A Broken Man (8 page)

Ethan looked down at the glass orb in his hand. “They belonged to my mother. Now, grab some ornaments. I did the bottom, Jared did the middle, and you get to do the top. For obvious reasons.”

Dame got to her feet, did a stretching bow, and waltzed to the door. Sarah made a move to let her out and froze in her tracks. She watched in amazement as Dame pawed a tennis ball hanging from the doorknob, stood back while the door popped open, and took off outside. Sarah raised a finger to point at the door.

“Oh yeah, Jared made that,” Ethan said casually. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“That might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Just as she was about to go and close the door, Dame came back inside, turned around, and pushed it to with her nose.

“Okay, that is definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You taught her to do this?”

Jared grinned.

After they finished decorating the tree and scrounged up some dinner, the three of them popped popcorn and settled in front of the fire, like a family. Only they didn’t look like any family Sarah had ever known. It was more like one out of some kind of holiday movie. And if something seems too good to be true…

A phone ringing broke up the moment, and Sarah was grateful when Jared asked if he could stay the night at a friend’s house. Things had gotten entirely too comfortable, entirely too quickly. She didn’t have the faintest idea what to do about it. The ride to Jared’s friend’s house should have given her a chance to clear her head, but Jared spent the whole time prattling on about how much fun he’d had all day with Ethan. He was already attached. What would it do to him if this didn’t turn out well?

What was she going to do? The more time she spent with Ethan, the more her willpower waned. Every time she made up her mind to pull back, something happened that pulled her in even deeper. It would probably be easier to end things if she actually wanted things to end.

Ethan had turned down the lights and lit a few candles while she was gone. Two glasses of red wine rested on the coffee table, and he’d positioned himself on a huge fuzzy blanket in front of the hearth. Warm tones came from a record player behind the sofa. She could feel her resolve dwindling. She couldn’t think straight like this. Tomorrow. She’d figure things out tomorrow. She was an addict, and he’d become her fix.

“What’s all this?”

“I get you all to myself tonight. I didn’t want to waste it.”

“What’d you have in mind?”

She stepped closer, and he yanked her down on top of him. He reached up and pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair so the strands hung loose.

“This.” His hands slipped around her neck. She leaned in for a kiss. Parting his lips with her own, letting her tongue lap lazily along the inside of his mouth, she savored the sweet red-wine taste of him.

She ran her tongue along his jaw and nipped at his earlobe, quite pleased when she felt his cock fatten between her legs. Strong fingers massaged her thighs, and her hips rocked against him. Exquisite friction sent a wave of heat right to her groin. One by one, she undid the buttons of his shirt. His bare chest beckoned her, and she trailed kisses over the warm expanse of skin. His nipples popped to attention, and she curled her lips around first the left, then the right.

The fire crackled behind her, and she rose up and ripped her top off, eager to feel the heat of it on her back. That devilish smirk tugged at the corners of Ethan’s mouth. He was enjoying the show. He hadn’t seen anything yet.

Sarah slid both hands down his stomach and into his waistband. She leaned down and captured the drawstring of his pants in her teeth. His pulse kicked into high gear when she dramatically pulled the string until the knot gave, releasing his cock only inches from her face.

She licked a slow circle around the head and then blew a hot gust of air over it. He squirmed underneath her. She looked him squarely in the eyes when she took him into her mouth. He banged the ground with his fists when she playfully pulled on his prick. Her tongue swirled a slow circle all the way around before she swallowed it down in earnest. Her eyes never closed, never left his face.

“If you don’t fuck me soon, it’s going to be too late.”

She came up grinning.

“If you insist.”

She stood up and backed just out of his reach, allowing him to look but not touch while she finished undressing. She let the light and shadow dance on her skin as she turned slowly in front of the fire.

“Damn.” The look in his eyes said it all.

Sarah enjoyed drawing out the game, and she was discovering how much she liked being in control. She walked over to where Ethan lay on the floor.

“Like what you see?”

