Chapter 15: No Way Out

ETHAN

I gripped her hips with my hands, digging my fingers into her flesh, and took a step forward, pressing her against the door, crushing her body with mine as I devoured her with a long, deep kiss.

She moaned into my mouth, clutching my shoulders, as I ground my hips against her, making sure she felt just how hard I was. I lost all control; I wanted to tear off her dress, lick every inch of her skin, and fuck her right there. The way her body fit perfectly against mine, the way our tongues danced together, drove me insane.

We were forced to break apart to breathe, panting as we stared at each other. She pushed against my chest, just as shocked as I was. Then, it hit me—what she had just done.

“Did you just use me to make your ex jealous?”

“I…” She shook her head, still dazed.

“And I’m the asshole?”

“I’m sorry. That was a mistake.” She turned away and began rummaging through her purse.

“What are you doing?”

“You heard me. It was a mistake. Now, go away.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Goodnight!” she said before opening the door, stepping inside, and slamming it in my face, leaving me standing there like an idiot.

What the hell was she thinking? I turned, hoping that bastard wasn’t still in the hallway to see her kicking me out. Thankfully, he wasn’t—the door in the hallway was now closed. I stared back at the door she had just shut in my face.

Miss Brown was proving to be much more of a piece of work than I’d thought. What should I do? Bang on her door? Drag her out? Demand an explanation? After what she did, the least she could’ve done was invite me in and let me see that damn lingerie. Now I was aroused, frustrated, and feeling like a complete idiot. Damn it. I fought against my urge to barge in there and make her beg for it. At least this meant I had won the bet.



***



ELLIE

When I locked the door, my heart was pounding in my chest. What had just happened? Why did I do that? I sat on the sofa, staring at the door, trying to calm my breathing. I was silently praying he’d leave because I had no idea what I’d do if he knocked. My legs were still weak.

That was a mistake. Damn Todd. Because of him, I acted like a jerk. The bastard had the nerve to text me in the middle of the night, making me so angry that I took it out on Ethan, like an idiot. First, by getting mad at him, and now by using him to try to push Todd away. That was the worst idea I’d ever had.

And now I knew what I was missing. I knew what it was like to feel his lips and his massive body pressing against mine. And just a taste of that was enough to make me lose my mind. I had no idea what was going to happen now.

I sat on the sofa for what felt like an eternity, trying to process everything that had just happened. Then I dragged myself to my bedroom, stripping down to just a nightgown before collapsing onto my bed. I couldn’t close my eyes without remembering the feel of his lips, his hands, and his cock pressing against my stomach. Before I knew it, I was panting as I touched myself, imagining my hands were his.

This was wrong. Thinking about it was wrong. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop wanting him to possess me. I bit down on my arm to muffle a cry as I reached my climax, alone in my bed. Panting, I stretched out my arm, sliding my hand across the empty side of the bed, imagining what it would be like to lie on his massive chest and feel the warmth of his body against mine. I was losing my mind. I shouldn’t be thinking about Ethan, much less about what it would be like to have him in my bed.

That night, I had steamy dreams about a blond man with light brown eyes, taking me in every possible way.

*

My Sunday started with a horrible headache, like a hangover. It must have been a moral hangover. Remembering that I had used Ethan to try to make Todd forget I existed made me want to disappear. I couldn’t be more regretful, and I didn’t even want to think about the consequences. When did I become such a despicable person who acts recklessly? Every decision I had made in my life until now had been based on common sense and careful planning. Maybe all of this that was happening had made me lose my mind.

I took a shower while I thought about whether I should tell Anna everything. I could imagine what she would say. *I told you so, Ellie.* She was right. How could I have thought I’d come out of this unscathed after going out with Ethan? Maybe I would have if I hadn’t thrown myself at him like an idiot after spending the entire night trying to avoid his advances. That was completely inconsistent, Ellie. You were so close; you just needed to walk inside and close the door.

