A Week in New York (The Empire State Series Book 1) (12 page)

I was left a little shaken. That wasn’t his normal reaction to me.

Ethan

“So has that kiss knocked you out of your bad mood?” I asked. The two
words she’d spoken to me this morning had been a little bitchy. It was a side
to her I hadn’t seen. It was funny, but I guessed she wouldn’t want me to tell
her that.

“Maybe,” she said, but her smile told me that it had.

“So, we could head back to the city after lunch if you like.” I moved
around the counter to pour myself some coffee.

“Ok. Could we go to the beach this morning? It’s just we’ve not seen it
since we’ve been here, and it’d be nice. You know. Before we go.”

“Sure. Anything you want, beautiful.”

“I should probably call Leah and tell her I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“But you won’t be back with Leah this afternoon,” I said. Tonight would
be her last night. Was she thinking she wouldn’t spend it with me? There was no
fucking way I was letting that happen.

“Huh?”

“Tonight, when we get back to the city. You’ll spend it with me.”

“Ethan, I’ve spent every night with you. Leah will think I’m the worst
friend in the world.”

“So another one won’t matter. Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to call Leah and tell her you’re staying with me tonight.”

She grinned at me. “I’ll tell her. You’re such a bully.”

“You eat it up,” I winked at her. “And go and change into a bikini while
you’re at it.” The sight of her in a bikini gave my hard-on a hard-on. How
could wearing clothes actually be more of a turn on than not wearing clothes?

I was finishing my oatmeal and coffee when she came back into the kitchen
wearing some cut off shorts and a vest top. Fucking perfect.

“Come on, we’re off to frighten the wildlife on the beach,” I said,
pulling her from the door.

We set our towels on the sand and I watched as she stripped off her
T-shirt and shorts. Why did she want to go to the beach again? We could have so
much more fun back at the house.

“Stop staring, you perv.”

“I’m just trying to capture mental images for my spank bank.”

“God, you’re a pig today.”

I grabbed her and pulled her down into my lap. “I told you, I’m your
god.” My hand delved beneath her bikini bottoms and I hardened as I felt how
wet she was.

“You are always so wet, beautiful.”

“Ethan, we’re on the beach.”

“And I’m going to make you come on the beach,” I said. I felt her relent
and relax against my fingers. She knew there was no point in fighting me. I
held her orgasm in my hands and the power I felt over her body made me harder
than a baseball bat. My fingers slid deep inside her and my thumb circled that bundle
of nerves that I’d come to know so well. Her breath quickened and her hand
pushed against her chest, but my free arm was encircling her. She wasn’t going
anywhere.

“Don’t fight it, baby. You know what I do to you. Give in to me.”

Her head tipped back and she whimpered my name, over and over. Jesus,
that was hot. How could she ever think that I could ever have her call me
another name? And then her breathing stopped and I watched as her orgasm
crashed over her.

I stroked her gently and pulled my hand away and cradled her tighter
against me.

“God, Ethan. You know me so well. I mean, you know my body so well.”

“Don’t forget it, baby.” I said it before I realized what I’d said. But
it was true: I didn’t want her to forget what I could do to her. I wanted every
man that came after me to fall short by a hundred miles. So short that she’d
give up trying to find anyone and she’d come back to me. Andrew was right. I
really liked this girl. If she lived in New York, I could imagine dating this
girl. Like, spending all my time with her, just like this week had been, but
every day. The thought was shocking, but in the best of ways. And then reality
broke through. She didn’t live in New York. She lived 3,000 fucking miles away
on another continent. I squeezed her again in my arms.

“You’re so good. Like, the best ever,” she said sleepily.

“I bet you say that to all your lovers.”

“Anything to keep all my men happy.” She opened her eyes and grinned at
me.

“Right, that’s it.” And I picked her up in my arms and strode in the sea to
the tops of my thighs and dumped her into the cold water.

She emerged her hair draped over her face. “Fuck! That’s arctic, you
pig.”

I laughed at her and she splashed me and then leapt on me, wrapping her
legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I walked deeper into the
ocean so the water was at waist height and I pushed her hair from her face.

“I meant it. You gave me more orgasms during our first night together
than any man has ever given me.”

I felt like someone’s fist had tightened around my heart. “You don’t need
to try to make me feel better.”

“I mean it. You know my body better than anyone.” And she hugged me tight
and I squeezed her back.

We spent the rest of the morning walking along the shore, collecting
shells that she said that she wanted to take back to London. There wasn’t a
soul on the beach. Or maybe there was and we just didn’t see them.

Anna

“Have you forgotten anything?” Ethan bellowed from upstairs. He’d asked
me about three times already. I didn’t forget things. That was not the type of
thing I did. I was perched on my suitcase at the front door waiting for him.

“I’m all set, as you say in this country.”

“You don’t say that in England?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Who knew?”

“Everyone in England?”

“You’re hilarious. Have you thought about taking your act on tour?”

He made me laugh aloud. Only a very few people could make me laugh like
that. “You’ve guessed my secret. I’m a closet stand-up comedian.”

“Come on, crazy. Let’s get you back to the city.”

I opened the front door and went to grab my suitcase, but Ethan beat me
to it. He took his bag and my case out to the car.

As Rory pulled out and I clicked on my seatbelt, I turned to him. “Thank
you for a lovely weekend.”

He looked at me, as if he was trying to uncover more meaning behind what
I was saying. “Thank you. You’re great to hang out with.” He pulled my legs to
his lap and stroked up and down as he watched me, watching him.

