CHAPTER 12

 Yanking open the door of the stateroom, Erin peered out and found she was back in the narrow corridor that ended in a set of stairs leading up to the next deck.

Still smarting from Ethan's desertion, she made her way down the narrow length, her steps slightly unsteady with the rolling motion of the yacht. The polished wood floor echoed her footsteps in a rather unsettling way and Erin wondered if she was the only one on the boat. She wouldn't put it past that arrogant bastard to leave her marooned in the middle of the ocean. It was the sort of petty, ridiculous thing Ethan Lachlan seemed to enjoy.

Another cringe ran through her as she remembered how easily she had given in to him. Granted the man could kiss like it was a talent, but that was no excuse for her appalling behavior.

Christ Lord Almighty! She'd acted like a hormonal sex starved teenager, letting him make love to her not just once or twice in the space of one evening. And now she ached in places she did not care to mention.

Her cheeks reddened at the memory of the second time they'd done it. She'd been the aggressor, straddling his luscious body and riding him, enjoying her power over him when he'd groaned her name out loud and grasped her hips, grinding their bodies together -or the third time when she'd taken him to the edge with her mouth and how he'd taken her with a savagery that'd sent her to sex heaven over and over again- and the fourth time in the shower....

"Stop it Erin!" Her sharp words reverberated in the corridor even as she ruthlessly squelched all memory of last night from invading her mind.

How stupid she'd been to assume that he found her as sexy and irresistible as she found him. Ethan probably viewed last night as just another conquest, a means to an end and like the fool she was, she'd fallen for it.

Well, if he thought he'd got the upper hand, boy was he in for a surprise. By the time she was through with him, he'd wish he'd never met her.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Erin found herself in yet another narrow corridor, one that opened up to what she took to be an open deck from the light that poured through the opening. Her steps quickened in hope. Maybe she could find the captain or whoever the hell was in charge and get off this blasted boat.

The brilliance of the morning sun momentarily blinded Erin as she stepped onto the deck and she shielded her eyes with her hands even as the wind whipped strands of hair onto her face. It was a good two minutes before her eyes adjusted to the light and she could make out the form that leaned against the rails, watching her intently.

Ethan held a cell phone to his ear and appeared to be listening to whomever was at the other end but his gaze was fixed on Erin, blue eyes glinting with an intensity that caused heated color to flood her cheeks.

He'd changed into a deep blue shirt- unbuttoned at the neck- and tucked into white pants. His hair was damp as though he'd just had a shower. He certainly did not look like a guy who'd gotten little to no sleep last night...

Stop acting like a newly deflowered virgin! Erin admonished herself, while surprised to find him still aboard. A part of her fluttered in joy but she quickly squelched the feeling. It was time to start acting like the woman she really was and not some love struck teen. She tore her gaze from his and looked around. The deck was quite large, though bare of any outdoor furnishing save a plastic table with an open laptop on it and two chairs right in the center and an inflatable lifeboat resting in a corner.

"Sure hun, I'll see you tonight." His deep voice floated across to her and she felt a surprising wave of jealousy run through her at the words.

So he had plans for tonight? Probably with that blonde he'd been at the restaurant with or was it some other woman? Did last night even mean anything to him if he was already making plans to bed another woman?

In spite of her resolve, Erin felt hurt. And with hurt came a longing to prove to Ethan that last night had meant nothing to her too.

"Good morning." Ethan tucked the phone into the pocket of his pants. His eyes never leaving her. "I was just about to send someone down to wake you."

No 'How are you feeling today? Or I enjoyed last night.' Erin noted bitterly. Well at least, now she had no illusions about his feelings for her or lack thereof.

A part of her wanted to have a go at him for hiding her purse and deceiving her into sleeping with him, but Erin held the scathing words back. Better to let him believe she was defeated and humiliated; it would make her revenge so much more effective.

Schooling her face to match his look of careless indifference, Erin shrugged. "Was there something you wanted?"

His eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second at her tone. "I thought you might be hungry so I had the cook prepare breakfast."

At the mention of breakfast, Erin's stomach rumbled. Other than the cup of coffee and croissants, she'd had nothing to eat.

"I'd like breakfast, thank you." The polite words threatened to choke her but she forced them out.

He studied her for a moment. Erin held herself still and met his eyes. Ethan broke the contact first, his eyes settling on an object behind her and he nodded.

"We'll eat out here Gianno." He spoke to a beefy guy with thinning blond hair who'd come up behind Erin.

"Sure boss." Gianno grinned, his tanned face crinkling as he shot Erin a wink before disappearing back down the corridor.

"You might want to sit, unless you want to eat on your feet." Ethan said dryly, crossing to the table and taking one of the chairs.

***

The sight of Erin standing on deck, one hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, caused Ethan to lose his train of thought. Even in yesterday's clothes and with her hair in disarray, her very presence reminded him of the incredible night they'd just shared.

