Big & Beautiful 11: Curvaceous & Captivating

His eyebrows lifted before he leveled me with a look that said he didn’t appreciate me challenging him. Well, I didn’t appreciate that he was judging the way I raised my kids. He could build a bridge and get the hell over it.

I meant heck over it.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. I always wanted to sit in front of the TV during dinner when I was growing up. My parents were pretty strict.”

The tone of his voice, the sadness, pushed past my mad and took up residence inside me. I felt badly for him.

Of course, the next look he gave me was one that told me exactly how much he appreciated my sympathy.

“Well,” I said, trying to salvage something, “I don’t feel like cooking Friday nights, so it’s as much me being lazy as it is a reward for them. It works out for all of us.”

“What happened to their father?”

“Wow,” I said, stunned that he had the guts to ask that. My friends that I’d known for almost a year didn’t know the whole story about Bill and me. I definitely wasn’t going to share it with a stranger. “That’s a really personal question.”

He shrugged as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. “I just want to make sure he’s not coming back.”

I blanched. “Why?”

“Because if he is, I want to be prepared for a fight.”

Oh.

Damn.

Ethan didn’t give me a chance to say anything before he moved closer. His eyes were black as he stalked me in my own kitchen. I fought the urge to back away from him, knowing it was futile. I didn’t really want to retreat from him.

The firm edge of the counter hit my hip and halted the involuntary step I’d taken backward. Ethan took his time moving in front of me, crowding me with his massive body and eyes that burned me. They never wavered from my own gaze, locking me in place. He leaned forward, not touching me.

“I will fight, Olivia. Because I know when I want something. And right now, I want you.”

He shifted closer, immeasurably so, and my breath halted. I could feel his heat, and it warmed me, heating my entire body from the outside in. I’d never had a reaction like that before. It was heady and intoxicating, and I wanted more of it.

“Mommy! He won’t go back so I can see what happened!”

Ethan’s eyes slid shut, and he shifted back. Feet stomped toward us. I moved out from under his body and plastered a smile on my face as I met Becca halfway into the kitchen.

“Let’s go see what we can do,” I told her, happy for the escape.

Kevin agreed all too easily for my tastes, and we rewound the movie to where Becca left off. With the two of them happily entertained, I returned to the kitchen and our guest.

“Sorry about that,” I offered with a smile, sliding a plate to the other side of the island, far away from where Ethan stood eating his dinner. I wasn’t sure why I was apologizing. I had kids. I had to deal with them. If he couldn’t handle it, he didn’t need to be worrying about me.

“I didn’t realize you were a mother.”

The word fell off his tongue as though he was spitting out something gross. I lifted an eyebrow at him, but he held my glare, not backing down.

“I didn’t realize I was required to share my entire history with you in one meeting. Or any meeting, really. Which reminds me. How did you know where I lived?”

Ethan didn’t appear put off by my attitude in the slightest. I knew I wasn’t being an overly gracious host, but the man unnerved me. The way he looked at me, like he was debating devouring me, left me feeling unsteady where he was relaxed and at ease.

In my house.

“You weren’t difficult to find, Olivia. Are you upset I came here?”

I shook my head, then instantly regretted it when a smoldering grin curled his lips.

“I wanted to see you again. And you wouldn’t accept my calls at work.”

“You’re a sponsor for the Easter Egg Hunt. Our main sponsor. My job depends on me answering your phone calls.”

“Even those to your personal cell phone?”

“How could you possibly get that number?”

He smirked and didn’t offer anything.

“I thought you said you liked kids,” I said after a moment of silence.

He froze, chopsticks in mid-air. He lowered them back to his plate and straightened. “I do like kids.”

“Then why is it a problem that I have two?”

He shrugged, but I could see something in the depths of his dark eyes. There was fear there. Uncertainty.

“I’m flattered you were interested enough to find me, but you can leave. To be honest, I was shocked you actually came inside once you found out I had kids.”

He held my gaze for a minute, then moved toward me. He circled the island and stood in front of me. His eyes blazed, but I wasn’t backing down. I’d seen too many men unsure how to end things once they found out I had kids. I’d learned to lead with that. Ethan and all his big, bad sexiness was not going to make me forget that being a mom was my favorite part of every day.