“Are we going to go out tonight?” I asked him.

He shook his head. I grinned. I guessed he’d want to make the most of the
time we had left by keeping me naked.

“Are you going to be busy this week at work?” I asked. We never talked
about his work. I liked that about him. So many of the people I hung out with
in London spent their free time talking about their jobs. I didn’t really ever
notice it until I spent time with Ethan. We had everything else to talk about.

“I’ll make sure I’m busy. I’ll need a distraction with you gone.”

I knew how he felt. I was pleased that I was leaving the city, where
reminders of him would be all around me. It would make it easier.

I squeezed his hand.

***

“Hey, sleepyhead.” I felt Ethan brushing my cheek and my eyes opened. How
long had I slept? I had my head on his lap. I didn’t remember dozing off.

“Hey, are we back?”

“Almost,” he said. I looked out the window but didn’t recognize where we
were. We turned and went into an underground parking lot. Rory pulled up and I
heard the trunk pop. “We’re home. Come on.”

I clamored out of the car, still a bit dazed from my nap. Why hadn’t he
dropped us at the entrance? I said goodbye to Rory and caught up with Ethan,
who was holding the door open for me. Through the door was a small elevator
lobby.

“I’m sleepy,” I said.

“You can sleep when we get upstairs, beautiful.”

“No, I need to wake up. I want to enjoy our last night together.”

We stepped into the elevator when it arrived. It didn’t feel as if we’d
gone many floors up when the doors opened and Ethan gestured for me to step
out. This didn’t feel like the hotel.

“Where are we?”

“Home,” he said setting our bags down in the entrance lobby.

“Home?”

He nodded. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

“
Your
home?”

“Come on.” He took my hand in his as he opened the door into a huge white
living space with dark wood floors. Two walls were just complete glass and you
could hardly tell what belonged inside and what belonged outside.

“This is where you live?” I asked. Mandy had told me that he didn’t bring
women back to his place. Maybe he’d rented it.

“Yes, crazyhead. I don’t live in the hotel.”

“Oh,” I said.

“Are you disappointed? The view isn’t as good.”

 “No, I just…” I wandered over to the window. How could he think I would
be disappointed? “I didn’t know, you know. And are you kidding me? It looks
like we’re floating on the water. Is that the Hudson?”

I looked back to him and he was grinning. “Yeah, it’s great isn’t it?”

“You’re just trying to impress me, hoping I will give up my virtue. It’s
very manipulative, Mr. Scott.”

As I stood looking out he came to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around
my waist. I rested my arms on his. “I would never make you do anything you
didn’t want to do. I told you that the first night we met,” he said softly.

I leaned my head back to rest on his chest. “You did, and you’ve kept
your word. I’ve had an incredible week with you, Mr. Scott. I’ll remember it
forever.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Follow me. I want to see you come in my bed.”

Immediately I felt heat between my legs at his words and I grabbed his
hand as he led me through a door at the far end of the room. We went down a
long, windowless corridor and then into a dark room. It was a complete contrast
to the airiness of the living space. He switched the lights on low and closed
the door behind me. I watched him as I shifted from one foot to the other, his blue
eyes burning with desire just as they always did before he had me. He stepped
forward as I stepped back. And then my ass hit the wall and he kept coming toward
me. He placed his hands either side of my head and then bent toward my lips.

“Kiss me,” he said.

I trailed my fingers up his chest. And then up his neck, I brushed my
thumbs across his lips. His eyes closed and I knew I had to remember his face
just like that. My hands reached around his neck and I pulled him toward me. I
took his bottom lip between his teeth, like I knew he liked, and then sucked and
bit. I pushed my tongue against his and he reached around me and cupped my ass.
I loved his obsession with it and I grinned against his lips. Kissing him was
not like kissing anyone I’d kissed before. I realized that, from now on, there
would be a Before Ethan and an After Ethan divide in my life. Before Ethan,
kissing was always a prelude to the real stuff, but I could kiss Ethan forever.
I was sure that he could make me come just by kissing me, with no other part of
his body touching me. I sighed. And he pulled me away from the wall and walked
me over to the bed. I held my hands up above my head and, breaking our kiss for
just a second, he stripped my shirt from me in one quick movement.

***

“Give me your phone,” I said to Ethan. He had ordered Chinese and we were
sitting on his sofa picking at the 187 dishes he’d had delivered. I was wearing
a Columbia University T-shirt I’d found on a chair. He was in his boxers. It
might have been the best evening this week, and that was saying something.

Ethan got up, walked to the console table on the other side of the room where
his phone was, and came back and handed it to me.

I tapped and scrolled, trying to find my name in his contacts. “I can’t
find me,” I said, looking up at him. He took the phone from my hands pressed
some buttons and then handed it back. I was under Beautiful Anna. Oh, sweet
mother of god, why couldn’t I find a man like this in London?

I brought up the menu and hit delete and then tried to find our text
messages.

“What are you doing?” he asked me gently.

“Deleting me from your phone,” I replied, while scrolling through his
messages. He didn’t respond.

“This is going to be harder than it should be for me, and I need to make
sure there’s no ambiguity left behind. No promises to break, no room for disappointment.”
I knew that if I left him a way to contact me, I would spend my days back in
London wishing and hoping. When I wasn’t looking, Ethan had gone from
Uncomplicated Fun to something else. I didn’t want to think what. I deleted our
message thread. Done. We were done after tonight. My stomach churned and I felt
something in the back of my throat.