by Linzi Basset
She blushed when she caught Ethan’s amused look.
There he sits. Basking in the knowledge of what he’s putting me through. Her eyes narrowed. Just you wait, Ethan Brodie. One way or the other, I’ll get you back.
Paige started when the remote of the butterfly clattered on the coffee table in front of her.
“You may remove the toy, my sweet.” Ethan had barely finished the sentence when Paige went flying through the door, blithely ignoring the laughter from the two men and Samantha’s berating voice that followed her up the stairs.
Keon, Lauren and Beckie had arrived by the time she returned.
“Well, now that you’re all here, we might as well throw a couple of chickens on the barbeque,” Ethan said. He winked at Paige. “Perfect time to show off your culinary skills, my sweet.”
“You think I can’t cook?”
Ethan shrugged. “It’s not something one usually associates with a skinny supermodel.”
“I was never a skinny . . . how did you know?” Paige was flabbergasted. Surely, he didn’t remember meeting her eight years ago; especially as he had his gorgeous wife on his arm at the time.
“Oh, I remember, Paige. What man wouldn’t, with the skimpy white string bikini you were wearing at the time?”
“Supermodel?” Beckie interrupted with a wide-eyed look. “I’ve never met a supermodel.”
“Yes, little miss nosy. Paige was a young teenage model from South Africa. She became a sensation overnight.”
“Wow! Do you still model?” Beckie asked with stars in her eyes.
Paige suppressed a sigh. Young girls—much like she herself had been—had an attraction to the glam and glitter that surrounded modeling. Little did they know the heartache and pain that most of the young girls suffered once they were caught in the spiral of fast living.
“No, Beckie. It was a long time ago and although I enjoyed what I was doing at the time, it’s not all pleasant memories.” She smiled gently at the beaming young girl before she turned a glowering stare at Ethan. “And just so you know, Dr. Brodie, I can cook. People have a completely misguided view of models.”
“Hm, maybe I was a little hasty in allowing you to remove your toy,” Ethan drawled, watching with a satisfied smirk when her cheeks bloomed once more. He found it fascinating that she blushed so easily.
“Toy? Uncle Ethan, I think Aunt Paige is a little old for toys, don’t cha agree?” Beckie berated him with her hands on her hips. She looked so much like Lauren when she gave lip to Keon that the big man burst out laughing. Lauren clipped his shoulder with a fist.
“Behave, you big hulk.”
Beckie looked at the amused adults, while at the same time she was confused by Paige’s glowing cheeks.
“I smell a rat. Uncle Rhone, what are you hiding from me?”
Rhone glanced at her with an innocent expression. “Me? What have I got to do with it? Ask Ethan, snip. He’s the one who started this.”
“Ahem, I think we better get the barbeque started, otherwise Miss Beckie’s stomach is going to start growling soon,” Ethan avoided the question that immediately sprang to Beckie’s lips. Paige wondered about the shadow that crossed his eyes as he hugged Beckie briefly.
“I have a son.” Ethan’s earlier words echoed in her mind. Paige breathed in deeply. What would Ethan do when he found out what she knew about his ex-wife? How well she’d known her seven years ago? Worry marred her brow as she wracked her brain but couldn’t recall any mention of a child then. Maybe he’d had a baby with another woman.
The three women formed an immediate rapport while they were preparing the side dishes for the barbeque. Paige was surprised at how well stocked Ethan’s fridge and pantry was, although she shouldn’t be. She’d noticed over time that even though he had lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of the staff, he’d always brought his own food from home. Healthy, well prepared meals.
“Do you have any photos of you modeling, Aunty Paige?” Beckie asked while munching on a carrot.
“Yes, I do have some.” Paige smiled at her. “Call me Paige, Beckie.”
Beckie looked at her with a horrified expression. “Never! Uncle Ethan is one of my godfathers and when you marry him, you’ll be my godmother. I can’t call you by your name!”
“I’m not . . . we’re not . . .” Paige glanced beseechingly at Samantha and Lauren for help. They just laughed conspiringly.