“I told you I’m prepared to fight for you.”

I snorted a laugh. “Please. You own a toy company. I’m just the new thing off the production line. Something shiny you want to play with. You’d be bored with me in no time and back to screwing your assistant.”

That halted his progress. I enjoyed it for a few seconds. Right up until I met his eyes with a smirk on my lips and saw the storm brewing.

“I am not fucking Harley.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. She made it perfectly clear that’s exactly what’s going on.”

His jaw ticked, and I heard his teeth grind together. He moved closer to me, pressing his body against mine. I could retreat since there wasn’t anything behind me, but I was frozen by the feel of his body against mine.

Jeez, it’d been a long time since I’d felt a man pressed against me. Hard planes and even harder… Oh. My. Goodness. I sucked in a breath and drew his scent in with the air. The expensive male smell, had to be some kind of spicy cologne, made my head spin and my body tingle all over. My tongue darted out to lick my lips, and I swore I could taste him, even though there was no reason for that to be logical.

“I am not fucking Harley. She knows I don’t date and makes sure women who come in to the office don’t flirt with me.”

My head spun as his words sunk in. I felt like a jerk for accusing him of sleeping with his assistant when she was just being a good friend, or employee. It was sweet of her to protect him.

But wait, he didn’t date?

“Why are you here if you don’t date? I’m not going to sleep with you.”

That sexy, sinful smile was back. “Maybe not tonight, Olivia, but you will eventually. I saw the way you were staring at me when I walked in today. And the way you’ve been looking at me all night. You want me as much as I want you. And we both know you know how badly I want you.”

He punctuated his statement with an arm around my back and a rough tug that plastered me even tighter against his body. I could feel him. Him, him. It was digging into my stomach and turning me on.

I couldn’t even think of the last time I’d had sex. I didn’t need it. It had been so long that I no longer had the desire.

Until Ethan.

I leaned into him, aching for the kiss I knew was coming. His hand cupped my jaw. His thumb tugged at my lower lip. His breath fanned on my face.

“Do you want me, Olivia?”

“Yes,” I breathed, my pulse racing. My panties were soaked through, and my nipples were struggling to break free. I needed to feel him. To kiss him. To touch him. To have him touch me. I ached at the idea of him filling me.

“Good,” he said with a smirk, then moved back to the other side of the island.

What. The. Heck!

I glared at him, trying to convey exactly how much I hated him at that moment, but he refused to meet my eyes. The corners of his lips turned up, letting me know he was enjoying this far too much.

But two could play at that game.

I moved around the island and stopped right in front of him. He was standing near the sink, watching my every move, even if he was trying to pretend he wasn’t. I waited just long enough to capture his full attention then bent at the waist to search the lower cabinet next to the sink for a container to hold the rest of the pizza. I dug through, wiggling my hips when I reached far into the back for a bigger container. Sure, I could have used a zip-top bag, but I was feeling environmentally friendly.

He groaned.

“What are you doing, Olivia?” he asked, his voice heavy with lust.

I grabbed a plastic container and lifted it for him to see. “Trying to find something to put the pizza in. All the big ones are hard to reach. They’re way in the back.”

He growled then yanked my hips back, spinning me toward the island. He crouched in front of the cabinet, giving me a nice view of his long back and rounded ass. He finally yanked something free and practically threw it on the counter next to the pizza box.

I smiled up at him. “Thanks. I was having trouble reaching that.”

His gaze slid down my body, slowly, like a caress. “I think you might kill me.”

I grinned and shrugged. “Haven’t killed one yet, but there’s a first time for everything.”

He huffed once, almost like a laugh, then shook his head. “I think I need a drink. Do you have a corkscrew?”

I nodded and turned to get it out of the drawer. When I handed it over, he clutched my hand, his thumb rubbing gently over the inside of my wrist.

“Game on, Olivia.”

* * *

I never should have toyed with Ethan. By the time he left, when the movie was over and the kids were heading to bed, I was sure I would combust. Jeez, he was dangerous. I’d never dated a man like him. Demanding. Controlling. Powerful.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but it seemed he wasn’t going to let me have a vote. When he left, he leaned in to kiss my cheek and ran his tongue up my neck, then nipped at my earlobe.

