Ethan (Face-Off Book 5)

by Jillian Quinn

  Once we reach the VIP area, I sit on the couch next to Mia. Will gives the waitress our drink orders. With our first playoff game only a few days away, I’m sticking to water. So is Will. This night is for Mia. She needs to loosen up and have fun for once in her life.

  “I can see why you insisted on dressing me,” Mia says. “This place is nice. I wouldn’t have fit in with my normal clothes.”

  I nod. “But I’m sure the bouncer would have let you in because you’re with us. At least now you look the part.”

  “As what? One of your puck bunnies.” She rolls her eyes and makes a gagging sound. “People probably think I’m fucking you and Will. Gross.”

  “Let them think what they want. And for the record, fucking me would not be gross. Far from it.”

  She laughs. “I don’t know about that.”

  Before I get the chance to respond, Will plops down on the other side of Mia and slides his arm across the back of her neck. “What do you think, baby sis? Not so bad, right?”

  Mia gives him a fake smile. She’s so easy to read. “Yeah, it’s great. Thanks for forcing me to come out with you.”

  She folds her arms across her chest, pushing her tits out even more. Does it make me an even bigger asshole for noticing? Probably.

  Will releases Mia from his grip and leans forward to grab two bottles of water from the bed of ice on the table in front of us and hands one of them to me. Then, he fills a highball glass with Absolut and cranberry juice. He passes the drink to Mia. “Try to have fun. It won’t kill you.”

  “Stop nagging me, Will.” Mia presses the glass to her lips and gulps down half of the liquid in one swig. “Let me do my thing without babysitting me for once.”

  Will cocks an eyebrow at Mia. “You know I worry about you.”

  For as long as I’ve known Will, he’s always handled Mia like she’s a piece of fine china. Her parents treat her the same way. She’s not the delicate girl I once knew. Not even close.

  Mia pounds the rest of her drink and gets up from the couch. “I know, Will, and I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Now, if you don’t mind, I want to go downstairs and dance without a chaperone.”

  Will sinks further into the couch and kicks his shoe up on the table. “Ethan is going with you.”

  He shoots me a look that says, Keep an eye on her. I’d love to dance with Mia, but I can’t help but wonder if he’ll stand up here and watch us from the balcony. If so, I have to be careful with her. Because one wrong move could be dangerous for us both.

  “You coming with?” I ask Will.

  He shakes his head. “No, I texted that girl I met last night. She should be here in a few. I also have the waitress to keep me company.” Will flashes a cocky smirk and then winks.

  When we reach the dance floor, the club is in full swing. Sweat glistens off the bodies of those grinding on each other, the people surrounding us throwing elbows in our direction as we push our way through the crowd. I have to move Mia in front of me to keep her out of their reach. With my arm hooked around her stomach and my hand on her shoulder, I steer her deeper into the throng and out of Will’s line of sight.

  He told me to dance with Mia. Technically, Will gave me his permission. Does that make this right?

  We eventually find an open space in the middle of the floor, which gives us enough room to join our bodies together. Mia presses her palms to my chest and looks up at me. Her bright blue eyes slice right through me. When she looks at me this way, nothing around us matters. There’s only the beautiful girl I’ve had feelings for since I was in high school standing in front of me.

  My skin pricks with electricity when Mia slides her hands up my arms. She grips my biceps with her fingers and begins to sway her hips with a sensual look in her eyes as she digs her nails into my skin. We don’t need to exchange words. She wants me. I want her. There’s nothing left to say. But, where is Will?

  I glance up at the balcony where we left Will and let out a sigh of relief that he’s not standing there. His date must have arrived by now and keeping him more than entertained. Good. Because I need Will distracted.

  Mia rubs her ass on my thigh, slowly making her way to my growing erection. I’m thankful no one can see how turned on I am by Mia. And even more thankful that Will is not here to see this. She knows what she’s doing, dropping low enough to give me a nice view of her ass. For a girl who never leaves the house, Mia sure has some moves. And she sure as fuck knows how to work her killer curves.

