Complicated

by M. M. Koenig

  “No. I took care of that, and our bags, earlier.”

  He was beyond excited. He wasted no time in showing me around the enormity of our bungalow that was separate from the rest of the hotel. The rooms were top-of-the-line. We had more amenities than we knew what to do with, including a chef’s kitchen and a grand piano. The space and seclusion was awe-inspiring. What really captivated me was the courtyard through the back doors of the suite. It had a plunge pool, with a terrace overlooking the gardens in the distance. I shuffled in that direction with Ethan by my side. He opened the patio door for us. My eyes zeroed in on the sky-blue pool a few feet away from me. I kicked off my sandals and loosened the tie around the back of my neck as Ethan gazed around the remarkable yard.

  “What do you think?” Ethan asked, turning to me. He blinked repeatedly as he caught my naked chest.

  “I think you deserve a proper thank-you for taking me to another marvelous place,” I answered, tossing my top to the ground. I ran a finger along the waistline of my shorts before getting rid of them.

  His eyes became ravenous as he scooped me up and darted towards the pool. My hands slid underneath his shirt and across his abs. My fingers lazily traced each line before yanking his tank top off. His boxers rested on his hips a few inches above the waistband of his shorts. As I journeyed towards the ‘V’ that I loved to appreciate, my nails ran along his boxers. Ethan moaned when I began to rub his cock with vigor. His lips fell to my shoulder, where his teeth grazed along it until he hit the crook and bit down hard. I twirled my fingers along his piercing before sliding them roughly down his shaft. His lips continued hungrily sucking along my collarbone to match the speed of my hand around him. He let his shorts fall to the ground before he walked down the steps of the pool.

  The water around us was relatively warm. My eyes flickered around to ensure we had the privacy Ethan had promised. There wasn’t a soul in sight. He gently set me on the edge of pool before positioning me on my back. Ethan took my hand from around him and placed it on his hip. He parted my legs and ducked his head between them. His tongue paved a trail of fire through the insides of my thighs until he hit my clit and created a wildfire as he licked me out. I arched my back when he began twisting and twirling. My hands slithered to his pecks where I twisted and tormented his nipples to attention. It made him suck me even harder. The dull ache that he created every time he did this to me was even more intense as we lay exposed to the world. It was as brazen as we had been – and a complete turn-on.

  “Fuck … that … fuck…that is …” I groaned, urging my hips further into him.

  Ethan grabbed my hips to the point of pain as he continued to slide against the slickness he had created on my clit. His lips pulled away and drifted along the middle of my stomach towards my breasts where he placed feather-light kisses. His gentleness disappeared when he roughly brought me into the water in front of him. He tossed his wet boxers to the side of the pool and slowly turned me so my back was facing his front. He separated my legs even further before running his growing erection between them. I moaned loudly and backed into him for more friction.

  “I need to be inside you. We can finish out here or in the bedroom. Which do you prefer?”

  Ethan leaned me forward against the edge of the pool. He brought his lips down forcefully and sucked along the back of my neck then trailed them down to my tattoos, tormenting those spots with his skillful tongue. His hands ran up my front and settled on my breasts where he squeezed harder with each swoop of his tongue against my back. He continued to tease me by slowly beginning to enter only to stop at the last minute. With his piercing, it heightened the fiery sensations within me. In this position, I was unable to do anything but absorb every amount of pleasure.

  “Here! Now! Please Ethan!”

  “I love when you beg me baby. It makes me even harder.”

  Ethan thrust deep inside of me with one hand on my hip and the other on my back. He had complete control as he drove repeatedly into me. I braced myself as each rock of his hips became quicker and harder. I started to clench when he got close. He paused and rested his body above mine. His lips circled my neck until I tilted my head to capture them with mine. He kissed me heartily before pushing roughly into me again. I cried out from the unexpectedness of it and bucked back into him. He thrust against me with even more force. The harder he pushed, the deeper his penetration within me. My insides were ready to liquefy because of the blistering point my body had reached.

  “I want to make this last, but I can’t in this position,” Ethan groaned against my lips.

