Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,277

wet a paper towel and patted it over her heated skin. After she rinsed her mouth out, she caught sight of her reflection. Her eyes were still too wide. Her face a little too pale.

When she’d tried to argue that she was too sick, shouldn't attend the hearing, her father had put his foot down.

We must appear in public, unified as a family.

God she hated all of that public relations crap.

Harper groaned. If she’d never come today, she could have lived in ignorance a little while longer. Now she knew. She’d slept with a man who would have hated her if he’d known her last name.

A man that would have just as soon spit in her face as kiss her lips, had she told him who she was.

“Of all the men in all the world,” she muttered at herself. “Of course I ended up running into the one guy in that part of the world connected to my father’s case.”

Harper patted her face down once more to cool it off.

Harper pushed out of the restroom and when she looked up, her feet stopped moving. Ethan leaned against the opposite wall, his arms crossed over his chest and a very pissed off look on his face. As soon as the door shut behind her, he pushed off and was in front of her. She had to tilt her head to look up at him.

His familiar smell washed over her and she fought the urge to bury her nose in his neck. She knew who he was but it didn’t stop her body from remembering how good it felt to be naked on top of him.

“You’re Harper Matheson.” The accusation in his voice slammed into her chest. He said her name as if it was akin to being Charles Manson.

“And you’re Ethan Wentworth. I guess the universe has an ironic sense of humor.” She crossed her own arms across her chest.

“Seriously? That’s all you have to say for yourself?” he growled. He drove his fingers through his hair and took a few steps back. “I had no idea who you were. I’ve only seen a few pictures of you. If I’d known who you were...” he didn’t finish his sentence but the implication was clear.

“I could say the same thing,” she snapped.

“Oh, that’s funny.” His lip lifted with anything but a smile. “You have no reason to avoid me. I didn’t do anything illegal—I didn’t steal millions of dollars. I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Neither do I,” Harper said. “My father is the one who has to answer for whatever he did or didn’t do.”

Ethan scoffed. “We both know he did all of it.”

She shrugged, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing she agreed. “The courts will decide.”

“You know he’s going to be found guilty.” His smirk changed to a sneer. “And maybe you went to the island to see if there was some other way to take the heat off him. Get to my father through me. That’s some sick shit, Harper,” he said, shaking his head.

Anger rose up, swift and volatile. “I went there to get away from all this. I’m so sick of people invading my privacy for a comment on something I have nothing to do with. You think if I went there for some kind of seduction plot I would have waited almost a week to try and meet you? You think that I faked almost drowning, right? Risked my life on the off chance that you’d sweep in and rescue me? When I had no fucking idea who you even were.”

Harper spun around and stormed down the hall.

She was sick. Sick of all of the hate poured on her, taking the blame for her father’s misdeeds, being accused of things she hadn’t done.

But seeing the look on Ethan’s face when he realized who she was had been the worst of all.

“Harper, wait.” Ethan’s voice echoed down the empty hallway and then she heard his footsteps coming up behind her. His fingers were warm on her arm and she reluctantly let him turn her around.

“What?”

He stared into her eyes, his gaze searching, intense. “You really didn’t know?”

“I really didn’t know, Ethan. And even if I had, which I didn’t, I would not have been trying to seduce you to help my father. He’s the last person I’d ever pimp myself out for,” she all but spat.

He took a step back and genuine confusion filled his face. “Then why are you here at his side