Chapter 41

The following morning, I woke up to the sound of Ember shouting, "You bitch!" Without hesitation, I swiftly moved across the bed towards her, taking the sheet with me as I broke free from the arms that had held me throughout the night. Ember continued to pull me by my hair, demanding that I get out of her bed. Her shouts had awakened Ethan, who struggled to free himself from the tangled sheet as I pulled it along. In the midst of his jerking and tugging, the sheet slipped away from me, allowing me to leap towards Ember. With the full force of my body, I collided into her, causing her to fall to the ground, kicking and screaming as she released her grip on my hair.

Awakening to such vulgar language had put me in a terribly bad mood, and Ember was about to find out just how unfortunate that was for her. Swiftly, I silenced her screams by flipping her over onto her stomach. With one hand, I pinned her arms behind her back, while using the other to grab a handful of her hair and press her face into the carpet. She squirmed beneath me, spewing words like a geyser, but the carpet muffled her words, making it impossible for me to decipher them. Using her hair as leverage, I lifted her head and asked, "Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I said get off me, bitch," she replied, the words erupting from her lips. Without hesitation, I pushed her face back into the floor. She mumbled once again, and I lifted her head once more. "Didn't your mother teach you better than to use foul language like that?" For a brief moment, she paused. "Do you really expect me to shower you with sweet words and affection? You are in my bed, sleeping with my husband…"

A wicked grin spread across my face. "Oh yes, I slept with your husband last night. Multiple times. And guess what? He couldn't get enough." Now fully awake and thoroughly enjoying myself, I continued to press Ember's face against the floor a few more times. After the third time, Ethan leaned over and, wrapping his arms around me, lifted me off of her. "I'll handle this, you're having way too much fun," he chuckled. I looked at him, returning the grin, before casually walking into the bathroom, wearing nothing but my birthday suit.

Twenty minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and wrapped in a large towel. To my surprise, neither Ember nor Ethan were in the bedroom. With a small shrug, I decided to return to the guest room. I picked out a pair of jean shorts and a pale purple tank top, quickly getting dressed.

After brushing my tangled hair, I took my time, hoping to give Ethan and Ember some space. However, after what felt like an eternity, I ran out of things to do and started to worry about Ethan. *What would Ember do now that she had found us together*? Feeling a flutter of apprehension in my stomach, I took a deep breath. There was nothing I could do but let things unfold as they may. With that in mind, I left the room barefoot and made my way down the hallway to the living room, which was empty.

Contemplatively, I wandered into the kitchen and was thrilled to find a pot of coffee already prepared. I poured myself a cup and then headed out onto the porch. My heart raced as I caught sight of Ethan. He was standing on a ladder, cutting branches from a tree, and I couldn't help but admire his appearance. He was shirtless, wearing a red skullcap and his long hair hung loosely beneath it. The sun highlighted his glistening shoulders, and his jeans hugged his firm, athletic thighs and perfectly shaped backside. I couldn't help but drool a little.

As if sensing my gaze, he paused and looked towards the porch. His eyes scanned over me, taking in my still damp hair and fidgeting toes. For a moment, a spark of desire flickered in his eyes before they became void of any emotion. Setting the cutters on the ladder, he climbed down and started walking towards me.


As he walked across the yard, I watched him, admiring the smooth and even flow of his stride. When he glanced back in my direction, I desperately tried to find something, anything, within the depths of his eyes. But there was nothing. He had shut me out, yet the way he had been attacking that tree revealed an underlying anger issue.

I pondered over him for a few more seconds before speaking up. "Ember left again?" I asked.

Ethan responded with a low, mirthless laugh. "I didn't give her a choice."

An uneasy silence settled between us after his words, and then he gestured towards my cup. "Think I could get one of those?"

I nodded and went back inside the house. It was funny how something as simple as pouring Ethan a cup of coffee could feel so right, as if it was a domestic chore I was meant to fulfill for him. But it was a feeling I needed to suppress.

Shaking my head, I picked up both our cups and returned to the porch. Ethan was lounging in one of the wicker chairs, and I handed him his cup before settling into the opposite chair. I raised my cup to my lips and sipped the steaming contents, knowing that torment was inevitable.

We sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the morning and enjoying our coffee. When Ethan finished, he placed his cup on the table and stood up. He sauntered over to the edge of the porch, gazing out at the work he had been doing in the yard.

My eyes were fixed on him as I observed the fall of his silky hair beneath the skullcap, the stubble on his jaw, and the sweat glistening on his shoulders and back, with bits of bark and leaves stuck in the moisture. Lower down, I noticed the two small dimples on either side of his spine in the small of his back and the pant legs tucked into the top of his work boots. I wanted to remember every detail of how he looked this morning—rugged and irresistibly sexy—a look that seemed more like him than any other attire I had seen him in.

As my eyes completed their journey, he leaped off the porch, skipping the steps entirely and landing on the ground in a trot. Suppressing the flame of desire that sparked within me, I picked up his cup from the table and made my way back inside. My gut twisted with the knowledge of what I had to do next.