A Week in New York (The Empire State Series Book 1) (8 page)

Ethan had ordered for us both, so it was a surprise when he unveiled
risotto and poured some crisp cool white wine into our glasses. He sat back and
looked at me and patted my legs, and then lifted them up so they were resting
on his lap, being soothed by his hands.

“A girl could get used to this.” Shit, I hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

He grinned at me.

“Sorry. I just meant that I feel very spoiled, and it’s lovely. Thank
you.”

He nodded. “You deserve it. You did bring me a great gift this evening.”

“You seemed to have fun with it,” I replied, trying to be nonchalant.

“I did. You as well, I hope.”

“Always. You …” I shook my head.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s just you seem to know exactly what my body needs and wants. No one
has, ever… Not like you.” I wished I could have sewn up my mouth right then.
Shut
up, Anna.

He smiled at me and then focused on his plate, stroking my legs in his
lap as he ate his risotto. I stirred mine.

“I’m supposed to go to the Hamptons this weekend with Andrew and Mandy.”

And there it was: his excuse to get out of Dodge. I’d said too much.
Fuck,
Anna. No complications, remember?

“Cool.” I continued to stare at my food.

“Will you come with me?” he asked, and my stomach twisted and spun.

I looked at him sideways to see if maybe I’d heard him wrong.

“We could get out of the city and spend the weekend together before you
go back to London.”

I wanted to say yes. I
really
wanted to say yes, but I could feel
myself opening up to him. I could feel my guard coming down, and he was peering
across the threshold, about to step inside. In normal circumstances between two
normal people, that might have been a good thing, but we were supposed to be
just having fun. I was getting over someone else. He wasn’t meant to be the guy
that got to know me, that took me away for weekends, that gave me more orgasms
in the past three days than I’d ever had in my life. He was meant to be
uncomplicated fun. This felt like it was verging on complicated.

“Jesus, I can see the cogs in your brain working at a million miles an
hour. What are you thinking? No bullshit.”

“I’m thinking I don’t know you.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but you’ll have to tell me some
stuff first.”

I pursed my lips at him. “Go on,” I said.

“First, you tell me your name.”

I nodded. “And?”

“And then second, you come to the Hamptons this weekend.”

“Anything else?”

“You tell me about what or who you’re escaping.”

“What do you mean?”

“The guy. The guy before New York.”

I started to remove my legs from his lap, but he dropped his fork to his
plate and held them where they were.

“I’m not sure I want to know you that badly,” I said under my breath.

“The construction thing is bullshit, I have an older sister, I work too
hard, I’ve slept with too many women and mushrooms are my favorite food.”

“So now, you have to tell me,” he said.

“My name?” I asked staring at my plate. I took a deep breath. “Anna. No
bullshit.”

“But I chose your name.” He sounded confused. I stayed silent, playing
with my risotto. “I chose your
real
name?” I could tell he was looking
at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up.

“Like you knew me before you met me,” I said so quietly I almost couldn’t
hear myself.

“I think I did,” he said.

Ethan

I was thrown off balance by Anna’s revelation. It felt like it meant
something—something big—and that made me feel fucking uncomfortable. It was new
territory for me. I didn’t do meaning or anything big. I stared at my plate.
Fuck.

“Tell me about the guy.” I wanted to know, and I needed the distraction
from my own thoughts.

“Tell you what?”

“What happened that made you need to get away. To have these rules.”

“You know what we need?” She jumped up from the table and dived into her
bag. She retrieved an iPod.

She wasn’t going to be pushed.

“An '80s dance-off.”

I couldn’t help but grin at her. “I would say that that’s exactly what we
don’t
need.”

She bent over the iPod station until music blared. She spun around, her
eyes bright in expectation. “Come on, dance with me.” Her hands flew up in the
air and she started to jump up and down. “I love this one.”

It was Duran Duran, I was pretty sure. I did
not
love it, but I
enjoyed watching her love it, even though she was dancing like a complete lunatic.

I stood and folded my arms as I watched her, determined that I wouldn’t
join in. She came over and grabbed at my robe. I laughed at her as she dragged
me a few feet toward the music. “I’m not dancing to this shit.”

“Dancing is the best distraction there is,” she said as she spun around
and continued to jump and move in front of me. After a few minutes the music
faded and the beginning of another song, a better song, drifted between us. It
was Chaka Khan’s classic,
Ain’t Nobody
. Her laughter faded and she
turned and started to walk toward the music. “What about some Blondie?”

My arms unfolded and stopped her and I turned her around and pulled her toward
me.

“Dance with me,” I said pulling her arms up around my neck, then sliding
mine around her waist and moving to the music. The beat was sensual and yearning.
I’d forgotten how much I liked this song and I liked dancing to it with her.
I’d not danced with a woman since high school. I didn’t often listen to music
anymore, but listening to this I wondered why. The music matched my mood
completely and the voice was telling me everything I wished Anna would say to
me. Jesus. I was fucked.

Her head rested on my chest and I pressed my lips to her hair. We stayed
like that until the song drifted out and something I didn’t recognize replaced
it.

“Ethan,” she whispered against my chest and I squeezed her tighter to me.
“Take me to bed.”

***

“So this weekend, we’ll leave Friday lunchtime,” I said as I emerged from
the bathroom after disposing of another condom.

“I haven’t said I’ll come with you.”

“But you said your body was mine.”

“I lied.”

