Head On (Strength And Love)(35)

Chapter Seventeen



Ethan



Ann comes for Katie three hours later because the interview took longer than planned. And by the time she picks her up, Katie’s feeling a little better as she’s had some sleep. She’ll be wiped out for a day or so though. Her migraines always make her exhausted for some time afterward.

As I say bye to them both and close the door, I wonder where Isla’s got to. The dogs are all snoozing on the kitchen floor in various baskets. Sadie’s curled up with my two, which gives me a stupid glow in my chest.

I head down the hallway and check in the gym, and the study, but she’s not there. I climb the stairs, and find her in the guest room, laid on top of the bed clothes, fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, I climb on next to her and scoot up.

She stirs though, and turns to face me, her eyes bleary as she blinks them a few times. “Hey there,” she says.

“Hey you.” I can’t resist kissing the tip of her nose. She’s got a cute, upturned nose.

She smiles and yawns.

“What do you want to do tonight?” I ask. Hoping she’ll say screw again, but know she might be a bit sore.

“You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m feeling a bit melancholy, not sure why. Anyway, when I feel like this at home, me and my dad play a board game.”

I laugh. “I love board games.”

“Yeah, right.”

I prop myself up on my elbow and look down at her. “No, honestly. I’ve got a whole cupboard of them down there. And not the usual stuff like Monopoly, I’ve got Settlers of Catan, and Pandemic.”

Her eyes widen. “I can’t seem to get my head around you having board games.”

“Why not?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know, it doesn’t go with the whole trained killer, male gigolo jive.”

And like that my bubble bursts. She must see because she bites her lip. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be nasty. Genuinely.”

“I know.”

“Speaking of the whole…gigolo thing.” She flushes. “I don’t want you losing money because of me staying here. If you need to go to work, please don’t let me stop you.”

I frown at her. “Oh, really?”

She nods.

“How altruistic of you.” Her suggestion fucks me off because I don’t want her to be okay with me screwing other women. I’d kill any man who touched her with my bare fucking hands.

She sits up and gets that look on her face. The one she gets when she’s about to get pissy with me.

“I’m trying to be thoughtful. I don’t want to impact your life.”

Doesn’t want to impact my life? She’s turned my whole fucking world upside down. “So what? I go out, fuck a client or two, come home, we play a board game, and then I fuck you?”

She flinches.

“Thought not. So, this is the end of our fun together? I thought you wanted it to last a bit longer?”

She bites her lip again, and I seriously need her to stop that before my last thread of control snaps. “I don’t want it to end. But no, I couldn’t have sex with you after you’ve been with a client. But I don’t want you to lose money. I know you help your sister.”

“Firstly, I can afford time off. I’m more than okay financially. Secondly, I’m thinking of giving it up anyway.” I toss it out there, casual, offhand. But her face freezes as she stares at me.

“Really? Why?”

Because of you, I want to say. Although, that’s not quite true. It’s not entirely because of her, but she’s the catalyst. Instead, I say, “Because I can’t keep doing it forever, and a friend has offered me a job.”

“Doing what?”

“Security work.”

“Wow.”

I wonder if this changes her view of us as being only temporary. Do I want it to? Fuck me, I do. I want her to want more. I want to see where this can go. I’m falling for this girl. How it’s happened so fast, I don’t want to examine. But it’s happening, and I can’t deny it.

My heart’s hammering, and I’m more nervous about saying what I want to say next than I was in a war zone. “If I wasn’t doing the…sex stuff, anymore, would it change how you feel about things between us? If I asked you to date me, would you?” Since when did I get all tongue tied?

She doesn’t even hesitate, she nods immediately. I’m half elated and half terrified.

“Can I take you out to dinner later this week?”

“A proper date?” she asks.

“Yeah, a proper date.”

“I’d love that, Ethan.”

I give her an impromptu kiss on the lips and one thing leads to another. Before I know it, we’re fucking again. This time she takes the lead and goes on top. It doesn’t take her long to find her rhythm and she’s glorious. Bouncing away on top of me, those amazing tits jiggling about. When she comes, it takes me about two seconds before I lose it, too. She falls forward and hugs me, and the hug’s about as good as the sex.

Then we play board games.

I’m so screwed it isn’t even funny.



We spend the next few days getting to know one another. We take long walks with the dogs. We binge watch The Walking Dead, which she’s never seen, and scares her half to death. But she loves it anyway. I cook for her. She cooks for me. We’ve also managed to fit in lots of sex. Lots of vanilla sex, and I’ve loved every fucking moment of it. Straight up missionary with her is more exciting than any of the inventive shit I’ve done with other women. I want her more than them, but it goes deeper. She’s so responsive. Gets so hot and bothered, and seeing her so helpless makes me feel like a fucking god.