“Like doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

She grazed the skin of his belly with the toes of her left foot then pivoted on the ball of her right, so that she was standing above him, astride his waist with her back to him. He stroked her calves with his hands, eager to see what was coming next. With exaggerated slowness, she began to lower herself down.

“Oh God.” He gripped her ankles as she lowered down over him. She moaned when she took him inside her and brought a hand up to stroke her clit with each pump, slow at first and gradually building speed.

“This is torture,” he whined, between gasps. She intended it to be. She wanted him to see what she was doing to him, but only be able to imagine what she was doing to herself, just out of his sight.

She flipped her head back and let out a heady moan. Each time she came down on him, her own pleasure ratcheted up another degree. Her entire body tingled, screaming for release. He smacked her ass and howled when he came, pulsing underneath her with each pump. When it was over, she eased down on him and gently rocked while she finished herself with her fingers. She bucked and then collapsed over onto his legs, too spent to move. A dull ache pulsed deep inside her thighs. She’d done her squats for the year.

“That…was the sexiest thing I have ever seen.” Ethan rested a hand gently on the small of her back.

“I don’t know what came over me.” With great effort, she picked herself up.

“Come here.” Ethan stretched out an arm.

Sarah curled into him, rested her head on his chest, and almost immediately sank into a deep and satisfied sleep.

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Sarah woke up in front of the still-smoking embers of the spent fire alone. She stretched contentedly, and her leg bumped warm fur. Not completely alone. Dame raised her head.

“Morning, Dame.” She reached down and scratched behind Dame’s ears. The dog flipped over on her back, three legs in the air.

“Do you need a belly rub?”

Dame thumped her tail expectantly.

“I don’t know what good you are as a service dog, but you sure are sweet.”

Sarah noticed a slip of paper resting on the pillow beside her. It instructed her to wash up and come downstairs for an early-morning PT session as soon as she woke up.

“Bossy,” she muttered as she stood and walked into the kitchen for coffee. She poured a tall glass over ice and drank it down. How on earth did he have the energy for a therapy session after last night? She guessed if he could manage it, so could she. She hurried off to her room for a quick shower and good toothbrushing. By the time she finished, the caffeine had done its job.

“All right, let’s get to work,” she said, as she descended the steps into the basement. She took one look at Ethan and froze right where she stood. Hanging from the ceiling, buck naked, he’d somehow managed to haul himself into the harness swing. She gave him props for creativity and
cajones
. It took balls to climb into that thing without a stitch of clothing and call her down here.

“Oh, come on,” he said. “Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing. I saw the way you looked at me while I was doing my set.”

“Okay, fine, I was. But still. How long have you been up there?”

“About forty-five minutes. I was starting to worry. If you’d slept in much longer, I’m not sure I could’ve gotten myself back out of this thing.”

She walked over and gave one of the straps a push, sending Ethan spinning. He made a single rotation, and Sarah grabbed the straps to force a stop. If he heaved, she’d be the one who had to clean it up.

“Whatdya say?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“What the hell?” She was already pulling her shirt back over her head.

Within a minute, the rest of her clothes had fallen to the floor. Warily, she appraised the straps, uncertain as to the best method for climbing on. She held them tightly to steady the basket and slipped first one, then the other leg over Ethan’s naked body. He gave the handles a yank, and the basket pushed him up to meet her, shoving his dick against her clit. His cock sprang to life. She kicked her legs and set the basket to swinging.

“See, now this is fun.” He pumped the handles a few times, muscles tensing from the strain.

She threw an arm around him to lift herself up and used her other hand to guide him in, letting out a slow breath as she did.

“Hold on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

She took hold of the handles above his hands and gave him a nod. He yanked down hard, thrusting them both into the air. She gasped, shocked by how well the device doubled as a sex toy. If the makers were only marketing to physical therapists, they were really missing out on a huge potential market. He pulled again, and she did the same, matching his rhythm and doubling the force propelling his cock deeper inside her. Chest to chest, the position provided for optimum contact with her clit. She couldn’t tell if she was huffing from the workout or the intensity of the sensations, but she pulled harder and harder, desperate for more.

