by Meghyn King
Ethan frowned at her. “Why?”
She snorted and tugged her hand away from his. She rose and made her way around to his side, plopping herself into his lap. Winding her arms around his neck, she maneuvered her legs on either side of his thighs, so their chests were pressed together. “You see, Lois and Jeremy came around for supper the other night. She was trying to set us up. She thought I’d be the perfect stay-at-home wife for Jeremy.”
His face twisted. “Jeremy wouldn’t know what to do with a stay-at-home wife. Hell, he can barely be civil around a woman.”
She ran her thumb over the corner of his lips, grinding her hips down against his own. A familiar hardness greeted her, and she reveled in the feel of his cock nudging her. God. She really was a slut, and she had no shame about it. She knew what she liked and went after it.
“Mhm. I thought he was charming. He’s quite the flirt, but does not take rejection well, apparently.”
His hands clasped her ass, tugging her closer, not that it was possible. She was as close to him as she could get, with their bodies melding against each other. But much to her delight, he left his hands there, squeezing the flesh with his fingers.
“He treats women like possessions. His toys. And his momma panders to his every whim. She sets him up with a Southern woman, he plays with them to his heart’s content, then throws them out like a used teddy bear. Then Lois finds him another one. He’ll never settle down.” Anger commandeered his tone and his hatred for Jeremy couldn’t be any more obvious.
Scarlett leaned back, frowning. She gripped his upper arms to keep herself balanced. “What did he do to you?”
Ethan’s surprised glance flicked to her. “Nothing.”
“You’re a liar.” She poked his chest. “You hate him. Has he hurt women before?”
His stare hardened, and tension coiled in his corded muscles. She felt the shift in his arm muscles. “I’ve seen the women he’s hurt.”
“He physically abuses them?”
His jaw tightened. “We suspect he does, but the women never talk. They’re scared of him, but they go to the hospital with unexplainable bruises and lacerations. By law, the doctor has to call us when there is suspected abuse. We rock up and we ask questions, but they never tell us the truth. And every time, it’s a woman who’s dating Jeremy. We call in counselors, but it never helps. They’re terrified of him.”
Her heart ached, and acid coated her tongue. Those poor women. “I don’t blame them. When you’ve been through something like that—”
“Have you?” he asked abruptly. It was such a cutthroat statement that it threw Scarlett for a moment. “Has anyone hurt you before, Scarlett? Because if they have, you tell me, and I’ll sort them out.”
“Hold your horses, cowboy.” She patted his chest gently. Weird feelings jumped around in her stomach, and his protectiveness hit her right in the heart. There was something about the intensity in his gaze that made her smile. He would. She could see it in his eyes. He would sort them out if anyone ever hurt her. “Nobody has hurt me, and I assure you, nobody would try. I don’t stick around long enough for them to try.” Admitting that made her grimace. “I told you, I don’t do relationships.”
He inhaled slowly, his dark gaze intent on her, before he leaned up. She met him halfway and they kissed lazily, their tongues rolling against each other’s. Cupping his jaw, she slotted herself against his chest.
They sat there for a while, mouths working against each other’s. Scarlett didn’t know how long it’d been, but eventually Ethan dragged himself away from her lips.
“I need to go back to work.” Reluctance flashed in his eyes as he glanced in the direction of the station.
“I should probably go too. Check in on my parents.” She littered some light kisses at the corner of his mouth. “You taste so good.”
“Maybe we could meet up after my shift? We could do my house this time.” He squeezed her ass. “A lot more rooms to fuck in.”
Scarlett groaned, grinding herself on his hard rod. God, she wanted him in her now. Licking the shell of his ear, she whispered, “I can’t wait to have you again. Your cock is so fucking thick when it swells inside of me.”
“Scarlett,” he hissed against her cheek, his hands gripping her harder. “Fuck.”
“Tonight. We’re in public right now.” She rose and smirked at his woeful moan. She watched curiously as he ran a palm over his bulge and glared at her.
