Page 61 of Wildest Desire

“Not today. Keep your phone on you in case I need something.” Throwing the phone on the bed, I smile as Lexi stands in front of me, naked, holding two dresses.

“So, Mr. Knight. Hot girlfriend in red or a nice simple summer dress?” she asks, and I smile, wondering how she thinks that I’m even looking at the dresses when she's standing there naked in front of me. “Ethan!”

“Sorry, I was thinking about what to do with your sexy ass.” I finally look at the dresses. “Do you not have jeans and a t-shirt?” I ask her. Even though she looks amazing in dresses, I want her to start dressing more casual around me.

“I do. I just got used to wearing these.”

“Well, I want you to feel comfortable to wear what you want,” I say, walking over to her and pulling her closer before grabbing her naked ass. “After two days, being naked around the apartment would work fantastic.” Leaning down I begin kissing her neck. She knows my weakness, but I know hers, too. The soft spot on her neck always makes her weak in the knees.

“Et-Ethan.” My name comes out shaky from her lips as her hands move to my waist and up my shirt. Quickly, she takes a step back from me. “Nicely played Mr. Knight, nicely played,” she says, then walks away. I’m so close to breaking her, but I need her to make the first move to show that I can hold out, and she wants it just as bad as I do.

* * *

I was quiet on the way to my mom’s house, but I didn’t have anything good to say and I’m not about to let my anger for them out on her.

“About time you got here,” Tanya says, and I look over at her standing next to Travis. Lexi walks over to them but I ignore them and walk over to my mom.

“Are you still not talking to him?” My mom asks as I kiss her on the cheek. “He wants to speak to you. Just give him a minute.” I look over at the three of them talking. Tanya and Lexi are laughing about something.

“I’m not ready to talk to him yet, and today is going to be bad enough without adding to it,” I tell my mom as I walk over to the bar to fill a glass with whiskey.

The two people I’m coming face-to-face with have made me hate people, and trust no one. I drank more after what they did than I ever did before. Today is not the day I need to be talking to Travis about trust.

I look over at the door as the bell rings, then watch Lexi walk over to me. I nod to my mom to let her know I’m ready.

“I’m with you all the way.” Lexi says, plant a small kiss on my lips. “Don’t lose your temper,” she tells me as I hear footsteps getting closer to us.

I see my mom take them to the dinner table. Leaning on the bar, I pull Lexi closer to me so that she stands between my legs. “I've not seen them since I found them together, and I've nothing but hate for them,” I tell her, resting my forehead against hers.

“You don’t have to talk to them,” she whispers to me.

“So they can just keep calling me, ruining my mood with you?” I ask, then glance at my mom as she watches me with Lexi. “I’m just not sure if I can listen to what they want to say,” I tell Lexi as I straighten. I take her hand in mine and lead her toward the dining room. “Let’s get this over with.”

Walking over to the dinner table, I look at everyone. Angie and Edward are sitting on the far side with Tanya and Travis sitting two seats away, leaving me with the furthest away from them both.

Sitting down, I pull Lexi’s chair closer to mine. She looks over at me, but says nothing and sits down. My mom sits on the other side of me, and I lock eyes with the man I've hated for years.

“What do you want?” Ten minutes of just staring at each other is only making me more annoyed with them. Tell me what you want, and get the fuck out of my face. “You want money—tell me why.”

“Ethan,” Angie starts, “I… We just want—”

“I don’t want to hear, ‘we’re sorry, it was a mistake.’ Just tell me why you want six hundred thousand dollars, then get the fuck out of my life,” I shout at them both, mainly looking at Edward, but putting my finger up to stop either one from speaking. “What was it you said to my mother when you left her with two kids and took every dime we had?” I look at him, waiting for an answer. “Let me refresh your memory. You told my mother that she was not worth the money you made, that we weren’t worth the money you made, and to never ask you for any because you wanted nothing to do with us.” I slap my hand on the table. “And look at how the tables have turned.”

“Ethan—”

“You know what? I don’t even want to hear your voice,” I spit at Edward, “your little bitch can talk for you.” I look over at Angie.

Ethan– Call Selena. I want to know how Edward and Emily are connected.

I send Travis a message, but don’t look over at him. I hear his chair moving and then footsteps leaving the room, and I look over at Lexi as she looks where he’s walking to. Her eyes meet mine, and without having to say a word, she knows that he’s okay, and places her hand on my leg.

“When you threw me out, your dad took me in and we continued—”

“I didn’t ask for the details,” I shout at her. If I wanted details I would have called her and asked why she did it, but I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now.

“I got pregnant. You have a half-brother. He's been ill, and to pay for his medical bills, we need money—money that we don’t have.” She stops and looks at Edward for a moment, and my eyes move to Tanya as she leaves the room. “He was born with congenital heart defects and now needs open heart surgery, but we can’t afford it,” Angie finishes and looks over at me.

I feel Travis’ hand on my shoulder. He leans down towards my ear. “Selena found out they got married six months ago, and now the man has no money,” he whispers and sits back down with Tanya next to him.

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