  She wants me to touch her, and yet I have my hands at my sides, allowing Mia to do what she wants to me.

  If only she knew how much she’s doing.

  With Will out of the picture, what could it hurt?

  What’s one dance?

  I lean forward to whisper in her ear, and she stills from my breath on her skin. “Keep doing that, little lamb, and I’m going to bend you over and fuck you right here on this dance floor.”

  Mia stops shaking her ass and tilts her head back so that our eyes meet. Sweat dots on her forehead and brows, her glassy blue eyes burning a hole right through me. “I’d like to see you try, E.”

  Moving my hands to her hips, I pull her against my chest. “Is that a dare?”

  She smiles in response.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mia

  What am I doing? Grinding on Ethan like some horny college girl at a bar is not my style. Not even close. So, why can’t I stop myself from rubbing my ass on his cock? I love the fact Ethan’s hard for me, of all people. For the girl who has been in love with him since we were kids. For his best friend’s little sister.

  I glance up at the balcony to check for Will. At least he hasn’t caught us. Yet. If we keep this shit up, it’s only a matter of time before Will figures out the old feelings Ethan and I have for each other are back and stronger than ever.

  Swaying my hips to the music, I lean my head back and look up at Ethan. His thick muscles wrap around me, his hands slowly moving down my sides. He stares at me with his mouth open, his teeth gently grazing his bottom lip. I want to bite it, suck it.

  The girls next to us are screaming at each other. One of them bumps into my arm. But neither of us can take our eyes off the other. Under the heat from the lights and the steady pace we’re maintaining, I’m gasping for air. Or maybe Ethan is the one doing this to me.

  My skin burns from the fire Ethan leaves in his wake. He pushes his hands down my body, feeling every curve. And I let him. Even though we should stop. We both know this is wrong.

  When the song changes to a more techno beat, I move faster. Ethan dips his head down to brush his lips along my neck to taste me. His tongue lightly grazes my skin, and as he does this, his manly scent fills my nostrils. I drink him in and allow myself to sense and feel everything about Ethan.

  Reaching behind me, I drag my fingers down his chest until I find his hard cock. Ever since I saw him naked this morning, I’ve wanted him. As much as I try to deny it, I’m only lying to myself. He grows harder for me, filling my hand, and does something I least expect. Ethan bites my neck, tugging at my flesh with his teeth.

  At first, it hurts, but then I realize I like the pain. I want more. And Ethan gives it to me. My nipples are like daggers poking through the thin fabric of my shirt, and when Ethan slides his hand up my stomach to feel the tiny buds, I moan so fucking loud I feel self-conscious until I realize no one can hear me. No one cares that we’re practically fucking on the dance floor. Oddly enough, no one has recognized Ethan.

  Sweat drips into my eyes and down my face. With the makeup and lights blinding me, I can hardly see the faces in front of me. So, I close my eyes and rest my head on Ethan’s chest. He’s so much bigger than me that no one can even see me, not with Ethan’s muscular frame covering me. Not when his hands and tongue claim me.

  Ethan has his back to the balcony, providing us with some form of privacy from my brother. By now, Will must be busy with his hookup of the hour. At least we have that going for us. I
open my eyes to double-check, turning just enough to see past Ethan’s shoulder to search for Will. All good. For now.

  After the song switches over to a faster, more upbeat tempo, the crowd changes with it. Everyone is moving so quickly their bodies and faces become one giant blur, a mess of hair and colors and swirled images. I’m not drunk, not even buzzed. Ethan has me high on him. One taste of what it would be like to be with Ethan is all it takes for me to get drunk on pleasure.

  Ethan takes both of my arms and holds them behind my back, restraining me. I look up at him, lost in him and the moment and wishing it would never end.

  Hours pass by whether I want them to or not because I have no concept of time. All I know is that my core has been aching with desire since we got on this dance floor, however long that has been.

