Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (19 page)

The
woman he ordered the food from walked up with two bags and handed
them to Ethan. He thanked her and turned to walk out to the car.

“
See
what you can find out. I'm keeping her with me all day. There is no
way I'm taking her home until I know what's going on. Keep this shit
between us. You hear me?” Ethan said.

He
said goodbye to John and stuck his phone into his pocket, as he
walked to the car.

Ethan
could not stop thinking about everything with Julie the entire drive
back to his house. What was he going to do? There was no way he could
tell her what he found out. She would be so mad at him. He never
remembered hearing about a guy named Jason, but when she was away at
college, she didn't come home much. There was a time when she missed
important family events. Gavin had been mad about her refusing to
come home. She had been gone for about eight months straight. Did
that have anything to do with it? Why the hell wouldn't she just be
honest?

Julie
put her stuff in Ethan's bedroom and went back downstairs. He told
her he had to do something in his office. She decided to get the food
out and put a movie on while she waited for him. Ethan hurried to his
office to look up the florist. He called them, but they had not made
a delivery to her house that day. They said that a man came in and
bought the flower arrangement Ethan explained to them. The man had
paid cash and taken the flowers with him. He asked what the man
looked like, but they could only tell him a couple of basic things
like hair color and height. He wrote down what they told him. Was the
guy who called her and the flower guy the same? He couldn't ask her
who Jason was or what he looked like. Ethan slammed his hands on his
desk just as his office door opened.

“
Sorry,
I'll go wait downstairs. I didn't mean to bother you. I just wanted
to see if you were going to be a long time,” Julie said, as she
backed up and pulled the door closed.

“
Hey
wait!” he yelled out.

Ethan
got up from his desk and ran down the stairs after her. She sat down
on a couch in the living room.

“
I'm
sorry about that,” he said. “I just had to take care of
something and it's driving me crazy. Thanks for getting out plates
and pouring our drinks. What movie are we watching?”

He
noticed that she seemed tense. As he thought back to little things
that had happened the past few weeks, he thought about what John said
about why that guy was in jail. Had he done something to her? Was she
the one that fucker touched? Ethan felt his body stiffen. It couldn't
have been her. Her family would have known, wouldn't they?

Julie
turned on a chick flick and looked over at him. He shook his head and
laughed.

“
I'll
give you this one, but I get to pick the next one,” he said.

“
I'm
not watching porn with you,” she said.

He
got up, grabbed his plate, and sat down next to her.

“
Why
did you put my plate way over there? Are you afraid you can't resist
touching me?” he joked.

“
I
can resist touching you. I won't touch you the rest of the day,”
she said with a smile.

“
We'll
see about that. You can't touch me until tomorrow morning. If you do,
I'm going to take you over my knee and spank you. My hand's twitching
just thinking about it,” he said, as he wiggled his hand at
her.

He
was going to have some fun with her for sure. When they finished
eating, Julie took their plates to the sink and told him she would be
back in a minute. They were half way through the movie. Julie had
just walked back into the room when Ethan's phone rang.

“
It's
your brother. Can't he leave me alone for one day?” he asked.

“
Better
you than me,” she laughed.

He
rolled his eyes as he answered the phone.

“
Hey
Gavin, what's up?”

Ethan
looked at Julie and jumped up from the couch.

“
I'm
in the bathroom. Can't this wait until tomorrow,” Ethan blurted
out. “I'll be there in a minute.”

He
hung up his phone and looked at Julie.

“
Your
brother's outside. What do you want to do?”

“
He
can't know I'm here. There is no way. If he thought we were doing
anything, he would lose his mind. You took the day off. Oh shit! I
can't deal with him lecturing me right now. I'm going to your room.
Keep him out of there,” Julie said, as she grabbed her purse
and phone from the table.

“
We
can tell him if you want to,” Ethan said.

“
What
do you want to tell him? His little sister and best friend fucked
last night. He would freak out. He doesn't think of me as a grown
woman. He thinks of me as a little girl. I can't deal with him right
now. Tell me when he's gone. I need to go home. This was a bad idea.
You need to go to work.”

“
You
take your ass to my room and keep it there. I'm not going to work and
you aren't going home. Your brother is just being a pain in the ass.
He's trying to figure out why I'm not at work.”

Julie
took off up the stairs and Ethan went to answer the door. Gavin
walked in and looked at Ethan.

“
Why
aren't you at work? I know you have been acting strange lately.”

“
What
do you need me to sign?” Ethan asked. “Give me the stuff
and then leave.”

Gavin
walked into the kitchen and looked around.

“
I
need something to drink first,” he said, as he looked at the
bag of food.

Gavin
opened the bag and looked into the food containers.

“
You
must pretty hungry. Are you going to eat all this?” Gavin
asked.

“
I
had somewhere to be this morning. I picked up food on the way home.
If it's any of your business, I plan to eat it for dinner too,”
Ethan said.

Gavin
walked over to the sink and shook his head.

“
Two
plates and two glasses,” Gavin said with a smile.

“
Are
you a detective now? Do you want to check them for prints? What do
you want?” Ethan asked.

