Chapter 07: A Bad Joke

ETHAN

She could probably feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest too. I bit my lip and closed my eyes, trying to control my breathing and my instincts.

I fought the urge to grab her hips and grind against her or lift her clothes to feel her ass.

I fought with all my strength not to put my hands on her, but her scent made everything even more unbearable.

We waited for the people to pass. The minute seemed to last an eternity. She didn’t move a muscle, completely tense, but I could hear her ragged breathing.

Fuck! I couldn’t control my cock like I did with my hands. It was rock hard against her.

She opened a small crack in the door when we heard the voices fade, then practically bolted out of the closet.

Fucking hell. I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. I picked up my leather briefcase that had fallen to the floor and ran a hand over my suit, straightening it before stepping out.

The door to her office was now open. I had no idea what to do, especially with the tent pitched in my pants at that very moment.

A second later, she came out of her office with a bag.

“Here,” she said, handing me a card without looking at me, before turning on her heel and disappearing down the hallway.

I stared at the business card in my hand, which had her name and contact information, before slipping it into my pocket. What the fuck just happened?

I started walking through the corridors, searching for a bathroom. What the hell had I just done, losing control of my dick around her?

Now, she probably thought I was nothing but a pervert. *As if she didn’t think that already.*

And how the hell had that just been one of the most exciting experiences of my life without me even touching her? Damn it! I was screwed.



***




ELLIE

I couldn’t let myself think straight until I found the bathroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked like I had just seen a ghost. My hair was more disheveled than usual.

Was I sweating? God! What just happened? What was I thinking, shoving myself into a closet with him? How could I have imagined there wouldn’t be enough space for the two of us? And that I’d end up rubbing against his...

The memory was enough to make desire pulse between my legs, and I knew my panties were completely soaked.

I stared at my hands on the marble counter, they were still trembling. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. The way he got aroused... He seemed enormous, almost intimidating.

It was nearly impossible to resist the overwhelming urge to rub against him and touch him with my hands. At least I didn’t do something that crazy. But I wanted to... I wanted to feel him touching me and rubbing against me. Part of me wished he had done exactly that.

With my eyes closed, I could still feel the sensation of his huge, warm body against my back.

Damn it, Ellie! What are you doing?

I ran out of there without even looking him in the eyes after handing him my card. Now he had all my contact information, and that seemed bad. But it was less bad than having to meet him for a meeting. At least that’s what I thought at the time.

Maybe I was losing my mind for real. Why the hell did my body react so much to him? I hated it. I needed to go home, and I also needed to talk to Anna urgently. A cold shower seemed more urgent, actually.

*

I couldn’t reach Anna. I kept wondering why she wasn’t answering, she was probably having sex with her hot husband. That’s what I would be doing if I were her.

Meanwhile, I spent two hours soaking in the bathtub, trying to stop thinking about what had happened. But the memory was enough to send heat coursing through my body.

Now I was tossing and turning in my bed, unable to sleep, staring at the ceiling, sweaty and still aroused by the memory of him pressed against me.

I’m not doing this. I’m not going to touch myself thinking about him. I buried my head in the pillow, groaning in frustration. Damn, bastard.


*


Anna didn’t show up at the lab all day; she just sent me a message saying we should have dinner. Zoe would be there too.

The day at the lab was hellish, I could barely concentrate on work. When I wasn’t in the research room supervising, I was in my office, glancing at the door every thirty seconds, afraid that Mr. Morgan would suddenly appear.

I was going crazy. I needed to stop thinking about this. Stop thinking about him.

Zoe always liked sophistication. Thanks to her, my wardrobe probably had lingerie pieces worth over three thousand dollars.

She managed to influence me into carefully selecting every outfit I wore. But making me wait in a fancy bar at Rockefeller Plaza on a Wednesday night was making me want to strangle her. At least the view was breathtaking.

The two of them arrived smiling after making me wait for over twenty minutes and took their seats.

“I hope you at least got stuck in awful traffic,” I grumbled, taking a sip of my martini.

“Wow! What a mood!” Anna said before turning her attention to Zoe. “See, this is what I was talking about.”

“I didn’t think it was this serious,” Zoe said, and they both laughed.

“So you were talking about me behind my back?” I raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“I was just telling Zoe why you’ve been so tense lately. And guess what? She agreed with me that you need to get laid.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Now tell me what you wanted to say yesterday,” she demanded.

“I’m not sure if I want to anymore.”

“Spill it!” Zoe gave me her threatening look, eager for answers.

“I’m not Bennett; that won’t work on me,” I said.

“Well, then I won’t tell you who’s been causing arguments between him and my brother-in-law lately.”

She was talking about me? Why the hell would they be arguing over me?

“Are you serious? Why would they do that?” I asked, straightening in my chair.

“You first.” She smiled.

“Okay.” I sighed, giving in. “Anna must have told you that the lab is the new client for Morgan and Harris.”

“No, she didn’t. Neither did Bennett,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Anna, who shrugged.

I almost felt sorry for Bennett; he’d have to deal with this later.

“Anyway, your brother-in-law took over the case, and you can guess the rest.”

“Well, that at least explains why Bennett’s been so tense lately. He’s completely against the idea of you and Ethan having any involvement.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I took another sip from my glass.

“But... I’m encouraging Ethan in this,” she said, and I nearly spit out my drink.

"What? In this what?"

“Going out with you.”

“God! Why would you do that?”