When I got out of the shower, a storm was raging outside. I put on a nightgown and had breakfast before staring at my phone. I walked to the window as a thunderclap roared, contemplating calling Anna. Maybe I shouldn’t tell her I had thrown myself into Morgan’s arms. But I couldn’t hide anything from her; she was my best friend, after all.

My body froze when I heard a knock at the door. I stared at it before hearing another knock. Who could it be? I wasn’t ready to face Mr. Morgan after what had happened. I forced my legs to move to the door and opened it.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Todd was standing right in front of me.

“Good morning, Ellie.” His hair was wet, and it looked like he had just showered.

“What do you want?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Maybe my plan to use Ethan hadn’t worked, and now I just had a big problem to deal with.

“Can we talk?”

Yeah, I guess it didn’t work after all.

“Do you really think we have anything to talk about?” Looking at him was hard enough.

“Did you get my message?”

“Yes, but I was busy.” In reality, I had chosen to ignore it and pretend Todd didn’t exist.

“Yeah, you seemed pretty busy last night. Is he your boyfriend?”

“Seriously? That’s none of your business.”

“I just want to talk to you, Ellie.”

“We had our last conversation a long time ago.”

“I won’t take much of your time. I just want you to hear me out. Please?”

Maybe if I heard him out, he’d disappear forever.

“Fine. But then you’ll leave me alone.” I opened the door to let him in. I led him to the sofa, sitting down.

“So?” I sighed, staring at the rain outside.

“Can you at least look at me?” he said after sitting down.

“No, I don’t want to look at you, or listen to you. In fact, I’d like to never have to see you again.” His presence was enough to make me angry. Why was he insisting on this?

“You say you’ve forgotten me, but it doesn’t seem like it, considering how much anger you still have toward me. Will you never understand my reasons?”

“Oh, I understood your reasons very well… I perfectly understood that your job was more important than anything else in your life. And maybe I should thank you for making me realize that it was my job I should have prioritized instead of dedicating myself to a relationship that only existed in my head.” I wanted to spit out everything that was still stuck in my throat.

“Ellie, you always meant a lot to me.”

“Then why did you come back? Why didn’t you stay away for good?” I asked through gritted teeth, feeling my blood boil.

“What do you want? Me to beg for your forgiveness? I tried, Ellie… I tried to make you understand. I wanted to keep what we had.”

“The problem is we had nothing! And you did absolutely nothing to change that! What did you want? For me to stay here, waiting for you to come back someday? While you screwed around with whoever you wanted? Is that what you wanted? For me to still be waiting for you? You knew exactly what I was hoping for, and you did nothing! Now it’s too late! If you need my forgiveness just to feel better about yourself, just promise to leave me alone, and I’ll give it to you.” I said, feeling my vision blur with anger.

“It’s not like that at all. Don’t you see that I care about you? You’re the one who chose to ignore me all this time! You decided things would be this way.”

“Did you want me to wait for you forever? Until you decided I was worth it? That I was worth committing to?”

“Always the same. Always the damn labels. We had something, and that’s what mattered.”

“Enough! Maybe when you grow up and own up to your mistakes, you’ll understand what it’s like to be dedicated to someone who gives you hope but offers no security. You made your choice, Todd, and now you’re just the past.” I stood up, walking past him. I didn’t want to hear any more of this. It was exhausting me. I didn’t want to remember the hell he had put me through.

“Ellie…”

“Go away. Forget I exist.” I walked to the door with the intention of kicking him out.

When I touched the doorknob, he grabbed my arm, making me turn

to face him, forcing me to look into his eyes. Doing that made my chest ache and my heart race. Those damn eyes. No matter how hard I tried, my body insisted on betraying me.

“It’s me, El… It’s still me,” Todd said, cupping my face with one hand. I closed my eyes, and before he could do anything more that I’d regret for the rest of my life, I turned away, pulling free from him and opening the door.

“Go away!” I growled at Todd, before turning my head and coming face to face with Ethan, standing right outside the door.