“And when Jax comes back, we’ll come to visit all the time. I miss him. He always played with me,” Beckie said. Her expression turned forlorn as she recalled the good times they had shared so many years ago.
“Jax?” Paige frowned questioningly at Samantha.
“Ethan’s son, Jaxon,” Samantha volunteered. “Hasn’t he told you about him?”
“We’ve not really had much time to talk. I know he got divorced seven years or so ago.”
“Yeah, and then his money hungry wife married the future King of Saudi Arabia. Soon after, they left the country, taking Jaxon without Ethan’s knowledge. He was shattered when he found out.”
“How old was he?” Paige’s entire body shuddered as she realized that she might unknowingly have aided in Ethan’s son being taken from the country. Now she understood the dark longing she glimpsed in his eyes at times.
“Seven. He turned fifteen a week ago. According to Keon, Ethan and Jaxon were inseparable. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for a boy his age to suddenly lose the father he adored,” Lauren said, recalling how devastated she’d been when she thought she would lose Beckie, even though she wasn’t her real mother. They had forged a mother and daughter bond in the six years she’d looked after her.
“He went looking for him three years ago and almost got killed for the trouble. He has stayed away since, fearing the prince might kill Jaxon in a rage,” Samantha concluded.
“And now the wounds have reopened with my brother’s mission in Saudi Arabia,” Paige whispered in a husky voice.
“Are you ladies going to gossip the night away, or join us outside?” Ethan asked. He’d been listening without them noticing.
“Oh, you startled us, Ethan. You shouldn’t eavesdrop, you might just hear things not meant for your ears,” Samantha teased.
“Hm, why do you think I always do?” He responded with an enigmatic expression. He pulled Paige into his embrace. “Come for a walk with me, my sweet. The breeze is perfect for a stroll down the river bank.”
“But I’m busy with potato rosti,” she objected as he took her hand.
“We’ve got it under control. You go,” Samantha urged her with a smile. “Besides, I think Beckie can take over the salad, right?”
“My dad says I’m a salad reformer,” Beckie said proudly. “He says he’s never seen anyone cut all the ingredients the exact same size like I do.”
“Well, this I have to see,” Paige laughed, feeling relaxed and at home, although concern for Ethan kept hovering in the back of her mind.
Ethan was quiet as they walked down the winding path toward the banks of the Potomac River.
“It’s beautiful here. So serene and calm,” Paige observed. She leaned against the wide trunk of a tree as she stared out over the shimmering water.
“It is, but sometimes it becomes quiet enough to strangle me.”
Paige glanced at him. His jaw was rigid.
“You miss him, don’t you?”
Ethan stared ahead. He didn’t blink and his lips barely moved. “Every second of my existence.”
“I’m sorry, Ethan. I know this issue with my brother has awakened those memories,” Paige said softly.
“Memories can only be awakened if a person has locked them away in the first place. No, Paige, my son is always on my mind. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him, long for him and feel the loss of not seeing him grow into a young man.” His voice thickened. “The reality is, you’ve given me the hope of getting him back again. And this time, I won’t fail, even if it costs me my life. I
will bring Jaxon home.”
“Ethan, don’t say that. Please, death is such . . . I don’t like hearing you say that,” she ended in a rush when his sharp gaze homed in on her.
“And why is that, Paige?” He took a step closer, crowding her against the tree, with his hands on either side of her shoulders.
“I . . . well, just think how devastated all those subs at the club will be if you . . . well, if you . . . hmm, what are you doing?”
“Tsk, tsk, poor little rosebud. Do you really have to ask, Paige? Hm, I guess if you do, I must not be doing it right,” Ethan taunted her, his lips nibbling with libidinous intent on her earlobe. “Maybe, if I do this,” he growled and yanked the white summer dress with one hand up and over her head, effectively using it to tie a knot around her wrists to the branch hanging overhead.
“Untie me! Ethan, I’m half naked. Anyone can see me,” she shrieked, aware that she was left with only a scanty white lace thong. Her body zinged and her nerve endings responded to the brush of his hand over every curve, from her breasts to her hips and back.