“You’re such a tease.”
She hummed. “Just a preshow for tonight, Officer.” Grabbing his cell phone, she added her contact details into it. “Message me your address and I’ll meet you there. What time does your shift end?”
“Six.” He took his phone and smiled at it. “Did you just give me your number, Miss Prescott?”
Scarlett shrugged. She certainly didn’t mention that he was the first man who’d earned that honor. “You’re a good fuck.”
Ethan’s knowing smirk made her shiver. “Well, tonight I’ll show you some other things I can do.”
“I can’t wait.” She twisted her hand in his shirt and tugged him down for one last kiss. It was short and sweet, but a promise for more to come later that night.
Scarlett went for brunch with her mom and sister, and then spent the afternoon shopping. Clothing stores were not numerous in a small town like Ponchatoula, especially for women her size, but she managed to find a nice pink off-shoulder top from a new store she’d never visited before. She matched it with a pair of jeans and knee-high brown boots, before applying some light makeup to her face and heading to Ethan’s house.
He lived in a nice part of town, in a neighborhood full of four-bedroom family homes that screamed domesticity. It certainly wasn’t the type of house she expected Ethan to live in, but as she pulled the car into the driveway, she had to admit that it was an exquisite home. It was a mixture of brown brick and white paneling, with a high gray roof. It had white doors on the double garage, and a nice little veranda with small white pillars surrounding its boundaries. The front yard was basic, with sparse green grass and a stone path leading up to the single front door, and from what she could see, an old, rotting wooden fence disappeared around the sides of the house to the back yard. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t a bad house on a cop’s wage either.
She whistled in awe as she sauntered toward the front door. She didn’t make it there before it was opened, revealing a grinning Ethan standing in the entrance. He wore a plain black T-shirt and a pair of comfortable-looking sweats, and no shoes.
Scarlett’s brows rose when she saw him. “You didn’t even attempt to make an effort, Officer.”
“I thought we were past the wooing stage, ma’am.” Ethan winked and opened the door farther. He headed back into the house and Scarlett followed, shutting the door behind her.
Inside was much homelier, with pale brown walls and hardwood floors. The room she walked into was the family room, which housed a large L-shaped sofa, and a massive flat-screen TV sitting on a darker wood cabinet. Farther into the house, in the same long room, was the dining area, with a simple four-seater table and matching chairs. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it felt like Ethan’s style too. The wall to the left had a huge arched window, which felt mismatched to the house but was lovely nonetheless. It had a certain uniqueness about it.
Ethan led her into the kitchen, which had more wooden cupboards, gray stone benches, with a double sink sitting under a large window. On the stovetop to the right, something bubbled away in a saucepan, and Ethan headed toward it. He grabbed a fork, poking whatever food was in it.
“Are we having dinner?” Scarlett hadn’t expected anything other than sex, especially not from Ethan. He’d never seemed like the type of person who cooked.
“Yep. Chicken-fried steak, corn, and mash.”
The smell alone was tantalizing, and her mouth watered. She hovered closer to him and glanced into the saucepan. Potatoes tumbled around in boiling water.
“I th
ought I’d have it ready by the time you came, but I left work later than I expected.”
Scarlett cocked her head at him and smiled. “You didn’t have to cook. You worked all day.”
He shrugged, flashing his straight white teeth at her from over his shoulder. “I don’t mind cooking. Momma always said I was good at it.”
“I never thought you were the kind of person who would have learned how.”
Ethan snorted. “No matter what some people say in this town, Scarlett, women aren’t the only ones who can cook.”
“I never said they were. I’m just surprised. What happened to football?”
He grimaced. It was a minor reaction, but she caught it nonetheless.
“Your dad?”
“Dad loved football. He had me in training since I was a kid. I didn’t hate it….”
“But you didn’t like it either.”
“It was something my dad was into. Even in high school, that’s all that mattered to me. What Dad wanted.” He glanced at her, his nose screwed up in displeasure. “We learn things as we get older. You learned to be confident in yourself, I learned to be truthful with myself.”
