No more restraint, no more biding his time. Ethan swooped to take Kate's mouth in a kiss that was neither loving nor sensual, just pure lust cruelly tainted with fury.
Kate came out of her numbed state shocked by the violence of the kiss. Her struggles were futile against Ethan's towering dominance. As she tasted blood in her mouth she thought of her late night fantasies of that first kiss with Ethan.
Not like this. Never like this.
Ethan had fantasized about their first kiss. Had come so close to initiating it. This pint sized front row forward had knocked him off his feet literally and figuratively. She'd gotten under his skin and into his heart only to grind it into dust. He plunged his tongue into her mouth mimicking what he ached to do with his body. Grinding his mouth into hers he tasted blood. This combined with Kate's struggles and whimpers dragged Ethan back through the miasma of passion and pain to the land of the sane and civilized. He'd never forced himself on a woman and now was not the time to start no matter how much provoked, justified even.
With contempt etched into his face Ethan thrust himself away dragging his sleeve across his mouth in the ultimate gesture of distaste and rejection though he could still taste her, still smell her, still feel the imprint of her delectable though sullied body on his. Looking at her now Ethan marveled at how she still managed to look so vulnerable, innocent even. How could he have been so naïve?
Taking his wallet out with shaking hands Ethan took a $50 note and shoved it down Kate's cleavage like a 'john' paying a hooker.
Summoning up what was left of his self control Ethan rasped. 'Take this and get out. You have 10 minutes to get your spoils and crawl back into the hole you came from. Be assured if you're still here then or if you dare show your face again I will call the police. Hell you can even keep the $50,000. For that matter use the phone and call lover boy…sorry he's dead isn't he?-' scorn dripping, burning like acid '-call your loving 'stalker' then to pick you up. Just not in front of the house. Can't have the neighbours' thinking this is a whorehouse.' His eyes raked the shaking, defeated figure in front of him, her eyes brimming with tears and lips quivering with misery. 'Just get out of my sight'
And out of my heart
Ethan's opinion of her was painfully all too clear. Even with all the evidence surely he couldn't say those things if he cared deeply for her. Wouldn't he want to know her side of the story, if he truly loved her? What she had thought was a growing love on his part had just been lust, easily tamped down when the object of his passion turns out to be tainted.