His Revenge (Power Play #1)

Chapter 22

“None taken.” Erin sighed, idly drumming her fingers on the smooth marble. “Truth is, I felt the exact same way when I had dinner with them all those years ago.”

Her mind flashed back to that disastrous evening and she couldn’t help the little jolt of guilt that raced through her. Even though she hadn’t been directly responsible for the breakup, her conversation with Nicky that night had definitely changed things and sometimes, she wondered if she’d let her attraction for Ethan get in the way…because the truth was, from the moment she had laid eyes on Ethan Lachlan, she’d wanted him in a way that defied reason and sense.

“I’m not sure a relationship would work out between Ethan and I either.” Erin admitted with a shrug.

“And why not?”

“Well…for one thing, he hates my guts.” Erin laughed, the sound hollow and bleak. “I’m not sure if you already know, but he blames me for the split.”

Emily scoffed in disbelief. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Ethan doesn’t hate you…if anything I would say the way he’s been staring at you all day like you’re his favorite snack and he would love to….”

“Ok stop!” Erin held up a hand before Emily could go further. “That’s too weird.”

“What?” Emily’s eyes widened in mock innocence. “How is it weird?”

“I thought it was a pretty good description.”

For the second time that afternoon, Erin nearly fell off the stool. She whirled around to find Ethan leaning against the doorway, arms folded across his chest watching the both of them with raised brows, mouth quirked in a grin. Her face flamed in mortification as she wondered just how long he’d been standing there and how much he’d heard. Her gaze met his, mouth going dry as the smoldering heat in those twin blue orbs threatened to consume her.

“Shame on you Ethan!” Emily scolded, not in the least bit embarrassed at being caught. “You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on a private conversation.”

Ethan chuckled and moved further into the room, though his eyes never left Erin. “Have you forgotten Em? I have no shame.”

 Erin opened her mouth to say something….anything, but all that came out was a small squeak. If only the ground would do her a favor and open up so she could crawl shamelessly into the abyss. Baring that, she needed to find another means of escape but the very source of her embarrassment had moved to stand directly behind her, effectively blocking any hope of escape.

“Oh that’s right, I guess I forgot.” Emily replied, her voice laced with generous amounts of sarcasm. “What are you doing in here anyway? Thought Mom had you on check collection duty.”

“I was hungry. And speaking of snacks….” His low tone brushed over her ears as he leaned in towards Erin, his eyes still holding hers with the same burning intensity. His hand reached out as if to touch her and her breath hitched, every nerve tensed in anticipation. Rather than touch her however, Ethan merely grabbed a cookie from the plate and flashed her a devilish grin, well aware of the effect he had on Erin.

“Cookies.” Ethan held up the snack in a mock toast and smirked at the look of pure loathing Erin levelled at him.

“I hope you choke on it.” Erin muttered under her breath, not caring how childish she sounded, all traces of nervousness and desire gone to be replaced with irritation. The devious man always knew exactly how to rile her and clearly enjoyed doing so at every given opportunity. She could feel Emily’s eyes eagerly devouring the exchange, no doubt so she could relate it to the rest of the family.