Chapter 231: Completely Fallen
The Metropolis.
An array of items was spread across the living room coffee table: povidone-iodine, gauze, medical scissors, cotton swabs...
Every time Nina Halloway picked something up to use, Ethan Austin would glance at it to check if it had expired.
After treating the wound on his head, Nina picked up a cotton swab and carefully dabbed his swollen lip. "What on earth happened?"
"I was ambushed on the road."
After leaving the restaurant, he had been following Leon Grant’s car. But along the way, a minivan driven by plainclothes officers overtook him several times, obstructing his view. By the time he left the city and reached a remote intersection, he couldn’t make it through the light and was stuck behind at the red.
When the light changed and he drove through the intersection, Leon’s car was already gone.
He had no choice but to circle the area, searching for any sign of Leon’s car or the plainclothes minivan.
However, on a dimly lit side road, several masked figures in black suddenly leaped out and blocked his car. Then came the clubs, smashing against his side windows and the front windshield.
He had to get out and fight...
There were a lot of them, but once the fight started, he held his own and managed to drive them all away.
He even knocked the masks off two of them, but unfortunately, there were no streetlights on that road. It was too dark to see their faces.
"Masked men? What kind of masks?"
"Skull masks."
When he was fighting them, Ethan had thought they were after Nina. But he later realized the masked men seemed to be after him instead.
They wanted to capture him alive.
"Boss, back when you were kidnapped, the masked men killed Sean Wright because his mistake at work led to you getting injured in that wire-harness fall, right?"
Nina nodded, and Ethan continued his analysis. "Garland was tased by the masked men once. It was a close call, but he still disappeared. He’s probably fallen into their hands. If that’s the case, it confirms the threats they made before."
"That seems likely. But why would they attack you?"
Ethan thought for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I’m afraid the masked men think you and I are getting too close. They probably suspect we have a thing going on."
Nina froze.
’Close?’
’Are she and Ethan really that close?’
Seeing her dazed expression, Ethan methodically began cleaning up the coffee table. He stuffed everything back into the first-aid kit and stood up to put it away when a fair hand tugged at the corner of his shirt.
He glanced down to see Nina clutching his shirt, biting her lip as she mumbled, "Are we... really that close?"
"Yeah, we are."
"When?"
"You like to burrow into my arms..."
"No, I don’t."
"Don’t deny it. It’s happened several times, and you were always the one who initiated it. You even asked me to be your boyfriend. And you kissed me; you stole my first kiss."
Nina’s face burned. She mentally admitted that she had initiated things a few times—burrowing into Ethan’s arms and asking him to be her boyfriend.
The truth was, the guy was just so big and made her feel incredibly safe. He was like a human furnace, always so warm; hugging him in the winter was like holding a personal heater. On top of that, his eyes were the spitting image of Jaden’s, and she found herself drawn to him, wanting to be close to him without even realizing it.
But she refused to admit she’d stolen his first kiss.
"When did I ever kiss you?"
"The night you were drunk."
"Which night?"
"..."
Ethan was so exasperated he was speechless. "The night of Mrs. Ford’s birthday party."
"I don’t remember."
"Just because you don’t remember doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Are you trying to get out of it?"
"Who’s getting out of anything?"
"Then what about my first kiss?"
"You want me to return it? Fine, I’ll return it!"
Ethan: "..."
’So how is he supposed to return something like that?’
’Did Nina mean she wanted him to kiss her back?’
He saw the woman on the sofa close her eyes, tilt her head back slightly, and pucker her red lips. She really did intend for him to kiss her back, and he suddenly felt himself grow nervous.
"What are you doing?"
"Returning your first kiss."
"And after you return it? Are you planning to draw a line between us for good?"
"What else?"
"And what about you asking me to be your boyfriend?"
"Pretend I never said it."
"..." ’A total player, just as I thought.’
’She flirts with me, gets me all flustered, makes me move on from a crush that fizzled out before it even began, and now she’s going to deny it all?’
’What does she take me for?’
’Is she just playing with me?’
"Are you going to kiss me or not? If not, forget it. The offer’s expiring."
Nina opened her eyes and looked up at him. Seeing him standing there with a furrowed brow, saying nothing, she stood up. "Let’s just drop this."
"?"
"This ends here. Jaden’s fate is unknown right now. I’m in no mood to argue with you about first kisses or... Mmph—"
Halfway through her sentence, a large hand cupped the back of her head.
A handsome face drew near, and Ethan crushed his lips against hers, silencing the rest of her words.
She froze for a few seconds. When she came to her senses, she instinctively pushed against his firm chest, but the man seized her wrists. His tall frame pressed down on her, forcefully pinning her onto the sofa.
He pinned both of her wrists above her head with one hand, his tongue prying past her teeth and driving deep inside.
The man plundered the air from her mouth, his kiss utterly dominant, leaving her no chance to breathe...
’I can’t believe it. Jaden has been missing for days without a single word, and here I am, kissing a man!’
Her eyes flew open as she was kissed into a state of gradual oxygen deprivation, her head spinning.
His heavy body pressed down, pinning her completely.
After a long moment.
Ethan buried his face in the crook of her neck, his rapid, searing breaths washing over her skin, so hot they made her heart jump.
She gasped for air, her heart pounding in her chest.
She knew she shouldn’t let this kiss fluster her, but her heartbeat and her thoughts were in complete disarray.
’And for some reason, it felt kind of good...’
"Ethan."
"Hmm?"
"Do you want to... go to my room... and continue?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them, impossible to take back.
Ethan’s shoulders stiffened. He froze, then his muscles tensed. He stared down at her with a profound gaze, his expression more serious than she had ever seen. "Are you serious?"
"I want you."
Ethan’s eyes lit up. He took a deep breath, scooped up the woman beneath him, and strode toward the master bedroom.
Nina felt the world spin as her vision flipped upside down.
She was slung over the man’s broad shoulder, hanging upside down. Her legs were clamped tightly by an arm as strong as an iron vice. Clutching the fabric of Ethan’s shirt on his back, her gaze could only catch sight of his long, striding legs.
He carried her with one arm, his pace urgent but steady.
He hurried into her room and tossed her onto the soft, large bed, his sturdy body quickly pressing down on her.
His rich, masculine scent instantly enveloped her as she was kissed again...
A large, warm hand grasped her slender waist, pulling her into a firm embrace. The caress of his palm was gentle yet domineering, as if he wanted to knead her very being into his own body.
In the heat of the moment, she lost herself, utterly surrendering...
’Older partners definitely had their appeal, but damn, a younger man really puts in the work!’