‘I could say the same about you, sorry about your nose.’
He shrugged it off and she turned to face Gizmo and Jim. Gizmo, to her surprise, handed her a bunch of flowers.
‘I’m sorry about yesterday too, I’ve never grabbed the wrong woman before. You must have been terrified.’
‘Well I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t but it was an honest mistake, you didn’t have to do this.’ She took the flowers and smelled them obligingly. ‘They’re beautiful, thank you.’
Gizmo blushed.
‘I don’t have anything to apologise for, I’m just the driver,’ Jim said. ‘But I’m glad we finally have a woman working here to keep Ethan in his place.’
Ethan growled from behind her.
‘Ignore Ethan,’ Kyle said. ‘He’s a grumpy sod. Let’s go out to breakfast, Ethan you coming?’
‘No, and Isabelle has work to do, I’m not paying her to swan around all day, sitting in greasy spoon cafés. The van needs cleaning out so you guys need to be quick. You can bring her back something, by the size of her I’m guessing she’ll have some granola bar or a piece of wholemeal toast.’
‘Bacon and egg sandwich please, make sure the egg is extra runny.’ Izzy moved back around the desk to sit in Ethan’s chair and smiled at him as the boys left. The staring resumed for a moment or two and then he walked out, slamming the door behind him.
*
Ethan was in the kitchen when he heard Izzy come back from lunch. His heart gave a little leap and he wasn’t sure why. He checked his watch and saw she’d been gone for half an hour instead of the hour she was entitled to. She wasn’t alone.
‘I just came by to see if you were ok,’ said the other woman. ‘Those Chase men are clearly dangerous.’
‘Bex, are you on this again? Ethan might be a grumpy sod but he’s harmless,’ said Izzy and Ethan heard the squeak of his chair as she sat down.
‘It’s his brother I’m more concerned about.’
Ethan felt his hands curl into fists. He hated people talking about Gizmo. It was never anything good.
‘Gizmo is lovely.’
‘You won’t be saying that in a minute.’
‘I won’t have you spreading vicious rumours about him. This isn’t like you, you hate gossip. And this sort of thing could really damage someone’s reputation. He is not a rapist.’
‘Honey, I’m not partaking in idle gossip here, this is fact. I was worried after I left you in the pub yesterday, so I did a little research. Joseph Chase, aka Gizmo, went to prison for having sex with a minor or statutory rape. The proof is here.’
Bex had obviously handed Izzy something to read because there was a rustle of paper and Izzy went very quiet.
‘I don’t care what this says,’ Izzy said. ‘He was obviously wrongly imprisoned. I know he is innocent in this. You spend five minutes in the company of this man and you’d know it too.’
Ethan frowned. Why was she defending him? Everyone looked at the size and strength of Gizmo and decided straight away that he must have done it. No one knew him like his family did, no one believed him to be innocent.
‘Look maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Just be careful. You’re up here in the middle of nowhere, with a convicted rapist – ’
‘He didn’t rape anyone Bex.’ Izzy’s voice had risen, her patience had clearly snapped. ‘And I’ve got work to do, so I’d like you to go.’
‘Iz –’
Ethan walked out into the office and saw Izzy jump with surprise. He looked at her, her eyes were suddenly fearful.
‘I didn’t know you were here.’
‘Evidently.’ His eyes slid to Bex who quickly closed her mouth. She recovered herself.
‘Ethan Chase, I presume, I’m Rebecca Dale – ‘
He ignored her outstretched hand. ‘I don’t care. If you’re quite finished slagging off my brother, you can leave.’
She looked startled at this but after a moment she moved to the door. ‘Iz I’ll call you later.’
Izzy nodded and Bex left.
Ethan turned back to face Izzy.
‘I’m sorry…I didn’t –’ she started.
‘What are you sorry for? For defending my brother? No one has ever done that before.’
She looked down, still clearly embarrassed. ‘I like Gizmo.’
‘He’s very likeable. However you should know that technically your friend is right.’
Izzy’s mouth fell open. He sat down opposite her with a sigh.
