Chapter 13: Knight In Shining Armour
Demyan
"Ethan, we've talked about this," I gently pressed my hand against his chest in an effort to pull away from him but his hand resting on my lower back simply pushed me forward. I let out a small gasp when I felt the length of him against my lower stomach.
My entire face heated as I desperately closed my eyes and prayed for once in my life I chose sanity over anything else.
"Is something wrong?" his warm lips gently brushed the shell of my ear as I trembled against him.
"We talked about this," I had to do everything in my power to hold onto my resolve before I fell over the edge.
"I think you talked about it and agreed on my behalf. I can't accept it," his husky heavily accented voice made the hairs at the back of my neck stand in attention. I had travelled to so many places in the world and not once had I ever heard anyone who spoke close to him.
His words always rumbled when an 'r' came in and always had a quick tempo that somehow blended perfectly with his Dutch ancestors and the years he spent in South Africa where he mastered Afrikaans. It was always hypnotic and for a long time he would keep me under a spell when he spoke.
"Well I'm with Malia now," I protested as my hand moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck, "I have a girlfriend and I'm happy."
"If that were the case then why is your body reacting to me," his lips brushed the underside of my jaw forcing my lips to part, "It seems like you are trying to remind yourself that you're happy with Makil."
"Malia," I reprimanded, "You're very familiar with her name, don't pretend like you suddenly don't know who she is."
"I don't," he chuckled, "Because I don't think a trophy girlfriend who is in my space is worth familiarising myself with."
"You had the choice to fight for me Ethan and you blew it," I gripped the back of his neck as our eyes met for a fiery exchange, "You didn't even try. You moved on and no one bashed you when you had a girlfriend after we broke up."
He clenched his jaw as he looked away from me briefly, "I thought I wanted something I did not understand. I thought you were too young."
"The nine year age gap hasn't closed," I rolled my eyes as we still swayed to the music that I swore I barely heard over my frantic heartbeat. "We're still almost a decade apart, so you can't use the excuse that I was too young."
"Twenty was very young," he frowned, "You still needed to mature."
"You didn't seem to find a problem with that when I was in your bed. Don't talk about maturing to me," I glared, "I'm still the same person."
"You're different," he brushed his nose against mine, "We're different. Can't you feel it now? There's a new fire to us we've never experienced before."
"And that is why it will end with even worse results. Whenever we're together it always ends badly. Let's not make the same mistake again."
"You were too young Demyan, I was robbing you of life. I was twenty-nine turning thirty, it was wrong," he defended.
"So then what makes things different now?" I scoffed as I looked up to him, "Why now?"
"You've matured. You're more beautiful than I remember you being. I'm different, I've finally become everything I knew you needed. Someone to take care of you not just then as a manager, I worked hard to become CEO so I could provide for you. Give you the life I knew you deserved."
His words stunted me completely as I looked at him in shock. "You were good enough for me. I didn't care whether you were a manager or a clerk Ethan, I loved you."
"You still love me."
I shook my head, "You caused that boat to sail a long time ago."
"You're lying," he smiled, "Because not once has your eyes looked into mine when I asked you if you still love me. Demyan it's easy for you to say that you would have loved me either way but we both know how you grew up. You need stability, you need someone who can protect you when you're vulnerable and I couldn't give you the life you were used to with my old position."
"I have my own money and my own safety," I hissed, "I don't need a knight in shining armour."
"But I am your knight in shining armour," he argued, "Since you were a toddler Demyan. Even when I thought I just saw you as my little brother, I always protected you and now you're older and I need to learn how to protect you in new ways."
"Like breaking my heart time and time again," I almost cried, "You did a great job at ruining me."
His face fell as his hold on me became weaker which gave me the opportunity to peel myself off him, "Demyan, a lot was going on at that time. That was why I asked you for time."
I shook my head, "You wanted an excuse to leave me and figure out life for a while then wanted to come and reclaim your prize. Your land or whatever piece of territory you believe I am. If we are really soulmates you would have treated me better from the beginning because you knew I breathed for you."
It seemed my words finally rattled him in some way but I had no energy to continue this back and forth with Ethan. The only thing it would result in would be more pain and peeling the wounds and scabs I had worked so hard to heal with his absence.
If I dived into the pool of Ethan once again, I was sure this time it would drown me before I even got a chance to take my last breath.
