Chapter 43: Only a Few Days.
As he had promised, Ethan arranged everything with precision. The reservation, the hotel, the itinerary.
Nothing was left to chance when it came to him.
Amber walked down the stairs with a suitcase in her hand and her heart clenched tight.
“No sé si sea correcto irme en esta situación… mis hermanos están con ese hombre.”
Ethan was waiting for her in the foyer, impeccable, with his phone in hand.
“Don’t worry, Amber,” he replied calmly. “It’ll be only four days. I’ve already taken care of everything. I’ve paid the social worker to visit the children daily and report every detail.”
She lowered her gaze.
“If you say so…” she murmured in resignation. “Maybe I really should relax a little. Where are we going?”
He offered her the faintest smile, that almost imperceptible one.
“To Aruba. Eagle Beach. It’s a quiet place, no paparazzi, no press. You need to disconnect, even if only for a moment.”
Amber nodded, not knowing exactly where that paradise he spoke of was. The only thing she understood was that he had thought of everything, even when he had no obligation to do so.
Soon after, Ethan’s private jet took off toward the Caribbean.
During the flight, he focused on the screen of his laptop, his brow furrowed and his fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. Amber watched him from the corner of her eye, wondering if that man ever slept.
Ever since he had returned from the police station, Ethan hadn’t touched her.
Not even once.
He limited himself to accompanying her, taking care of her, bathing her with the same coldness that always characterized him. But without the intensity from before, and that made her sigh. She missed at least his touch.
She didn’t know what was worse: his dominant caresses or his indifference.
When the plane landed, Ethan closed the laptop and turned to her.
“Welcome to Eagle Beach.”
Amber looked out the window.
The brightness of the sun made her blink. The sea stretched in turquoise tones until it vanished into the horizon, and the palm trees seemed to sway with the wind. It was so beautiful that for a second she forgot her pain.
“It’s… incredible,” she whispered.
He took her hand, and together they walked down the steps.
A private car was waiting for them on the runway. Amber followed him in silence, watching through the window every corner of that unreal landscape: clean beaches, bright colors, tourists laughing, an endless sky.
When they arrived at the hotel, Ethan opened the door and gestured for her to get out.
The lobby was wide, with a faint scent of coconut and polished wood. Everything seemed designed for rest, to forget the world.
“I’m changing your routine, Mrs. Rhodes,” he said with irony. “Go to your room, get changed. We’re having dinner on the beach.”
Amber raised an eyebrow.
“Dinner on the beach? And since when do you do romantic dinners?”
Ethan shrugged.
“It’s not romantic. It’s just a nice setting to talk.”
“Sure,” she replied, amused, and walked to the room.
Once inside, she opened her suitcase and chose a light white dress. But when she turned around, she saw him leaning against the doorframe, watching her with that impenetrable expression.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” she said, though her tone was not annoyed.
“It’s my room too,” he answered calmly.
Amber bit her lip. And without thinking further, she began undressing in front of him.
The dress fell to the floor, followed by her underwear. Her skin trembled under Ethan’s gaze.
She wanted to provoke him. She wanted to reclaim the fire that once devoured her when he touched her.
“Are you just going to stand there?” she asked with a hint of mockery.
Ethan looked at her, swallowed hard, and looked away to straighten the collar of his shirt.
“Get dressed. We’re going to be late.”
Amber felt anger and frustration pile up in her chest.
“You’re a damn block of ice, Ethan Rhodes.” She turned her back on him and put on the dress brusquely.
He smiled faintly.
He wasn’t touching her because he knew what she needed wasn’t sex, but calm.
And if he had to suppress his desire for that, he would do it.
“I don’t want to break her more than she already is,” he thought.
When they went out, the sun was beginning to set.
The tables were arranged over the fine sand, lit by low lanterns. A warm breeze brushed Amber’s face as they walked to their table.
They ordered wine.
The conversation was light: anecdotes, silly things, simple jokes. Amber laughed, and Ethan couldn’t help watching how her eyes sparkled when she did.
For an instant, she seemed like a free woman.
“I never imagined seeing you smile so much,” he said, without looking away.
“Neither did I,” she admitted. “Maybe this place has something magical.”
Ethan lifted his glass.
“Let’s toast then, to peaceful days.”
Amber clinked her glass with his, smiling with nostalgia.
“And to the days when we have no fear.”
The wine blended with the murmur of the sea.
After dinner, they walked barefoot along the shore. The warm water brushed their feet, and the silence between them became comfortable, almost intimate.
Ethan put his hands in his pockets and glanced at her.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything. I promised you, remember? I’m going to take care of you, at least as long as you’re still my wife.”
She stopped, looked at him firmly, and took a step toward him.
“And after?”
He didn’t answer.
Amber, with the boldness given by the wine, got closer. She placed her hands on his chest and stroked him slowly, as if trying to provoke him.
“Is it that you no longer desire me, Ethan? You no longer want to dominate me?”
Her voice was a whisper loaded with irony and challenge.
Ethan closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, his pupils were dilated.
In a single movement, he pulled her toward him. Amber felt his body, rigid, strong, and the heat rising between them—heat marked by a large erection.
He spoke very close to her lips, his voice trembling just slightly.
“I want you more than you imagine, Amber… but my priority is that you’re okay.”
She looked at him defiantly.
“I’m more than okay,” she murmured. “And ready for anything.”
Ethan lost control.
His hands slid around her waist, and without thinking any further, he kissed her.
A deep, desperate kiss, with the force of everything he had repressed.
Amber clung to his neck, returning the kiss with equal intensity.
The sea stroked the shore softly, and the wind played with her hair.
There was nothing else but that moment.
The kiss grew slower, deeper.
Ethan lowered his forehead to rest it against hers, breathing hard.
“You don’t know what you do to me…”
Amber smiled faintly, still trembling.
“Then don’t stop.”
He looked at her, his chest rising and falling.
But he didn’t go further.
He only held her tightly, letting her rest against his chest.
“I told you I’d take care of you,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes, feeling his heartbeat against hers.
“Damn it, Ethan Rhodes, I don’t want you to take care of me—I want you to make me yours and dominate me. Please!”