‘Kneel up,’ said Ethan, his voice quiet and authoritative, sent spasms of need spiralling through her. Where was he, by the sound of his footsteps he was circling her. When he spoke again, his voice was so close she could feel his warm breath on her face. ‘If you do as you’re told this afternoon, I may let you go home tonight. If you displease me, you may be here for a while. Now kneel up.’
She quickly did as she was told, the anticipation almost too much to bear.
‘Take your trousers off.’
She unzipped her trousers and slipped them slowly from her hips. She had to wiggle around a bit to get them off, grace and elegance had never been her strong points. With a bit of clever editing she could get round some of her most ungainly moments. She threw the trousers off the side of the bed and knelt back up again, awaiting her next instruction.
‘Now your shirt.’
She slowly unbuttoned her shirt and as she pulled it off her shoulders, exposing her bra, she heard Ethan hiss. It was definitely worth the extra money she had paid for this lilac ensemble.
There was silence then and she knew he was staring at her. Her gut clenched as she felt him kneel on the bed in front of her.
She felt his hands on her waist and he ran his thumbs lightly just under the waistband of the pants. ‘I like these.’
‘I bought them for you.’
She heard him breathe in deeply and even though she couldn’t see how he was looking at her she felt beautiful and desired.
‘Put your wrists together and hold them above your head.’
Keen to please she did as she was told as quick as she could, but as she raised her hands she smashed Ethan on the chin. Being blindfolded really did have its problems.
‘Oh sorry.’ She reached out, blindly, and found his face, then she knelt up and kissed his chin. But as he pulled her tighter against him she moved her mouth up to find his. He was smiling as she kissed him and she let out a little giggle before his mouth came down on hers hard.
His hands caressed her body but as the kiss continued he shifted her arms above her head. He pulled his mouth away from hers and he gently bound her wrists together using a scarf.
‘Now lie down.’
But she was beyond the point of no return. They could re-film some more bits later but now she had to have him. She slung her bound hands round the back of his neck and continued to kiss him. Although he was smiling, he still kissed her back. Cradling her gently like a baby he lowered her to the bed. She grinned. He had succumbed too. But the next thing she felt her hands being fastened to the headboard. Right then, she didn’t care. She wanted him any way he wanted her and to be completely blind was hugely erotic, other senses like touch, the feel of his hands on her skin, were intensified.
His hot mouth trailed kisses down her throat, her chest and towards her belly. She writhed against him, desperate for him to be inside her.
Suddenly she felt him get off the bed and she felt bereft at having him snatched from her.
‘Ethan, wait, please.’
‘I’m here, I’m just turning the camera off, I think we’re done.’
She heard him come back to the bed.
‘I’m not. I want the whole experience.’
‘You want me to make love to you here?’
‘I’m so turned on right now. I need you, please.’
He knelt on the bed again. ‘Ok, let me untie you –’
‘No, I like it. Leave the blindfold on too, just… hurry.’
To her disappointment the blindfold was removed and she blinked against the light. She stared into his concerned face. He took a few steps back and started undressing in front of her, slowly removing his shirt, his trousers, until he was completely naked. As he moved back to the bed, she instinctively yanked at her bindings, desperate to touch him, to feel his soft skin over a wall of muscle. The scarf held her tight and she moaned with frustration.
‘When we talked about this on your first day, you said being tied up would make you feel vulnerable. I don’t want you submissive to me like this. I never want you to feel threatened by me.’
‘I don’t. I trust you. I thought you liked this, tying women up, you’ve done it before.’
He carefully untied the knot on the scarf, releasing her hands. ‘Only because the women wanted me to. If you want me to make love to you tied up, then I will, but not down here.’ He gestured to the basement. He passed her the scarf to hold and then scooped her up, walking quickly up two flights of stairs to the bedrooms.
She thought he would take her to the suite and make love to her in that glorious four poster bed but he walked straight past that to the sweet, romantic bedroom, his childhood room at the back of the house.
