I glance sheepishly at Ethan who’s standing above me half-amused, half-concerned.
He offers me his hand, helping me back to myfeet.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I mumble, warmth spreading over my cheeks.
He bends and picks up my phone, nodding a greeting to my best friend, whose eyes are bugging out of her head now. I guess hearing about him and seeing him are two completely different things. “Willow, I presume?”
“Uh-huh,” she stutters.
“How’s Luca going over there in the big leagues?”
“G-good. Really good.”
“Tell him we’re all rooting for him to do well.”
“Thanks, I will.”
He passes the phone back to me, and I swallow, forcing my gaze back to the screen. “I’ll talk to you soon, Wil. Miss you.”
“Miss you, too. Bye.”
Tossing my phone onto the bed, I meet his whiskey eyes. “How much of that did you hear?”
His lips tug into a smirk as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him. My core throbs as it presses against the growing bulge in his pants. “Enough.”
I groan, resting my head on his chest. “Kill me now.”
His laughter settles around me like a warm hug. “I can think of better things I’d rather do to you, little devil.” He dips his head to nip at the soft skin beneath my ear. “All I can think about right now is how good you looked spread out on my desk.”
I bite down on my lip to suppress a moan. “Shouldn’t we talk?” My words come out in a breathy whisper. I’m too distracted by the trail his mouth and tongue are taking while his fingers skate across my stomach under my hoodie.
“We’ve got plenty of timeto talk.”
“Mmhmm,” I hum, my eyes fluttering closed as his hand breaches my leggings. “Plenty of time.”
As I lienaked in Ethan’s arms, his fingers skating over my spine, I know we have to face the elephant in the room—his son.
“Is this weird for you?” I ask.
“Hmm?” Ethan’s reply is sleepy.
“Being with me with all the history between me and Dylan… and whatever he’s going through now?”
My stomach churns as I wait for him to answer. He’s quiet, mulling over my question.
“I hate what he did to you, and I will never condone his behaviour, but he’ll always be my son, and I want to help him be a better person. Are you okay with that? I don’t want to hurt you any more than he already has.”
I nod, resting my chin on his chest so I can meet his gaze. “I never wanted to come between the two of you.”
He presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. “You haven’t, and you won’t. I’m not going to lie and tell you it will be easy, but I’ve spent my life sacrificing what I want for everyone else, and I’m not doing that this time. I want to be selfish with you.”
My heart skips a beat. I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. My dad left me, my mum blamed me, and Dylan stole my innocence to impress his mates. Hell, even I didn’t put myself first, hiding behind the window in the voyeur room and only pursuing men I knew would never be the real thing… until Ethan. I know it’s ironic that it’s Dylan’s dad who has shown me I deserve more. But I’m done with caring what other people think. I deserve to be seen for who I really am, scars and all, and I’m ready to shed the mask.
“I want to be selfish with you, too,” I tell him. “I love you.”
His grin lights up his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I love you.”
