Page 55 of My Temptation

Smiling, I lifted my glass so I could pull the straw between my lips and take a sip of the fruity concoction I ordered. Getting to know Ethan has been like pulling back layers of an onion. Just when I think I have a handle on his personality, he surprises me with something else. He strolled out of the bathroom tonight, dressed in shorts and a collared shirt, similar to what he always wears, and I asked if he wanted to go buy nightclub clothes. He told me no; he was comfortable with what he was wearing and didn’t give a shit if he fit in. I liked that answer. He’s so confident in who he is. I am too, but this is a different level of confidence, and it’s sexy as hell to me.

“You made it!”

I turned just in time to see Jenny and Carl coming to us. She held up her drink and gestured toward the area around us. “Didn’t I tell you this would be a great party?”

“You did,” I replied with a smile.

They stopped walking when they reached us, and she pointed at my drink. “What are you drinking?”

“I have no idea.” I laughed. “I asked the bartender for something fruity, and this was what he gave me.”

“Is it good?”

“It’s fantastic,” I replied.

“You don’t drink?” Carl finally spoke, and I twisted my head to see he was talking to Ethan.

“I do, but I'm not planning on it tonight. I need to keep my shit together to keep an eye on this one.”

He gestured to me, and Carl smirked when I slapped his arm playfully. “Hey.”

Ethan grinned at me. “It’s true.”

I shrugged my shoulder and lifted the straw to my lips. “Maybe.”

I kept my face neutral, but I was impressed with his answer. There wouldn’t be a good reason for him not to drink at this kind of party except for the one he gave. We never talked about it, but I was definitely portraying the party girl, and he always seemed to be along for the ride. We’d easily fallen into those roles over the last five days, and it was smart to keep them up.

When the music started, I looked over Jenny’s shoulder. “The band is starting.”

“Let’s get closer.” Jenny grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the stage built just for the festival. “This band was really good last year.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Ethan and Carl following us, but they weren’t talking to each other, and both of their eyes were on my ass.

Goose bumps broke out along my arms when Ethan’s gaze slid up to meet mine, and heat simmered in his eyes. God, I loved his eyes on me. I would dress like this every day if he would continue to look at me that way. But I knew my dress had nothing to do with the heat in his stare. We had a simmering attraction that we’d gotten very good at ignoring. Sleeping next to him was making that harder, though. He didn’t know I woke up every night when he shifted closer and wrapped his arms around me. He had no idea he was doing it, so when he woke, he’d immediately move back to his side of the bed even though I wanted him to stay against me. I dreamed of him sliding his hand over my body and resting it between my legs. I could’ve made a move too, but I held back and usually woke up frustrated that nothing happened. But in the light of day, I knew we both made the right choice. In order for us to be successful, we needed to stay focused, and sex would immediately destroy our focus.

Stopping close to the stage, I felt Ethan’s body behind me and leaned against him. He slid his hands down my arms and wrapped them around my waist, resting his cheek against the side of my head with his attention on the band. I had to admit, they were good. They played a blues medley, which I didn’t think I’d like, but I was wrong. Before long, I felt myself swaying to the beat. We stayed like that for about half an hour when they stopped playing and announced the second band.

Jenny grabbed my arm. “Oh, this one’s really good, and we can dance to their music.”

Ethan groaned softly beside me, and I wondered if he hated dancing. I couldn’t ask him, considering that would be something I should know about my boyfriend, so I decided I would follow his lead. Thinking back to Pike’s wedding, I remembered Ethan left before the dancing started. He’d been there for the wedding and the beginning of the reception, but after a few slow songs, he’d disappeared. I looked for him, even going outside to see if he was out there, but he wasn’t, and it was then that I noticed his truck was gone. I’d been disappointed that he left but didn’t know him well enough to ask him why when I saw him a couple of days later. But even now, I still wondered.

When the band started with a fast song, Jenny grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a makeshift dance floor. I didn’t need to look back this time to know Ethan was watching me. I could feel his stare. Unfortunately, I could also feel Carl’s stare, and that annoyed me.

“Ooh, our guys are watching us,” Jenny said excitedly.

I only smiled and continued dancing. She seemed nice. Carl, on the other hand, seemed a little slimy to me. I’d had enough experience while undercover to recognize slimy and to know when someone was pretending to watch his girlfriend but was actually watching me. We hadn’t shared our backstories with them beyond Ethan saying he was an electrician. They never asked me what I did, but I’d already planned to tell them I was a server. Saying I was a stripper opened the door for too many unwanted advances that wouldn’t benefit us in any way, and I had a feeling all of those would be from Carl.

With another glance, I saw Carl’s eyes still locked on me, and if I was able to be myself at this moment, I would’ve walked over to him and told him how disgusting he was, but I wasn’t Mila. Tonight, I was April, and April loved attention, any attention, from any man. That was who I was undercover and the person I was pretending to be on this trip.

Sliding my attention from him, I settled on Ethan, but I saw anger instead of heat in his stare. At first, I thought it was directed toward me, but when he slid his eyes toward Carl, I figured out he was the source of Ethan’s anger.

The band started a slow song, and I was just about to walk off the dance floor when Ethan started toward me. He didn’t say anything, only wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his body. A little surprised, I hesitated before getting myself together and looping my arms around his neck.

He dropped his head until his lips were next to my ear. “If I didn’t come out, I would punch him in his fucking face.”

A shiver rolled over my skin, and I hated to admit it, but that one sentence turned me on. The idea that someone could push the calm and always collected Ethan to the edge was enticing.

Knowing I needed to de-escalate the situation, I laid my hands against the back of his neck and whispered, “Ignore him. He’s nothing but a source of information.”

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