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Not sure what to expect, I open the box slowly, gingerly Then gasp when I see what he’s boughtout to touch one of the delicate platinum links
"Do you like it?"
"What’s not to like?" I reht to adns on each of the links As if the actual links aren’t beautiful and elaborate enough, one end of the chain sports a cascade of clear stones I try to convince myself that they’re crystals, but I know better Ethan has bought me diamonds, albeit not in the traditional piece of jewelry
But this is better, so otten me Because I know Ethan and he knowswith this chain without hiht he pro anywhere That no matter what I told him, no matter what had happened to me, he would stay This chain is a physical manifestation of that promise It’s just between him and me; no one else will ever see it But it , that I’n of ownership, but a reassurance nonetheless One I didn’t even know I needed until he gave it to me
"Do you want ainst mine as he reaches for the chain
"Yes Please"
He smiles at my acceptance, and the wariness in his eyes slowly dissipates until there’s nothing left but affection and joy and…love? I cut the thought off, refusing to go there yet He hasn’t said the words and neither have I And we’re not going to, not for a while Hell, we’ve only known each other a week
And yet, as he lifts my shirt and wraps the chain--and his ar up deep inside me I wouldn’t want to, even if I could I’m not sure how it happened, not sure what I did to deserve him, but Ethan Frost ishim up
"What do you think?" he asks after he fastens the clasp His hands are still around ot e in my first of many attempts to reclaih I thought it was crazy at the tiroundedis a reminder that I decide what to do with my body No one else
I look down at the chain Ethan left it loose, so it rests on ht below my belly button The cascade of diamonds drips down my abdomen, rests directly above my mons No, this isn’t a collar But it is the most possessive piece of jewelry he could buy"It’s perfect for me," I tell him as I wrap my arms around his neck, lift my mouth for a kiss "Just like you"
Chapter Twenty-one
We have breakfast out on the patio Warm chocolate croissants Bowls full of succulent berries--strawberries for me, blueberries for Ethan Mine, exactly as I like theirl," I tell hiues with my second drink in hand
"That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you But you keep resisting" He reaches for esture that should be cheesy but is so," I tell hi to that and I freak out for a second Have I overstepped? Did I read toome? But then he lifts his face tobetween us as I am Maybe more
That’s when I realize I don’t know Ethan’s story Not really Not the way he knows mine Oh, I know the basics His parents divorced at an early age He lost his father in a very public hen he was just a boy He was raised by his dad’s parents instead of hishis dad’s life and death dragged out every couple of years when the government wants to remind people what a hero looks like
I know he’s spent his life trying to ensure that other people don’t lose their loved ones the sao couldn’t be treated anywhere but in a surgical suite Self-made soon-to-be-billionaire Philanthropist Environ else there Soe Soed than he ever lets on It never stays around for long, but it definitely exists I’ve seen it a couple of ti in the back of his eyes I don’t knohat it is, but so as alvanizessip--a little Dutch courage never hurt anyone--and deposit the glass on the nearest table Then I cli on either side of his thighs so that I’ressive I’ve ever been with him, and his blue eyes widen in surprise Still, it doesn’t take long for hira directly into my eyes--he slowly, slowly raises his ood as it always is Better, uess subconsciously I’ve been afraid things would be aard between us after what happened on the beach yesterday, but as he licks his way insideThe heat is still there between us
His tongue slides against h me, makes me anxious Makes me hurt I slide my hands up Ethan’s shoulders to his neck and then to the back of his head, grab a fistful of his hair, and pull his lips even entle, and while I appreciate the concern, it’s not what I want from him Not nohen my body’s on fire and all I can think of is hiainst his, suck his lip between my teeth and bite a little harder than I nor a little, but definitely enough to let him knoant hi Like charoans low in his throat at le in s a little and a frisson of awareness tears throughthe want--and the need
But he’s stillwhere I want hientle softness hat I need is a blistering, headlong race toward completion
"Ethan" I rip my mouth from his, then lick and nibble roans, his head falling back against his chair to givemy lips down his neck to the hollow of his throat
I find the spot where his heart beats fast and frantic and lick over it Once, twice, then again and again He tastes different here, wilder, sexier, though I didn’t think that was possible Salty-sweet like the ocean, earthy like the sand I love it
My hands go to the buttons on his shirt and I start to flick theain, when I’ and licking my way over it to the hard, flat planes of his abdoht e and hurtled me over into the stars, but I’ve never done the same for him