  Holding my arms with one hand, Ethan pushes the hair off my neck and cups my chin in his other hand. He plants a trail of kisses along my jaw before making his way to my mouth. As he pulls down my bottom lip with his thumb, Ethan wets his lips. And then he goes in for the kill as if he’s the predator, and I’m his prey.

  His lips crash into mine with so much intensity and passion I almost lose my balance. But Ethan is there to catch me and pins me against his chest. He takes my lip and sucks on it, tugging at it with his teeth. I love the way he makes me crave this closeness.

  When Ethan sweeps his tongue into my mouth, I melt into him, our bodies are fused together as one.

  I’ve waited ten years for this kiss.

  Ten years for this man to touch me in ways I’d only dreamed.

  Ethan is no longer a dream, but the idea of us together is nothing more than a façade. Will would never be okay with us. So, we have tonight. One night to make up for the last ten years.

  We stay this way until the strobe lights go out and the crowd dies down along with the music. Ethan finally lets go of me, holding me at arm's length. He studies my face and shakes his head. “I should have done that ten years ago.”

  “Why did we wait this long?”

  He frowns as if the Ethan I had all night is gone. “You know why.”

  I nod. “Will.”

  There’s nothing left to say.

  Ethan leads me upstairs by the hand, his touch sending shockwaves throughout my body, followed by sadness. Now that I’ve had Ethan, I want more and reality sucks ass.

  When we reach the top landing, we find Will making out with not one but two blondes in the VIP area. Bottles of alcohol are on the table, the floor littered with cups and shakers. What the fuck happened up here? One girl is grinding on my brother with his legs squeezed between her skinny thighs. And they’re both kissing the other girl.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick.” I lean into Ethan and whisper, “Are they having sex?”

  He tilts his head to the side. “Umm… I don’t think so. But who knows with your brother.”

  “Maybe we should leave. This is nasty. I can’t stay here and watch my brother fuck random chicks in public. What the hell is wrong with him?”

  They call him Romeo for a reason.

  I turn on my heel, slipping away from Ethan, and he comes up from behind me. He grips my hips to keep me in place and leans down to speak against the shell of my ear, “I’ll take care of your brother. Don’t move, okay?”

  I sigh. “Okay.”

  Sadly, this is not the first time I’ve seen my brother with two or even three girls. He’s a serious manwhore and always has been. His popularity with women only worsened when he became a professional hockey player. Will has been in the newspaper with different girls dozens of times, and every time my mom dies of shame. To some extent, so do I.

  But I guess that makes me a hypocrite because I practically allowed Ethan to fuck me on the dance floor. I would have let him too. That’s the sad part. Even though he was rough and aggressive, I could feel his restraint. He didn’t want to take things with us too far.

  After a few minutes, Ethan comes back from talking to Will with a smile on his handsome face.

  “Ready to go? Will’s going home with those girls. He said not to wait up.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  He flashes the cockiest of grins as if he has a hidden agenda.

  Then, it hits me—we have my apartment to ourselves for the night. And now, I’m smiling like a fucking fool, with my expression now mirroring his.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mia

  On the Uber ride back to my apartment, Ethan has his hands all over me. But he doesn’t kiss me. We don’t even look at each other. He slides his hand up my thighs and feels every inch of my exposed skin, forcing me to bite the inside of my cheek to be quiet. It was one thing to feel each other up in a crowded club, but not with a private audience in the front seat.

  When the car stops, Ethan forks over a wad of cash and thanks the driver. He helps me out of the car, and by the time he gets me outside, he has me over his shoulder.

  “What are you doing, E?” I push down the back of my skirt as he shuts the door and waves to the man.

  “You were moving too slow, and I have plans for you that can’t wait.”

  His deep, masculine voice produces an aching within me I can’t ignore. I burrow my face in the crook of his neck, no longer wanting to fight him as he carries me over the threshold.

  He holds out his hand. “Give me your keys.”

  Inside the three-story brownstone, a narrow hallway to the right leads to a set of doors. Each floor has two apartments, with the smallest ones on the lower floors. The walls are painted stark white with lights overhead that cast a yellowish hue around us.

