Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (17 page)

After
another round of amazing sex, Julie drifted off to sleep. He loved
how carefree she looked as she slept. Her long brown hair was draped
over the pillow and the sheet was pulled barely above her breasts. He
wanted so badly to kiss her just above the sheet.

Ethan
slid out of bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed his car keys, and
went downstairs. There was no way her ass was slipping out in the
middle of the night again. They had not yet talked about the phone
call she had taken at the restaurant. He knew if he pushed her, she
would clam up and take off. Ethan went outside and moved his car
behind hers. There was no way she was getting her car out without his
moving first. He walked back inside; satisfied to know she wasn't
leaving.

Ethan
went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. He sat down at his table and
thought about Julie. It was the second time they had hooked up.
Without thinking, he asked her to spend the next day with him. What
the hell was happening to him? He never spent the day with someone he
slept with. What were they going to do? Ethan never dated. He only
hooked up. How had they done it again? It was a horrible idea. When
Gavin found out, he was going to lose his shit. The craziest part was
that he told her he would take the day off. Ethan never took a day
off. He went into the office at his sickest and worst moments. Deep
down, he knew everyone would be fine without him. His office ran like
a fine oiled machine. He knew nothing would ever come of him and
Julie. It wasn't possible. They had known each other for way to long,
she was ten years younger than him, and his best friend was her
brother. They could spend one day together. What could a little fun
hurt?

When
he went to crawl back into bed, he couldn't stop thinking about that
call she had taken at the restaurant. The way she froze when she
heard the person speak. She looked like she had seen a ghost. He
could see the fear in her eyes, as she hung up and walked back toward
the restaurant. He planned to have a very long conversation about it
in the morning. Would she be honest with him? Who was it, he kept
wondering? Ethan took her phone out of her pants, grabbed his own
phone, and went into his bathroom. He knew she would be mad that he
was in her business, but he didn't care. What if it was something
huge? Ethan looked to see what time he had text her about it at the
shower. He looked at her call log around that time. Only one call had
come in. Ethan opened a blank text on his phone and text himself the
phone number that was on her call log. There was no name, so he knew
it wasn't someone she had programmed into her phone. He was going to
find out who it was that made her feel that way, whether she wanted
him to or not.

Julie
woke up to the delicious smell of bacon and coffee. It was her first
night without a nightmare in over two months. She opened her eyes
slowly as she took in her surroundings. It was nine o'clock in the
morning and the sun was shining in through Ethan's balcony door. Her
arms were wrapped around his pillow. She could smell his sexy, manly
smell and a tingle ran through her body. He was amazing. How could he
be so hard and sweet at the same time? He had been through so much in
his life. It made more sense to her that he was cocky and guarded.

She
grabbed his t-shirt off the edge of the bed and pulled it over her
head. It came down just above her knees. Julie walked into the
kitchen to see Ethan cooking. She watched him for a moment. He had on
running shorts with no shirt. His shorts fit perfectly against his
tight ass. She could see the muscles in his back tighten as he moved
around the stove. His brown hair had a sexy, just fucked look. She
wanted so badly to run her fingers through it. Wait a second, she
thought. How was he cooking eggs and bacon?

Julie
walked over the refrigerator and opened the door. It was stocked full
of food. She turned to see him standing with his mouth open as he
watched her.

“
Don't
burn my bacon,” she said with a smile, as she pointed to the
stove.

He
shook his head and went back to what he was doing.

“
Look
at this food. Were you planning a party? Who stocked your fridge? Did
you pay someone to shop for you?” she questioned with a laugh.

“
One
more word out of you, and I'm spanking that ass twice as hard as I
did last night. Do you hear me?” he asked. “I went
shopping myself. I thought about what you said that day. I have been
eating more at home. I wasn't planning a party. I can't help it if
you can't resist being in my bed.”

“
Don't
even go there. You were the one who conned me into coming over. I'll
tell your brother on you. Do you remember that threat?” she
asked.

“
Don't
sass me woman. You need to put some clothes on if you want to me to
be able to talk to you. All I see, is how damn good you look in my
shirt. All I can think about, is how I know you aren't wearing
anything under it and how hungry I am.”

Julie
felt her cheeks turn pink. She hoped he didn't notice what he did to
her with only his words. He was so hot. She could already feel how
wet she was just from those few words.

“
I
can leave if it's bothering you,” she snapped, trying to get
her head together.

“
Oh
yeah, go ahead,” he said with his cocky grin she knew so well.

She
walked over to his front door and opened it, as she waited for him to
stop her. Julie looked out into the driveway, turned around, closed
the door, and stomped into the kitchen to find Ethan laughing
hysterically.

“
You
are such an ass. I don't know how anyone can stand being around you,
without wanting to rip your head off of your shoulders,” she
snapped. “You think this is funny?”

“
I
sure do,” he said between laughs. “We never had that
conversation about your phone call last night. You kept taking
advantage of me, and we never got around to it. There was no way you
were going to slip out of here in the middle of the night. I learned
that lesson last time.”

