Ethan continued to hold Tia close as Jeffrey said his final good-nights, the curtain closed and the crowds began filing out of the arena.
Finally, she turned to face him. “There are so many things I want to say to you right now.” She dabbed at her teary eyes with her fingertips. “But all I can manage to do is blubber.”
There were things Ethan wished he could say to her, too, but he wasn’t ready to admit what he felt for Tia to himself yet, let alone put a voice to it. Instead, he closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head.
“Ethan, this was by far the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me,” she said.
Ethan swallowed a lump of emotion in his throat, just as he felt a pat on his shoulder.
“Mr. Wright, I’m here to escort you and your date backstage,” a muscle-bound man wearing all black said.
Tia swiped the last of the tears from her eyes, and her smile widened to a grin that threatened to split her face in two. “Enough of this sentimental bawling,” she said. “Let’s go meet Wangs!”
Ethan kept his hand on the small of her back as they followed security down a series of long corridors to a closed door manned by more security personnel talking through headsets.
“VIP guests,” their escort told the door guards.
Inside, Jeffrey Ritchie greeted them, giving Ethan’s hand a vigorous shake. “Good to see you, Mr. Wright,” he said.
“Jeffrey,” Ethan said. “Considering how good you made me look in front of my date this evening, call me Ethan.”
“Cool. I’m guessing there’s no chance of you ever calling me Wangs,” Jeffrey said.
Ethan couldn’t help laughing as he shook his head. “Not one,” he said. “But I do have someone I’d like you to meet, Jeffrey Ritchie, this is Tia Gray. She’s a big fan of yours.”
“Good to meet you,” Jeffrey said.
Ethan nudged Tia with his elbow to rouse her out of her starstruck trance.
“You, too,” she said finally. “And thank you for the song at the end of the show. I’ve always loved your music, but your voice... It’s incredible.”
“Yeah,” Ethan chimed in. “I had no idea you could sing like that.”
Jeffrey shrugged. “It’s just something I’ve been playing around with. After I got your email and we talked, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out.”
Ethan didn’t want to speculate until he refreshed his memory on the details of Jeffrey’s contract with Bat Tower Records, but he might have found, or rather heard, the leverage he needed to persuade them to restructure it.
A knock sounded on the door, and someone from Jeffrey’s road crew told him it was almost time for them to leave for the airport. “I have shows in Seattle and Portland, a few days at home, then back out on the road,” he said.
“We’re here for another week, but I’ll touch base with you once I get back to work,” Ethan said.
Despite repeated knocks at the door and reminders about the time, Jeffrey indulged a gobsmacked Tia with a quick autograph and photo session before his handlers swarmed him.
“I know we’re in Hawaii, but that’s some shirt you’re wearing,” Jeffrey called out as Ethan and Tia were making their exit.
Ethan looked down at the shirt, which he suspected indeed glowed in the dark. “Tia bought it for me,” he said.
The last thing he heard as they walked out to the corridor was the sound of Jeffrey’s raucous laughter accompanied by the word Whipped.
He glanced at Tia. “Did you hear what he called me?”
“Oh, he’s just kidding. Of course you aren’t,” she said. “But you will be after I’m done with you tonight.”
Chapter 12
Back at the hotel, Tia practically floated through the lobby beside Ethan.
She’d donned her autographed cap in the car and had pulled the matching oversize T-shirt on over her dress. Both the souvenirs and the incredible man holding her hand were part of an unforgettable evening—one she never wanted to end.
“I still can’t believe I met Wangs in person, and all I did was stand there in a starstruck stupor the entire time.” She lifted her Wangs tote bag on her shoulder as they boarded the elevator to their room. “I barely said a word.”
Ethan snorted. “Trust me, I don’t think a guy whose musical repertoire revolves around two words noticed.”
She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “How can you even think that after the way he sang?”
“He was pretty good,” Ethan agreed.
“Good? He was fantastic. If I hadn’t been bawling so hard, I’d bet you had tears in your eyes, too.”
“I did,” Ethan said. “They were from having to endure the remix of ‘2-Piece.’”
Tia gave him the side-eye underneath the bill of her bucket-size cap just as the elevator pinged halfway to their floor. She pulled her phone from the tote. “I’m texting you the photos of us with Wangs as well as the ones from the amusement park and the superhero statue.”
“Great,” Ethan mumbled, shaking his head. “Just what I’ve always wanted, photos with Wangs.”
The elevator doors slid open and a middle-aged couple boarded. Sporting sunlamp tans and outfitted in head-to-toe designer labels, the male half of the striking twosome’s eyes widened at the sight of them before his face morphed into a frown as if he’d smelled something bad. He looked to his female companion, who mimicked his actions as much as her Botox-stiffened face would allow.
Puzzled, Tia returned her phone to her purse and gave her underarms a discreet sniff.
“What’s the matter with them?” she asked after the couple exited two floors later.
