Page 18 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

"Uh, hey…" I mumbled, turning back to him. "What's up?"

Ethan looked at the elevator suspiciously, but my guilty little secret was gone, hidden from his eyes now. "I just stopped down here to see if you wanted to meet me for dinner somewhere…" His eyes searched my expression, but after that incident at the bar last week, I knew I couldn't just open up and tell him. He'd called, but I never answered. He'd texted, but I gave him stunted replies.

My focus had to be on getting Noah healthy first. It wouldn’t be good for him or me if I divulged the secret now in the middle of this mess. Ethan had to wait until after Noah's surgery, even if that meant a few months. Even if it meant I lost him.

"I can't," I blurted out, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. He took me by the elbow and pulled me into an empty patient room and shut the door. When he pulled the curtain around us so we were hidden from the view of the window, I knew I was in trouble.

"What's going on with you? We had such a great time. You left a note saying you wanted to do it again, and now every time I make an attempt to reach out to you, you shut me down." Hedidn't sound angry, but he did sound tense. I wanted more than anything to unload my fear and tell him what was going on, but I couldn’t. Not now. I couldn’t have a war with him while I was trying to support my son.

"I can't talk about it. I need space," I blurted out, and I was afraid. What if he'd seen Noah? What if he was asking different questions? This was hitting too close to home too quickly, and I felt panic rising. I tried to step around him, but he hooked an arm around my stomach and I snapped. "Stop it. Just stop trying to control me."

"Hey, whoa. I love you, Lily." Ethan tried to calm me, but I was inconsolable. I knew if he saw Noah, things would be ten times worse.

"Love me? Why didn't you stand up for me five years ago, then?" I let the words come barreling out of my mouth, but I didn’t mean them. Though I'd never gotten the chance to really confront him, I accepted his genuine apology the other day and I meant it. I just had no other reason to explain why I felt so cagey.

"Lily, what's going on? What happened?" He didn't understand and he wouldn't. I just needed to get away from him and cry. Getting the news from Dr. Butler was bad enough, but this was only adding insult to injury.

"Just leave me alone," I grumbled, but Ethan pulled his old trick again, stopping me, kissing me. The way he did at the bar the other night. He wanted so badly for our former connection to ignite and us to click again, and I put up a wall. But this time, I was weak. This time, it came on the heels of bad news from the pediatrician. This time, I melted into him the way I always used to.

Ethan deepened the kiss, and it took my breath away. I needed his comfort so badly and he didn't even know it. I let him own me for the moment, resting my hands on his shoulders and kissing him back. It felt like no time had passed, like we werealways meant to be here doing this. I wanted this, needed this. So I gave in and tangled my fingers in his hair and tried to forget we were at work and that this was against hospital policy, or that we had a child together whom I had kept secret.

I whimpered, and he read me like a book, scooping me up behind the thighs and setting me on the edge of the empty patient bed. The mattress was too firm, but we wouldn’t be sleeping.

He started to peel my scrubs off, kissing my collar bone, and I felt a thrill race down my spine. With practiced ease, he removed my bra and the fabric puddled on the floor. "We should stop," I panted, not meaning it.

"No, we shouldn't," he growled against my skin as he teased my nipples with his teeth and I whimpered again, arching into him. "I want you so bad." Ethan’s hands worked miracles on my curves, eliciting moans and whimpers of pleasure. He massaged my clit, and I opened myself to receive it.

"Ethan," I moaned as he teased my core, coaxing out my wetness before he plunged his fingers deep inside me. I leaned back on my elbows, gripping the sheets with white-knuckled hands. Heat pooled between my legs, and I couldn't stop the moans that escaped my lips.

"You're so wet," he purred, and I blushed deep but didn't deny it. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," I panted as he stroked me, curling his fingers just so. I arched my back, trying to get closer, needing more. While he worked my pussy with one hand, he undid the tie on his scrubs with the other then pulled his hard length out and stroked it.

“Like we used to?” he asked, and I nodded, biting my lip.

He didn't make me wait long. Ethan pushed my thighs wider and thrust into me in one smooth move, filling me to the hilt. We both moaned at the contact, our bodies rejoining as if they hadbeen apart for far too long. He began to move, and I matched his pace as if we had never been apart all these years. I bit my lip, wanting to stay quiet, but I was never good at that during sex and the pleasure was too much.

When my moans and whimpers got too loud, he covered my mouth with his and I let him swallow the groans and the way I called his name. His thrusts were deep and primal, claiming me like he always did. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he pushed deeper, provoking a loud whimper from me. "Shh," he murmured against my ear, picking up the pace. I clamped my thighs tighter around his waist as the pressure built between my legs.

"I'm almost there," I panted, clutching at the sheets as the orgasm barreled toward me like a freight train.

"Me too," he said, his voice strained. His movements became more urgent, driving me over the edge as I whimpered and my body spasmed around him. He slowed, letting me enjoy the convulsions before pulling out and gripping his cock hard. His dick spat the seed out, and he leaned forward, making sure it dripped to the floor, not all over his scrubs or mine. I collapsed onto the bed, heaving.

I knew this was only leading him on. He was confessing his love to me, telling me how he wanted to make this work and try again. I was lying to him and keeping a secret that would destroy his heart and ruin any chance I had. I hated it, but I loved him still, and more than ever, I needed him by my side. I didn't want to ruin the budding relationship, not so soon. Not when it felt so good to be loved again.

He offered me a hand and I sat up. "We should leave separately. Don't want to get caught…" He leaned down and kissed me roughly. "Dinner at my place tomorrow?"

I nodded numbly, but I didn't know if I'd go through with it. I felt too guilty. He smiled and tucked his dick away, then handedme my clothes and used a paper towel to wipe up the floor. The room would have to be sterilized again before a patient came in here, which meant one of us would have to have a good reason for why we were asking the orderlies to clean what should have been a clean room.

It was what was on my mind when he kissed my cheek and said goodbye, then vanished. At this point, I was my own worst enemy and I couldn't even fight myself. Ethan Matthews was off limits to my heart, or he should have been. Having hidden this secret meant my love was nothing but a Trojan horse to his love. I’d infiltrate and destroy, and it wouldn't even matter that my desire for him and affection were genuine. I had ruined any chance for a future with him with the choices and mistakes I'd made in the past.

None of this should have been happening, and if I didn’t put a stop to it, it was going to snowball out of control and like a ticking time bomb, it would explode in my face and hurt us both. I had to stop that from happening, but first, I had to have control of myself and my desire for him.

14

ETHAN

Istood at the nurses’ station with my chart and watched the room I just left. Lily didn't pull away from me this time the way I feared she might, and I never expected that kiss to go that far. But I wasn't disappointed that it had. Her irrational behavior was another story. I was confused by the way she was acting. The swing between hot and cold made my head spin. And it made me feel guilty.

---