The comment gnawed at something in Scarlett. It hit her in a way she didn’t expect. She wasn’t quite sure which part of what he said affected her, but there was something there that made her feel guilty, like maybe she wasn’t being completely honest with him—that maybe he did deserve some leniency for what happened in the past. Like Shiloh said, it wasn’t Ethan who’d tormented her. But, then, hadn’t she already forgiven him?
Ethan switched the oven off and shifted the saucepan to another hotplate. He then grabbed the oven mitts and opened the door, pulling out a dish of chicken-fried steak. Scarlett observed him with interest as he pulled their dinner together. He looked like he was in his element, as though cooking was a secret love of his, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. His strong hands moved with ease, his muscles straining whenever he tightened his hand or stretched over something. It was like watching art, and Scarlett didn’t realize she was licking her lips until he smiled at her as he mashed the potatoes, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“See something you like?” he asked, repeating her words from earlier that day.
She chuckled, her gaze trailing over his gorgeous body. “I’m starving, but I don’t think it’s the food I’m hungry for.”
“Excuse me, ma’am, I slaved over this food. The least you can do is enjoy it before you enjoy what my body has to offer.”
Scarlett laughed harder, slapping a hand over her mouth when he waggled his eyebrows at her. She saluted him. “Yes, Officer.”
“You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?” He rolled his eyes.
“Nope, Officer. Never, Officer. Ain’t going to happen, Officer.”
He finished dishing out the food and spun toward her, his arm curling around her waist. Tugging her closer, he swept some hair away from her face and caressed her cheek. “I like it when your Southern accent slips in. I miss that Scarlett….”
Scarlett’s world came to a screeching holt as his words filtered into her mind. She frowned, her mouth parting in surprise. “Miss? I thought you had to like someone to miss them.”
He snorted. “I do like you.”
“But you never liked me before.”
His thumb traced her cheekbone and trailed down her chin. “I’ve always liked you, Scarlett.”
She snatched at his wrist to stop him from trailing his fingers farther south. “You laughed at what your sister and friends said about me.”
His gaze grew heavy, sadness etching lines across his face as his lips twisted and his eyebrows furrowed. “I know, and I can tell you why, but it doesn’t matter what I say, there’s no excuse for what I did.”
“No, there isn’t an excuse.” She leaned into his palm and kissed his wrist. “But I want to know why.”
“Because I was afraid of my feelings for you.” His voice sounded raw and sad. “I thought they’d find out that I liked you.”
Scarlett screwed her eyes closed and sighed. “You were ashamed of your feelings toward me.”
“Yeah, I was.” She felt his sweet lips against her forehead. “Nothing I can say will make up for what I did. I’m sorry. More than you could ever know.”
“There’s no excuse for bullying, Ethan. What Sofia did to me….” She snapped her eyes opened and took a step back. She didn’t want to ruin tonight. She was here for another two and a half weeks and she wanted to enjoy them, then go back to her old life. Away from whatever he was making her feel. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I forgive you. Now let’s get this food in our breadbaskets so we can use the energy for something much more fun.” She flashed him a wicked grin.
Ethan hesitated, then smiled. He grabbed the two plates of food while Scarlett took the cutlery. They ate at his small table. The chicken-fried steak was tender yet crunchy, and the cobs of corn and mash were perfect. If there was anything that could be said about his cooking, it was that he was darn good at it. She devoured it, not realizing how hungry she was until the food was demolished, then sat back in the chair, patting her stomach.
“Ugh, I couldn’t eat any more if I tried.”
“Are you sure? There’s leftovers.” Ethan had finished his meal as well and was already standing to take their plates to the sink.
“Jesus, no. I’d get fat.” She winked at him.
He laughed. “I don’t mind. More skin I can worship. Relax here for a bit, I’ll do a quick clean up.”