“
You
went outside to block my car in last night?” she asked.

“
Sure
did,” he said. “You're standing here now aren't you.
Mission accomplished. Sit down and eat this food I worked so hard to
make.”

Julie
threw her body into a chair at the table. She crossed her arms over
her chest and glared at him.

“
Are
you getting ready for battle? Is that what that is all about over
there?” he snickered.

He
put a plate of food and cup of coffee down in front of her and went
back to get his. When he sat back down, she could not stop looking at
his day old stubble and sexy hair. Knock it off, she thought to
herself.

“
Stop
looking at me like that,” he said.

“
Like
what?” she asked.

“
You
know damn well you're giving me that fuck me now look. We have things
to talk about.”

She
looked down at her food and began to push it around her plate with
her fork. Why did he have to be so confident and cocky? Julie wasn't
sure if she wanted to smack him or kiss him. He was so aggravating.

“
Did
you really call off work?” she asked.

“
Yes,”
he said. “That's not what we need to discuss. That phone call
yesterday at the shower, who was it?”

“
That's
none of your business,” she said. “It was nothing.”

“
Oh
really,” he said, as he inhaled a huge breath. “I heard
what you said and saw the major change in your attitude. When you
answered that call, you were in a good mood. By the time you hung up,
you were shaking and scared. Don't give me that crap. I mean it. Tell
me right now who it was.”

Julie
put her fork down on the plate and pulled her legs up on the chair
with her knees under her chin. She wrapped her arms around her legs
and looked down.

“
It
was nothing. I need you to drop this. I didn't know the number. When
I heard their voice, I was shocked. It was not anyone I expected to
call. It just took me by surprise. That's all it was. It's nothing to
waste your time thinking about. What are you doing today?” she
asked.

“
Bullshit!”

Ethan
slammed his fist on the table, lifted her chin, and looked her in the
eyes.

“
We
can do whatever you want today. As for that phone call, I don't buy
it. I know better. I saw your reaction. Do you think I have gotten
where I am without paying close attention to people and their
reactions? I know what I saw yesterday. I know that whoever that was
scared the shit out of you. We can do this one of two ways. You can
either be honest with me about it, or I can take the time to figure
it out for myself. I have no problem either way. It's your decision.”

He
got up from the table, picked up his plate and cup, dropped them in
the sink, and walked out of the room. She heard his feet hit each
step on the way up and then heard the slam of a door. How the heck
could he figure it out on his own, she thought? There is no way he
would ever be able to do it. She shook her head and finished eating.
When she was done, she washed the dishes and walked up the stairs.
His office door was shut. She could hear him talking on the phone.

“
I
just decided to take the day off. I've been gone so much lately, and
I have a few errands I need to run.”

She
couldn't hear the other person and wondered who it was.

“
I'm
fine, Gavin. I know it's hard to believe, but I want a day to myself.
I have some very important things to take care of, and I just found
out it's going to be busier than I thought. I'll be at work tomorrow.
Leave me alone for the rest of today.”

What
did he mean be busier than he thought? Was he really going to try to
figure out who called her? Good luck with that. Julie hurried to his
bedroom and grabbed her phone. She blocked the number and deleted it
from her call log. How was she going to get him to drop the subject?

Julie
walked back to his office and knocked on the door. She could still
hear him on the phone, so she turned the handle and walked in. The
look on his face told her that he was still upset. She walked over to
him and turned his chair to the side. He kept his phone conversation
going smoothly. She could see from the angle of his phone that he was
still talking to her brother. Julie brought one leg up onto his chair
and then slid her other leg on. She was straddling him in nothing but
his t-shirt. He glared at her without breaking his sentence into the
phone. She leaned in and licked up his neck, as she grabbed his hair
and pulled his head back. He growled as he grabbed her ass hard with
his hand. She pulled back, smiled at him, and held his shoulders as
she ground hard against his cock through his shorts. Ethan shook his
head at her. She grabbed the hem of the shirt she was wearing and
pulled it up and over her head. Julie got up on her knees and rubbed
her naked breasts against his face. Ethan pulled his hand back and
smacked her ass hard. She cried out and then hurried to cover her
mouth.

“
Oh,
that was a chick I have over. I think you might know her,” he
said, as he stared into Julie's eyes. “Her name is.”

Before
he could finish, Julie jumped off of his lap and shook her head no.
She put her hands together like she was begging him. There was no way
she was waiting to hear what he said. She turned around, stormed out
of the room and down the hall, and started pulling her clothes on.

“
Fucker
had to rip my panties,” she snapped, as she pulled her pants on
with nothing underneath them.

She
ran down the stairs and shoved her shoes on. He was right behind her
when she opened the front door with her keys and purse in her hand.

“
Crap,”
she yelled. “Move your car.”

“
Come
back inside,” he said calmly.

“
I
will hit that damn car. I don't care how much it cost. My car's not
worth that much. It'll be worth the look on your face when I do it.