lap as he looked down at her. “I told you, some things you don’t forget. But nobody’s been stupid enough to get involved with me, not since I joined the Company.”
“I love your pillow talk, baby. Especially when you call me stupid.” She batted her eyelashes up at him.
“And I love you, which makes me the stupid one for bringing you into this kind of a life,” he sighed, stroking the side of her face.
“Any life with you is worth the risk.” Cady caught onto his hand, pressing a kiss to the palm. “What about your family though, have you been away from them this whole time too? Didn’t they wonder what happened to you?”
“Both my folks died before I finished elementary school. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, and my Uncle didn’t seem to care much one way or another if I stayed or left once I finished high school. It’s probably part of why the Company identified me as a good candidate.”
Cady tried to imagine what it would feel like to be completely alone in the world and came up blank. Even after their mom split and their father died, she’d always had Ian to look out for her and vice versa. But where might she have ended up with no one in her corner? “So you never went home again?”
“Wasn’t anything to go back to,” he shrugged. Something about the way he said it, as though it didn’t bother him at all, made her heart go out to him. Instinctively she drew him closer, offering a tender kiss to help erase his pain.
Ethan gently pulled her into his lap, taking the comfort and making something new between them. It wasn’t about healing past hurts, but a glimpse of something new – the possibility of a future together. That hope stretched between them as the kisses grew more ardent, fueled by more than compassion. Already she wanted him again, and Cady wondered if she’d ever be able to resist him or anything he asked of her.
Chapter Seven
Cady stood before the bathroom mirror digging through the bottom of her purse for some concealer. A touch of redness from the love bites was visible just over her neckline, and she didn’t want to chance drawing any attention to them. Once again wearing her prim office clothes, she looked none the worse for wear, and certainly not as if she’d spent half the night rolling around on the ground with her forbidden lover. At least that was the hope.
Though she was tired, there was a glow to her skin, a radiance that took a moment for her to realize was happiness. Problems? Yes, they had problems, huge obstacles in fact, but she was in love, and they were together again. As long as Ethan wanted her enough to risk being with her, it was enough.
Dabbing the makeup over the edges of the marks, she winced, finally getting a good look at them. She hadn’t come home looking like that since her junior year of high school. It almost looked as though she’d been attacked. Ian would freak out if he saw the marks on her, but with any luck he’d be asleep when she got in anyway.
Ethan popped his head into the bathroom to watch, his brows drawing together as he saw what she was doing. “Shit, I marked you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I kind of like them,” she allowed, tilting her head to look at the picture she made. “I look like a girl who’s got a very attentive boyfriend.”
Ethan stepped behind her and wrapped his hands around her middle, his breath warm on the back of her neck. “That you do, but it also looks like I got too carried away.”
“Hey, no complaints from me. I all kinds of enjoyed it. Besides, I think we all need to get carried away every now and again, don’t you?”
“Your brother might not agree.”
“Hence the cover up,” she smiled, holding up the wand. She tried dabbing on another blot of color, but his hands kept distracting her. “You know, if you start that again I’m never going to get out of here.”
“Okay, okay,
“I love your pillow talk, baby. Especially when you call me stupid.” She batted her eyelashes up at him.
“And I love you, which makes me the stupid one for bringing you into this kind of a life,” he sighed, stroking the side of her face.
“Any life with you is worth the risk.” Cady caught onto his hand, pressing a kiss to the palm. “What about your family though, have you been away from them this whole time too? Didn’t they wonder what happened to you?”
“Both my folks died before I finished elementary school. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, and my Uncle didn’t seem to care much one way or another if I stayed or left once I finished high school. It’s probably part of why the Company identified me as a good candidate.”
Cady tried to imagine what it would feel like to be completely alone in the world and came up blank. Even after their mom split and their father died, she’d always had Ian to look out for her and vice versa. But where might she have ended up with no one in her corner? “So you never went home again?”
“Wasn’t anything to go back to,” he shrugged. Something about the way he said it, as though it didn’t bother him at all, made her heart go out to him. Instinctively she drew him closer, offering a tender kiss to help erase his pain.
Ethan gently pulled her into his lap, taking the comfort and making something new between them. It wasn’t about healing past hurts, but a glimpse of something new – the possibility of a future together. That hope stretched between them as the kisses grew more ardent, fueled by more than compassion. Already she wanted him again, and Cady wondered if she’d ever be able to resist him or anything he asked of her.
Chapter Seven
Cady stood before the bathroom mirror digging through the bottom of her purse for some concealer. A touch of redness from the love bites was visible just over her neckline, and she didn’t want to chance drawing any attention to them. Once again wearing her prim office clothes, she looked none the worse for wear, and certainly not as if she’d spent half the night rolling around on the ground with her forbidden lover. At least that was the hope.
Though she was tired, there was a glow to her skin, a radiance that took a moment for her to realize was happiness. Problems? Yes, they had problems, huge obstacles in fact, but she was in love, and they were together again. As long as Ethan wanted her enough to risk being with her, it was enough.
Dabbing the makeup over the edges of the marks, she winced, finally getting a good look at them. She hadn’t come home looking like that since her junior year of high school. It almost looked as though she’d been attacked. Ian would freak out if he saw the marks on her, but with any luck he’d be asleep when she got in anyway.
Ethan popped his head into the bathroom to watch, his brows drawing together as he saw what she was doing. “Shit, I marked you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I kind of like them,” she allowed, tilting her head to look at the picture she made. “I look like a girl who’s got a very attentive boyfriend.”
Ethan stepped behind her and wrapped his hands around her middle, his breath warm on the back of her neck. “That you do, but it also looks like I got too carried away.”
“Hey, no complaints from me. I all kinds of enjoyed it. Besides, I think we all need to get carried away every now and again, don’t you?”
“Your brother might not agree.”
“Hence the cover up,” she smiled, holding up the wand. She tried dabbing on another blot of color, but his hands kept distracting her. “You know, if you start that again I’m never going to get out of here.”
“Okay, okay,
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