Damn, but Erin had blown his mind. In bed she was even hotter and sexier than he could have ever imagined and just thinking about how warm and tight she'd felt when he'd been inside her was enough to make his body spring to attention with the need to make love to her again.

He was still stunned at how one small woman- out of the numerous sex partners he'd had since he'd lost his virginity in a motel room with his high school girlfriend- could prove him completely wrong. Up until last night, Ethan had believed no woman could surprise him in bed, but Erin had proved him wrong last night.

God! He wanted her again already.

To distract his mind from that tempting thought, Ethan forced himself to concentrate on the email from his chief engineer. But try as he might, his mind constantly strayed to the woman standing stiffly, gazing into the horizon.

"What time is it?" Erin asked, still not looking at him. Her tone was flat, devoid of emotion.

Ethan consulted his watch. "It’s a couple of minutes to eight."

She nodded and moved to take the other chair, still not looking at him. "I have to be at the hospital in an hour."

"I'll drop you off after we eat." Her indifference inexplicably annoyed him, Ethan decided with a deep frown. He had expected some sort of reaction after last night- anger, insults, threats...even amazement dammit.

Not indifference, as though the sex had meant nothing.

Gianno returned with a pot of steaming coffee and another with tea, an assortment of diced fruit, scrambled eggs and warm, freshly baked bread.

"I wasn't sure what you'd prefer, so I made both tea and coffee." Gianno informed Erin with a grin.

"Coffee's good, thank you." Erin replied with a polite smile. "It smells wonderful."

The cook executed an elaborate bow. "Bon appetite"

The cook's departure brought back the silence between them, not the companionable silence of two lovers enjoying breakfast, but the terse, simmering silence of old enemies.

He watched as she poured a cup of coffee, adding milk and three sugars. Her brow was scrunched up as though she was thinking about something, but still she said nothing to him.

For the first time, Ethan caught himself wondering if last night had been a mistake. Her behavoir now was so at odds with the passionate, sexy woman he'd bedded that he began to wonder if she had undergone some sort of personality change overnight.

"Erin..." Ethan set down his cup and leaned forward. Startled at the sound of her name, Erin glanced up, her expression carefully devoid of emotion and that infuriated him even more. He gritted his teeth in frustration. The damned minx.

"What?" Erin prompted when he did not speak.

"We need to talk about what happened." He replied, choosing his words carefully.

To his consternation, Erin merely shrugged, her tone still that annoying indifference. "Oh that - it's not important."

"I beg your pardon?" Ethan said, with an incredulous look. "What's not important?"

Brown eyes met his, a calculating glint in their depths as though she were considering her next words. "I assume you are talking about last night?"

Gritting his teeth, struggling to keep a lid on his temper, Ethan stared at the woman sitting across from him. "Yes, I am."

Erin sighed, shrugging those shoulders once more. "I don't think it's something to talk about. It was just sex after all. Nothing we both haven't done before, with different partners of course."

Just sex.

The dismissive words burned a fiery path in his system, his fury kindling even stronger. He set his jaw; eyes narrowed to slits and watched her intently, searching for some motion...an expression that would prove she was lying through her teeth. To her credit, she met his gaze with an implacable one of her own, face betraying nothing.

Ethan forced himself to relax, reaching for his cup and taking a long sip while his mind worked to discover her game. For he was damn sure the minx was up to something, and he would find out even if he had to throttle her. No woman he'd been with had ever shrugged of the experience as 'just sex', and it rankled his ego to hear Erin being so dismissive.

His phone rang, drawing him from his thoughts. Fishing it from his pocket, Ethan glanced at the screen and scowled.

He was in no mood to talk to Marcus right now, but his friend could be calling about the acquistion of a small family owned construction firm Ethan had his eye on. The guy had been dragging feet for over a month but lately, they'd had positive feedback. Without a word to Erin, he rose from the table and stalked towards his private study.

"This had better be important Marc." Ethan growled into the phone, his bad mood getting worse with each minute. He was supposed to feel triumphant, dammit. After all he'd conquered the spoiled heiress, but right now, he just felt like punching someone. Just sex indeed.

"Uh oh! What's eating you?" Marc's amused voice came over the phone. "Trouble in paradise? I heard from the grapevine- again- that'd you'd holed up with that Gosling chick."

"Marc..." Ethan held onto his temper, but just barely.

He could hear his friend sigh at the other end.

"You're letting this woman get under your skin ET. Take my advice, screw her and forget about this crazy scheme of yours."

"I ought to have you fired from that Law firm." Ethan said, sitting down on his study chair. "Your advice is lousy and you're wasting my time. He ruthlessly changed the subject. "What's the status of the acquistion? Has Mr. Saunders agreed to sell?"

"I honestly don't know why I put up with your bull." Marcus grumbled good naturedly. "Anyways, yes to your question, the old man has finally agreed to sell, I've arranged a meeting for next week so we can settle on a price, sending you an email as we speak with the details...."

