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I lean down and kiss him, our lips connecting in a way that has never happened before, with a calmness, a comfort and a kiss that says this is forever. I want it to be forever. I don’t care if it’s only been a short time. I’ve waited my whole life for this, to find someone like him, to find someone who understands that money isn’t what draws us together.
“I love you too,” I whisper against his lips, my words soft and gentle, making me feel like I might cry. To think that Ethan has been here all this time and we’ve just now connected. I hate to dwell on the past, but it feels like we lost time together. Time that could have been spent falling in love over and over.
“You okay?” Ethan asks, instantly noticing the change in me. He’s so intuitive to my behaviors, my feelings, that I can’t imagine him not noticing when something is off.
“I’m perfect,” I reply, a tear sliding down my cheek and he catches it with the pad of his thumb, wiping it away.
“You’re crying,” Ethan says, his fingers pushing my hair back, his hands cupping my face. He swallows hard, waiting for me to respond, and I hate that I’ve given him the impression that something is wrong. Nothing will ever be wrong in my life as long as he’s with me.
“I’m not,” I reply, laughing a little as I swipe my fingers under my eyes.
“You’re a terrible liar, Zoey Holden,” Ethan says, slapping my ass and I wiggle against him. Letting out a low groan in response, he encourages me on, shoving his boxer briefs down. I shift my panties to the side, letting his hard length slip inside me, both of us moaning out at the sensation, paired with what has just been said between us.
“You make me so fucking happy,” I murmur, moving slowly, the hunger blooming inside me only growing more and more desperate.
“You have no idea,” Ethan replies back, his hips upping the tempo as he thrusts up to meet my movements. “I need you to move, Zoey. Faster. Harder. Deeper,” he groans out, his thumb finding my clit, and that simple motion is what pushes me to move.
All sound is drowned out by our moans and the blood pumping in my ears, begging me to move faster and harder, longer and deeper, to make us both come.
The panting, the gasping, everything gets sharper and louder, and when Ethan calls out my name, like music to my ears, we both come undone, and I clench around him. My thighs tighten around his hips, urging out the last bit of pleasure we have left before he falls backward and I collapse on top of him.
Sweaty and tangled up in the sheets and the blanket on the bed, I move until I’m lying next to Ethan, our breathing labored, his eyes closed in the sated beauty of the moment.
I want things to be like this with us forever. I want to come home to him every night and wake up next to him in the morning. I want to walk into work with him by my side and I want the world to know that we’re together.
“When does the press release go out?” I ask, my lips moving to kiss his bare chest. I leave them there, taking in his smell and wishing that we never have to move from this place again.
“Tomorrow morning and as soon as it does, I have someone coming to interview you,” Ethan says, his voice hushed and calm, but it feels like he drops a massive bombshell on me.
“Wait, what?” I gasp out, popping up from where I was curled up along Ethan’s side. My mouth is hanging open and I don’t know if I should scream out loud or pass out. I can feel the scarlet heat creeping up my face at the idea of having to do an interview.
“Babe, it’s how this stuff works. It’s a huge business deal and since you were the one who was able to close the deal with the old guy, I figured you should be the one to discuss it.”
“Ethan, you might do this kind of shit all the time, but I’ve never. What am I supposed to tell the person? I don’t know what to say.”
I flop back down on the bed, my head hitting the pillow as I let out an exasperated sigh. My parents have done hundreds of interviews, and I know Ethan has too, but I’m not prepared for this. I just graduated from college. I still have no idea what I’m doing and now I’m thrust into the spotlight. Everyone is going to know I’m a clueless mess and to make it worse, I’ll probably be labeled a nepo baby. Or do I have to work for my family to get that title?
Oh fuck, this is a lot.
“You don’t have to prepare anything, Zoey. They ask you the questions. If there’s something you don’t want to answer, then don’t answer it,” Ethan tells me, like it’s so simple.
“Honestly, Ethan, do you really think I’m cut out for this? “
He laughs at my question, shaking his head. “Zoey, are we really going to do this again? I have far more confidence in you than you do in yourself. I wouldn’t put you in this situation if I didn’t think you could handle it. I’ve been doing this for a while now. When someone has it, I know. You have it, Zoey. You’re a natural. It runs in your family.”
Ethan gives out this little speech of motivation, but all it does is make me question what people will say about it all.
“Won’t people talk about how I got my job?”
Again, Ethan laughs, shifting so he’s propped up on his elbow, looking over at me. “That’s kind of the point. We want people talking. We want people interested and asking questions. It’s called marketing.” He winks at me, letting out a soft laugh.
It’s obvious that I’m new to this whole thing, but I guess he is right that I do have it in my family. My parents have kept Holden Winter Gear running and growing since taking it over from my grandfather, and he took it over from my great grandfather.
“If you’re worried about the negativity that might come from this, I’ll tell you that it doesn’t matter. There will always be negative press, comments or people. It is also part of the business. Develop that thick skin now, you gold digger,” Ethan teases, making us both laugh.
“Maybe you’re the gold digger? Ever think of that?” I say, reaching over and running my fingernails up his side, tickling him.
“Maybe.”