Chapter 14: Terribly Bland
Ethan
My breath almost left me completely as Demyan spun on his heels and thread his way through the crowd to quickly disappear past the doors of the grand hall leaving me standing alone in the middle of the dance floor.
I ran my fingers through my hair as I looked down to the watch on my wrist to find instead of the one song we were meant to dance to, we had been dancing for almost thirty minutes. If I could even call that dancing because it felt like a heated battle more than anything else.
A part of me felt like I should have ran after him to apologise but as I looked around the room and met the slightly curious hazel eyes of Uncle Ed, I felt my stomach turn. The more I looked around the more I noticed more members of our family look at me with what seemed to be a mix of sorrow and worry.
Some guests had even taken notice of me but most preferred to give me shy glances and soft smiles in efforts to not make me feel uncomfortable. I was quick to walk away from the dance floor and leave the ballroom as I went for one of the private garden rooms of the hotel.
It felt like the room was spinning as I unbutton my suit jacket and sat down with a frustrated groan. My hands covered my face as I repeatedly hissed 'stupid'.
Whenever Demyan and I were together it felt like it was just him and I. That for those few seconds to us that were really minutes to everyone else we forgot that anyone else existed. We could get into the most heated arguments or the most lustful embraces without caring if we were in public or not.
I had let my need for him replace my sober mind that I was ready to devour him right then and there if he let me. However my brain knew it was the wrong time and place. Not when we had clients attending, not when both our parents witnessed the low burning argument between us.
Yet it also left me so confused. Demyan's words contradicted how he reacted to me. I expected he would push me away the first hint he got that I wanted more but instead he moulded his body close to mine. I could still feel his gentle hand burning at the back of my neck. His soft luscious hair tickled the side of my face as I had leaned down to kiss the sweet skin of his cheek.
How could someone make me feel so wanted and so unwanted at the exact time?
"Ethan," Luca popped his head in the room. When his eyes caught sight of me, he walked into the room then closed the door behind him. He sat down next to me and stretched his legs out, "So are you two back together because that looked extremely steamy?"
I rolled my eyes and let out a huff, "I wouldn't be that lucky."
He let out a snort, "Trust me you two looked near to kissing, it was wild."
I shook my head as I looked down to my shoes, "Did he leave?"
"No, he just went to cool down and came back."
That gave me some relief knowing I did not upset him so much that he could not bear the sight of me. Plus it made me feel slightly better knowing Uncle Ed would not immediately take my title as CEO away if I ruined this event.
"I have a word of advice to give to you."
"Oh please tell your thirty-four year old brother what they could do better," I laced my words with sarcasm.
He nudged my head back and smiled, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm quite the ladies man therefore I know a thing or two about getting their attention. As I was saying, I think with Demyan you're coming off a bit desperate."
I let out a horrified gasp as I raised my eyebrows, "Desperate!"
"Extremely," he sighed as he leaned back in the seat, "It was so painful to watch I could cry. It was like watching an owner and their dog. You're the dog Ethan. You're just all over Demyan. You're too touchy. You need to calm that down a bit."
"Luca, you're too young to know anything about being touchy."
"But I'm the one who kissed the daughter of a lord tonight," he raised his eyebrows. "Listen to me. You need to learn how to be smooth. Make Demyan yearn for you. Make sure your words are so smooth but without laying a finger on him to get an effect. You'll see he will notice that and the more you know how to toy with your words to get his attention, he will willingly hand himself over to you."
I looked at my little brother for the first time since he had been born and thought 'he actually makes sense'. A shiver ran down my back the exact moment I thought that.
"You're a CEO of a multi billion company but you have had the same haircut since you were seven."
"You weren't born and it's a safe haircut," I laughed as I flicked the bangs over my forehead.
"I saw the pictures," he waved his hand, "You wear from the camper slash farmer shop in the mall."
"They sell very reliable clothing," I defended.
"You drive a Toyota Fortuner," he frowned.
"Great on fuel and easy to get parts for."
"My point exactly. All in all, you are terribly bland for a billionaire to be. You need to make a change, get a nice haircut, change your fashion, get a nice car that screams I'm CEO. Make yourself look more appealing and you'll thank me."
"I don't know a thing about any of these things," I shrugged. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"Good thing Stewart and I are in town for the week then," he grinned, "We are going to turn you into a new man and get your boy back."
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