Melting His Alaskan Heart (5 page)

The croon in her voice nearly undid him. He took a quick step toward the edge of the bed. Only a lamp beside the headboard and the city lights from the windows illuminated the room, but Ethan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

They played the game of knight and distressed damsel, but he couldn’t go through with this deception any longer. She had to know he wasn’t Dane.

She started to unlace her boots.

He removed his cape. “Carly, there’s something you need to know.”

One of her boots was off and she started on the other. “Oh, and what’s that?”

“I’m not who I appear to be. You need to know I’m—”

“I know who you are. You’re a knight who’s saved me from the evildoer. I’ve been locked up in the prison tower for weeks.” She pulled off her second boot and tossed it across the room. “No, not weeks,
months
. I’ve been without human contact for months and I have to have you now.”

“But—”

“You saved me and
please
don’t let me suffer any longer.” She smiled seductively and slid back farther on the bed. She arched her back, gripped the top of her tights and shimmied them down her hips.

Damn. A beautiful, naked woman lay before him like an all-you-can-eat buffet and still he had an attack of conscience. “What if I was someone different? What if I wasn’t who you thought I was?”

“I know who you are,” she crooned.

Every fiber of his will wanted to dive into what she so freely offered, but he couldn’t, not unless she knew his true identity. He reached for the edge of his mask.

“No. Stop.” She sat up. “Please, just go with me on this. I’m so turned on right now.” She parted her legs. “Please. I swear, I’ve never been this bold in my life. Yes, I’ve probably had too much to drink and I probably won’t want to show my face in public again, at least not to you, but just be the knight and I’ll be the damsel for tonight.” Her face bloomed red. “Please, keep your mask on.”

He’d have to be the noblest knight on the planet to walk away, and he was many things, but he wasn’t that gallant. “Without human contact for months, you said?”

“They slid food under the door so I never saw anybody, and I’m
craving
some personal contact.”

No way in hell he could refuse her. He loved her playfulness. He’d forgotten how to have fun. “Should I get you some food?”

“No.” She shook her head, crooked her finger, and parted her legs more. “I need other things more than food.”

CHAPTER 5

Carly rolled over on her side to see the shadowed form of the man beside her. The late morning sun pierced through cracks in the curtains, splaying a couple of stripes of light on the back of his mussed up hair and broad shoulders; otherwise, the room was still mostly dark. They’d made love twice last night and still she wanted more of him.

Now what was she supposed to do, waking up from a night of hot steamy sex, knowing she’d made a bit of a fool out of herself? Her head pounded with remnants of too much alcohol, but thudded with embarrassment, as well. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to decide whether to run to the shower or sneak out of the room.

This wasn’t the first time she’d been in this situation. In college once, she had used the escape option, but since she was supposed to be in a professional relationship with Dane, she had to stay. No sneaking out. She still had to get her interview. Oh, he’d answered a few questions and according to the rumors, she should be happy with that, but he’d promised her more.

He rustled beside her. His leg crept over and slid against hers. A zing of excitement raced through her, but she refused to give her desire any credence. She had to think about the interview and get herself together. His breathing was still heavy and deep. She had the urge to wrap her arms around his waist and hold him close.

This arrangement was supposed to be business, and yet, she’d been the aggressor and it had been everything but business. She had to fix matters between them.

First of all, she needed to get out of this bed and put a few feet between herself and Dane to think more clearly. She was completely naked. Maybe the first order of business would be to get dressed. Or better yet take a cold shower to bring her riotous senses back into some semblance of order. She was supposed to be a professional journalist, not some lush who jumped into bed with her interviewee after three drinks. Or was it four drinks? God, what must he think of her?

Despite sabotaging her own moral code of ethics, she couldn’t quite bring herself to regret sleeping with Dane. Or Knight, rather.

She smiled. He’d insisted she call him Knight. And she’d enjoyed obliging him. The mask, the fake names, it was all so romantic and sexy. She’d never experienced anything quite like it.

Dane’s even breaths altered to a different pattern and she knew he must be awake. Slowly, without even a glance in her direction, he pushed back the covers and sat on the opposite side of the bed, keeping his back to her.

