PEYTON
ONE WEEK LATER
The media was insane. Instead of returning to California, Ethan and I retreated to his family’s cabin in Sierra Nevada for a week. His wounds were healing nicely, and I began to have more energy. However, I wasn’t ready to deal with the circus yet.
Everyone else went back, and they were bombarded with questions. The FBI had searched Martin’s home and found years’ worth of videos he’d taken of my mom after the whole Dark Side incident. There were even ones from when I was a baby up to the current year. Needless to say, I was thoroughly creeped out. I knew the paparazzi followed me around, but it was sickening to know there was someone deep in the shadows watching us as well.
Not anymore. Martin was going to be in prison for the rest of his life.
I’d given a statement to my agent which she gave to the media to tie them over until I wanted to do something publicly. I wasn’t ready to face the public yet; the ordeal had taken too much out of me. All I wanted was privacy while Ethan and I dealt with it all.
It turned out that the FBI could not find evidence to convict Nikolai Michelson for his role in the abduction or any of the events after that. Did that shock me? No, I had already convinced myself that they wouldn’t. I wanted it to be over, but I knew it was still the beginning.
The FBI had questioned Wren about her meeting with Nikolai at that Charlotte hotel, but they couldn’t get clear proof that it even happened. They checked the hotel cameras, but it turned out that all the data had been erased. The Michelsons had so many people in their pockets it was scary.
Nikolai had a vendetta, and he was dead set on seeing it through. Was he done with Ethan and me? That was a question I didn’t know the answer to. However, we did know that he wasn’t going to stop. He had a list, and there were people on that list we cared about. So, it was simply a question on who was next.
I didn’t know how long I’d been standing by the patio door, watching the snow fall outside, when Ethan’s voice broke through my inner thoughts.
“Have you talked to Wren?” he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and rubbing my stomach.
Grinning, I placed my hands over his. “I talked to her this morning. Mom’s been working her hard, but I know she loves it. I think she’s hoping to be ready for her first fight this summer.”
Ethan chuckled. “After what I’ve seen, I’d say she’s ready now.”
That was true, she was a fierce fighter. She was staying at my parents’ house until things settled down. After that, she was going to move into Ethan’s Venice home as soon as we moved our stuff out. It was our gift to her.
Ethan pressed his lips to the crook of my neck, and shivers cascaded down my arms. “You know,” he murmured, sliding my shirt down just a tad so he could kiss more of my skin. “I had a hot dream about you last night. It’s been on my mind all day.”
He pushed his rock-hard cock into my back and I giggled. “Oh yeah? Care to tell me about it?”
Turning me around in his arms, he looked into my eyes and shook his head. “How about I show you?”
I bit my lip. “Sounds good to me.”
Picking me up in his arms, he carried me down the hall and into the bedroom, never once taking his lips from mine. I couldn’t get enough of him. The second he set me down beside the bed, he lifted up my sweater and tossed it on the floor while I ripped off my leggings. Ethan’s eyes lit with humor as he watched how desperate I was to get undressed.
“I’m loving the pregnancy hormones,” he teased. “Hopefully, you’ll always want me like this.”
Grabbing the hem of his shirt, I lifted it over his head. “You have nothing to worry about.” He unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them off before guiding me back toward the king-sized bed. I laid down and he towered over me, my skin trembling with the need to feel his touch.
Sliding down my body, he lowered his lips to my thigh and kissed his way up to my stomach. “If there’s one thing I’m looking forward to, it’s knowing I can come home and touch you like this every day, that you’re fully mine,” he murmured, caressing his thumbs across my peaked nipples. His fingers slowly trailed down to my stomach. Getting into position between my legs, he spread my knees wide, his eyes darkening with need. With a light blow over my sensitive skin, he brought his lips over my center and sucked my clit into his mouth.
“Ethan,” I breathed, gripping onto his head as he thrust his tongue inside me.
I arched my back and gave into his touch, moaning in delight as he explored me with his mouth while holding my legs out to the side with his weight. Then, all too soon, he pulled away, leaving me breathless.
Slowly, he licked a path all the way back up my leg, past the inside of my thigh. Fingers spreading me open, he nuzzled my clit with his nose, keeping his gaze on mine as he fucked me with his tongue. I was getting close to losing control, and before I could hit my peak, Ethan gave me one last lick and continued his torturous path up to my breasts.
“That’s not funny,” I growled.
He smiled and bit one of my nipples. “I told you I was going to show you what I dreamed of. This was part of it.”
“You’re evil.”
Licking his lips, he stared down at me. “Your orgasms tonight will all be with me inside you, Peyton. Just like mine will all be inside you.”
He wrapped his warm lips around my breast, making everything tighten and throb with need. Ethan lifted his head and gazed down at me with his sensual blue eyes. Pressing his hips against mine, he positioned himself between my legs, grazing his cock along my opening as he swiveled his hips in slow circles.