"Honestly, I don't know." She blushed.
"I know." My voice was hoarse with passion. "You're an incredible woman, Kayla: smart, beautiful, sexy as hell. I can't tell you how much I want you, but I don't want you to feel pressured about it, like you're obligated to sleep with me just because I hired you to pose for the magazine. I only want you if you want me just as much."
"I do," she said in a husky voice. It was all the permission I needed.
I grabbed her and pulled her to me, crushing her soft, delicate lips with my own. Her mouth opened for me and our tongues intertwined as I tried to devour her. She tasted so sweet, and her body was so soft as her round breasts crushed against my hard chest. My erection was straining painfully in the confines of my slacks. I wanted to just rip off all our clothes and take her right then and there, but that just wouldn't do.
A moment like this needed to be savored. It needed to be drawn out, to maximize every moment, to make the pleasure last and last. I wanted to make Kayla's body feel things she had never experienced before. When she woke up in the morning, it would have been enough to make her stay this time, and I knew just how to do it.
Even though it pained me to do so, I released her from my embrace and drew back.
"What's wrong?" She looked worried.
"Nothing's wrong." I grinned at her with a sexy leer. "Go down to the ice machine and bring up a bucket of ice. I'm going to get things ready for when you return."
"What's to get ready?"
"You'll see. Now, be an obedient little girl and do as you've been told." I winked at her, and she smiled back.
"Yes, sir," she said, and then she was gone.
My palms were actually sweating as I closed the door behind her. I knew I only had a few minutes, and I needed to make them count. Indeed, I needed to make tonight count, and that's exactly what I intended to do.
Chapter Nineteen
Kayla
My heart was pounding with anticipation as I made my way to the ice machine. What wonderful delights did Ethan have in store for me? I remembered how it had felt when he hit my ass with a flogger the night I stayed over at his Beverly Hills mansion. It had been the most incr
edible experience of my life. I hadn't known that sex could feel so incredible amazing until that night.
I found the ornate, silver buckets stacked up by the ice machine and begin to fill one. I heard someone approaching me from behind and a familiar voice said, "Kayla, I didn't realize you were back at the hotel."
I turned to face none other than Gwyneth. She had an ice bucket of her own in her hands, and we both smiled awkwardly at each other as she began to fill it.
"Yeah, Ethan and I got back a little bit ago, but didn't feel like going back to the noise of the party, so he invited me upstairs for a quiet drink." I felt obligated to explain, even though it was obvious that she knew the truth about what was really about to happen up there.
"I'm happy for you two," she said. I was touched by her sincerity. I felt bad for being jealous of her earlier and wondered if we'd be able to become friends. She seemed to feel the same way as she asked me, "Tell me, is he really doing okay?"
"Yeah, he's doing great."
"Good," she looked visibly relieved. "Those years when he was struggling with his addiction were so awful; I couldn't bear to watch it. He's really doing okay now? No relapses?"
"What addiction?" I asked, feeling taken aback; but Gwyneth mistook my response as being sarcasm and laughed lightly.
"Good, I was worried that a stressful time like the launch of a big new design would set him back. And then, of course, running into people he used to know like he did tonight always carries a risk, too."
"No, I'm serious. What addiction?" I asked more insistently.
Gwyneth looked surprised. "I thought as his girlfriend, surely you would know about it."
"Tell me." I was practically pleading now.
"I don't think it's my place to say anything." She took a step back, widening the distance between us. The bond we had shared just a moment ago already blocked by a brick wall of secrecy.
She looked at me sadly. "Ethan and I had an unspoken pact never to talk about it for his sake. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you himself."
"Just tell me, is it something dangerous? I want to help him if I can." I was pleading and it was pathetic, but what else could I do? The ploy didn't work. Gwyneth just took her shook her head and walked away, carrying her ice with her.