ETHAN
I was dumbfounded, imagining how she must look in that lingerie. I had already pictured it the day Zoe insisted she open the box in front of me. But my imagination couldn’t possibly compare to the experience of seeing her in it firsthand. From that moment on, I knew I’d do anything to get her to let me see what was under that dress.
"Are you really wearing that underneath this dress?" She lowered the menu, staring at me. I couldn’t focus on anything else now, and keeping my cock under control was going to require a lot of concentration—exactly the opposite of imagining how she’d look in that black lace.
"That’s what I just said," she replied, just as the waiter approached our table, asking if we were ready to order. I needed something strong to drink.
It had already been hard enough seeing her in that dress and maintaining control. Her long, toned legs looked incredible in those black heels. I almost begged her to give me a twirl just so I could get a better view of her ass in the dress. I didn’t like the way things were going; she was almost making me beg, and I needed to even the playing field between us. I knew our teasing was a good way to get where I wanted, but she was proving more resistant than I thought. I needed to think of something, and fast.
I waited for the waiter to take Miss Brown’s order and then placed mine, finishing with a bottle of whiskey.
"Is my company bothering you?" she asked as soon as the waiter left us alone.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You must be irritated if you need something as strong as whiskey."
"You can be annoying, Miss Brown, but your company would never bore me."
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Then you should have left out the part where you called me annoying." She shrugged. She really could be irritating in a way that got under my skin.
"Have you ever had a boyfriend, Miss Brown?" I tried to change the subject. Could we actually have a normal conversation?
"Why are you asking?" I took a deep breath, trying not to lose my patience.
"Are you going to ask why every time I ask a question?"
"Shouldn’t I? I need to know the reason for your interest."
"If I’m asking, it’s because I want to know about you. You’re welcome to ask me anything as well. If I answer yours, of course."
"Are you trying to get closer to me to seem like a nice guy?" God! I’d probably use a gag on her when I finally had her in bed. The thought calmed me a bit.
"I’m starting to think it’s impossible to have a normal conversation with you."
"Sorry if I think you’re just looking for a way to get me into bed." Enough. She was pushing it.
"Let’s get something straight... You know what I want, so I don’t need to try to pretend to be something I’m not. Do you get that? I’m just being myself so you can see that I’m not just a complete jerk like you think. That’s the only thing I can do to try to get what I want. Can you see that?"
"Why are you spending so much time and effort on this?" How could she ask that? Did she look in the mirror often? Any man would kick his own balls to have her.
"Because I want to, and I’m a spoiled bastard used to getting everything I want."
"I’m sure you’ve been frustrated a few times. It’s life; we don’t always get what we want."
"And what do you want, Miss Brown?" She took a deep breath, reflecting before answering.
"Right now? To get rid of you and other assholes who insist on coming back into my life."
I didn’t like how she compared me to other men who had been in her life. It wasn’t my fault for anything they had done to her. But I understood that those bad experiences marked us forever.
"Are you talking about your ex who’s back in town?" She had mentioned that yesterday.
"I wish he’d just come back to town, but now the bastard is living in the apartment next door."
"Your ex-boyfriend is your neighbor?" Why did that bother me like an itch I couldn’t scratch?
"He’s not my ex-boyfriend. By the way, to answer your question, I’ve had a boyfriend. But it wasn’t Todd. Though what we had functioned like a relationship."
"That doesn’t make any sense."
"We had an exclusivity agreement, but he never... well, you know, never officially asked me. I don’t know why I’m telling you this." I could see hurt and sadness in her eyes as she spoke, even though she was avoiding looking directly at me. Could it be that she still liked the bastard? And why did seeing her like this bother me? Maybe because I only knew her strong, determined, and even aggressive side.
"Was this a long time ago?" Maybe I could find out if she was still in love. If she was, that would make it much harder to win her over.
"Yeah, it’s been a while." She shrugged.
