Page 41 of Game Changer (Hidden Attractions #2)

We may have been two messes at the start of the semester, but slowly and surely, we’ve helped each other uncover the layers to see what’s underneath.

Ethan with his passion for coaching; me with my clients and my love for cosmetology.

We’ve stepped into who we’ve always wanted to become, and tonight, I realize I don’t want to give this up for anything.

Not my clients, and certainly not Ethan.

As if he’s thinking the same, he wraps his fingers around the hem of my dress and tugs it over my head. The fabric falls to a heap on the floor, leaving me in nothing but heels and the lingerie I sent him photos of earlier.

My skin heats beneath his gaze. His pupils have darkened into the dangerous stare I’ve grown to love.

One that promises a version of ecstasy that draws a fine line between pain and pleasure.

But I trust him enough to know it would never result in pain.

No, his torture only coexists with endless orgasms.

“I’ve been thinking about you in this set all damn night,” he mutters more to himself than me. His fingers toy with the bra strap, snapping it into place before he jerks his head to the mattress. “Get on the bed, Maya.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice .

I’m lying on my back in a matter of seconds, listening to the sound of a foil packet opening before he crawls on top of me. He pauses when he looks at me again, and the danger that flashed in his eyes a moment ago fades, replaced by an expression far softer.

My hair is fanned out around me on the pillow, and my makeup (despite what he claims) is probably a disaster, but it’s impossible to feel anything but beautiful when he’s staring at me like that.

He hesitates, but only briefly before he bends down to kiss me.

Previously, our kisses were intended to ravish and fuck each other senseless, but this kiss is different. It’s slow. Deliberate. Every move he makes with his tongue against mine is filled with intention.

I used to believe slow kissing would never turn me on, but Ethan Davis has me changing my mind as he presses his lips to the tiny heart tattoo on the inside of my wrist, then to the cross on my forearm before dipping his head down to the belly button piercing I always catch him staring at.

He flicks his tongue against the crystal sun charm, and my hips buck at the ceiling before my hands drag through his hair to pull him impossibly closer.

He grabs my leg to hook it around his lower back, grinding his cock against my center, where it’s exposed by the lingerie.

His motions remain slow and sure, and everywhere his hands touch feels like velvet against my sensitive skin.

I can feel the emotion between us, and even though we aren’t saying it, those three words have made their way into the void.

It’s hard to deny them when Ethan whispers my name like a sacred prayer.

I whimper at the loss of his lips, but when he reaches between us to sink into me, nothing has ever made me feel more complete.

He’s kissing my collarbone now as he moves his hips at a slow, sensual pace, and I squirm beneath him from how turned on this new level of intimacy is making me.

I’ve never had sex like this before. Never had a man stare at me like if I’m the last thing he’d ever see in this world, he’d die happy.

“I know.” He answers my thoughts, his throat strained from holding back his impending release. “Let go for me, Maya. I’ve got you.”

It’s the first of many rounds tonight, I’m sure, so I follow his command and allow him to push me over the edge.

He stills seconds later, cursing in the crook of my neck while simultaneously whispering sweet nothings in my ear, and honestly, my life has never felt more complete.

I never thought I’d use that word to describe it, but here I am, wishing for nothing else at this moment.

As we’re panting down from our high, Ethan rolls onto his back and asks the one thing I wasn’t prepared for. “Why did you ghost me all those months ago? And not the fake reason. I mean the real one.”

Just like that, he took a needle to my balloon of peace, and my post-orgasmic state pops. “You’re still thinking about that?”

“Who wouldn’t? I mean, I don’t want to ruin the mood, but it’s a constant fear in the back of my mind that it’s going to happen again, and I can’t be all in if—” He shakes his head and stares at the ceiling.

“I’ve worked hard to get where I am. That’s all.

Taking a risk on us is worth it, but I’m afraid of the repercussions if this blows up in my face a second time. ”

I have no right to be upset that he’s curious about it.

Anyone would be, and frankly, I’m surprised he lasted this long without demanding an answer.

But is it really worth crushing his self-esteem if I’m going to beg my parents to change their mind next weekend?

A seven-day stall isn’t that long for him to wait for an answer.

This way, if my parents react better than I expect them to, I won’t have to put a damper on his progress so far.

He may want the truth, but for now, I’m only giving him a fraction of it.

Just a few more days .

I turn on my side to face him in the dark hotel room.

The lights from the city cast his cheeks in a moonlit hue.

“A part of me was afraid of what I felt for you the first time we had sex,” I admit.

“It felt too real. Too serious. And I wasn’t in the right place mentally to take on a relationship with you or anyone . ”

“But you are now?”

“I mean, I was still scared at first, but then you gave me that styling tool for my birthday, and everything fell into place. You’ve always been the one, I’ve just been too afraid to admit it.

First, it was because of Maddie, and then it was because of—” I clear my throat when I almost slip up.

“There were a lot of reasons to try and avoid my feelings, but you made it impossible for me to run away from them any longer, Ethan, and I’m tired of fighting them. I want you. For the long term.”

Does not telling him the complete truth make me an utter ass? Fully. However, it’s better this way if I can spare him more heartache.

Besides, I’d never ghost him like I did the last time. I’ve learned my lesson.

“I’m holding you to that,” he says with a sleepy smile. “Thanks for telling me. Feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest now.”

And when he comes back from the bathroom to pull me against his chest, when his soft snores fill the silence, only then does the guilt threaten to swallow me whole.

I have to fix this .

Come hell or high water, I’ll get my parents approval.