He laid her on the bed and lay down next to her, kissing her softly, his hands at her waist, softly caressing her skin. She left the scarf next to her on the bed and ran her fingers through his hair and then down his back.
He moved on top of her, his delicious weight pressing down on her as he kissed her. His skin against hers was hot, like warm velvet. As the kiss continued he flicked open the front of her bra and she gasped as he tore his mouth from hers and clamped it over her nipple. He slowly slid her pants down and he looked up at her.
‘Do you want me to tie you up?’
She could tell he really didn’t want that and right then as she stroked his arms and back, she didn’t want that either.
‘Not yet.’
He returned his attention to peppering her body with soft kisses. ‘Tell me when.’
He slowly made his way back up her body and she wrapped her legs around his hips as he slid deep inside her.
She arched against him, holding him tight as he kissed her. She moved her head to the side so he could kiss her neck and she watched the scarf slither to the floor. But as she felt his muscles move against her, felt the softness of his skin and the silkiness of his hair, she couldn’t care less.
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘Bex’s wedding is on Saturday,’ Izzy said as she stared at Ethan on the other side of the room.
‘Hmmm.’ He blatantly wasn’t listening to what she was saying. He was too intent on what he was doing.
‘I’d like you to come with me.’
His eyes flickered up to meet hers for a moment, traversed down her naked body, hungrily, then he returned his attention to the paper.
‘You going to lose that sheet for me baby. I can’t really draw you nude when you’re mostly wrapped up in that sheet.’
‘I think there’s already plenty of me on show.’
‘I beg to differ. Now drop the sheet.’
Izzy clung onto it and looked around the studio. The naked pictures of the women had been removed since the last time she was here. Izzy didn’t know whether that was because of her comment that clients might feel intimidated by the quality of the drawings or whether he had taken them down because they had embarked on this ‘sort of’ relationship.
‘Did Charlie pose for you?’
‘No never. She hated that I’d paint or draw her, mostly from memory.’
‘I’m not exactly enamoured with it myself.’
Ethan grinned as he returned his attention to his drawing, adding great swathes of detail. It was that grin that persuaded her to pose in the first place. As they lay in his childhood bedroom, kissing and caressing each other, he had suggested that they go next door and he could draw her nude. The refusal had dried in her throat when she saw how excited and enthusiastic he was about this prospect.
‘Drop the sheet. Don’t make me come over there and take it from you.’
‘Come with me to the wedding and I will.’
He smiled and came over to where she was lying on the sofa. He stroked her face and knelt down to kiss her. As with every time he kissed her, this need for him just erupted through her. It was like eating all her favourite foods at the same time. The taste of him was wondrous, dark and delicious all at once. She wrapped her arms round his neck and kissed him back. Sh
e felt his hands tighten around her waist. Suddenly he took a step back, snatching the sheet from her as he did.
‘Ethan, you sneak.’ Izzy sat up and made a grab for it but she couldn’t help but laugh as he stood, smiling triumphantly as he held his trophy aloft above his head. ‘That was my collateral.’
He balled the sheet and tossed it into the corner of the room and knelt in front of her again, running his hand down her cheek.
‘Why do you want me at this wedding?’
‘Because…’ She cast her eyes down, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden and not just because she was stark naked.
He tilted her chin up so she was looking back at him. ‘Because?’
‘Because after I was burnt, Alex never took me anywhere. It felt like he was too embarrassed. It was silly, no one could see my scars but I felt so ugly. After Alex dumped me, the few times I did go to any big social events, his friends and family were all laughing and talking about me and though I couldn’t hear what they said, it was obvious it wasn’t kind. I never really went anywhere after that. I’d go to the pub with Bex, it was safe there. I’d go to the shops and work but I turned down numerous invites for parties and functions. I just couldn’t face it. Going to the Bloomsberg Hotel with you the other night was my first proper event in four years. I was a bit nervous about going but when you kissed me in the taxi because…’
‘Because you looked so beautiful and I couldn’t keep my hands off you.’
