Complicated

by M. M. Koenig

  I rolled my eyes, but refrained from giving a rebuttal. Ethan noticed my reaction and pinched my side. I gave him a slight shove as we happily strode into the kitchen. I gasped as I walked into it. Ethan had transformed the room into a romantic dinner setting for two. There were tall candles covering the island with a vase of red roses. The range above the island lacked the usual pots and pans. They had been replaced with a string of white lights that were weaved along it. A thin, red tablecloth lay across the island, with white rose petals scattered over it. Two places were set, across from each other, with salads and full wine glasses. Ethan slid out a stool for me and took a rose from the vase. He tucked my hair behind my ear before placing the rose in my hand.

  “So am I forgiven?” He asked seductively.

  He kissed along my neck on his way to my mouth. The second our lips met, my breath was all but lost. My heart skyrocketed as he eagerly ran his tongue along the top of my mouth. I started to crave for more as a fiery tingling trickled through me. My brain screamed to pull back in the hope that we might actually talk. The fireworks shooting in every direction in my body begged for a different scenario. I slowly moved away before my desire for him won completely.

  “Ethan, this is beautiful, but we still need to talk,” I whispered, connecting my eyes to his.

  “I know. I just wanted to give us a peaceful setting. Well, it was that, and the fact that I’ve missed your amazing body. It’s difficult not to say the hell with it and do all our talking in bed. We never seem to argue in the bedroom,” he said sinfully, flashing a panty-dropping smile.

  Before Ethan stepped too far away, I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. My lips crashed into his and I devoured every part of his mouth. He met each swoop of the tongue with the same eagerness. I didn’t realize how much every part of me had truly missed him the last few days. I unfastened his tie and tossed it on the island as we continued to consume each other’s mouths. Everything south of me became a fiery ache. Distance was necessary to prevent myself from undressing him any further, so I slid my stool away. Ethan ran his hands through his hair, making it stand in all directions. I bit my lip because he looked even sexier, especially with the top few buttons of his shirt undone. It didn’t help the potent sensations surging through me.

  “Let’s eat, so we can talk, so we can get to that part of the evening,” I said huskily.

  His eyes lingered on mine before he went to the oven and pulled out two covered plates. The herbal aroma of the meal wafted through the kitchen. He placed a full plate in front of me that made my jaw drop. He had cooked lobster tail with seafood risotto. Ethan snapped my jaw shut and pointed towards my fork before going over to other side of the island. He swirled his glass of wine before taking a quick sip.

  “I hope you like seafood. I wasn’t sure if it was one of those food groups that you’d sworn off,” he remarked, in a teasing tone.

  “Ethan, this looks fantastic. I had no idea you were, like, a master chef,” I responded, in amazement. I scooped up a forkful of steamy risotto. I almost fell off the stool after taking a bite. It was like heaven in my mouth.

  Ethan chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far. My mom insisted I learn how to cook. She said it would be the way to win over a girl’s heart someday.”

  “Your mom was correct, because this risotto is worth dying for,” I said quickly before taking another bite. I couldn’t shove it into my mouth fast enough.

  I glimpsed at him and saw a sadness in his eyes. It was the first time he had openly spoke about his mom. His lips spread into a tiny smile before he dove into his plate. His quick change of mood seemed like the best opening to get to the heart of matters between us.

  “Did you sort out everything you needed to?” I asked quietly.

  Ethan paused just before taking a bite and said, “It ended up being a good weekend, but under bad circumstances. I really did need a few days away to come to terms with you lying to me. I had to clear my head to prepare for what’s to come.”

  I swallowed hard before setting down my fork. I grabbed my wine glass and took it down in two gulps. My head and heart were in two. One side grabbed hold of the residual anger, because I wasn’t entirely over him having left me. The other part of me had a heavy dose of guilt that trickled along every nerve-ending. It reminded me that he wouldn’t have left if I hadn’t lied to him in such an unforgivable way.

  “I’m sorry for lying. I hated every second of it,” I admitted.

