“Let me say goodbye,” he said.
Behind him, Ethan stepped back again, Bruno following with a grin that made my jaw tick. Normally I could’ve brushed something like that off. Right now it hit me like a flare to the chest.
Ethan took another step back.
The guy leaned in closer.
My body twitched—an involuntary urge to move toward them.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Luca said, rejoining me.
We rounded the table, closing in slowly, the crowd’s heat brushing against my shoulders, strobe lights flashing across Ethan’s pale hair.
“I’m not really in the mood to dance right now.” His voice carried through the music.
“You are going to tell Henry, yes?” Luca asked, leaning closer.
“He knows.” I didn’t take my eyes off Ethan.
Then Bruno stepped in again, hand sliding onto Ethan’s waist as he said something into his ear. Ethan looked like he was seconds from rolling his eyes, and I knew he could handle himself. I knew he could.
But apparently my programming really was broken.
I stepped up behind Ethan and laid a hand on the guy’s shoulder. He looked confused for half a second once he noticed me—probably thinking it had been Ethan who had touched him—definitely not his boss.
His eyes went wide.
“How many different ways does he have to say no for you to get it?” I said.
He parted his lips but didn’t speak.
Ethan didn’t move—not even a twitch—and his scent hit me again, warm and damp from dancing. All I could think of was his mouth on mine.
“What?” the guy finally asked, eyes flicking to Ethan.
“Go find someone else.” I leaned in close enough that Ethan’s hair brushed my neck. “Touch him again and you won’t just be out of a job at my company—you’ll be out of one in this city.”
He swallowed hard, then gave a jerky nod.
“You should’ve taken the hint.” Ethan stepped back slightly—pressing his back against my chest. “In case it wasn’t obvious, you’re not my type—and you’re staring at it right now.”
Those words?—
Fuck.
They sent something wild and possessive through me, a violent urge to wrap myself around him, to claim him so completely the entire room would understand. The entire world.
I locked my muscles in place.
The guy finally walked off, and when Ethan turned his head, my attention followed the line of his gaze.
Straight to Luca.
He was standing right there. The lights flickered over his face, sharpening the tension around his mouth—nothing like his usual careful composure.
Ethan fitted himself closer to me without hesitation. “Doesn’t he look pretty when he’s jealous?”
The words weren’t for me. They wereaboutme.