‘Gizmo did sleep with a minor. He was sixteen, she was fifteen. There’s only four months between them. They grew up together, were best friends, they had been going out since they were thirteen. If anything she seduced him, he was always too innocent in that side of things. Anyway, they had sex, her father found out and had him arrested. It didn’t matter that she consented, that she stood up in a court of law and said that she loved Gizmo. She was not considered to be legally mature enough to be able to consent. It was a total sham, but the judge sided with her father, made Giz out to be some sexual predator and he went to prison. We only found out later that the judge was a very good friend of her father’s.’
‘That’s horrible.’
‘It was. Gizmo stood in the dock and cried. It was heart-breaking, for all of us. I felt so bad that he was my little brother and there was nothing I could do to protect him. Initially, when the police came to arrest him I fought with them to stop them taking him. Something else your friend will probably tell you. At that stage I don’t think any of us thought he would actually go to prison over it. But he did. The press were heavily involved and even they were on our side. In the end it went to appeal and we got the conviction overturned, his record wiped clean. But that doesn’t erase the eight weeks he spent behind bars, or people’s opinion of him. Regardless that he was eventually found innocent, there will always be people that look at him like he’s some kind of paedophile.’
‘What happened to the girl?’
He smiled. ‘Gizmo married her. They’re expecting their second child in a few months. Needless to say, relations between him and his father-in-law have always been a bit strained.’
‘But surely people must see that he is innocent when the girl he is accused of raping married him.’
‘You would think wouldn’t you, but people don’t remember the victim, just the culprit. It’s a lot easier to believe that someone is guilty than it is to believe they are innocent.’ He looked at her with approval. ‘Well for most people it is.’
‘You should have told Bex all this.’
‘It was none of her business.’
‘It’s none of mine.’
‘It is when you’re defending him so vehemently.’
She looked down and that awkwardness between them returned. He stood up. ‘I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Gizmo you know, he gets all funny about it.’
She nodded.
‘Then I’ll let you get back to work.’
*
Ethan watched Izzy run round the side of her house towards the van, dressed now in suitable kidnap attire. She was wearing black combat pants, black walking boots and a tight black hoodie. She looked like a ninja and an incredibly sexy one at that. Even more annoying was that, apart from Gizmo, everyone else in the van was openly staring at her too. Jim looked like he wanted to devour her. Ethan leaned forward in his seat, snagging Jim’s attention away from her.
‘You look at her like that again and I’ll gouge your eyes out. Do you understand?’
Jim stared at him for a second, clearly wondering if Ethan was serious. Whatever Jim saw made him get up and move to the furthest point away from Ethan, leaving the chair opposite him empty.
The van door slid open and Izzy, beaming like the Cheshire Cat, climbed in, clearly unaware that both Jim and Kyle were now too scared to even look at her.
What the hell was wrong with him? Jim and Kyle had always openly admired his women and it had never bothered him before. He didn’t want anyone looking at he
r like that. He didn’t want to look at her like that himself but he was damned sure no one else would ever look at her like she was a piece of meat, least not while he was around.
She looked up at him and the smile fell from her face. He couldn’t take his eyes of hers and she didn’t look away either. Gizmo took off and she lurched forward in her seat. He caught her, his hands on her arms to steady her, as he pushed her back gently into her seat.
‘Put your seatbelt on,’ he growled.
She nodded, suddenly compliant as she fumbled around with the clip.
‘When we do the collection, I want you over there out the way. I don’t want you to get involved at all. We’ll take Kirsty into the house and you can come in with us. There’ll be a short period of time where we can hang around at the beginning of the role play, sometimes the husband wants us involved, sometimes not.’
‘Involved?’ Her eyes were wide. Her innocence was achingly endearing.
‘Not in the sexual part but sometimes the husband likes to give us commands, talk to us as if it’s all part of some criminal underworld arrangement. As soon as anything remotely intimate starts, we are out of there. Our company is not into voyeurism and we certainly don’t remove any clothes, that part is all down to the husband. Once we leave them, I’ll show you around the rest of the house too.’