“Because only a blind person wouldn’t see the sparks between you two when you’re in the same place.”

“Maybe what you’re seeing are sparks of hatred.”

“Don’t try it; you’re forgetting that I went through the same thing.”

I looked at Anna, hoping for some help.

“You know I agree with her,” she said, making me exhale in frustration.

“What it sounds like is that I’m saying one thing, and you’re hearing the exact opposite. Is Bennett the only one who sees this?”

If I told them what happened yesterday and how I felt, they would only see it as another reason to convince me to go out with him.

“Bennett’s just worried that you two will hurt each other, and now that it involves work, things get even more complicated. We both know that all too well,” Zoe explained.

“I’m not going out with him. So I hope you stop whatever it is you’re doing. You both know exactly what happened last time and yet you want to throw me into bed with another bastard.”

“Wow! You really think Ethan is that bad?” Zoe asked, frowning.

“I’m sorry; I know he’s your family. But we all know the kind of guy he is.”

“You’re also my family, Ellie, and if I thought he was a monster, I would never want to push you into his arms.”

“I don’t want anything to do with him. Please understand that I’m not going to give myself to someone who doesn’t value me.”

“You at least need to try getting to know someone for that to happen. And why not Ethan?”

“Stop it, Zoe. We both know exactly what he wants. He made that very clear five minutes after meeting me.”

The waiter approached our table, interrupting us to take our orders.

I needed to remember why I hated Ethan and why I shouldn’t get close to him, not dwell on how he made me feel. I should remember what I went through last time; that would bring my my reason back.

At twenty-seven, I had already had my share of detestable men. And my ex—if I could even call him that—that dishonest bastard managed to shatter my heart.

I promised myself that would be the last time. I’d rather spend the rest of my life alone than go through that again.

I always wondered if I was too stupid not to see the signs, but with so many mixed signals, the blame couldn’t be entirely mine.

Men had that problem. The bastards couldn’t be honest. They preferred to toy with a woman’s feelings to get what they wanted and kept doing it to maintain the sex.

As if we were some kind of spare tire, to be used when needed. Thinking about it made me want to cut that bastard’s dick off, and it still made my chest ache.

Todd Lockhart got exactly what he wanted—used me and discarded me as if I meant nothing in his life, even though he had become an important part of mine.

I hated that part of me was still in love with him when all I wanted was to erase every memory of him.

“Ellie?” Anna called my attention, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Do you agree?”

She and Zoe were staring at me.

“Of course,” I agreed, having no idea what they were talking about.

The two of them started laughing.

“Good to know you think it’s a good idea for Zoe to try to find out more about Ethan.”

“Stop pestering me about this.”

They weren’t going to give up anytime soon.

“What I was saying is that we don’t know much about his past, only that he’s a workaholic. So I’ll try to pry something out of Bennett,” Zoe said.

“I don’t care. I’m not interested. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Anna. If I want to have sex, I can find someone less of a bastard.”

“Yes, of course you can. We can see that just by looking at you. But that’s not the point. It’s about what you two might experience with all that tension.”

“It must be mind-blowing sex!” Anna said, making me laugh.

As much as they were annoying me, I knew they genuinely cared.

“If he’s even a little bit like his brother, you’ll thank me,” Zoe winked at me.

“That’s enough! I get it, I’m not going to convince you otherwise. So I’ll throw the rest of the shit on the fan.”

“What are you hiding from us?” Zoe arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Well, it wasn’t intentional... I was just trying to keep us from being seen.”

The two of them straightened up, leaning closer to the table to listen.

“Accidentally, I ended up shoving us into a tight closet at the lab.”

“Oh my God!” Zoe put her hand over her mouth. “You naughty girl! What did you two do?”

“Nothing much happened. Just... well, I think he got aroused since my ass was pressed against... you know.”

“Did you feel his cock?” Zoe asked eagerly, almost euphoric.

“God! Keep your voice down!” I whispered, laughing and looking around to make sure the people at the nearby tables hadn’t heard.

“So? What did you think?” Anna asked finally, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

“Not that it matters...” I shrugged. “I think he has reasons to be that arrogant, after all.”

They exchanged glances before sly smiles spread across their faces.

“Sure, and you weren’t affected by that at all,” Zoe took a sip of her fruity cocktail, giving me a scrutinizing look.

“What do you want? I won’t say I don’t find him attractive. I’d be lying.”

“Oh, Ellie... you should have taken advantage of it. No one would have known. That’s the point. You’re both adults. You could have enjoyed that body and really found out if he has reasons to be arrogant. You can’t live forever afraid that men will use you. Maybe you should start using them.”

“Zoe may have just said something that goes against all the principles of what I consider healthy feminism, but she might be a little right,” Anna laughed.

“Did he try anything?” Zoe continued.

“What? No! Did you hear when I said we were in the lab? And I would certainly have kicked him in the balls if he had dared to move a muscle,” I lied.

I had said enough. I wasn’t going to admit that I wished he had moved a lot more than just one muscle.

“Anyway, I don’t know where I’ll bury my face when I see him next time. I ran out of there, it was extremely embarrassing.”

“Oh... I know exactly where Ethan would like you to bury your face,” Zoe said, making an obscene gesture with her closed fist, making us laugh.

*




The next morning, I was leaving the gym, with another workday ahead of me. I opened my car door before hearing a familiar voice.

“Ellie?”

I felt my stomach churn and my body shudder before forcing myself to turn around. *Yes, it was him.*

“Todd?”