But he couldn’t spare the time to get rid of his clothes.
He got rid of his pants, put a rubber on as quickly as he could and thrust into her in one smooth stroke. She was so wet; her slick flesh gripped his cock so hard he thought he would lose it then and there. He was rougher than he would’ve liked, but he couldn’t stop himself as he pounded into her. She met him thrust for thrust, her hips angled, and her legs going around his waist, like she was afraid he’d vanish.
Her breathing roughened again, her breasts bobbing with each hard stroke. He wanted to remember her like this forever, hair spread on the carpet, eyes closed and mouth open and inviting.
He buried his face in her neck and ground his hips into her as a white-hot orgasm claimed him. He felt like the top of his head would explode from the pleasure, so sharp and intense it was almost pain. She convulsed around him, his climax triggering another of hers. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed out her satisfaction.
Chapter Nine
THEY HAD A BITE to eat, then Ethan got dressed and left for the charity ball. He looked so mouth-watering in his tuxedo, Kerri almost changed her mind about not accompanying him. She considered seducing him again to keep him with her a little bit longer, but that probably wouldn’t have worked. He wasn’t the kind of man a woman could manipulate with sex.
So instead she waved goodbye, put on a robe and went to her laptop. Ethan didn’t want her to work on weekends, but it wasn’t like she had anything else to do. There was nothing interesting on TV. She could only watch so many hysterical news programs about the crappy economy, currency manipulators and potential terrorist attacks. She didn’t have her violin, not that she would’ve been able to play anyway; she’d probably forgotten almost everything. There was reading, but she didn’t read much except a couple of business magazines, the Wall Street Journal and a few select financial papers. And she’d already read today’s Journal.
Who was Ethan taking to the ball? Those types of events always required a date, and Ethan undoubtedly had a stable of stunning candidates. A blonde? Maybe a brunette? A model or singer or something.
She suddenly couldn’t concentrate. She closed the laptop and stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at the lights below. A bitter acidic feeling inside made her stomach uncomfortably tight. She wasn’t used to feeling jealous over a man, and discovered she hated it. This possessiveness had to be because their relationship was still on the new side. When more time had passed, maybe around Christmas or thereabouts, she wouldn’t care. She might even look back at this moment and laugh at how silly she’d been.
But that was the future. The present didn’t make her feel like laughing.
She wanted to be there with him, dance in his arms, greet his friends and acquaintances. But that wasn’t going to happen when she knew her grandfather would be there. Her hands tightened, and she wanted to hurl something.
Why did they want to see her? It’d been seven—or was it eight?—years. What would they have to say to each other? She knew the kind of loss and pain she’d caused and didn’t want to hurt them anymore. She didn’t want them to hurt her, either…not that it would be from any malicious intent, but uncaring words and neglect could cut just as deeply.
It shouldn’t have been so complicated just to be in Virginia—and with Ethan—for a while without having to worry about running into her family. Part of her thought she should engineer a confrontation and be done with them once and for all, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t think she could handle the pain or the guilt.
Coward.
At least she was good at shielding herself.
*
Ethan could barely tolerate the ball, and the glitz and wealth all around him. The orchestra grated on his nerves. The marble was too hard, the chandeliers too gaudy, and the food and drink tasteless.
He usually went to such functions with good grace since they supported good causes, but he hated being here while Kerri was home alone. She’d almost looked sad when he’d left.
Well, it was her choice. He would’ve canceled if Kerri had said, “Stay with me.” But when he’d put on his tux, her face had closed off and she’d said, “Have a good time.”
Was she having a good time?
How could a woman want him as much as she did, then push him away once they were done like she was embarrassed by a lapse in judgment? She still snuck from his room to return to hers every night as soon as she thought he’d fallen asleep. Women had never treated him that way. He was smart and capable, wealthy, his family impeccable…and he didn’t have any glaringly bad habits that might turn a woman off.
And humble, he thought with a sour wryness. Don’t forget humble.
Had he miscalculated Kerri’s attraction to him? Was it really just based on how much she liked his cock? But no, she enjoyed his company outside the bedroom too. So what the hell was her deal?
“Hey.” His date, Elizabeth Pryce-Reed, poked him in the side. “You don’t like educating the poor children in Somalia?”
“What?”
“You’ve been glowering ever since we got here.”
“Sorry. I’m just tired. And worried about Natalie,” he said.
“That poor woman. Can you imagine getting food poisoning on your honeymoon? Yuck.”
He forced a smile. “I know, right?”
It wasn’t Elizabeth’s fault Kerri was proving more difficult than he’d imagined. Elizabeth was a dear friend, someone he’d known since grade school, and she’d done him a big favor by coming since her social calendar was always overflowing. Not only was she a wealthy heiress, she was also gorgeous with bouncy blonde curls and warm brown eyes. Ethan didn’t know a single person who didn’t like Elizabeth, and she received invitations to all the best parties.