completely put off trying to create something when there’s this impossible ideal to live up to.’

He blinked. ‘Oh I get it, Gizmo told you they were mine did he? Thought you’d wind me up? Very good. Come on, tour’s over.’

He moved to walk out but she stepped in his path. ‘Wait a minute. These are yours? Seriously? I had no idea. You have a real gift here.’

‘We should get back.’ He gestured for her to leave the room and she walked out into the hallway, glancing at the landscapes with more interest.

‘Are these yours too?’

Ethan didn’t answer as he closed the door on his studio and walked down the hall.

‘And the picture of the lovers, in the bedroom, you did that too didn’t you?’

‘Yes, that’s mine, they’re all mine. Happy?’

Izzy stayed quiet, not sure what to do with this new information. Underneath his huge, gruff exterior was a man with talent and passion and vulnerability. Urgh. She preferred it when he was the moody, controlling, slightly perverted, chauvinist – because at least then she could easily compartmentalise him into the box marked ‘not her type.’ Now, being inside his childhood home, seeing his talent, knowing some of his history, the box was tumbling open. Sexual attraction she could deal with. Love and affection was not something she wanted to feel for this man.

They rounded the corner to head down the stairs and came face to face with a stark naked Kirsty.

Kirsty screamed, Ethan screamed, immediately shielding his eyes. Nick came running out of the bedroom also stark naked and it was all Izzy could do not to burst out laughing.

‘What the hell, you said we had the house to ourselves,’ Nick said, ushering his naked wife back into the safety of the bedroom.

Ethan was clearly too embarrassed to want to deal with it, as he deliberately stared at the floor.

‘My apologies Mr O’Shea,’ Izzy said, oozing professionalism even though Nick was making no effort to conceal his nudity. This was a man that was rightly proud of what he had. ‘One of the fuses had blown, we had to fix it now or you’d be in complete darkness tonight. We are leaving right now and we’ll make sure a bottle of champagne will be delivered later to apologise for the inconvenience.’

Nick nodded at this begrudgingly and as Kirsty called him from the bedroom, he turned to join her, obviously forgetting all about Ethan and Izzy seconds later.

‘Thanks,’ Ethan muttered.

‘Who knew that the great Ethan Chase could get so embarrassed about a bit of nudity?’

She walked down the stairs and he quickly followed. ‘I have no problems with nudity, well my own, or the woman I’m with.’

‘Kirsty is very beautiful, I expected a bit of ogling as far as she was concerned.’

‘She’s not mine to ogle.’

Izzy thought about this. In one way that was quite sweet and respectful, to not stare at women that weren’t with him. But the possessive way he said ‘mine’ smacked of seeing those women that were with him as his property. That was a whole other argument she didn’t want to get into.

There was a sudden thud behind her and she turned to see Ethan stumbling down the stairs towards her, his eyes wide with fear, his arms sprawled out in an attempt to stop himself. His head hit her square in the breasts and with his huge weight it knocked her off her feet. As she flew through the air, she saw Ethan fall sideways and smack his head on the bannister. He reached out to grab her, his foot caught in the railings of the bannister and then he executed what look liked a near perfect forward roll. She hit the floor hard and he landed on top of her with his face in her crotch.

He groaned, the vibrations travelling along her most sensitive area, causing her stomach to clench with sudden need, despite the pain that was shooting down her back.

He looked up, his eyes all bleary, but didn’t seem to register where he was or if he did he had no intention of moving.

‘Oh my god, are you guys ok?’ Nick was running down the stairs towards them, still naked. ‘I’m a doctor, don’t move.’

Izzy arched an eyebrow at Nick as Ethan’s mouth grazed between her legs. Blood trickled down Ethan’s forehead and all embarrassment vanished as concern crashed through her.

‘Shit, you’re bleeding.’ She reached forward to dab his head with her sleeve. Suddenly he seemed to realise where he was and struggled to get up.

‘Don’t move,’ Nick ordered but Ethan was already on all fours leaning over Izzy.

‘Are you ok? Crap. I’m so sorry, can you move?’

