The helicopter touched down gently on the helipad and the pilot began the task of shutting down the engines. Erin leaned forward to peer out the window, wondering where they were. The wind and dust churned up by the rotor blades made it impossible to see out.
She leaned back against the seat and bit down on her lower lip to stop the flow of questions. There was no way in hell she would ask Ethan anything, she’d rather die of curiosity first.
Erin wondered what Todd would think when she failed to show up for their date. A flash of guilt churned in her gut.
How could she have let one simple kiss scramble her brain and lead her into this trap? Deep down, Erin knew the answer to that question but she refused to acknowledge it.
Extremely conscious of Ethan’s disconcerting presence beside her, her pulse leapt to her throat when he suddenly leaned over.
“Let me get that for you.” His words washed over her, setting already frayed nerves on fire as he reached for the harness around her waist.
“Don’t touch me!” Erin snapped, shrinking away from his touch. She glared at him. “I’m not completely helpless you bastard.”
An eyebrow rose in mild surprise at her vehemence.
“I never said you were helpless, Erin.”
The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “We’re at the marina, Boss, the yacht’s ready to set sail.”
“Yacht?” Erin, skewering Ethan with a look that could peel flesh. “Just what the hell are you up to?”
He shrugged, seriously, his shrugs were fast becoming irritating, and turned away to open the door. A warm salty breeze hit Erin’s face, ruffling strands of her hair and she realized they must be close to the sea.
“We are going to have a talk, then dinner.” Ethan replied, in a tone that brooked no further argument..
****
The Serenity was a magnificent boat, screaming elegance and money from stern to bow. The interior was even more mind boggling, the furniture top grade and carefully chosen to exude comfort.
Erin sat on the bed in the stateroom, still fuming over Ethan’s high handed behavior. Why this was tantamount to kidnapping, for every fiber of her being wished she were anywhere else. She could feel the rolling and swaying motion that indicated the boat had already set sail.
The door opened again and Ethan came in, the room seeming to shrink under his very presence. Erin rose from the bed and shot him a glare as he came further into the room.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself.” .
The devil had the effrontery to grin widely. “Oh I am, immensely.”
Her eyes narrowed and Erin folded her arms across her chest.
“Tell me,” she asked, swallowing the insults hovering on the tip of her tongue. “Just what do you stand to gain from kidnapping me?”
He chuckled, his mirth only raising her ire. Moving close till they stood face to face, his eyes mocked her assertion, silently daring her to say it again.
“It’s not kidnapping if the ‘victim’ is willing. And you forget, I have witnesses who’ll swear you left the hotel under your own steam.”
“Yes, after you -” Erin broke off, unwilling to finish the sentence.
“After I what?” Ethan taunted, stepping even closer, causing her to back up until the back of her knees hit the bed. His eyes raked over her body, ice blue irises narrowed in challenge. His tone changed, softened and became deep, a warm caress over her skin. “After I kissed you and made you so hot for me you’d have followed me to the ends of the earth?”
He lifted a hand to lightly stroke her cheek, blazing a slow, fiery path down to linger on her full lips.
“Sweetcheeks, if I’d taken you back to your apartment, would you have stopped us from having sex?”
“Yes!” The denial slipped from her lips though her heart told her otherwise. Ethan’s laugh told her he didn’t believe her either.
“You sure?” Cupping her chin, Ethan raised her lips to his, taking her mouth in a soul shattering kiss for the second time that day.
Maybe it was the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, or maybe it was the state of heightened arousal she’d been in since that knee melting kiss in the lobby. Either way, the minute his lips touched hers, reason and resistance flew out the window and Erin kissed him back.
He seemed surprised by her willingness, breaking the kiss to study her flushed face, but whatever Ethan saw there, he kissed her again, this time, there was no doubt he had no intention of stopping unless she asked.
Erin could feel her heart hammering against her chest, could hear blood roaring in her ears as Ethan angled his head, taking the kiss deeper, sweeter, more intoxicating.
His hand circled her waist, pulling her against him and she exualted to feel his erection, hard and heavy, against her. Delicious shivers raked down her spine as his other hand rose to cup a breast, and she moaned as he gently applied pressure, his touch searing her even through the layers of clothing.
“I want to see you again,” Ethan whispered against her lips, even as his hands went to work, settling on her shoulders to push down her jacket, and she obliged, shrugging out of the garment. Next, he tugged her blouse up over her head, and she stood, in just her bra and jeans.
He stepped back, hungry eyes blazing over her, taking in everything, missing nothing. Under his appreciative gaze, for the first time in her life, Erin forgot to feel self conscious, proudly basking in the heat and hunger of the man she was supposed to despise.
Ethan shrugged out of his jacket, tossed it aside, and sat on the bed, all the while his eyes never left her.
“Come here.” The command was uttered in a voice deepened by desire, and Erin’s feet complied, even before the stubborn part of her thought to disobey.
She came to a stop between his spread legs. His hands reach up to grasp her thighs, capable hands sliding up to flick open the button of her jeans and slid down the zipper, causing her matching silk panties to peep through. His mouth lowered to her stomach, and she sighed in pleasure as he pressed a burning trail of kisses down her bare skin, teasing over the top of her underwear.
“Touch me.”
Another order. For one second, she considered defying him, but then his hand gripped her ass and he tugged her to him. Thrown off balance by the move, she stumbled, and grasped his shoulders for support, feeling the bunched up muscles move beneath her fingers. Her fingers slid up to his neck, playing with the small hairs on the back of his head.