She nodded again, obviously taking this very seriously.
Why could he not stop staring at her?
The grey of her eyes was made up of a multitude of different shades, ranging from specks of slate grey to the lightest silver. Her eyelashes were so long, casting dark shadows on her pale cheeks and the lip she was currently chewing on he wanted to soothe with his tongue. He tore his eyes away from her, disgusted with himself for having such poor self-control. She continued to stare at him, her gaze burning into the side of his face.
‘Ethan, is that her?’ Gizmo called from the front and he stood up, glad to be away from Izzy and her incredible grey eyes.
‘Yep that’s her and the fact that she’s waving at us is quite a big clue.’
He looked back at Izzy to tell her to move but she was already unclipping herself from her seatbelt and standing up too. A nervous excitement emanated from her like a kid on Christmas morning and it made him smile, just briefly before he swapped it for his habitual scowl again.
Gizmo stopped the van and Ethan grabbed the side door and slid it open.
Chapter Five
Izzy watched Ethan step out. Despite the wintry cold of the day, he was only wearing a black t-shirt. His strong forearms and muscular upper arms almost gleamed like bronze in the weak winter sunlight.
Kirsty, the intended target, was obviously going for an Oscar and Izzy was somewhat grateful that they were in the middle of nowhere.
‘Help! I’m being kidnapped,’ screamed Kirsty before Ethan had even taken a step towards her. ‘Someone help me.’
She turned to run away but if Kirsty thought Ethan was the type of man to give chase she had another think coming. Before she had even taken one step away from the van, Ethan had grabbed her, one arm round her waist, one hand over her mouth and hauled her tight against his body. Jealousy slammed through Izzy, unwelcome and unbidden. Kirsty struggled a little bit but it was quite useless being held so tight in Ethan’s arms.
‘We’re from KMW, do exactly as you’re told and you won’t get hurt,’ Ethan said, his voice a menacing growl that only added fuel to the desire raging through Izzy’s body at that moment.
Kirsty nodded weakly.
‘Now get in the van.’
Kirsty did as she was told, flashing Izzy an enormous grin as she got in. Kyle stepped forward and blindfolded Kirsty and proceeded to tie her hands together. Ethan stepped back into the van and the brief look he gave Izzy was dark.
The door closed and for a short moment, the darkness blinded her, but as her eyes became accustomed to the limited light, she realised he was standing almost directly in front of her, staring at her. She looked up at him as he held onto the metal rail above her head. As the van careened around several corners Ethan was solid, unmoveable, where Izzy needed the side of the van for support, not least because her legs felt like jelly right now.
In the background, she was vaguely aware that Kyle was explaining to Kirsty what would happen once they reached the house, that she had been won in a card game by some billionaire called Nick O’Shea. Kirsty was obviously humming with need and she let out a tiny moan at the name of her husband.
Oakwood House came into view and Izzy had a better look at it this time. It was large, maybe six or seven bedrooms. It looked like a quiet, unassuming country house set in its own grounds. Little did the people of this town know what went on behind closed doors.
As the van came to a halt, Ethan was already stepping out. He picked Kirsty up with ease, carefully sliding her over his shoulder. Without a word, he turned and strode into the house. Izzy quickly followed him down the stairs into the basement where the day before she had been tied up. What a lot had changed in the last twenty-four hours.
‘Is this her?’ a deep voice said as Ethan reached the bottom of the stairs. Kirsty whimpered again with excitement at the sound of her husband’s voice.
‘This is your prize sir, she put up quite a fight,’ Ethan said, and as he moved into the basement Izzy got her first look at the husband. Based on her experience with the husband the day before, she expected all the husbands to be sad, aging, nerdy types desperate for a last saucy fling – but Nick was stunning. Wearing only jeans, he was tall, muscular with a mass of dark, wavy hair and piercing green eyes. He was holding a glass of red wine in his hands, swirling it around casually as he played the role of the winning billionaire.
‘Take the blindfold off, I want to see what I’ve won.’
