A Week in New York (The Empire State Series Book 1) (13 page)

He reached for me and dragged me on to his lap, my phone still in my
hands as he pushed my hair off my shoulder and kissed my neck. He wasn’t making
this easier.

“Sometimes I forget that I didn’t know you my whole life,” I said.

“Anna,” he replied and kissed my neck again. “My beautiful Anna, I’d
never break a promise to you.”

I turned and held his face in my hands. “I know you think you wouldn’t, but
it’s inevitable. And I can’t do it again,” I said, dropping my hands to my lap.
“I can’t hope or wish for anything but a perfect evening this evening, which is
what this is. Thank you, Ethan. You put my heart back together and made me
believe there could be something better out there.”

He didn’t say anything. Part of me was relieved—but there was something,
a voice right at the back of my head, that was urging him to ask me to stay, to
tell me we could be together, we could make it work between us, that it wasn’t
just a fling for him, that he felt something. Something more, something
different. I wanted him to tell me that he felt for me what I felt for him. But
I got silence.

No promises, no ambiguity, no bullshit.

Ethan

I didn’t know what to say. She sounded so sad. I wanted her. I wanted her
to live in the city and for us to hang out and date and all that stuff. But she
was right. She lived 3,000 miles away and we’d known each other a week. She’d
seen parts of me I’d never shown anyone, but we’d still known each other for a
week. And I’d never had a relationship with a woman that lasted more than four
hours. A week was a lifetime in my world, but in reality it was still a week. Fuck.
It was an impossible situation and she was making the right decision. The
sensible decision.

If we stayed in touch, how would that play out? My job wouldn’t allow me
to fly out to London regularly, and even if it did we’d probably only see each
other once a month or something. I’d seen plenty of relationships poisoned by
distance. I didn’t want to poison what we had. I didn’t want her to end up
hating me. This week we’d escaped reality. There’d been no expectation, no
everyday shit to muddy the waters. But still, there was something between us.
Did she feel it?

She picked up her phone and started prodding at it. Presumably deleting
me. Maybe it was
because
she felt something that I’d just been deleted.

I needed to let her walk away.

No promises, no ambiguity, no bullshit.

***

My hands tightened in hers as I pushed into her. I watched her below me.
Her mouth opened a fraction wider as I pushed right up to the hilt. Jesus, she
felt amazing. Her eyes never left mine as I began my rhythm above her. God, I
would miss this. I would miss watching her reaction to me. I captured her
nipple in between my teeth. She arched into me. I bit down and she screamed.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” I whispered as I switched to her other
breast. “So fucking incredible.” I felt her pussy tighten and I groaned. Jesus,
I was going to come in about twenty seconds if she kept that up.

“Ethan,” she moaned.

“Tell me, baby.” I loved it when she told me what she wanted, what she
liked.

“Don’t ever stop.”

I knew I could fuck this woman, and only this woman, for the rest of my
life. My thrusts came harder and deeper. I could tell she was close.

“You don’t want me to ever stop fucking you?”

“No, not ever. I need you inside me all the time,” she whimpered.

God, she could be my undoing. I watched her as her breath hitched and she
fought against my hands that pinned her to my bed. Beautiful. And mine, for
tonight.

I saw her orgasm pass over her as her face tensed and then relaxed.

“Oh god. Oh god. Oh god,” she cried out.

She made me feel like a god. She squeezed her thighs against me, and
before I had a chance to stop it I was emptying myself in her. Her pleasure had
become my trigger.

I slumped forward, putting all my weight on her, stretching our arms out,
my body touching as much of her body as possible.

“You are the sexiest man I’ve ever met,” she said, her voice returning to
normal after her breathless panting of mid-orgasm words. I wasn’t sure which I
preferred.

“Right back at you, beautiful.”

I pushed myself up on my elbows so I could look at her. She looked at her
best like this. Post orgasm. Like she belonged to me.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” I said and I moved out of her and disposed of
the condom.

I pulled her perfect ass toward me and wrapped my arms around her waist.
I loved how she fit so exactly.

“I need you to do something for me tomorrow,” she said.

“Anything.”

“Even if you think it’s weird?”

“Even if I think it’s weird,” I reassured her.

“When we say goodbye tomorrow, I need you to act like we’re going to see
each other again that evening. Like it’s just like the last seven mornings.”

I felt like someone punched me in the gut. And a piece of me broke.

Anna

Daniel was staying in New York, so it was just Leah and me flying back
together. We were flying first class, thanks to Daniel. All that meant to me
was unlimited booze—and I needed to get smashed. I needed to erase Ethan Scott
from every corner of my mind.

“Can I get you something from the bar, miss?” the flight attendant asked.

“Sure. Can I get a whiskey, please?” Oh god, whiskey reminded me of him.
“Actually, make that champagne, please.” She nodded. “Actually, can you make
that two?” I got a tight smile but at least she didn’t dare say anything.

“Are you ok?” Leah asked.

“Of course I’m ok,” I snapped. “Sorry. I just need a drink. I’m a nervous
flyer.”

“Yeah, right. It’s ok to be upset.”

“No, Leah, it’s not. It’s not ok at all. I knew the guy for a week. I’m
being ridiculous and I just need a drink.”

“When it works it works. I knew with Daniel on the first date. I tried to
fight it. I was engaged to another man, for crying out loud, but I knew.”

“Even if I did know, it doesn’t even matter. We live on different
continents. And anyway, it’s done. We haven’t got each other’s numbers.”