***

Seeing Ethan so frustrated did a lot to lighten her mood. Erin thought, as she watched him stalk away to heaven knew where.

It felt damned good to be the one riling him up for a change, even if it meant telling a bold faced lie just to achieve it. But bruising the bastard's ego was so worth it.

Just sex.

She'd known the minute she'd said those words that he disliked the classification. No doubt, his other lovers must have been full of nothing but compliments and this was probably the first time he'd heard a woman say his lovemaking was 'not important.'

She bit into a roll and chewed slowly, savouring the burst of flavours on her tongue.

Wow! Gianno sure could bake a mean bread roll. Drumming her fingers on the table top, Erin contemplated luring the cook to come work for the hotel. It would boost the business and more importantly, stealing a valuable employee would be just one way she could get back at Ethan for ruining her life.

Ethan's laptop beeped and she leaned over, turning it around so she could stare at the screen. A new mail notification icon had popped up and Erin idly clicked on it, curious to know its contents.

As she read, her mind slowly devised a plan and she grinned in satisfaction. An eye for an eye...wasn't that the popular saying? Well, she would show him.

His footsteps alerted Erin that he was returning. Quickly, she spun the laptop back and carefully sat back, pretending that she hadn't been snooping through his private mail. Though if he checked his mail, he'd notice that it had already been opened, but who the hell cared? Let him dare accuse her of snooping.

Ethan appeared on deck; his eyes hooded and face devoid of expression. He stopped by the table and studied her for long moments without a word. Erin suppressed the urge to squirm beneath the onslaught of that blue gaze and forced herself to sit still.

"Are you done eating?" His tone, when he finally deigned to speak was cold and distant. Despite her resolve, Erin felt a frission of regret. Regret that such a wonderful night had been ruined. But that was certainly not her fault.

"Yes."

He nodded and reached for his laptop. Erin held her breath as he glanced down at the screen, but he merely hit the 'off' button and snapped it closed. Slowly, she let out the breath. Phew.

"The captain will have us at the marina in the next ten minutes. You may want to freshen up before we hit shore."

Erin shook her head. "I don't need to freshen up. Though, it'll be good to finally be off this boat."

His jaw tightened, eyes narrowed to ice blue slits.

"Suit yourself." He snapped, picking up the laptop and turning away. "I have some work to do, so I'll be in my office."

****

An hour later, a tight lipped Ethan pulled up in front of The Gosling. Erin made to get out of the Maserati but his hand on her arm detained her. She turned to find him watching her with a calculating look.

"Don't even think about seeing that doctor of yours, Sweetcheeks." He said, the threat hanging in the air between them. "You and I still have things to do and I won't tolerate that man sniffing around your skirts. So get rid of him- or I will."

Erin felt her jaw go slack in surprise. Of all the nerve! Did he just...did he really just order her to stop seeing Todd? The man was beyond believable.

"Excuse me?" She managed ask, still not believing her ears.

He smirked, his good humor returning. "You heard me the first time. I don't share my women with anyone Erin, so get rid of the lover boy."

"You've got to be kidding. That's what this is, a joke.” Erin asked, still incredulous. “Right?"

His expression changed. A serious look replaced the amused one. "I don't joke about things like that."

"Then you are mad." Erin hissed through clenched teeth. "Utterly and completely; stark raving mad. I'm not your woman, and I will damn well date and sleep with whom ever I like."

The hand on her arm tightened in a painful grip and he leaned close, his face only inches from hers. "Do that and you'll regret even giving him so much as a smile. Am I clear?"

"Go to hell Ethan." Erin spat, wrestling her arm free. She stepped out of the car and slammed the door hard. Anger boiled within her as she stalked through the lobby and to the elevators. Entering her apartment, she flung her purse away and flopped down on the couch.

"That arrogant supercilious jerk thinks he can control me like a puppet on a string? Well, he'll soon realize I'm just as capable of destroying him and his precious company."

Sitting up, she reached for the phone. Dialing a number, she sat back and waited for the person to pick up.

"Lane Gosling, CHPD."A gruff male voice drawled at the other end. "Who's this?"

"Hey cuz, it's Erin."

"Geez snookums," Her cousin laughed. "I thought you'd forgotten about your poor side of the family."

"Oh come on doodleface, you know I called you last week but you didn't pick up." Erin said, using the names they'd called each other since they were kids. Already, she felt better about the Ethan situation. "And you never even bothered to return the call."

"Yeah...I was...otherwise occupied."

"I don't even want to know." Erin said, a wide grin splitting her face. "Listen Lane, I need a favour."

"Shoot."

"I need to some information about a company. It's a small construction company here in Chicago owned by a Mr. Saunders...."

He listened while she gave him details. When she was done, Lane promised to get back to her with the information she needed.

Satisfied for the time being, Erin rose and decided to hit the showers.