Chapter 7: How Did She Know

Ethan’s POV

So light, so warm, and goddamn, the way she smelled...

Fuck. Not now.

I'd been around beautiful women my entire life. Models, actresses, heiresses—you name it. But something about this stripper sent my self-control straight to hell. As I carried her through the club, away from prying eyes, I couldn't help but remember our night together two months ago.

Those hours in the hotel room—against the wall, on the bed, the floor, the bathroom counter. Wild, uninhibited, and so fucking good it still haunted my dreams.

Christ, I'm getting hard just thinking about it.

I took a sharp turn down the private hallway that led to my office. Eclipse was one of our most profitable ventures, and I often conducted business here when I didn't feel like being stuck at corporate headquarters. Right now, I was grateful for the private space.

I shouldered open the door and laid her down on the leather sofa against the wall. She looked so small suddenly, vulnerable in a way that made my chest tighten uncomfortably. Her stripper's outfit left little to the imagination—all toned legs and curves that my hands remembered all too well.

Just as I was debating what the hell to do next, my phone rang. Looking at the screen, I saw Sophia's name flash across it. Perfect timing.

I turned away from Lila, deliberately putting my back to her. If she saw the bulge in my pants, this already complicated situation would get a whole lot worse.

"Hey," I answered, my voice softer than usual. Sophia had that effect on me—we'd known each other since we were kids.

"Ethan! I need your help." Her voice came through, rapid and familiar. "That asshole from Carter Holdings is trying to back out of our agreement again."

I laughed, relaxing into our usual rhythm. "No, I can handle it," I assured her. "You know I always do."

Sophia and I had a complicated relationship. Friends since childhood, occasional lovers when it suited us both, but nothing serious. We understood each other, and more importantly, we respected each other's boundaries. No strings attached, no messy emotions. Just the way I liked it.

"You're a lifesaver," she said, segueing into details about the contract dispute.

As I listened, I automatically turned to pace as I always did during calls. That's when I saw Lila again, looking like sin itself sprawled across my sofa. But something was wrong—her skin looked clammy, her body trembling slightly, those big eyes of hers watching me with something that looked dangerously close to hurt.

Maybe it was the cold. I can see her nipples are bulging.

Shit. Without breaking my conversation, I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it over her exposed body. I didn't need the distraction of her nearly naked form while trying to focus on Sophia's business problem.

I turned away again, continuing my call. "Yeah, I'll make the call tomorrow morning. He'll cave, they always do."

As Sophia wrapped up, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Lila was pushing herself up from the sofa, wrapping my oversized jacket around her small frame. She was attempting to stand, though her legs wobbled dangerously beneath her.

"Gotta go," I said abruptly to Sophia. "I'll call you tomorrow."

I ended the call and turned to face Lila fully. "Where do you think you're going?" I kept my voice deliberately cold, professional. Detached was safer.

"Home," she said weakly, her voice barely audible.

"I'll take you home," I said firmly. There was no way I was letting her leave in this condition. "That's not a request, it's a decision."

"I can get home by myself," she insisted, taking an unsteady step toward the door. "I don't need your help."

"You can barely stand," I countered, moving closer. "Don't be stubborn, Lila."

"I'm fine," she said, even as she swayed slightly. "I just need some fresh air."

I reached out, my hand closing around her wrist. Her skin was burning hot against my palm. "Let me take you home," I repeated, brooking no argument.

To my surprise, she yanked her arm away with surprising strength, nearly losing her balance in the process.

"Who's the woman you're talking to?" The question burst from her lips, raw and accusatory.

I felt my eyes widen. How did she know I was talking to a woman? I'd been careful to keep my back to her the entire time, deliberately making sure she couldn't hear Sophia's side of the conversation.

My jaw tightened as I studied her face. "How much did you hear?" I asked, keeping my voice dangerously quiet.

She took a step back, and I moved forward instinctively, crowding her space. Something about her knowing about Sophia made me uneasy. I didn't like being caught off guard, especially not by a woman I barely knew—no matter how incredible our one night together had been.

With each step I took forward, she took one back, until her calves hit the edge of the sofa. She lost her balance, falling back onto the leather with a soft thud. My jacket fell open slightly, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her stripper's outfit underneath.

I leaned down, placing my hands on either side of her head, caging her between my arms. "Knowledge can be dangerous, sweetheart," I whispered against her ear, feeling her shiver in response. "Especially when it's information you shouldn't have."

My hand slipped beneath the jacket, finding the smooth skin of her waist, trailing upward until I felt the hardened peak of her nipple beneath the thin fabric of her outfit. Her sharp intake of breath sent a pulse of desire straight to my groin.

I shifted, my thigh pressing between her parted legs, my knee inadvertently making contact with her center. Through the thin material of her thong, I could feel her heat, the dampness there telling me everything I needed to know about her body's response to me.

She wants this as much as I do.

I leaned down, my lips hovering just above hers, ready to claim that mouth that had haunted my dreams for two fucking months.

But instead of surrender, I got a hard shove against my chest, followed by a sharp crack as her palm connected with my cheek. The slap wasn't particularly painful, but the shock of it sent me reeling backward.

"I will not let you humiliate me like this," she hissed, eyes blazing with anger and something that looked suspiciously like hurt. "You have another woman, yet you're here trying to—what? Get a quick fuck from the stripper?"

I stared at her, genuinely confused by the intensity of her reaction.

She stood up, clutching my jacket closed around her body. "I am not the kind of woman you can use whenever you want and discard when you're done," she spat out. "I never was, and I never will be!"

Never was? What the hell is she talking about?

Before I could process her words or form a response, she was moving toward the door, surprisingly steady on her feet now that anger seemed to have burned away her weakness.

She paused at the door, turning to give me one last withering look before slamming it behind her with enough force to rattle the frame.

I stood there for a long moment, my cheek still stinging, my body still uncomfortably aroused, and my mind racing with questions. We've only met once before. What did she mean by 'never was'? Do we have some history I don't know about?

I pulled out my phone again, but this time to call Leo, my most trusted assistant.

"Sir?" he answered on the first ring.

"I need you to follow someone," I said, my voice clipped and professional once more. "A stripper from Eclipse named Lila. Find out everything you can about her—background, family, financials, the works."

"Right away, sir."