“Don’t know. I can’t stay away and I’m not acting. I tried to leave you alone but I can’t do it.” He feathered his other hand over my hair and down until it was resting on the other side of my neck. “I don’t want to stay away from you.” He rubbed slow erotic circles with his thumbs meeting at the middle of my throat. “You want me too, Brynne, I know you do.”
He brought his lips against mine again and kissed softly. I could hardly stand up on my own as he conquered my body. The point was moot, I didn’t need to stand. He had me braced against the wall at my back and his hips glued to my front. The elevator binged and he stepped back. I stumbled forward into his chest. He steadied me as a couple emerged and headed down the hall.
“We can’t—we’re in public. I don’t do this sort of thing—I can’t be here with you like th—”
He moved quickly. Covering my lips with a few fingers to silence me and lifting my hand up to his mouth for a kiss. “I know,” he said gently. “It’s all right. Don’t panic.”
I could only stare spellbound as he pressed his soft lips against the back of my hand. The whiskers that framed his mouth brushed less softly but now felt nothing even close to the rough they had before.
Ethan looked at me with a measure of longing before taking the hand he’d just kissed and clasping it into one of his. He grabbed up my duffle off the floor with his free hand and drew me into the open elevator. “Dinner first and then we can talk about things.”
And in a way that was becoming very familiar whenever in Ethan’s presence, I accepted he’d completely taken charge again. He’d established control over everything, and had me right where he wanted.
4
Vauxmoor’s Bar and Grill was trendy but not boisterous to the point where we had to shout to talk. I mostly just enjoyed my view anyway. Seated over his plate of steak, Ethan was a picture of polite and genuine interest. Gone was the heat and promise of sweaty sex we’d shared at the elevators. He’d turned it off just as quickly as he’d turned me on.
“How did an American find herself at university so far from home?”
I picked at my steak salad and went for a sip of cider instead. “I—I struggled for a bit after high school. I—” I closed my eyes for a moment. “I was a mess actually, for a lot of reasons.” Taking a breath to calm the nervousness that appeared whenever I had to answer this question, I said, “But with some help to focus my attentions, I discovered an interest in art. I applied to come here and by some miracle got accepted at U of L. And my parents were so thrilled to see me motivated they sent me off with hearty blessings. I have a great aunt—at Waltham Forest. My aunt Marie, but other than her, I am on my own here.”
“But you are taking a graduate degree now?” Ethan seemed genuinely interested in what I was doing here, so I kept talking.
“Well, when I finished my undergrad in Art History I decided to apply for advanced study in conservancy. They accepted me a second time.” I stabbed a piece of steak with my fork.
“Any regrets? You seemed a little melancholy there when you were talking.” Ethan’s voice was soft when he wanted it to be.
I looked at his mouth and thought about what it’d felt like crushed against mine, forcing me to accept his kiss.
“About coming to London?” I shook my head at him. “Never. I love living here. In fact, I’ll be devastated if I don’t get a work visa when I finish my master’s degree. I consider London my home now.”
He smiled at me.
You’re too damn beautiful for your own good, Ethan Blackstone.
“You do fit in here…very well. So well in fact, I wouldn’t have known you weren’t native until you spoke, but even then, American twang and all, you blend right in.”
“A twang, huh?”
“It’s a very nice twang, Miss Bennett.” He grinned across the table, his blues twinkling.
“So, what about you? How did Ethan Blackstone end up as CEO of Blackstone Security International, Ltd.?”
He took a drink of his beer and licked the corner of his mouth, still dressed in a fine dark grey suit for work that definitely cost more than my rent.
“What’s your story, Ethan? And you have a drawl by the way, as opposed to a twang.” I smirked at him.
One sexy eyebrow perked up. “I am the younger of two children. It was just my dad growing up for my sister and me. He drove a London cab and took me with him when I didn’t have school.”
“That’s why you didn’t need directions to find my flat,” I said. “And I’ve heard about the test the London cabbies have to take on all the streets. It’s gargantuan.”
He smiled at me again. “That would be The Knowledge. Very good, Miss Bennett. For an American you are quite up on your cultural facts of Britain.”
I shrugged. “I saw a show about it. Was pretty funny actually.” Realizing I’d distracted him from the conversation, I said, “Sorry for interrupting. So what did you do after you finished school?”
“I went into military training. Did that for six years. Left. Started my company with the help of contacts I’d made while enlisted.” He looked at me longingly again, seeming to have no inclination to keep talking.
“What branch of the military?”