Chapter 68
MAY.
“You’re just going to walk away from me? Us?”
“Hard for there to be ‘us’ when all you do is lie,” I grit out. “Why the hell are you even here, apologizing to me? Because you got caught in the lie? For how long were you going to make a fool of me if I didn’t find out?”
Ethan pushes through the door, stalking me angrily. “I’m here to bring back home with me. I’m apologizing because I know I was wrong.” He grips my arm, forcing me to stare up into his eyes that look much darker now that he’s mad. “And you certainly do know how to hold a grudge. Could’ve warned me of that before we tied the knot.”
“Let go of me.”
He grins and it’s the sneakiest expression I’ve ever seen on him. “Say please.”
I slap my free hand into his chest. “Let go! I’m not talking to you.”
He catches my hand, holding it against his chest. “But you are, M.” He tugs me closer, wrapping his arms around me, and he traps me in his strong embrace. He lowers his head, nuzzling my neck softly. “I’m afraid I have no tricks up my sleeve to make it up to you. I left the flowers in the passenger’s seat because I had an inkling you would set it on fire. What do I do with this temper of yours, May? How else do I apologize and make it right again?”
“Nothing.”
He pulls back, frowning down at me. “We’re going to have to learn to talk things out, May. Like a normal couple.”
I glare at him. “We are NOT a normal couple.”
His expression turns contemplative. “I suppose not, but I’m sure you’re saying that for an entirely different reason from what I think.”
Flicking my gaze to the door behind me, I mutter, “You should leave.”
“Come home with me.” His voice is tender, and I find myself considering walking up the stairs, changing out of my robe into a gown, brushing my hair, returning right here to this sitting room and taking his hand, letting him take me back home where we’ll pretend to be a happy couple. Where I’ll sit on the couch and watch him doze off beside me, feeling comfortable around a man I don’t even know.
“No, and please shut the door behind you,” I tell him, steeling my spine and heart.
“That’s unfair. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want this fight. I’m not leaving without you and frankly, I’m done asking,” he says, closing the distance between us and I scream when he grabs my waist and hurls me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.
“Put me down, Ethan!” I yell, hitting his back and kicking his thighs. I lean over, biting his back through his shirt as he walks out the door. He doesn’t stop walking. Neither does he complain. His arm tightens around my calves and I yelp when he throws me into the back seat of his car.
He leans over the car’s hood and cracks me a grin that is equal parts angry and excited. “Sit tight, princess. If you run, I’ll catch you and throw you in again. Not a bad idea, seeing as I get a great view when I do it.”
I look down and pull the ends of my robe together, covering almost naked from him as my skin flushes with anger. “I hate you.”
He tilts his head coyly, letting out an exasperated sigh. “And you call me a liar. Stop acting like a child. You're a grown-ass woman. Think about it from my perspective for once, and maybe you'll understand why I'm doing this.”
I flinch when he shuts the car door, and as he walks around the car to get in, I get out. I race across the yard, reaching only halfway when he catches up to me, lifting me in his arms, bridal style. His grey eyes sparkle as he peers down at me. “I’m almost convinced that you keep doing this so I can catch you. You like this, don’t you?”
Lashing out, I whack him in the head, and he bursts out laughing as he returns me to his car. I stay put this time. I won’t delude myself into thinking I can outrun him. Not with my much shorter legs anyway. Fuming the entire drive home, I fix my gaze out the window. He doesn’t try to converse with me either, and his grip on the steering wheel is so tight that his knuckles have gone white.
Only too late do I realize that we are on an entirely different route, and we aren’t headed home.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, sitting up and looking around at the rich greenery we pass by. No buildings or people. Just lush gardens on either side of the tarred road, and I have this faint feeling. It’s like…we’re in a different part of the world. A silent, beautiful place. Ethan pulls up in front of two massive, golden gates, and he looks back with a faint smile. “I was going to bring you here after I told you everything. When you accepted who I was and maybe chose to still stay with me. I had this romantic idea in my head. It’s more beautiful here at night. I was thinking blindfolds and candles, but hey. This isn’t a terrible idea either.”
The gate creaks and I look ahead. There’s a suited figure jogging down towards the car and waving. The windows come down and I hear the man yell with a thick French accent, “Monsieur! Long time no see!”
“Oui, Kingsley. Comment ca va?” I hear Ethan say as he clasps his hands with the man in question.
“Tres bien, merci.” Kingsley’s dark gaze drifts to where I’m sitting and he smiles. “You must be the new lady. Welcome home, mademoiselle.”
I blush, muttering a swift response and he hits a button on the control in his hands, opening the gates. Ethan drives through and I stifle a gasp, amazed by the sheer size of the manor. I turn in the back seat, peering through the window, my annoyance completely forgotten. My inspection, however, is short-lived when Ethan parks in the driveway and pulls me out of the car. “I’ll give you a tour later,” he murmurs, brushing my hair off my shoulder.
I swat his hand away. “I never said I wanted a—”
His fingers suddenly cup my neck, pulling me into him, and he slants his lips over mine roughly. My knees buckle and I fall forward into it, unable to control myself. I'm still mad, but I'm not the only one in a terrible mood. I feel his body underneath my fingertips. Rigid and tense. When he grips me, his touch isn't particularly gentle, but it's not harsh enough to hurt me either. His tongue delves in, and it is anything but seducing. Possessive. Domineering. Nothing like I have ever experienced with Ethan before. Being kissed by him, like this, makes me wonder if he has always been holding back with me, careful not to break or hurt me.
Hurt? I don't feel hurt. I feel oddly...excited. I taste Ethan's anger and desire on my lips and it fuels mine. His fingers press into my skin and I moan, digging my nails into the back of his neck as well. Everything else blurs and only Ethan exists. His lips, his skin, his tongue, his scent. I want to bite him, eat him, hit him, wear him, be him. I cannot contain what I feel, not as he picks me up again and walks us into the house, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
He takes me up the stairs, his hands pulling at my robe, and somewhere in between the flight of stairs, the hallways and his bedroom, I lose my robe, and he, his shirt.