9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter (11 page)

Obviously
shocked, his hand touching hers, stilled. “You could never disappoint anybody
in bed.”

“Well,
Jeff would disagree with you there.” He was about to vehemently object, she
pressed two fingers over his mouth. As before, Ethan’s lips began to caress her
fingers. Annalise plunged ahead with her explanation, despite the upheaval his
lips were causing her rock-hard resolve. “It wasn’t actually a matter of
performance, Ethan—it didn’t get that far. I wasn’t what he expected.”

He
moved her hand from his lips. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever
heard. You are exactly what a woman is supposed to be. You are gorgeous, you
are perfect.”

Annalise
wanted to cry. “You are so sweet. Please, let’s talk about something beside my one-day
failed marriage.”

“Did
you sleep with him?”

“I
didn’t even nap.” She tried to make him smile. “He assured me in no uncertain
terms that he would have the marriage annulled before a week past. Don’t look
so sad, I am so much better off without him. He had problems, a cruel streak I
was extremely fortunate to get away from him with just a few bruises to show
for it.”

“He
hit you!’ Ethan was horrified.

Annalise
realized she had said too much. “Never mind, it’s water under the bridge.”

Ethan
insisted. “Tell me what he did to you?” Annalise was mortified. Realizing how
awkward it was to talk about this, she cringed just imagining telling him about
the rape.

“He
was just rough and sadistic. He
pinched
me and hurt
my…” She placed a hand over one breast, remembering.

Ethan
cursed under his breath. “I started to say why didn’t you call me, but you were
under the impression I didn’t care anything about you.”

“Let’s
talk about something happy, please?” she begged him. He looked at her
tear-filled eyes and said a few more blue words.

“I’m
sorry, babe. It’s hard to talk about happy things, I don’t think either one of
us has had much happiness since we’ve been apart.” About that time, the waiter
came for their order and Ethan asked for more time. He hastily consulted the
menu and looked to her to see what she wanted.

She
pointed to a pasta dish with asparagus and truffle oil. He eyed her with a
slightly reprimanding look and ordered her that, plus a dish with wood-grilled
salmon and a balsamic reduction. For himself, he ordered grilled Tenderloin on
a bed of greens. When the waiter left, he looked at her directly. “I can afford
to feed you, love.”

“I
don’t doubt your ability to do anything, Ethan. I just don’t feel much like
eating, that’s all.”

With
concern on his face, he asked her, “Were you able to sleep after I left you
this morning?”

“Yes,
I slept quite well.” She nibbled on a piece of the Italian bread, trying
desperately to settle her nervous stomach.

“Where
have you been living, Lise?” Ethan wanted to know everything,

“I
have a house on Lake Toledo Bend just north of Jasper.”

He
tensed slightly with the next question. “Do you live alone?”

A
mischievous smile brightened her face. “Well, no.” At the sudden downcast
expression troubling his incredible features, she lightened his heart. “I live
with this short, German man, red hair, I believed you’ve met him—Mr. Tiny
Evans.” He smiled at her teasing tone, then she turned serious. “Of course, I
live alone.”

“I
don’t like the thought of your being by yourself,” he honestly told her.

“It’s
not that bad. My home is on the water and I have a beautiful dock and a
houseboat. We, Tiny and I,” she clarified at his enquiring look, “spend a few
nights a week on the boat. I still fish.” At the mention of that innocent past
time, the temperature at the table rose ten degrees.

“Do
you still have that scar?” His voice was strained.

“Oh,
yes.”
That scar is just one of many.
He
started to say something else, but their food arrived. At the sight of it,
Annalise felt her appetite return. “This looks wonderful, Ethan.” She placed
the pasta dish between them so they could share it.

The
food tasted as good as it looked. “Thank you for bringing me here, this is a
wonderful place. Do you come here often?”

“We
came here for Bobby’s twentieth birthday,” he explained. “But in case that
wasn’t what you were asking, I haven’t dated anyone since Francine left.”

“I’m
sorry your marriage didn’t work out.”

“Don’t
be sorry. I’m glad it’s over. Francine is cut from the same cloth as your
ex-husband.”

Annalise
looked puzzled.

“Francine
took great pleasure in inflicting as much pain as she could, but in my case it
was mental.” It was all Annalise could do to stay in her chair; she wanted to
comfort him, kiss the frown off his face, and take the pain from his eyes.

Seeing
that she was through, he asked. “Do you want something sweet?”

You
.
“No, thanks. I am very full.” Annalise looked at her nearly empty plates. “This
was wonderful.”

“Let’s
get out of here. I can’t wait to be alone with you.” Ethan paid the check and
they quickly left. His words excited her, but she didn’t know how in the world
she was going to deal with their explosive need for each other. She knew the
burden lay on her shoulders; he had every intention of making love to her and
at the first opportunity, if she was reading him right.

He
held her close then helped her into the car. The ride home was nerve raking for
Annalise. He held her hand most of the way home and when he wasn’t holding her
hand, he was rubbing her leg—up and down—not letting it ride as high as she would
like, but high enough to cause
Annalise’s
pulse to
race and her pussy to cream with anticipation. She tried to tell her body it
was getting worked up over nothing, but it wasn’t paying her any mind.

He
carefully parked his car in the attached garage then more carefully relieved it
of its precious cargo. “Come in for coffee.” He led her in, not giving her a
chance to refuse.

Bobby
had returned to Austin and he had given Alex strict instructions to make
himself scarce for the evening. Once he had her in the comfortable den, he
pulled off his sports coat, sat down in an oversized chair and pulled her onto
his lap. “I’ll make the coffee in a moment, I can’t wait for this.” He buried
his face in her neck, inhaling her scent. His tongue traced the line of her
throat, he nibbled at her neck and kissed the place where her heartbeat
proclaimed its excitement through her skin. Unable to resist, she returned the
favor, unbuttoning his shirt and smoothing her lips over the exposed skin. “God,
I want you so much,” he breathed into her hair.

