Page 4 of Wildest Desire

The car pulls up to an elegant building. Ethan exits the car and puts out his hand for me. He stands by the door and takes my hand, helping me get out of the car. Standing up straight, Ethan puts his hand on my lower back, and I shiver again. What the hell? My body is betraying me. He's an asshole; I need to remember that.

I follow him in with a smile on my face. Let the show begin. Many of the other men came up to him and expressed their appreciation of his date. They told him he had the most beautiful woman in the room. He smiled coyly and thanked them. He whispered the words ‘a little laugh’ to me every now and then and I knew what he meant. He wanted everyone in the room to think we really were a couple. I would give him my most affectionate look and laugh seductively, and he would smile and give my neck a little kiss. I thought it was weird at first, but the more he did it, the more I liked it.

Walking around the room, I see the woman he told me about.

“Mr. Knight, I’m happy to see you here.” She leans in to kiss him on the cheek.

“Emily, this is my date, Lexi.” Ethan's eyes flicker my way, and I give him a knowing smile in return.

“Nice to meet you.” I put my hand out for her to shake.

“Well, you're much prettier than the ones he usually brings,” she replies. I’m sure that was a little dig at Ethan, but I flash my pearly whites, letting her know it doesn’t bother me.

“Well, I did have to kiss a few frogs to finally find my prince. I hope Ethan feels the same.” I turn to face him and lean my head on his shoulder.

“Unquestionably,” he says, then kisses the top of my head.

Emily's eyes scan the both of us momentarily then she gets straight to the point. “Are you donating today?” she asks Ethan.

“I am. To the children’s center—”

“Oh Ethan, I’m so thrilled you’re donating there. I saw Mr. White the other day, and he was worried you were having second thoughts about it. I told him you love the idea of the center and are one hundred precent behind it,” she says.

Ethan's hand finally softens on my lower back, tension draining from his shoulders. “Thank you, Emily. I'll give Mr. White a call and let him know I’m still supporting the center.”

“Emily, have you seen the plans for the center? It's stunning. There are two floors for the children to get together and hang out. I spoke to Ethan about having a teacher come after school to help children with homework.” I smile at her. That wasn't in the file, but Emily strikes me as someone who would put education above fun anytime.

“That's a brilliant idea.” Emily looks over at Ethan, and her face is radiant with enthusiasm. My mission is complete.

“Yes, I think so. I loved Lexi’s idea and have been speaking to some teachers,” Ethan tells her.

“That's great. Please bring me your proposal when you have it written up, and if I like what I see, you might just get my vote.” Her eyes are bright, and you can see the thoughts running across her face at the possibilities.

“I'll get something to you by the weekend. If you could excuse me, I think my date would like a dance.” Ethan leads me to the dance floor, and I drape my arms over his shoulders. He pulls me in closer so that there's only a whisper of space between us. This is not helping my lady parts at all. “How did you know the teacher approach would work?” He looks at me for the first time with a grin. His eyes light up with intrigue, and there's something about it that makes you think he doesn’t smile very often. “I've called her office so many times to talk about this center and haven’t ever gotten anywhere with it.”

“This is not my first event. She looks the type to put education over everything else.” I covertly observe the other people dancing around us.

He doesn’t reply. His smile disappears, and the tense Ethan returns. We dance for another song before the music stops to let everyone know the food will be served soon.

I follow him to the table, saying hello to everyone else. I sit next to one of the men who has been trying to buy Ethan out. Ethan has a small business that the man has a small share in. There was nothing more about him in the file, but I can tell that Ethan's unhappy with him being here, much less sitting at the same table.

I lean closer to Ethan. “Do we like him or not?” I ask. This is the first time I have no idea what the fuck to do at an event.

“No, he wasn’t meant to be here,” he replies in a cold tone. I start giggling as I see some of the people around the table looking at us.

“Ethan now is not the time,” I say pulling away from him.

“If my date looked like you, I think I would be the same as Ethan,” one of the older men tells me, and I grin at him.

“I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you,” the man next to me says before introducing himself. “Mr. Aaron Clark,” he says, offering his hand for me to shake.

I take Ethan’s hand instead. “He got me first,” I smile, then turn my face toward Ethan, and he leans in and kisses me on the cheek.

As food is being served, Mr. Clark makes small talk with me about his business and what he does in his free time. When he inquires as to how Ethan and I met, I tell him that Ethan happened to come into a café I was singing in. He complimented me on my song choice and voice. Apparently, I was singing his favorite song. From there, we had coffee and talked. The rest, as they say, is history. Even though Ethan was talking to other people at the table, I knew he was listening to me, making sure I didn’t say anything wrong. I know how important tonight is for him, and I need it to go well for me too.

* * *

The ball finally came to an end and Ethan never once left my side. After a while, he was happy to show me off to his business friends, and I didn’t mind at all that was the reason I was there.

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