A shard of sunlight shone across his shoulders and trim waist. A jolt of longing coursed through her and she suddenly didn’t care about the shower or getting dressed. Instead, she only thought about being in this man’s arms again and feeling him deep inside her.

“Are you awake?” he asked softly.

Even the sound of his voice had her senses in a whirlwind of conflicting emotion. She whispered back, “Yes.”

Her body responded to him. To his smell, to his voice, to his presence. She pushed the covers from her naked body and crawled behind him. She reached toward his shoulders, aching to touch him again.

“Stop.”

The force and finality of the word made her instantly freeze.

“I tried to tell you last night, but I didn’t. And honestly, I considered leaving the room before you woke up but…”

“It’s your room, Dane.” Her heartbeat sped up. Something was wrong. She could tell by his tone. “I should be the one leaving, if that’s what you want.”

“Stop,” he said, this time even more firmly than the last.

“I feel like I should apologize, but I don’t want to. I—”

“Stop,” he said for a third time.

Now her embarrassment turned to anger. Certainly, he could let her speak. She deserved some things, but harsh words weren’t one them. “Stop what?”

“Stop calling me Dane.”

“Okay, then.” She smiled and shifted her weight back into the bed. She glanced down at her complete nakedness and felt her nipples harden. “Knight.”

“I’m not a knight. In fact I’m not anything but a liar.” He threw off the covers, stood up and purposefully paced toward the window. He threw the curtains aside and turned around.

The outside light temporarily blinded her, but as soon as her vision cleared, she eyed the beautiful naked man standing before her. She glanced down at his feet, his thick thighs, trim waist, his broad chest and then his face. But nothing could have prepared her for seeing his face. “Oh my God.” She clutched at the sheets and pulled them to cover her. “You aren’t Dane Forrester.”

“No, I’m not.”

The similarities between Dane and this man were evident, especially in the square jawline and mouth, but this man had a scar on his eyebrow and upper part of his cheek. Not only had she slept with someone after barely knowing him a couple of hours, she’d slept with someone other than Dane Forrester, some stranger who had tricked her. “But, who are you? Why did you let me believe you were Dane?”

A million questions raced through her head, but she only managed to ask those two. She’d been duped. She backed up against the headboard and pulled the blankets higher to her chin.

“I am still the man who was with you last night. I’m just not Dane. I’m Ethan. Ethan Forrester.”

“Oh my God. You told me about Ethan last night. You’re Dane’s older brother. But…but really you were telling me about yourself.” She suddenly wanted to take the lamp sitting beside the bed and hurl it at him. Everything in her wanted to scream at the way she’d been wronged. “You lied to me.”

He nodded and she realized he still did nothing to cover himself. His magnificent body stood in the middle of the room, and despite the deception of this man, this brother of Dane Forrester, she still wanted him. What was wrong with her? She needed to channel her anger, not her unwanted desire. “Why did you trick me? Why were you acting like you were Dane?”

“Because he’s sick and he couldn’t miss this event, so I pretended to be him. I was only going to make a quick appearance and leave, but then you kept asking me questions. I even went to my room, but I told you I’d give you the interview, so I came back down.”

“Give me the interview?” Bubbles of anger swelled up, threatening to drown her. She picked up a pillow and pitched it at him. “What good would it do me to have an interview with you? You aren’t Dane!”

“No, I’m not Dane.” He eyed her with such intensity, she shivered.

“An interview with you is a big fat joke! You aren’t the Stanley Cup winning captain. You’re nobody.” After she’d said those last words, she bit down on her bottom lip. Certainly she didn’t mean to be so harsh.

The hardened look in his eyes seared into her. Her heart raced and fear shivered along her skin.

In two swift strides, he picked up his boxers and tee shirt. “You’re right. I’m nobody.”

Her heart pumped fast and hard. Her body shook. “I didn’t mean that. You aren’t nobody. I just—it was wrong, I shouldn’t have—I just feel hurt, so I lashed out.”