“Ah yeah, but what a delectable sight which is why I love to tie you up. You look like a wood nymph in the silver streaks of the moonlight, my sweet; sensual, seductive and sweetly innocent at the same time. Do you have any idea what a lethal combination that is, Paige?”
Paige stopped struggling. She gave over to the thrilling demand of her body that had been singing a slow throbbing song of desire since the first slap on her pussy at her house.
“Ethan,” she said breathlessly, closing her eyes as he ran his palms back and forth over her nipples. The touch was so tantalizing, it made her toes curl. He leaned in and wrapped his lips around a taut nipple. The kiss was as soft as a butterfly’s wing, followed by the same tender caress on its twin. Potent heat surged through her veins. Her body trembled with the arousal that he had awakened, only to leave her wanting.
“I love how your skin tastes under my tongue, my pet,” Ethan murmured, leaving a wet trail behind as he licked the smooth curve of her breast.
Sensations needled the pit of her stomach wherever he touched her, bringing forth a rush of sensations that inflamed her senses. Radiant heat flooded and pooled in the oblique walls of her visceral muscles.
Oh, god.
Her eyelids fluttered. She hoped that she wouldn’t lose the tenuous hold she had managed to get over her emotions.
“Look at me, Paige,” Ethan whispered against her lips. Her eyes popped open.
Oh fuck, he’s such a hunk. No wonder women flock around him.
His features were striking in the sliver of moonlight, the shadows playing across his face, giving him a dangerous appeal. His intense gaze had the ability to weaken a woman’s knees—much like hers at that moment. She silently thanked him for tying her to the tree, otherwise she might have made a complete ass of herself by dissolving in a puddle at his feet.
His eyes shone with the inner strength of his soul—kind and loving. His mouth turned up in a smile. It gave him a roguish look with a touch of wicked evilness that made her body quiver. She salivated with the desire to stroke his wide shoulders, to revel in their powerful built under her hands and his perfect, tight ass cheeks when he flexed his hips into hers.
“Ethan,” Paige puffed in desperation.
“Yes, my sweet.”
“I need you.”
Ethan searched her feverish gaze. “Do you need me, Paige, or do you need a cock to ease the rising arousal in your loins?” He pulled her panties off and trailed his hands along her shapely legs until he found the heat nestled in between. He drove a finger deep inside her wet cleft and began to pump with a leisurely rhythm.
“You,” she whimpered, canting her hips into his hand. “I only need you. Please, Ethan. Fuck me,” she pleaded on a drawn-out breath.
Ethan pushed all thoughts of Jaxon and the danger that loomed in the near future, to the back of his mind, preferring to treasure the warmth of her body. It penetrated his mind. Her fresh, sweet fragrance surrounded his senses, bringing the now familiar cravings to life.
The distant sound of water lapping mingled with the chirping crickets and croaking frogs. It was like an analgesic elixir that left him pleasantly dazed but yearning for more. Ethan exhaled deeply.
He entwined her silky tresses around his hand and drew her head back. He looked at her in fascination.
“You are so beautiful, Paige. So fucking beautiful,” he murmured. Her breathing hitched when he began to nibble at the base of her neck where her pulse beat rapidly. The slow slide of his tongue traced over the upper curve of her breasts with salacious slowness.
“Ethan . . . yes!” Paige cried breathlessly as he brushed his fingertips over the swollen ganglia deep inside her. She blinked and tried to contain her own desire and need to yield to his passionate advances, well aware of their guests, who might have a clear view of what they were doing in open. But she had lost that battle a long time ago. Her legs trembled at the memory of his hard body possessing hers, molding them together. She acknowledged the urges of her own body to feel his hardness slide into her, overpower any sane thought in her mind. She wanted him. Right here, right now, at this very moment. She gave in to the force and slammed her hips against his loins.
Ethan growled in warning, “Keep still, my pet.” His soft lips trailed over her shoulder, hot puffs of breath heated her skin.
