and it was almost disturbing. But he wanted Brett, and he wasn’t going to wait until all of this came to a head to do something about it. He wasn’t one to step back from things he wanted, and he felt like, if he didn’t move now, he’d lose Brett when this was all said and done. If there was something to pursue here, he could do it quietly, under the radar, so he didn’t miss his opportunity.
With that in mind, he raced toward his place and threw open the door, finding Brett sitting on his couch, looking anxious. She stood immediately, a question in her eyes, and hedged, “I wasn’t trying to cause you trouble, Ethan. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I haven’t had anyone stand up for me like that before. And it felt good.”
She smiled, just a hint of curled lips. “I appreciate what you’re doing for me. That’s all.”
He tilted his head in question. “Is that really all?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, sounding nervous.
He took another step inside and closed the door, choosing his words carefully. “This thing between us, whatever it is, is more than just a passing attraction, Brett. At least, on my end, it is. Tell me you feel it, too.”
Brett looked torn, but Ethan waited patiently for her response. He would honor it, no matter what, but he could tell already that he’d struck a chord. That, at least, gave him hope. “I thought we decided it wouldn’t be good to get involved. We’d be mixing business with pleasure, and that always leads to trouble.”
“Set that aside for a minute. Let’s pretend nothing else is going on and just focus on you and me,” he told her. He needed to know where she stood with him, outside of their agreement. “If we were just two people who’d met under normal circumstances and didn’t have anything hanging over our heads, what would you want?”
She gave a short laugh. “If I told you, you’d probably grow an ego too big to fit through the door.”
Ethan smiled. “Try me. I’m very good and keeping my ego at bay.”
With a somber expression, she shrugged. “Honestly, I’ve wanted to find someone like you, or at least, what I know about you, my whole life. If we didn’t have anything else to worry about, I’d want to see where things led between us. But—”
He cut her off, taking two large strides to close the distance between them and kissing her. He let his tongue slip between her lips and delighted in the way she gasped and melted against him. This was everything, in that moment. There was nothing else to think about, nothing else that mattered, and when he broke away, he was dizzy with excitement.
He searched her face, liking what he saw there. Arousal. Delight. Acceptance. “Then, let’s not let circumstances get in the way. We could miss out on something life altering.”
Her face fell, and she asked, “How? How are we supposed to do that?”
“We’ll take it slow, keep it under wraps. Eventually, all of these problems will be solved, and then, if things are on track, we’ll worry about what everyone else thinks. Just don’t let this chance slip away.”
She stared at him for a long moment, and he could see the turmoil in her expression. But then, she nodded. “Alright. I’m in.”
14
Despite the success of the last few days, anxiety had crept into Brett’s chest as she sat behind the desk in the office. The delivery for the Kings had gone off without a hitch, and one thing she could say in Dylan’s favor was that he was prompt with payment. She’d immediately turned around and paid bills, knowing they were in pretty dire straits.
There’d been no rumbling in the club as far as she’d heard since they got back yesterday, and that had her a little on edge. It seemed too good to be true. Ethan assured her all was quiet, except for the fact that the guys seemed to be warming up to him and speaking more openly to him, as planned.
And then there was Ethan himself. His admission of having feelings for her had turned her world upside down in a completely new way. Her confession had been real, too, and even though they had to be careful that no one took notice, they’d been spending quite a bit of intimate time together. She couldn’t get enough of his body or the way he worshiped hers, but even