Ethan slid Kirsty down to stand between him and Nick, pulled the blindfold off her head and turned her round to face her husband.
Nick whistled appreciatively. ‘Wow, I… didn’t expect her to be so beautiful. Your boyfriend was a fool for putting you as collateral in our card game. You’re mine now and I don’t intend to ever let you go.’
Nick trailed a finger down her cheek and Kirsty quivered.
‘Please don’t hurt me. I’ll do whatever you want, whatever you need, just don’t hurt me.’
‘I want you naked on the bed, now.’
Ethan turned and snagged Izzy’s arm, pulling her back up the stairs. Although Izzy had no intention of being there when the heat was turned on, she couldn’t help one last look back as Kirsty was slowly undoing the buttons on her shirt and Nick was staring at her hungrily.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Ethan closed the door and stared at Izzy.
‘Well, one successful kidnapping. What did you think?’
Izzy pulled at the neck of her hoodie, feeling the sweat prickling her back. There was only one word to describe what had just happened. ‘That was hot.’
Ethan stared down at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. His laugh was loud, infectious and heartfelt and it caused Izzy to laugh too.
‘Come on, I’ll show you around.’
He walked into a room opposite the basement door into what looked like a very plush office, a huge desk commanded the attention in the middle of the room, and a big leather office chair stood behind it. There was a computer, a sofa in the corner and the walls were lined with several official looking certificates.
‘For the boss and secretary fetish,’ Ethan explained. ‘Not one of my favourites but there is some demand for it.’
‘This is part of your package?’
Ethan nodded. ‘It’s all fake.’ He picked up the computer screen with one hand. ‘It’s a prop, just in case they want to sweep the stuff off the desk dramatically.’
‘The certificates, the papers in the trays?’
‘Fake. Come on, I’ll show you the kitchen.’
He walked out and Izzy stared at the room in shock. The room was perfect, exactly what an office of a
rich, successful businessman should look like. There was so much more to this kidnapping business than met the eye.
She followed Ethan down the corridor into a huge kitchen. There was a big black marble breakfast bar in the middle of the room and Izzy was getting the sense that these large flat surfaces were designed for one thing only. There was also a massive dining table and large floor to ceiling windows that opened onto a beautiful garden.
‘This is a real working kitchen, it was part of the original house but has been completely redecorated since then. There are some couples who have food fetishes. Or get hungry after sex. As part of the package we ask them if they want any food provided, at an extra cost of course. Most people will just order a pizza after they’ve finished but some like strawberries to be left in the fridge, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, champagne, that sort of thing.’
‘And then there’s the dining table or breakfast bar if they’re still feeling horny?’
Ethan smiled. ‘You’re catching on.’
He pushed a door open into a lounge that had a long black leather sofa and a huge widescreen TV. He didn’t pause long in here, Izzy guessed it was pretty self-explanatory. Moments later they were back in the hall again.
‘I’ll show you upstairs.’
Izzy followed him up the oak lined staircase, the bannister was a beautiful twisted wooden creation that swept up the stairs but all she could focus on was the tight, gorgeous arse in the black jeans ahead of her.
‘This is the suite. It used to be four bedrooms and we had it converted into a lounge area, bedroom and en-suite bathroom. There are two other bedrooms up here but generally our clients will use the suite. It’s very plush and adds credence to any of the billionaire stories that our clients like to act out.’ She followed him into a foyer area that had a black table with a startling array of welcome flowers in the middle. There was an ivory tiled floor and white walls with stunning pieces of modern art adding vibrant splashes of colour to the room.
‘This part is the bedroom.’ Ethan pushed open the door and Izzy saw a giant, tall four poster bed and what looked like a very sleek bathroom through another door beyond the bedroom. Izzy walked in and looked around. It was stunning, resembling something from a very exclusive hotel, with a trace of historical romance too. There was a large painting above the headboard. It was a couple, entwined in a passionate embrace, but their limbs and bodies merged together as one. She took a step towards it, marvelling at the sheer lust and fire that was cleverly depicted in the artist’s strokes.
Tied up With Love Page 5