Page 139 of When We Ignite

“This is whatyouneed, and I get it,” I continued, my tone unrelenting. “But you know this isn’t a relationship, Ethan. You know, in less than a month, this is over. You can’t pull this jealous boyfriend act on me. You’re not stupid—you knew the rules.” My voice came out harder than I intended, but I couldn’t stop it.

Ethan’s wide eyes reflected hurt, but I couldn’t take it back.

“It’s not a jealous boyfriend act,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “I told you I don’t like to share. I told you it was a deal-breaker.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I’ve stuck to my word. But this—this was a fucking mistake. You’re not ready for this, Ethan,” I said, turning away from him and rubbing my temples. I needed to get him out of here.

“What’s a mistake?” he asked, his tone defensive now.

“This—” I gestured vaguely, “—you and me.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“You get mad, and you stop caring about the consequences. I can’t have that—we can’t have that. If you can’t handle one guy flirting with me…” I turned back, but the living room was empty.

“Ethan?” My voice softened slightly, confusion threading through it.

The door to the apartment was still closed. He hadn’t left. I glanced toward the hallway, noticing the faint glow of light spilling from my bedroom.

“Ethan?” I tried again, walking toward the open door.

I stepped inside. Ethan stood at the foot of the bed, bathed in soft light, his expression unreadable.

“I was talking to you. What?—”

He met my eyes, holding my gaze as he reached for the hem of his shirt. Without a word, he pulled it over his head and let it fall to the floor.

I leaned against the doorframe. “What are you doing?”

Ethan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he unfastened his jeans and let them drop to the floor, stepping out of them with ease. His shoes were already off.

He was wearing the briefs I’d sent him.

I sighed, trying to ignore the heat building in my chest. “Is this your clever way of getting out of an argument?”

“No,” he breathed, his eyes locking with mine. He hooked his thumbs under the waistband of his briefs and slid them down, letting them pool at his feet.

Ethan stood before me, completely naked. The last traces of shyness were gone, replaced with quiet confidence. “This is.”

He climbed onto the bed, shuffling backward until he leaned against the headboard. Stretching his arms over it, he crossed his ankles and tilted his head, staring at me with a haughty, almost daring expression.

A grin tugged at the corners of my lips, but I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress it. He looked like a fucking dream sprawled out on my bed like that.

“You know,” I said, my tone light but teasing, “you’re rewarding bad behavior. Why wouldn’t I flirt if it meant you’d end up naked in my bed?”

Ethan arched a brow and moved his hand leisurely to his cock, stroking himself.

My jaw tightened as I bit down on my tongue to stay in control.

“I could just leave,” he said, his tone deceptively casual. “Then you’d get to stay here alone with this image of me burned into your memory.”

I laughed, caught off guard. “And what would I have to do to convince you to stay?” I asked, stepping into the room, my eyes never leaving his.

“Take off your clothes.”

A sharp pulse of arousal hit me at his words. I chuckled but didn’t hesitate, my hands moving to unbutton my shirt. Ethan didn’t break eye contact as his hand continued its lazy strokes, the slight flush on his cheeks betraying how much this was affecting him too.

I shrugged off my shirt, letting it fall to the floor, and undid my pants. When I finally stood before him, fully naked and hard, I smirked. “What now?”