“You shouldn’t have slept with an ugly scarred man like me.” He stepped into his boxers pulled them up and shrugged the tee shirt over his chest. “I get it.”

Carly swallowed hard and mentally chastised herself for her very poor choice of words. “None of this has anything to do with your scar or being ugly. In fact, you’re beautiful. You’re beyond beautiful. All of you. Every inch of you, but still, you should have told me.”

“Told you what?” He looked upward and let out a choked laugh. “Should I have said, ‘wait just one minute, princess, while I show you what I really look like? I’m not my handsome brother. In fact, I’m nothing like him and I’m certainly no knight.’ ”

“Yes, you could have stopped and said that. Well, not those exact words, but you could have told me your real name.” The idea that he was a knight rescuing her had had her so turned on, she knew she wouldn’t have wanted anything to change what they’d shared last night. At the time, it didn’t feel wrong, but now…now somehow it did.

“You asked me to keep my mask on, don’t you remember?” He sounded angry, but somehow she knew he was also hurt.

“Of course I remember. So I suppose you’re going to hold that against me, and this is all my fault?”

“No, the fault is completely mine.” He pulled on his black trousers. “I should have removed my mask despite what you said.”

A cringe of guilt laced through her. Was she going to sit by and let him take all the blame for his deception? Of course she was. He should have told her the truth about his identity.

He sat on a wingback chair and pulled on his socks. “I intend to make things right.”

Now she was curious. “How do you propose to do that?”

“I’ll get you the interview with my brother. I’ll arrange everything, and you won’t have to see me again. What’s the name of the company you work for? I’ll contact you through them, and we won’t ever have to talk again.”

“But…” She wasn’t sure what to say. He offered her what she wanted and yet her heart felt heavy. His eyes peered at her with cold intent. He seemed nothing like the man who had flirted with her last night, had been so playful, and made her body melt into a puddle of desire.

His scar probably added an element of darkness to his features, but all she wanted to do was forget about the interview and run her hands through his hair, over his face, and across his scar. She wanted to remove the bitterness from his voice and return to what they’d experienced last night.

“I’m going to go downstairs and settle the bill for the room. You stay as long as you’d like.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Not sure of what? I’ll get you the interview with my brother. I apologize for my deception. I hope someday you can forgive me.” He marched out of the room.

Carly’s chest tightened. She couldn’t let him leave like this. She ripped off a bed sheet and wrapped it around her like a bath towel. “But wait, Ethan, stop.”

He strode across the sitting area and had his hand on the door’s handle. Mentally she willed him to turn around, but he didn’t. She blew out a long breath, stalling for time, deciding what to say. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. I did ask you to keep the mask on. It’s my fault, too.”

His head gave a brief nod. He opened the door and was gone.

Carly wanted to call out. She wanted to ask him to stay. But she didn’t.

Still a bit confused by the brothers switching places, time and space was probably the best thing for now. She needed to wrap her brain around everything that had been said.

She only knew how empty she felt inside and how this ginormous hotel suite felt hollow, like an empty shell.

CHAPTER 6

Ethan growled in his throat. How could he have been such an idiot? He wasn’t good at being with a woman anymore. He knew better, and yet look how he’d completely screwed up. He practically ran down the hotel’s hallway, putting as much physical distance between him and Carly as he could.

Dane would give Carly the interview and pay in other ways Ethan hadn’t thought of yet.

Since Richelle died, Ethan had been with the occasional one-night-mutually-agreed-upon-stand. He’d never stayed with someone till morning, until now. A part of him had to admit, he wanted to talk to Carly and make sense of it all. He hadn’t wanted to deceive her, but somehow he’d gotten caught up in the fantasy. The fantasy that he was someone she wanted. The fantasy that, instead of Dane, Carly wanted to be with him.

He reached the bank of elevators and punched the down button.

“Ethan,” a voice called out.

He glanced toward the end of the hall at Carly’s sheet-clad body in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

“I wanted to talk to you for just another minute. You—” The door shut behind her. “Oops.” She turned the doorknob on the door. “Please tell me you have a key.”