Ethan’s arm slipped around her waist, and he tugged her to his side. He inclined his head toward their reflection in the elevator car’s mirrored glass.
“Yikes,” Tia said, taking in the sight.
“Between my shirt and your Wangs gear, we look like we’ve been...” Ethan started.
“Popping tags at a thrift shop,” Tia finished.
Their gazes connected, and they both smiled. By now, Tia was accustomed to them finishing each other’s sentences. She was also becoming entirely too accustomed to him.
They’d been each other’s constant companions, first in the close confines of his car and now in this romantic island setting. She loved it. She loved him, and her heart ached at the thought of returning to their normal lives.
Tia pushed aside the somber thought. They had more than a week left of their vacation—and they still had tonight.
Inside their room, Tia pulled off the huge cap and dumped her tote bag containing her purse in an armchair. She walked through to the bathroom and turned the shower on full blast.
“Hey, don’t let those weirdos on the elevator get to you,” Ethan called out. “You smell good.”
Tia stood in the doorway to the bath.
“Dinner or late-night stroll on the beach?” Ethan asked, his back to her.
Clearing her throat to get his attention, she shimmied her dress up over her hips before pulling both it and the oversize T-shirt over her head.
She heard his sharp intake of breath as the move revealed a lacy bra and barely there panties in the same shade of hot-pink as her dress.
Tia gave him a moment to absorb the sight and watched his gaze travel from her strappy high-heeled sandals up the length of her legs. The bulge at his crotch grew as his gaze did a slow glide over her thighs, hips and belly.
When she had his eyeballs right where she wanted them, she reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. Her breasts bounced free as she flung it on the floor next to her dress.
“Damn,” he groaned.
“I might smell good, but I’m feeling very, very bad.” She licked her bottom lip and ran a fingertip across t
he wetness. Using the same finger, she blazed a trail downward over her throat, between her breasts and across her taut belly.
Tia hesitated at the waistband of her panties. She hooked her thumbs at the sides and dragged them down her legs, before stepping out of them. The move left her naked, with the exception of her five-inch heels.
Ethan smiled his approval; his hard cock straining against the zipper of his pants seconded it. Tia’s nipples hardened at the sight of him.
“You looking for company?” he asked.
She nodded. Moisture pooled between her thighs in anticipation as she pivoted and walked into the steamy bathroom. “And bring plenty of condoms,” she called out over her shoulder. “You’re going to need them.”
Standing at the glass door of the walk-in shower, Tia bent to unhook the straps on her shoes.
“Leave them on,” a husky voice behind her demanded.
She turned to find Ethan had joined her. Naked, he’d saved her the trouble of tearing off his clothes.
“Damn,” she murmured, echoing his earlier sentiment as she greedily took in his wide shoulders, hard chest and the flat planes of his abdomen. Her gaze fell to his long, thick hardness, and she knew, without a doubt, she’d be the one left whipped once he was done.
Tia stepped into the shower spray. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes and let the warm water run over her flushed skin. Steam rose from the floor tiles surrounding her, and she wasn’t sure if its source was the water or her response to Ethan’s nearness.
She picked up the bar of soap from the shower ledge and began lathering herself. Her hands glided over breasts and pebbled nipples aching for his touch.
“Let me,” Ethan said as if he’d read her mind.
He removed the soap from her hands and stepped inside and closed the door behind him, filling the tight space with his masculine presence.
Tia leaned back against his broad, hard chest, his erection pressed against her buttocks. She watched him rub the soap between his large palms until it formed a cascade of frothy bubbles.
“Touch me, Ethan,” she whimpered as she reached her arms over her head and wrapped them around the back of his neck.
The first contact of his soap-slicked hands against her wet breasts rocked her body with a shock wave of undiluted pleasure. If her arms weren’t around his neck, holding her up, she surely would have melted into a puddle at his feet.
“You feel good,” he whispered against her ear.
Tia moaned and arched into his touch. He caressed her breasts with his hands, teasing the hard, sensitive nipples with his thumbs.
The shower spray continued to rain down on them as Ethan sprinkled kisses down the side of her neck. She could feel his cock growing harder against her back, and she squeezed her legs together to ease the throbbing between them.
One of his hands remained on her breast and the other glided downward until it reached the apex of her thighs.
“Open,” he said.
Tia followed the one-word command and was rewarded when his fingers grazed her swollen clit as he slid one inside her. He stroked her deeper and deeper, and she rode his finger, enjoying the delicious preview of the main attraction.
“Ethan.” His name escaped her parted lips in a breathless pant, knowing she was on the brink. His fingers quickened between her legs as the other hand continued to leisurely massage her breasts. The sensations were too much and at the same time not enough.
Tia’s arms dropped from around his neck. “Please,” she groaned, grinding against his long, thick erection. “Make love to me.”
Ethan moved his hands away, briefly freeing her from their sweet torture. She turned around, and their gazes clicked before he took her mouth in a slow, wet kiss.