  Ethan took several more bites from his plate, but kept his eyes on me. “I accept your apology, but I need you to promise me something Mia.”

  His voice mirrored the pain in his eyes. The self-loathing creeping through me didn’t seem like nearly enough to punish me for hurting him.

  “Anything,” I said unsteadily.

  Ethan shoved his plate aside and filled up his empty wine glass before making his way around the island. He moved my setting to the side, took my glass, and politely gestured to the bottle. I nodded while patiently waiting for him to continue with his request as he poured. He set the bottle down and handed over my glass. He sat on the stool next to me and turned me to face him, with his hands on my thighs. My pulse quickened even more. I kept a careful eye on him, but he was unreadable, as ever.

  “Going forward, please tell me the truth. I have to know what Harrison or Ian does if I’m going to properly execute my own plans without endangering you or anyone else. Can you do that for me?”

  I rubbed my hand down the center of my face. I had no issue with agreeing to be honest with him. It was everything else that had my head spinning. “What are your plans? Can I trust you won’t go ballistic when I do share things?”

  His forehead creased and his eyebrows crinkled. He slid us even closer together. My breathing faltered as I saw the intensity in his eyes. “I promise not to do anything that would expose you. I may have a temper, but I’m a strategist. As far as my plans, we can discuss them another time.”

  I frowned. “Why can’t you tell me? Honesty works both ways Ethan.”

  The vein in his forehead started throbbing as the rest of his face flushed. I had crossed a line, but it was more than obvious that he had no intention of filling me in on the majority of what he had done while he was away. My stomach knotted together. I didn’t like being in the dark, especially if he planned on bringing down the wrath of God on that place before making his exit.

  “Mia, I’ll tell you, but tonight isn’t the conversation for it,” Ethan answered evenly.

  “But—” I argued. The irate look in his eyes shut me up fast.

  “Don’t push it Mia. I don’t want to fight,” Ethan warned.

  Sharp pain attacked my body, making the physical altercations with Ian seem like a delight. I didn’t particularly care for his punitive tone or the direct order to drop it. I lowered my gaze, focusing on my lap. It wasn’t clear what I should say to him. Ethan had morphed into the version of himself that made it next to impossible for me to understand. He took several deep breaths to steady his growing temper. When he had softened some, he slid his hands along my sides and across my chest on his way to my neck. Not thinking, I cringed as the dull ache in my chest rose to the surface. Ethan grabbed my jaw. I bit my lip at the hard look in his eyes.

  “Please promise you won’t blow a gasket?” I whispered.

  “You just promised to tell me the truth. What are holding back?” Ethan snapped.

  I loosened his hold on my chin and held his hands tightly. “I had a couple of run-ins with Ian while you were away,” I confessed.

  He wiggled his hands free and stormed to the other side of the room. “What happened?”

  I ran my tongue across my dry lips and replied, “Yesterday, he passed along a message for Harrison, but did so by making sure his presence was felt.”

  Ethan slammed his hands down on the island. I flinched at his anger. “Dammit Mia! Tell me what actually happened!”

  “He pinned me against your office door while Harrison threate
ned me over the phone. Before Ian left, he elbowed me pretty hard in my chest,” I blurted out.

  Ethan began stomping all over the kitchen, well beyond his usual wrath mode. He stopped and looked me in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

  I scraped inside to find my last shred of strength, and said defensively, “Look at yourself. I knew exactly how you’d react. I didn’t tell you over the phone because I wasn’t sure if you’d end up making things worse.”

  Ethan stormed back over to me. His hands grasped the tips of his hair to the extent that his knuckles turned white from the tightness of his grip. After several more occasions of him walking back and forth doing this, he stopped to take his stool again.

  “Is that everything?” Ethan asked, through gritted teeth.

  I shook my head before sliding my stool away. Ethan caught the edge of it to stop me.

