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“Your reaction to my touch tells me you’re a woman who wants to spend a night with Ethan Hardy, Thalia,” I murmur using my full name just as she did earlier, probably echoing the way women talk about me.
I know plenty would do anything for a night with me. Because of my name, my power, my influence, my money.
But right now, I only want one woman to want me, and she’s staring at me with repulsion.
“I don’t understand how you can cheat on her,” she blurts, trying to pull away from my hand on her throat.
“Cheat on who?” I ask, even though I know exactly who she means.
Visibly nervous, she pushes me with both hands, but we don’t move an inch apart.
“You’re…” she trails off. “You drive me crazy.”
Laughing darkly, I pull her even closer, our bodies pressed together. “And you drive me crazy, Thalia. That’s why I need a night with you.”
“Fuck you, Ethan.”
“That’s exactly what I want actually,” I smirk.
“Ughh… I don’t understand how Irina can stand to be with you. Doesn’t she know you cheat on her with anyone you want?” She’s practically yelling now, trembling with anger.
I stare back at her, calm and relaxed, debating whether to keep provoking her or finally tell her the truth.
But it’s already late, and if I can convince her to give me one night, I’d rather spend it buried deep inside her, with her screaming my name, than wasting it arguing.
I release her throat but plant my hand firmly on her waist, keeping her pinned to me.
“Irina and I are not a couple, Thalia,” I decide to say. At her shocked expression, I add, “We’ve never been. Just like you and Theo never were.”
“That can’t be true,” she starts. “Everyone…”
I cut her off. “Everyone’s wrong. Nobody ever asked me the truth, you all just assumed.” My voice is firm. I need her to see I’m not playing.
Until that incident in the jacuzzi, I didn’t think I was capable of cheating. But ever since, I’ve had doubts. Because even believing she belongs to Theo, I allowed myself to touch her in ways I never should have.
Furious, she snaps, “But you never bothered to correct them. You let everyone believe you were together.” Her voice wavers slightly on the last words because she’s more affected by me than she wants to admit.
“What does it matter what everyone thinks?”
“You came with her to the mountains, you acted like a couple the whole way there,” she accuses, probably not even realizing she’s revealing how much she cares.
“I thought you slept the whole way?” I say, smirking.
“Don’t test me, Ethan,” she warns, poking a finger into my chest.
“Fine. I came with her, yeah. But we didn’t stay in the same room.” I can already see what she’s about to say, what she’s thinking, but I answer before she can throw another sarcastic comment. “I didn’t touch her.”
Her eyes snap to mine, searching.
And I let her. I’m not lying. “I invited her to my room, but nothing happened. We talked about Hartho for a bit, then I went down to work on the terrace. After that, I went up to the jacuzzi, where you found me,” I explain, my tone serious.
I want her to trust me, to understand I wouldn’t touch a woman and be with another one hour later.
“And after…” I stop, unwilling to define our moment in the jacuzzi in a way that would make her angrier. “After you left, I stayed about twenty minutes, then went to my room—where Irina was already in bed—told her I’d find another room, grabbed my bag, and went downstairs. I didn’t want to sleep on the couch, so I checked if the room you saw me coming out of the day we left was free. I went straight to the shower, I jerked off thinking about you, and then I couldn’t fucking sleep thinking about how I touched you when you belong to Theo.” I finish. “Satisfied?”
“I couldn’t sleep until now thinking you were in a relationship with Irina, Ethan,” she yells, shoving both hands against my chest before pacing the room. “You couldn’t say anything? You couldn’t tell me in the jacuzzi?” she accuses.
“I don’t think either of us talked much in those moments.” It’s all I say for a beat, then I add, “And I thought you were with Theo. So we’re even.”
