Page 11 of Monochrome (ORCA #4)

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

JULIUS

“God, that was delicious. I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.” I tossed my napkin onto the table, completely satisfied with the meal I’d just eaten.

Ethan had suggested a little bistro specializing in fresh local seafood tucked away downtown, and the food had been incredible.

The company had been incredible too, and watching Ethan eat oysters had been a sensual experience I had been wholly unprepared for.

My dick had been half-hard since he’d slurped the first one from its shell and licked his lips, his eyes closed in pleasure, and I wanted to see that look on his face—for reasons that had nothing to do with food—again very, very soon.

Ethan nudged my foot under the table like he’d been doing throughout the meal, and a tiny thrill shot through me at the casual contact.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. This is where I was going to take you for dinner. It’s my favorite spot. I forgot they do lunch on the weekends.”

“I’m glad you remembered. We definitely need to come back.” The words felt like I’d thrown them on the table next to my napkin, both of us staring at them while we considered what I’d just said.

For my part, I had no regrets.

I knew who Ethan was to me, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life eating at fancy little bistros with him as much as I wanted to pick up pizza and watch movies on the couch with the twins.

I would take Ethan however I could have him, even if that just meant as friends, but I honestly had no clue how he felt.

My stomach churned a little as I waited for him to say something, for the shocked expression to fade from his face.

And though it had only been seconds, it felt like an eternity before his lips tipped up into a wide smile.

“We definitely should. Often.”

I matched his smile with one of my own.

“It could be our spot.”

“I think it already is.”

He paid our bill, and we stood to leave.

The rain that had been predicted started falling as our meal had been served, and the storm hadn’t let up yet.

We’d lingered over dessert and coffee, talking about everything and anything unrelated to who was targeting Ethan and my family, hoping to wait out the storm, but we’d already been gone for over two hours, and despite my reassurances, Ethan was worried Athina might not survive with the twins if we didn’t get back soon.

“Should we make a run for it?” I palmed the key fob for my car, ready to unlock the doors before we dashed down the street to where I’d parallel parked.

“Let’s do it.”

I hit the button to open the doors, then grabbed Ethan’s hand, the heat of his touch driving away the chill of the rain, and we ran down the block, laughing as we splashed through the deluge.

We were both soaked by the time we got into the car, and even though my hands were wet, I couldn’t resist reaching out to wipe some of the rain off Ethan’s cheeks.

He leaned into my touch, his hand wrapping around my wrist, and closed his eyes, letting me trace the contours of his beautiful face.

“Can I kiss you?” The question felt like a confession whispered within the confines of my car while rain continued to fall fast and heavy outside, blocking us from view.

“Please.”

Just like last night, the moment my lips connected with Ethan’s, I was gone.

My world narrowed to the cool then hot press of his lips against mine and the slide of our tongues as we searched and explored each other’s mouths.

Ethan tasted like coffee and chocolate cake and something deeper that I was coming to know was just him, and I craved more of it.

I craved more of him.

He slanted his mouth across mine as his fingers dug into the wet strands of my hair, pulling just enough to make me moan into his mouth.

My cock was already hard and aching to feel him again, and I twisted in my seat in an attempt to get closer.

But I knew even as I pulled him half across the center console that even if I was inside of him, I would never be close enough.

Not until he was mine.

Not until he wore my claiming bite so everyone would know who he belonged to.

My hands slid under his shirt, my fingers on a quest to cover every inch of his skin with my touch, and he shivered, pulling away just enough to whisper against my lips.

“Will you fuck me, Julius? Please.”

“God, yes.” And then my mouth was back on his, my hand palming his erection through his pants.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, a long rumble of thunder shook the car, and Ethan pulled away again.

“Unless you think we can fuck fast in the back of your car, we should get back. The twins don’t love thunderstorms.”

“I’ll take the rain check.” Neither of us was a small man, and even though my Audi Q5 was an SUV, maneuvering in the back seat would have been more than a little tough.

I could have made it work, but really, the next time I was naked with Ethan, I wanted to lay him out and take my time.

There would be nothing fast about it.

Last night had been an appetizer, but I was already hungry for the main course.

Putting the car into gear, I pulled away from the curb.

Ethan rested his hand on my thigh as we drove out of downtown, but by the time we hit the highway, the rain was coming down so hard the windshield wipers were having trouble keeping up.

Ethan had pulled his hand away, letting me concentrate on the wet roads, but I missed his touch and couldn’t wait until we could carve out some more alone time.

I kept the car at a steady but not stupid speed, and Ethan cursed every time someone sped past us.

“Fucking idiots. Where’s the damn fire?” He was white-knuckling the oh-shit handle now, and I wondered if maybe I should pull over until the rain let up.