When they broke apart, Tia continued to stare at him, watching rivulets run down his face. A face she’d judged as arrogantly handsome the first day he’d stormed into her office. Now she saw strength, tenderness and unwavering devotion—the real man behind the air of authority and strikingly good looks.
He pressed her back against shower wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The heels of her shoes dug into his back as he plunged deep inside her. Tia moaned and closed her eyes. Her head lolled against the wet shower tiles as she rode the length of him up and down. Hard and fast. Over and over again.
“I love you, Ethan,” she cried out.
His strokes slowed, and she opened her eyes to find him staring intently into them. Ethan didn’t respond to her confession with words, but she didn’t need them. She saw how he felt in the way he looked at her, the way his grip on her hips tightened and the raw passion in which he made love to her until they both nearly collapsed beneath the shower spray.
* * *
Ethan could happily spend the rest of his days in this position—in bed, nestled next to Tia’s soft curves, one of her long legs draped across him and her declaration echoing in his head.
I love you, Ethan.
Each time it replayed through his mind, his heart turned a cartwheel in his chest. Then doubt crept in and brought with it a question.
Before he could examine it further, Tia lifted her head from his shoulder and poked a finger at his bare chest. “I believe you owe me a new pair of shoes.”
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her soundly on the mouth. “Gladly,” he said. “In fact, we’d better get you at least a dozen pairs, because I can’t imagine showering without you in a pair of sexy heels ever again.”
Tia rolled her eyes and snorted. “Whipped.”
“Me?” Ethan asked incredulously. “We’d barely made it to the bed before you were begging for it again.”
Tia giggled and snuggled even closer, resting her head on his shoulder.
“No snappy comeback?” Ethan asked.
“Nope,” she said. “Not only are you absolutely right, I’m guessing before the night is over, I’ll be back for a third helping.”
“Of which I’ll be more than willing to dish out,” he assured her, kissing the top of her head.
They lay in companionable silence. Ethan tried to push the nagging question from his mind, but it persisted.
“Tia.” He brought his finger underneath her chin and tilted it upward to see her face. “When we were in the shower and you told me...”
“That I loved you.” Like so many times before, she completed his sentence.
Ethan nodded. “Were they just words cried out in the heat of the moment?”
His gut plummeted when Tia licked her lips nervously and averted her eyes. Her breath fanned against his chest as she sighed softly. “I’m almost afraid to answer that question,” she said.
Ethan held his own breath as she continued, just as afraid to hear her answer.
“I don’t want to scare you off, Ethan,” she said. “But I’m in love with you.”
“Tia, I...”
She shushed him with a touch of her fingertips to his lips. “You don’t have to say it,” she said.
Ethan kissed her fingers and pulled them away from his mouth. “I do have to say it,” he said. “I hadn’t before because this thing between us happened so quickly, and I didn’t want to scare you off, either.”
He chuckled at the irony of them both being hesitant to share their feelings for the same reason.
“I love you, Tia.”
She smiled. “I meant, you didn’t have to say it because I already know.”
“But how?”
“You showed me through your actions,” she said. “They conveyed more than words ever could.”
He closed the space between their mouths and kissed her. His tongue stroking, entwining hers and again showing her through his actions just how deeply he loved her.
When it ended, she sighed contentedly against him, but th
ere was one more issue for Ethan to clear the air on. “Tia.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something else I need to say.”
Ethan shifted his position, raising up and leaning against the headboard. Tia tucked the bedsheet around her bare breasts and sat up, too, facing him. His gaze swept over her, and his cock stiffened. He wanted her again.
“Perhaps the bed isn’t the best place for us to talk,” he said.
Throwing back the covers, he strode naked across the room and retrieved two hotel robes from the closet. He put on one and gave the other to her. “Let’s go out on the balcony,” he said.
After they donned their robes, Ethan pulled back the sliding glass door and they stepped outside. A warm island breeze and the scent of the sea greeted them, and they both paused to admire the sight of the crescent moon shining through the palm trees and making the ocean shimmer like black diamonds.
It was much too romantic a setting to have the conversation but less distracting than lying naked on a bed with her.
Tia stared up at him. “What did you want to tell me?”
He touched his head to her forehead before finally raising it to meet her eyes. “I’ve regretted it for a while now, but I’ve never come out and said it. While I’m not sorry we had the time together on the road and now here, I am sorry for threatening your business and giving you that stupid ultimatum,” he said. “Can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said.
“But...”
“No, really,” she said. “I didn’t come with you because of your ultimatum. When I told you no back in my office, I meant it. As good as Carol was to me, my mother, my entire family, when we needed her, there’s no way I could have betrayed her.”
“I don’t understand.”
Tia shook her head. “I was so angry when you threatened to sue Espresso. Then Carol called me after you left, asking me to go with you and slow you down,” she said. “I’d been in touch with or known where she was almost the entire time.”
Every Road to You Page 16