LOVE ME LATER Excerpt
“You’re crowding me,” Scarlet whispered, knowing Ethan could feel her arm quiver beneath his fingers. The involuntary tremor only increased as she stiffened against it, while a chaotic fog filled her head like a balloon. Breathe, goddamn it. In then out. She followed her own instructions, managing a long, ragged inhale. Again.
“You okay?”
The question sounded fuzzy, like he’d yelled it through a mile of cardboard tubing. His big body was over-the-top, and she wasn’t used to letting people, even the smaller ones, so near. She shook her head, and as soon as she could project her voice, she added, “Let go, Ethan, please.”
His hand slid away immediately, and when she looked up, she saw concern banked in the obsidian of his gaze. Worry he didn’t want to feel warred with the anger he did. She realized that, for very different reasons, neither of them wanted to recall the events that had torn them to pieces. Yet the memories were like living, breathing beings hovering between them. Their very own ghosts of Christmas past.
“I’m sorry,” he said, albeit reluctantly. This time he was the one who appeared to search for the right words. “This may have been a mistake—for both of us—but what’s done is done, and we’re booked to leave in fifteen minutes. If I don’t show up in Copenhagen, someone else will. Atavos can’t afford to lose Optik, especially for the wrong reasons.”
His hand smoothed over her blouse where he’d touched her arm, gently pulling the fragile fabric straight. “You’ll board that plane, through persuasion, blackmail, force… whatever it takes.”
Drawn to his lighter, now almost hesitant touch, she let him stroke her while her vital signs returned to normal. “You’re right on one count,” she said sadly. “This is a mistake.”
The smile he gave her was cold, but the soft stroking along her arm didn’t stop. “Probably won’t be your last.”
She shrank back. Abruptly, her chest ached. Not because he was being an ass, but because she’d allowed herself to indulge in tormented fantasies that he wouldn’t be, and now she reeled with the backlash of disappointment. Wanting him to be different didn’t make it so, and between them, bygones could never be bygones. If she were honest—something she’d decided not to be with herself until this was all over—she’d wanted much more. Now, she saw the project for what it really was.
A trap.
Rubbing the exposed skin at her sternum, she said, “If you don’t mind, I’d really like to get some water. That’s all, Ethan. I wasn’t leaving.”
“Hell,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll see you onboard. We’re in coach since we booked last minute.”
“Fine.” She stepped onto the escalator, relieved to be beyond his reach. “Optik awaits.”
Minutes later, Scarlet settled into her seat, anticipating her first glass of wine from the flight attendant. Never much of a drinker, she planned to rock a slight buzz to sooth her tattered nerves. They would fly direct to Frankfurt before hopping a second flight up to Copenhagen. She situated her lap blanket and headphones and focused on relaxing before what she hoped would be a seven-hour nap.
The previous night had been restless. Ethan had teamed with her troubling finances to occupy her thoughts until dawn, crowding out all possibilities of sleep and leaving her exhausted for reunification day, as she called it.
Their reunion had definitely started with a bang. But the debacle had been more her fault than his. She’d been so prepared for a confrontation she’d unwillingly caused one. Worse, Ethan was right about her limited choices, and for all her denials, he was dead-on about her so-called ruin-ability. Yet only a fool would fail to seize the career-defining opportunity he offered. And her new motto, carpe diem, didn’t allow her to let life-altering chances pass her by.
Ethan Blake had her over a barrel. He knew it, and he wasn’t afraid to exploit the advantage.
The realization hit as the man in question sauntered down the aisle and slid into the adjoining seat.
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