"Oh yes," Ethan groaned, joining his index finger to the first and pushing both digits inside her. Mandy writhed, helpless to do more than moan long and loud when he began to slide his fingers in and out of her red-hot sheath.
"So very wet. And how. You don't know what that does to me. Knowing you want me just as much as I want you, Mandy."
She'd been such a fool; she knew that now. She never should have believed him. A man like him could never back down from a challenge till he'd won the prize. And tonight, the prize was her.
She felt the tears prick her eyes at the thought. She looked at him in accusation as she took in his desire-flushed face.
"You planned this," she breathed, teeth clenched to keep from chattering. Even then, she wanted nothing more than to push him down on the ground and mount him, to impale her aching pussy on his rigid cock that was now outlined plainly by the straining material of his jeans. Focusing on his narrowed blue eyes, she carried on reproachfully.
"You planned all of this. You just knew this would happen, didn't you? When you called me tonight. You knew you'd bring me here and then you'd try to force yourself on me."
"Force?" Ethan sucked the word between his teeth, his lips curling into a sharp smile. His blue eyes were all ice and fire again, scorching and chilling at the same time. "Maybe if you keep lying to yourself, you might actually start to believe that you don't want this. But your body tells me a different story, Mandy."
Still staring straight at her, she could see that beyond the look of disbelief that she'd accuse him of forcing himself on her lay genuine hurt and concern.
"And I would never force myself on anyone, much less you. I get it, Mandy. You feel guilty. You feel like you're betraying your boyfriend, but guess what? You're betraying yourself when you pretend that you don't want me … that you don't feel for me the way I know you do. You want me, Mandy. Stop fucking lying to yourself and admit … "
His words cut off when she slapped him across the face. Mandy hadn't even realized when her hand moved. Her brain hadn't even registered anything except how much his words rang hatefully true, stinging her pride. He growled, and Mandy gasped in shock at her own violence. She'd never hit anyone in her life. What was she turning into? A hot-headed, hot-blooded siren who kept telling a man ‘no' and yet did everything to give him the encouragement he sought. She'd come out with him, followed him willingly to his secluded house alone, knowing what he felt for her … what he really wanted. Her face suddenly crumpled, a sob escaping her as she finally managed to push away from him and yank open the door, dashing out of the studio.
"Mandy, stop!"
But she didn't stop. Running blindly around corner after corner, she tried to locate the stairs that would lead her downstairs. It wasn't like she knew where the heck she would go. She couldn't walk back to the main road and she certainly couldn't hail a cab from this lonely area. She was trapped in this massive house with Ethan, a man who she desired above all others yet couldn't … wouldn't … give into. She'd felt his dormant fire crackle when she'd slapped him, but she had also seen the incredible pain beneath the flames. She had hurt him, not just physically but deeper … burned him to the core when she refused him again and again, luring him in, teasing him, making him think that she wanted him only to turn on him time after time.
She could hear him coming after her. He was going to find her no matter where she ran. She became almost dizzy with panic, crashing through doorways and ending up in another strange part of the house. Just how big was this house anyway? No matter how far she ran, she never seemed to get to the end of it.
"Mandy!" Ethan called, and Mandy couldn't be sure if it was anger or impatience she heard in his voice. She knew it had been childish to run. What had she been afraid he'd do, hit her back? Mandy was sure deep down that he wouldn't hurt her. She wasn't really afraid of him. No, she was more scared of herself, of the things he pushed her to feel and want. Things she'd never dreamed she'd know how to want. Just like when he'd described the different ways he could take her; ways she could give herself to him. She still shivered now at the images he'd evoked in her mind's eye.
Breathless and confused, she found an unlocked door and pushed it open. It looked like a guest room that wasn't finished; the polished dark wood floor was bare and the windows held no curtains. She didn't switch on the light but saw the moonbeams shining through the windows, lighting up the surroundings with almost gothic luminosity.
She leaned against the wall and panted for air. She heard heavy footsteps and her heartbeat accelerated. Quickly, she backed away from the door and ended up stumbling over a crate, which crashed noisily to the floor. Mandy lost her balance and toppled backwards, landing heavily on her ass.
"Oh God!" she cried out before she could stop herself.
But he'd already been alerted to her whereabouts by the noise of the falling crate. Seconds later, Ethan was tearing into the room.
"Mandy, are you all right?" he asked, snapping on the lights before rushing to where she was trying to struggle to her feet. He caught her and helped her up easily, his face creased with concern.
She winced as she tried to settle her weight on her right foot and found she'd twisted it when she fell. She couldn't stand on it properly.
"I'm … I'm okay," she replied, staring up at his face and seeing the dark flush where she'd slapped him, the deep color beginning to fade. Unthinkingly, she lifted a hand to rest it gently against his cheek. The concern in his eyes darkened into something she couldn't describe.
He turned his face in her palm and made her shiver from the bristle of his shadowy beard. "Damn, Mandy. I didn't mean to scare you. You don't ever have to be afraid of me. You know that … don't you?"
"Yes," she replied softly, her eyes not moving from his face. "I'm sorry I hit you."
He sighed raggedly, spearing her with his blue gaze again. "I'm the one who needs to apologize. I should never have tried anything, not after what happened yesterday. I didn't plan this at all … it just happened because I wanted to spend more and more time with you. And with you so close to me, I find it so damn hard to think about anything but being with you. But I get it. You don't want this as much as I do and I need to back off."
"I do want you," Mandy blurted out, unable to stop herself. "Just as much, if not more. But I'm not sure that I can give into something that I don't really understand. I'm afraid of just how far I'll fall before it would be too late to find my way back."
Ethan's answer was to embrace her tightly, his arms like a safe haven she never wanted to escape from. Not anymore.
He began to draw away reluctantly, his sigh deep and heavy. "I'll take you home now, if you like," he said. But then he stiffened when Mandy's arms didn't pull away from around his neck. He looked into her eyes and his breath caught. "Mandy?"
Mandy wasn't sure who kissed whom first. Didn't know who moved that single needed inch that brought their lips slowly, ever so slowly together. Mandy didn't turn away when his lips closed almost experimentally over hers. Her heart thudded faintly in her ears. She closed her eyes instantly and blocked out every other thing but the deliciously soft texture of Ethan's firm lips. When the kiss got bolder and deeper, still Mandy didn't push away or protest. He raked past her teeth with his tongue and slicked the insides of her mouth hungrily. Mandy was gasping as she kissed him back just as hard.
She wasn't sure how she got on her back on the floor. He'd pulled her down so gently she didn't realize she was horizontal till she opened her eyes, looked up, and found herself staring into his handsome face with his arms braced on the floor on either side of her.
Ethan didn't say a word. Probably didn't want to break the spell or whatever it was keeping Mandy from protesting, from stopping this. She'd fought hard enough since they'd met to keep him at arm's length. She'd told him countless times he wasn't her type. She had a man; she wasn't going to be Ethan's latest conquest. He was her client and she wouldn't be acting professional if she took him to bed …
All those reasons seemed irrelevant to the electric shocks racking her frame in tiny spurts as Ethan kissed his way down from her lips to her chin then past the hollow of her throat to nuzzle at her neckline. He went lower still and she felt his teeth nip at her protruding nipple over the layer of clothes. Mandy gasped, arching her back. One hand grasped her sleeve and pulled it down her arm, taking her bra strap with it. The coolness of the room turned her now-exposed nipple to pinpoints of granite, suddenly covered in warmth by Ethan's tongue lashing over the aching bud before he popped it into his mouth.