  Given Ethan’s athletic build, he has no problem taking the stairs two at a time as if it’s nothing. He’s a big guy, and in his arms, I feel safe, secure. Ethan manhandles me like I’m a doll. He sets me on the floor to fumble with the keys, opening the door and kicking it shut before he lifts me up again.

  As Ethan pushes my back against the wall, I wrap my legs around his middle and slide my hands up his chest. Holding me tight, his lips crash against mine with fury. I hadn’t realized how much I missed his touch until now. More like I’ve craved him. The second our mouths separated at the club, I wanted more. Now, I have him. All of him.

  Ethan kisses me, our tongues working in harmony. He invades my mouth with a vicious hunger, and ten years of pent-up sexual desire exploding all at once. And I feel every second of those years. He tells me with his body how much he’s wanted this. Claims me with each flick of his tongue. Possesses me with each finger he digs into my side.

  After what feels like an hour, our lips part, both of us out of breath and panting. Ethan cups the side of my face with his big hand and sighs. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this, Mia.”

  “Me, too.” I can barely get the words out.

  He shakes his head. “Too fucking long.”

  We stare at each other, a beat passing between us before he pushes my panties aside to run his finger along my slick folds. Testing my wetness, Ethan slides his finger in and out of me and makes a hissing sound.

  “So wet. So fucking tight. Damn, Mia, what are you doing to me? I thought I could control myself with you. I have to control myself. But I can’t.”

  “Then don’t,” I whisper.

  “Don’t say that. I want to fuck you on every surface of this apartment. I want my cock inside every part of you. I want it all.”

  I press my finger to his lips to silence him. “Will isn’t home. We get one night together. One night to get this out of our systems.”

  “Your brother will never forgive me. He flipped out over me touching your leg during the interview.”

  “He doesn’t need to know, E. It’s just you and me.”

  We share a short-lived moment where it’s just Mia and E, the boy I fell in love with ten years ago. This is the Ethan Waters I know. Deep down inside, it hurts knowing tonight can never be more than a fling. But having Ethan for one night is better than not at all, and that’s how I justify it to
myself.

  He kisses me again, but this time as if he’s saying goodbye. Tightening my grip on his neck, I hold onto Ethan for dear life, afraid of losing any contact with him. I take all of his anger and pain, absorb his sadness and fear, his emotions mirroring mine.

  We both want more.

  But we can’t have it.

  Ethan carries me to the kitchen with my legs still around his back, and my nails clawing at his neck.

  We don’t even bother to separate our lips until my ass hits the countertop. I work on the buttons of his navy dress shirt, flipping them open one at a time, and when I get to the last one, Ethan shakes it off.

  He plucks a condom from his pocket, before taking off his pants and boxers, and rips the package open. I push up my skirt, slide my panties down to my ankles, and let them drop to the floor.

  Ethan wets his lips as he takes in the sight of me. Staring at me like a ravenous beast, he sinks to the floor in front of me, parting my legs with his strong hands.

  He kisses his way up my thigh, taking his time. Burying his face between my legs, Ethan peeks up at me. His intense gaze sends a pang of pleasure throughout my body as his tongue connects with my aching clit. He massages me with his tongue, giving me lazy licks that drive me fucking insane.

  His breath makes my toes curl, and when his tongue finally slips between my folds, my brain shuts down. I’m unable to move or think straight when he shoves two fingers inside and spreads me open. My insides clench around him, his tongue bringing me to the point of convulsing.

  I stare into his deep blue eyes, filled with hunger and passion, concentrating on finding my release as he manages to hit my sweet spot.

  “Ethan,” I moan. “Yes… just like that.”

  Gripping Ethan’s dark hair in my hands, I hold him tight and scream his name. I let out all my frustration and anger over this fucked-up situation. I communicate my feelings with each orgasm he rips from my body because they’re his to take. Ethan owns every last one of them.