“Not a smart move.”
“You deserved it,” I hiss before I can stop myself.
The same muscle in his jaw ticks again, and then I’m being lifted and thrown onto the couch, his strong and hard body pinning me against the soft surface. His large hand wraps around my throat, pressing gently into my skin, the weight of his legs caging me in.
I gasp in panic, trying to catch my next breath. Knowing the man above me is literally holding my life in his hands has my heart beating wildly against my ribcage. The more I struggle, the more Ethan presses his grip to my throat. His cold eyes crashing with mine.
“You have no idea who the fuck I am…” He inhales, the cool air hissing through his clenched teeth, and leans in until his face is inches from my mouth. “If you did, you never would’ve approached me that night.”
A night I’m full on regretting right now.
His fingers loosen and graze my throat lightly. His body is still hard against me. My chest hurts and fear consumes me.
“Ethan, please,” I beg. For what? I don’t even know anymore.
“Don’t think because I know just how sweet your mouth tastes, I’m going to go soft for you.” Unforgiving eyes lock with mine, and my breathing becomes shallow, tears filling my lids once again.
“You need to tell me every single fucking thing that has happened, from the moment my tongue left your mouth in the club, until now,” he commands, releasing me, so I can speak. I cough a little, but keep my mouth shut, refusing to speak. The room is spinning, and my head is throbbing. My vision blurs, and I close my eyes to clear it.
Ethan curses under his breath and stands, walking over to the other side of the room.
I scrub my hands over my face in a pathetic attempt to calm my nerves. The stress and fear from this entire situation are taking over my body. I’m scared and nobody is coming to save me. I thought maybe there was a chance Ethan would help me when he first showed up, but I know now he’s not the hero in this story.
Ethan pulls his phone out of his pocket and hits a button, then brings it up to his ear. His eyes travel back to me, still lying on the couch. He raises a single brow but doesn’t say anything.
This day has gone from bad to downright disastrous, and I haven’t any clue what to do to get myself home. A home I might never see again. I close my eyes, trying to steady myself. I need to make it through this, whatever it takes. I’ll never stop fighting, but first, I need to calm down.
“Where the hell are you, Logan?” Ethan yells into the phone. His tone is different with the guy on the phone—if possible it’s even more menacing. I briefly wonder if Logan is the name of the man who took me.
Feeling like it’s probably best to be on my guard, I sit up and turn toward Ethan and the door. My head is still disoriented, and the thumping in my temples is only increasing. Ethan glares at me while listening to whatever that Logan guy is saying.
“You didn’t handle shit. I’m staring at your fuck up right now. You need to get your ass to your house.”
Ethan hits a button on his phone and places it back in his pocket then walks over to the corner of the room, where bottles of dark liquid stand next to several glasses on a table. He fills one glass to the brim and the other only halfway. He returns to me and places the half-filled glass on a table beside me. Then he takes a long sip from his own glass, glaring at me over the rim.
“It will help you relax.”
“I don’t want to relax. I want to go home.”
I break eye contact with him and stare at the glass with the dark liquid. I know it’s liquor of some kind. Truth be told, I don’t really like to drink. The fruity drinks on my birthday were delicious, but that liquid encouragement led me to Ethan, only proving that drinking doesn’t lead to anything good.
If I make it through this, I will never drink again.
Sitting taller and ignoring the drink in front of me, I say, “So…what’s going to happen?”
Ethan clenches his jaw, swirling his drink in his hand. “I gave you the opportunity to speak earlier, but instead you wanted to act like some feisty little ninja. Now I’m done talking.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I’m just really scared. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His laughter booms through the room, bouncing off the walls. “You could never hurt me. I would never give you that power.”
“But—”
“No more talking.” Ethan tosses his head back, swallowing the last of his drink in one gulp. He licks the flavor from his lips and then carefully places his glass next to my untouched one, eyeing it with curiosity.