Page 43 of Takeover

I try not to smile, but I can’t help it. I do my best to mask my amusement with an eye roll.

“There’s something I didn’t mention before.” He looks at me, raises both brows, and waits for me to speak. “The other half of this awesome power couple. Well, he has to be black.”

The room goes eerily quiet. Ethan crosses his arms and creases his brows. “Really?” he says. “I didn’t realize we had traveled back in time a hundred years.”

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m going to excuse you this one time. Do you think I was looking for anything when I had the misfortune of meeting you? A petulant, spoiled princess? No. I wasn’t. Some things are out of our control. You know what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks? Reassessing. So, that’s what you need to do, too. Reassess because the other half of your power couple is right here, and he’s not black. So, accept that and let’s move on.”

When I open my mouth to argue with him, he puts a finger to my lips. His eyes soften when he looks into my eyes. “I love your fire, but let’s not nitpick about things we can’t change. Tell me something else. Something I can work with.”

“I like spontaneity,” I say, clearing my throat and breaking away from the intense look in his eyes.

He takes a deep breath, and his shoulders relax. “Like what?”

“I want to take spontaneous weekend trips. Just pack a bag and go somewhere. I want to do things like leave for the weekend on a Friday for a trip we planned the night before. I want to travel the world, and I want to be able to get up and go whenever I want.”

“I see. Well, I have access to a private plane, so we can go wherever we want whenever we want.”

“First of all, you have a four-year-old son, so that’s not an option for you.” She inches closer and points a finger in my face. “It better not be. Do you hear me, Bradford?”

“See? A selfish person wouldn’t have said that. If you were really selfish, you wouldn’t think about Vincent, but you’re right. I can’t just do that. It would take some planning.”

“Planning what? We’d never leave him behind. I like him more than you.” He laughs, and the sound of his laugh is rich and throaty.

“Tell me again how selfish you are.”

I shrug my shoulders against him.

“Okay, so I might not be able to offer you spontaneity, but with a little planning, that private plane can take us wherever we want. And I do come with an ex-wife, and let me tell you, she’s the very definition of selfish, but she’s my ex-wife. We are cordial because we share a child. There are no feelings left, but ever since the day I first met you, you’re all I can think about. We were fooling ourselves when we said it was only going to be one weekend.”

“But you hated me that first meeting, and I really wanted to smack you.”

“And I wanted to put you over my knee and spank you. Spanking that ass was worth the wait, I’ll tell you that much.”

I stand up abruptly, surprising us both. “We can’t do this, Ethan. I’m looking for something serious, and you just got out of a marriage. We’re not at the same point in our lives, and—”

He stands up and puts his hand to my lips.

“You talk too much. I’m looking forward to shutting you up again.” He tilts my chin up and puts his full lips on mine. “God, I’ve missed you,” he says before he kisses me.

“I guess I’ve missed you, too.”

“And I’ve missed this.” He slides his hand under my dress and grabs my ass.

“No panties? You were going out with that guy without panties? I don’t think so.”

“He’s gay. My pussy is completely safe around him.”

“It’s definitely not safe around me,” he growls right before he throws me on the bed. I land on a pile of clothes. He lifts my dress and hisses at the sight of my bare flesh. “I want to take my time and taste this pussy, but that’s going to have to wait until later.” I hear a zipper, then a hand glides against my wet lips. Satisfied with what he finds, he sinks into me.

27

“I’m starving,” he growls in my ear.

“I bet you are. You can never get enough, can you?” I reach under the sheets and grab his semi-hard cock. I squeeze between my thighs, and despite my soreness, I know I can go for another round. “You’re like my own orgasm machine.” He hisses when I bite his earlobe, but he moves my hand off his dick. I pout and he laughs.

“Earl will be here with my clothes in twenty minutes.”

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