“You did not.” I dived back into bed and dragged her back toward me,
wrapping my arms around her waist.

“I tell you I’m a liar and you don’t believe me?”

“Nope.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m not. I just know you.” She couldn’t hide anything from me. I knew
that now. “Do you want to pick you up from Armitage’s apartment?”

“I have to speak to Leah. I came to New York to spend time with her, and
anyway, I’m not so sure that it’s a good idea if I come with you.”

I didn’t say anything. I wanted her to want to come with me. I didn’t
want to have to convince her. She wriggled around in my arms to face me.

“Do you know what I mean?” she asked.

I laughed. “No. Why don’t you just cut the bullshit and say what you
mean.”

She kicked me and I wrapped my legs around hers so she couldn’t do it
again.

“I just mean that, you know, this … the hot sex we’re having … Our week
of fun, I’m not sure how it translates to a weekend away in the Hamptons and
meeting your friends and not having hot sex because we’re down the hall from these
people I’ve never met.”

I pushed her back around so her back was against me again. “Oh, now we’re
getting to it. I’m not worth the effort if you’re not going to get your rocks
off,” I said. She giggled and I maneuvered my hardening dick against the crease
in her perfect ass.

“Like you could handle it. You’re ready to go again, Sex God.”

“I’m always ready around you. And anyway, it’s not a problem because we’re
staying at my sister’s, and Andrew and Mandy will be at their place. We can
still fuck like rabbits.”

She pushed back on my dick, increasing the friction. I reached down to
her pussy. Her breathing quickened as my fingers found her clit.

“And don’t you think it sounds a bit— Oh god, yes.”

“Sounds a bit
what
, beautiful?” I stilled my hand and she quickly
placed her hand over mine and started moving my fingers.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed. Fuck, this woman was insatiable. “Sounds a
bit … oh God … against the rules.”

“Game’s changed, baby.” I hooked her leg up and back over mine and
grabbed a condom, tearing it open with my fingers and mouth, trying not to
waste another second, and I sank into her. It felt like home. It felt like the
first time. I was going to come in about ten seconds if I didn’t concentrate. I
slowed my pace and nibbled along her shoulder, my fingers circling and pushing.
The sounds she made told me she was close. I realized I knew this about her and
it made me want her more.

“Look at me. I want to see your face,” I said.

She turned her shoulders and her eyes met mine. They were full of lust
and confusion and questions.

“Feel this?” I asked as I drove into her. She nodded. “No one else can
make you feel like this, can they, Anna?” Her hand came to my shoulder and she
shook her head. “Tell me.”

“No one makes me feel like you do.” And as she said it she clenched
around me and her breath held. She was there and I couldn’t hold back for a
second longer. I increased my pace, pushing myself closer to her, closer to my
climax, and then exploded into her.

Anna

“What are your plans for the day?” Ethan asked me as he came out of the
bathroom after his shower.

“Sleep.” I was exhausted. The frequent interruptions to my sleep were
welcome, but I could quite happily spend the day in bed snoozing.

“You’re not staying in bed if I’m not there with you.”

“Are you always this cheerful in the mornings? It’s annoying,” I huffed
and turned over away from him.

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy and grumpy.”

“Go to work.”

I felt the mattress dip on my side of the bed and his hand stroked my
ass. “I might have to work late tonight.” My stomach twisted. “Did you hear
me?”

I sat up and nodded, pulling my knees to my chest. He looked at me. “Do
you have plans? Tonight? I mean later?”

I shrugged. I’d kinda assumed that I’d see him tonight. He’d become a
habit in just a few days.

“You could stay here tonight, and then we could go up to the Hamptons
first thing Friday.”

“You don’t have to work Friday?”

“I can do some calls from the car on the way up there. I should be able
to manage a day off.”

“Ok,” I said. I was half-delighted, half-terrified. I wanted to spend the
day with him Friday. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before
I left, and I was terrified about that. I didn’t want to want that. I’d
promised myself I wouldn’t want a man again. 3,000 miles apart after Monday
should do it. I took a deep breath. “I’m in.”

“I knew I’d wear you down,” he said grinning at me.

“I just feel sorry for you, that’s all.”

He pulled my legs away from my chest and climbed over me, pinning my arms
above my head. “What did you say?”

“I feel sorry for you.” He dipped his head to my neck and started to suck
as I started to giggle. “I know you must have been having a drought before I
came along. How long had it been? Five, six years?”

“Since a woman took pity on me and let me fuck her?” he asked and I
laughed and tried to break my wrists free of his hands as his mouth tracked
lower and started to suck again. “Since a woman let me give her three, four,
five orgasms a night?”

“Since a woman came back for seconds.”

He let go of my wrists and moved off me.

“Hey, are you going to finish what you started?” I asked, propping myself
up on my elbows.

“I have to get to work. Stop distracting me,” he said as pulled a tie on.
He smiled, but I could detect that his mood had shifted.

“Sorry,” I said, trying to meet his eyes.

He nodded. I was joking. He must know I was joking.

I crawled out of bed and put on a robe as Ethan gathered his wallet and
keys. I followed him to the door of the suite.

“Go do something cultural,” he said as he opened the door. Then he
turned, kissed me on the forehead, and left.

Fear unfurled in my stomach. I wasn’t quite sure of the cause. Fear of
not seeing him again, fear that I’d hurt his feelings, fear of going with him
to the Hamptons, fear of complications, fear of going back to London.