Page 76 of Lovestrung

His compliment warmed, and the hint of jealousy in his voice sent victory through me.

“Well, I spied on you, Max and Parker from my tree house. I was jealous that none of you had invited me to your wild party.”

“Come on, Pen, you were so young.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved his protest away. “That’s not the secret.”

“Go on, then.”

“After my friend, Kate, left, I was about to head to bed when I came across some very interesting sounds, and so I kept quiet and ended up seeing you with some blonde on her knees in front of you.”

Ethan dropped the wok as if he’d been burned and gave me his full attention.

“And?”

I licked my lips at the hoarse sound of his voice and held his gaze. “Your shorts were down, and she was giving you head. It was a very erotic sight, seeing you like that…being pleasured, all your defenses down, completely lost in the moment. The sounds you made…” I shuddered, overwhelmed by the memory, as his breath caught. “But it also made me fiercely jealous.”

He switched off the burner and moved to step between my legs, caging me in. He placed his hands on my hips, pulling me to the edge until I could feel him – feel his desire for me – between the layers of clothes between us.

“Jealous?”

“Mm-hmm.” I placed my hands on his chest, marveling at the hard muscles like always. “I wanted to scratch her eyes out,” I admitted.

“Fierce Penelope,” he whispered, his nose circling mine. “I love that you felt so possessive of me even back then.”

“Very. Since that night, you starred in all my fantasies.” I caught his lips between mine for a teasing kiss. “Only, the girl in my fantasies wasn’t the nameless blonde. It was me, and only me.”

He groaned, the sound sending a thrill through my body.

“Fuck, Pen. From the moment I was your first kiss, I forbid myself from thinking of you as more than my friend. I couldn’t…” he swallowed hard. “When I needed relief…”

“You mean, when you were horny?” I chuckled.

“Yes,” he blew a long breath. “When I was in that mood, and I didn’t want a real woman to satisfy me, I jerked off to thoughts of you.”

I trembled at the revelation.

“I never thought I’d be here with you like this,” I admitted. “But now that I am – here in your home, in your bed – I think it’s time I erase that whole experience from your memory.”

His lips tipped up at the corners. “Do you now?”

I stared into his eyes, transfixed by the way they turned darker by the second. “Yes. Will you let me?”

“I’ll let you do anything you want to me. I’m yours.” His eyes turned somber. “I’ve always belonged to you, darlin’, even when I told myself I was a dick for wanting you in ways I had no right to.”

I gave him a lazy smile as my hands reached up to toy with his hair. “I love that you wanted me so much, baby. But I’m trying to understand why you felt you had to stay away from me. Won’t you tell me your reasons?”

“Shh,” he murmured, pressing his crotch against me. “Later. But now’s not the time.”

I shook my head as I rubbed against him. “You’re right, not now. But I’m going to hold you to that promise.”

He groaned, his body quivering as much as mine. “Fair enough.”

I pushed lightly at his chest and slid down the counter and landed on the soles of my bare feet. “Go to the couch, baby,” I whispered, placing another teasing kiss on his full lips. His eyes glinted with a need that I was sure mirrored my own.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I smiled as he let me take control for once, and then I set out to do my best to erase the girl from the past from his memory.