Her heart raced, and her entire body glistened with sweat. Ethan grunted each time he jerked the handles, which only pushed her closer to the brink. She squeezed her pussy tight around him. Dizzying sensations spread outward until she screamed in ecstasy. Spots dotted her field of vision, and for a moment, she thought she might pass out. Ethan came almost immediately after Sarah, huffing and sputtering. He let go of the handles, and the basket dropped hard. Both of them panted unevenly.

“Wow.”

“Wow,” she agreed.

“I’m going to have another one of these installed in the bedroom tomorrow.”

She giggled and kicked her legs again, and then curled around Ethan, enjoying the gentle sway.

“If our sex life gets any more exciting, you’re going to give me a heart attack.” He nuzzled into her neck. “This feels like a dream. Please don’t wake me up.”

* * *

In the weeks that followed, Ethan found himself daydreaming about all the things he wanted to do with Sarah and Jared, places he wanted to take them, sights he wanted to show them for the first time. Sarah had made him promise to be careful not to show affection in front of Jared; it was too soon to bring him into the fold, but they both knew he had his suspicions. Anyone could see how happy they were. Sarah had started singing to herself while she made breakfast. She never did that before. Ethan understood why she wanted to hide it, but Jared seemed to like her this way.

Ethan did too. And he wanted to show her just
how
much when Christmas rolled around. It would be their first holiday together, and he was determined to make it special for all of them. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually looked forward to Christmas—maybe not since his parents had died. The feeling was strange in the best of ways. So on Christmas Eve, when Jared announced that he had a Christmas gift for Ethan and Sarah that he’d been working on, Ethan was filled with so much emotion that he could barely keep his voice from cracking.

He called Sarah into the living room, and the two of them sat and waited to see what Jared had in store. They watched as he affixed a rope to the handle of the refrigerator door and called Dame into the room.

“Dame, sit,” Jared said. She did.

“Dame, lie down.” She obeyed.

“Dame, newspaper.” Dame went to the front door, pawed the tennis ball Jared had hung, and headed outside. Her gait was so smooth Ethan sometimes forgot she was missing a limb. She returned a moment later with the paper and placed it at Jared’s feet.

“Good girl.”

Dame’s eyes glistened, and her tail wagged nonstop. She was having the time of her life.

“Dame, water.”

Dame trotted over to the fridge, pulled the rope, and stuck her nose inside. She gently took a bottle of water from the bottom shelf into her mouth and brought it back to Jared.

The show continued for at least ten minutes. Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. Sometimes a mom needs to be reminded just how amazing her son is. Jared had taught Dame everything a service dog ought to know and a whole lot more. Dame practically beamed when everyone gushed over what a good girl she was.

“That’s amazing.” Ethan leaned over to give Dame a good rub. “I could never have done this. Thank you.” He laid a hand on Jared’s shoulder, and a single tear slipped out of the corner of Sarah’s eye.

“Well,” he said, “if we’re doing presents early…” His voice trailed off as he rolled toward his room.

He returned a moment later with two envelopes and handed one each to Sarah and Ethan. They both looked at each other before tearing into the packages. Sarah stared at the paper in her hand for a long time before looking up at Ethan, confused.

“This is a plane ticket to London.”

“Yep, I got into that clinical trial I was telling you about.” It had nearly killed him to keep it secret from her, but he wanted so much for it to be a surprise. This clinical trial could change his life forever, and he wanted—needed—both her and Jared to be there with him, start to finish. The study coordinator had warned him not to get his hopes up, but it was no use. He could see himself walking through the streets of London with Sarah on his arm, Jared and Dame tagging along behind. He could hear the orators on their soapboxes as they made their way through Hyde Park. He could feel the hard ground beneath his knee when he dropped down to propose to Sarah beneath the statute of Eros in Piccadilly Square…