  I was going to lose my breath any minute now with the buildup I was trying to contain. His elbow urged me further down as he lifted my right leg. The angle gave him the leverage he was looking for as he continued at an unrelenting pace. The water around us sloshed all over from his speed. Though I tried to stop it, a volcanic orgasm erupted through me.

  “Ohmigod. Yes … yes … Ethan …”

  His lips silenced me as I slipped in and out of coherency. My ragged breaths felt like the only thing tying me to this place on earth.

  “Fuck … I’m going to get you to go one more time out here.”

  Ethan slid out before picking me up and walking briskly out to the deeper water. When we reached a spot in the pool that was about chest-deep, Ethan ran his hands up my back and rested us against the side of the wall. I wrapped my hands around his waist. My body was still quaking from the aftershocks of the violent climax he had already given me. Ethan rocked into me to fire me up once more. I ran my tongue up his throat and settled on a spot underneath his chin that drove him crazy.

  “That feels so good,” Ethan groaned loudly.

  With each stroke of my tongue, his speed increased and his hold around me grew stronger. I met the swift pace he had set for us. His nails dug into my shoulders as he began to shudder. I welcomed the pain and drove my hips even harder into him with every intention of releasing with him. I clenched tightly around him to drive us both towards a climax together. The hot release from him was enough for me to fall apart again. Ethan rested his head between my breasts as his breaths evened out. I kept a tight grip around his waist to keep from sinking into the water. My body hit that euphoric place again; the one that only he could take me to.

  “I like that you let me have you anywhere and that you let me do pretty much anything,” Ethan mused, nuzzling his nose between each breast.

  I inhaled deeply. “Within reason, babe.”

  Ethan started to stir to life, and tilted his face towards me I saw a twinkle in his eye. My head swayed back at the prospect of going again so soon. It made me wonder at times if it was him, us, or some cosmic gift that allowed it to be possible. I squirmed further away so he’d have to slide out. If we were starting another round, it wasn’t going to be out here. Ethan reluctantly pulled out and perched me on the edge.

  Now that my brain was functioning again, I looked around for a towel to cover up. Ethan caught on and hopped out of the pool. He strutted over to the towel rack off to the side of the courtyard and retrieved some for us. The water trickled down every carved line on his body. Strong flashes of heat burned through me, just watching him strut back to me with a knowing smile. He tossed a towel to me as he wrapped the other around himself. Ethan opened the door and directed us towards the bedroom. Doing what we do best with each other had cleared my mind from our argument in the car. I planned to keep it that way, and with Ethan that wouldn’t be an issue because I knew the rest of our night had nothing but hot and sweaty sex in it.

  The next morning Ethan was up before me again. I had preferred his reason for being up early yesterday, so I was moody with him right off the bat. Before he left, he kissed me goodbye and left a credit card for if I decided to go shopping. I had to refrain from punching him. I had zero interest in shopping in ridiculously expensive stores. It was a gut feeling, so I could be wrong, but he seemed more on edge about leaving me alone than conversing with criminals.

 
It was barely past six when he left. I turned on the television. After going through the movie guide a good dozen times and finding nothing interesting, I gave up and shut it off. I planned on visiting the spa once it was open, but that was hours away. My irritation grew even more when my phone vibrated with an incoming text. I retrieved it to see Harrison’s number. My skin crawled and a shiver coasted up my spine as I opened it.

  You’re damn fortunate your boyfriend is attending to business that benefits me at this very moment. I warned you not to leave town again, but you did it anyway. Don’t be surprised when this trip comes back to bite you in the ass – and believe me, it will.

  My mind drifted to the involvement Ethan had with Harrison. I stopped breathing as the terror and anger sliced through every nerve-ending, racing to hit every part of my body. I longed to retaliate against the evil bastard. I was about done with all these threats. My knees grew weak at the prospect of never getting rid of that malicious jackass. With Ethan being tied to Harrison, I’d probably have to deal with him long after I went to this damn meeting. My head became dizzy from that realization.