She
had very little will left. In a matter of seconds they would be past the point
of stopping. “Ethan, it’s been so long.” What was she saying? Annalise didn’t
know if she was pleading or explaining. Panic seized her, the lights were too
bright. He would be able to see. She pushed against his embrace. Nonsensically,
she began to repeat herself. “Ethan, it has been—”

The
temptation to know overwhelmed him. “How many men have you known since me?” His
question was forceful.

What
could she say? How long since the abuse? How long since the rape? How long
since she had lain in his arms and screamed with joyous release? Why was he
torturing her? Annalise wanted to run and never stop running. If she stayed this
close to Ethan, she would surely die.

But
she had to say something. None of this was his fault. So, she answered him very
carefully. “Ethan, the memories of our lovemaking mean the world to me.” With that
she got to her feet and despite his protests, she evaded his embrace and
determinedly made her way into the coolness of the night air. Her breath came
in torturous gasps of need. Her breasts were tingling from the pressure of his
muscled chest pressed against them. She felt so empty and desperate for his
loving there was actually physical pain in the pit of her stomach and
everything in her screamed for his touch. She ran for the safety of her cabin.

Fumbling
for her door key, Annalise was frantic to put distance between herself and
Ethan. Her attempt failed. He must have been right behind her. Gently but
firmly he grasped her by the shoulders and hauled her back, hard, against him. He
kissed her everywhere his lips could reach. With no strength or will left to
fight, and safe in the cloak of darkness, she lifted her hands to twine in his
hair. This movement gave him full and complete access to her breasts. He
covered them with both hands, rubbing in a circular motion. She immediately
felt the touch, not only on her hungry breasts, but deep within her trembling,
needy center.

Obviously
realizing there was no bra to slow him down, Ethan pulled on the tiny bows holding
up the spaghetti straps and pushed down her sundress. Despite his passion,
Ethan’s touch on her breasts was nothing like Jeff’s; his intent was not to
hurt, but to worship. He shaped and reshaped the soft globes, as if
reacquainting himself with a treasure that had for a while slipped out of his
grasp. Turning her in his arms, he abandoned her neck and shoulders, only to
fall to his knees and begin sucking her nipples. He was voracious, his tongue
circling the hard center and then pulling back so his teeth could scrape a path
that would instantly be laved with adoration. She groaned at the incredible
sensation of the inner muscles of her sheath beginning to undulate with need. His
kissed and
rekissed
the tiny scar that spoke of her
willingness to shield him from harm. She marveled at his willingness to adore
the tiny imperfection. Could he possibly be so forgiving to the other scars on
her body? The precious, impossible thought began to take root in the back of
her mind. Could there possibly be a way they could be together?

Chapter Five

 
“Yoo-hoo, Mr. Stewart!” A high, elderly,
little voice broke through the darkness of the night. Ethan realized that they
were out in the open, the bright, southern moon exposing her beauty to anyone’s
curious eyes. He got to his feet and tenderly pulled her bodice back into
place. Standing in front of her, he gave her cover to straighten her disheveled
clothes, retying the tiny straps. He hoped the darkness disguised the huge
bulge in his pants.

Little
Mrs. Osborn, a B&B regular, scurried up to him. “Mr. Stewart, Madge and I
were wondering, would it be all right if we cut a few of your beautiful roses? We
are going to visit a friend of ours at a nursing home tomorrow and she adores
flowers. Florist roses just don’t have the scent garden roses do and yours are
magnificent.” Annalise was thinking his roses weren’t the only thing
magnificent about Ethan Stewart.

“Cut
as many roses as you need, Mrs. Osborn. I would love for them to be used to
brighten someone’s day.” His sweet words and soft tone melted
Annalise’s
heart. Oh, God, how she wished things were
different. She knew she ought to be grateful for this little woman’s
interruption because a crack was forming in her protective armor. The tiniest
warm ray of hope was beginning to thaw the conviction Ethan would reject her. When
this happened she knew she would never be able to walk away from him and what
haunted her most was the possibility he would stay with her—in spite of the
scars—simply because he felt obligated to do so. She hung her head, willing her
breathing to return to normal.

Then
the little woman noticed the female standing behind Ethan. She scooted past
Ethan like a squirrel after a nut. “Well, hello, my dear. I don’t believe we’ve
met. Are you this gorgeous man’s lady friend?”

“I’m
an old friend.” Annalise accepted the woman’s outstretched hand and submitted
to her scrutiny.

“I’m
Lauralee
Osborn, and your name is?”

“Annalise
Ramsey.”

“It
seems I ought to know you from somewhere, are you from the Dallas area by
chance?”

“No,
ma’am. I’m from East Texas.”

“You
are so familiar to me—oh, well it will come to me.” The woman thanked Ethan for
the flowers and made her way back to her own room.

Ethan
turned back to her and before she could protest, she was back in his arms once
more. But this time was different. He bent over and tenderly laid his head on
her shoulder and held on to her like a drowning man would to his only hope of
staying afloat. Her hands lifted, she dropped them then lifted them again
letting out a long sigh as she wrapped them around him. When she did this, he
nestled even closer to her and reverently touched his lips to her neck. “I am so
glad you’re here. You will never know how much I’ve needed you.”

She
didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to hurt him; he was just too precious
to her. She was having thoughts she probably shouldn’t be having. Plans were
beginning to formulate in her mind. Could she have more surgery? How would he
react to the scars? Mrs. Osborn saved her from doing anything when she came
tripping across the lawn with something in her hand.