Chapter 15

***Alicent***

I kind of was? I kind of was? I KIND OF WAS?
Was that really the best line I could come up with?
How about denying to death for daring to eye fucking at him like that?
Nope. The best I could come up with was *‘I kind of was’*.
Oh, good Lord!
He’s like this gorgeous, muscular man who is so way out of my league!
His clothes scream wealth and sophistication!
He probably has a whole herd of women lining up to date him. I’d certainly be in that line too. Not that he’d ever choose me. I know for sure I can’t have a tiny chance with this hot stranger! I want to have a one-night stand, but it’s painfully obvious that it can’t be with him.
Damn, Vi! This is all her fault!
I let her get into my head too much! I’m not like this! I don’t even have all that confidence! Ugh! Why the hell did I say that?
I’m nothing special. A man like him wouldn’t even be attracted to someone like me. A poor woman on the run from *them* and who knows who else.
It will be very mortifying when he mocks me for trying to flirt with him like that. I’m really pathetic! I need to get out of here, and I need it fast.
He grins. It is a wild grin. Wicked. Predatory. “Good,” he says.
I have this strange feeling around him that I’m inevitably going to be prey! All my instincts keep urging me to run away from him. However, it’s only then that what he said hits me, and I realize that he’s not telling me to back off from him.
Oh. My. God.
This is happening!
Be cool! Be cool!
I catch his gaze, he’s still grinning at me in a way that did far too much to highlight the sharpness of his canines.
I can’t believe he said that!
My panties have been already wet since I was trying to subtly check him out. He is so handsome! I don’t know if it’s because he has such broad shoulders and the sleeves of his crisp black button-down are rolled to his mid-forearms in a way that is all manly, but he carries himself with confidence, and I feel like he has this commanding presence exuding from him.
God, help me! The man is lickable!
Seeming to realize what I’m thinking about, he squares his huge shoulders before asking me, “What is your name?”
“My name is Alicent Dove!”
As soon as the words come out of my mouth, my stomach twists with regret and anxiety.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
Why did I say my real name? Can I possibly be any more dumb?
Why didn’t I just lie and say Logan’s last name, or at least use a fake name instead? Literally, any other option would be better! What is wrong with me today?
Suddenly, I get alarmed by how easily I’ve said it. I’ve always been so guarded, but somehow, with him, it feels like my walls are crumbling down with barely any effort on his part.
His way too sexy voice takes me out of my thoughts as I’m taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. “I’m Ethan, little dove.”
I open my mouth in surprise at the pet name, mainly because it was the only part of my name that I didn’t want him to memorize. “Call me Allie!” I suggest apprehensively.
Once more, he looks at me like I’m his prey and says with amusement, “I’d rather little dove.”
God damn! I can feel the heat emanating from my cheeks; they are so flushed.
I try not to notice the way his onyx eyes linger on my skin when I lift my margarita and take a sip because, frankly, I am afraid to open my mouth to say anything anymore.
I can’t deny how I’m enjoying the weight of his gaze on my skin, heavy as a touch!
Oh, lord! I’m not going to fall in love with the first guy I meet after my divorce, right?
The small sip of my margarita burns late in my throat again, and I try not to wince this time.
“Why don’t we go somewhere more private so you can tell me more about what you were thinking?”
“So we can have sex? That’s what I was kind of thinking!” I bluntly say without even thinking about it.
Someone please come here and sew my mouth shut!
Again, with this choice of words! What is wrong with me?
Suddenly, seeming to hear my prayers, Shawn appears before me and asks, “Do you want any—”
“Leave us!” Ethan cuts Shawn off before he can complete the question.
Shawn promptly gives me a smile and goes to serve other patrons. My eyes return to Ethan’s face—his grin hasn’t faltered. I’m amazed his eyes aren’t darting around, seeking an excuse to get the hell away from me.
I make a note to not babble for his sake.
His eyes look at my mouth and slid down my throat, shoulder, and then all the way down the bare skin of my upper thigh. It lingers more there, where the red dress has a slit, and I don’t so much as uncross my legs or breathe as I watch his lips curl.
“Let’s get out of here, little dove.” He finally says in a deep voice, obviously deciding to ignore my loss of all societal skills.
Then, Ethan gets up from his seat, offering his hand to assist me in getting out of mine, and I nearly melt at the simple gesture. Especially when our hands intertwine.
Jesus, Allie! Cool it down!
I grab my handbag and obediently follow Ethan.
Ethan... Even this man’s name is sexy!
Still, it is more than his looks that is getting me. He also has some kind of undeniable magnetism, an allure that holds me captive. I feel like... I don’t know, I can’t understand... but I can shake this... *feeling*, like I’m in the right place. That we are meant to meet.
I guess it’s because of this or the small sips I took off my margarita that I’m following him without as much fear as I was about having sex with a stranger moments ago when I stepped in here. I ponder it as we walk past the people in a different direction than the one I entered.
“Where are we going?” I ask as we stop near an elevator.
Ethan presses a button on the elevator after we get in and then crowds me with his enormous physique untill he’s standing mere inches away from me. With a small smirk, he looks down at me and says, “I live close to here.”
I can’t breathe.
I can’t believe this such man is giving me attention, look at him, he could have had anyone here, and he chose me! I remember to keep breathing because suddenly, my body forgot that it was supposed to do it involuntarily.
The elevator makes a sound, and the doors open, but he continues to look at me for a few seconds. Although he has beautiful black eyes, he has this strange thing in them; at the same time, it seems like they’re seeing into the depths of my soul, unraveling all my secrets with just a single look, which makes me feel completely exposed right now. Simultaneously, his eyes also seem like a dark vortex, so empty that I fear I’d fall into their pits. He asked me earlier what I was hiding, and I told him it was rude to ask, but now I’m tempted to ask him the same thing.
Suddenly he lifts me over his broad shoulder, and I squeal as he slaps his huge hand down on my ass. Ethan closes the door behind him with ease and swiftly makes his way through his apartment until he enters a large bedroom. As I’m upside down, I can’t see much around us.
He pulls me to my feet, and I almost sway for a second, leaning against the nearby wall behind me. Ethan suddenly leaves the room and enters what appears to be another room, which I assume to be a bathroom. That’s when I catch myself thinking about what I’m doing!
However, all thoughts immediately leave my mind when he returns.
Ethan stands at much more than 6’4 in the big doorway, with his hands braced on either side of the frame, a dark smile on his face as he commands me, “If you don’t want me to tear up that dress of yours, you have five seconds to take it off. Now, strip, little dove.”