“Ethan, please stop torturing me,” she pleaded with agonized gasps that escaped her trembling lips; she felt electrified wherever his mouth caressed her silky skin. A cry of ecstasy burst from her when he sucked her nipple in the warm recess of his mouth.
“Yesss,” she crowed in a delirious ecstasy.
Paige thrashed in his arms, her back scraped against the rough bark of the tree. Her moans echoed as he nibbled on a taut nub. Raw need lanced through her loins, her lower body turned into a throbbing mass of arousal.
She arched her back and wrapped her leg around his waist to draw him closer. She didn’t notice when Ethan loosened her hands, but a carnal moan crawled from her throat when suddenly, her hands were free to roam the hard, muscled contours of his back.
“Are you ready, my sweet?” he purred into her ear.
Ethan lifted her higher and shifted to press the blunt tip of his big cock against her pussy.
“Yessss,’ she cried out as her need erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for too long.
“I love you like this, Paige. Wild, honest and demanding,” he said as he rotated his hips, rubbing his shaft erotically against her.
Paige was lost to her surroundings. She felt disoriented and lightheaded by the sensations that he loosened inside her; drunk on the cocktail of passion that overpowered any coherent thought in her mind.
“Oh my god,” she cried, tossing her head back as his cock separated her moist folds and with a primeval growl, he shoved himself deep inside her.
“You are hot and so damn tight around me,” Ethan grunted as he pulled out, only to rock back into her. His hand tightened around her hair to gaze into her eyes while he took possession of her body, mind and soul. “Don’t close your eyes, Paige. Show me, my sweet. Let me see what I do to you.”
Her husky whimpers shattered his resolve to stay in control as he slid into her with exquisite deep strokes, ending in a hard, rolling motion of his crotch against her clitoris. The deliberate friction caused another surge of unbridled lust to cascade through her veins.
Scores of sensations battered Paige’s mind and left her panting for breath. Her muscles began to gather, fed by the unquenchable pressure that built inside her.
“Ethan,” she gasped, trying to drag in a deep breath. “I can’t . . . I’m coming,” she wailed when the orgasm rolled over her, as unstoppable as the river rippling beside them. Spasm after spasm quaked through her body. Her cry carried over the silent river, before she slumped weakly against him.
Ethan clamped his hand under her knee, pinning her against the tree as he continued to po
wer into her.
“C’mon, Paige. One more,” he ordered and then reached for the swollen nub between her legs. He pinched it—hard.
Paige swallowed the scream as she clutched his neck and bit into his shoulder. Her heart raced when a sensual groan exploded from his lips. Her body shuddered with yet another orgasm.
He growled against her temple, “Yes, Paige. That’s what I wanted—you—the real you, not the prim and proper Paige or the sultry Rose. You, vulnerable and open to me.
Just.
Like.
This.”
He reiterated each word with a deep thrust, ending with a hard heave into her, ejaculating with such strength, his legs threatened to give way. He collapsed against her, incapable of moving.
When he finally managed to breathe normally, he withdrew and silently assisted her into her dress. She was still buried beneath the billowing white silk, when he said in an amused drawl, “Hurry up, my sweet. I’m famished. Next time when I suggest we go for a walk, make sure you feed me before you ravish me.”
“Me ravish you?” She sputtered indignantly and yanked the dress down. The mirth in his gaze taunted her. She straightened her shoulders and started walking toward the house, snipping over her shoulder.
“I’ll have you know, Dr. Brodie, when I ravish you, you won’t be able to talk, let alone think of food.”
“Well now, that is a promise I intend to see you keep.”
Chapter Ten
Paige settled into the only available seat in the observation room at the clinic. She’d been slipping in at least twice a month to watch Ethan at work. Since he’d opened the clinic to interns two years ago, it was a popular place to be. She’d only recently found out that although Ethan preferred the role of an Internist, he was also a qualified neurosurgeon and performed more difficult procedures himself. It was a great opportunity to learn from him.
He was completely at ease while he prepped for the surgery. He tied on his mask as he studied images of his patient’s brain.