“
I
can't tell you the last time you took a day off work. I never thought
I would see the day that a woman would have you calling in. Who is
she? I have to know.”

“
Give
me the papers and get out of my house,” Ethan snapped.

Gavin
laughed as he walked back out of the kitchen. He looked around the
living room doorway and started laughing.

“
A
chick flick, no shit,” Gavin said. “Where is she? I know
she's here. I'll find out who she eventually. Is Ethan whipped?”

Gavin
threw some papers on the table by the front door and looked down. He
pointed to the tennis shoes under the table.

“
She's
got some little feet too. I guess Julie's not the only one. She'd be
happy to know there is someone else out there with baby feet like
hers.”

Gavin
laughed and looked at Ethan, who was barely holding himself together.
When Gavin mentioned Julie, Ethan thought for sure he had figured it
out.

“
Get
out!” Ethan yelled.

“
All
joking aside, I'm happy for you. I knew you would find someone to put
up with you one day. I have to meet her. You have to bring her to
dinner. Whoever she is, she deserves a medal. Someone actually got
you to think of something besides work. She must be pretty amazing,”
Gavin said. “I'm so happy for you.”

“
It's
not what you think. We're just friends. I'm not in love or getting
married and neither is she. Don't bring this up around the guys or
the girls. I just needed a day off. It has nothing to do with her.”

Ethan
felt so guilty for everything. Gavin was on his side. He was being
such a good friend. Little did he know, his little sister was in a
room just up the stairs. Gavin walked out. Ethan leaned forward and
rested his head on the door.

Julie
sat on Ethan's bed while she thought about everything. She needed
some time to herself. The night before with Ethan had been amazing.
He made her feel so good when they were alone. She could laugh and be
herself around him. They messed back and forth with each other. When
she was with him, she felt safe. She had dated a couple of guys since
college, but she never felt safe enough to be intimate with them.
With Ethan, everything was different. Nothing about being with him
scared her. The only time she was nervous was when he mentioned
handcuffs. As soon as she reacted, he knew to back down and assure
her that it was okay. The thought of not being with him sexually
again made her sad. She couldn't make sense of her feelings. Julie
didn't want a relationship with him. They had known each other way to
long for that. He was best friends with her brother and they
partnered on business deals. Ethan was a great friend, but that was
all he could ever be.

Julie
had no idea why she was even thinking about him in that way. He was
with a different woman almost every night. She didn't want someone
like that. Ethan would never want to be with one woman forever. He
was a player. Why was she even wasting her time thinking about a
future with someone who would never want to be with her?

She
grabbed her purse, phone, and bag and went downstairs. When she saw
him leaning with his head against the door, her heart broke. She put
her stuff on the table and walked up behind him. Julie put her arms
around his waist and put her head against his back. She could feel
him breathing in and out. They stood silent for a moment.

“
We
can't do this anymore. You know that right? I'm honestly not sure how
I feel about it. You can be such an ass. It drives me crazy. You are
also the sweetest, most amazing guy I know. I can't figure you out,
Ethan. There is no way I will ever come between you and my brother.
You have worked way to hard for what you have. I won't be any part of
messing that up. I hope you find a good woman. You would be such a
great husband. You care more than you'll ever admit. I used to think
you were my prince, the man who was going to save me from the world.
I will never regret the things we've done together. I've only been
with one other man. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to be with
anyone else after you. I can't imagine anyone ever making feel as
good as you have. I need to go home now.”

Ethan
turned in her arms and wrapped his arms around her. She was shocked
at how tight he held her.

“
Please
stay here tonight. We don't have to do anything. I just want to spend
a little more time with you. We can finish the movie and just talk.
I'll take you home in the morning on my way to work. Please, just for
tonight?” he asked.

She
shook her head yes and pulled away from him. One more night of
feeling safe would be good. They finished watching the movie while
she leaned against him with his arms wrapped around her. He felt so
warm and comfortable. They barely spoke for the rest of the night.
She just soaked up every single moment with him.

Julie
snuggled under the covers. When Ethan got into bed, she turned to
face him. He brushed her hair from her face, as she looked into his
eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. Her tongue slid
across his bottom lip as he opened up for her to enter his mouth. She
pulled her body onto his and rubbed his growing cock against her
entrance. Neither of them spoke as their kiss deepened and she slid
him into her. She took him inside of her deeper and deeper. With her
hands on his chest, she lifted her body so she could ride him. He
lifted his hands to caress her naked breasts as she arched her back,
pushing herself against his huge palms. She didn't want him hard and
rough. It was about more than just getting laid. She wanted to feel
him slowly moving in and out of her. It was something she wanted to
be able to remember forever. Julie cared about him so much. Being
with him like that was amazing. They both held each other as they
made love. It was all she had ever dreamt of. She had rough and cocky
Ethan the night before but was so happy to be with the other side of
Ethan as well. Their moans ran together as she felt their breathing
quicken in time with each other. It was like they were made for each
other. A thin layer of sweat covered both of their bodies. She looked
into his eyes as they both came apart together. It was the most
intense orgasm she had ever had. Julie collapsed onto him. He rolled
so she was next to him, without ever breaking his hold on her.