Jules Bennett - California Secrets

“And that’s enough of my backstory for now.”

She hated the tension that had slid between them. She had no clue how to act or what to say around him, which seemed rather odd considering they’d spent nearly every night together over the past month. Flings were messy, they were confusing, they were...

Harper mentally gave herself a slap in the face to wake up. She wasn’t having a fling anymore. She was having a baby with a man she barely knew. Which raised the question of his presence here now. Had he followed her?

“What are you doing here?” she asked again.

Ethan shrugged. “Just wandering around.”

“This whole area is closed off.” The manager knew who she was and allowed her access to any part of the resort. “How did you get in here at all? The door to this whole portion is coded.”

“Code?” he asked with a shake of his head. “The door was wide-open when I came through. I wasn’t aware it was closed off.”

Harper couldn’t tell if he was lying or if the door had in fact been left open. He had no reason to lie that she knew of, but she was sure she hadn’t left the door open. Something was off, but she couldn’t exactly say if it was Ethan or not.

“So, you’re revamping the entire resort?” he asked, glancing over her shoulder into the open ballroom. “That seems like quite the undertaking for one person.”

“I’m up for the challenge. Besides, I have a team that will come in and do the physical work.”

No need to tell him this was her first solo gig. She couldn’t treat this as a rookie project. Now more than ever, Two Sisters needed her entire focus.

Ethan took a step toward her, and that focus tilted. How could a man wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a T-shirt be so damn attractive? Oh, yeah. Because she knew every inch of muscle tone that lay beneath those clothes.

He slid the back of his knuckles across her cheek. Harper’s breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes and relished in his touch. When would she get over this? Would his touch always make her body tremble, her head foggy, her belly tingle?

“Ethan,” she whispered as she focused back on his hungry gaze. “We need to stop this.”

“That’s impossible,” he countered, bringing his other hand up and framing her face. “The attraction won’t stop just because we say so. Is there a rule that I shouldn’t want you just because you’re pregnant? Because I want you now more than ever.”

More than ever. In their month-long fling, she’d come to crave him more than anything, so she understood his need. They matched each other so perfectly in the bedroom. Never before had she experienced anything like Ethan Michaels...and the man was quite an experience.

“You can’t say things like that.” She was going for a scolding tone, but for reasons she ended up sounding breathless.

“Why? Because you’re trying to lie to yourself and pretend you don’t want me, too?”

She couldn’t lie to him, and she shouldn’t be lying to herself. She had to face every obstacle head-on.

“I just think...”

Harper shook her head and stepped away.

“I can’t think when you’re touching me and looking at me like that,” she stated more firmly.

His lips quirked as he took another step toward her, then another until he’d backed her fully into the open ballroom. Without a word, he reached behind him and slid the doors closed, the smack of the wood echoing through the room.

“You love every second of my touching and looking.”

That throaty tone sent shivers through her.

“We’re having a baby,” she stressed, as if he didn’t already know. “You said yourself that changes things between us.”

“It changes the timeline,” he stated, reaching for a curl and wrapping it around his finger. “It means we’ll be part of each other’s lives forever. But it sure as hell doesn’t change anything else.”

Harper tipped her head and stared up into those bright eyes. She could get lost in them, and on several nights, she’d done just that. There was something so powerful and mysterious about Ethan that she’d never been able to put her finger on. She’d wondered what brought him here, what kept him here, and now she really wanted to satisfy her curiosity.

Before she could dig deeper into this man who’d swept into her world and turned it upside down, he eased down and captured her lips. Ethan slid one hand through her hair and the other hand over the small of her back, pressing her body into his.

The response was instantaneous as the familiar tingle swept through her. Harper gripped his biceps, just trying to hold on to some sort of stability. This kiss was no different than the others. Every one created an arousing sensation that slithered from her head to her toes and made her knees weak.

Ethan spun them until her back came in contact with the wall. Wedged between two rock-hard surfaces, Harper arched against Ethan’s chest as his lips traveled from her mouth down the column of her throat. She tipped her head to the side, giving him more room to work even as a niggling voice in the back of her head kept telling her all the reasons she shouldn’t be doing this.

Harper really wished that voice would shut up and just let her enjoy the moment. Ethan’s hands bustled up the skirt of her maxidress. That voice grew louder, telling her to put an end to the madness.

“Need you now,” he murmured against her ear. The warmth from his breath sent even more shivers coursing through her.

There was a clatter as something fell to the floor and tapped the side of her foot. She ignored it.

Then ringing sounded through the room. She ignored that, too, because Ethan’s talented fingertips cruised along the edge of her panty line and silently promised delicious things.

The annoying ring persisted.

Her cell.

“Wait.” Harper pressed her hands to Ethan’s chest. “My phone.”

“Leave it,” he demanded.

She pressed a bit more until he muttered a curse and took a step back. Her dress fell back around her legs and she tapped her pockets, frantically searching for her cell before realizing it had fallen to the floor. Harper grabbed the phone and turned away from Ethan before she managed to control her shaky hands enough to look at the screen.

Of all times for this call.

“I have to take this,” she stated over her shoulder.

Without another word, she walked toward the wall of windows and accepted the call. Her hands shook and her body still hadn’t caught up with the fact there was nothing fabulous on the verge of happening right this minute.

“Hey,” she answered, trying to catch her breath. “I’ve been wondering when I’d hear from you.”

“I’ve been a bit busy,” her father said. “But I just boarded my jet and wanted to touch base. My assistant mentioned you wanted to change some things from the original design.”

“I do. In fact, I sent not only the new ideas but a new budget.”

All correspondence for the renovations was supposed to go through her father’s second in command. She didn’t ask why—Harper was just glad to have the job.

“Good work,” he praised. “I’ll take a look at everything, but I trust your decisions. I’ll have my assistant get with you about the new materials so you will be ready when your crew arrives. She mentioned next week sometime?”

“That’s right,” Harper confirmed. “I can’t wait for you to see my vision.”

Harper glanced over her shoulder, not surprised to see Ethan staring back at her. She turned her focus back toward the window.

“And when are you coming exactly?” she asked.

“Soon,” he promised. “But I want you to go ahead and get started. Bring in however many people you need, and I’ll okay the budget. I know I wanted to approve everything, but I simply don’t have the time and I believe you’ll do right by my resort.”