The words were said so seriously, they made her pause in surprise, but he didn’t wait for an offer to help, already walking away with the plates. The sound of the tap in the sink turning off and on was the only noise for the next few minutes, and Scarlett listened to him washing up in the kitchen, while thoughts invaded her brain. She’d barely been at his house an hour and already she’d learned information she’d never thought possible. In her teenage years, she had longed for his attention, and to now find out that he’d always had a thing for her? She couldn’t comprehend it. She’d never thought of herself as beautiful when she was younger.
She didn’t want to be stuck with these thoughts, so she shook her head and refocused on the sounds coming from the kitchen. If she didn’t think about it, she didn’t have to deal with it. “This is a nice house. How can you afford it on a cop’s wage?”
“I can’t.” Ethan was wiping his hands on a tea towel when he exited the kitchen. “My ex and I bought it together.”
“Really? And what happened there?”
He snorted. “She cheated on me.” He said it so simply, so emotionlessly, that it sounded foreign coming from his mouth.
“Who was she?”
He took a step back and threw the towel back into the kitchen, before he returned his attention to her. “She was from out of town. Rocked up in Ponchatoula for a job at the medical practice. You know what it’s like, most big-time doctors have to start small. She had career goals that involved leaving here eventually. But when we began dating, I thought I could convince her to stay. I mean, we bought this house together.” He gestured at the walls around them with a snort. “But two years into our relationship, I found her in bed with Colin Ridgeford.”
Scarlett scrunched up her nose. “Colin? He’s a pig.”
“Apparently that’s what she wanted in her bed.”
“He has no manners whatsoever.”
“Yeah, well, Nina didn’t mind. I found them, told her I’d pack up my things and leave. She said not to bother, that I could have the house and she was leaving town. So she signed the house into my name, then just packed up and left.” He shifted closer to Scarlett and rested his palm on the back of her neck. It was a nice, heavy weight on her skin. “I wasn’t as upset as I thought I would be. Actually, I don’t think I ever loved her. She just….” He broke off, swallowing.
“She just what?” Scarlett stood and entwined her arms around his neck. She dragged him closer. “What?”
“She reminded me of you.” He laughed softly. “And yes, that sounds so fucking corny.”
And hot. It sounded hot. Such simple words, and lust began simmering in her stomach. “How did she remind you of me?”
“Scarlett….” His tone was low with warning.
“Tell me.” She ran her hands over his hard chest and stomach, creeping under his black T-shirt to caress the warm skin beneath. His muscles quivered under her touch. “Tell me how she reminded you of me.”
“Her hair. She was a redhead.” His breath grew raspy and short as he devoured her with a dark, hunger-filled gaze. “And her eyes. They were never as pretty as yours, but they were green.”
“Do you like my hair?” She trailed a finger down the dip of his stomach, before tracing the shape of his hip. “Do you like it when I’m sucking your cock? When you look down at me, do you see my red hair and like that?”
He let out a guttural groan as he chewed on his bottom lip. “Fuck yeah.”
Scarlett stripped out of her clothes. There was no finesse about it because she needed to be naked, needed his eyes eating her up. She dropped to her knees and peered up at him from beneath her long eyelashes. “Like this?”
“Yeah. Just like that.”
She grinned at him and dipped her fingers into the elastic of his sweatpants, but instead of tugging them down, she played with the sensitive skin of his hips and lower stomach. “Hm. What do you want, Ethan?”
He swallowed, the apple bobbing in his throat. “I want your mouth on my cock.”
Scarlett licked her lips and finally tugged on the pants, pushing them down around his thighs. He’d gone commando, and his hard cock curved up toward her, as if pleading for attention. It made her grin.
“No underwear?” she teased.
He shrugged, smirking. “I had expectations.”
“I like those expectations.” She darted her tongue out to swipe at the tip of his cock, making him inhale sharply. “You’re a filthy man.”
“Says you,” he hissed through his teeth.
She laughed and blew a gust of warm air on his cock, earning her a shiver. He dipped his fingers into her curls and wrapped the strands around his digits.