  My mind wandered over the growing list of things Ethan had revealed that absolutely terrified me. It made me wonder where he planned to go once all his pieces were in place, because there was no way he’d be able to stick around Chicago. My heart began to throb in agony at the idea of being on the run all the time just to be with him. I shook my head to silence my thoughts. I made my way over to my suitcase to retrieve my running gear, hoping a jog would clear my head. I changed and selected a good playlist from my phone. I needed to oust my rage and push the thoughts out of my head.

  I ran close to five miles and spent most of it near the hotel, because the property was gorgeous. The foliage and ponds were just the distraction I needed from my life. My thoughts focused on the correct lyrics for each song playing in my ears. I wouldn’t allow anything else to slither in and fuck with my mind. Ethan had already given me more than enough to make my head spin.

  When I returned to our bungalow, I was out of breath and slick with sweat. I strolled into the gigantic bathroom and went straight for the shower. I flipped it on while stripping off my clothes. After a solid twenty minutes of letting my body soak under the jets, I cleaned up. Though my body was sparkly clean on the outside, the inside of me remained darker than ever. Everything Ethan had disclosed horrified me more than I’d ever admit to him.

  That’s what you get for jumping into a relationship with someone you don’t even know. You couldn’t have possibly thought he was an angel. His revelations only serve to show you what your life will be like moving forward.

  Fuck off! I had more than enough running through my brain without being reminded of that shit. Though some of the things Ethan had told me were rather shady, I understood why he had made the choices he had. I still believed he had a good soul. As a smidge of warmness crawled through my body, Harrison crept back into my thoughts to cool it right back down.

  If he knew where Ethan was this morning, then it made it difficult for me to believe that Ethan wasn’t involved in the corruption somehow. It was either that, or Harrison had sent someone out here to follow me. I’d been far too busy trying to maintain my wits that I hadn’t paid close enough attention. That might be why Ethan was so twitchy about me doing anything by myself. It was a half-hearted attempt on my part to believe that was the reason for his odd behavior. If someone were tailing us, Ethan would’ve known right away and probably kicked the living shit out of them.

  The entire scenario made my head pound even more. I had no idea what Harrison wanted from me. There had to be a damn good reason for blackmailing me. I desperately wanted to find out, especially if Ethan believed he had one up on Harrison. I wasn’t as confident. If I screwed up, it would be bad for both of us. My thoughts drifted to our heated fight before we left. It infuriated me that Ethan had yet to share why Colin brought me up in discussion. It couldn’t possibly be good, since he kept avoiding it.

  I shut off the water and got out of the shower. I desperately wanted to be anywhere other than the inside of my head. It had become my own personal hell. As I was drying off, I spotted some color on the mirror. It was a shade of lipstick that I had in my makeup bag. I wrapped the towel around my body on my way over to the vanity. As I neared, my heart sped up as my eyes caught the message.

  MIA

  YOU’RE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

  SOMEDAY I’LL MAKE YOU MY WIFE

  I KNOW THAT WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY

  AND THAT TODAY EVERYTHING ISN’T OK

  BUT PLEASE CONTINUE TO GIVE ME TOMORROW

  AND I’LL KEEP YOU AWAY FROM ANY SORROW

  AND JUST SO YOU KNOW … I LOVE YOU!

  ETHAN

  It was hard to be angry with Ethan when he did stuff like that for me. He always went out of his way to apologize. A wave of calmness spread through my chest as I read the last line. It reminded me of the very first time he had shown his romantic side. I wanted a memento of his sweet words, so I grabbed my phone from my clothes and snapped a quick picture before wiping it off. It dawned on me that I hadn’t spoken to Bri in a couple of days. Since her pregnancy, that was unusual for us. I brought up my texts and attached the picture from the mirror before typing my message.

  My morning. How are you? Miss you!

  My phone vibrated instantly.

  It must be rough to have a boyfriend that romantic! Can’t talk. I’m walking into a midterm. Will call later. Miss you more!

