The Business Proposal

Chapter Fourteen

Ethan woke to something heavy lying on his chest and the gentle sound of snoring. Shifting his position, he looked down to see a mop of curls and couldn't resist the little smile at the sight of his future wife.

Her legs were entwined with his and his arm was curled protectively around her as if he'd needed to ensure her presence was next to him even whilst he slept. Usually he was irritated when a woman clung to him like that. It's why most of the time he'd left before the cuddling and pillow talk could start.

In the rare cases where he was too drunk or too tired to get up, he always regretted staying in the morning. The awkward glances and trivial small talk was too much for him to handle. As was their continued questions on when they would see him again. He always replied the same. Never.

They were a means to an end. A drink of water to ease the thirst. But being with Ivy felt different. Rather than being annoyed by her, he revelled in the feel of her skin on his. The fact she'd sought him out during the night pleased him. And he found he didn't want to let her go.

Their time together yesterday had been like nothing he'd ever experienced. He'd expected to feel caged or a sense of foreboding when he'd introduced her to his family and instead he'd smiled. They'd accepted her with open arms and his mother had adored her. He had the ring to prove it.

Then he'd taken her back to his home. A place where he'd never brought another woman.

It had been a spur of the moment idea as he'd looked at her distraught face in his parents' house. A feeling of overprotectiveness had crashed through him, pushing him to take care of her. He'd given little regard to having her in his home until he'd opened the door. The recklessness of his actions only then dawning on him. But watching her awed face had melted his worries away.

He couldn't stop watching her. Not when she'd seen the view and her eyes sparkled. Not when she'd taken the first bite of Helio's pizza and moaned leaving him hard. And definitely not, when he'd watched her talk about her ex.

Even now the thought of what that idiot had done caused his anger to surge. The man must have been blind not to understand the treasure he'd held. And Ethan took comfort in the fact that she would soon be his. She would never suffer at the hands of another man if he could help it.

His stomach rumbled, and he looked to see if he'd woken Ivy. He held his breath as she stirred but she only sighed and rolled away from him. He missed her warmth already, but he knew it was time for him to get up.

Carefully, he planted a small kiss on her head and then extracted himself from the bed.

Just before he closed the door, he checked her one last time and smiled to see her snuggled up in his bed. The other women may have been water, but his Ivy was something else. She was like whiskey. Strong and fiery. She made him feel alive.

Once he got to the kitchen, he made a few quick phone calls to Ivy's assistant, his own, and his housekeeper before busying himself with making breakfast. The actions kept his mind away from the tempting woman upstairs and the hard on he was sporting.

"Morning." A sleepy voice shook him out of his thoughts and his eyes focused on Ivy as she walked down the stairs.

A hot stab of lust shot through him and his cock twitched in excitement. She wore his discarded shirt and a more primal part of him enjoyed seeing her in his clothes, just as he had when she'd worn his sweatshirt.

But what he was seeing now was different. His sweatshirt had concealed everything but her bare legs, hiding her delicate body away from him, but now he could see a lot more. His shirt dusted across the top of her thighs and he knew if she bent over now it would ride up enough for him to see the delicious scrap of her knickers. The buttons were only done half way up, leaving the valley between her breasts unobstructed for his viewing.