


Panic gripped her belly at Ethanโs sudden change of tact, her throat drying.
โWant to tell me about that?โ
Lily panted as his question lingered in the air between them. โI was terrified,โ she conceded, sucking her lip between her teeth in response to the bubble of energized arousal now simmering at her core. โIโm sorry. I didnโt know what else to do.โ
Ethan smiled wryly. โYou couldnโt just do as you were told, I suppose?โ he proffered. โFor once.โ
She blew out a breath. โYou said yourself that you overstepped the mark with the trunk, sir.โ
โMaybe.โ His gaze flitted to meet Lilyโs for a moment. โOr maybe I just need to bind your ankles together and make sure youโre secured the next time, eh?โ
There was a dark twinkle in his eyes as he glanced back to the road that sent a dark, delicious tingle of apprehension running down Lilyโs spine.
โEthan.โ
There was that desperate, breathy tone again, the one he could conjure with just a few dark words and a glower.
His lips curled. โI know you hated it.โ His voice was quiet now, but somehow, the sound still caused Lilyโs nipples to harden. โBut admit it; a part of you loved it, too, didnโt it? The peril, the powerlessnessโit drives you fucking crazy.โ
Lily gulped. โI didnโt love it,โ she insisted. โThatโs why I broke the light, sir. I was desperate.โ
Ethan laughed, that ominous timbre Lily recognized all too well. โYou always say youโre desperate,โ he reminded her. โThat youโre at your limit, that you canโt take anymore, when what you mean is you just need someone to push you over it. Make you take more, Make you love it.โ
Her heart thundered at his words. Was he right? Was that would she needed?
โSomeone?โ
โMe,โ he clarified. โYou need me, little one.โ
โBut I canโt live that like,โ she replied, though Lilyโs voice was so weak that even she was unconvinced by the response. โAlways on the edge. Always afraid. Alwaysโโ
โAroused?โ Ethan interjected, his eyebrow arching in that way that always sent her thoughts scattering.
โRight, sir,โ she murmured, her gaze lowering. โI canโt function like that.โ
โSays who?โ
Ethanโs voice was still quiet, but there was an edge to his tone now, and it wasnโt lost on his wife.
โSir?โ Lily lifted her chin to look at him again. โWhat do you mean?โ
โI mean, who says you canโt function like that?โ Ethan repeated. โWho made the rules about how you should liveโhow we should live?โ
Lily tucked her hair behind her ear, her gaze shifting to the road ahead.ย
He had her there, because she didnโt really have an answer. Who did make those rules? Where had Lilyโs expectations about what their marriage should mean derived from? Her own parents, perhaps, but then that couldnโt be right, could it? Lily had spent years pushing against their rules and vowing sheโd never become her mother, spending her evenings ironing and knitting to the sounds of her fatherโs crackling radio.
โSo, who then?โ he pressed. โIf not your parents, then who?โ
She swallowed. โI donโt know, sir, and thatโs the truth.โ
Ethanโs hand reached for her, brushing over her fingers lightly. โAnd thatโs the point,โ he said evenly. โThere are no rules, Lily. We can live however we like.โ
Lily gazed down at the large palm so easily encasing her digits. โSo long as we donโt break any laws?โย
He snorted at that, the sound making Lily smile.
โSo long as we donโt get caught,โ he corrected her, throwing Lily a wink as he pulled into a service station.
โRight,โ she mumbled. โMy mistake, sir.โ