She smiled. ‘Yes that. Well, every fear I’d had just sort of melted away. I’m not going to hide away anymore. On Saturday, I’m going to walk in there with my head held high and show them that I don’t care. And I would love you by my side when I do it, the person that gave me my confidence back. Plus it’s Valentine’s Day and you should be with the person you l… like the most. I can’t think of a better way to spend it than dancing with you at my best friend’s wedding.’
Ethan stared at her for a moment and she thought she’d said too much.
‘There is nothing more I would like than to spend my Valentine’s Day holding you in my arms, dancing with you, telling anyone who would listen that I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the world – but this is Bex’s big day. She hates my guts and me being there would spoil it for her. You’d end up getting in some big row again and I don’t want that to happen on your best friend’s wedding day. This is the last time you’ll see her, isn’t it?’
Izzy nodded. ‘She flies out to Canada the very next day.’
‘Then you need to enjoy the last few hours with her and not ruin it bickering over me.’
Izzy bit her lip as she stared at the floor. He was right, she didn’t want anything to spoil Bex’s big day.
‘And if you come round to mine straight after, I promise we’ll have a Valentine’s midnight picnic in my front room in front of the log fire with candles and wine and music we can dance to.’
She smiled at this huge romantic gesture. She leaned forward to kiss him.
‘Do you have any idea how much you mean to me,’ she whispered.
He grinned. ‘I have some idea.’ He stood up. ‘Now lie back and think of England.’
She laughed as he walked back over to his easel. Being alone with Ethan was much more fun than having to share him with a whole wedding party anyway. The wedding would be fun, a great way to say goodbye to her best friend and afterwards, by the sounds of it, would be even better.
*
The wedding had been the worst wedding that Izzy had ever attended. She had walked down the aisle behind Bex, smiling and giddy with excitement, but as Bex’s dad had handed her over to Gabe, a sob had escaped from Izzy’s throat – one so loud that the whole congregation had turned to look at her. Unfortunately for Izzy, she hadn’t been able to stop crying since. Like a dam had burst, Izzy had sobbed all the way through the meal and the speeches and now the evening reception was about to start and the tears showed no sign of stopping. Her best friend for nearly thirty years was leaving. Although Izzy knew this day was coming, she had been putting off thinking about what it would be like to say goodbye – and now it had hit her with a force of a ten tonne truck.
Bex glided over, looking stunning in her long ivory gown, and sat down next to her, taking her hand as Izzy sobbed into her wine glass.
‘You can come and visit any time,’ Bex said.
‘I know.’
‘We can Skype and email and message each other on Facebook.’
‘I know, but it won’t be the same.’
Bex swallowed sadly. ‘I know. It’s going to be fucking shit. I hate Gabe, I really do.’
‘No you don’t.’
‘No I don’t, I fucking love him, but I love you too.’
‘I love you,’ Izzy wailed.
‘Come here you daft sod,’ Bex said, yanking Izzy into a big hug and crying into her shoulder. Izzy sobbed against her and eventually Bex pulled away.
‘Where’s your boss tonight, he should be here holding your hand instead of me, I should be dancing on tables or having sneaky sex with my husband.’
‘He… couldn’t come.’
‘He let you down you mean.’
‘Why are you so hard on him? I love him and although he hasn’t said it to me yet, I know he feels the same way.’
‘Then why isn’t he here?’
‘Because he didn’t want to spoil your day, he knows you hate him and he thought him turning up would ruin your wedding day or cause us to fight again. Although it seems we’re fighting about him even if he’s not here.’
Bex stared at her. ‘He didn’t want to come because he thought it would upset me?’
‘Yes and now you’re going to have your first dance and I have to dance with your dodgy uncle instead of the man I love.’