Gathering courage, she brought her hands to his chest and gathered a handful of his shirt in one fist.
“Take it off.” She ordered, in the same commanding tone. She felt him grin against her belly, and he straightened, grasped the shirt and tugged it over his head and leaned back on the bed, resting his weight on his elbows.
Erin’s breath caught at her first glimpse of his bare chest. Pretty certain she was drooling, she traced her hands over his smooth, defined pecs and abs. She felt a shiver pass through Ethan as she explored his body and she smiled seductively to know she wasn’t the only one affected by this lust.
“Nice abs.” She winked at him, and feeling mischievous, tucked her loose hair behind her ear, leaned down, and licked a path from his chest to the top of his jeans.
“Erin…” He growled, then in a move that took her by surprise, he had her lying on the bed, his heated body, a pleasant weight pushing her into the soft coverlet.
He gave her a kiss that scrambled her senses, while tugging off her jeans. She lifted her hips to help, giggling when Ethan let loose a stream of curses as the legs refused to go over her boots. Soon though, she lay under his gaze, clad only in bra and panties.
“Amazing.” He whispered, undoing the front clasp of her bra before slipping a hand under the bra strap and tugged it down, doing the same for the other one, so her heavy breasts spilled free, nipples tight and aching for his touch, for his mouth.
“I’ve never been crazy about breasts, but god! Erin, yours are…” He trailed off, searching for a word, even as he cupped each globe reverently. Then, he took a nipple in his mouth and Erin cried out, her hands instinctively sinking into his hair to tug him closer, back arching off the bed for more.
She let out another moan as his fingers slipped past the flimsy panties she wore and cupped her wet heat, his fingers playing with her clit till she was writhing and panting, then dipped inside her, first one, then another finger while his thumb flicked her throbbing flesh over and over again.
“Ethan…” her breath came in harsh, fast gasps as her body readied itself for a mind blowing orgasm. In reply, he released her nipple to take her mouth again, his movements going faster, until with a cry, Erin fell over the edge, sweet spasms rocking her body, while her mind tethered in heavenly bliss.
Even as the shivers subsided, she was conscious that he’d moved but only to divest himself of his clothing. He gathered her limp body in his arms and repositioned her on the bed, so she lay fully across it. He knelt before her, and she watched through lazy eyelids as he quickly donned on a condom. His wicked smile flashed when he saw her watching and he stroked his impressive cock, lust, a fiery blaze in his gaze.
Then he came over her again, settling between her legs. He guided his cock to her centre and ran the head several times over her, precum oozing from the smooth, blunt head mixing with her juices, teasing, rekindling desire in her body until she was aching and ready for him again.
Then he joined them, going to the hilt in one long, hard thrust, her body stretching to receive him.
“Oh fuck! You’re so damn tight,” Ethan groaned as he began moving, his breath coming out more and more ragged as the intensity of his thrusts increased.
Erin could feel yet another orgasm begin to build quickly, every nerve focused on the point where their bodies met. She locked her legs around his waist, and moaned his name as he slid in deeper, his cock hitting all the right spots, her mind a befuddled, glazed mess as she lost herself in passion.
“Come for me, Erin.” Ethan whispered, his voice fractured from barely holding on to control. He reached between them, and found her clit. “Come on my cock, I want to feel your sweet pussy grip me harder as you come.”
She went over again. In a haze, she felt Ethan’s moves become erratic as he gave up control, and seconds later, he groaned, loud and long as he fell too.
*******.
The insistent buzzing of a phone drew Erin from slumber. She stirred with a smile, her body still incredibly relaxed after…
“Oh God!” Erin shot up from the bed as the memories came flooding back. Horror at what she’d done suffused her. What had she done? How could she even face Nicky or her family after this?
She glanced at the bed, unsurprisingly finding it empty. Still, it stung worse than if he’d been there in the first place. The room was also empty of his presence and for the second time that day, Erin felt tears of humiliation prick her eyelids. She dashed them away with determined swipes of her hand, the other clutching the sheet to her body. Nicky’s words of caution floated in her head and she groaned aloud. What kind of woman went to bed with the man who threatened to destroy her?
A fool. She was all kinds of fool for letting her body dictate her actions rather than her brain.
The phone buzzed angrily again, startling Erin from her self deprecation. Gathering the sheets around her naked body, she slid off the bed and padded bare foot across the surprisingly soft shag carpet towards the source of the sound.
A gasp escaped when she spotted her missing purse resting on the ornate bronze dresser.
“That bastard!” The words were a whisper of outrage as Erin realized he’d also manipulated her into coming here in the first place. He’d made her believe she’d forgotten her purse on the floor of the lobby, meanwhile the lying creep had had it with him. Fresh waves of anger and shame warred within her and she turned away from the offending object, seeking out her clothes. She found them lying neatly on an armchair, no sign of the previous haste with which she’d been divested of them.
Dressing hurriedly, Erin’s mind ran through a whole gamut of emotions, ranging from anger to humiliation and finally settling to a cold simmer of revenge. Ethan Lachlan was going to pay for manipulating her this way. She swore silently. He sought to destroy and humiliate her right?
“Well, I’ve got news for you Mr. Lachlan.” She snarled into the empty room. “I can play this game too and when I play, I play to win.”