Page 27 of Ethan's Command

Ethan stared at her with a sad little smile on his face. “Do you really think that’s likely?”

She stood up. “Why not? We can’t find a single reason for someone to grab Liam, certainly nothing to do with the Yakuza. Maybe the whole thing was some sort of mistaken identity or just a mistake.”

“It’s possible, I guess, but I don’t think you want to take any chances just yet.”

Brooklyn stood in front of him, arms folded across her chest. He looked so sexy standing there in his jeans and t-shirt. All she wanted to do was fall into his arms and spend the rest of the night being lost in him. She remembered exactly how that felt, and no matter how she tried to restrain herself, she craved it again.

“I think we’re overreacting. I’m overreacting,” she corrected. “I’m sure nothing will happen in the next couple of days, and we can put all this behind us.”

“That would be the best-case scenario, and I certainly hope it’s true, but I think you’re grasping at straws, Brooklyn. I know this is hard, but we will find some answers.”

“When? When will we find them?” she demanded. “I can’t take much more of this. I feel…terrified, royally pissed off, and… helpless, all at once.”

“I get it. You just have to hang in there.”

Brooklyn ground her teeth. “I don’t want to hang in there. I need to be out from underneath the weight of this. It’s crushing me. I need a distraction. I need…” She met his gaze and desire flared in her. Her nipples got hard and her lady parts tingled. “Screw it,” she mumbled and took a step toward Ethan, planting a kiss on his lips, one that said she meant business. She needed a break from the pressure, and Ethan standing there, sexy as sin, was going to be that break. Whether he liked it or not. But he’d like it. The past didn’t matter. She knew he would ignore her after this and that was okay because she would know it was coming. The fact that she hadn’t expected it last time had caused all the pain. She’d be prepared this time.

Ethan cupped her shoulders and tried to ease away from her. “Brooklyn, is this a good idea?”

“It’s the only one I’ve got.” She wasn’t taking no for an answer. She closed the small distance between their bodies.

He backed away again, but the light in his eyes warmed, encouraging her. She moved again, as did he, until his backside was against the kitchen counter, and there was nowhere else for him to retreat.

“Brooklyn—”

“Shut up and kiss me,” she demanded.

“Slow down,” he cautioned. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to fuck me, Ethan.”

His nostrils flared. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Hurt bloomed in her ribcage. “You don’t want me?”

He grabbed one of her hands and pressed it to the front of his pants. “Can’t even possibly believe I don’t want you. But I’m not sure it’s smart.”

“I’m done being smart about anything. I was done before… when we… Make me forget the last forty-eight hours, Ethan. Help me relieve this tension and fear.”

She reversed her hand in his, then gripped his wrist and guided his fingers between her legs. “Please.”

God, the heat of his palm on her center was a fiery jolt. She lifted her chin until her mouth was bathed by his breath. The soft puff of his breath lifted the hair around her face and his eyes slid shut as he lowered his mouth to hers.

The first touch was featherlight and sensual, but his lips turned insistent over hers and she opened, welcoming the intrusion of his tongue. She released his wrist and lifted her hands to cup his face. In turn, he skated his fingertips around her waist, stopping at the top of her butt.

She snuggled closer to him, rubbing her pelvis on his unmistakable erection. They both gasped and Ethan’s hands dipped lower, skimming the crease of her ass before continuing south to cup her buttocks and lift her as if she weighed nothing. With her thighs wrapped around his waist, the friction on her clit ramped up to a thousand-watt- bulb level. She moaned and hitched her hips, seeking the heat of him at her center.

Ethan broke the kiss and trailed his mouth along her chin and down her throat. “I want you, Brooklyn. But I want you to be sure.” He pulled his head away, banging his crown on the cupboard door behind him. “Are you sure?”

“I love that you are giving me an out, but I don’t need it. I want this…I want you. I always have…since last—” She cut off her words as he whirled her around and settled her ass on the counter.

Sliding his hand up her sides, his thumbs nudging the sides of her breasts, he traced her collarbones as he began a slow descent down her front. He paused when his fingertips coasted over her nipples, and he squeezed the sensitized flesh, thentweaked her nipples twice before continuing south. He mouthed one peak as he slipped his hands under her skirt and moved north.

Her muscles twitched and trembled as his soft touch tickled her flesh. Gooseflesh rose on her entire body as the cool air caressed her exposed belly at the same time as his warm hands adjusted the cups of her bra out of his way and his hot mouth claimed first one nipple, then the other.

A sound from Liam’s bedroom froze the needy moan in her throat, and she stiffened.

“What was that?”

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