Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3)

Battle
for Love

(Bachelor
Billionaire #3)

By
Sharon Cummin

Copyright
©
2014 Sharon Cummin

All
Rights Reserved

Warning:
This story contains explicit sexual content that is not intended for
those under the age of 18. All characters appearing in this work are
fictitious and the age of 18 and older. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Table
of Contents

Without
thinking, Julie reached out as the bouquet flew right toward her. It
was as if Lisa knew exactly where it was heading. The wedding crowd
cheered as Julie looked at the flowers in her hand. She noticed a
smirk on Lisa's face as she looked up from them. You can get through
this, Julie thought to herself.

Josh
did his silly dance and smiled, as he stuck his head under his wife's
dress to remove her garter. He turned away from the single guys and
threw it back over his head. Julie cringed as Ethan flew through the
air and snatched it. It was like a scene from a movie. She felt it
all play out in slow motion in front of her. No, please no, she
thought to herself. He turned, looked her in the eyes, and plastered
a sexy, flirty smirk on his face. She watched the interaction between
him and her brother. Gavin shot him the dirtiest look, as Ethan
smiled and winked back at him.

“
Have
a seat,” he said, as he smiled at Julie.

She
felt her eyes roll as she let her body fall into the chair. It was
bad enough that she caught the bouquet, but the last person she
wanted to catch the garter was Ethan. If she would have thought he
was going to catch it, she would have let the bouquet of flowers fall
to the floor. He strut his stuff like a man on a mission before
bending down to her ear.

“
I
bet you can't wait to feel my fingers on your leg,” he
whispered in a deep, raspy voice.

Trying
not to let him bother her, she put on the most serious face she
could. He dropped to his knees and looked her in the eyes. Ethan
slowly lifted the garter up her leg, making sure to skim his fingers
across her skin the entire time. She thought her brother's head was
going to explode when Ethan slid the garter the rest of the way up
with his teeth. Julie shivered as he slid his fingers all the way
back down her leg. She hoped he had not felt her body's reaction to
him. As he stood up, he pulled her to her feet and kissed her hand.
Turning without a word, he walked across the hall and out the door.

Shocked
and unsure of what had just happened, Julie returned to her seat next
to her date. After a few moments of silence, she stood up and walked
out the very same door. Ethan was standing outside with his forehead
against the brick building.

“
What
the hell was that?” she snapped.

“
I
have no idea what you're talking about. Don't think I didn't feel you
shiver when I slid my fingers down your leg,” he said in a
cocky tone.

“
Did
you really need to use your teeth? Gavin was about to lose it. Why do
you always have to be such an ass?”

Ethan
snapped his head up and turned to her. He was an inch away from her
with the most dominating look on his face. Her eyes widened as he
spoke.

“
Why
are you here with the most boring guy you could find?” he
growled.

“
Who
I am here with, is none of your business. What the fuck do you care?
I'm just a kid, remember. At least I don't sleep with a different
person every night,” she yelled, as she poked him in the chest.

He
reached out and grabbed her finger, as he looked directly into her
eyes.

“
It's
not like you. This person you've been today. You're outgoing, fun,
and love to dance. This whole night, you've sat next to him like a
bump on a log. We asked you to dance with us, and you looked over at
him like you needed permission. Why didn't he get out of that chair?
Why didn't he dance with you and treat you the way you deserve to be
treated? That's not who you are. The Julie I know, would have gotten
up and danced because she wanted to, not because someone allowed her
to.”

“
What
do you know about me? You're too busy moving from one woman to the
next to know anything. I bet you can't even tell me the names of the
last five women you slept with, but you think you can stand here and
judge me. I don't think so. I don't know who you think you are, but
you better look in the mirror before you say anything about the men I
date,” she yelled, as she pulled her finger out of his grasp.

Ethan's
face was red with rage, and she was ready for whatever he threw back
at her.

“
You're
right, I shouldn't judge you,” he said calmly, as he wiped a
tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I know if you were here
with me, I wouldn't have let you sit there. I would have held you in
my arms and danced with you. I would have shown you how amazing you
are.”

Julie
felt herself stiffen. What the hell was going on? She pulled a long
breath into her lungs and released it, hoping to calm her nerves. She
knew him too well. He was pulling out his sweet, loving tone with
her. There was no way she was going to let him think he had her where
he wanted her.