Izzy sat up. Her back was sore but the carpet was soft and she’d only fallen a few stairs. She pressed her sleeve to Ethan’s head, trying to stem the bleeding. ‘I’m fine. Are you?’

‘Doesn’t anybody listen to doctors anymore?’ Nick said from above them, his dick waving mere inches from Ethan’s head. ‘You’re not supposed to move until you’ve been checked over. You could have a broken back or neck.’

‘I think it’s quite clear there are no broken bones,’ Ethan said, looking up only to be met with a face full of dick. He looked away and Izzy tried to stifle a giggle.

Nick bent over Ethan’s head, inspecting the wound. His dick bobbed against Ethan’s ear and he tried to pull away but Nick had Ethan’s head in a stronghold. ‘I don’t think you’ll need stitches, but you need to keep an eye on him for the next twelve hours. If he feels sick or dizzy, you need to get him to a hospital.’

‘She’s not my girlfriend,’ Ethan growled, clearly annoyed with the whole dick/face debacle.

‘Well you shouldn’t be alone.’

‘Oh he won’t be, don’t worry. He’s got a whole plethora of women who would leap at the chance to play nurse and tend his wounds.’ Izzy stopped dabbing his head, realising her words were contradictory with her actions, but blood soon trickled down his forehead again. She found herself reaching up to stop it almost automatically.

‘Are you ok?’ he asked again.

Izzy nodded. ‘Come on. We should leave these good people to enjoy their night.’

She stood up but when Ethan stood up too he staggered. Izzy leapt forward to catch him and he fell heavily against her. He weighed a ton. He quickly straightened, brushing off Nick who had grabbed him too.

‘I’m fine. Just stood up too quickly.’ He walked out but as she went to follow him Nick caught her arm.

‘Keep an eye on him, or make sure someone does.’

She nodded and ran out to the van. Ethan was sitting with his head in his hands, the van door open waiting for her.

‘What the hell happened to you?’ Kyle was laughing. ‘Did you try it on with Izzy and she smacked you round the head?’

‘No,’ he growled.

‘Well you sure were in there for a long time.’

Izzy hopped in the van, buckling her seatbelt before he could tell her off again. He looked rough and was clearly feeling the effects of smacking his head. She couldn’t stand the thought of some blonde vacuous creature fawning all over him tonight. Obviously because they wouldn’t know what to look for or what to do if he started feeling ill, nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that she wanted to be the one to look after him.

‘We need to talk about the house and how it can be better utilised.’

Ethan stared at her. ‘We’ll talk tomorrow, I’m going home.’

‘I’d like to talk it through with you tonight, whilst the ideas are still fresh in my head. I could come round to your house and…’

‘Whoa that’s forward,’ laughed Jim, disdainfully. ‘You’re really not his type.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’ Ethan snarled.

Jim paled. ‘I just meant…’

‘It wasn’t an offer of sex, believe me. It’s business, nothing more,’ Izzy said, flexing her back that felt sore and stiff.

‘I have plans,’ Ethan said.

‘Cancel them.’

Ethan stared at her, incredulously, then his eyes softened slightly with understanding.

‘Not a chance,’ Jim whispered under his breath, though it was loud enough for everyone in the van to hear.

Ethan eyed Jim then yelled over his shoulder at Gizmo, who was happily driving the van with no knowledge that this tension was rolling around in the back. ‘Gizmo, can we have some music on back here?’

Music blared out of the speakers as Ethan leaned forward to talk to Izzy so no one could hear what was said.

‘You don’t need to worry about me, I can take care of myself.’

‘I’ll worry about you whether I’m with you or not. I would prefer to do it when I’m with you.’

Ethan eased back slightly to look at her then turned round to speak to Gizmo.

‘Giz, can you drop me off at home?’

Gizmo nodded as he bopped his head along with the music. Ethan sat back in his seat, not taking his eyes off Izzy. A few minutes later the van came to a stop outside a large semi-detached house. Ethan climbed out and Kyle got out too.

‘See you guys tomorrow,’ Kyle called and walked up the drive of the house next door.

Ethan stood staring at her. ‘Are you coming or not?’

She glanced at Jim as she got out, he was staring at her with his mouth open. Ethan closed the van door behind her and the van drove off.

