Coldhearted Boss(74)
The client assures me they’ll confer with the Austin office and make their decision soon, and then the call ends.
Taylor is still on my lap, but when I set my phone back down on my desk, she attempts to stand.
“Someone is going to walk in.” She frowns as I pull her back down onto me. “Ethan…”
I silence her protests with a soft kiss, my hand wrapping around the back of her neck. She doesn’t give in to it right away; in fact, she sits perfectly still while I tease her mouth, parting her lips. She smiles and leans against me and I tilt my head, finally kissing her deeply. Her hand flattens over my heart and she softens, accepting my advances and meeting them with desires of her own. Our tongues touch and her moan is hot wax dripping down my skin. I pull her up higher on my lap and slip my hand between her jean-clad thighs.
The door to the trailer opens and Taylor flies off me, the back of her hand flat against her mouth as Robert walks in with Hudson. They’re talking animatedly about a basketball game when Robert’s gaze catches on Taylor’s back. He frowns and glances to me, but my steely gaze warns him not to say a word. Hudson is, again, completely oblivious.
“If you wouldn’t mind scanning that,” I say, picking up the paper Taylor brought over earlier and adding another sheet on top of it that outlines the notes from my phone call with our client.
She nods silently and rushes back over to the desk.
I feel guilty for what could have just happened, and I’m not surprised when Taylor leaves a few moments later without meeting my eyes.
Chapter 28
Taylor
Ethan’s in the shower when I make it back to the cabin later that night. I purposely stayed away after dinner, trying to cool my temper, but it didn’t work, and when I pull that door open and step into the steaming bathroom, I’m still annoyed with him. What if Robert and Hudson had seen us!? What if they did see us and just decided to keep their lewd comments to themselves?!
Ethan is rinsing his hair, his tall, toned body on full display. He turns and spots me, and there’s not even a hint of embarrassment on his face. The man is too arrogant for his own good.
“You nearly got us caught today,” I accuse, my voice harder than I thought it’d be.
I’m glad. I don’t want him knowing how close I am to pouncing on him.
He soaps up his palms and lathers his chest and arms.
“I take full responsibility,” he says, a smile barely visible on his lips.
He’s not taking this seriously, and that only annoys me more. I step under the stream, fully clothed, and push him back against the wall. Within seconds, I’m drenched. My t-shirt clings to my skin and my hair hangs heavy down my back.
“Don’t do it again. When you kiss me like that, I…”
He brushes the hair off my face and tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. His eyes sweep back and forth between mine as if trying to ensure I’m really listening to him when he speaks.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His voice is so sincere and resolute, I believe him.
Which is a relief, because now that I’ve let him have it, I’d really like to take advantage of him in this bathroom. And I do. I slink down to my knees, glad for the denim that softens the bite of the tile floor.
Ethan’s mischievous grin makes him look like a devil in disguise. “Is this part of my punishment?”
“No,” I tease. “That’ll come later, in bed.”
Two weeks pass like this and it’s equal parts blissful and maddening. All day, Ethan and I wear our employer-employee hats. We carefully avoid touching one another. There’s very little playful banter and absolutely no kissing, mostly because we’re hardly ever given the opportunity. Hudson always seems to be around, and if he’s not, Robert is, or one of the crew has a question or I’m off working or…
I still eat lunch with the crew, which I now realize really annoys Ethan. He takes it out on me at night, on that small bottom bunk. Every bit of jealousy he feels during the day gets poured into his lovemaking and I’m starved for more. I’m losing my head, which wouldn’t be so concerning except that my heart is already long lost. I’m not sure when exactly that happened, but it’s too late to turn back now. Putting up MISSING posters around camp wouldn’t help because I know the man who stole it and I don’t think he has any interest in giving it back to me. There is no point in trying to cap these feelings, no denying the love I feel toward a man I used to think I despised with every fiber of my being.
We stay together at the camp on the weekends and those days are so lazy and sweet, like a summer romance in a fairytale. We have nowhere to be and no one to answer to. We make love by the lake and swim until we’re exhausted from it. He grills us chicken and burgers and hotdogs and he tugs me down onto his lap while we share our food.
He lies back on his towel, his eyes closed, and I brush my fingers over his chest, reading a book aloud. I think he’s fallen asleep, and I pause, but then one eye peeks open and he insists I continue. With a smile, I pick up right where I left off.
After long days, we fill up that bathtub in the cabin and he washes me off just like I fantasized he would, his hands moving over my soapy, slick skin, his lips on my neck.
A part of me feels guilty for how happy I am. I know how much my mom is struggling and when I get paid again, it feels good to mail home that check, knowing how much she needs it. I insist she keep every penny for herself and for McKenna. I call home a couple times a week, always glad when McKenna updates me with good news about school. Summer will start soon, and she, Lilian, and Brittany have all been accepted to attend a six-week robotics and engineering camp at the University of Texas put on solely for young women. Better still, the camp is completely free to attendees thanks to a generous donation from Michael Dell.