“What do you mean? You texted each other, of course you have each other’s
numbers.”

“I deleted them. On both our phones. It was a fling, Leah. I can’t have
myself think it was anything else. It’s better this way.”

She squeezed my knee. “Well, at least you know there are good guys out
there. We can find you someone else when you get back. Daniel has a cute
friend, Adam, who’s available.”

Leah was just trying to be nice, but there was nothing I would like less
than to think about dating someone else. I was going to let myself wallow for a
little bit. I’d drink a bit too much, eat a bit too much, and work long hours.
Then when I felt at an all-time low, I’d pick myself up and start again.

No promises, no ambiguity, no bullshit.

Anna and
Ethan’s story continues in
Autumn in London
. See next page for a sneek
preview.

Ethan

I
didn’t like flying, especially long haul. But today it didn’t bother me. I had
too much to distract me from the fact that we were 30,000 feet up in a metal
tube and the pilot was probably asleep, drunk, or fucking the cabin crew. I had
too much to think about. Tomorrow was a big day. I had to prepare.

I
hadn’t read the communications pack that had been sent to my apartment
yesterday. We were having interviews with press all day Monday, the day after I
arrived, and before that a meeting with the staff to announce the merger.

And
then there was Anna to think about. I should never have brought her back to my
apartment on that last night. Since then, I’d seen her in every room. She
looked so fucking amazing coming in my bed. It’s all I can see when I try to
sleep in there. I’d actually started sleeping in the guest room because those
images of her won’t leave me.

When
the tin tube in which I was so precariously sitting hit the tarmac at London
Heathrow in about six hours, we would be in the same city. Breathing the same
air. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

I knew
I wanted to fuck her again, but I knew that my dick didn’t always have my best
interests at heart. My brain knew I didn’t need the distraction. And she might
be distracted with someone else. It had been months, and she had an appetite as
voracious as my own.

The
thought churned my stomach. I hoped it was her vibrator keeping her hunger at
bay, not some prick who didn’t know how to make her come.

“Would
you like another whiskey, sir?” The blond flight attendant leaned over to me,
giving me a view of her less-than-perfect tits.

I
wondered how many passengers she’d fucked. Was it just a perk of the job? She
wasn’t my type.

“No.
Thank you,” I said.

She
lowered her voice, “Well, if there’s anything you want. Anything. You just let
me know.”

There
was nothing subtle about her. Not her overly made-up face, not her fake tits,
and not her come-on.

“No.
Thank you,” I said again. I didn’t want her hovering around me for the rest of the
flight. She should go find some aging millionaire with hair loss and a gut who
would be more appreciative of her lack of subtlety.

I’d
been sent over to London by the New York office. I wasn’t allowed to say “Head
Office,” according to our communications manager. Fucking politics. New York
will
be Head Office. This isn’t a merger, it was a takeover. I would be overseeing
the “merger” of our firm with the London law firm Allen & Smith. We’d been
in talks for months about a transatlantic merger, but when Allen & Smith
posted less than stellar profits three months ago, we knew the time was right.
They were vulnerable and we were ready. Without us, Allen & Smith would
have probably gone into liquidation. Apparently, because my sister was in
London, someone assumed that I was supposed to understand the British culture, so
I was assigned to come over to head up integration. I wasn’t sure if
integration
was strictly the correct word. I was here to make sure London was doing
what New York told them to do.

I’d
decide what to do about Anna when I reached London.

Released December 2 2014.

Thank
you to each and every reader who has bought and read my books. This time last
year I was still waiting on an editor for Faithful, not thinking for one moment
that anyone would ever read it I ever got uploaded on Amazon. Here we are six
months after Faithful was released and I’m writing acknowledgements for book
three. And you keep reading and because of that I keep writing. I love hearing
from you and love your tweets, retweets, messages and reviews. You fill up my
heart.

I
can’t possibly single out all the bloggers who have been so amazingly generous
to me. Without you indie authors’ voices would stay on the page. THANK YOU! I’ve
missed you guys this time around because I didn’t do my own tour so stop by and
say hello. There’s always a glass of wine and a hug ready for you at my place.

Slick
and Karen - thank you for your insightful comments yet again. As well as being
my beta readers, you have other things in common – you are both amazingly
generous and positive people and I’m very lucky to have you in my virtual
world.

Megan
Fields, Jacquie Jax, Lucy May, Jules Rapley Collins, Barbara Campbell, Dawn
Vickers and Claudia Dornan thank you for all your pimping and posting and
encouragement.

Authors,
I love chatting with you and receiving your advice and wisdom. Thanks to Karen
Booth and Jessica Hawkins. Will you hurry up and release your next books
already?!

Twirly
– enjoy Centre Parcs my lovely brain twin and thank you for making A Week in
New York less gollumesque - my favourite bit of feedback, ever.

Hopeful

Guys like Joel
Wentworth weren't supposed to fall in love with girls like me. He could have
had his pick of the girls on campus, but somehow the laws of nature were defied
and we fell crazy in love.

After
graduation, Joel left for New York. And, despite him wanting me to go with him,
I'd refused, unwilling to disappoint my parents and risk the judgment of my
friends. I hadn’t seen him again. Never even spoke to him.

I've spent the
last eight years working hard to put my career front and center in my life, dodging
any personal complications. I have a strict no-dating policy. I've managed to
piece together a reality that works for me.