Ethan pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘I better phone Crystal, tell her I’ve got a better offer.’

Izzy felt her mouth fall open. If he thought he was going to jump straight from Crystal’s bed into hers he could think again. That wasn’t what she was offering tonight. Who was she kidding? If he took her straight up to his bedroom now and ravished her, there wasn’t a single part of her that could say no.

‘Hi Crystal, darling, I can’t do tonight I’m afraid… I know, I was looking forward to it too… A business meeting… I know, it’s dull. You know I’d much rather be with you… No it will be a late one I’m afraid… I’ll call you… Yep bye.’ He rang off.

‘Sorry if I’m cramping your style.’

‘You’re not, trust me. You’re saving me from a night of boredom.’

‘You can be really disgusting sometimes, do you know that?’

‘What? What did I do?’ Ethan opened the front door to his house and a huge woof sounded from somewhere deep in the house.

‘That’s a horrible thing to say about someone, I don’t care who she is. And the fact that you’re with someone who you think those things about says nothing for your character either. You shouldn’t be with her if you don’t like her.’

‘I’m not with her. I’m not with anyone. The women I go out with know it’s just sex. She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t have girlfriends or relationships. I have women I sleep with. And I don’t need any judgement from you.’

‘It’s just meaningless sex.’

‘Yes, that’s the way I like it.’

Izzy bent down to take her boots off, angrily yanking at the laces. But as she stood back up, pain ripped through her back and she screamed out. She was bent double, her face almost touching her knees and she couldn’t move.

‘What’s wrong?’

She tried to stand up again but the pain was excruciating. It wasn’t that it was too painful to stand up, she physically couldn’t.

‘I can’t stand up.’ She tried to move again and cried out at the pain.

‘Your back’s gone into spasm.’

‘Yes, I guess.’

‘It’s just a trapped nerve.’

‘Ethan, it’s fucking agony, I don’t think it’s just anything.’

‘You just need to relax.’

‘I am relaxed,’ Izzy spat out through gritted teeth.

‘I’m going to help you stand up.’

Ethan’s hands closed round her hips.

‘No! No Ethan, please, no it hurts so much, don’t touch me.’

‘What do you recommend, that I leave you here all night?’

‘It will pass.’

‘Has it happened before?’

‘No but I’m sure I won’t be stuck like this for the rest of my life.’

‘Could make things awkward at work. Not sure how you’d answer the phone and check the diary.’

‘I’d find a way.’

‘I’m sure you would.’

Izzy felt her hoodie being gently lifted, exposing her bare back to Ethan. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

‘Nice tattoos. Where does it hurt?’

‘Everywhere.’

‘Specifically.’

Izzy gingerly reached round to touch her lower back. Instantly she felt his large hand on her spine. ‘No!’

‘Relax.’

‘Easy for you to say.’

His hand was warm, hot even as the warmth spread into her spine.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Trust me.’

‘I don’t.’

His hand started moving round in soft gentle circles in the exact place where it hurt the most, but his caress was like a hot water bottle, soothing the pain everywhere he touched.

‘Argh god, Ethan.’

‘Do you want me to stop?’

‘No, don’t fucking stop.’

The pressure was slightly firmer now and a second hand joined the first.

‘No. Yes.’

One hand stayed focused on the most painful area, whilst the other hand spread across the rest of her back, exploring, touching, stroking. She could feel herself relaxing, her muscles going noodle soft.

‘Do you know what you’re doing?’

‘Haven’t a clue, but is it working?’

‘It’s helping. A lot.

Suddenly she felt him curl round her back, one arm round her hips, one arm round her shoulders as he leaned into her, but not putting any weight on her at all. It was an assault on her senses, his spicy smell, his warmth, the feel of his hard body against hers.

‘What…’

‘We’re going to stand up,’ Ethan said against her ear.

‘No, I’m not ready.’

‘I’m going to take all your weight.’ She felt his legs bend against hers, pushing her thighs forward slightly and supporting her bum against his thighs. ‘Relax into me.’

‘No, I can’t.’

‘We’re going to stand up because this sure as hell isn’t how I planned to spend my evening. Then we’re going to go upstairs and have sex.’