“Thank God for insomnia then.” I grinned, squeezing his biceps. “I just wanna eat them,” I said and wrapped my mouth around one, biting gently.
“Remind me to get my rabies shot when we get out.”
“Whatever.” I wrapped myself around him again, unable to help myself. His arms were warm and safe around me.
His smile softened, and my chest tightened in that familiar way only he could cause. “I have been sleeping better lately, though.” My heart thundered at the unspoken reason why.
“Me too,” I admitted, just as softly.
“Delilah…”
I cut him off with a kiss, not knowing what he was going to say, and not wanting to. Not yet. I was too afraid of the possibilities. Too scared that I’d gotten my hopes up and all of this was about to come crashing down in disaster. But one of these days, I needed to stop being a coward and face these feelings I’d been harboring for so long.
16
Ch 15 - Emmett
Before I could think twice, I hopped in my truck and headed east to Dallas, chasing the sunrise.
After spending the evening with Delilah at the creek yesterday and the way we opened up to each other, I was sick of playing defense. It was time I did something. She deserved someone who fought for her the way she fought for me—for everyone she cared about. And even though we weren’t anything more than sex, I wanted to be that person for her.
Two hours later, I was parked outside of Ethan’s massive office building, watching the sea of people filtering in the start their day. I slipped in with them, feeling out of place in the crowd of suits and ties. I didn’t even know what Ethan did to earn all this money. Something with finance or tech, I think. It didn’t really matter. All that mattered was leaving here with his sponsorship. I’d chain myself to his desk if I had to.
I walked up to the receptionist's desk, finding a girl who probably wasn’t even Tess’s age typing on her computer. “Good morning,” she chirped when she noticed me approaching. She had wide doe eyes and an eager smile. I wasn’t in the mood for either.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Morning. Ethan Carmichael here?”
Her smile wilted a little at my tone. But I wasn’t here to play nice. “Do you have a meeting?”
“Nope. But I need to see him.” I glanced down the hall and saw him sitting at his desk in his corner office on the phone. “Oh, there he is,” I said, pointing in his general direction. I took off before she could say anything else.
“Sir, you can’t just walk in there!” The girl followed after me down the hall, struggling to keep up with my quick strides.
I threw the heavy wooden door open, and Ethan froze. “What the—Josie, what is this?” He looked about how I expected. A soldier parading in a suit, thinking he held the keys to the city because his wallet was thicker than everyone else’s.
“I don’t know! He just came to my desk asking for you and wouldn’t stop when he saw you were back here,” she stammered behind me, borderline hysterical.
I stopped in front of his desk. “You know Delilah Chase?”
He laid his hand over the phone receiver. “You need to set an appointment and come back later. I’m in the middle of a phone call.”
I slammed my finger on the hook switch, ending the call. “Not anymore.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, his face reddening. “And just who the hell do you think you are?”
“Emmett Hayes, Delilah Chase’s business partner. You know, the woman whose sponsorship you ripped right out from under her?”
His face slackened, and he shifted in his chair. “That was an…unfortunate circumstance, but I explained to Delilah that I couldn’t be involved with someone who had a reputation like hers. My board members discouraged it, given the amount of money I was going to donate.”
He said it as if she were selling drugs to children. Not going to the bar on occasion like any normal thirty-year-old woman would.
I could’ve sworn my blood started boiling that instant. “You mean, a devoted therapist? Someone who has dedicated her career to helping veterans like you? A selfless woman who has spent countless hours working on Freedom Reins to make it the best program it can be? If that’s the reputation you’re talking about, and not the shit that Sterling and Preston Hollis have fed you, then yeah, that’s the same Delilah I’m talking about.”
“How-How do you know about them?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just know that whatever they told you, whatever they promised you, is all a lie. I’m gathering evidence on them as we speak.” I planted my hands on his desk, leaning in. “And I know the last thing you need is to get wrapped up in some kind of scandal. Your board members probably wouldn’t like that too much, huh?”
Ethan arched a brow. “Didn’t think Delilah would send her boyfriend in to do business for her. She seemed like the kind of woman who handled her own affairs.”