I had to change the batteries in my vibrator.

The next afternoon, I pushed all thoughts of Ethan out of my head. Our Saturday tradition was to visit Riley at READ. Becca loved books, and Kevin had found a few series he was enjoying. It helped that Riley had a kids area set up in the back of the store where we could hang out.

Once I made sure Becca was comfortable on her bean bag chair and checked with Kevin, I went back to the front to see Riley.

“Hey,” she said, giving me a hug. Her rounded belly bumped me first. She and her husband, Connor, had decided to wait until the baby was born to find out what they were having. She was six months pregnant, and I was more anxious than she was.

I rubbed her belly when I stepped back from her hug and asked, “How’s Baby Bean doing?”

Riley told us Connor said the first ultrasound looked like a bean. Since we couldn’t say he or she we called the baby bean.

“Bean is good. It’s starting to get hard to be on my feet.”

“Have you figured out what you’re going to do when you’re out for leave?”

Riley shook her head. “Not yet. Tara volunteered to work for me, since her theater isn’t operational yet, so I might do that. It feels like I have a long time to figure it out, but I know it’ll go by quickly.”

I nodded. “It really will. When I was pregnant with Kevin, I convinced myself I could finish school. I even signed up for classes to start my sophomore year, but I backed out. At that point, I was just grateful I made it through finals and could get an associate degree with the credits I’d brought in from high school.”

“Did you ever go back to school?”

I shook my head. “I thought about it a lot, but it never made sense. For a long time, Bill said we couldn’t afford it. He was right, but it still pissed me off that he got to finish school and I didn’t.”

“You said he was older, though, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, a year. He finished his degree while I worked as an administrative assistant. I hated putting Kevin in day care.”

Riley rubbed her belly. “I know that’s going to be hard, but Connor and I wouldn’t be able to make it work otherwise. They get exposure to other kids and learn some social skills, though, right?”

I nodded. “There are definitely benefits to day care. I was sort of like Carrie, though. I always thought when I had kids I’d be a stay-at-home mom. It never worked out that way. When Bill graduated, he said I should work for a few months before I quit so we could pay off some of his debts. A few months turned into a few years, and before I knew it Becca was born and then Bill was gone. Looking back, I’m glad I kept working, because it would have been even harder to find a job if I hadn’t been working all along. I didn’t think I was ready to work for the mayor when I got the job as his assistant, but I needed more money. When Wyatt was elected, it was even better.”

“Wyatt seems like he’d be a good boss.”

I nodded. “He is. I’m lucky, because he puts up with a lot of stuff from me most bosses wouldn’t.”

“Like what?”

I laughed. “Always being late.”

Riley laughed. “Yeah, that’s kind of a big no-no. Even Mandy manages to get to work on time.”

I shook my head. “I know. Wyatt made me salaried, though, and said it doesn’t matter what time I come in. He knows I get my work done.”

“That’s pretty awesome. Hey, speaking of Wyatt, how are things going with the hunt? Are you all set?”

“Yes, we are. You guys are awesome. I can’t believe Connor talked it up so much. Wyatt kept telling me he heard Connor mention it on his way in to work. And all of you putting up signs in your windows. I think the kids are going to have a great time.”

“Do you need anything from me?”

I shook my head. “Not unless you have a helicopter lying around.”

Riley paused and gave me a strange look. “Um, fresh out of helicopters. Why do you need one?”

“We booked a major sponsor. He called this week and donated a huge amount. My original vision was always to have a helicopter drop the eggs for the little kids onto that field across from town hall. The older kids can search, but the little kids don’t need it that hard. I thought it would be fun, since the hunt won’t be hard, to have them drop from a helicopter.”

Riley nodded along. “That’s pretty cool. Except for the part about not having a helicopter.”

I sighed. “Yeah, except that part.”

“Does the sponsor have a connection? If he’s got that kind of money, he might know someone.”

I shook my head. “I can’t ask him.”

“Why not?”

I sucked in a breath and confessed. “Because if I ask him for a favor, I have a feeling I’ll end up sleeping with him.”