“
You
listen to me, Ethan,” she said, as she poked her finger hard
into his chest again. “I know you better than you think I do.
You can take that sweet, charming tone and stick it up your ass.
There is no way I would ever fall for your fake crap. At least with
him, I don't have to think about his motives behind every word that
comes out of his mouth. I don't have to wonder who he's with when I'm
not there. I don't have to fear him for any reason. So you can stop
telling me what you would do if you were in his place, because that
my friend would never happen.”

Julie
could feel her arms shaking as she pushed off of his chest, turned
around, swung the door open, and walked back inside. Calming herself
along the way, she continued to breathe in and out repeatedly. Lisa
walked up and stopped her on the way back to the table.

“
What
are you doing to our boy?” Lisa asked, as she laughed.

“
That
player is about to be played. He can pull that sweet and sexy shit on
someone else. I have known him far too long to ever let my guard down
around him. He's all about the chase. Once he gets a woman, he has no
use for them anymore. He just messes with me to irritate my brother.
He needs to learn a lesson.”

“
You're
so amazing. I am so glad you don't put up with that. You are
definitely going to find your prince charming one day,” Lisa
said, as she hugged her.

As
Julie walked back to her date, she thought about what Lisa said.
Julie didn't believe in her prince charming. They always turned out
to be a toad, she thought as she giggled. How could they all tell
that the man she brought to the wedding was not the man for her? It
was strange how they all knew her so well, but none of them truly saw
her fears and struggles when she needed them to. She would never
allow a man to play her, never again.

Ethan
sat as his desk Monday morning trying to get his work done. His mind
kept going back to the wedding. He had been too shocked by Julie's
words to respond before she ran from him. They had known each other
for fifteen years. He messed with and teased her all the time. Her
brother hated that he joked and flirted with her so much. That was
part of the fun. Something had been different between them at the
wedding. It wasn't just about joking around anymore. Julie looked
beautiful with her silky, brown hair, big, brown eyes, and a long
dress that clung perfectly to her curves. When Ethan saw a man walk
in next to her, he felt a surge of jealousy run through his veins.
She had never brought a guy with her to a family function before.
Julie introduced him to all of the family and friends as her
boyfriend. He was a doctor at the hospital she worked out of. Ethan
knew that there was no reason for him to feel protective of Julie,
but he could not help but want to tear the guy limb from limb.

Ethan
danced with Lisa and talked to his friends, trying to get his mind
off of Julie. Nothing was working. He kept seeing her with that guy,
and it was driving him crazy. When it was time catch the garter, he
knew it was his. There was no way anyone else was putting their hands
on her. He felt her shiver and heard her gasp when he slid his hand
across her leg. There was no mistaking what his touch did to her. He
knew she was going to go right back to her date, so he helped her to
her feet, kissed her hand, and went outside. There was no way he
wanted to be in the same room with them. He couldn't do it. It drove
him nuts to think of that guy touching her at all. He stood against
the building with his head against the wall, trying to gain his
composure so he could go back inside. When Julie walked outside and
gave him a piece of her mind, he didn't know how to respond. She was
definitely a strong woman. He could not believe the way she felt
about him. Sure, he knew he moved from woman to woman. It wasn't
really as bad as she made it sound. There were reasons he acted the
way he did. Did she really need to make him sound so horrible, he
wondered? Was he really that bad?

It
was afternoon, and he still had not accomplished anything at the
office. Normally, he worked well into the night, but there was no
reason to stay if he couldn't concentrate. He pulled out his phone
and text John and Heath to see if they wanted to meet at the bar for
a drink. John was his older brother and Heath was a friend of theirs.
Neither of them was attached to anyone and would probably be down for
going out. Their friends Gavin and Josh were both married with babies
on the way. He knew they were wrapped around their wives' fingers and
would not be allowed out of the house.

Ethan
sat thinking as he waited for them to respond. Gavin and Josh were
two perfect reasons he would never let a woman tie him down. They had
each lost their own identity. Their lives had to be lived for their
women and children. Ethan only had to live for himself. He worked and
played hard. If he was not gone on business, then he was working hard
to make as much money as possible. It was very important to him to
have everything he could. There would never be a time he would ever
go without. As for a family, he would never want one. His brother was
and would always be his only family. There was no space in his life
for anyone else. Ethan thought back to one of the two days in his
life he would never forget. He could see it as if it were happening
at that moment. His father telling his mother how his leaving was her
own fault as he walked out and shut the door. It was the last time
Ethan had ever seen him. No woman would ever hold him back, and he
would never have a reason to leave.