His eyes flashed with lust and then anger and he shook his head. “One hour is all we’re spending at this god-awful party.”
“Ethan. How do you know that it’s going to be awful? We’re not even there yet.”
“I’ve been to this party a thousand times.”
“You’re so dramatic. If you’ve been to parties like this a lot, then you must like them.”
He just growled at me and I reached across and stroked his chin. He caught my wrist in his hand and brought my hand to his lips. “An hour, beautiful.”
Rory had strict instructions to be waiting for us in an hour when he dropped us. As soon as I climbed out of the car, Ethan was beside me, his arm around my waist, guiding me toward the sound of music and chatter beyond the line of trees right in front of us.
“Whose house is this?” I asked.
“Some dick banker that Andrew is friends with.”
“Why are all bankers dicks?” I asked. “Do you think banking turns them into dicks or that they only employ dicks to begin with?”
“An interesting philosophical question, Miss Anna. Why don’t we go back to the house and debate it. In bed. Naked. Me between your legs?”
I looked up at him and grinned. “Later. We have plenty of time.”
But we didn’t have plenty of time. We had exactly two nights before I flew back to London. My skin prickled at the thought. It wasn’t enough time. I wanted another week with him. Or maybe just a few more days.
Before panic could overwhelm me, we were confronted by a mass of people. It felt like they were all looking at us. Ethan squeezed me closer to him as we made our way through the crowd toward the bar that had been set up at the other end of the pool. Ethan briefly shook hands with a couple of over-tanned, middle-aged men, but kept us moving.
Ethan
Jesus, I really didn’t want to be here. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t insisted that we stay at home. Having her in that skimpy red dress, pressed up against me, knowing she wasn’t wearing underwear—it was almost painful. Even though I’d spent more time inside her today than not, I still wanted her. I wanted her to myself, without all these people getting in our way.
She didn’t fit in in this environment. She didn’t have to try so hard. I was so sick of this scene. I didn’t understand why Andrew and Mandy were still doing it. Andrew wasalmost as well connected as I was, so it couldn’t be for business, and Mandy certainly didn’t fit in with these women—her face still looked normal and not like a frozen Pillsbury Doughboy.
Andrew and Mandy were heading toward us.
“Hey guys, you made it,” Mandy said, hugging first Anna and then me.
“Yeah, we did it for a good cause—Andrew’s balls,” I said. Anna elbowed me in the ribs.
“Fuck you, dude,” Andrew said.
“I was excited to come. Thanks for inviting us,” Anna said.
Mandy clasped her hands together like an over-excited seal. “I’m so pleased you’re an ‘us’ and you’re here!”
I rolled my eyes at her excitement. I hoped she wasn’t making Anna uncomfortable. She didn’t want pressure to be an ‘us,’ I knew that for sure.
“To be honest, I’m not sure why we come to these parties. Although I like to see the women’s faces. It’s so bizarre,” Mandy said.
“I’ll go and get us some drinks,” I offered. “Andrew?”
“Yeah, a beer, thanks.”
“No, you dick, you’re coming with me.”
“Fuck you.”
“Stop being children and go and get your ladies some drinks,” Mandy instructed.
“She’s great, man,” Andrew said as we headed toward the bar.