  “Ian knows about the secret passage in your office. He slipped out that way when Connor came downstairs. We had another run-in this morning.” I paused as Ethan curled his fists together tightly, his eyes bugging out. I took a deep breath and continued, “Someone had kicked the shit out of him. He assumed I had something to do with it. He slammed me against the wall, but that’s it. He didn’t have much time to do anything else because Sean threw him across the hall. Then Connor intervened and sent me back upstairs.”

  Ethan relaxed his fists and his neck flushed a deep shade of red. I rested my elbows on the island. My body didn’t settle on one emotion long enough for me to even acknowledge it. At the moment, it was near complete shutdown as I stared at his furious face. He ran his hands along my arms before taking my hand delicately in his. The rapid switch left me in a tailspin. I stared at him with wide eyes as he took some deliberate breaths to calm himself.

  “Mia, I’m so sorry you were hurt. I will fix this. Ian will pay for laying a hand on you. Harrison has no idea the war he has waged against me,” he said rigidly.

  I sucked in an overdue breath. “Please, leave it alone. It’ll only bring down more hell. I don’t know what you mulled over this weekend, but you should know something about Harrison.”

  Ethan’s eyes had been darting all over, but he focused them on me. “What?”

  “I think he has more than one person snooping around your company. He knows things almost as they happen. After the incident with Ian, he messaged me immediately.”

  Ethan’s eyes widened as he began to visibly shake. He evened his breathing before hastily blowing out the candles. He pulled me up and clutched my hand tightly as we strode out of the room. We made the rounds with the candles in the living room before he led me towards the opposite hallway on our way to his bedroom. His rapid pace and refusal to speak had my head spiraling about as fast as my heart was beating. Ethan swiftly opened his bedroom door and towed us towards the bed. The back window was open, so the light from the moon and skyline illuminated the room.

  When we were next to his bed, Ethan discarded his shoes and socks. He motioned for me to do the same. I slid off my heels and was about to get rid of the rest of my clothes, but he stopped me. He kept a tight hold of my hand as he tugged me into bed with him. I held my breath, completely taken aback by his approach. Ethan situated himself behind me and wrapped his arms snugly around my waist. I entwined my hands around his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

  “Please talk to me Ethan,” I pleaded.

  He exhaled heavily and said, “You have done as I requested, so I’m doing the same. Holding you prevents me from killing them. I’ll have to readjust my plans concerning Harrison. In light of this new information, it may take more time than I originally thought.”

  My heart sank at my lack of knowledge surrounding those plans, but I let it go. He had made it quite clear that he wasn’t sharing them tonight. My mind raced at the possibilities of what it would all mean in the long run.

  As the saying goes, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it. You fell in love with him without taking the time to ask any of the questions you’ve had about his place within that company. Now you’re going to have to play by his rules.

  For once, my head and heart were on the same page. I wasn’t really in a position to force anything out of him. The dust would have to settle before I pushed for those types of answers. If I pressed him tonight, he’d just become enraged again. I closed my eyes to control my overly-anxious nerves.

  “I promise to keep you informed. You have to swear you won’t reveal that you know the truth. Harrison was pretty clear on that over the past few days. You can’t do anything that shows you know, so killing him or Ian is out of the question.”

  Ethan tensed. “I’ll refrain from murdering them or showing that you’ve told me the truth. Anything else is fair game as far as I’m concerned.”

  I wiggled out of his grasp and rolled over to face him. He sighed and placed his hands on my cheeks. My eyes grew wide with fear. The look in his didn’t ease that feeling one bit. There was nothing but inflexibility behind them.

  “There’s more than me at stake. Harrison made it clear that he loves to torture. Clearly, he has no problem with finding ways to get to me to do it,” I pointed out.

  Ethan’s eyes penetrated mine, unmistakably conflicted. I sympathized with that feeling. It reminded me of all the reasons I had tried to stay away from him in the first place. I had never felt so torn in my life, but ultimately falling in love with him had pushed me to be a better person again. Our road together was going to be more than complicated. Staring into his dark brown eyes, I knew it was more than worth it. Among the uncertainty, Ethan gazed at me with a deep love that matched the passion spreading through me.

