Page 12 of My Enemy, My Obsession

I glance up at the top floor we’ve reached. “This isn’t my floor.”

“No, but it is mine, and I want to impress you.” He starts to move.

I catch his arm. “Why?”

He surprises me then and reaches up to tenderly stroke my cheek, goosebumps lifting on my skin as he says, “You make me want to, Zoey.”

My words turned back on me. It would have been the perfect thing to say, had he not just used my mother’s name instead of mine.

But there’s no time for guilt or regret—after all, we’ve declared it the night of no regrets. He leans in and brushes his lips over mine, and I swear I feel that brief touch of his lips in every part of me. “Come with me.” And then he’s captured my hand in his, and he’s leading me out of the elevator.

Nerves dance in my belly to what feels like a heavy metal, rock ‘n’ roll, mashup. My knees are weak, but my body manages to sizzle with his touch, his nearness. With the very idea of being naked with this amazing man. But I’ve never done anything like this in my entire life. And yet, if I’m honest, he’s the perfect one-night stand. He’s rich and powerful and won’t think about me ever again. Nothing that happens in his hotel room will matter tomorrow. It’s like a gift to myself for all my hard work, which has left me craving male attention but unable to manage the entire process of dating.

We stop at his door, and he surprises me, pulling me between it and him, his hand cupping my face. “If you go inside, I’m going to fuck you every which way you let me.”

I’m not sure why he’s stating this. Maybe he thinks I’m going to run out the door the minute I enter. Maybe this is just foreplay. I think I don’t care anymore. My hand slides under his lapel and rests on the hard wall of his chest, where I can feel his heart beating like a drum. Almost as if he’s anxious for my answer, like he’s that invested in this night.

“Is this where I say please?” I ask, surprising myself with my daring, but I’m empowered by the idea we’ve already discussed. What happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii. “I thought we’d at least get in the room first.”

ETHAN

I have no idea what it is about this woman that has slid under my skin besides everything. Absolutely fucking everything. And this new, bolder her she’s showing me now, both intrigues and challenges me. Now I’m going to challenge her. I reach around her and shove the door open.

“You first,” I say, wanting her to own her decision to go inside with me.

She stares at me, a hint of that doe-eyed sweetness I’ve seen over and over tonight in her expression, but she wants to step outside whatever boundaries she’s set for herself. I damn sure want her to, as well. Because I want her. And I want her in a clawing, hungry way, my fire for her burning me alive. Like I’ve wanted her for an eternity, not just the past two hours.

Finally, she turns and enters the room, and I feel a rush of relief that is pure insanity. I did just meet her. What the hell is going on with me and this woman?

She’s like a delicate flower, and I want to peel away one petal at a time, and experience every part of her. Right now, I’m too damn hard to figure out much more than how much I want to fuck her. I’m also one moment away from blowing it with her, and she may not even know it. As her mother said, because change happens one moment and not the next. It’s a saying I could call profoundly true. Which is exactly why I need to ensure all of her moments, for the rest of the night, are nothing but pleasure.

I follow her inside and lock the door behind me. When I turn, she’s already crossed the expansive room of leather and wood, and is now standing with her back to me, staring out of the window overlooking the Hawaiian skyline. Lightning flashes against the pitch-black night with a strike of yellow and blue, high and low across the sky, as beautiful as it is dangerous.

When I join her, stepping to her side, she doesn’t turn to face me. Instead, she watches another flash in the sky and then glances over at me. “From one moment to the next.” There’s a vulnerability in her I am all about exploring, but right now, it’s making her want to run again. That’s what she’s telling me.

I step behind her with every intent of making her forget everything, including her own name.

Chapter Ten

Sofia

There are times inlife when each of us has been in the center of a crowd and felt alone, or simply as if we do not belong.

I stand above the Hawaiian city, the miles of ocean below me, the stars, sand, and moon whispering to me, opening me up in the most vulnerable of ways. Suddenly, despite being in the hotel room of one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met, I’m alone in the world, chasing a dream I may never achieve, and it cuts in a deep, unexplainable way. If I was told I had to put words to this very moment, to all that I feel, I’d say it’s an impossible feat, unattainable.

It's then that I’m aware of Ethan stepping behind me, the heat of his body radiating through me, driving anticipation and the thundering of my heart in my chest. His strong hands come down on my shoulders, caressing down my arms with a gentle touch, goosebumps lifting in their wake. I am now officially reminded that I am not alone tonight. I am here, with him, and he is the answer to everything and nothing, and somehow, he manages to be exactly what I need.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he murmurs, his breath warm on my neck.

“You don’t need a penny.”

“Want and need are complicated words. What do you need, Zoey?”

That name. God, that name is destroying me. I rotate to face him, an action that breaks our connection. I’m suddenly aware of how tall he is—towering over me by a good foot—and how intense his presence is.

“A drink,” I say, though my head is buzzing enough. A drink is not what I need. I need him. I need him to know my name. I need it not to matter. “Remember?” I ask. “I don’t normally do this kind of thing. A little extra liquid courage might do me right.” I hold up a hand. “And before you ask me if I want to back out, no. I don’t want to back out. I just want—”

“A drink,” he supplies.

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