Bex didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘I better go and circulate for a while, but I’ll be back later and we can cry some more. Here, let’s take a selfie before I go – it will be one we can laugh about in weeks to come. Do you have your phone?’
Izzy sniffed and dug into her bag to retrieve it, she stared at the buttons blearily.
‘Here let me,’ Bex said, taking the phone off her. She swiped a few buttons and giggled. ‘I’m probably no better than you at working this piece of crap.’ She pressed a few more buttons, her fingers racing across the keys and then she held the phone up to capture their bloodshot swollen faces. The phone clicked and Bex handed the phone back, leaning into her cheek and kissing her hard.
‘I love you Isabelle Franklin, don’t ever forget it.’
She stood up and glided away as Izzy continued to sob. She watched Bex circulate round the room, chatting as the hotel staff cleared away tables and chairs ready for the disco. Eventually the lights dimmed and the first notes of Bex’s favourite song drifted through the air. Bex’s lecherous uncle eyed her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively when Izzy felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up and stared at Ethan in shock.
‘What… what are you doing here?’
‘Bex texted me, told me to get my arse down here straight away.’
Izzy glanced across at Bex who was gliding round the room in her husband’s arms. She smiled and winked at Izzy.
‘I believe I owe you a dance.’
‘But… I’m a mess.’
He bent down and kissed her neck, with his hands at her waist he pulled her to her feet. ‘You only ever look beautiful to me.’
He slid her arms round his neck and holding her close, swept her onto the dance floor.
It was a good job Ethan was holding her so tight, she was definitely not steady on her feet with the amount of wine she had drunk.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ Izzy said and pulled back slightly to look at him as they span around to the music. ‘In a suit.’
‘I would do anything for you.’ He ran his hand up her bare back and she shivered at his touch.
‘Will you come to Australia with me?’
‘No honey, you kno
w I can’t do that. We talked about this before, I can’t leave the business.’
She looked up at him and another sob caught in her throat. Damn this wine making her stupidly emotional. ‘I don’t want to leave you.’
‘You are going to have an amazing time.’
He kissed her neck, wrapping himself tighter around her.
The world was waiting for her out there but right now the only place she wanted to be was here wrapped in Ethan’s arms.
*
Ethan sat at a table, playing with a piece of heart shaped foil confetti. Izzy had stumbled off to talk to Bex and he had been left alone in the shadows at the very edge of the room. With the disco lights spinning around the room, no one could really see him here and he liked that. When he’d walked in earlier there had been a few looks of disapproval from the wedding party, people he had never met in his life. The Chase reputation really did precede him.
The bar area ran round the corner behind him and in that quieter area away from the music he could hear people talking. He absently tuned into what they were saying when he heard Izzy’s name.
‘Did you see who she’s with?’ one lady said, scathingly. ‘Ethan Chase.’
‘They’ve been together for a couple of weeks, or so I hear. Ever since she started work for him,’ a man said, a voice Ethan recognised.
‘I would never have thought Izzy would have lowered herself to that level. I know she hasn’t had a boyfriend since she dumped your lovely son four years ago, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. But I never thought for one moment she would become one of Ethan’s sluts.’
Ethan’s hands clenched into fists.
‘Sadie says she was having dinner in Morelli’s the other week and when she went to the toilet she caught Izzy giving Ethan a blow job.’
Ethan felt his mouth fall open in shock. Why would Sadie say that? He had slept with her a few times but he didn’t think there was any bad feeling between them. Why would she make up a load of disgusting lies about Izzy? He racked his brains for the last time he had seen Sadie. She had been one of the three women that collared Izzy outside the toilets at Morelli’s when he took Izzy there for dinner the previous week. He had kissed Izzy in front of them but there certainly was no blow job or anything that could be misconstrued as that. Is that what happened when he left behind a trail of women, they made up bitchy lies to make themselves feel better about being dumped?
Tied up With Love Page 25