  He squeezed my cheeks before resting his forehead on mine, and promised, “I won’t let anything happen to you. Please trust me with that responsibility.”

  I was without an answer. Ethan brushed his lips lightly across mine. The desires that had swirled through me when I first arrived charged forward. His soft lips slid across my mouth at a sensual pace. Everything within me clenched with a deep need for him. It silenced the thoughts in my exhausted brain about all the problems that were outside of his door. It purged the painful reminders of Ian’s and Harrison’s presences in my life. I inched closer to him and ran my hands up his chest before slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He ran his tongue over to my earlobe to lightly nibble on it.

  “I’d like to give you the second part of my apology. Is that acceptable?” Ethan husked.

  His hands traveled down my sides as he quickly unclasped the buttons on my top. He carefully removed it as I shoved his open shirt down to his elbows. He slid it off and tossed it over his shoulder. I stared at his tattooed chest. My mind lost itself in the patterns and scripture before zeroing in on his eight-pack. God I had missed his body, and the sparks he generated in me simply by his appearance alone. The fire raging inside of me would have made Hades jealous. His lips circled my breasts as his hands slid my skirt off.

  “Just don’t leave me like that again. Now please make love to me,” I moaned softly.

  Ethan sucked even harder on my nipple. It was stood on-end by the time he finished. He stopped to shove away the remainder of my clothes before doing the same with his. I panted heavily while staring at his glorious naked body. Ethan was completely hard while everything south of me was the equivalent of a slip and slide. He slid a finger slowly inside me before moving us towards the head of the bed. He rested me gently on a pillow as his fingers swiveled deep within me. My body tightened from the electric current that zipped through it. Ethan retracted his finger with a wicked grin before licking it clean.

  “I can’t help but have a taste. It’s by far my favorite one in this world.”

  The humor left his face as he met my lips hungrily. My arms traveled along his ass to bring him closer to me. Hopefully, he’d get the hint that foreplay wasn’t necessary after being away from each other for the last several days. He twisted his tongue with mine before exiting my mouth to journey down my chest. I gently
stroked him. His breath faltered with each caress. Without notice, Ethan stopped kissing my breasts. My eyes met his as grief spread across his face.

  Shit. The bruises didn’t fade enough. I sure hope my back and arms don’t have any. It might be more than he can handle without executing retribution.

  I moved my hands to his cheeks and gently ran my palms across them. My eyes begged for him to let it go. Ethan’s breathing became heavy as he stared at me in anguish. He swept in for a chaste kiss before returning to my chest to press light kisses along each bruise. I went back to my previous handiwork. My back arched as his lips licked and nipped at every exposed piece of skin until he reached my hot spot where he swirled his tongue rapidly. It damn near took me right off the edge. He retracted his mouth and licked his lips before sliding over me.

  Ethan hooked my leg around his ass as he slowly entered. He clasped his arms around my back. My body was more than hypersensitive, and very much in need of him. He kept his eyes on me as he gently thrust forward. I moaned and gripped my arms around his back while pressing soft kisses along his toned pecks. He increased his pace while his lips sucked along my throat until he reached the spot below my earlobe that he loved to bite.

  “Oh God … I missed you,” I screamed.

  Every part of me catapulted to another erotic level as I rocked against him. The fire within me blazed to a point that was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Ethan moaned loudly before bringing his mouth to mine. His lips matched the urgency of his body as he pressed on harder and deeper.

  “I love making you scream,” he groaned.

  As I neared my climax, he slid out and rolled me onto my side. I gasped at the abrupt change in pace, because he was as close as I was. He dropped to his side to spoon me from behind. He slid his legs between mine while sinking deep within me. Ethan proceeded at a measured pace and placed one hand above our heads while taking both my hands in his free one. He held them tightly in front of me as he rocked even deeper. I shouted out my praises at the ecstasy each thrust gave me.