  It bummed me out that Bri was busy with class, but I understood. She actually had a set schedule. I tossed on a pair of ragged jeans and a red halter-top before doing my hair and makeup. I grabbed my key card and some money and headed for the spa.

  God knows I need something to ease the tension screaming through my body and the tornado of uncertainty in my head.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Bitter Blowout

  I left the spa with my muscles feeling more relaxed, but that was it. My mind was still a hot mess. I refused to hole up in the room so I walked along Hollywood Boulevard and got lost among the stars. It was easier to think about the people that lived to entertain us than it was to be in my own head. I stopped off at places here and there to check out different landmarks, but I was only going through the motions. It was impossible to enjoy anything when my mind was preoccupied with what Ethan was doing.

  I walked along aimlessly for hours. I went so far that making it back to the hotel in time was a thought of the past. I glanced at my watch to see that Ethan was more than likely there by now. I had no doubt it would piss him off to find our room empty. I raised a hand to hail a cab to get my ass back there before World War III broke out. I gave the driver my destination and pulled my cell from my purse to see if he had called or texted me. I cringed when I saw that it had been off the whole time. I had forgotten that I had turned it off at the spa. I turned it on and waited. Ethan’s number was the first to pop up.

  Fuck. This is going to be bad.

  My fingers fumbled across the screen to open his first text.

  I didn’t expect you to sit around and wait for me, but you could have left me a note. Where the hell are you?

  I sighed and opened the next message.

  I’m really pissed Mia. I have no tolerance for being ignored. Call me!

  I couldn’t stop the loud snicker that escaped. The cabbie stared at me in the rearview mirror as if I was crazy. Ethan really didn’t need to send that one. I was well aware of how his temper worked, especially with me. I continued to the last one.

  I get that you’re angry about being left out this morning, but this is beyond immature. Call me now!

  The cab pulled up to the hotel. I tossed over the fare and got out. It was now a quarter to two. Ethan had planned for us to leave right after he got back. Since I had already thrown our plans off course and he was irate, I made my way towards our bungalow at a snail’s pace. I elected to go along the path that led to our room from the private courtyard.
It had had a positive effect on us last night. There was a small chance it might do the same today.

  My key card was unnecessary when I reached the gate. Ethan was on the other side, visibly shaking from his rage. My heart rate spiked as he opened the gate. As I sauntered past him, he grabbed my arm. His tight hold made me skid to a stop. Keeping my eyes on the ground, I waited for him to get whatever he needed to off his chest. If he wanted to fight with me, he’d have to kick it off. My mouth would only get me into trouble. My whole body stiffened as the pressure around my arm increased from his ironclad grip. He tried to turn me to face him, but I refused. His hand ran further up my arm as his hold strengthened. It pissed me off even more.

  “Where were you?” Ethan snapped, forcing me to face him.

  “Let go of me. I was checking out the sights. I lost track of time,” I shot back.

  Ethan’s face turned maroon as his eyes burned a hole in my skull. I tried freeing my arm, but his grip had started to cut off my circulation. Between the jumbled mess in my head and his refusal to free me, my blood boiled over.

  “I don’t care how angry you are with me, let go. You’re hurting me. From the way you’re acting, I’d say you’re a step away from hitting me,” I shouted.

  Ethan instantly let go and stepped away in shock. He hunched over his knees, his hands curled into tight fists, before dropping to the pavement and punching it. I fell next to him with wide eyes. Large gashes covered each fist, with blood trickling from his knuckles. His muscles twitched all the way up his arm as he arched it back again. My hands flew to stop him. Ethan refrained from hitting the ground again but he refused to look at me.

  “I’m so sorry Mia. I never … I never want to hear you say that again,” Ethan rasped.

  That’s when it hit me. I never for a second thought he would’ve hurt me, but saying that had made him feel like his dad. I wrapped my arms around his neck. His head fell into my shoulder as he worked to even his breathing. After a few minutes, I felt his tears fall to my collarbone. I pulled him closer to me. I hated myself for being so thoughtless. I couldn’t erase it either. There were things you never said to a child of abuse, and I was the asshole who had used them like a weapon.