We weren’t far from his house now, just two more exits, and I knew we were both ready to get off the road.

I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror as I signaled to change lanes.

At first, there was no one there, but as I started to move, a car moved from the far left lane, cutting across traffic and heading straight for us.

With the roads as wet as they were, there was no way for me to stop, but I knew the black car cutting across the highway was going to hit us.

“Brace, Ethan!” I screamed, the second before the car collided with the rear driver’s side of my SUV, the crunch of metal deafening as the impact hit.

My head knocked against the window, and for a minute, everything blurred and all I saw was a flash of black asphalt as the car flipped over and turned right side up again before crashing against something.

Ethan screamed, then we were falling backward, landing hard, and the car finally came to a stop.

We were no longer facing the right direction, and it took me a second to realize we were looking up at the road, a bent and broken guardrail hanging above where we’d come to rest in a waterlogged ditch, the passenger side of the car wedged against the embankment up to the road.

My door was pressed into the other side of the ditch, and I reached for the handle, hoping I could still push it open, but even with adrenaline surging through my body and throwing all my strength behind it, the door wouldn’t budge.

We were trapped. The front of the car wasn’t touching the ground, and I had no idea how we were going to get out.

Ethan groaned, and my heart skipped a beat as I turned to look at him.

There was blood across the dash and a thick smear on the broken passenger-side window, and my hands shook violently as I fumbled with my seat belt, trying to get free.

“Ethan! Oh my god. Are you okay?”

“My head.” He lifted his fingers to his face, and they came away wet with blood.

His shirt was already stained, and blood was flowing freely from a nasty cut near his temple.

When he saw the red, his face went a terrifying shade of white.

“Fuck.”

“It’s okay. You’re okay. Just stay still. I’m calling my brother right now.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself as I frantically looked around for my phone.

It had flown out of the cup holder during the accident and had landed against the now-cracked windshield.

I stretched to reach it, fighting against the position of the car.

The screen was cracked but still lit up, so I gave a voice command to call Nero.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, Jules. What’s up?”

“Nero. Ethan and I were just in an accident.”

“Fuck. Where are you? I’m on my way.” I heard him hold the phone away from his ear and tell whoever else was around what was going on.

“Eli’s here. He’s calling it in right now. What happened? Are you hurt? Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker.”

I gave him the rundown as best I could.

“I got banged around, but I’m not seriously hurt. Ethan has a nasty gash on his head, and we landed in a ditch. We can’t get the car doors open.”

“Ethan? Jules, you’re with Ethan Lin?” That was Eli’s voice, and it sounded like he was in full detective mode.

“Yes. Athina is babysitting the twins, and we went to lunch.”

“Julius, I need you to tell me something.”

“Okay.” Eli’s tone had me on edge.

“Do you think this was intentional?”

The bottom dropped out of my stomach.

I hadn’t considered that, but given how Ethan’s sister had died, it should have crossed my mind.

I mentally replayed what I saw before the car hit us and sent us spinning, but it had all happened so fast I couldn’t be sure.

“I—I don’t know.”

“That’s okay. Can you see if the other car is still on the scene?”

I leaned forward to get a better look, my banged-up body protesting the movement, but with the torrential rain and the spiderwebbed windshield, it was hard to see anything.

“I can’t tell. We’re off the road, down the embankment, and in a ditch. I can see the broken guardrail above us, but I can’t see anything else.”

Nero cursed, but Eli spoke again.

“Okay. I’ve got first responders en route. ETA is seven minutes.”

“Thank you.”

The call disconnected, and I looked at Ethan again.

His face was ashen, and all I wanted to do was pull him into my arms and hold him close, but I didn’t want to risk moving him, given his head injury.

I reached over and took his hand instead, surprised at how cold his skin felt, and said a silent prayer that it was shock making him feel that way and not some internal injury I couldn’t see that was slowly killing him as we waited for help to arrive.

“My cousin’s mate is a detective with the Seattle PD. He’s got EMS on the way. They’re only a few minutes out.”

“Okay.” His fingers flexed around mine.

“Okay. That’s good. Okay.” His voice shook in a way that made me worry, and I wished there was something I could do.

Ethan’s eyes started to drift closed, and I squeezed his hand tight.

“Uh-uh. None of that. You might have a concussion. You’ve got to keep your eyes open and stay with me.”

He turned his head, wincing a little with the movement, and I saw tears start to pool in his eyes.

“The twins…”

“Are fine. Athina is taking good care of them, and as soon as Eli and the EMS crew get us out of here, we are going to get back to them. It’s all going to be okay, Ethan.” And though I knew I shouldn’t say the words, I let them slip out anyway. “I promise.”