Chapter 4

~~ETHEL~~

Keanu’s penthouse was nestled at the top of a giant high-rise building. I’d been here a couple of times to deliver documents or attend a business meeting, but it still managed to leave me in awe every time.

The plain white walls blended in with the plush furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan, creating an exquisite environment.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Keanu said dryly. “I would give you a tour, but I’m sure you’re already well acquainted.” He looked at me. “Would you like me to make you something to eat?”

I gawked at him. He could cook?

“What?” He scoffed. “I’m not entirely useless, Ethel.”

I smiled. “No thanks, I’ve already had dinner.”

It was a lie, and we both knew it, but good was the last thing on my mind right now.

“Alright, let me take you to your room then.”

He moved up the stairs with my overnight bag in hand, and I followed. Taking the left, he pushed the first door open.

“This is yours. I hope it’s to your liking.”

Was he kidding me? This room was twice the size of my bedroom, and it had an enchanting view of the night city sky.

He set my bag down on the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed, then walked back past me.

“You’re nervous,” Keanu said.

I turned to find him right behind me, too close for comfort, and my pulse quickened.

“What? No. Why would I be nervous?”

He was right. I was nervous for reasons I couldn’t explain, but he didn’t need to know that.

“I don’t bite, Ethel…” He chuckled, then his voice dropped to that low, dangerous timbre that made my stomach flip. “Unless you want me to.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I… No, thank you. I’d rather not leave with any marks on my body.”

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want that now, would we?” Amusement danced in his eyes as he finally took a step back. “Get some rest, Ethel.”

And then he was gone. A breath unravelled out of me.

༺❀༻༺❀༻༺❀༻

The loud sound of my phone buzzing woke me up. Reaching for it, I immediately answered when I saw that it was my best friend, Maya.

“Girl. Max just showed up here looking like he’d lost his mind.” Maya went straight to it. “He said you kissed your boss in front of him and you’ve been cheating on him this entire time.”

My grip on the phone tightened. “That bastard.”

“I clearly know you’re not a cheater, but girl, what the hell happened with you and Max?”

By the time I finished narrating last night’s events, Maya was practically breathing fire.

“That scum. That piece of shit!” she snapped. “That stepsister of yours is so fucking envious of you. It kills her to see you happy.”

A bitter sound left my throat. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Maya’s voice softened slightly. “Ethel… listen to me. This is not your fault. Max is a bastard and Tanya is a fucking bitch. End of story.”

“I know,” I whispered.

Maya exhaled. “So how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” I said, realizing it was true.

I didn’t wake up feeling like my world had collapsed. All I felt was anger that I’d allowed myself to be fooled like this.

“Wait.” Maya’s voice came sharply.

“What?”

“Max said he was at your house almost all night and you didn’t go home,” she said slowly. “You didn’t come to my place either so where—” She gasped. “Girl, did you spend the night with your boss?”

“Keanu didn’t want me going to my house last night because Max has a spare key,” I quickly explained.

“Oh, so that hunk of a boss also has a considerate heart.” She sighed dramatically. “Is that why you went and had sex with him?”

“Maya!” I groaned. “We did NOT have sex!”

“But Max said you kissed him. Is that true?”

“I only kissed him to piss Max off.”

“So you didn’t like it?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but her question had evaporated every response from my head, replacing them with the memory of how that kiss had set my whole body on fire.

“Maya, I just broke up with Max last night,” I finally managed to say.

“That’s not an answer,” Maya pointed out. “Besides, that’s all the more reason to get under a sexy hunk like Keanu Martell.”

I let out a chuckle, ignoring the sudden race of my pulse. “Forget it, Maya. It’s never happening.”

Keanu was a gorgeous, attractive man. I’d known it from the day I started working for him, even though I was already with Max.

But I’d spent the last year seeing women get their hearts broken because they wanted more than he would offer.

Having anything to do with him would just be a disaster waiting to happen.

After Maya and I hung up, I freshened up, dressed, and went to find Keanu. I needed to tell him it was time to return to my flat and get the locks changed.

I knocked on his bedroom door. No answer. I called out his name repeatedly, but there was still no response.

When I went downstairs, he was nowhere in sight either. Then I remembered he had a private gym. Maybe he was there.

The gym door was ajar, so I walked straight in. There was no sign of Keanu. And then I heard the shower running.

I should’ve walked out.

I should’ve called his name.

Instead, I moved toward the bathroom. The door was slightly open, and through the gap, I could see him.

Keanu.

He was standing in the shower with no curtain drawn, completely naked.

Water sluiced down his back, over shoulders even broader than they looked in clothes, down a toned back, and over contoured legs.

I’d never thought I would say this about a man’s body, but his was perfection. It looked so taut, full, and sinfully sculpted. Every muscle was defined.

He ran a hand through his wet hair and his bicep flexed with the movement. And then he turned.

I had to force slow breaths into my lungs. I had never imagined a man’s body could leave me speechless, but Keanu’s left me absolutely transfixed.

It was beautiful. Long and strong and with just the right amount of definition.

God, what was I doing? Staring at my boss like some creep, and yet my eyes refused to move.

“See something you like, Ethel?”

I stumbled backward, my face instantly burning. Keanu was looking right at me through the mirror. He’d known the whole time.

“I—I—”

“If you’re going to stare, you should at least take a video.” Heat and amusement mingled in his voice. “That way you can enjoy it later.”

I ran. Straight out of the gym, his dark laughter chasing me up the stairs and into the bedroom, where I pressed my back against the door and flattened my hand over my racing heart.

I didn’t know how long I stood there, failing to eject the image of Keanu from my mind. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a knock sounded.

Regretting that I hadn’t just grabbed my bag and gotten the hell out, I turned and opened the door.

Keanu stood there in nothing but a towel, riding low on his hips. My mouth went dry.

“Mr—Mr. Martell.” I swallowed.

Before I could say another word, he sidestepped me and walked in.

“I know it’s your house, but you could at least ask before entering,” I managed to say.

He raised a brow. “You mean the way you asked my permission before peeping at me in the shower?”

My face felt like it was on fire. “I… I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, didn’t you?” He stepped toward me. I stepped back. “Was that why you watched for a whole minute?”

My mouth opened, then closed. I had nothing to say to that. He stepped forward again. I stepped back again.

“I came to give you another chance to take my offer.”

“What offer?”

“Take a picture,” he deadpanned. “That way you can look whenever you want.”

“No thanks. It wasn’t that impressive anyway,” I lied through my teeth.

He moved faster than I could anticipate. Within seconds, my back was against the wall, his hands planted on either side of me.

“Not impressive?” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Tell me you didn’t think about how it would feel inside you.”

A gasp left my mouth. “You can’t say things like that, Mr. Martell.”

“Then tell me I’m wrong, Ethel.” His eyes were filled with a desire so feral, so primal, it sent shivers straight through me. “Tell me you don’t want me to fuck you right now.”