"How long?"
"More than a year. Almost two, actually."
"Did you love him?" I didn’t know why I asked that. I guess it was just genuine curiosity.
"Who are you, my therapist?" she asked, smiling, but before that, I could see the pain in her eyes. Whoever the bastard was, she had loved him, and he hadn’t valued that. Damn. I knew exactly what she had gone through. It made me feel like a jerk.
Not that I intended to make her fall in love with me or pursue this dishonestly. I could never do that to someone. I knew exactly the hell it was to go through something like that. Unlike what Miss Brown thought, I always tried to be honest with the women I got involved with.
"Did you just make a joke without trying to offend me?" I asked, trying to make the lingering sadness disappear from her face.
"Yeah, and I almost believed you actually care about what I’m saying," she said, shaking her head.
"I do care."
"Sure." She rolled her eyes with a slight smile.
"I don’t like wasting my time on things that don’t interest me," I said, being honest with her.
"You know there are plenty of women who would be interested in devoting themselves to you, right?" she said after a few seconds of silence.
"Yes, and you’re not one of them."
"Is that why you’re insisting so much?"
"I was already interested before I discovered how difficult you can be."
"You’re just doing this because you want to win this game. You don’t truly care. Don’t forget that I’m a scientist; I understand a thing or two about human behavior." She was right, at least until a few seconds ago when I found out she wasn’t just an arrogant shrew but also a woman who had a difficult past.
That changed some things. I still wanted her and still wanted to make her give in, but hearing her made me feel the need to be careful with her feelings. It also made me more curious about her.
"Where did you study, Miss Brown?"
"Undergrad at Columbia and an MBA from New York University." That was surprising. Maybe she had reasons to be full of herself beyond just her looks.
"Wow! Aside from being a scientist, you didn’t seem like a nerd until now. Isn’t that too young?"
She smiled, making me stare at her lips.
"And you, let me guess... Harvard? Stanford? Princeton? MIT?" The way she seemed genuinely curious and engaged in our conversation excited me.
"Stanford, with a specialization at Oxford."
"And I’m the nerd?" she asked, smiling.
The waiter approached the table, interrupting us. After serving our dishes, he left. I poured the wine for both of us before we started eating.
"I suppose you were born in New York?" I asked.
"Actually, no. California."
"And how did you end up here?"
"Because of the university."
"Alone?" She nodded. "I know exactly how that feels."
"How long were you living in London?"
"Six years."
"I’ve been here for ten."
"That’s why you seem like a New Yorker. Do you miss California?"
"Yes, especially my parents. And you, do you miss London yet?"
"Not yet, but I think I will soon."
"Do you plan to go back?"
"Not for now. Maybe in the future." She nodded as she took her first bite of food. I had to adjust in my chair after watching her lips close around the fork. It was torture to watch her eat.
"You asked about my boyfriends, and what about you? Have you had many?" she asked as she brought the glass to her lips. I didn’t want to get into that subject; it brought up bad memories that I didn’t want to recall.
"Only two."
"Well, I have to admit I expected a higher number. Did those relationships last long?"
"The first was a long time ago, back in college. I really don’t want to talk about it."
"Of course, I’m sorry. I guess I got carried away; it’s not like we’re friends or anything."
"It’s not that. It’s just that... I prefer not to talk about it with anyone."
"That’s okay," she said, nodding. Her phone beeped in her bag, and she opened it, glancing at the screen. "Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom." She stood up, taking her bag with her.
Had I upset her? There was nothing I could do about it; I wasn’t going to tell her about my ex-fiancée just to gain her sympathy. I didn’t need that.
My eyes followed her movements as she turned her back to me, finally allowing me to get a view of her incredible ass in that dress. God! I didn’t know what to do anymore. Why the hell had I promised not to touch her? All I wanted was to follow her to the bathroom and lock myself in there with her. I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured myself a glass. Think of something, Morgan.