Ethan.
I’m lying on his chest, his arms wrapped around me and holding me in place. I have no recollection of how I got here. The last thing I can remember is his mouth between my legs. I have no idea how many orgasms he gave me. They all started to blend together, and I must have passed out from all the pleasure.
His chest rises and falls, lifting my body with his every breath. God, I dreamed of waking up like this so many times. I wondered for so long where he might be out there in the world. But today I know where he is. Beneath me.
Slowly freeing myself from his arms, I stare down at him, taking in every inch of him. We barely talked last night. I wonder where we’ll go from here. There’s so much that needs to be said and so many years to make up for.
I feel like I know everything and nothing about Ethan.
Glancing over at the clock, I see it’s two in the afternoon. Holy shit. How did that happen? Leaning down, I place a soft kiss on his firm lips, and he mumbles, “Bunny.” He doesn’t wake up, but the simple utterance of the nickname he has always called me warms my heart.
I pull myself from the bed and open his drawers, finding a pair of boxers and a shirt. I have to roll the boxers a million times to get them to stay up on my hips, but it doesn’t really matter because the t-shirt drowns me anyway.
Taking one last look at Ethan, I leave the room quietly, not wanting to wake him. I hate that I have to go to work, but I’m under contract, and I really don’t want to be the one on the receiving end of Charles’s temper if I’m late. Especially after getting dragged off stage last night. There’s no telling how pissed he is.
I make a quick call to the Snake Eyes and arrange for a ride. I barely have two seconds to write a quick note for Ethan before I bolt out the door. I run as fast as I can out of the casino, trying to make it to the next show on time.
6
Ethan
I wake up and reach for Tiffany, but when my fingers find cold sheets I snap up out of bed.
“Bunny!” I shout through the room, my voice echoing off the bare walls. I don’t hear anything in the bathroom, and a sickening feeling twists in my stomach. Something must have happened to her.
Jumping out of bed, I run naked through the place, searching every room for her. When I get to the kitchen, I see a small piece of paper on the counter. I snatch it up.
Late for work, chat soon.
Foxy
xoxox
“What the fuck? Chat soon? Foxy? Oh, hell no.” I crumple up the note and throw it across the kitchen as I storm back to the bedroom. “Chat soon,” I say in a mocking voice. I can’t seem to help the anger that’s rolling off me. “Foxy.” The name tastes like dirt in my mouth.
I go to the closet, grab a pair of jeans and throw on a black t-shirt. My shoulder-length hair is a mess, but I don’t bother doing anything about it as I get dressed. I slip on some shoes and grab my keys on the way out, feeling my anger rise more and more. After everything we shared last night and after all the years we were apart, I’ll be damned if she just slips out on me like I’m nobody.
When I get to the front of my casino, I run to my Audi and slide in. I don’t think about anything other than getting to my Bunny as I throw it in gear and hit the gas.
Pulling up outside the Snake Eyes, I keep my keys and give the valet a hard glare. “I’ll be back in a second. Don’t touch my car.”
I hear him mumble, “Yes, sir,” as I walk through the entrance.
“Took you long enough.”
I hear Charles’s voice and turn around to see him standing just to the right of the entrance. I want to rip out his throat, but I’ll do it later. Right now I need my woman. “Where is she?”
“She’s about to go on stage.”
About to go on stage? I don’t fucking think so. Fine, if she wants to keep dancing I’ll just buy out every one of her shows and sit in the audience alone for every single one of them.
Charles holds up his hand, and I stop what was going to be a tirade.
“I’ve already canceled the show but she doesn’t know it. I thought maybe you’d like to see her in action one last time.”
“One last time?” I ask.
He gives me a cocky smile and tilts his head to the side. “I’ve decided to release her from her contract. Her understudy can take over.”
I should feel guilty, but all I feel is relief. I can’t stomach the idea of her onstage every day in front of men who think about nothing but fucking what’s mine. I nod slightly and unclench my fists. “Thank you.”
“I’ve been where you’re at. I know what it’s like to have the one you want run from you.”